Death

Death in Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones can occur when the player character has lost either all of their Health or all of their Sanity. Upon dying, the character will be given three continuation options:


 * 1) Main Menu: Loads the Stygian Main Menu page
 * 2) Load Game: Loads a saved game of the player's choosing
 * 3) Restart Combat: Reinitiates the battle in which the character died (this option is only available if the character died in combat)



Health Death
YOU HAVE PERISHED

''Your days in the doomed town have come to an end. Your corpse will nourish the Pickman Ghouls in a dark corner of Arkham.''

Health represents the physical well-being of the character and can be lost due to hunger, disease, open wounds, random encounters, and combat. If a character's Health is brought down to zero (0), they will die.

Sanity Death
YOU HAVE GONE INSANE

''Your grasp on reality is lost forever. Your deranged laughter will become one with the endless cacophony of Arkham’s lunatics.''

Sanity represents the mental well-being of your character and can be lost due to exhaustion, witnessing horror, madness, random encounters, and combat. If a character's Sanity is brought down to zero (0), they will go insane.


 * A character's Sanity can only be brought down to zero (0) during combat. It cannot drop below 1 during exploration. However, upon reaching this threshold, the character acquires a state called “At the Mouth of Madness,” which causes them to accumulate ANGST at a steady rate until the effect is alleviated

Unique Deaths
Exclusive death sequences may be encountered in certain situations. There are eleven unique death scenarios (not including death caused by standard Health or Sanity loss) that the character can encounter in Stygian, usually dependent on choices made by the character.

Devoured by the Street
''You have succumbed to the miasmal anomalies of the Blasted Street. Your rapidly aging flesh will soon be one with the dust. As if you never existed...''

This death sequence can be triggered during the quest Through the Blasted Street. When the character first enters Blasted Street, they will see a corpse wearing a gas mask and it will quickly become apparent that Blasted Street cannot be traversed without proper protection from the radiation it emanates. If the character dives in, regardless of its perils, it will only take a few moments after walking passed the corpse for the character to succumb to radiation poisoning and they will be met with the DEVOURED BY THE STREET death screen.

Devoured in Nithon
''You have finally fallen. Is this… It this relief that I sense in you? After coming this far, your final resting place would be this unreal after all.''

This death sequence can be triggered once the character reaches Nithon. Should the character engage any of the patrolling Mi-Go in combat and fall, they will be met with the DEVOURED IN NITHON death screen. The character must be in either the second or third area of Nithon in order to trigger combat with the Mi-Go.

Fallen to the Stygian Questions
''You could not satisfy the black lips with your answers. You’ll be devoured by famine and pestilence inside the four walls of the Witch House.''

This death sequence can be triggered during the character's exploration of the Witch House. After passing through several illusions, the character will be greeted by a Black-Lipped entity that offers to assist the character in escaping the house. In return for its assistance, the Black Lips demand a blood sacrifice from the character. Their own blood. Should the character refuse, the Black Lips will pitilessly leave them trapped within the Witch House and the character will be met with the FALLEN TO THE STYGIAN QUESTIONS death screen.

Greed Summons Doom
''Your greed led you to a trap of the Pickman ghouls. You better weigh the consequences of your decisions.''

This death sequence can be triggered by reaching the Depot of Fragile Goods at the back of the Marsh & Sons Warehouse and engaging the lone Pickman Ghoul in combat. Once combat is initiated the character will be ambushed as it will be discovered that the ghouls were laying a trap. The player will have to defeat seven Pickman Ghouls to survive and claim the weapons crate waiting beyond. Should they fail, they will be met with the GREED SUMMONS DOOM death screen.

Lobotomized
''A big part of the prefrontal lobe has been incised from your brain. You have finally found peace by the successful operation of the asylum doctor.''

This death sequence can be triggered while trying to escape Ward 10. After the character has secured the haloperiphedal, they must speak with Marino in order to concoct the mixture that will allow them to escape the ward. When asked, the character will have the option of refusing to imbibe the haloperipheral mixture. Doing so will prevent the character from escaping, resulting in an immediate lobotomy (performed by the ward physician) whereupon the character will be met with the LOBOTOMIZED death screen.

Risen from the Dead
''The Cult’s fanatics caught you interfering with the Reel of Doom. They have appointed you to be the new Projectionist, condemned to screen the apocalyptic movie for all eternity.''

This death sequence can be triggered during the quest The Theater of Bones. The character must gain entry into the Theater of Bones and then visit the projection room. If the character attempts to tamper with the Reel of Doom in any way, either by disabling the resurrected corpse in charge of the reel or by sabotaging the projector itself, they will be caught by the Cult and the character will be met with the RISEN FROM THE DEAD death screen. This will only occur if the character has not yet viewed the reel of doom from the theatre. After viewing the moving image, they will have option of looting the Reel of Doom from the projection room.

Stabbed to Death
''Your hollow words did not satisfy the voice behind the door. In pain, you learn the identity of the Stabber’s last victim: Yourself!''

This death sequence can be triggered during the quest The House of Spectres. On learning of the house's location, the character may travel to the House of Spectres at any time and knock on the door. The proprietor of the house will come to the door and, on learning of the character's investigation into the Arkham Stabber, they will ask the character to answer a series of questions. If the character comes ill-equipped to answer these questions and fails to answer correctly twice, the character will be met with the STABBED TO DEATH death screen.

Terrorized by a Daemon
''The black worms of Barzal Tharg Anu have devoured your eyes. Though you have lost your sight, your blacked soul will pay the heaviest price.''

This death sequence can be triggered when the character first enters Krogh's Refuge and meets Krogh. A cutscene will take place wherein the character witnesses Krogh communing with a demon. The character will then be forced to confront Krogh about the demon summoning they have witnessed. If their responses fail to appease either Krogh (or the demon), then the demon will devour them and they will be met with the TERRORIZED BY A DEMON death screen.

The Voyage of the Brain
''You chose to be set free from the weakness that was your body. Your brain will be carried beyond the stars by the alien entities known as the Mi-Go.''

This death sequence can be triggered at the end of the quest The Whisperer in Darkness. After assembling the brain canister, it will be revealed on next speaking with Stanley Fredkin that Stanley was actually a Mi-Go all along. The Mi-Go will offer the character eternal life in the form of a harvested brain, giving them the opportunity to live among the stars in the endless cosmos. If the character accepts this offer they will be met with the THE VOYAGE OF THE BRAIN death screen.

Trapped Eternally in Nithon
''You refused to pay the Crimson Toll again. You’ll be doomed to walk the surface of the forsaken moon until the end of your days.''

This death sequence can be triggered once the character reaches the Black Pyramid in Nithon. On arriving to the Black Pyramid, the character will be greeted for the second time by the Black-Lipped entity. The Black Lips will once again offer to assist the character in returning to their own plane, asking for a second blood payment in return. This time, however, the character must offer the blood of another. Should the character refuse to sacrifice one of their travelling companions, the Black Lips will unforgivingly leave them trapped in Nithon and the character will be met with the TRAPPED ETERNALLY IN NITHON death screen.

You Have Lost The Key
''You’ve abandoned the path of unlocking the mystery behind the key. You’ll waste your remaining days wandering aimlessly under the twilit sky of Arkham...''

This death sequence can be triggered during the quest The Key Collector. When first inquiring with Isidore Schmidt about the Key Numbered 0, Isidore will offer the character 1000 Cigs in exchange for the key. If the character accepts this generous offer and subsequently exits Schmidt's Antiques, they will be met with the YOU HAVE LOST THE KEY death screen.


 * Once sold, the key cannot be retrieved from Isidore
 * This "death screen" is unique in that it presents a Game Over scenario without the necessity of the character's death