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Steam Release Version

Demon Mask
File:Demon Mask2.PNG

Demon Mask

--Equipment (Slot B)--

Type - [Armor][Occult]

Description: "+1 to all Damage, -4 Max Stamina"

Text - (N/A)

Buy Value - (N/A Random mask reward events or enemy drop)

Sell Value - +1 Funds

-

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The item, Demon Mask, can be obtained through certain events in the World of Horror that specifically reward you with a randomly chosen mask item, or as a rare item drop from the enemy 'Young Witch'. All mask items alter your character's appearance while they are equipped.

When equipped, the Demon Mask grants you +1 to all damage that you inflict in combat, however it takes away -4 Max Stamina while wearing it. If you are above the threshold of reduction compared to your prior Max Stamina limit, you will lose that much current Stamina and it will not be restored upon removing the Demon Mask...So, it is best worn when you have already lost 4 points from your current Stamina, and will not hinder you other than being unable to heal above your new, hopefully temporary Max Stamina limit.

Despite the previous drawback, the +1 to all damage you inflict includes all combat spells, all weapons, physical, spiritual, and item based damage. It stacks with all other damage bonuses you can gain as well, especially allies. This damage bonus, same as the lowered Max Stamina, is removed when you un-equip the Demon Mask.

(Author's Notes) - All of the masks in the World of Horror have very potent abilities. Unfortunately the Demon Mask's Max Stamina reduction effect is always fixed at -4 regardless of the difficulty, and the damage bonus always remains at +1...This means that it becomes more and more dangerous to wear based upon the current difficulty you are playing on. At Initiate, your maximum Stamina limit is roughly 21, brought down to 17. At Cultist, your Maximum Stamina limit is roughly 17, brought down to 13. At True Believer, your Maximum Stamina is roughly 13, brought down to 9.

This makes the Demon Mask very risky to use on the two latter difficulties. Although if you have enough damage increasing effects that another +1 to all damage could mean the difference of killing a Mystery's boss in one or two turns, it may be worth trying to wear as long as you take it off before healing up.

So, the best way to use the Demon Mask's damage increase is to use a fast, one-handed weapon you can attack multiple times with...As each separate instance of damage adds that additional +1 damage bonus, on top of any other damage bonuses you might already have acquired. Through this logic, characters that have high combat stats and/or can gain many allies that increase damage or give bonus stats, as increased stats can also help you land all of those swings that you need to hit the enemy with.

Trivia

Masks, of all kinds, originate from various cultures...But certain ones, are iconic or symbolic. In the distant past of the Feudal era, masks were often used in the Western cultures of Europe, Britain, Ireland, Spain, France, Germany, and many others for festivals, events, or when carrying out certain duties such as that of an Executioner that needed to hide their identity to protect themselves and those close to them. As the Silk Road opened and trade made it across Asia, this type of celebration and the practice of mask making for these kinds of uses were shared and changed things...

Prior to this, many Asian cultures, and especially Japan's Shinto Religion, not only created masks for celebrations...But masks were also made for war, spiritual symbolism, protection, positions of responsibility, and sometimes even for royalty and nobility. Although, not as prominently on display among royalty as Egyptians for example.

A Demon Mask, or rather an 'Oni' or 'Hannya' Mask, could be all kinds of wildly different shapes, sizes, and colors that either symbolized mythological creatures of deviant origins, Yokai, or actual demonic spirits. The particular Demon mask observed in the World of Horror is depicted after a 'Hannya', a twin-horned female demon...However, unlike most 'Hannya', which are depicted as angered or frightened in personality, the mask in the game has a wide smile, a gaunt appearance, and white skin...Mostly likely, following the overall theme of the World of Horror, these features symbolize Madness, and the color white symbolizes a aristocratic character.

These kinds of features often determine the purpose of such masks, and the less the mask concealed the face, the more it was used in plays during song, for Shinto rituals, or for positions of responsibility that required the person wearing the mask to speak and be heard properly, such as a Samurai of high rank that shouted orders over battle or instruction during training. The more concealed masks were often for protection, hiding one's identity, or certain characters in plays that did not speak.

However, the original purpose of Demon Masks were believed and still believed to ward off vengeful spiritual entities by those that revere the Shinto religion. This is because it is thought that disguising oneself as a spirit tricks other spirits, or scares them away...Hence why many Shoguns, Samurai, Ronin, and others among the warrior caste of Japan's Feudal era wore these masks knowing that battles were the most spiritually dangerous places for them to be.

Unfortunately, this practice also attracted the use of such masks by criminals and other folk of ill repute, including those that worshiped demons...To hide their identities, to frighten and terrorize common people, and to commit atrocities or desecrate shrines. Bounties and armies were put out to stop these activities, however it still goes on today even though it is far more suppressed than it once was.

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