Martin K(nife) Blackwood

So dealing with any TMA entity is a nasty business! And consequences are sweet, delicious fun. Unless they aren't, in which case they are FULLY optional and you don't have to play with any of them.

Here is a general guide to what sorts of things the Lonely MIGHT do to you!

• Feelings of numbness/lack of feeling/emptiness


• Sudden paranoia that nobody likes you and will never like you ever again


• Sudden paranoia that nobody else in Sidereal is real and you are the only sentient creature living here


• All faces in Sidereal are now blank (magical prosopagnosia)


• Faded color scheme/slowly fading out


• Temporary amnesia (either other people forget you or you forget other people)


• Uncontrollable bursts of invisibility


• Uncontrollable teleportation


• The sudden urge to sneak up on people all the time, you monster

What is important to note is that all of the above needs to be at least somewhat temporary. If the exorcism results in ten new Martins, then that's too much of a failure.

So which characters are vulnerable to the Lonely? Well, basically, if you want them to be vulnerable, then they are. But here are some examples of risk factors for being afflicted:

• Didn't bring an anti-Lonely token


• Has no significant loved ones, or has lost them


• Outcast/ostracized in some way


• Disconnected from a group or power larger than themselves


• Immortal or otherwise doomed to outlive loved ones


• Broken marriage, lifebond, etc.

And to balance it, here are things your characters can do to resist the Lonely while in its grip:

• Focus on a loved one


• Come with the recommended token/friendship bracelet


• Remember that friendship is magic


• Generally ignore feelings of creeping dread


• Logic, arguments, yelling


• Smooching, especially dramatic smooching


• Buddy system


• Shounen spirit in general

NOTE: All of these things are flexible, so if you see a factor or a consequence that isn't on this list, go for it!