Exorcism 404

📼 Eli Turner (The Archivist) — "The Cameraman"

Appearance: 28 years old. Thin, stooped, with a permanent stubble and dark circles under his eyes. His hair is tousled, as if he constantly removes his hood.
Clothing: A baggy black hoodie, stained jeans, and chunky combat boots. An old VHS recorder hangs from a strap around his neck, and in his hands is a bulky Panasonic camera with a dim red recording indicator.
Detail: On his left wrist is a paracord bracelet his sister once gave him. He constantly twists it when he's nervous.
A former wedding videographer who fell into depression and began filming abandoned buildings for a niche audience on YouTube. Cynical, but tenacious.
Why he's here: He needs to make a viral video to pay off his debts. He treats the institute like a backdrop until he realizes the camera is the only thing protecting him from delusions.
· Chip: His camera is an old Panasonic VHS. Through the viewfinder, he sees a "layer" of reality hidden from view.

🩸 Claire Vaughan (Medium) - "The Receiver"

Appearance: 24 years old. Pale, with sharp cheekbones and long dark hair, which she wears in a loose braid. Her eyes are light gray, almost colorless, and she often squints, as if looking through walls.
Clothing: A thick olive-colored coat (not appropriate for the weather), with a knitted sweater and dark leggings underneath. Heavy boots, stained with mud, were on her feet.
Detail: She wears old wired headphones, which she never takes off. A tape recorder protrudes from her pocket, onto which she records "noise." When the Observer is nearby, she involuntarily clutches her temples with her hands.
A fragile girl with a musical ear who experienced clinical death as a child. Doctors diagnosed her with schizophrenia, but she calls it "sensitivity to interference."
Why she's here: She's looking for her brother, who disappeared in these woods three years ago (he was one of the first stalkers to go missing). Claire senses his "signal" is still here.
· Feature: She hears "white noise" at a frequency of 14 Hz. When the Watchers are nearby, she gets severe migraines and nosebleeds.

🚬 Dave Kovacs (Ex-Cop) - "Skeptic"

Appearance: 42 years old. Large, with a heavy gaze and a three-day stubble. His hair is cut short, and there's an old scar on his temple.
Clothing: Leather jacket, faded T-shirt, dark pants, and heavy boots. A revolver is holstered on his belt.
Detail: He constantly keeps his hands in his pockets or clutches the handle of his revolver. He has a crumpled photograph of his daughter in his pocket.
Fired from the police for using excessive force. Divorced, sees his daughter on weekends. Lives on blood pressure pills.
Why he's here: He was hired (or he tagged along) as muscle and security. He'll search for a rational explanation to the bitter end: "It's gas, it's hallucinations, it's poachers in suits."
· Chip: He carries an army flashlight and an old revolver in his pocket. But bullets don't affect the Observers. The only thing that saves him is his paranoia and ability to make quick decisions in stressful situations.

💻 Jonah Way (Hacker) - "Techie"

Appearance: 21 years old. Thin, pale, with disheveled hair that he constantly adjusts. He wears thick-lensed glasses.
Clothing: An oversized fleece hoodie, sweatpants, and sneakers. A backpack with a laptop on it, with wires and an antenna sticking out.
Detail: He's constantly typing on his phone or laptop, even while walking. There are marks from the keyboard on his fingers.
An autistic genius who hacked the Pentagon's database at 16 and received probation. He communicates with people through memes and sarcasm.
Why he's here: He found schematics for the Blackwood Institute's servers on the darknet and realized there was unuploaded data there. He wants to download it to sell.
· Feature: He carries around a laptop with a battery and an old modem. He can "make friends" with the building's automation and temporarily turn off the lights or open the door.

1. The Archivist: A guy with a portable VHS camera. His goal is to film footage for YouTube. He has access to old maps of the building. Ability: He can slow down time by rewinding the recording (the "glitch" effect) to avoid attacks.
2. The Medium: A girl who senses electromagnetic fields. She hears the "whisper" of a building. Ability: She can locate Observers by the static in their headphones, but it always takes away her sanity.
3. The Ex-Cop: A pragmatist with a gun. Doesn't believe in mysticism until he encounters it face to face. Ability: high stress threshold, can physically pull another character away from the "kill zone."
4. The Hacker: Attempts to hack the institute's servers through an old terminal. Ability: Can disable lights/alarms for a short time to escape.

1. Don't make eye contact. If a character makes eye contact with the Observer, they must make a Willpower check. Failure = partial memory loss (the GM takes the player's character sheet for 10 minutes, and the character acts automatically).
2. Light is a lie. Observers fear heat, not light. If the heroes turn on their flashlights, they attract attention. They will have to navigate in the dark using only night vision goggles.
3. VHS effect. Reality in the institute is crumbling. Sometimes doors lead to other rooms, and corridors loop. Players must use the Archivist's camera to "find" the correct path (the recording shows where the wall is an illusion).

Wing "C" (Burnt Church): Inside the institute is an exact replica of a small village church (frame 7). Inside is an altar with an old VCR on it. This is a save point.
· Observation Deck: A room with a huge window, beyond which lies not the street, but a giant red eye (frames 2 and 11). If you stare at it for long enough, the character begins to hear voices.
· Generator Room: This is where the "Fallen" resides—an angel who has acquired a human face (frame 10) but has gone mad. He can give the heroes a clue, but in exchange, he demands a "memory" (the player must tell their character's secret out loud).

🎬 Setting and Backstory (The Lore)

In 1993, at the secret Blackwood Institute, a group of scientists worked on the secret "Seraphim" project. The goal was to create a neural interface that would allow humans to "see" the world through God's eyes (absolute vision, mind reading, precognition).
The experiment failed. The test subjects (the patients in white robes) began to mutate. Their faces were erased, replaced by black boxes, and huge, unnaturally white wings sprouted from their backs. They were no longer human. Now they were "Observers." They don't kill physically. They "erase" personality: if an Observer looks at you, you forget who you are and become part of the system.
The institute was closed and kept secret. But today, a group of urban explorers (Urban Explorers) discovers an old videotape recording of the ritual in the forest.

The Static is the lowest level

Appearance: These are former patients of the clinic. They look like ordinary people in white hospital gowns, but their faces are blurred—like a bad VHS recording. When they move, you hear a faint crackling sound of static.
Behavior: They are not physically aggressive. They simply stand in the hallways and watch. If you pass by them without making eye contact, they will not touch you.
· Danger: If you look them in the face, you will begin to "crumble"—your memory will begin to fade. You will forget why you came here, your names, and who your friends are.
Weakness: They are afraid of loud sounds (shots, screams). They can be run away from.

The Seraphim - the highest level

Appearance: Those very same figures from the pictures. Enormous, up to 3 meters tall. Their bodies are covered with snow-white, but hard, metal-like wings. Instead of faces, they have matte black rectangles (as in the 8th picture). Sometimes, a black liquid, similar to oil, oozes from these rectangles.
Behavior: They are slow and majestic. They don't chase you. They "patrol" the building. If a Seraphim spots you, it raises its hand, and the space around it begins to distort.
· Danger: They don't kill. They "archive." If a Seraphim touches you, you become part of the wall. Your body will be fused into the concrete, and your face will stare forever at one point.
Weakness: They are blind to darkness. If you turn off the light and hide, they will pass by. But they can sense your body heat.

The Fallen is a unique boss.

Appearance: The only Seraphim with a human face. However, it is distorted into a perpetual grimace of terror (as in the 10th picture). His wings are broken, with wires and rusty metal rods protruding from them.
Behavior: He lives in the generator room. He doesn't attack. He talks. His voice sounds like radio static. He can tell you the truth about what happened in 1993. But he's lying. Or only half-telling the truth.
· Danger: He's trying to make a deal with you. He asks for a "memory" (your character's most precious possession) in exchange for the exit key. If you agree, you'll forget something important forever.

The Eye is the final entity

Appearance: A giant eye floating in the main hall of the institute (as in the 11th picture). It doesn't move. It just hangs in the air, and black liquid constantly drips from it.
Behavior: This is not a living being. It is a server. The core of the Seraphim project.
Danger: If you enter his field of vision, you'll begin to see the world through his eyes. You'll see every sin and fear of every person in the building. It'll drive you crazy in 30 seconds.
· Weakness: It can be disabled by hacking the terminal in the basement (a task for Jonah).

⚠️ Rules of Survival (How to Interact with Them)

1. Don't look them in the eye. This is the most important rule. Look at their feet, the walls, the camera—anywhere but their face.
2. Light is a lure. They're not afraid of light; they'll move toward it. If you turn on a flashlight, Seraphim will come to your warmth. Use night vision (Eli has a camera with IR illumination).
3. Noise is your enemy. Walk quietly. Don't shout. If you step on glass, the Static will hear you and start flocking to you.
4. The camera is your shield. Through Eli's camera lens, you can see a "layer" of reality. Sometimes walls are an illusion. The film shows where the real passage is and where the trap is.

They don't want to kill you. They want to observe you.
The entire clinic is a giant camera. And you are actors in a film that has been running for 30 years. If you become part of the system (a Seraphim or a wall), you cease to be an "actor" and become a "camera."

Their weakness: They don't understand chaos. They're programmed for order. If you start acting unpredictably (like breaking a mirror, setting off a siren, or flipping a table), the system will go haywire, and they'll lose interest for a second. This will give you time to escape.