"Maybe it just looks spooky to scare off new people", you think as you walk through the creepy entry way to the Urban Fantasy world. Suddenly you're standing on the outskirts of a small town with a larger one visible far in the distance, and directly in front of you is an odd... thing. One second it looks like a boy from the country, the next it's a aged old woman, then a sharp dressed businesswoman, and then...
"Why am I on the ground?" should have been your first thought. Instead, your only thought is how much you DON'T want to think about what you saw. If you had to describe it, you wouldn't. Couldn't.
You open your eyes to see the old woman, now JUST the old woman, offering you her hand. You hesitate, and she answers with a chuckle "I'm sorry out of newcomer. We test everyone when they first enter the server to see how well they handle certain brands of horror. You may wish to try another server until you're more acclimated to the game. Excessive blood and gore is rare in this server, but experiences that can scar the unprepared mind are common."
Her speech and movements are too robotic and practiced to be human, but you not actually scary. You accept her help up and brush yourself off. "Oh, you're one of those NPC thingies. Thank you for the warning, but I have a friend in here that I really need to talk to. Can you point me towards Marie?"
The woman freezes for a second, then replies "There are currently 327 registered players whose username's include the word 'Marie', and many more with variations on it. Please use your member search to narrow the results"
You get sheepish, not wanting to admit you can't figure out how do anything like that. "Oh, I'm, uh, avoiding using game tools as much as possible. For, umm... Immersion! Yes, so the game's more immersive. I guess I'll just have to go looking." You look towards the quiet town that still manages to be foreboding, "So... how do things work here?"
The NPC perks up, "This server has 2 unique features. First, there is no leveling. Instead you get better by doing. Work as a detective, and clues will start to become more visible over time. Fight, and you'll get stronger. Drive recklessly, and you'll drive better. At least when you're not in jail."
You let out a small sigh of relief, "Oh thank god, no complicated game mechanics. I can handle that. What's the other feature?"
A hint of maliciousness appears on her face, "Your sanity. As you experience fear, extreme confusion, and things that just shouldn't be, your perceptions will change. Starting with small harmless hallucinations and nervous tics, up to debilitating delusions and uncontrollable phobias or obsessions. These will be related to whatever cause the mental trauma, so being scared by spiders may make you feel ones crawling on you occasionally that aren't there, or you may become obsessed with checking every inch of your surroundings trying to find your 'friends'. Don't worry, these effects wear off slowly while logged off or transformed, so that the game doesn't become unplayable. They can continue to be exacerbated whole transformed though, and it's not unheard of for a player to develop a neurosis where they won't voluntarily 'let go' and log off. Remember that players are auto-transformed back after a set time, and this particular neurosis is fully cleared at that time. Also note that players will often not "defeat" other players immediately, but instead try to reshape their mind to suit their needs before shaping their body"
"Great. So it's literally a mind game... okay, I guess I'll start looking. Should probably...
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