Guides
The Collective Unconscious has many supernatural powers within it. Some act as wise teachers or passive observers who wind the clock, so to speak, and watch the result; others are so dark and malevolent as to threaten to destroy humanity and reshape it to their own ends; yet others are so esoteric that not even the archetypes who have been there from the beginning of everything understand that they are a part of it all.
Whatever their reasons, some of them reach out to humans for ends that are benevolent or malevolent, selfless or self-serving. To these individuals, they offer supernatural power known as Persona, which gives them the ability to do battle with beings from beyond in whose mere presence they'd be otherwise incapable of surviving.
To have a Guide is to have your awakening be facilitated. Sometimes this is a gentle process, but for others this can be a much more traumatic one, even when your Guide is someone benevolent like Philemon! The Guide harnesses the power of your Shadow under control of your ego once you enter a supernatural space, and a Persona is born.
However, even the most benevolent guides exact a price for this power. That price is to be involved in the conflicts between the supernatural powers of this world; for better or worse, that is what will shape your destiny thenceforth.
This article is intended to be a brief primer on some of the available Guides available for your characters. As the game progresses, some Guides may be removed from play, while others may come into greater prominence, and still others will come into existence at all. When this occurs, this section will be updated accordingly.
The Guides
Philemon
Themes: Persona 1, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
"I am you. You are me. I will always watch over you from within. Farewell…"
- --Philemon, Persona 2: Innocent Sin
The 'Wise Spirit Guide' figure within the Collective Unconscious, Philemon is almost certainly not the first or only name this entity has been known by. Typically appearing as a young paternal figure with a butterfly wing mask, he can also often take the form of a golden or blue butterfly.
A benevolent figure, Philemon's belief is that the best sides of humanity will eventually bring it to a state of enlightenment and perhaps change it into something altogether. Despite this belief, he follows a policy of minimal interference and neutrality, granting brief guidance either directly to people or more expansively through his servants within the Velvet Room.
Playing the Persona Game (See: Persona) will inevitably catch his eye, almost ensuring that if the person enters a Supernatural Space and is under threat, they'll awaken. This does not guarantee it will be gentle, merely that one has the means to defend oneself.
Philemon stands in stark opposition to Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, as two sides of the same coin. Where he represents the best parts of humanity, Nyarlathotep represents the worst. However, he does not confine himself to this dichotomy. Any malevolent entity that seeks to change the world humanity lives in for the worse or drag them into the abyss will inevitably come in contact with him.
Given his policy of minimal interference and his belief in the triumph of the human spirit, he strikes many wagers with such figures that form the basis for many conflicts within the world. These are his attempts to give humanity a better chance by changing thoroughly rigged games into unfair but winnable ones through altering the framework of those entities' actions.
OOC Notes
- Philemon does not appear often and when he does it is often brief, flickering, and halting. The reasons for this are unknown to PCs.
- When Philemon does appear, he distinguishes between This Side and The Other Side in a way similar to Tatsuya Sudou. The reason for this is likewise unknown.
Nyarlathotep
Themes: Persona 1, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
"The most important thing is one's 'true nature,' correct? Mine is always, always, and always being completely mad! AHAHAHAHA!"
- --Nyarlathotep, Megami Ibunroku: Persona manga
The opposite side of the same coin to Philemon, formed from the worst sides of humanity in every negative thought and impulse. He's currently known as Nyarlathotep because it's easier for humanity to think that evil dwells in the eldritch and unknowable beyond the stars than it is to understand that it comes from within each and every one of us. Beyond the tentacles and eyes and slithering shadows…
It's just you. It's just all of us.
And as Philemon's messy opposite, Nyarlathotep has many avatars in the world and fingers in many pies, scheming always both within the shadows and quite openly when it suits him. As part of his wager with Philemon, his plans are often convincing humanity to destroy itself. Not everyone, mind you. After all, as a part of each and every one of us, he needs humanity to exist for himself to exist.
Despite a nature that would seem quite impulsive and destructive, Nyarlathotep is more than willing to play the long game, setting up schemes that are often years or decades in the making for grand displays that rub it in to both Philemon and the humans that oppose him. What is time to a being such as him, after all?
Mercurial and full of contradictions, Nyarlathotep is difficult to deal with on even footing. Even those he likes or feels he needs might be discarded on a whim, depending on what mood strikes him. Any 'reward' one receives from him is just as likely to be an ironic end. However, the one thing he has and offers in spades is power, and he is very good at tempting the desperate, the disaffected, and the vulnerable.
Those caught up within his schemes that catch his eye often start receiving whispers of half-truths or outright lies until one day they submit to him and serve his whims. The Mark often appears on these unfortunate souls shortly after. Nyarlathotep isn't above outright memory alteration and gaslighting either, even grooming some children their whole lives just to play a part in his schemes.
His latest long game involves the New World Order, which doesn't understand that the 'World Without Sin' is yet another scheme of his to see the world destroyed and win his wager with Philemon once more.
OOC Notes
- Unknown to all PCs, Nyarlathotep is empowered by the three poisons of Buddhism, which in brief comprises delusion (ignorance), attachment (desire), and aversion (hatred). Acts of this sort offer him increased spiritual power, allowing him to defy the normal rules of supernatural spaces. If you'd like to lean into this with your character or another character, then please notify staff.
- While the translation in Eternal Punishment states 'Anger,' 'Ignorance,' and 'Vengeance' for the three poisons, the context indicates this is a mistranslation. We therefore integrated them as the above.
- The majority of New World Order characters have no idea that a being like him is involved in their organization. Those with The Mark might, but Nyarlathotep wears many faces, and is more likely to present himself as Gozen to its membership.
Igor
Themes: Persona 1, Persona 2, Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5
"Trickster… Welcome to my Velvet Room."
- --Igor, Persona 5
A long-nosed figure that serves Philemon; the so-called proprietor of the Velvet Room. All of his servants call him their master, but whether he is master of the Velvet Room seems to depend on whatever whim strikes his fancy.
Igor tends to be the instrument of Philemon's guidance to Wild Cards in particular, calling them for concierge service within the Velvet Room. (See: The Velvet Room and Wild Cards)
However, Igor gives special attention to Wild Cards with the Will of Rebellion, serving as personal guide to them in their rebellion against society and the world. While he might call this "rehabilitation" to certain figures, the form the guidance takes changes depending on the shape of the Velvet Room, which in turn is based on the mindset of an individual Wild Card.
The reason he does this is unclear at this time; however, those tricksters, rebels, revolutionaries, and countercultural icons who interact with him find a figure who seems to take a keen interest in their doings, offering gifts and powers to Wild Cards while encouraging them to further their bonds with others and continue to work towards societal reform.
Whatever his reasons, Igor remains Igor. The Velvet Room will always be welcoming to all of its guests so long as he exists.
OOC Notes
- As discussed on The Velvet Room and Wild Cards page, the only Igor is the Persona 5 Igor at this time.
- Igor can only be considered a Guide if you possess the Will of Rebellion due to the current world state. He performs exactly the same role in every other version of the Velvet Room, and acts exactly the same save that he calls it 'his' Velvet Room.
- Please don't attempt to be smarter than the narrative here. For even a Tatsuya Suou player, a different-sounding Igor just doesn't rate suspicion.
The Stagnation
Theme: Persona 5 Tactica
"This rotten narcissism of yours! You said it yourself. Fighting and struggling on a passing whim only leads to suffering."
- --Unknown, Persona 5 Tactica
Everyone can feel it throughout the world whether they understand what it is or not. There is an instinct within humanity towards the status quo, towards keeping your head down and not rising up. History teaches us that revolution and reform are always a bloody affair and that innocents are nearly always collateral damage.
Isn't it better to do nothing, then? For all the changes that come as a result, at the end of the road, can the victors truly say that it was even worth it? How many attempts at revolution result in an abrupt end for themselves and their loved ones?
Only the most powerful entities within the Collective Unconscious understand that this is by design, and that there is an in-built feature within humanity towards self-preservation. This instinct is opposed diametrically to the concepts of 'rebellion' and 'revolution' and tries to prevent such traits from threatening the pervasive status quo.
As the old Japanese adage goes, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
OOC Notes
- The Stagnation is available as a Guide, but only to non-human minions. These minions must follow similar rules to Morgana and Teddie, despite how they're presented in the Repaint Your Heart DLC. Naturally Jerri is available, but OCs are also quite welcome. For more on this, see: Nonhuman Characters
- Given how recent Persona 5 Tactica is, this entry tries to be as spoiler lite as possible. If someone is interested and desires more details about how this game handles this, then please contact Penguin Sniper on the staff.
The Duality
Theme: Persona Syzygy
"All God's creatures, great and small, live the fundamental truth of evil."
- --Unknown, Persona 2 Eternal Punishment
"If there is no good, then evil can't possibly exist."
- --Katsuya Suou, Persona 2 Eternal Punishment
There are intrinsic truths to the nature of humanity that cannot be escaped. Even choosing to discard consideration of such truths still defines one's sense of self by them. Good and Evil. Selflessness and Selfishness. Are they not merely two sides of the same coin?
OOC Notes
This entry is left purposely ambiguous, to prevent spoilers for an original theme, Persona Syzygy. For more details to shape related character concepts, speak to the players of Tsumugi Kujaku and Hazuki Nakao.
The Inevitable End
Theme: Persona: Wild Hunt
"The Whole Point of the Doomsday Machine is lost if you keep it a secret!"
- --Dr. Strangelove
The Apocalypse, the End Times, Armageddon. Humanity has always held narratives of the end of the world. In recent decades, a more dominant narrative took shape in the form of Nuclear Annihilation. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the USSR, few truly are afraid of this possibility coming to pass in more recent years.
But shouldn't they be?
Perhaps the threat of Annihilation was not truly ever averted, merely delayed.
OOC Notes
- This entity is currently unavailable to be a Guide, for reasons which are spoilers to Persona: Wild Hunt. When it is available, more information will be posted.
- If you would like to know more, please contact the players of Ruzica Crvena and Laurent Fontaine
The Generous
Theme: Persona: Wild Hunt
"Nuclear Weapons can be dismantled, but they can't be uninvented."
- --Martin Rees
It is inevitable that humanity will face an existential crisis, in which they must fight for their very survival.
If it cannot be averted, then at least they can be prepared to face it boldly, rather than whimpering then fading quietly into the night.
OOC Notes
- For more information on this guide, please contact the player of Kanae Fuyuki.
The Fog
Theme: Persona 4
"Mankind has abandoned its pursuit of truth, placing itself in the depth of chaos and falsehood."
- --Persona 4 Golden
What is the truth? If it exists, can it be found and grasped? What conceals the truth from us? Perhaps it is our own nature that prevents us from locating it, forcing us to wander in blind ignorance, the noise of the world drowning it out.
All is lost within the all-pervasive shroud of the fog.
OOC Notes
- While technically in play, The Fog is not available as a Guide at this time to characters in general. While there are limited exceptions, we will discuss those privately; if you have an idea, feel free to pitch it, but we will probably say no prior to P4's opening on the game. Persona 4 Feature Characters are not available for application at this time.
- More details will appear once the Persona 4 theme is open for application on-game. This entry is written purposefully vague because while Persona 4 has been out for years, we'd prefer not to ruin the fun of playing it yourself.