diff --git a/src/en/space-station-14/round-flow/antagonists/BloodCult b/src/en/space-station-14/round-flow/antagonists/BloodCult new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..167b814f76 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/en/space-station-14/round-flow/antagonists/BloodCult @@ -0,0 +1,176 @@ +# Blood Cult: Major Team Conversion + +| Designers | Implemented | GitHub Links | +|---|---|---| +| Ze SpyRo | :Yes: v1.0 | | +| Terkala | :Yes: v2.0 | https://github.com/terkala | + +## Preamble + +This is version 2.0 of the Blood Cult. The previous design document was implemented on Funkystation, and subsequently went into testing which found many of the same issues as brought up in the original design proposal here. So this is a design document based on the combination of that proposal and my (Terkala) design-rework-proposal. Also worth noting that I have received and documented the approval of every contributor to the Blood Cult that they approve of making their code MIT-licensed. + +## Overview + +This document describes a new Team Antagonist, the Blood Cult. The Blood Cult is initially composed of two or three non-command, non-security, and non-chaplain crewmembers who paint runes on the floor and use blood magic to kill, kidnap, or convert their fellow crewmates into the cult. Their goal is to convert crew members, or to spill blood with their cult daggers, which ultimately allows the cult to summon Nar'Sie. + +## Background + +Currently, not many major conversion antagonists exist in Space Station 14. Furthermore, the Chaplain as a job as it currently exists is a roleplay-only role, unlike its counterpart in Space Station 13. The addition of the Blood Cult will provide a new antagonist that encourages constant player communication and co-operation, and will also provide the Chaplain with a mechanical reason to exist as a job aboard the station. + +## Features to be added + +Blood Cultists are, at the moment of becoming cultists, given three abilities that will remain available to them until such a time as they are killed or deconverted. + +1) **Commune** - This ability allows cultists to project messages to the chat windows of all other cultists and cult-aligned constructs. With this ability, cultists may speak to each other over any distance. However, when using this ability, cultists will whisper an incantation, allowing unwise use of this ability to betray a cult's presence aboard the station. +2) **Study Veil** - This ability allows a cultist to silently recieve their instructions. This serves as an easy "What to do next" button for cultists. +3) **Prepare Spell** - This ability allows cultists to carve blood spell sigils onto their flesh, harming them and preparing the spell to be used instantly at any time in the future. Only one blood spell may be prepared at a time, unless the user is standing atop an empowering rune. + +In addition to these abilities, the cult is capable of utilizing five categories of cult-specific utilities in order to strengthen its members. + +### 1) Runes + +The bread-and-butter of cultists are their runes. These sigils, painted on the ground in the cultist's blood, allow cultists to draw upon the power of Nar'Sie at a specific physical location. Runes can be drawn at the cultist's feet by first activating a cult dagger in their hand, selecting a rune from the radial menu that appears, and then using the dagger on themselves. This will harm the user with slashing damage. Activating a rune will cause the cultists involved to speak an incantation out loud. Some runes require multiple cultists to stand around them to work -- for these rituals, living cult constructs can be used in place of cultists if not enough cultists are available. + +#### **Conversion Rune** +Originally called the Offering Rune, renamed to Conversion Rune after some testing. This rune allows cultists to convert the weak-minded to their cause as well as sacrifice the dead, the mindshielded, and those who are designated cult targets. + +**Converting** A living, weak-minded individual to the Blood Cult -- an individual who is not mindshielded, not a Chaplain, and not the target designated by the game -- is marginally more complex in its execution than sacrificing an insignificant crewmember. The victim must be dragged onto the offering rune while still alive. At least two (2) cultists must stand on the tiles adjacent to the rune before activating it. A successful ritual will produce a new cultist and significantly replenish their health. + +**Soul Capture** Anything that cannot bleed and is not humanoid cannot join the Blood Cult. But they can serve in other ways. Any Borg, brain, positronic brain, MMI, or hamster put on the offering rune will have its brain removed and encased in crystalized blood of Nar'Sie. This is not round removal, as the soulstone can be smashed to remove the brain. + +#### **Empowering Rune** +The empowering rune allows a cultist standing on it to prepare more than one blood spell at a time. In addition, the preparation of these spells will result in far less physical trauma to the envoker, and will be performed significantly faster. + +#### **Revive Rune** +The revive rune may be used by cultists to restore the soul of a dead cultist. A dead cultist may be dragged on top of this rune, and the rune subsequently activated by clicking on it or pressing E on it, to perform this ritual. This also works on non-cultists, but doing so only revives them to a critical state. Just healthy enough to be a valid target for conversion. + +#### **Barrier Rune** + +The barrier rune allows magical barriers to be summoned on top of itself. When activated, an impenetrable forcefield will temporarily manifest above it, and any adjacent barrier runes will be activated as well. There is no limit to the length of this chain, save for the fortitude of the invoker -- their blood will be drained for the ritual with a quantity determined by the number of barriers produced. This functions similarly to a wizard wall, allowing blood cultists to pass through it, but blocking their enemies and projectiles. Crit or sleeping players can also be dragged through it so it does not prevent the blood cult from converting targets they've stunned with their spell. + +#### **Summoning Rune** + +This rune is used to produce equipment or allies for the blood cult. Runed Glass may be placed on this rune to make a Pylon. Runed Steel makes Juggernaut Shells. Runed Plasteel (and any outerwear) produces cult robes. Cloth and Plastic (or Durathread) produces Cult Boots. + +### 2) Blood Magic + +Blood spells are incantations that must be physically carved into the invoker's skin prior to their use. Through the use of the **Prepare Spell** ability, these sigils may be carved onto the cultist's person without their hands needing to be free or unrestrained. Without the aid of an empowering rune, however, the carving will have to be a crude one, and there will only be enough room on their body for one sigil at a time. Once a spell is prepared, it will be added to the cultist's Abilities, and may be activated at any time. + +#### **Summon Dagger** + +The summon dagger spell allows a cultist to instantly grant themselves a new cult dagger (both a weapon and a rune-carving tool). Useful for new cultists and those who have lost their old daggers. + +#### **Stun** + +The stun spell will temporarilly knock over, drain the stamina of, silence, and mark a victim. A marked victim may then be struck once with a cult dagger to enhance the effects of a stun. This spell may also be used to EMP Cyborgs. Chaplains are immune to the effects of this spell, and attempts to use it on a Chaplain will result in the spell rebounding back on the caster, with a diminished effect. + +This spell may permit cultists to silently and efficiently kidnap those the Blood Cult requires, giving cultists ample time to strip them of their suit coordinates and communications headset during abduction. It is recommended that all cultists keep a stun spell prepared when roaming beyond their selected base of operations. + +#### **Twisted Construction** + +The twisted construction spell allows cultists to convert stacks of plasteel into runed metal Runed metal is a cult-specific material that allows cultists to summon cult items, structures, or allies. + +### 3) Structures + +Structures are worldly objects that can assist devotees of Nar'Sie. Constructable using runed metal via the crafting menu (the "G" key), these objects are a great boon to a developed cult, but are a dead giveaway if spotted by a non-cultist. + +#### **Pylons** + +Pylons gradually heal cultists and cult-allied beings, including inhabited constructs. By merely existing near them, living devotees will continuously receive a healing effect to all forms of damage, and any incompleted attempts at deconversion will be gradually undone. This effect stacks with multiple pylons. Pylons may be unanchored using a wrench to deactivate them and move them around. Pylons get more powerful the further into the stages the cult has gotten. + +#### **Juggernaut Shells** + +Juggernaut shells are inert statues of runed metal. They are completely useless until an inhabited soul stone is inserted, at which point the juggernaut shell transforms into a **juggernaut** construct. + + +### 4) Constructs + +Constructs are non-verbal, barely-sentient minions of the blood cult. Made from the souls sacrificed to Nar'Sie atop an offering rune, these entities count towards completing rituals with runes, and may be used in place of living cultists in a pinch. + +#### **Shades** + +Shades are mostly-physical spirits produced by activating an inhabited soul stone in one's hand. Loyal to the one who freed them, Shades will stop at nothing to see their master's will enacted. What they lack in physical strength they make up for in speed. When a shade dies, its soul returns to the soulstone to be re-used. Using the soulstone injures a cultist slightly. + +#### **Juggernauts** + +Juggernauts are hulking beasts made from juggernaut shells, awakened through the insertion of an inhabited soul stone. Slow and meticulous, these monstrosities are completely immune to weak attacks, and are capable of breaking down even the strongest of walls. An invaluable asset to a cult whose presence aboard the station is already known. They also heal by absorbing spilled blood on the ground. This makes them extremely powerful in a defensive context for the cult, good at defending cult bases, but poor at attacking enemies away from those bases. + + +### 5) Equipment + +The blood cult has access to an expanding list of cult-specific contraband that may be obtainable through spells or through using certain item-granting structures. Chaplains are immune to the effects of cultist melee weapons, and attempting to attack a Chaplain with a cult melee weapon will cause the weapon to fly out of the hands of the cultist. + +- **Cult Daggers** may be used to attack non-cultists and draw runes onto the ground. +- **Runed Steel/Glass/Plasteel** may be used to build structures, items, or juggernauts. + +### The pre-final Ritual + +When the veil has been sufficiently weakened, and the cult has grown sufficiently expanded, it will be time to summon Nar'Sie. The **tear veil rune** may be drawn at any of the three designated locations the **Inspect Veil** ability will tell you about. This rune will take a long time to prepare. + +Once the final rune is drawn, at least two cultists must be present to start the ritual chant (3 on higher population). Completing this chant adds Blood Halos to each blood cultist, plays an announcement specifically instructing crew to attack blood cultists, and starts a two minute timer for the Final Ritual. + +### The Final Ritual + +Two minutes after the tear veil ritual has taken place, a rift will form. This will always be indoors, in a 3x3 open area, which has a safe temperature and atmosphere. There are fallbacks for if this is impossible, but assuming the entire station isn't space then these fallbacks are unlikely to occur. + +This forms a rune on the ground, with a rift in the middle. The rune and rift are indestructable and impossible to degrid. Three cultists are needed to chant at this ritual, and it starts the final ritual music while they chant. The Lead Cultist of this ritual (chosen randomly) will die 1/3rd of the way through this chant, leaving behind their shade. Each sacrifice "checkpoints" the song and timer, so if it is stopped and restarted it will restart at the last reached point. + +## Game Design Rationale + +### Design Principles +- **Chaos** - Blood Cult mechanics, while powerful, are not without risk to use and may lead to discoveery based on the degree of planning put into their use (and no small amount of luck). Attacking, sacrificing, and converting people makes a lot of noise. Runes are visible on the ground and easy to identify. Blood spellcasting causes the user to shout an incantation. Even the simple act of Communing causes a player to whisper an incantation. If used properly, the tools and abilities of the Blood Cult can seriously disrupt a round -- but none are infallible. +- **Seriously Silly** - A powerful Blood Cultist will be roaming the station, kidnapping people, and whispering incantations all while preaching to everybody about the love of Nar'Sie. Cultists are also encouraged to be as nice and friendly to one another as possible, as the only being a Blood Cultist loves more than their fellow cultists is Nar'Sie herself. The mechanical indimitation and the in-roleplay devotion, combined with the tone shift of immediately welcoming a victim into their "family" post-conversion, is meant to be as inherently silly to the participants as it is terrifying to the uninitiated. Also Hamlet has his own cute little soulstone sprite. And Hamstones can be used in juggernauts, which keep the "chuu" noises. Adorable and horrifying. +- **Dynamic Environment** - Cultists will be able to -- and will *have* to -- build numerous "nests" with runes and structures whose locations will vary based on the station layout and the tastes of the individual cultists. A single disarmed cultist is capable of re-arming themselves without additional items or help, as they can at any time re-summon their cult daggers and prepare spells (even while restrained). Furthermore, sacrificing players only requires one Blood Cultist to be present and converting players only requires two (this can include sacrificed players-turned-constructs), so a single cultist is capable of completely rebuilding an entire Blood Cult sect. +- **Intuitive and Inter-Connected Simulation** - As this document outlines the addition of several "magical" mechanics, it has less direct interaction with existing systems as another comparably-sized addition might. In terms of what *is* interconnected, Chaplains and their religious nature have many interactions with the Blood Cult, and their holy water functions as a medical reagant when it de-converts Blood Cultists. Cult weapons and armor are to have their offensive/defensive capabilities visually obvious with their designs. Sound effects/visual effects should make it clear what happened when a non-obvious interaction takes place (for example, when an armorless Chaplain is somehow able to repel blood magic and disarm cultists' weapons). +- **Player Interaction** - This entire antagonist is centered around player interaction. Cultists can Commune with one another at any time across any distance, so they are always able to chat and collaborate. Cultists who interact with other players will need to either hide their true nature through deception, or convince them to go along with a plan that will ultimately lead to their downfall. The entire "Grand Plan" of the cult -- sacrificing high-level members of staff and then summoning Nar'Sie -- requires many players to work together and strategize. +- **Player Agency** - As a large part of a growing Blood Cult involves subversion and deception, players have many ways that they can choose to interact with the situation as it develops. Cultists can decide for themselves how best to approach their goal using the tools they have access to (cult tools or normal station tools), and normal players can choose how they wish to respond to attempts by cultists to lure them places (even if they are unaware of what specifically they are facing). As the round develops and the cult is no longer able to disguise their presence, members of Command and Security (and to an extent, individual crewmembers) will have to choose how best to respond to the threat that they present. Most winning strategies to counter the Blood Cult are likely to involve the Chaplain, who themselves will have to decide how to respond to the threat based on the preparation (or lack thereof) that they have done over the course of the round. + +### What makes the Blood Cult enjoyable/rewarding for players? + +The Blood Cult as an antagonist is a highly social conversion antagonist where no single player is in charge and the converted are treated with as much respect as a pre-existing cultist. The strategic thinking required to make a cult successful early in the round, as well as the combat skill and game knowledge cultists must exhibit to succeed late in the round, are meant to provide both strategic thinkers with game knowledge and mechanically skilled players with aspects of the antagonist that they can enjoy. + +Combatting a cult is a station-wide effort, with many possible giveaways that players could recognize (from things as simple as seeing a cult dagger in someone's hand, to things as obvious as seeing a blood rune or a glowing red halo above a player's head). Organizing around Command and the Chaplain to accomplish goals such as distributing holy water should provide the crew with many possible options that they can choose to take to work against the cult's interests. + +### What meaningful choices (risk vs. reward, new strategies) does Blood Cult introduce? + +The Cultists themselves must choose when, how, and where to draw runes, build structures/constructs, convert/sacrifice victims, and meet up to plan their next moves. No single strategy will work for every round, and the differences in crew makeup, the station they are aboard, what jobs the current cultists have aboard the station, and who a cult's target is will change how they are able to approach their goals. Misplays may reveal a cult before they are prepared, so cultists must be careful. + +The Chaplain should be aware that, if a cult appears aboard the station, they will likely be a prime target for elimination (even if they are not *literally* their target). The Chaplain may choose how best to prepare for this eventuality. Command and Security should also be aware of the Chaplain's importance, and must safeguard the Chaplain's life if a Blood Cult sect is suspected to be aboard the station. + +### How does Blood Cult enhance player co-operation, competition, and emergent gameplay? + +Blood Cultists can commune over any distance, are directly opposed to the station's continued existence, and are meant to roleplay as being completely devoted to Nar'Sie as well as completely supportive of their fellow cultists when said support is not detrimental to their servitude to Nar'Sie. These will all serve to provide an emergent nature to the gameplay caused by the Blood Cult. + +### Antagonist Design Pillars +- **Just a Spark** - Blood Cultists cannot succeed without interacting with the crew at large. They must sacrifice targets and convert crewmembers, which will involve stealth and subversion as well as strategic attacks to avoid revealing themselves. +- **Escalation** - The Blood Cult starts small, with 2-to-3 players selected at roundstart. The cult will not reach their full potential until many more players have been converted, and many more resources (such as runed metal) have been acquired. By this point, the cult's presence will be very obvious to Command and the crew, making the cult unable to snowball with impunity. +- **Full-Time Job** - Though doing job they were assigned to may serve to make their cult status less obvious, if cultists spend too much time away from their Blood Cult-related duties, they will have little-to-no chance to complete their objectives before the evacuation shuttle takes the crew away and ends the round. +- **Back and Forth** - Cultists must "win" individual encounters to sacrifice and convert players as they grow over the course of the round. Failure in any of these will reveal the cult's presence to the crew. When a cult is revealed, the game shifts to being one of cat-and-mouse, with Security hunting for cultists and cult bases as the cult attempts to shift their activities and become less predictable. +- **Discoverability** - Runes, spells, incantations, cult contraband, and reports from would-be victims may all serve to reveal the cult aboard the station. In addition, as the cult grows in strength (either through numbers or through accomplishing their objectives), the cult **gains visual giveaways** that make it difficult to hide their true nature. These giveaways include **glowing red eyes** when ~12.5% of the crew has been converted or one target has been sacrificed, and **glowing red blood halos above their heads** when ~30% of the crew has been converted or two targets have been sacrificed. +- **Accessibility** - A detailed guidebook entry has been created that explains the breadth and depth of this antagonist's mechanics, to make cultists more aware of their capabilities as well as to keep the crew informed about what signs to look for and what precautions to take if a cult's presence is suspected. In addition, the Commune ability makes this a highly collaborative antagonist in terms of strategy dissemination, with experienced cultists encouraged to explain things to junior cultists in order to increase their odds of victory. +- **Fun to lose against (or as)** - Losing to a cultist is unlikely to remove a player from the round. If converted, they themselves will become a cultist. If sacrificed, the soul stone that drops out of the ritual may be used to summon constructs that the victim player can control, keeping them engaged in the round. Losing *as* a Blood Cultist is likewise unlikely to remove the player from the round, as the station's primary method of countering a cult is deconversion using holy water. The Chaplain is the clearest counter to the Blood Cult, being highly resistant to their weapons/abilities as well as the station's sole producer of holy water. However, they are not completely safe; Blood Cultists may use more advanced strategy and more traditional (non-magical) means to assassinate a troublesome Chaplain. + +## Roundflow & Player interaction + +As the cult expands, the situation aboard the station will pass through several stages. + +1) **The Silent Stage** - This begins at the moment the initial cultists are selected, close to the start of the round. The cult is still capable of existing in secrecy, and must sacrifice up to two targets designated by the game through the Inspect Veil ability. +2) **Eyes Stage** - Either the cult has expanded significantly in size, or the targets have been sacrificed. The cultists can no longer hide their true nature, and at this point will have gained glowing red eyes as well. +3) **Risen Cult** - The cult has sacrificed enough blood that Nar'Sie's power can now sunder mindshields. People offered on a Conversion rune will have a short ritual that ends in their mindshield being shattered. +4) **Veil sunderance** - The cult has chosen a location (from three randomly generated options) to perform the final ritual. +4) **Final Ritual ** - The cult goes to the final ritual location, performs the ritual, and the crew has a fairly long time to stop them if they are able to. This is meant to be a final climactic-fight, similar to a fight around an armed Nuke. +5) **Cult Victory** - The Blood Cult has summoned Nar'Sie. After a short period following the summoning, the round ends. + +## Administrative & Server Rule Impact + +The Blood Cult is designed to be a **mechanically stealth-oriented** antagonist rather than a **roleplay stealth-oriented** antagonist. In essence, this means that the cult's presence aboard the station is only a secret for as long as it takes for any individual member of the crew to notice signs of cult-related activity, and that any and all points described in this document may be considered cult-related activity. No "metashield" is needed or should be added to protect cultists, since cultists betraying their presence by openly practicing magic or leaving cult-related items lying around is a strategic flaw and should be able to be punished by a keen-eyed crew. + +De-converted cultists should not be permitted to retain specific information about who the other cultists are or specific locations where cult bases may lie, though vague information such as, "There are still other cultists aboard somewhere," should be allowed. This may be conveyed using a popup or chat window message upon de-conversion. + +Chaplains are now important crewmembers with the addition of the Blood Cult. They are the primary line of defense between the crew and cultist activity. As a consequence, it should be encouraged for Chaplains to produce more holy water, be more eager to take active roles in the station's spiritual life, and be on the lookout for suspicious behavior that might betray a cult. Chaplains preparing holy water ahead of time, or constructing "exorcism rooms" even when no cult has been confirmed yet, should not be considered a violation of the "metashield." These are now to be considered the Chaplain simply doing their job. + +# Technical Considerations + +There are no anticipated performance impacts, though more processing will need to be done by the `BloodCultRuleSystem` system each tick for every cult member added. This system has already been tested at scale, and no signs of Blood Cult-caused performance degradation were seen. + +A number of new systems, components, and UI elements have been added and more will need to be added. At the baseline, a new `RuleSystem` has been made to facilitate the basic round flow of this antagonist. A number of components and corresponding systems have been added to designate Blood Cult members, sentient cult constructs, runes, abilities, blood magic spells, cult weapons, cult structures, etc. A new component was also added for Chaplains to allow them to be resistant to Blood Cult abilities. UI elements have been made for blood magic spell preparation and rune selection (both radial menus), and a simple text box input UI was made for the Commune ability. In the future, more UI elements will need to be made for structures like the Forge and the Archives, to allow cultists to select from the equipment they provide and "purchase" what they like. These should be more akin to uplink shop windows.