Chapter Idea: Mea Culpa (Killer -- The Grotesque + Map)

CHAPTER SUMMARY

In 1502, Gdańsk, Poland saw the founding of its new church, the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Its Danzig architects poured their dedication and love into its construction, but one of its workers in particular, the devout Jakub Nowak, was extra inspired to see their creation last as a beacon of hope for the ages. With hammer, chisel and grinder, he meticulously carved a chunk of stone to sit upon the church's high peak, watching over the area as grit gave way to facial features, and grain to imposing limbs. Yes, no foes would dare to confront such a horrific beast, and the church would stand tall under its vigil. Jakub was happy, and he left the cathedral in its capable albeit silent hands.

But time passes unconcerned with a statue's watch, and through unblinking eyes, it observed the trials and follies of man passing along the streets far below. Its fangs seemed bared in outrage of what sin and carnage came and went through the city, and on a rainy day, it seemed to sob in mourning and grief as the water poured down its savage face. Wars were waged, crimes committed, and it could do naught but watch from its perch.

They say an artist puts a little piece of themself, their soul into all of their works. If such be true, Jakub filled the statue with the greatest of himself, and ten years later, the rest joined it upon his passing from his mortal coil -- sitting in contemplation in the church's pews, he was unceremoniously cut down by a common thief, killed and left to bleed on the cold floor for nothing but the few coins in his purse.

This was not justice. The statue had failed to protect even him, its own creator, and Jakub was now nothing but another screaming soul in the cacophony swirling in the site's history, a lasting imprint on the thin fabric of space and time. Surely the Almighty has to have a means to correct such imperfection? What could it do?

Somehow, some way, it received an answer. A voice, a feeling, a surge of purpose engulfed the statue as a quiet, ominous fog. "Serve me," it seemed to say, "And you shall end the nightmares you've witnessed. The damned will be punished." It accepted without hestitation.

From deep within the depths of the statue, a cracking sound gave way to a hollow echo, the fog dissapating; now it was nowhere to be seen, its roost abandoned to the night sky.

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KILLER OVERVIEW

If it's not incredibly obvious by, this Killer is a cathedral's gargoyle, or as it would be properly known, "The Grotesque", since "gargoyles" are technically just rainspouts. I've honestly been wanting to see a gargoyle or other golem-type being as playable, and I wanted it to be a case where their otherwise good intentions (as both are usually protectors in our mythologies) become darkly twisted by the Entity towards murderous goals, and it tragically thinks it's honestly making the world a better place. Plus there's just so many different grotesques throughout religious history that alternate skins would be easy to conjure up for the staff. And this brings us to...

• PLAYSTYLE / PERKS

Being made of stone, the Grotesque would naturally be very slow and possess a large terror radius just due to being so imposing, and sorry fellow Disney fans, gliding is out of the question. So its power would be based upon intel given to it by a random assortment of Green Men - a kind of wall/column sculpture depicted as a vaguely human face amidst leaves and vines -- keeping watch throughout the map; the Grotesque would be at the mercy of where RNG decides to put them. By hitting the active ability button, every Green Man would go into alert, giving away auras of Survivors within their cone of vision but losing them as soon as they step outside it. Add-ons for the character would alter the behaviors of Green Men: adjusting their cone sizes/ranges, causing debuffs like a repair speed decrease for Survivors caught in view, etc. Its Perks are related to his origin as an inanimate statue, coupled with the Entity's perversion of its role in the world.

• Deceit: An eighth generator is spawned in the map which is a fake; which one it is is random. Completing it up to 33/66/99% causes the Entity to suck it away into the ground or floor with a taunting laugh, wasting the Survivors' time spent repairing it.

• Scourge Hook: Sloth: Upon being unhooked from a scourge hook, both involved Survivors are inflicted with both the Exhausted and Hindered (-20%) debuffs for 10/15/20 seconds.

• Crusader: The Grotesque is obsessed with a Survivor. The first time any other Survivor try to stun or blind the Grotesque, the effect is negated, but it also deactivates Crusader going forward. The Perk can be switched back on by hooking the Obsession for a cumulative 10/7/5 seconds.

(Can I just say that it's really hard to think of and balance Perks, just considering how many are already in the game that you don't want to accidentally copy? Man, I don't envy Behaviour this task. I'm sure I did an awful job that will be decried, and that's okay.)

REALM - ST. MARY'S CHURCH

A dark and unrecognizable corruption of the real thing, St. Mary's Church is a mostly indoor map with some open spaces such as the main foyer/altar and a garden-like cloisters towards the middle, flanked by narrow corridors to the sides. Side rooms include such typical sights as confessionals, choir practice halls, a baptismal font, etc. Variants can focus on different aspects/wings, taking inspiration from the Catholic and Lutheran practices held throughout the cathedral's real history.