Slender: how the Halloween round plays

From 24 October 2026, 18:00, Slender runs on our server again. This post shows what a round feels like: what you do as a Survivor, what Slender can do, and where the danger lurks.

Why asymmetric?

The original Slender: The Eight Pages from 2012 was a one-person game: alone in the woods, searching for pages, and somewhere the black figure. With us, several Survivors go up against one Slender. Who gets which role is decided at random when the round starts. That is why every round plays out differently.

If someone leaves the server early in the round, we adjust the number of Slenders so that hunters and hunted stay in balance.

As a Survivor

You have to find the pages together without losing each other. These rules shape how that feels.

Movement. You make your way forward only at a measured pace, and you cannot jump. In return, you climb steps effortlessly.

Hearts. Your health shows as usual, in hearts. When only a few of you are out there, you get some support: extra hearts and a small boost in speed. With every additional player, this advantage shrinks until it is gone.

Heal item. Each Survivor has one heal item per round. It does not heal in one go but gradually, and it can only be used when something is actually missing. Fear slows the healing, and at the greatest fear it stops. If you take damage while healing, the healing is only shortened; it is not cancelled.

Stamina. Sprinting costs stamina, shown in the XP bar. Once it is empty, you have to recover a little before you can run again. The less stamina you have left, the narrower your field of view becomes, and a pounding heartbeat accompanies this tunnel vision.

Adrenaline. If you get dangerously close to a visible Slender, an adrenaline rush shoots through you: you move faster for a moment and regain some stamina, accompanied by a heartbeat. The rush cannot be triggered at will. Time passes between two rushes.

Distortion. If you look at Slender up close, your view distorts, and the closer he is, the stronger it gets.

As Slender

By default you are invisible. Becoming visible is your strongest tool and, at the same time, your biggest risk.

Visibility. You can only show yourself for a while. Afterwards you have to vanish again and gather your strength. You can only return once enough of it has built up.

Attack. While visible, you are dangerous to everyone standing close to you. In return, you move more slowly than the Survivors.

Tracks. While invisible, you sometimes leave footprints that only Survivors can see. They fade after a while.

Scan. Your scan shows older tracks of Survivors near you, but never the very newest ones. That way it never points straight at someone. The tracks it reveals stay visible to you for a while. If there are no usable tracks at the moment, the scan at least roughly shows the direction of the nearest track, without the distance. It only becomes available later in the round and cannot be used at will.

Possession. Later in the round, you can briefly take over a Creek. During that time the Survivors notice it from a greater distance. This, too, is followed by a pause.

A Survivor you defeat becomes a spectator. Their body stays in the world.

The pages

How many pages you have to collect depends on the number of players: the more of you there are, the more pages there are to find. There are always several pages lying on the map at the same time.

A page only stays out for a while, and its glow fades over time. Then it disappears and turns up somewhere else. There are always more possible spots than pages, so memorising the map does not help.

A page that is about to disappear gives itself away with sounds: first quietly, then with a hint tone, and at the end with lower tones. Each collected page makes the picture flicker briefly, and that flicker grows stronger as the round goes on.

Fear

Every Survivor carries a fear that rises and falls. It grows when you find a page yourself, when you see Slender, when the Creek chooses or catches you, and when a teammate is defeated. The last one hits hardest, apart from being caught yourself. Over time you calm down again, but a fright always leaves a mark. That calm has a floor which rises as the round goes on.

You mostly hear fear. Quiet moments are filled with ambient sounds, and with great fear they become more frequent and eerier.

If you turn around in a hurry, a jumpscare can trigger. It does not happen all the time, though.

The Creek

The Creek is a server-controlled creature that haunts frightened Survivors. The bigger the round, the more Creeks there are, but there are always only a few. It prefers to go after the Survivors who are most afraid.

First it stalks you from the side, outside your direct field of view. It keeps coming closer, and its sounds become more frequent. Eventually it hunts you, but as soon as you look at it, it freezes.

A catch can swap you places with a random teammate or fling you into the air. It is never fatal. But whoever is caught a second time is sure to be spotted by Slender; it can already happen the first time.

The maps

The maps are dark and follow one of two styles: supernatural horror or realistically decayed. On purpose, there is no day. Narrow alleys and winding areas limit the view. Floors and cellars are part of the map too, and the maps are built for bigger groups.

Have fun

You can find all roles and rules on the Slender event page. The mode is built in the Slender project for Minestom. Questions are welcome on our Discord.

Stick together and find the pages!