CHAPTER 4
FEATURES AND PROTOCOLS REGARDING LEVEL 5
4.1. KEY FEATURES AND PROPERTIES OF LEVEL 5
a. Level 5 is the true first level of the Dark Highway, accessed by the stairs in Base Omega. Whilst technically the safest of the levels to come, it has more than a few casualties to its name, and is particularly hostile to newer Runners.
b. Level 5 is the second-shortest leg of the Highway. In the median Run, Level 5 occupies most of the first day.
c. Level 5 is considered a non-shifting environment. This is because the architecture used in the level has remained consistent since the 1930s; no level evolution has occurred. This is not to say that the architecture is Euclidean, or even consistent: the Beverly room may contain any number of doors, and hallways may change where they lead overnight. Entrances from Base Omega always lead to the Main Hall, but where exactly within the Main Hall is seemingly random. GROUP PLACEHOLDER would classify a level like this as static aesthetics, variable topography.
d. Level 5 poses risks to a Runner in the form of psychological threats (see 4.2), non-sapient entities (see 4.6, 4.7, 4.8), and staff interactions (see 4.9). These are listed in order of most to least pervasive: psychological threats are guaranteed, entities are common, and staff interactions are rare.
4.2. REDUCING PSYCHOLOGICAL STRAIN
a. Perpetually practice grounding when in Level 5 (see PLACEHOLDER). Never let your guard down.
b. Interact as little as possible with the level. Do not sit on any furniture, eat any food, sleep in any of the beds, or even look at any paintings. The longer you spend observing these things, the more the discrepancies of the level will jump out at you. This will — over time — cause paranoia.1
c. Move through the level as quickly as possible. Unless your request mandates you extend your stay in Level 5, move to the Boiler Room and on to Level 6 immediately.
d. Regularly remind yourself and your colleagues that this level is not — nor will ever be — a safe haven. The Hotel will try to trick you constantly.
e. Earplugs can be used to block out the sounds of Level 5, which helps to prevent sensory overload. Whilst civilians should be free to use these, you — as a Runner — should be more judicious. The sense of hearing is often vital in identifying entities, outposts, and exits.
f. Never believe you have mastered Level 5. The Hotel can break the mind of even the most seasoned of Runners.
As you may of noticed, I despise this level, and make no attempt to hide it. This is intentional. If I'm gonna be put in a fight-or-flight state, I'd much rather be in fight than flight.
4.3. NAVIGATION OF THE UPPER FLOORS OF LEVEL 5
a. As mentioned in 4.2c, speed is key in Level 5. Ideally you should not stop at all. Make snap decisions at every intersection, and take no notice of the kinds of rooms you pass through; 5 is too inconsistent for a coherent route to be developed. If you need to stop to eat, do so as quickly and unobtrusively as possible, and leave no litter.2
b. When first entering, look for either the Beverly Room or M.E.G. outpost Housekeeping. Doors to the Beverly Room are all labelled appropriately, while Housekeeping is trickier to find. It is located on the 2nd floor, in the space surrounding a large atrium. Listen for the sounds of people talking, and look for the M.E.G.'s colors and logo: many markers are left near their base.
c. Use intralevel radio frequently. The latency and quality of audio can help you deduce how close you are to an outpost of interest, primarily Housekeeping.
Picture the scene. You're in contact with someone in Housekeeping, and you're making steady progress towards the base. The audio's getting better, and apparently there's only like 2 corridors between you and one of the little buffer outposts that surrounds the main camp.
But then, for no apparent reason, the audio starts crackling. You give it a second, thinking it might be a glitch, and then…
"Nope, we lost ya"
You let out a groan of frustration as you realize this means you'll have to walk for another few hours in the other direction, because either Housekeeping, you, or both, have moved.
This is the true exasperation of traveling about 5.
d. If you have no requests to fulfill in Level 5, look for metal doors that are warm to the touch, or have hissing sounds coming from them. These will lead to the Boiler Room. Doors of this variety can appear anywhere, but the Beverly Room most frequently hosts them. The atrium in Housekeeping also contains such a door, so finding that outpost is another good way to progress.
4.4. NAVIGATION OF THE BOILER ROOMS OF LEVEL 5
a. The Boiler Rooms exhibit an increased hostility when compared to the rest of Level 5, to the point of some considering deliberate malevolence as a possible facet of the subsection.3 This means that the Boiler Rooms must be traversed slowly and cautiously, as opposed to the rest of the level.
b. Travel single-file, with the most competent Runners at the front and back. If transporting civilians, try to group them together in the center, and keep them away from the pipes and furnaces. The whispering they create can be psychologically damaging to those without grounding training.
c. Ensure that all heat-sensitive items are properly refrigerated with cold resin, as the temperatures are some of the highest the Highway has to offer. Similarly, you yourself must be wearing temperature-appropriate attire (see PLACEHOLDER).
d. Due to the monstrous size of the deathmoth colony in the Boiler Rooms, most other entities have been driven out. Consequently, the moths are the primary zoological threat you should concern yourself with. See 4.6 for more information.
e. Exits to the main part of 5 will appear frequently. Completely ignore these, they are a trick by the hotel. Only take doors that are part of the Highway, or a shortcut therein.
f. Conversely to point e., routes advancing further into the Highway are generally hidden in dark spots, or are otherwise easy to overlook. The Runners toward the front of your group must have good eyesight, or possible exits may be missed. Try to look for the colorful plaque the M.E.G. has placed outside the entrance to Level 6.4
g. If the entrance to Level 6 is identified, then at least one person should be staring at it at all times. The exit has a tendency to shift or vanish when unobserved. See Chapter 5 for how to plan your next move.
4.5. SHORTCUTS, RECONNECTORS AND OFFSHOOTS WITHIN LEVEL 5
| Destination | Type | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 7 | Uncommon Shortcut | Old wooden staircases with the sound of sea coming from behind them. | Similar to the exit to Level 7 that exists in Level 6. |
| Level 9 | Rare Shortcut | Tall, dark wooden doors. | One of the most valuable shortcuts, as it circumvents the need to traverse levels 6 and 8 entirely. |
| Level 98 | Rare Reconnector | Metal doors in The Main Hall. | To get back on the Highway from 98, travel down the alley to Level 6. Make sure to memorize the path from the 98 entrance to the 8 exit. |
| Level 40 | Uncommon Offshoot | Arcade cabinets. | Can only transport 1 person due to how the exit mechanism works. Hence this is not used for transport to Level 40 en masse. |
| Level 56 | Rare Offshoot | A cavern in The Main Hall. | Infrequently used as the entrance in Level 8 is in a fixed, easily accessible position. |
In general Housekeeping will do a sweep for shortcuts and reconnectors, but some are so short-lived that they appear and disappear within the course of a single Run. Hence you should always be on the lookout; take every opportunity the Highway provides.
This is something I brought up before, but it really becomes evident here. The Dark Highway has a certain sense of fairness to it. It could've been the case that half the shortcuts are actually traps, and don't lead to the levels they appear to go to. It could've been the case that the shortcuts are so hidden or so rare that you haven't a chance in Hell to actually find them. But that's not the case. The Highway presents us a challenge: go from A to B, along this path. As long as we play fair, the Highway does too. If we instead try to circumvent the Highway's rules, we are punished for it.5
You could argue that all the tricks and traps of 5 contradict my assessment, but that feels more like the Beast's doing than the Highway's. The Highway does predate the Beast after all.
Oh, by the way, there used to be a reconnector route which went 5 Boiler Room -> 78 -> 11, and floating about in 78 was genuinely one of the coolest things ever. However, they had to remove it from the field guides because of you-know-what, and I will never truly recover from that change. Make another space level, Backrooms Gods!6 I want to be able to float around in 0G again!
4.6. PROTOCOLS REGARDING DEATHMOTHS
a. Deathmoths are a common sight across the Highway, but are most pressingly a threat within the Boiler Rooms, where one of the largest colonies ever recorded has established itself. The central nest of this colony has never been seen, but many of its members and satellite nests have.7
b. When engaging with deathmoths, particularly the large colony in the Boiler Rooms, it is important to remember that hives have cross-generational memory. If you gain a reputation for harming deathmoths, the colony will be much more aggressive towards you.
Some of the Runners I've met have insanely good report with the Evies. I'm talking they could probably try to pet a Praetorian and not be torn in half. I've never had much luck myself, but the females mostly ignore me, so that's probably good?
This is also the reason why deathmoth repellent is a terrible idea most times. If you encounter the same colony again, they don't think "Hmm, that guy sprayed me when I bit him, so maybe I shouldn't bite him", they think "Wait, that's the asshole who sprayed me! Hey guys let's get him!"
I swear every joint mission with the B.N.T.G. goes this way.
c. Common deathmoths can be identified by the sound their wings make. If this noise is heard, shut off all light sources immediately, and listen to the frequency of the flaps. Females, due to their larger size, will have slower, deeper flaps.
d. Do not engage with males at all, they are completely harmless. Engage with females primarily to deter them: cold resin is especially effective for this task, squirt guns filled with almond water secondarily so.
e. Caustic fluid is secreted by females; paralytic toxins from Praetorians. These are minor threats provided proper procedure is followed: you should have no bare skin exposed (see PLACEHOLDER). Despite this, it is still inadvisable to contact either of these substances; clean any spills that may occur.
f. If you see an increasing abundance of females, or any Praetorians at all, you are too close to a hive. Turn around and go via a different route.8 Leave markers on your way back, and contact a M.E.G. base so they can mark the encounter's location.
g. In the event of a Praetorian attack, use scattershot firesalt as a nonlethal weapon. Deathmoths are sensitive to light, so this can provide an opportunity to subdue or flee from the threat. Do not kill a Praetorian: the hive will never forgive you.
Here's a fun fact: since only Empresses lay Praetorian eggs, and the empress of Level 5 has long since moved to greener pastures, the Praetorians guarding the Evies are the same Praetorians that have always guarded the Evies. In fact some of those Praetorians are so frequently encountered we've given them names.
There's 5-legged Evie, she's missing a leg. There's greeter Evie, she has a knack for showing up exclusively when you're just entering the Boiler Rooms. Explorer Evie is the only one we've seen wandering outside the Boiler Rooms, Murder Evie has a white spot on her forehead and is incredibly aggressive, etc. You'll pick up on the names as you go along.
h. Wounds from deathmoth attacks are often contaminated with saliva, caustic fluid, or paralytics. Wash them thoroughly with almond water before bandaging.
i. Do not try to "bribe" a colony. Whilst deathmoths are less likely to attack you if you provide them food, they will also interact with you more, endangering your fellow Runners.
4.7. PROTOCOLS REGARDING SMILERS
4.8. MINOR ENTITIES OF LEVEL 5
a. Growlers can sometimes be found in Level 5. Due to the flammable nature of pipe cleaners, firesalt is almost always a sufficient deterrent. If an attack does occur, aim for the head, and strike from multiple angles if possible; growlers lack the intelligence to focus on more than one target at a time. You should have ample time to prepare due to the white noise effect growlers project.9
b. Hounds are uncommon, though not unheard of. Most have entered the Hotel from Level 4, rather than being part of a native population. See PLACEHOLDER for protocols surrounding them.
c. Naked Deathrats occasionally appear in the Boiler Rooms. They are a very mild threat; ignore them and they will likely ignore you. If a deathrat does happen to attack, a small amount of firesalt should scare them off.
d. Wretches are a rare sight, and are usually very weak. If attacked by a wretch, you should be able to easily overpower it with numbers alone, and so long as all bare skin on the limbs is covered (standard procedure) the chance of infection is low.10
4.9. PROTOCOLS REGARDING HOTEL STAFF
I'm not much of a booksmarts guy, but I do have quite the interest in our history as Runners. I've looked at lots of old Running records in Beta, and you can quite visibly see when we started using gray rocking. Interactions with staff go waaaaay down, and my own experience lines up with this perfectly. I've talked to old Runners a fair bit, and apparently you'd see staff members very reliably, at least once a month. In the modern day — well — I've been Running for years, and I've only ever encountered staff three times.11 And on the surface this all seems a bit weird, right? Like, we know they kill people: that's a fact. Every member of that staff is a rotten murderer in my eyes. And we know they don't want us leaving, they make that very clear. So if they know we won't be fooled by them, and they know we want to leave, and they know that we know all this… why be nice? Why not just cut to the chase and kill us?
To be honest, there's a lot of weird stuff in that damn Hotel. If the Beast doesn't want us leaving, why doesn't he just block up all the exits? If he hates Housekeeping so much, why doesn't he just drop the ceiling on their main camp and turn them all to jam? I suppose a part of it might be to save face: if you become known for handing out death sentences like candy then people probably won't want to stay in your hotel. But I have my own theory.
Everything in 5 thrives on deals and trickery. There's always the cheese in the middle of the mouse trap. But what if that bait isn't just a supplement to the trap: what if it is the trap? Think about it. There's lots of stuff that can "retire" you in 5, but nothing that does it unprovoked. I think the staff, for whatever reason beyond our comprehension, can't actually get us until we slip up. If we refuse to fall for their tricks, or play their games, we cannot be hurt.
The Beast, for all his fearsome appearance and seeming omnipotence, is trapped. Trapped in the same sense we are: bound to obscure rules in the impossible world of the Backrooms. He has weaknesses that humanity doesn't, and that's why we aren't hopelessly outmatched in his domain.
If this theory is true, and it is just a theory, I can offer you one piece of advice.
That Hotel thrives on deals. Don't make any.