THE NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTERS

This page describes the various NPC groups that can be found throughout the game. These different characters have direct connections to the plots and events of the game. If you have any questions about any of the NPCs you may ask them here! But you might not always be able to get an answer...Just yet.

Sodder
The Authority
The Dog Keeper
Delivery Dogs
The Townspeople
The Wastes
The Betties
The Medical Staff

The Mayor
Cynthia Sodder
Ramona Derwin
Mother Superior
The Pthumerian Queen

SODDER

Sodder is a disembodied individual who keeps in contact with all of the characters within the game. She provides aid through numerous notes left in town. Not much is currently known about Sodder other than the fact that she knows what the characters are going through, she has seen others like them before, she appears to identify as a female, and she does not have a “physical body”. She relies on using a type writer to type out physical messages for characters to find instead of a traditional pen and paper.

Sodder appears to have some abilities as she can communicate to characters through their dreams as well as through deer, random phone lines, and even on their devices. It is impossible to trace any of her messages. Even the most elite of hackers can try and all they will wind up is finding strange, distorted coding.

THE DOG KEEPER

The Dog Keeper may be the most accessible of the NPCs purely because you can directly contact and question them on their account here. The Dog Keeper publishes articles of THE DEERINGTON POST. These articles are handed out using Delivery Dogs (seen below) all throughout Deerington. They are most commonly handed out during climatic moments in the game. The Dog Keeper always seems to be one to three steps ahead of everyone else in the game. Very little is known about them except for the fact that they communicate willingly with the characters and they are willing to provide a little more information than other NPCs. They often work with the characters, but there are a few known instances of them leading characters directly to danger as well. It is difficult to tell exactly who's side they're on, but if you were to ask the Dog Keeper, chances were good that they would stick to a journalist's sense of duty and simply answer with: "I'm on the side of the truth."

The Dog Keeper is in charge of the mail delivery within Deerington. You can deliver the Dog Keeper or other characters packages and letters. The Dog Keeper's dogs will get them delivered no matter the conditions in Deerington! This means that in some ways the Delivery Dogs are a little more reliable than the Fluids. Weather and violence doesn't seem to impact them or what they're mailing. And they say that the paper industry is dying!

There seems to be no way to trace the Dog Keeper. They do seem to be capable of reaching out on the Fluids though- having messaged the town at large on the deerFeed. What a strange person......

Wait, are they even a person?

DELIVERY DOGS

These pooches are responsible for letting characters in Deerington know extremely important information. They are the only creatures known who carry actual copies of what is known as "THE DEERINGTON POST." This is a mysterious newspaper service for the characters of Deerington that seems to be directly aware that the characters are not from this world and it seems to be quite all right with that. It is unknown as to where the Deerington Post headquarters are located or if there even is a headquarters period. But all that can be said for it is that information seems to be regulated pretty accurately and you can find out all kinds of things from the Deerington Post such as where people live and what their jobs are. Not only do they provide this regular information, but during the unsettling events in Deerington, they will locate characters to give them tips and news about the events occurring.

The dogs themselves are extremely benevolent. They will never attack a character, and they happily accept pets and pieces of meat for tips (they will not eat dog treats though.) They all appear with three glowing eyes and a strange "glitching" appearance where their bodies seem to grow pixelated here and there. It is impossible to hurt the Delivery Dogs. Trying will get you absolutely no where. The dog will simply pixel out of existence. They are fearless and seem to not care what is going around in town, but will always appear to give characters the important information they may need to survive regardless of where the character might be.

Characters don't need to read their copy of the Post, but most events come with a specifically written up Post for that exact event. Deerington Post at times does seem capable of telling the future, for they will advise characters of certain things that will happen in the near future- like things they can expect a couple days from that point. You may choose when characters get their Posts but it'll always be in time. These dogs deliver things before it's too late. Though the information itself might not be as in-depth as your characters could use- and it might be missing some things. You do not need to play out your characters getting a copy of the Post. Dogs will carry the paper in their mouths and hold it up for the character's to take. They might wait around for a proper 'thank you' or a pet on the head, and will vanish soon after. Delivery Dogs are also responsible for the delivery of any packages that characters in town might want to send. All you need to do is put your package on your front step and it'll be sent to the proper location within a day. Amazing service! ...Just don't mind the little bit of doggy drool from time to time.

THE AUTHORITY

If anyone were to go to the police station, they would find it empty of human life. What they will find instead are cats.

A lot of cats.

Except these are not ordinary cats at all. These cats are roughly the size of a standard suitcase, but they appear to look like domesticated house cats. Just...a little bigger. That and there’s this ominous smoke that floats around their paws and pours out of their ears. Their eyes are golden and they never make a sound when they move, but they are prone to purring. They can be found all throughout town, laying on rooftops, sitting on benches, or just strolling along. There only seem to be about thirty or so in existence, but there are usually multiple in one area at a time.

If a crime is being committed, one cat will open its mouth wide and yowl in a way that sounds exactly like a woman screeching.

The Authority use their abilities to punish people accordingly. For thieves, black smoke will close around their arms and legs and thieves will find that they cannot use those arms and legs until they have returned what was stolen. They'll definitely need some help though. Even after the item has been returned, they will find that their dominant hand is shrouded in this black, numbing smoke for a duration of time (player chooses how long).

As for people who murder, the Authority will execute those they have discovered to be a killer. They will actively hunt the killer, ultimately bringing the killer down by surrounding them. The cats are not of this world and are therefor capable of removing life from even "immortal" or otherwise immune, durable, or similarly bodied characters. You may play this out however you see fit should it become relevant. After the character has been executed, the cats will proceed to eat the body.

Players may come up with different punishments for their characters by the authorities if they have ideas that seem cohesive to the overall idea of the Authority. This does not require mod approval.

The Authority cannot be killed. If any harm is attempted to be brought upon them, their bodies will warp out of the way in a strange, circle of black smoke, while the rest of them remains still. The void will close back in the moment the threat is gone from their bodies, and then they will proceed to execute whoever tried to attack them. Anyone who plays with the Authority like a regular house cat will find that their fur is impossibly soft and that the cats are actually surprisingly pleasant and fun. They really enjoy playing with fake mice. Guess all cats are kind of the same to some extent...But oh, wow, you can really distract them pretty easily, can't you?

Please be responsible when having a character who breaks the law. If they are being obvious and consistent in their law-breaking, they would eventually be punished by the law enforcement within Deerington.

THE TOWNSPEOPLE

The Townspeople are probably the most regular of the NPCs around. They don't wear masks and dress relatively simple. They come in all races, ages, body types, and genders. The only thing they all seem to have in common is that they all have pastel colored hair- no matter what age. Stranger yet is that it seems to be perfectly natural. Their skin tones all seem to be a bit more saturated than characters as well. It is difficult to tell what time line they seem to be from as most appear in formal wear regardless of where they are in town. All their clothing matches the color of their hair no matter what, as do any accessories they may carry with them. They seem to exist of all ages and live next door to some of the characters. They work at many of the stores. While Townspeople seem polite enough, they never quite look at characters or directly address them if they can help it. They seem to be incapable of remembering characters whatsoever either. Even if a character were to go to the same barista Townsperson every single day and get the same thing every single day, that Townsperson would never remember the character or their order. They seem to know absolutely nothing about the town. They seem equally oblivious to any of the terrors that go on in the town- even if they were witness to it directly. Let's say the town had a rain of fire pour down on it and several Townspeople were burned alive- if you asked the Townspeople a week later from that event, none of them would seem to have any notion whatsoever. They would simply say, "Something like that? Happening in Deerington? Never! This is a nice town."

The Townspeople of Deerington have their own separate newspaper called Deerington Times. This is NOT the same thing as the Deerington Post- which is character run and produced. If characters pick up the Deerington Times, they will find that any of the odd things happening in Deerington are never reported. The only differences are in the tiny things: the date on the page (which still has no year visible), the predicted weather, the movie times for the local theater, and perhaps the occasional ad for a town event. The strangest thing that Townspeople seem willing to acknowledge might be missing people. They are prone to putting up posters of missing people, though they rip them down within a week if the child is not found and seem not even remotely bothered by it. It almost seems as if the Townspeople aren't even aware that they are putting up the posters at all. They even put up posters of missing characters. If characters ask them about the posters, the Townspeople will merely shrug, say they don't know anything about the poster- and that they were just hired to put them up.

Characters can kill Townspeople, and if they do, all of the Townspeople in the area will gather in a mass crowd around the character and making very low groaning sounds until they amass a huge bellowing moan together. If your character tries to run away, the Townspeople will follow and other Townspeople will come out of their homes or work to stare and watch. Your character will not be attacked, but they will be chased out of town. Once they are beyond town limits, only then will your character be left alone.

Your character cannot find refuge in any building during this experience. The Townspeople will chase them into their own homes even if it means breaking through windows and the like. This is the only time the Townspeople seem extremely negative or violent towards characters. Otherwise, Townspeople completely leave the characters alone and seem to prefer not interacting with them if it can be helped. Townspeople might be cordial at stores, but on the streets, Townspeople will actively walk to the other side of the street if they see a character coming towards them. Sometimes characters might even hear Townspeople saying to their children, "Oh no, don't talk to Them if you don't have to. You'll interrupt."

THE WASTES

These are strange people who don't seem to live anywhere in the town. They are all of ages and genders, wearing filthy, ripped clothing and no shoes. Each and every one of the Wastes wears a gas mask, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to convince one of them to take it off. The Wastes seem to be extremely aware of the characters and appear to be very frightened of them. They will hide from them and go running, no matter how harmless your character may seem. The braver ones might only hide and stare from afar. Wastes do not currently speak to any characters. Once in a while, a Waste has been known to appear when a character is lost or in danger and will help them away from a situation. They will always keep their distance no matter what. They are not inhumanly fast, but they do seem to know this town better than anyone else and know all kinds of short cuts and quick ways to get around.

If a character is within a couple feet of a Waste, they will notice that the Wastes smell like burning buildings. Wastes seem a lot more human than the Townspeople with how they move and act. They can be seen sleeping in the various parks and alleys throughout town. They appear to be completely homeless, and without any work, as no one will ever see them inside any of the buildings. They have even been seen digging through dumpsters to find scraps of food.

If a character kills a Waste or sees one be killed, Wastes let out this awful, long scream before slowly collapsing to gray dust- including their masks.

Their nickname, 'The Wastes', is what the Townspeople refer to them as. If there is anyone in town that the Townspeople hate more than the characters, it would have to be the Wastes. Townspeople will even go as far as to advice characters "not to talk to those sort" and to "just ignore them." Any questions as to why will be met with dark looks and stony silence.

Wastes are gentle people. They will never attack others, and they have even been seen helping injured animals. Sometimes characters may even hear them singing softly- but of course, a Waste will instantly stop the moment they realize someone is near.

THE BETTIES

During the July 2020 Prelude it became evident that the Betties worked for Mother Superior. She sent them out to do her work in trying to purge the town of plant life. Apparently Mother Superior had been using the Betties to funnel information about Sleepers directly to her. By the end of July all Betties had been destroyed and are no longer in the town.

Betties had been a group of women that were extremely bold towards Sleepers. They were friendlier than most Townsfolk and unafraid unlike the Wastes. They seemed to have no care in the world and would regularly engage in conversation with Sleepers, bring them baked goods, and generally appear to have pleasant dispositions towards Sleepers. They were also, however, responsible for leading many Sleepers astray. Giving them incorrect directions or telling them false information. Betties were good liars, after all. They would speak in genuinely hopeful, kind, convincing voices and were master manipulators. They embodied the ideal American woman in the 50s - always in perfect dresses, perfect hair, but they all worse unsettling glass masks and seemed to be void of any soul.

All Betties were called "Betties" since 'Betty' was the only name any of them seemed to have if you asked for one.

THE MEDICAL STAFF OF HARREN HOSPITAL

The medical staff that are already in Harren Hospital all look a lot like the Townspeople in regards of coloring, but the only difference is that someone seems to have dulled their colors significantly. The doctors are all men in classic lab coats colored to match their hair while the nurses are all women in classic nurse outfits colored to match their hair. The nurses all wear fire hydrant red lipstick that isn't at all saturated and keep their hair up in high ponytails, and the doctors are all in masks. The nurses are the only NPC in the entire game that make eye-contact with the characters. More than that, they never seem to blink no matter how long they stare at a character. They speak in soft, fluttering voices, and giggle often. The doctors seem very stern and only appear during surgeries. They will speak to characters briskly, and always seem exhausted.

Any characters who become medical staff at Harren Hospital will realize very quickly that the other doctors will isolate them socially. Meaning if your character becomes a medical practitioner at the hospital, they will find that the NPC doctors will completely ignore them/shun them. Nurses, however, seem willing to help all medical professionals regardless of where they come from. At least they all seem to be efficient at their jobs. None of the doctors or nurses seem to have any clue what goes on outside of the hospital, and they are never seen walking around anywhere but in the hospital. Unlike the Townspeople, they casually accept whatever injuries characters may come in with, and seem oddly equipped for even the injuries from strange creatures. They have limited medicine though, so there may be only so much that can be done on their end.

THE MAYOR (AKA RODERICK SODDER)

The Mayor's house is somewhere in the middle of town, and it always seems to be lit up no matter what time of night or day it is. There also always seems to be the same song blasting from within the house indefinitely. Sometimes dark shadows can be seen moving among the windows, but it is impossible to say what those shadows belong to. No matter how long a character stakes outside the house, they will never see anyone leave. If a character tries to break and enter, they will find that they cannot even walk past the walkway to the house without feeling utterly confused as to what they were doing in the first place and having to leave. Characters will remember later feeling confused, and can always try again, but eventually, most characters will probably realize that it is currently fruitless to try and approach the house.

It was once completely unknown who the Mayor was or what he looked like. But August 2019 the Mayor introduced himself to the town and finally allowed his face to be shown. The Mayor appears to work with Mother Superior although it also appears that he does not readily agree with everything Mother Superior does. The Mayor is deemed as a rather unlikeable person and it was discovered that he is Sodder's father and the husband of Cynthia. The man appears overbearing and controlling, but one might discover that some of that stems from a source of fear towards his own child. The Mayor feels that Sodder has killed and hurt enough people that something must be done about it and that he had run out of options as to "how to control her" and turned to Mother Superior for tips and help. The Mayor does not seem to particularly care for the Sleepers, but he also doesn't seem to hate them quite as much as Mother Superior.

There is still not much known about the Mayor.

CYNTHIA SODDER

Cynthia Sodder is Sodder's birth mother and child of the Pthumerian Queen. She is the wife of the Mayor. A more intimate look was provided to Cynthia through one of the heart valves where one could discover that Cynthia seemed to be a genuinely caring and loving mother. It is known that Cynthia had abilities of some sort but has made it clear that Sodder was capable of far more. Cynthia is a kind woman who has only ever wanted the best for her child and has tried her hardest to keep Sodder safe. She, more than anyone else, has wanted to protect Sodder from Mother Superior and others who may want to cause her child any harm or judgement. It is figured that Cynthia was eventually killed but her spirit has appeared in various ways throughout the game. It could be assumed that Sodder has a lasting impression of her mother that she's kept alive through her memories - that or Sodder's heart has become haunted by the ghost of her mother.

Cynthia had a strong connection to Ramona Derwin, the town's first Sleeper, as Ramona seemed to be the only person at the time who was willing to keep Sodder safe. Ramona and Cynthia forged a close relationship during this time and worked tirelessly together to figure out a way to keep Sodder safe. They likely still are working on ways to keep Sodder safe.

RAMONA DERWIN

Ramona was the first Sleeper to ever arrive in the original Deerington. She was the first Sleeper Sodder accidentally summoned. It is known that Ramona appears to be from some sort of science fiction story that Sodder used to read and was Sodder's "favorite character" that Sodder brought to life. Ramona is as fleshed out as the average Sleeper but she had arrived in town back before it was hurdled into the dream world. She was fascinated with Sodder and felt protective of her since she saw her as a child struggling with abilities that she didn't fully understand. Ramona wanted to try and help in any way that she could to keep both Sodder and the townspeople safe from the various monsters Sodder kept accidentally pulling into the town through her dreams.

Ramona created "F.E.A.R" as a valuable resource for Sleepers to use in order to help combat against the various dangers introduced into the town. F.E.A.R was also likely used as a bunker for townspeople during particularly violent and extreme moments. Ramona sacrificed herself so that Sleepers in the dream would be able to extend their life-span through six resurrections. It is also suggested that it was Ramona who is responsible for why Sleepers inevitably turn into deer through some ability of Ramona's. It is also suggested that Ramona helped to protect Sodder from a medically induced coma Mother Superior put her under. Together Ramona and Sodder figured out a way to disorient Mother Superior by creating layers of Deerington so that Mother Superior could not find the "real" Sodder. However, it is assumed that this got out of control and became far larger and more violent than either Ramona or Sodder had been able to predict.

MOTHER SUPERIOR

Mother Superior made quite the introduction during October 2018 and has been reigning hell over Deerington ever since. She is by and large the most consistent and aggressive antagonist of Deerington. It is evident that she does not care at all about the Sleepers but she does seem to care a good amount about the Wastes and "the original townpeople" of Deerington. She has a hatred of Sodder and has been trying to work on ways to destroy the dream Sodder has created so that she can presumably destroy Sodder herself. Mother Superior has often displayed great cruelty, but there are suggestions that she has become corrupt over time and that she originally had kinder intentions.

June 2020 lead to Mother Superior attempting a new plan at breaking down the layers of Deerington. She forced characters to be exposed for past crimes and executions were rampant throughout the city as a result. Her plan ultimately worked since by the end of July the first layer of Deerington was stripped away, thus leaving Deerington more vulnerable and "closer" to the "real" Deerington - allegedly.

Not much is known about Mother Superior. She knew the Pthumerian Queen directly and advised her against settling in America and forming a human-based colony. Mother Superior seems to have a genuine sympathy towards humanity but this sympathy does not extend to Sleepers as she does not believe they are "real" and therefore tries to ignore any sympathy they might invoke from her. Mother Superior dresses as a nun as a sign of loyalty to humanity rather than any religious reasons and she is upfront about not fully believing in humanity's Christian God. Rather she believes in the powers of symbology and understands that the presence of a nun may provide comfort to the Wastes and original citizens she hopes to help.

Mother Superior likely has some similar abilities to Sodder though is evidently nowhere near as powerful. She is capable of interacting directly with the layers of Deerington and seems to have a dedicated scheme to ultimately get to Sodder.

THE PTHUMERIAN QUEEN

The Pthumerian Queen is the grandmother of Sodder and mother to Cynthia. She is a creature from an unknown species that had a plan to combine humantiy with her own people in order to create a new kind of "godlike" species/creature. She was first introduced in the Mini Memory Event during May 2020. Characters can access this memory and this event at any time. You may role play scenes addressing this memory of the Pthumerian Queen and fight the Pthumerian Queen at any point on the linked page.

There is very little known about the Pthumerian Queen or what her people are like. It is known that they obtain some sort of eldritch ability and are likely not as humanoid as they appear given the corpse of the Pthumerian Queen. It would appear that this species is capable of having "two" forms - the more humanly appealing form, and then their "true" form which appears far more monstrous and typically far larger than a typical human being. They refer to themselves as "gods" in some way though it is unknown if this is merely a self-given title or if they actually are gods. The Pthumerian Queen appeared to believe and seems to be correct in her beliefs, that Sodder would bring on a new era of power. Mother Superior wanted to convince the Pthumerian Queen to leave humanity alone and that it might be cruel to involve them with their kind against their will, but the Queen had bigger visions.

Not much is known about the Pthumerian Queen but it is suggested that she and her people made it to America and formed Deerington as its first settlers. It is suggested that the boats that can be found on Mount Rheum might have been part of her pilgrimage to the town.