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AU Info: Monstersona!
Right, so what is this strange wacky AU we’re playing here? That’s what this post is for, to act as a quick guide and info for people.
(Also please note, THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS)
What is Persona 3?
First, some Persona 3 101 info to help everyone out.
Persona 3 is, as the title suggests, the third title (…sort of. Persona 2 actually received two separate titles because this series is weird like that) of the Persona series. The Persona series, in turn, is an offshoot of the mainline Shin Megami Tensei JRPG series. These games run the gamut of genres and settings; some modern day, some post apocalypse, etc. The one common thing they have in common is drawing from a MASSIVE world mythology of supernatural creatures, either as summons, allies, enemies, whatever. In SMT terms they’re frequently known as ‘demons’ but can encompass anything from angels, devils, folklore monsters, etc.
In Persona 3, all of these creatures manifest as summons available to the main character. (Everyone else in the main game makes do with two summons based on mythical figures.) And as the title suggests, they are known as “Persona.” Summoning them opens up a wide range of spells for the characters; anything from elemental magic to healing spells to physical attacks and status buffs/debuffs. In Persona 3 the common enemy these are unleashed on are “Shadows” and basically act as the repressed, hostile manifestations of humanity’s collective unconsciousness.
In short, Persona 3 is an Urban Fantasy genre geared game where you play as a group of emotionally upset and psychologically damaged teenagers with attitude fighting shadowy manifestations of human nihilism in a hidden hour sandwiched between the minutes of midnight, with the magic power of Jungian psychology.
In this AU… things get that little bit weirder with those aspects.
What’s different in this AU?
While the characters still have Personas in a way, this pitch takes the idea of a manifold, faceted conscience plus the idea of a repressed shadow archetype and runs with it, adding on a generous dose of body horror.
The idea being that people have many masks, all of which are a different aspect of themselves… but since this is Megami Tensei, those aspects have a veneer of being monstrous. Sort of playing on the idea that Persona and Shadows are two sides of the same Jungian coin, and blurring the line between the two a little bit more.
And these aspects then forcefully express themselves when the Dark Hour takes place. Whenever the Dark Hour rolls around, it’s time for some amount of painful transformations; either completely into something monstrous, or with partial changes instead. They might occasionally stay human thanks to their Persona, but it’s a very low chance.
And since these shifts are all aspects of someone’s self, this means there are LOTS of monster forms to shift into. So a character may be a werewolf one night, but then be a wendigo or something the next night. It’s always a toss of the dice. Ditto with just how much control they have over the new form.
(Read: players should have a lot of wiggle room on what sort of form they want for a given bit of RP, plus control, etc. Persona powers are PROBABLY consistent, but open for flexibility too. And while this is mainly a thing that happens during the Dark Hour, maybe there will be plots or events where the changes happen outside of it. Again, going for maximum flexibility and shenanigans here.)
(Also please note, THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS)
What is Persona 3?
First, some Persona 3 101 info to help everyone out.
Persona 3 is, as the title suggests, the third title (…sort of. Persona 2 actually received two separate titles because this series is weird like that) of the Persona series. The Persona series, in turn, is an offshoot of the mainline Shin Megami Tensei JRPG series. These games run the gamut of genres and settings; some modern day, some post apocalypse, etc. The one common thing they have in common is drawing from a MASSIVE world mythology of supernatural creatures, either as summons, allies, enemies, whatever. In SMT terms they’re frequently known as ‘demons’ but can encompass anything from angels, devils, folklore monsters, etc.
In Persona 3, all of these creatures manifest as summons available to the main character. (Everyone else in the main game makes do with two summons based on mythical figures.) And as the title suggests, they are known as “Persona.” Summoning them opens up a wide range of spells for the characters; anything from elemental magic to healing spells to physical attacks and status buffs/debuffs. In Persona 3 the common enemy these are unleashed on are “Shadows” and basically act as the repressed, hostile manifestations of humanity’s collective unconsciousness.
In short, Persona 3 is an Urban Fantasy genre geared game where you play as a group of emotionally upset and psychologically damaged teenagers with attitude fighting shadowy manifestations of human nihilism in a hidden hour sandwiched between the minutes of midnight, with the magic power of Jungian psychology.
In this AU… things get that little bit weirder with those aspects.
What’s different in this AU?
While the characters still have Personas in a way, this pitch takes the idea of a manifold, faceted conscience plus the idea of a repressed shadow archetype and runs with it, adding on a generous dose of body horror.
The idea being that people have many masks, all of which are a different aspect of themselves… but since this is Megami Tensei, those aspects have a veneer of being monstrous. Sort of playing on the idea that Persona and Shadows are two sides of the same Jungian coin, and blurring the line between the two a little bit more.
And these aspects then forcefully express themselves when the Dark Hour takes place. Whenever the Dark Hour rolls around, it’s time for some amount of painful transformations; either completely into something monstrous, or with partial changes instead. They might occasionally stay human thanks to their Persona, but it’s a very low chance.
And since these shifts are all aspects of someone’s self, this means there are LOTS of monster forms to shift into. So a character may be a werewolf one night, but then be a wendigo or something the next night. It’s always a toss of the dice. Ditto with just how much control they have over the new form.
(Read: players should have a lot of wiggle room on what sort of form they want for a given bit of RP, plus control, etc. Persona powers are PROBABLY consistent, but open for flexibility too. And while this is mainly a thing that happens during the Dark Hour, maybe there will be plots or events where the changes happen outside of it. Again, going for maximum flexibility and shenanigans here.)