Protagonist

"I got this weird book for my birthday. It's all here... Literally, every memory I have is written in these pages. So now I'm curious... What happens if I rewrite it?
 * —The Protagonist in the game's opening"

The Protagonist is the main playable character of Silent Hill: Book of Memories. The Protagonist's name, gender, and appearance are subject to the player's decision.

Personality
The Protagonist serves as a proxy for the player, so the character doesn't express much of their personality in-game. The Broadcasts show but a hint of this, varying between gender and identity choice. How it will be expanded upon however, will depend on the player's affinity (Blood or Light). For Blood, the protagonist will become rather petulant, stubborn and impatient. For the Light side, they will develop balanced morals but at the same time assert some degree of self-righteousness.

Background
The Protagonist has one sister, Shannon, whom they are very close to.

In high school, the Protagonist was acquainted with Trent Baker (if male) or Ashley Baker (if female), and had a crush on Katie Collins (if male) or Matthew Collins (if female), but couldn't work up the courage to ask them out.

Presently, the Protagonist holds a job in retail along with a senior worker Derek Copeland.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories


The Protagonist receives a strange book on their birthday from an unknown sender from Silent Hill, Maine. Howard Blackwood, the mailman, assures the Protagonist that the book was meant for them before he departs. The Protagonist opens the book and finds that all of their memories are written in it. Curious, the Protagonist decides to change some of their memories before falling asleep.

When they awaken they find themselves in an Otherworld-like dungeon. After traversing the dungeon they locate Howard Blackwood, who appears to be running a general store within the dungeon. There, Howard introduces the Protagonist to a substance known as Memory Residue and explains that, in order to change the Protagonist's past, the substance must first be collected.

After the Protagonist completes the dungeon, they awaken the next morning back in reality; however, after falling asleep the following night, the Protagonist finds themselves back in the dungeon. When they awaken on the third day, the Protagonist realizes that what they wrote in the book has become reality. With this newfound power, the Protagonist continues to rewrite recent past events at their discretion while each night they encounter a new zone within a particular dungeon.

For the majority of the game, the Protagonist traverses dungeons and picks up clues as to how the characters are affected by the book rewrites. At the end of each dungeon, the Protagonist battles a Dungeon Guardian.

When Derek Copeland, one of the Protagonist's coworkers, beats them out for a promotion, the Protagonist writes in their book: "I wish I'd gotten that promotion." After defeating the Fire Guardian, the Protagonist does indeed receive the promotion instead of Derek.

The Protagonist encounters their old high school crush, and after finding out that they are in a relationship, the Protagonist writes: "I wish Katie/Matthew and I were dating." After defeating the Wood Guardian, the Protagonist is asked out by Katie Collins/Matthew.

Graham Reynolds, a police officer and family friend of the Protagonist, appears to have been sitting in his patrol car outside their house while they've been house-sitting in it with their sister. This makes the Protagonist nervous, so in order to throw Reynolds off their trail, the Protagonist writes: "Officer Reynolds needs a distraction to keep him off my trail." After defeating the Light Guardian, Graham Reynolds stops watching their house.

Trent/Ashley (Katie/Matthew's ex-boyfriend/girlfriend) begins harassing the Protagonist out of jealousy and desperation. The Protagonist decides to take care of the problem by writing in their book: "Trent/Ashley should just forget about Katie/Matthew." After defeating the Water Guardian, harassment by Trent/Ashley will cease either because of an accident or due to finding someone new.

The Protagonist is attacked by a man who claims to have his own Book of Memories. The man, Jack Merrick, threatens the Protagonist, informing them that he knows where they live and work, and that he intends to take their book. The Protagonist writes: "Whoever that guy is, he can't EVER use his book." After the Protagonist defeats the Earth Guardian, Jack Merrick is no longer capable of using his book after either being arrested or beaten to near-death.

The Protagonist's sister Shannon has been pulling away from them as of late, which causes them to worry. The Protagonist asks Shannon if she would like to talk sometime, and offers to listen if she ever does feel like talking. After defeating the Blood Guardian, the Protagonist receives a letter from their sister. Depending on the karma meter, Shannon either sends the Protagonist a goodbye letter before attempting suicide, or she sends them a letter thanking them for always being there for her, and letting them know that she is now optimistic about her future.

The Protagonist realizes that their actions in the nightmare-worlds have had a direct effect on the past. They also realize that the Guardians they have been fighting represent the characters' own wills and desires, and by defeating them, they have been asserting their own will over the others. Regretting their interference in the others' lives, the Protagonist decides that they must find their own Guardian before someone else does, and in doing so, find a way to undo the damage they've caused. In their trek through the dungeon, the Protagonist finds the rewrites they've made in their book: "I wish I'd gotten that promotion," "I wish Katie/Matthew and I were dating," "Officer Reynolds needs a distraction to keep him off my trail," "Trent/Ashley should just forget about Katie/Matthew," "Whoever that guy is, he can't EVER use his book."

Fate

 * Pure Light ending: "I use the book to help others." The Protagonist decides to stop using their book for selfish reasons and instead use it to help others, thus controlling the book's impact by assimilating others' misfortune in order to restore karmic balance. This decision ultimately leaves the Protagonist weakened and very ill, lying in a hospital bed. At some point during their stay in the hospital, they overhear a woman speaking with a doctor about about how her daughter's life-threatening condition is quickly worsening. The doctor regretfully informs her that there is not much else they can do for her daughter. The Protagonist then makes changes to the book in order to save the girl's life, but at the same time, this causes the Protagonist to wheeze, indicating that their own condition is simultaneously worsening. The heart monitor gives a long beep, implying the protagonist dies.
 * Light ending: "I'll make sure the book never falls into the wrong hands." After the Protagonist decides that they are done trying to change things, they lock the book away so that no one else can be affected by its powers. They then turn on the television and flip through the channels, each station broadcasting a different disaster or tragedy occurring somewhere in the world or in a movie. The Protagonist then walks over to the drawer that they placed the book in and unlocks it. They hesitantly repeat to themselves, "I don't need to change anything..." while staring at the book.
 * Neutral ending: "I have to make everything perfect." The Protagonist muses about how, though difficult at first, they eventually began to notice a pattern in how the book's powers work, and have since slowly taken advantage of it to positively affect the outside world. It seems that the Protagonist has become obsessed with making everything "perfect". They achieve this through making small adjustments to the world, while balancing the book's karma in order to create a perfect world. The Protagonist spouts, "I'm so close. Just a few more lines [and] the whole world will be perfect, ordered, and happy." It is then revealed that the Protagonist has actually suffered a mental breakdown and has been hallucinating the whole scenario while being held within a psychiatric facility.
 * Blood ending: "I'm going to destroy this thing." The Protagonist decides that after all the harm the book has caused, it must be destroyed, as simply throwing it away could allow for it to be discovered. The character attempts to rip out the pages without success. They then try destroying the binding with an axe, but the book endures the bludgeoning. Finally, the Protagonist attempts to burn the book, which successfully destroys it. As they watch the book smolder, the Protagonist states their relief in finally being freed from the book's influence, unaware that the Book has actually re-materialized behind them.
 * Pure Blood ending: "I have the only book." The Protagonist decides to keep and continue using the book to fulfill their own selfish desires, such as using it to win the lottery, become a rock star, travel the world, and get married (at the expense of their partner's wishes). Eventually, the Protagonist finds their wife or husband writing in the book, claiming that they need a change: a simpler life. This leads the Protagonist to conclude that they can no longer trust anyone, and in response, "writes" their spouse out of the book. Paranoid, the Protagonist hires a private army to defend their home against any potential intruders who might want to steal the book. The Protagonist lives in isolation for some time until the writing on the pages mysteriously begins to vanish, which infuriates and confuses the Protagonist.

Statistics
Depending on the class selected, each protagonist has a different set of artifact slots.
 * Jock: Strength, Dexterity
 * Bookworm: Intelligence, Mind
 * Preppy: Agility, Intelligence
 * Goth: Mind, Vitality
 * Rocker: Vitality, Strength
 * Cosplay: Dexterity, Intelligence
 * Hip Hop: Agility, Strength
 * Raver: Agility, Vitality
 * Vintage: Intelligence, Vitality
 * James, Heather: Mind, Dexterity