Occasionally called "the Bearooms" as a joke, Level 171 is strikingly similar to Level 0 in appearance, but with noticeably dimmer lights and brown walls. It is sometimes referred to as just the "Corrupted level 0."On occasion, these lights can flicker and even go out for up to three days. A dense black fog also fills the level, causing wanderers to only really see within six feet in front of them. Said fog is an aerosolized narcotic that, if breathed in enough, can put a man asleep for up to an hour. Prolonged exposure can also be lethal, as it builds up in living tissues and causes necrosis.
Level 171. Notice how the fog is black.
Level 0, note how its much brighter and more enclosed, as well as not having fog.
In various spots, chunks of the ceiling and walls are cracked and have even fallen away. From these cracks spills forth a black, tar-like substance with the consistency of honey that starts to boil when it hits the ground. If stepped in, this substance dissolves most organic and inorganic materials on contact, and many hapless wanderers who have ended up in this level have met their ends to these puddles of tar. These puddles have even claimed the lives of entities that live in the Backrooms.
To survive in level 171, it is recommended that you wear a gas mask as to not breathe in too much of the fog. It is also recommended to mark tar puddles.
Entities
Backroom Bears
Backroom bears are one of the two types of native entities of level 171 and are the main reason the level is jokingly called "the Bearooms". They look suspiciously similar to the American black bear, a native of our reality. However, these animals lack eyes, claws, ears, and internal organs. For some reason, they are immune to the fog and the acidic affect of the tar and will regularly drink the tar for sustenance. While harmless and can be approached and even tamed, they have a unique affect on those that wish to do them harm. The presence of a backroom bear eats holes in the brain tissue of wanderers and entities that seek to harm them within fifty feet of the entity. These holes are usually microscopically small, and thus, if a wanderer turns back it often takes years for those who approach it aggressively to exhibit side-effects. The severity of this effect increases at close range, and a hostile wanderer or entity who approaches a backroom bear never survives long enough to reach its body.
Teddies
Also known as 'Untrustworthy Teddies', these entities are the less common and far more dangerous second kind of entity native to this level. They always resemble teddy bears, and are of a similar size as well. These entities are highly mobile, yet only move when out of sight. They travel in packs of up to twenty individuals, and when inert, these packs are called 'bearpiles'. If a teddy manages to make physical contact with a wanderer or other entity, it will immediately fuse with the entity at the point of contact. This does not affect backroom bears, and teddies actively avoid them for unknown reasons. Shortly after fusing with the target, the victim will immediately begin to suffer severe neurological effects. These include a loud "buzzing" in the brain, increased emotional reactivity and an immense sensation of pressure against the body from no known source. These effects cause the victim to collapse and pass out from shock. From there, over the course of a week, the victim will slowly be converted into up to three more teddies.
For unknown reasons, almond water dissolves the matter of teddies on contact, leaving behind the same thick, black fog that fills the level as a byproduct. While teddies can be destroyed this way, this reaction becomes less effective depending on how many more teddies are in the immediate vicinity. For example, dousing a teddy in almond water with another one close by dissolves the entity in less than fifteen seconds, dousing a teddy in almond water with ten more close by only causes a slight wrinkling of form, and this wrinkling disappears within seconds.
What a Teddy looks like.
Colonies and Outposts
Any colony wouldn't last long because of the infestation of bears.
Entrances and Exits
Entrances
Chasing a polymer moth for long enough in Level 85might bring you here.
Wandering down foggy hallways in Level 3 R will bring you here.
Exits
Sprinkling some almond water onto a tar puddle and jumping into it will lead you to Level 342. This doesn't always work.
Discovered and written by IRussell2021, who believes the backrooms are real for his own reasons. Reworked and expanded upon by FreeWillyNilly. Then redone again by IRussell2021.