Saginaw Mental Institution

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Grassy plains ease you in as you follow the silent roads. As steel skies rumble, the wind runs away from where you're headed. You pass dozens of cars turned on their side and bearing war paint: bright slashes of sky blue.

As the road bends in to a small patch of forest, a worn-down sign reads: 'SAGINAW MENTAL INSTITUTION'. From the voids left by missing letters, you make out the words: 'Reaching wellness'. Now all it says is 'aching'.

A clearing opens up ahead. There, a menacing building stretches almost a mile wide with impunity. You see Blue Frogs at the doors, armed to all hell. Two floors. Boarded windows. One entrance. Your choices are few. You hide behind a car and consider how to infiltrate the stronghold of a murderous cult.

Description[]

Saginaw Mental Institution is the stronghold of the Blue Frog cult (also known as the Church of the Blue Frog), led by King Elias. Successfully exploring this place reveals several details about Philip Kindred's past and possibly the cure for Blue Rot.

The Institution can be found 10 hexes north and 12 hexes east of the Hidden Lake location. From the Cryo Facility, it is 28 hexes north and 40 hexes east.

Entrance[]

Upon entering the hex, the player will find heavily-armed Blue Frogs guarding the entrance to the mile-wide compound. The player is initially presented with few options: leave, attack the guards, or profess new faith in the Blue Frog Church. Other options may be available, dependent upon the player's skills and/or items. Be warned that in order to get the most out of the encounter lore wise, professing a new faith has to be chosen, while other options can be more profitable in regards to loot. Attacking the guards will result in instant death.

Approach with confidence as a Blue Frog missionary[]

Requires you to come equipped with a gasmask with working filters, and a Blue Frog sash.

The Guards will then ask you for a password. Choosing "What Password?" Will prompt the guards to complain about no one knowing the password and letting the player in.

Tracking[]

Upon entering you end up in the locker room of the cult. Entering the Institute this way, without a proper disguise, requires the player to aquire one before one can explore the rest of the facility.

Hiding[]

After heading in, you can go through the east or west hallways with arms raised, up the stairs, or leave.

If you go up the stairs, you encounter Ginny, a little girl with a bag over her head. She tells you to run.
- If you follow her, the two of you escape from a creature named Odo. She then offers to restore "some of your forgetties" if you play a game with her. Some vague memories are gained, then the player is teleported outside. Attempting to return to the Institution does nothing.
- If you stay, you get eaten by Odo.
Going through the hallways will get you shot.

Inside the Institution[]

Ruin dominates the interior of the Saginaw Mental Institution. Water damage and mold claim the peeling walls; bits of splintered ceiling, grime, and smashed glass occupy every surface; decades of abuse mark the scattered furniture. The place feels like a monstrous, dead giant, an asylum's carcass sprouting a savage temple, and you're standing in its jaws.

From the bright blue swaths of fabric hanging from the high ceilings to the Blue Frog insignia cutting through the decay, the cult has branded everything. Every so often, a far-off scream interrupts the silence.

From the foyer, dark hallways extend east and west beyond broken gates. You also see a stairwell across the room. If you listen closely, you can hear a commanding voice from the east.

The Trials[]

Upon professing to the new religion (It is advised to Leave all your ıtems on a nearby Hex before entering the encounter with this choice, because some of the outcomes do not return your confiscated items) , you are told to choose from 3 trials: the Water, Fire or Light. These trials cause the Player to suffer a form of pain, as this is the way of the Blue Frog religion.

If you choose the Trial of Water, they will waterboard you. The water that enters your system will eventually induce gastroenteritis.
If you choose the Trial of Fire, you are put in an oven and nearly burned/asphyxiated to death before being pulled out.
If you choose the Trial of Light, you will be put into an electric chair. Surviving is only possible with the Tough or Unstoppable skill, though with injuries.

It is recommended to do the Trial of Water, since it does not result in immediate injury.

Future of the Blue Frog[]

You're dragged from the room. Voices congratulate you, but as if from miles away. You feel like you're waking with the slowness of surfacing through tar.

You become aware that you're in a large auditorium with a dome structure in the middle. Before it stands a Blue Frog, clad in ornate robes and a gas mask with a crown motif, standing on a dental chair. You hear only the tail end of his sermon.

After the trial, Philip is taken to the Blue Frog leader, King Elias, by the Bishop, Edward Kincaid. The king asks who you are. Answering with your real name (Philip Kindred) causes a stir in the mass, revealing you to be their "prophesized savior". If player answers with a fake name, you will be then taken to a locker room and allowed to more freely explore the institute (See Entering with a Disguise section).

The king then takes Philip to a back chamber, then performs the "Remembrance Ritual" (in actuality, a Regressive Hypnosis session). Parts of Philip's memory comes back, but it's only a brief moment when he was checked into the institution.

The King then asked what he has to do to save the Church. The player can tell him either (1) the church is doomed, (2) he should believe in the Blue Frog, (3) you have no answers for him, or (4) the church needs a new King.

Doom[]

If you tell him the church is doomed, he will show you a prophecy stating that "Only Frogs will survive the Flood."

The Flood is a lie - King Elias gives you a single dose of YpcV, the only guaranteed cure for Blue Rot; and some pages from the Blue Frog book. All confiscated items are also returned. He then leaves the church and heads to Clearbone Valley.
The flood has already come - the King lets the player go with his possessions, then leaves the church to wander the land.

Believe[]

If you tell him to believe in the Blue Frog, the Bishop bursts in angrily and tries to convince the King that he is being deluded.

If you tell the Bishop to screw himself, you are locked up.
If you tell the Bishop that "the righteous are always tempted", it leads you to a decision where you can tell the King to trust you, tell the King the choice is his, or challenge the Bishop to a trial of pain.
- The first leads to being locked up for a long time before a little girl lets you out with the warning to not come back. If you do come back, she won't let you in, but you can still loot the bodies for a ton of loot, or being executed.
- The second makes the King go mad, running around shooting up the Institution. The player will make an escape, but without any of his possessions. The King will become an NPC in the wasteland, presumably killing every creature he sees.
- The third begins a sort of trial to determine who is "purer", Phillip or the Bishop. He will pick the Trial of Light and appear nervous, but if with Trapping, Eagle Eye or Hiding, the player can notice that the Bishop is only pretending. If you still choose the trial of light, you'll end up with two choices that kill you, unless you have the Tough skill (this will lead to injury similar to before). You can refuse the Trial of Light and do the Trial of Water. During the trial, the king collapses and dies after naming Queen Liza as his successor, and the Bishop escapes. Liza gives Philip a choice of gifts before banishing him, after which she will wander the Wasteland as an NPC. The gifts are:
  - To become the Bishop of the Blue Frog. She tells you that it is too dangerous and that she is abolishing the position, so your request is denied, but will reward you with the Sapphire Lily sash, which has the same effect as a normal Blue Frog Sash, stopping Blue Frog members from attacking (increases reputation).
  - Saginaw patient records. You'll be rewarded with some pages from the Blue Frog book, containing your medical records. This reveals that you were once a patient at Saginaw and you were admitted to the institution with a "Warding Talisman, Anishinaabe Tribe".
  - A cache of medical supplies. You'll be rewarded with a nanorobot medical kit with three charges and three bottles of pills, containing 10 AquaPur, 10 Amoxicillin, and 20 Cavilo painkillers ($1803 worth of items).
  - Sometimes, you will be given a fourth option: advanced hunting gear. This rewards you with a .308 hunting rifle with a scope and strap, 10 SP rifle rounds and fully-charged night vision goggles. This option does not appear every time - however, it can be gained by pressing space bar with no option chosen, refreshing your options until it becomes available.

No Answer[]

If you tell him you have no answers, he is disappointed and kicks you out before leaving to wander the Wasteland. The player is given some pages from the Blue Frog book.

New King[]

If you tell him they need a new king, the player announces that he is taking over.
This will result in the King saying that you are an impostor. All choices result in instant death.

Entering with a Disguise[]

If the player managed to enter the Institution with a disguise, through the Tracking skill or by providing a fake name, a more freeform exploration of the Institution, the cult and its inner workings is possible.

Upon entering the foyer you are given the options to go to the west wing, the east wing, going upstairs or to leave the stronghold.

Going into the west wing leads to another fork. Here you can head west through the gated doors, back to the foyer, into the north wing or enter a nearby room.

Entering the Nearby room will result in the player being greeted by a cultist named Rollo who is surrounded by ECT flyers, three frog sculptures and will reveal this to be the Induction room. You can leave the room, ask Rollo about the ECT treatment or ask him about the three frogs. Asking him about the frogs will make him burst out angrily before coming to the conclusion that you are pulling a prank on him. Asking about ECT will make him rant about the treatment as nothing but a means to bury emotions instead of dealing with them.

Going west through the gated doors presents the player with the choices to head back, rifle through some files or approach a figure. Rifling trough the files shows that all files starting with Ks are missing, and that the Phillip Kindred file isn't here. Approaching the figure will reveal her to be Liza, who is admiring a mural. She will remark that the player is not one of them.

If you ask her how she knows or tell her that you're new, she will add that no one else comes here. Then she will proceed to reveal how the Bishop has ruined the church and that she needs the players help to restore it.
- If you 'Ask her why the lives of murderers are worth saving', she says we are all the same doing what must to survive but wants to stop the torture, the slaughtering and return Blue Frog back to being message of hope.
- If you ask her what she means to do, she will ask the player to challenge the Bishop and promises to reward him. After further inquiry she will reveal that this entails a pissing match in machismo to see who can endure more pain. You can then accept or decline.
  - Accepting will give you the option to confront the Bishop in the auditorium and boot you back to the west wing.
  - Declining she asks if you are sure, giving you the option to reconsider;
    - 'Accepting' ... (to be investigated)
    - 'Decline' again, she says she will be here if you reconsider but as you pretend to turn way she throws a knife at you. You dodge it and tackle her to the ground. Giving you the options to;
      - 'Get out of here' ... (to be investigated)
      - Use the 'Hiding' skill, to smother her to death then drag her lifeless corpse to a corner and toss some garbage on top to hide her body. You return to the west wing.
If you 'Tackle her before she can tell anyone', she avoids you then she kicks you to death.
If you use the 'Athletic' or 'Melee' skill to tackle her, you hit her and both end up on the ground giving you the option to;
- 'Get out of here' ... (to be investigated)
- Use the 'Hiding' skill, to smother her to death then drag her lifeless corpse to a corner and toss some garbage on top to hide her body. You return to the west wing.

Going into the east wing will present another fork. Here you can head further east and into the auditorium, back to the foyer, into the north wing or enter the Locker room.

If the player enters the Locker room, then there are 4 options: Look around, Talk to the Blue Frog, Check your things and Go to the east wing. Additionally, this is the room a player enters the facility from when using the Tracking skill instead of a disguise, and enables them to leave here the same way they snuck in.

Looking around adds a Blue Frog sash and a gas mask. You can wear those as a disguise to walk around some parts of the facility unnoticed. Talking to the Blue Frog and checking your things does nothing. Going into the east wing from here before equipping a disguise means that heading west into the foyer, east to the auditorium, or going down the north hallway all lead to instant death.

Entering the Auditorium will have the player enter an already ongoing sermon by the King. The only options are to go back to the east wing or to Keep listening. If the player chooses to listen then the King will elaborate his sermon and another option to listen further will pop up. Players that have talked with Liza and accepted her quest are also given the option to make their challenge now. If the player decides to listen even further they will be whipped with thorny whips containing the blue rot, hurting and infecting the player and then be booted out to the east wing where they can repeat the encounter. Choosing to challenge will prompt you to either accuse the Bishop or Liza of being a Traitor.

if the player accuses Liza: they then choose between accepting or declining a Trial of Water or a Trial of Fire from Liza. Accepting either trial and pressing on leads to death. Accepting and forfeiting midway leads to a short imprisonment, after which the player is allowed to loot the remains of the cult.
If the player accuses the Bishop the same event will carry out as if the player accused him in the Believe section with the same choices for rewards. After completion Liza will additionally reveal that she knew all along that the player was Philip Kindred, but also that the blue frogs don't need a saviour now. She will then perform Regressive Hypnosis on the player like the King with the same memories being uncovered and the player being banished.

Going into the north wing will give you the options to return to the east or west wings, in addition you can pick a locked door if lockpicks are equipped. Picking the door will reveal a mostly empty room with a safe, a mattress and a pot. Interacting with the pot and mattress does nothing. Picking the safe will reward you with a nanorobot medical kit with two charges, a revolver with some ammunition and three doses YpcV.

When you go upstairs a girls voice will call out to you to stop and go back. If you continue upwards you will instantly die, unless carrying a lit Giizhik Smudge Stick. You then play a game with her, getting medical records for Meredith Ewing as a reward, gain back a memory of being admitted to Saginaw the first time and get teleported outside. Further return to Saginaw is impossible.