Demons
If Shadows are the results of human fears and anxieties that something is out there, then what created those fears and anxieties to begin with? All of us have an instinct that there is something out there beyond ourselves. Something inhuman, which our minds have intuited for as long as people have existed.
The truth is, there really are things out there that have existed since before humans told stories of them, and they may continue to exist long after we have gone. These greater archetypes within the Collective Unconscious are known as Demons.
Demons are the answer to 'which came first, the chicken or the egg?' in the Collective Unconscious of humans and Shadows: the Demon came first. Our psyches have some sense of their distant presence in the deeper layers of the Collective Unconscious, and many of them took shape into our narrative traditions since before humanity ever first started writing them down.
What's the Difference?
In the Metaverse, Shadows can take the form of Demons. They can speak, negotiate, and be intimidated, so what's the difference between Shadows and Demons? Even veterans of occult lore might have difficulty telling them apart without significant exposure, especially given the mystery that is the Metaverse.
Demons are firmer archetypes and possess a fixed shape, unlike the more fluid Shadows. Demons possess more sentience, and even those with similar forms and archetypes will still remain individuals between one of them and the next.
What Demons do not have is much in the way of logic and reason; that is much diminished despite their sentience. What they are instead are creatures of great emotion, extremely labile, and prone to switching from joyous delight to blinding rage in a heartbeat depending on how one deals with them.
They are incredibly curious about humans, but with that inquisitiveness comes danger. They are just as interested in tearing your guts out to see what's inside you as they are talking to you. Furthermore as firm archetypes of 'elemental forces' or 'abstract concepts' many of the more powerful demons may kill normal humans by simple proximity. Demons of more eldritch entities may destroy the minds of non-Persona users who look in their directions or kill by the sheer fear their resonance induces in others. Some may radiate such intense cold as to freeze unprotected humans to death merely by being in the same room.
Incredibly powerful Demons may have fewer of their archetype and more logic and reason than the majority of their kind, whereas other Demons of incredible might may have connections to beings that otherwise exist in other forms that are neither Demons or Shadows. These connections are not well understood, even by the most veteran travelers through the dimensions of the Collective Unconscious. Tread carefully when dealing with these beings.
Demons on Velvet Room MUSH will mostly be encountered through use of The Mark within Sumaru City. The power of the Crawling Chaos, when mediated by Kotodama, will draw them from the deeper regions of the Collective Unconscious to run wild and free within that space of influence.
Pacts
Another major trait of Demons is the ability to offer Pacts with humans that impress and entertain them. By undergoing negotiation with a Demon, a clever Persona User that's willing to do what it takes might convince a Demon to form a Pact with them.
While Demons themselves are individuals, a Pact is with the archetype of that Demon; thus, while two Incubi might be different, the Pact is maintained between them. That said, it must be stressed: having a Pact does not mean another Demon will react just as favorably to you. You must still impress and entertain that particular Demon.
The formation of a Pact might come with its own rewards. These rewards might be Skill Cards, currency, various types of items, or even tarot cards of the Demon's Arcana. Maintaining the Pact by repeating the feat with a different Demon of the same archetype might allow one the opportunity to request the precise reward they desire. It should be stressed, Pacts are not for Demons to fight for you, or alongside you, or an agreement to be summoned. It is solely a promise for material rewards either in the present, or upon reencountering those of it's Archetype in the future, because they like you.
Persona Users thus might reap great rewards through judiciously forming pacts with Demons they 'vibe' with. Be warned, however: you can only have three in total at a time. Trying to form another will force a Pact Break of one Pact of your choosing.
Demons of the entire archetype may hold a grudge at you for breaking that Pact with them, but as they are creatures of tempestuous emotion, it's not particularly difficult to make amends.
OOC Note on Demons
- Pacts are a fun extra thing. In Monad, a Pact from Demon negotiation will generally be represented by a Shuffle Time. The caveats are for roleplaying purposes. If you want to use them for freeform jokes, or just to go, 'My character would never break their Pact with Nekomata as they love cats,' you are absolutely welcome to. Sometimes things are just neat.
- SMT thematic conceits like Demon Summoners do not exist on Velvet Room MUSH. Canonical Demon Summoners such as Tamaki Uchida must be applied for as Persona Users. Tamaki has a Pact with Nekomata, but doesn't utilize a squad of Demons to do battle.
- Antagonists in the New World Order can represent Demons fighting with them, similar to how Tatsuya Sudou does in Eternal Punishment, but these are generally disposable pawns and your character must still be using a Persona. If you desire one to be an NPC combatant long term in a similar vein to Belphegor in Innocent Sin, it must be applied for with specific justification.
- Humans becoming a Demon is treated as a moment of horror in Eternal Punishment as your Psyche is slowly (or rapidly) taken over and banished to another realm, never to return. Demon-Hybrid type concepts are generally not appropriate for application. See Nonhuman Characters for details on what is allowable.
- Squads of normal humans without a Persona are unable to form Pacts with Demons. As a result, New World Order soldiers attempting to order around Demons would only result in them being killed. Demons in areas where these soldiers exist may be asked not to harm them by someone using The Mark, but it's only a request.