Antag item - Lesser animal control collar

[Conservatron]

SO I had this idea looking at the mouse gank topic (and somewhat inspired by Wanted) and thought hey, these critters should be actually USEFUL for something.

Here's how I see it working. Antag pays the TCs to get a control collar and it can be fit onto any neutral small sprite (basically, mouse or lizard) and once worn, it can never be removed because it ties into the nervous system and the brain. Conceptually, I'm thinking it should take 1 TC for the collar.

Second, there will be a control module which, when activated (header activation, like flashlights ect), would immobilize the player character and take control of the mouse in the same way that a cortical borer can take over another player. As for the control module, what I'm thinking right now would be an 'upgraded' headset key. can be popped in or out, totally incognito on an examine but, if worn, will have the control switch.

So what benefit is this? well, first the collar would be fitted with a receiver which broadcasts to people who have the control module inserted in their headset. Now, this is broadcast to everyone, on a channel not monitored by the ai so you can theoretically set up two way communication but thats an aside for now. You can get the mouse into the head briefing room, sneak it under the table, and wait for a meeting with CCIA to sell info, for example. Last 'feature' is more of a safety measure for the user, if the mouse wearing the control collar gets stomped, the collar will self destruct with damage equivalent to a detomax. Not a ton, but something that can put you on your ass.

the idea is still very much a work in progress, but I wanted to get my major ideas down before i forgot them

[Carver]

Please have it as a verb and not a header activation. Those are genuinely terrible and when I click them they always activate the wrong one, and this isn't something you ever want to activate by accident.

[Nanako]

this is an amazing idea, and i fully support it. also wouldn't be too hard to implement

[vtipoman]

Won't hurt to extend it to bigger mobs

[Conservatron]

I was thinking keeping it to mice because they're almost always ignored and can be shoved under a table and left to record conversations like a mobile bug. I could see it being put on a monkey or something of the sort too, for more complicated ops (seeing how monkeys can pick stuff up ect..) but I thought that might be a little too.. useful? not the right word

[Nanako]

Mice aren't really ignored, they have a 50/50 chance of being stomped on if they go near someone.

Which is why i absolutely love the selfdestruct feature

[Conservatron]

I was thinking of you when I had that idea, and it really fit in well with the theme of it

[ArcBot]

I think this would make an interesting antag item, I'm all for it.

[Carver]

Please have it as a verb and not a header activation. Those are genuinely terrible and when I click them they always activate the wrong one, and this isn't something you ever want to activate by accident.

Reiterating this because header activations are buggy and terrible.