Santo Tormento (Lovecraftian Mythos/Dystopian Setting)

Arkham City was a den of crime and debauchery, with mass poverty lingering everywhere and everyone and everything at each other's throat, no wonder the rate of death was exponential. Nothing about the city was normal; the foundation of the city was built on the suffering of others after all.

The darkness that inhibits the land craves the blood of the innocent, it corrupts all, it damns all to eternal agony. Forces that linger beyond the threshold pulsate and watch, sleeping keenly until there time comes.

All things are unified into one, all the unseen and seen have been intermingled by a particular being, the "Silver Key" has loosened the barriers of logic and madness leaving way for the unspeakable to mingle with the inhabitants of the dreadful city.

The Gate has been opened — Children of the Void are coming, dear player. Try to survive.

---

Hello players, this is an introduction segment to the quest, so the quest will more or less use a intricate Dice Roll system mingled with a usual Level System of my own design, the full bulk of the mechanics will be laid down soon but things like [Stats], [Perks], [Skills] and [Traits] are going to be a major aspect of this quest. But before we dive into any of that, please choose your appropriate origin to begin this wild ride of a story.

Choose Your Beginning:

[] Arkham University (Scholar Path): You are the son of a famous scientist, coming from a long generation of scholars which origins can be traced back to the founding of Arkham City. When you were younger your father disappeared, the secret of his disappearance was written in a mysterious book you found in his old room, the mystery of your father's whereabouts seems to be as a result of his study of something called the "Silver Key" an ancient artificat of mysterious origins. Could this be the reason for his disappearance?

[] Arkham Hospital (Mystery Path): You woke up cold and alone. In an abandoned hospital, strapped to a bloody bed with a mysterious figure looming over you. You can't remember anything, who you are or what you're doing here but something seems strange, the journal in your hands says that you're looking for something, an artifact, a relic, the Silver Key. This enigmatic figure agrees with it, saying that it will help you find the answers to your questions. Should you really trust this? Trust them?

[] Arkham Tourist (Foreigner Path): You're a foreigner, you came to the city looking for something, for someone. Maybe a cure to the illness you were plagued with? But something felt strange about this city, the cure to the illness you seek is unethical, you're changing. You've forgotten about the person you were supposed to find, the person you wanted to save. Death is drawing near, can you truly find this cure before its too late?

Reserved

Voting Closed!

[X] Arkham Hospital (Mystery Path): You woke up cold and alone. In an abandoned hospital, strapped to a bloody bed with a mysterious figure looming over you. You can't remember anything, who you are or what you're doing here but something seems strange, the journal in your hands says that you're looking for something, an artifact, a relic, the Silver Key. This enigmatic figure agrees with it, saying that it will help you find the answers to your questions. Should you really trust this? Trust them?

---

"I know you're awake. So please, kindly open your eyes."

"Was my acting that terrible?" A boyish voice replied from the concealed darkness. The source of said voice was you, chained and spread out on the hospital bed was your tall form, draped in a torn and worn out hospital gown.

Standing just some meters away was a lanky but fit seven foot tall man that looked to be in his forties at least. His attire, an expensive looking black suit with long drawn out black pants gave off a noble air to the stranger. But still something about him felt off, his wavy abyss hair weirdly enough unnerved you.

It felt like you were staring at an abyss.

"Yes, yes it was." He coldly affirmed.

"Great, duly noted then." You rolled your eyes at that, mildly snorting at the middle aged man. Something about his indifference to your words unnerved you. "So why exactly am I here? What am I here for? I don't remember anything that I did that might've warranted a visit to the hospital."

"It's surprising that you can even remember anything at this point." The man replied, not even bothering to answer any of my questions.

"That doesn't-"

"I'm not done talking." In a shocking display the strange man glared viciously at you, his hardened gaze sending shivers down your spine. "Anyways."

"We found you sprawled out on the roadside naked with your brain chunks spilled out of your skull on the ground." The mysterious man said still nonchalant to the horrifying news he just poured on you. He didn't seem to care one bit about your situation at this point, so why exactly was he here to begin with? Was this a joke? Was this actually real?

"It's surprising to see that you're able to form complex thoughts. At this point I assumed that you'd be functionally brain dead by now." The man continued, his face not betraying any emotions "Elizabeth did a good job on you."

That made you cringe in disgust and shock. How the heck did that happen? That didn't make any sense, you should be dead by now if what he was saying was true.

"Who's Elizabeth?" You managed to squeeze out, a gnawing feeling of anxiousness began eating into your mind. You were slowly starting to understand the seriousness of your situation.

"She's the one you have to thank for your current state. Why don't you talk to her and see?" Almost as if it was timed, the door bursts open with a solemn looking girl walking through.
"Meet my apprentice, Elizabeth Howe."
The now named girl, Elizabeth stood beside the tall man and was viciously dwarfed by his height. She stood at a proud five foot, seven inches petite frame, while dressed in a weird mixture of a nurse and maid outfit. Though strangely enough she wore a single eye patch on her left eye, ignoring that the real thing that unnerved you was her blood stained form, the blood soaked bandages didn't make the situation better.

"H-hi I-i'm the r-resident nurse! I-it's nice to meet you." Elizabeth's expression changed from sour to excited in an instant though judging by her constant shivering and twitching she seemed to not want to be here.

"How exactly did she manage to bring me back from death? I assume that being able to do something like that should be impossible." This situation was becoming more confusing to you. There was no way in hell that you could trust the man.

"Eh? It was actually easy! I just scooped up your brain and crammed it into your skull then I knitted up your head. Isn't that cool?!" Out of nowhere the once shaking girl had a face heel turn once again, her thin lips coiled up into a creepy smile as she giggled to herself in a sickening boast of her accomplishment. "Though I did have to conduct a lobotomy on you to properly reprogram your thinking faculty.,"

"Either way, isn't that cool?" She once again repeated while ignoring the look of abject horror on my face. Although you couldn't understand most of what she said, the part of her scooping and apparently conducting some sick experiment on your brain made you completely dumbfounded by how excited she seemed on the topic.

The worst part is that the smile she displayed when speaking of her action was actually true, it wasn't false like the one she had before. She actually felt happy to talk about herself literally reprogramming your mind.

What exactly did you just get yourself into?

"That's besides the point." The mysterious man exclaimed, placing his hand on the enthusiastic girl which resulted in a troubling reaction to say the least. She whipped her face to the side, with eyes tightly closed as if she was preparing to be slapped or something?!

What kind of relationship do these two have?

"The point is that, the result of the treatment led to you losing your memories and from the book we found besides your dying body it seems like you were dabbling in things beyond your understanding. Things that were eldritch." The man said. His s expression switching into one of mild annoyance in the process.

"What does that have to do with anything? What does it have to do with me?" You questioned, exhausted and tired of the situation.

"You haven't even bothered to tell me about your name, much less about what I'm supposed to gain from this discussion!" You yelled out in anger. The indifference of this man was already pushing your buttons, the morbid conversation you had just served to stress you even more.

"Ah, I see" The man hummed out, "I believe a better introduction is in order." And so for the first time during this unsavory interaction the man in the black suit smiled.

"My name is Titus Crow. I'm a member of the Wilmarth Foundation. And for my reason for speaking to you?" Then he gazed directly into your eyes.

"I want you to help me find the Silver Key."

---

It is time to choose your [Traits], traits come in positive and negative. Good and bad forms, some grant benefits and some disadvantages but there needs to be a subtle balance. Though be careful [Traits] during this early traits serve to define your characters personality for the good or for the worst. [Traits] can also be evolved! Though that comes later on, I'll advise players to choose what they believe is the most interesting choice. Next update will have a full comprehensive look at the system I'm using along with the full stats and actually building your character even more!

Pick One Trait:

[] The Heavy Handed (Positive): You're stronger than an average person and you're pretty good when it comes to hand to hand combat. You can't eat that you're inexperienced. +5 to Strength Rolls.

[] Hyper Awareness (Positive): You have a keen sense of your surroundings. Its hard to usually get you off guard. +5 to Perception Rolls.

[] Kindness (Positive): You find it easier to help others and you're generally a nice guy. Its hard for people to actually hate you, you're a pro at giving off a good impression. +5 Increase to Charisma Rolls.