GAME MECHANIC: THE SEVENTH DOOR
In
April 2023, D and Snow White
revealed on the network that they had been in correspondence with Deerlona, the former Ramona Derwin, by way of using the deer.
This prompted Luna Lovegood to
discuss an ability given to the Sleepers of Deerington: a gift from Ramona Derwin after Sleepers died in the Dream to
assume the form of a deer. This was activated by travelling through the Death Fields (the Death Realm within Deerington) and accessing the Seventh Door, a place unlocked after one Sleeper died too many times in the Dream. Darth Maul and Luna ended up discussing how to go about reactivating the ability, given that it was incredibly difficult to reach any possible Death Statues that remain in Sleepy Town, nor could they be removed from where they are.
Maul hypothesised that the Ramona who remains within the space beyond The Seventh Door is an alternate Ramona stuck in a pocket dimension. Luna suggested petitioning her Patron Doorway (as the Patron of passageways and connections) to see if it was possible to re-establish the connection to the pocket dimension in order to reach that Ramona. After a begruding team up to work together, Maul and Luna research and perform a blood magic ritual, with Doorway's blessing/power, to re-establish the connection to The Seventh Door. The ritual succeeded. They then
took to the network to report their findings.
From June 2023: With a connection to the pocket dimension, Sleepers will be able to access the deer ability once again. This can be done by performing a small blood ritual to Doorway to guide them to the pocket dimension and activate the deer ability, provided they have done the needed sacrifice of dying within either Deerington or the Waking World.
This mechanic is optional. It is open to both Deerington and Deer Country players.
SAFE PASSAGE
The ritual is relatively simple. Maul and Luna have already done the hard work of establishing the connection to this pocket dimension. All you need now is the Guide to take you there, to connect yourself. Doorway is considered the Pthumerian Patron of Relationships, but they are not just that. They are the Patron of connections both emotional and physical, and of passageways.
The ritual will only need to be performed once. You will need a silver knife, some roses and can use any door within your home. Ensure the door is closed. Decorate the doorway of your chosen door with the roses in any way you wish, this is the first part of your offering to Doorway. Then, use the silver knife to cut into your palm to draw blood. Place your bloodied hand against the door and call for Doorway. You must ask for their blessing of their guidance, to take you to the Seventh Door. This can take a single time or several times.
You will know that your ritual as been successful when the palm of your hand begins to glow warmly where it rests upon the door. You will feel a towering presence behind you, the scent of blood and roses filling the air. Doorway has heard you. They will show you the way.
Open the door, and whatever should lie beyond the door has now gone. Instead there is only darkness. Step through, you have reached the space beyond the Seventh Door.
THE SEVENTH DOOR
You enter a pitch black space. Sitting in the middle of it is none other than Ramona Derwin. Many of you many not recognise her, but this is the Sleeper now known as Deerlona. The First Sleeper. The First Beast. This is an alternate Ramona, existing solely within this magical pocket dimension.
She's dressed in an elaborate white gown made of glittering material that looks far more like stars than it does gem stones. A great crown of jewels sits atop of her head and no matter who you may be, how much power you may have, you feel humbled to be standing in front of her. This woman is not a goddess nor is she a queen, but she has some intimate connection to all things living, to the very essence of the Dream that was Deerington, of the Sleepers from there. Even the Sleepers of the Waking World, now. Although she is sitting up, she appears to be sleeping until you make any motion towards her. Only then does she awaken, and she immediately looks pleased to see you, tired, but grateful.
"Oh," she will say, "Another Sleeper. It's been such a long time." No matter how frequently you visit Ramona or how many Sleepers have seen her, she will always say this upon greeting any Sleepers into the Seventh Door. For Ramona, time ceases to exist, and it feels like centuries between each visit. This is a price she has paid, and her crown is a lonely one to wear. She will explain this to any Sleepers who wonder why she always says this, and she will always apologize for forgetting Sleepers she has seen recently.
"For you, it may have only been a few days or a few weeks, but for me..." Ramona shakes her head, her mouth shaking before she smiles. "No matter. I only have a few minutes with you. Let us use it wisely."
She truly does only have a few minutes and she will not use it to converse. She is here for one purpose and that is to give Sleepers power.
"All Sleepers have an essence. A core part of themselves that make them them. A soul, some may call it, but to me, it has always been an essence. I can mold that. Where I come from, we have a relationship with our essence. A connection," Ramona explains, gesturing her hands and in the air, a cloud of fine purple dust glows. It looks exactly like the dust that occurred during a character's death in Deerington. She moves her hands carefully, and the dust takes the shape of a deer.
"You have sacrificed enough, Sleeper," she says softly, "And I must thank you. Use this power wisely. Do not stay for long or you may forget yourself."
The dust-deer will prance through the air and go straight through the middle of your chest. You will be plunged into darkness, and when you awaken, you will be back in Trench.
But this time... you will be a deer.
DEER FORMS
Characters who have died at least once will now be able to manifest in Trench as a deer.The Appearance: This deer should be a manifestation of your character's "essence" aka their soul/personality/etc. The deer can look like anything so long as their core structure is that of a deer. If a character undergoes a personal change within the game their deer shape may change but all in all, the appearance of the deer should remain fairly consistent.
Psychologically: Characters in deer form will be a much calmer, simpler version of themselves. A deer will act as the foundation of a character's core personality - whether that's good or bad. Despite good or bad traits, all characters in deer form will feel an unusually strong urge to help Sleepers in need. For bad/evil characters, this might mean they transform into a particularly violent deer that's more suited to fighting off threats than a good character who might be more suited to providing comfort to a Sleeper.
Characters will feel a disconnect from their normal psyche though they will be distantly aware of it existing and distantly aware that this is not their regular body. The longer they spend in their deer form, the more distant they will feel, and if they are in their deer form long enough, they may completely forget that they were ever a Sleeper to begin with. This can happen as quickly or as long as you prefer.
Characters who have forgotten about being a Sleeper can be summoned back to themselves by other characters going out of their way to do so - accidentally or intentionally.
Communication: Sleepers in the form of deer will be able to communicate with other deer clearly through telepathic communication. They may be able to telepathically communicate with some regular Sleepers though it should not be as clear as regular communication. Maybe they can only communicate to Sleepers in riddles or in a certain language or through mental images instead of words. You choose.
Locations: Most deer will be drawn to certain locations that the character is usually associated with - or maybe where the character wishes they were associated with.
The Aura: These deer have a specific aura they give off that is reminiscent of the character. Maybe they smell like the character or maybe a song plays around them as they trot around as a deer. This aura should be more consistent than the deer's physical appearance as it will be the most identifiable part of the deer.
Summoning/Manifestation: To transform into this form, a simple blood ritual can be done with the intention of transforming, but you can go as simple or fancy as you like. Other characters can summon specific deer to areas by intentionally or unintentionally "summoning" them. This can be done in any way you feel makes sense with your character. Maybe someone must light a specific colored candle to summon your character's deer. This can also be used to bring a character back mentally.
Abilities: Every deer has a minor ability associated with the character. This should have to do with the character's personality/history rather than any canonical abilities they have. You can always choose to go with some canonical ability, but this is meant to provide an interesting opportunity for players to translate character personalities into a symbolic ability. Maybe a deer can provide minor healing or maybe it can breathe fire. The ability should be relatively simple. It can be connected to the deer's appearance or not.
Within Deer Country, all Sleepers will not be susceptible to Corruption or Beasthood whilst in this form. They will also ease Corruption in other Sleepers they are around them.
Becoming a Sleeper AgainThis can be done in one of two ways.Summonings: If a character has been lost mentally to being a deer, another character can "summon" them to a location with specific items. They can then proceed to verbally remind the deer/character of who they are, and this should be performed in an IC scenario. Eventually, it will awaken the character and the character will reappear in the Seventh Door.
Intentionally: Characters who do not let themselves stay a deer for too long can mentally choose to "go back" and they will feel themselves teleport right back to the Seventh Door. Back in the Seventh Door, Ramona will be asleep again. She cannot be woken up at this point no matter what you do - and the character will feel exhausted themselves. They will be able to leave out the door they came in. This will bring them straight back to Trench.
In the world of Trench, people can witness characters transform from a deer to a Sleeper (or vice versa) through their bodies bursting into purple dust and reorienting to that shape.
Characters who return as a Sleeper will need to sleep for about 14-24 hours afterward.
The longer they were a deer, the longer they will need to rest.
THE FORM
Please use the form below and use this page to post your Deer Forms.
As a reminder, this mechanic does not need Mod Approval and is free to use at player discretion.
It's basically here for players to have fun with!
The only stipulation is your character must have died at least once in game, either in Deerington or Deer Country.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask below.
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