inthenightmods | lantern malfunctions

LANTERN MALFUNCTIONS

Lantern malfunctions are now a permanent game mechanic that can be utilized at any time. Since January 20th, lanterns have begun to show more critical, previously unseen signs of wear and tear. Even if your character has not been irresponsible with their lantern, they're not immune to the effects that sweep through Beacon. Depending on what hue the light of their lantern takes on, characters will experience a variety of effects that will change their body, their mind, and their perception of their surroundings. This mechanic is meant to provide players with the means of choosing their own style and severity of horror, so there's plenty of unique ways that this can be played with. Refer to the following list for more specific details:

Currently, lanterns effects fall into three different categories: physical, emotional, and psychological. Each of these are represented by a different color (red, blue, and green respectively) and have an available effect in gentle, medium, and more extreme horror. That makes nine different total effects, all unique from one another, that can be played with! Brand new effects may become available as the game's plot progresses, and the tables below will be updated accordingly.

Lanterns do not have to have a physical flame to experience these malfunctions. If your character has a lantern that looks or operates differently from a standard lantern, you can play around with how the effects physically appear. As long as the changes made still generally follow the red/blue/green color scheme, that's all that matters, so feel free to get creative!

What changes your character experiences is up to you! There's no rule that determines which effect you get to play with; they're completely free to do with what you will. You can RNG it, pick your personal favorite, or pick one that you think would be most meaningful for your character specifically. Likewise, you're not locked into whatever you choose initially, so if you change your mind for any reason, there's no need to regret it! It's completely acceptable and within your right to stop playing with the effect at any point, reverting your character back to normal or choosing a completely different one instead.

This mechanic is completely opt-in. Not all characters have to experience lantern changes, as they're meant to operate as random, unpredictable occurrences.

There's no set duration for how long your character will remain under the influence of their altered lantern. They can experience these changes indefinitely or for as short as a few hours of a single day, depending on what sort of gameplay you're personally looking for.

Currently, any of the effects that you choose to play with must be staggered and cannot be stacked. Characters will only experience one of the nine effects listed below at a time. They cannot occur spontaneously or as a unique mixture of multiple effects.

There are no rules in how you choose to scale your effects. You can take a milder effect and gradually go heavier, start heavy and have it go backwards, or just stick to one level of severity. The only limit is your own preference!

There's no need to report the use of this mechanic, as it is completely up to player discretion. ICly characters will have no explanation as to why this occurs. All that is currently know is that this is a completely unpredictable syndrome that can recur at any given point in time for any given length of time.

currently known malfunctions

RED LIGHT

TALL GRANDE VENTI

Your lantern is a light, pastel pink, with only superficial damage. As days pass, you start to feel minor aches and pains as you begin, slowly but surely, to change. The changes are small, but striking. Maybe the whites of your eyes have turned black, or maybe your teeth are sharpening into jagged points. A tail sprouts from the base of your spine, or horns break through your skin as they grow outward from your skull. Your lantern is a passionate shade of vibrant red, the glass webbed with spiderweb cracks. There's a deep ache throbbing somewhere inside of you. Throughout the coming days you seem to change, but the changes are mangled and warped. Maybe your arm develops patches of scales, or maybe feathers sprout out of your scalp. In some capacity, you find yourself stuck between something halfway yourself and halfway something other. Your lantern is glowing a deep, dark red, and the cracks that streak across its surface seem as if they'll cause it to break apart at any moment. Everything hurts. Very quickly, too quickly, your body transforms. Half of yourself, whether it's from the waist down or disturbingly scattered across the whole of your parts, is becoming something new. Maybe your legs shrivel and new appendages sprout until you're left with the limbs and abdomen of a spider. Maybe one side of you becomes thick and heavy with coarse fur and leathery skin.

BLUE LIGHT

TALL GRANDE VENTI

Your lantern is a light, pastel shade of blue, with only superficial damage. You feel a bubble of laughter stuck in your throat, a lightness to your thoughts and a pep in your step. It's a pleasant feeling, this persistent optimism. Only, the freeing sensation of being so carefree can start to become a burden when, in the face of loss, tragedy, or danger, all you can do is smile. Pain, death, and trauma all inspire laughter. Your lantern is a calming shade of vibrant blue, the glass webbed with spiderweb cracks, and your whole body feels like it's alive with alarm. You know something bad is going to happen, and you can't stop looking over your shoulder. This is the calm before the storm, you're certain, and you can't sleep. How can you, when you have to remain alert and prepare for whatever-it-is that is surely about to strike? Your lantern is glowing a deep, dark blue, and the cracks that streak across its surface seem as if they'll cause it to break apart at any moment. You feel angry, angry at everything and anything you can think of. The world, your circumstances, yourself, even your loved ones. It takes all your effort not to lash out with even the mildest of perceived provocations, as if you're looking for an excuse to vent your grievances.

GREEN LIGHT

TALL GRANDE VENTI

Your lantern is a light, pastel green, with only superficial damage. Time feels strange. Sometimes, it seems as if everyone around you is moving and speaking too slowly. Sometimes, too fast. Sometimes, it's as if everyone is frozen. Perhaps you experience only one of these sensations, or perhaps they alternate in rapid succession. When time stops, it can suddenly speed up to catch up to real time, as if a taut rubber band has been suddenly released. Your lantern is an energizing shade of vibrant green, the glass webbed with spiderweb cracks. You're not sure you recognize yourself. Your thoughts, your voice, sometimes even your own face feel foreign. Do you question your motivations or your past? Something about you, whether it remains constant or changes, feels to you as if it's been warped. Your lantern is glowing a deep, dark green, and the cracks that streak across its surface seem as if they'll cause it to break apart at any moment. Something is wrong with the world around you. Beacon's surface seems to bend and stretch like the reflections seen in the mirrors of a fun house. You may feel as if there's a slope where the surface is flat, or a sheer drop where none exists. It might leave you dizzy or disoriented, sick from vertigo, or uncertain of what visions you can trust.

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RED LIGHT
TALL	GRANDE	VENTI
Your lantern is a light, pastel pink, with only superficial damage. As days pass, you start to feel minor aches and pains as you begin, slowly but surely, to change. The changes are small, but striking. Maybe the whites of your eyes have turned black, or maybe your teeth are sharpening into jagged points. A tail sprouts from the base of your spine, or horns break through your skin as they grow outward from your skull.	Your lantern is a passionate shade of vibrant red, the glass webbed with spiderweb cracks. There's a deep ache throbbing somewhere inside of you. Throughout the coming days you seem to change, but the changes are mangled and warped. Maybe your arm develops patches of scales, or maybe feathers sprout out of your scalp. In some capacity, you find yourself stuck between something halfway yourself and halfway something other.	Your lantern is glowing a deep, dark red, and the cracks that streak across its surface seem as if they'll cause it to break apart at any moment. Everything hurts. Very quickly, too quickly, your body transforms. Half of yourself, whether it's from the waist down or disturbingly scattered across the whole of your parts, is becoming something new. Maybe your legs shrivel and new appendages sprout until you're left with the limbs and abdomen of a spider. Maybe one side of you becomes thick and heavy with coarse fur and leathery skin.

BLUE LIGHT
TALL	GRANDE	VENTI
Your lantern is a light, pastel shade of blue, with only superficial damage. You feel a bubble of laughter stuck in your throat, a lightness to your thoughts and a pep in your step. It's a pleasant feeling, this persistent optimism. Only, the freeing sensation of being so carefree can start to become a burden when, in the face of loss, tragedy, or danger, all you can do is smile. Pain, death, and trauma all inspire laughter.	Your lantern is a calming shade of vibrant blue, the glass webbed with spiderweb cracks, and your whole body feels like it's alive with alarm. You know something bad is going to happen, and you can't stop looking over your shoulder. This is the calm before the storm, you're certain, and you can't sleep. How can you, when you have to remain alert and prepare for whatever-it-is that is surely about to strike?	Your lantern is glowing a deep, dark blue, and the cracks that streak across its surface seem as if they'll cause it to break apart at any moment. You feel angry, angry at everything and anything you can think of. The world, your circumstances, yourself, even your loved ones. It takes all your effort not to lash out with even the mildest of perceived provocations, as if you're looking for an excuse to vent your grievances.

GREEN LIGHT
TALL	GRANDE	VENTI
Your lantern is a light, pastel green, with only superficial damage. Time feels strange. Sometimes, it seems as if everyone around you is moving and speaking too slowly. Sometimes, too fast. Sometimes, it's as if everyone is frozen. Perhaps you experience only one of these sensations, or perhaps they alternate in rapid succession. When time stops, it can suddenly speed up to catch up to real time, as if a taut rubber band has been suddenly released.	Your lantern is an energizing shade of vibrant green, the glass webbed with spiderweb cracks. You're not sure you recognize yourself. Your thoughts, your voice, sometimes even your own face feel foreign. Do you question your motivations or your past? Something about you, whether it remains constant or changes, feels to you as if it's been warped.	Your lantern is glowing a deep, dark green, and the cracks that streak across its surface seem as if they'll cause it to break apart at any moment. Something is wrong with the world around you. Beacon's surface seems to bend and stretch like the reflections seen in the mirrors of a fun house. You may feel as if there's a slope where the surface is flat, or a sheer drop where none exists. It might leave you dizzy or disoriented, sick from vertigo, or uncertain of what visions you can trust.