Guest Marlon Phoenix Posted October 4, 2016 Posted October 4, 2016 (edited) Currently the library has a spooky desk in the back that serves no mechanical function. During spooky rounds, the librarian and chaplain are as helpless against the true nature of the spooky as anyone else. It is up to the cult to determine the escalation of the round and how much they reveal, meaning a stealthcult or stealthvampire have significant advantages until they 'go loud'. As well, security themselves dictate, define, and enforce how to deal with these antagonists, and there is no feasible argument against them, which leads to the rather repetitive series of permabriggings and executions. This will give research centered mechanics for the chaplain and librarian, focused around adding different 'ingrediants' to the spooky desk. Because this already got long with the cult, I'll not spend time detailing how this would interact with vampires (or if it should) unless the cult-centric one is included. Cult-Centric Research The spooky desk in the library (and perhaps one we put in the chapel office) can be used to research the cult. Tome and Bible The "first" part of research that unlocks most of the other steps. The Chaplain/Librarian insert a cultist tome into the desk along with a bible and interact with the table to begin research, which takes 5 minutes for each tome and can be interrupted with progress saved, with the following messages: You struggle to understand the symbols...You find a lead! You furiously research...A false lead, but you won't give up...A pattern begins to emerge...It all falls into place! You furiously take notes...The tome's contents are revealed to you! Attempting to research the tome without the bible gives you the following failure message, The tome's contents are intelligible to you, but some runes look vaguely familiar to some religious symbols... After the first cult tome is translated, the cult tome is changed to have the following text in it readable by non-cultists and is no longer usable by cultists: Hastily scrawled notes on the margins and messy translations cover the pages. Through slow, painful reading, the tome reveals the efforts of cultists to translate their own, long-lost ritual words. The later half of the tome is filled with apocalyptic images. This gives librarian/chaplains a mechanical method of discovering the cult in a consistent manner without meta-gaming. Tome and Obsidian Rod Adding the cult tome and the obsidian rod begins another chain of research that takes 3 minutes, with progress being saved. You get the following progress messages. You open the book and hold the obsidian rod, chanting quietly... You wave the rod over the book, and you get a pounding headache... You feel the power of the tome weakening... Is this...? The tome's sinister energy falls silent. The tome is changed to 'a blank tome'. It has the same sprite, but the description of: This tome seems inert, and all the pages are blank. You now know for sure obsidian counters cult magic. This gives librarian/chaplains the justification through research for knowing obsidian weakens the cult powers, if they already haven't found out through other means, to justify knowing obsidian is important in fighting the cult. Translated Tome and Cult Blade Insert the cult blade and previously translated tome into the desk. Research takes 2 minutes, can be interrupted and continued. You place the sword down on the desk next to the tome, and instinctively begin to pray...A feeling of dread overtakes you as you research the sword...You hear something whispering behind you...A feeling of fear creeps over you...Using your translated runes, you make the sword's unnatural energy dim..You've reversed the dark energy of the sword! Perhaps there is hope in redemption... The cult blade is now transformed into an Inert Cult Blade that does the same damage as a kitchen knife if used with the description, This sword no longer seems to hold any inherent evil. This reinforces that the evil of nar'sie is reversible, giving hope to the cultists. Translated Tome and Soul Stone Research for the soul stone and translated tome takes 5 minutes, can be interrupted with progress saved. You begin to research the strange stone.You feel fingers brush through your hair....A familiar voice calls out to you...You feel a presence pulsing through the stone... Could this be..?You've discovered the nature of the soul stone, but its relationship with the strange constructs needs further research... This creates a Purified Soul Stone, which is no longer useful and is only the sprite of the soul stone. Translated Tome and Purified Soul Stone Research takes 2 minutes and can't be interrupted. You begin your research into the cult's usage of souls.You feel repulsed at the enslavement of souls...Horrific constructs powered by the souls of living beings...How could any God let this happen....?You've discovered the methods of creating cult constructs. What you've discovered has forever shaken your faith. This returns the Translated Tome and Purified Soul Stone, with the librarian or chaplain now knowledged in cult constructs. Attempting to insert any other combination results in a failure message and 5 brute bleeding damage to the head to simulate a nose bleed and headache. The total research time for all of this is 17 minutes. This does not include the time it takes for the round to progress for the chaplain/librarian not having access to these or being given these, this just means that if the cult loses these items to the librarian/chaplain all at once in series of bizarre circumstances, that they have a minimum of 17 minutes to counter the research. Edited October 5, 2016 by Marlon Phoenix
DatBerry Posted October 5, 2016 Posted October 5, 2016 I like this idea, though it only covers your ass on meta knowledge, thats more than enough to get real balanced conflict going on im the later half, security wouldn't catch any cultists usually tell the 40ish or so mark, thats enough time to recruit people, research words and being ready to fight. Though if we do implant this, we should port's tg cult ability where you can deal a moderate amount of brute for emergency communications, since sec would start confiscating tomes if they do listen to the chaplain's bullshit story about how the RD is a filthy blood cultist.
Damarik Posted October 6, 2016 Posted October 6, 2016 I'm down for this, but 17 minutes is still not a whole lot. Perhaps find additional combinations with holy water and candles? Blessing things takes time and effort. You might be able to take the inert blade and make it something /more/.
icy_dew Posted October 6, 2016 Posted October 6, 2016 very much yes. this'd create way better RP situation with cult. it does seem a little short, even with the rest of the round going on... might i also suggest that in one of the last researches, you gain the ability to see who's a cultist?
Tequilajoe Posted October 20, 2016 Posted October 20, 2016 Have you considered having the librarian be able to research the wizard, perhaps? I feel that the chaplain already counters cult (somewhat), but having the librarian have some sort of edge over the wizard would be very cool, and give them a gameplay purpose, at least for that one gamemode. Just as how the chaplain's time to shine is during a cult round, the librarian's claim to fame would be trying to beat the wizard.
Damarik Posted October 20, 2016 Posted October 20, 2016 Actually, it would make some kinda memey sense for the librarian to have the sway over the wizard. Being the book nerds they are, the librarian could research into tabletop games, myth and other lore to figure out the kind of wizard the crew is dealing with, what their powers and artefacts do, and how to stop thwm, should they become a threat.
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