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  1. Eidolon Online
  2. Lore

Eidolons: Player Avatars and the Dual-Existence Model

Eidolons: Player Avatars and the Dual-Existence Model

1. Definition of an Eidolon

An Eidolon is the manifested presence of a real-world individual within the world of Eidolon Online. It is not a character created in abstraction, but a persistent projection of a living consciousness bound to a constructed form.

In-system, an Eidolon is understood as:

  • A true person operating through a shaped vessel

  • A stable identity recognized by the world

  • A participant in history, consequence, and memory

While players externally recognize Eidolon Online as a virtual environment, the world itself treats Eidolons as fully real inhabitants.


2. Dual-Layer Existence

Eidolon Online operates on a Dual-Layer Reality Model:

2.1 The External Layer (Player)

  • A real-world human consciousness

  • Exists outside the game space

  • Interfaces through full-dive immersion

  • Retains awareness of logging in and out

2.2 The Internal Layer (Eidolon)

  • The in-world body and identity

  • Perceived as continuous and autonomous

  • Recognized by NPCs as a living being

  • Subject to the world’s physical, social, and metaphysical rules

From the world’s perspective, the Eidolon is the person. The external layer is neither visible nor acknowledged unless revealed through extreme anomalies or story progression.


3. Avatar Construction and Identity

3.1 Eidolon Form

Each Eidolon is a custom personal avatar, defined at creation and mutable within allowed system parameters.

Eidolons may vary in:

  • Species or ancestry

  • Physical sex or gender presentation

  • Height, build, and facial structure

  • Cosmetic features (hair, markings, eyes, etc.)

The form is considered the Eidolon’s true body by the world, regardless of how closely it resembles the player’s real-world appearance.

3.2 Identity Binding

Despite flexible appearance, an Eidolon is identity-locked:

  • The world recognizes continuity across deaths and rebinding

  • NPCs remember the Eidolon, not the player

  • Names, reputations, and deeds persist

Changing an Eidolon’s appearance does not create a new identity unless explicitly done through rare, high-level narrative or system events.


4. Consciousness Synchronization

Eidolons function through synchronization, a continuous alignment between player consciousness and in-world presence.

When synchronized:

  • Sensory input is fully immersive

  • Emotional responses are genuine

  • Pain, fear, joy, and attachment are experienced at reduced but meaningful intensity

Synchronization is designed to prevent dissociation while maintaining safety.


5. Death and Desynchronization

5.1 Desynchronization Event

When an Eidolon reaches lethal failure:

  • The Eidolon undergoes Desynchronization

  • Consciousness safely exits the world

  • The Eidolon body destabilizes or collapses in-world

Death is never framed as erasure.

5.2 Consequences of Desynchronization

While non-permanent, death carries cost:

  • Experience loss

  • Monster Core penalties

  • Narrative scars

  • Altered NPC perception

  • Psychological echoes (fear, hesitation, resolve)

Repeated deaths may cause an Eidolon to develop a mythic, cursed, or unsettling reputation within the world.


6. Rebinding Protocol

Rebinding is the process by which an Eidolon returns.

In-world explanations vary by culture:

  • Divine restoration

  • Arcane reconstruction

  • Soul recall

  • Sanctuary awakening

Mechanically:

  • Rebinding requires resources

  • The Eidolon re-enters the world at a bound location

  • Memory continuity is preserved

NPC reactions to rebinding range from reverence to fear.


7. Knowledge Boundaries

7.1 Player Knowledge

Players understand:

  • Eidolon Online is a constructed system

  • Death is survivable

  • Logging out is possible

7.2 Eidolon Knowledge

Eidolons do not inherently know they are avatars.
Any awareness of:

  • External reality

  • System architecture

  • Player existence

Must be discovered in-play through narrative, anomaly, or revelation.

This boundary is critical to maintaining immersion and thematic weight.


Logging Out and the Login Hub

8. Logging Out

Logging out in Eidolon Online is not an external action, but an in-world mechanical process.

When an Eidolon logs out:

  • They are returned to the Login Hub

  • The Eidolon remains fully manifested within the system

  • The process is treated as a non-hostile system transition

  • The Eidolon enters a state equivalent to a Long Rest

Mechanically, logging out:

  • Restores abilities, resources, and cooldowns as a Long Rest would

  • Clears temporary conditions as defined by standard rest rules

  • Does not remove persistent injuries, narrative scars, or world consequences

  • Does not reset hostile world states outside the hub


8.1 The Login Hub

The Login Hub is a system-authored, non-combat space that exists outside normal world geography.

In-lore, it may be interpreted as:

  • A convergence sanctuary

  • A binding chamber

  • A liminal threshold between states

  • A system-neutral resting ground

The hub:

  • Is safe from combat and hostile interaction

  • Persists independently of the main world

  • May contain other Eidolons

  • Serves as the only sanctioned exit point from the world

NPCs do not access the Login Hub unless explicitly allowed by system anomalies or narrative events.


8.2 World Continuity During Logout

While an Eidolon is logged out:

  • The world continues to advance

  • NPCs register the Eidolon as absent, resting, or withdrawn

  • Time passes normally in all regions

Repeated or prolonged absences may:

  • Affect reputation

  • Change faction expectations

  • Alter ongoing storylines

Logging out is rest, not erasure.


8.3 Design Principle

Logging out exists to:

  • Provide mechanical recovery

  • Preserve player safety

  • Maintain immersion

  • Reinforce that Eidolons never cease to exist—only withdraw

The world does not pause for rest.
It remembers who was there — and who chose to leave.


9. Persistence and World Reaction

Eidolons alter the world permanently:

  • Quests reshape regions

  • NPCs change behavior

  • Factions rise or fall

  • Myths form around player actions

The world does not reset to accommodate players.

Multiple Eidolons may:

  • Become legends

  • Be feared as undying

  • Be worshiped or hunted

  • Be remembered long after logout


10. Design Intent

Eidolons exist to explore:

  • Identity beyond the body

  • Choice under consequence

  • The weight of persistence

  • Whether a self created in fiction can become meaningful

Eidolon Online treats the question seriously:

If the world remembers you, were you ever unreal?