Entity #: 223
Codename: Shape-Drinking Paper
Known Abilities:
Instances of Entity #223 manifest in the form of modified or original content roleplaying game documentation. These range from character sheets to sourcebooks and collections of sourcebooks. Entity #223's view of 'roleplaying game documentation' is extremely broad, including writing aids, hypnotic tracks, fantasy websites, and in some cases news articles and self-help books overusing the phrase "picture yourself".
Collections of physical gameline products found in the civilian population are usually stored together as a 'Shape-Drinking Game Set' with an overt collaboration branding. Brand symbolism usually features a piece of white paper with grey lines holding a bowl of simplified human figures. This is not corroborated by the records of producers for any products crossed over or parodied. Credits for the Shape-Drinking group's personnel appear to be made up based on the cultures and aliases of other contributors, appearing normal. Contact information for these products is falsified to direct away from legitimate brands. When contacted, these sources give cryptic, grammatically mangled, or poetic responses analogous to early artificial intelligence over supernatural network interference. Use of reserved-inactive telephone numbers in the 555 series and websites on abnormally structured addresses have been confirmed. Monitoring has proven inconclusive beyond verifying the use of shifting supernatural proxies.
Individual character sheets are often abnormal when reproducing another product. Usually they are extended slightly beyond the standard shape of a piece of paper and taper off into a 'signet attachment', which may be a complicated symbol printed on a reverse or blank system. Signet attachments are coherent with multiple known witchery, magecraft, and alchemy systems, although complicated and interfacing with an indeterminate other system. This other system usually appears to support application to inappropriate substrates, cancel side effects, and introduce additional failsafes.
Larger documentation tends to add strikethrough formatting to certain parts of the roleplaying sections. Most are about visualizing and assuming the characters are doing something effective, followed by insertions of practical advice about the effects and use of character abilities and how to trigger automated flow states through the assumption of effectiveness. Emulating dice-rolling effectiveness patterns and 'negotiation with game master' remains. Most mechanical information from the original text too abstract for replicated power is preserved with similar strikethrough and statement of difference. Updated errata and interpretation will be included in the crossed-out sections for unnecessary accuracy, though popularity with the fanbase or the desires of the user for certain mechanical tendencies may make adjustments as well.
Instances of Entity #223 reproduce when humans, transformed objects easily detectable as former humans by other Entities, or approximations of humans (such as mannequins or dolls) remain in their presence and express a desire to play the game they represent, or a similar enough product an additional game supplement (expansion, conversion, remake, errata, alternate genre support, campaign, etc.) would be appropriate. This is achievable through unshielded thoughts, vocalizations, played recordings, the use of iconography such as graphic T-shirts, or reading the sheets and attempting to fill them out. An additional character sheet or appropriate supplement will appear from the environment through discreet printing from an existing instance of Entity #223, or can be manually reproduced by a user. Non-human participants (especially cats) may be convinced to join as well, jokingly or seriously. Attempts to digitally copy or upload an Entity #223 instance are unnaturally successful, altering their data composition to contain their signet attachment and additional data if excluded, only partly scanned (during attempts to create a complete reproduction rather than an excerpt or quotation).
Entity #223 instances are prone to 'linking', such that copies of an instance meant to represent the exact same character rather than a recreation or sample will share any changes made between all instances of this sheet (including between physical print-outs and digital scans). Users are offered an explicit 'break connection', 'reconnect to original' or 'reject external alterations' choice (as a computer prompt digitally and as a psychological what-choice-to-make intent physically) on all ends when attempting to alter/update a new, active, or long-idle copy. Documentation indicates this is an intentional feature and not a bug, and that this allows for instantiation, sheet-cloning, and sheet-reconnection. Network traffic is generated where plausible to excuse this phenomenon among purely-digital sheets, but is not necessary for the entity to act on physical sheets. Website-type implementations of Entity #223 allow for accessing other sheets under the same person using an account-type feature.
Entity #223 character sheets are usually generated as blank variations of those from popular roleplaying games or niche, customized products until used. In-use instances already containing natural or artificial persons have been known to appear in the wake of large-scale reality alterations, expressed desire for a premade character, or requests for an additional supplement logically containing such characters (e.g. sample characters, lists of monsters, crossovers with other fictional properties). Entity #223 character sheets that have been deleted, overwritten, had constituent characters killed, or are otherwise destroyed are known to reappear during these supplement requests. Reappearances may be modified to have different abilities or higher-fidelity ones (in the event of being separated from a mechanical resource into a distinct character) but have explicit continuity of identity as a method of resurrection.
The true ability of Entity #223 character sheets is encoding a person or character as a designed transformation.
On attempting to fill out a blank Entity #223 character sheet for oneself, such as by signing their own name on a player name field or holding a strong intent for the character to be theirs, causes the sheet to 'drink their shape'. This process dematerializes the user (and if appropriate, immediate physical possessions such as clothing, held and pocketed items, etc), transferring them into the sheet. If Entity #223 is held up in an unsafe position, it will either float there undamaged or reposition itself somewhere safer. This process is effectively instantaneous to accurate divinations and most nonvisual spectra. Visual aftereffects resembling the user being sucked into the paper over the course of the next approximately second or so are generated short-duration low-density hardlight holography to avoid disruption. The sheet will adjust to fill out accurate information for the 'original' absorbed person, disregarding transformations that would not be approved of by the identity of the pre-shift individual and filing them onto a secondary sheet. Background connections such as family, friends, jobs, employees, or information contacts in game systems that represent them will not be affected by this initial transformation, but if rendered mechanically relevant may be offered Entity #223 instances spawned automatically in their surroundings.
A shape-drank user is brought into an abstract psychological space where the passage of time is highly distorted and the user experiences an abbreviated memory version of the backstory of a designed character. This is in most cases the one they were going to fill out on a non-anomalous character sheet, with exceptions of those prone to changing ideas when given ease of use or a more detailed subjective experience. The process takes approximately a few seconds to an outside observer, but may feel like either a substantial portion of that character's lifetime or absolutely instantaneous to the subjective user depending on if they had no particular ideas yet or had a very easily written idea.
The user will then be 'spit out' transformed into the described character, with their original mentality and personality taking an advisory role only sometimes in direct action control. This original mentality is influenced into 'playing out' that character in a certain way that might not be congruent with how that character behaves uncontrolled, as if they were in a conventional roleplaying game. The responses of the character to a potentially wildly different environment are reduced to manageable levels by access to the original's memories, though this may be insufficient for low-intelligence characters to grasp certain truths without persistent guidance and reminders. This emission is again instantaneous teleportation to valid space moving aside obstacles with visual hardlight flare.
The character will have access to their equipment and abilities (including supernatural ones), in a form of convenient summoning inventory along with character sheets if not otherwise provided. Device activity from this hammerspace and communication to is detectable, e.g. cellphones ringing. Outside clocks recording the passage of time and communications being available, physical change does not otherwise generally occur in inventory. Signal processes are not well understood, but appear to be sent and received at or a short distance away from the character storing the item. Attempting to travel to locations that do not exist in this world but are linked to the character sheet (e.g. owned safehouses, the destination of a campaign) may open a direct portal or arrange an esoteric access path. Effects reliant on game master interpretation are adjudicated by either the Entity #223 influenced player (if in isolate) or whoever would be the game master for the current campaign of that character. Entity #223 transformations created collaboratively may be thus controlled by several people or subject to a group leader. This influence tends to mitigate interpretations that offer absolute power in favor of reasonable mitigations that are reasonably-setting-accurate, but is given significant latitude to come up with more creative interpretations.
Multiple parallel sheets will be generated in the event of drastic alteration by transformation, reality-correction effect, or other substantial alterations. Usually a person will be split between their 'original-copy' and 'active' character sheets and allowed to swap forms between them in a flash of artificial light and reallocation. The original sheet is considered archival and does not substantially change (e.g. the person remembers new things that happen to them when switching to it but is not otherwise altered from how they were bar inventory transference), while the 'active character' sheet will absorb all changes.
Attempts to alter Entity #223 original-person sheets will actively generate a new backup-original sheet in the inventory access of the person and begin deploying effects to the instanced version being altered. Other sheets may be altered directly, altering linked sheets as explained above. This includes entering the proximity of a transformative effect, aging, making changes on their sheet directly, and most other processes than the mundane transference of physical items (though sheet inventory list will be updated accordingly). Adding new fields to the free space of a sheet will fill out correct information and extend the sheet further. Altering character sheets to obtain power above what would be normally permitted may trigger 'XP debt' reactions, preventing certain rapid-training abilities from functioning until appropriate progression has occurred to gain those abilities fairly or a lateral move made to pay for it. Altering character sheets below their normal status will provide additional system-appropriate experience points accordingly. The character sheet in most systems is considered a tool to allow for rapid re-training and other alterations. Switching character classes or reassigning attributes instantly is permissible even if the base game does not allow this. If it does, regular game progression can be used to redevelop attributes that have been transferred away.
Entity #223 affected players will generally treat their own characters fairly (and have self-preservation about zeroing key attributes on sheets they are currently using to prevent self-incapacitation), but have greatly reduced qualms with cheating by altering the character sheets of others for their own transformative enjoyment. This is especially so for game masters, who have substantially more ability to empower sheets at discretion and use abusively powerful interpretations of their abilities' logical extensions. Entity #223 users in gaming groups have been known to degenerate into editing each other for increasingly esoteric entertainment as per most controllable-transformation feedback loops.
Entity #223 is a priority-asymmetric highly compatible transformation, based on instantiating the base character and allowing further transformations access from there. Game documentation acquired from website-type models indicate that the character sheets and their attendant magic elements are the control interface to a more complicated enforcement system, albeit a redundant and decentralized one. According to Entity #223 responses this is designed to support multiple parallel magical transformations possible within the fictional-made-real worlds, possessing different stackability than most G.E.T.-understood full-body alteration processes. Incompatible transformations from another source with aggressive control features may 'contaminate' an Entity #223 sheet, causing Entity #223 to completely blacken sections of a sheet and represent conflict statuses in softly glowing white to indicate progress on understanding an unidentified process. Swapping to another sheet or the majority of a sheet becoming blacked-out will result in Entity #223 processes teleporting a forcefully swapped-to sheeted instance to a safe location and locking access to the contaminated portions of the blackened sheet.
Containment: Supernaturally generated communications are to be monitored by the #T58 Divinatory & Precognitive Transformations Convention. Uncontained instances of Entity #223 not in use are to be unobtrusively acquired through purchase or larceny, and stored in Site #T58 along with communications records if any. Physically hosted websites are to be taken down by similar measures, or using country-based firewalls where appropriate. Nonphysically hosted websites are currently uncontained, but primary web browsers and security tools under G.E.T. influence have been used to mark several as malware and deny access to most users unless existing Entity #223 activity is detected. #T58 divinatory resources are authorized to follow up on the brief positioning signal distortions that occur when modern mobile computing and communication devices enter or exit Entity #223 character inventory, locating characters and pathways.
Active users of Entity #223 outside G.E.T. control are to be brought under G.E.T. control as 6s under nonaggression and secrecy agreements by any means deemed appropriate, 5s if active employment is desired. Violent opposition is an acceptable condition for termination. All directly G.E.T. employed Entity #223 users must provide a linked account to G.E.T. leadership. This is to be stored under the 2-accessible databases consisting of captured Entity #223 website hardware, providing an emergency monitoring and control measure. Unlinking this account outside of retirement or emergency related to compromise of said database is grounds for disciplinary action. Potential recruitment of G.E.T. Entity #223 users to 4 or 3 status due to appropriate character classification is subject to 2-ranked review. Allowing Entity #223 transformations with access to inter-reality travel (e.g. plane shift spells, dimensional gates, self-summoning, 'return to base at end of mission' power) to simply leave the world for another is permissible, writing off missing persons cases and containing created access paths if necessary.
Other: Entity #223 instance access for existing agents is may be requested from the 2-rank review board. Utilizing wild-encounter instances is accepted in service of the mission (e.g. providing forms to swap out of inconvenient transformations).