Name: The Deer
Brand: 99 Nights in the Forest

Overview

The Deer is the main (and original) antagonist of the game 99 Nights in the Forest, and is one of the monsters (alongside The Ram, The Owl, The Bat, and The Cat). It is a monstrous, bipedal semi-anthropomorphic monster resembling a deer with clawed forelegs. During nighttime, The Deer will chase the player unless they're in the safe zone (Campfire) or inside the Cultist Stronghold, dealing high damage. The Deer cannot take damage from any source, making all weapons ineffective. However, the light from Flashlights briefly stuns it, allowing the player(s) to escape.

Appearance

The Deer is an incredibly large and tall creature resembling a deer with an unnaturally large head, twitching ears, an outstretched jaw, and cartoonish large eyes. When The Deer is hungry, the sclerae of the eyes will change from white to a blood red. It is a facultative biped, typically standing on its hind legs but using quadruped locomotion to chase players faster or run away. Its forelegs, or "arms" when standing on its hind legs, have four claws that it uses to attack. The Deer is primarily brown, with black hooves, antlers and claws that fade from brown to black. During the following events, The Deer's appearance changed slightly. These changes were temporary.

Behavior

The Deer spawns in The Forest when night begins. There is a chance it will be replaced by The Owl if the Snow Biome is present, The Ram if the Volcanic Biome is present, or The Cat if the Jungle Biome is present. When the second night begins, there is a chance of a short scene (there are 4 different scenes) that can play: The Deer dragging a dead Alpha Wolf, The Deer eating a Bear, the Dino kid crying, or Cultists worshipping The Deer (represented by eyes in a cave/tent).

Tips & tricks

• Due to its lackluster pathfinding and size, you could use things such as large trees or buildings to block it and gain distance away from The Deer during a chase. • If the player is alerted that The Deer is hungry, it is recommended to stay near the Campfire or be back there earlier before night, as the player(s) may not be able to get back to the Campfire before nighttime arrives if they are deeper into The Forest, leaving the player(s) in a situation where death is almost guaranteed. However, if the player has a Teleporter, they can teleport back to base, escaping The Deer. • During Cultist Raids, The Deer will not try to kill anyone outside of the Campfire.

Trivia

• The Deer is most-appearing entity in the games' promotional images and is considered the games' mascot. • It's possible that it's allergic to roses. • The Deer's jumpscare is so long the audio will loop once shortly before the it ends. • The Deer can very rarely bug into the Campfire during daytime. • The Deer seems to deal more damage as the days increase. After a certain number of days, The Deer is able to one-shot the player(s). • A popular community speculation is that The Deer is the mother of the missing children. There is no strong evidence, either by developer statements or otherwise, to suggest this.