Wonderland - Jags

Avg. Length
This is a very rough time period of how long an average person will take
to progress through the stages of CPD (Unsanity). The actual speed of
progression (and, indeed, specifics of each stage) will depend very much
on the individual and their specific experiences.
Cycle
The reason the Underground calls Wonderland Infection “Cyclic
Psychoaffective Disorder” is that, at first, at least, it happens “on a
cycle.” An Infected who does nothing to precipitate an Episode will still
have one about once a month in the beginning. Characters who are at a
similar stage and undergo Descent together will synch-up, continuing
to have Episodes at roughly the same time even if they are separated.
The Underground support groups use this phenomena in their “buddy
system” method of coping with Unsanity.
Trigger
Environmental factors can set off an Episode even in people who are
not due for their “cyclic” Episode. Usually things that can put you in
an “altered state” normally (drugs, certain movies, sensory deprivation
tanks, etc.) will induce Episodes in Infecteds. When someone has a
Trigger rating, though, it becomes far more likely that an everyday event
could set them off. The rating determines how ubiquitous the trigger is
(and specifics are discussed at the end of the chapter).
Depth
This determines how far down the character will go during their Episode.
There are a few things to consider here. The first is how subtly the
character’s Descent may be. Going down to Chessboard Three or below
usually involves an extremely visible change of scenery (such as a long
fall down a surreal rabbit hole). However, going to Chessboards One or
Two may not be so noticeable. Characters having Episodes often do not
realize it until someone acts ‘crazy’ or something Impossible happens.
Secondly, the trauma associated with Uncontrolled Descent should be
considered. A character in Early Stage who takes LSD and watches
The Wall is asking to go far deeper than Chessboard One. Often deep
descents are far more dangerous and result in Damage and Notice.
Notice
This rating is sort of a generalized notion of how threatening each
Episode is likely to be. It isn’t a hard and fast rule—but when a person
without Survivability Traits goes down deeper they tend to come back a
lot less often than someone with one. Furthermore, the kind of unstable
mental state most people are in by the time they reach Late Stage
Unsanity (CPD) will tend to result in descents to far darker places.
Notice, per se, (as has been noted) is the aspect of things following you
home. A person with “notice” going on in their life will feel hunted.
Mass Hallucination:
Although the lower-levels of
the Underground don’t believe
that what is happening is ‘real’
they do acknowledge that
there are some hard-to-explain
elements of it. For one thing, if a
person begins an Episode in the
company of other Infecteds, the
others will usually be ‘sucked
down’ as well. For this reason,
characters who are ‘on cycle’ are
told to stay away from support
meetings.
If a character is ‘triggered’ and
feels it coming on, a call to the
character’s sponsor (a person
appointed to help the character)
may help ‘calm them down.’
Most Support Groups (as well
as others) employ a “buddy
system” of new members placed
together when it looks like an
Episode is likely. The group
(from 2 to 4 people, usually) is
meant to enforce the Support
Group ethic that nothing should
be investigated, curiosity should
be squashed, and the authorities
should be avoided. The
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Deeper Mysteries - Overview