[MAJOR] - Give Changelings/Vampires Upgrade Options

[APARTHEID]

Changelings. Vampires. Whether undead, way TOO alive for living's sake, or somewhere in a critical in-between, these two play pretty linearly compared to the human traitor roles: find a body, suck it dry, accrue points for static abilities that pop up on schedule, ready to go.

Why should the human traitors be the only jerks with OPTIONS? Why, as a changeling, can I not choose between spits or stings the same way that doofus in Tech Storage can mull over a cyalume or a surplus crate?

A long-term overhaul of the changeling and vampire roles should and ought to include means of upgrades for each the changeling and vampire over the linear unlocks now utilized for the latter and the lack thereof for the former. Sludge from your lips that slows a man to a crawl over a blinding sting? Cloak of Darkness in lieu of thermal vision?

That's more or less the gist.

[Tteckk]

So you trying to fix the two being the same by making them more like traitor/wizard?

[Captain_Bravo]

Actually, I'd argue that he's recommending the opposite. Changeling/Vampire are already different in that Traitor/Wizard choose options at the beginning of the round, and then start off at (more or less) full power. A wizard never grows in power, the spells he chooses at the start of the round are the same he has at the end of the round.

Giving changelings and/or vampires advancement options ties in with the fact that they're the only antags that naturally grow over the course of their treachery. It sounds like a neat idea in theory, although I don't know how easy or difficult it would be to implement and balance.

[APARTHEID]

Actually, I'd argue that he's recommending the opposite. Changeling/Vampire are already different in that Traitor/Wizard choose options at the beginning of the round, and then start off at (more or less) full power. A wizard never grows in power, the spells he chooses at the start of the round are the same he has at the end of the round.

Giving changelings and/or vampires advancement options ties in with the fact that they're the only antags that naturally grow over the course of their treachery. It sounds like a neat idea in theory, although I don't know how easy or difficult it would be to implement and balance.

This, to be exact.

[Ronnyfire]

So i am totally down for this idea, ill give it a bit of thought and see if i can come up with any cool powers for them to get.

[Marquesas]

Please change the subject to "Let's make this a roguelike RPG where you eat humans"

[I-Sett]

I think this would be a more interesting way to improve these roles. Even if it was a slow and subtle change to the existing abilities. Here's some quick thoughts for changeling.
You start with Spit and the two Stings and could choose one of the three to continue to improve (or maybe just choose which modification you prefer from the start).

But first:
Lesser Form can be either
- Meat Cube: Can move slowly through space, undertables and through mailchutes. Unable to speak or hold items/people. Can't take anything with it. Independent movement in space without a jetpack. Useful if you get shot out an airlock nearly naked and maybe for breaking into rooms only accessible through the mail system (with your current access).
- Monkey: Of course.


Sting branches into either
-> Neuro-degeneration: increase amount of braindamage and movement impairment incurred (less knockout-time and no toxin damage)
-> Toxin: Increase toxin damage (less knockout-time and limited braindamage)
-> Confusion: Muffles speech and reduces movement speed (less knockout-time and limited braindamage, no toxin damage)


Hallucination sting either:
-> Madness: Improves to mimic space madness (less immediately noticeable as changeling induced, with greater impairment).
-> Receptive aphasia: Shifting temporary genetic anomalies, primarily Frontal Gyrus modifications. "You feel Chavish"!, the text of other humans is heard by the victim in a [random] different accent for a short time.
-> Limb-bo: Victim receives the "Arm flies off in bloody arc" message. The missing arm is still there, but nothing can be held in one of the hands for a few minutes.

Acid Spit can be either:
-> Corrosive: Can slowly burn/melt non-reinforced walls and windows. Causes no damage to humans with masks on but can dissolve the mask. Small knockdown (like a slip), no knockout.
-> Splatter: Knocks down anyone within 2 or 3 tiles of the target and applies a wetness to those tiles (and green goo to match). Slightly longer knockdown than Corrosive, but again no knockout or significant damage. Great for getting away from a small greyshirt army.
-> Sticky: Muffles and blinds the target for a minute or two. No other ill effects.
-> Solid: Causes head trauma resulting in mild brain damage, relatively short knockout, and stuttering.

If it's an upgrade the negative changes are smaller than the improvements.
Also either these customizations should be available immediately and the effect differences pronounced, or the cost should be equal to 2-3 humans. Honestly there's just not enough things to spend DNA points on. Most changeling rounds I end with more than 100+ unspent points. I mean.. how many times do you really need to regenerate? But they're already SO powerful I don't see any need to provide changelings with significant buffs.

It WOULD be great to see more interesting changeling rounds with different play-styles available.