Polymorphism tweaks and balance

[Soleil]

Discord discussion (read starting here if curious) happened about Polymorphism and a lot of people brought up a lot of good points that made me consider if it could use changes, so this thread is to see what people think.

Some stuff people listed as issues:

• It's an instant action. People can run and change very quickly with no downsides.
  
• Effortless radio impersonation. People can sow instant confusion among crew and get innocents arrested or worse.
  
• It's a perfect copy. You are indistinguishable from the real person for the most part, even mutadone doesn't help. People can badmouth others and you'll get all the consequences.
  
• It's permanent. If you silently kill someone and steal their face, nobody will ever know.
  
• It has little to no counterplay. A criminal can instantly change into someone else and their arrest records won't work with Beepsky. Someone who keeps changing will likely be extremely difficult to track.
  
• It's better than changelings, who are all about shapeshifting. They got done dirty with having to aggressively grab someone to get an identity.
  
• It has no cost. The regular version has all the functionality, so stabilized means its free. You can even make it unmutadonable. If we compare it to traitor items, it's a voice changer and better DNA scrambler in one at the loss of nothing.
  
• It's confusing. Newbies will often use it and then be sad when they can't turn back to their original self. 
  

Some of the ideas for balancing that was brought up were:

• Action bar for copying an identity.
  
• Mutadone reverts a person to their original identity
  
• Unempowered Polymorphism is only temporary, requiring Empowered to be permanent
  

What do people think? Is it too strong? Overshadowing changelings? Feel free to suggest balancing or disagree!

[CatzCatzCatz]

One thing I'd suggest changing about Polymorphism is that it shouldn't change your voice and that the transformation should be visually distinct (I'm talking like your character makes a crunchy exploding sound followed by a pool of blood on the floor that you will have to clean up if want to do a good impersonation). Having it empowered removes the bleeding effect but it will still not allow you to change your voice to the stolen identity.

Also, an option to turn back into yourself would be nice if you had that gene.

[kyle2143]

Yeah, polymorphism has always been shit, I feel like everyone's always felt the same about it but nobody really cared quite enough to bother to fix it. Frankly I am surprised how it's been around so long in its original state...

[Lord_earthfire]

To be honest, it's not really used much anyway.

People underestimate how much needing to touch the person you want to impersonate makes the skill akward to use. Most rounds if a person was using polymorphism for criming it was called out very fast what their new identity was... simply due to needing to touch someone and getting called out by them.

So i think it is in fact significantly weaker than the changelings ability. Because they can do the change at will and while hiding

If it beeds a nerf, i would say make it work on living persons only (if it doesn't do that already), although i personally don't think it needs it.

[Soleil]

What if it made tons of blood and gave you brute damage? Fleshshaping ain't easy

[Mouse]

if it backfires it should turn you into a skeleton

[Kotlol]

The reason I never use polymorph and why others use it to do evil is simple...

IT'S LOUD AS F.

The moment you do it, you alert anyone nearby you have polymorphed.
Also unlike the changeling one, you couldn't change back and only assume other idenities of other players.

While it's mechanically better then that of the changeling. It also requires you to keep the "body" somewhere to change into... And if busted.. that disguise needs to be ditched ASAP unlike the changeling who has it stored.

So yes, it is faster, it is better and can be more confusing then that of a changeling... it's also very obivious when its used if you are in the vicinity.

If anything it's mostly used for dumb pranks and annoying talk, rather then for antagonist purposes.
While it DOES confuse Newbies....a lot. Wich might make them think you are a Ling.
It's litterly the biggest downside.

Rest is just ANNOYANCE ANNOYANCE ANNOYANCE....

So I am fine with changing it or turning it off, as it's just mutant trait that's not fun anyway.. for both users and others. Cause eventually the user is like "Well fuck, I am now someone else for the rest of the round."

[RelentlessGarbage]

I have only ever heard people complain about polymorph, whether it's in the context of RP or classic.

I've never been personally affected by it, but if people dislike it so much, why not just remove it? Stable mutagen exists if anyone wants to pull off an identity-swap, but it's higher-effort and less of a noob trap given the additional steps required.

[Frank_Stein]

Seems like the kind of power where it should be a temporary thing, or require effort to maintain it

Maybe it eats up your stamina slowly?

EDIT: Maybe damage can play a role as well. Literally smack their face off or shake them like an etch a sketch to make them revert back to their original form

[Lord_earthfire]

I think making it temporary and slightly reducing it's cooldown would make it more useable as a gimmick.

[Kotlol]

I am 100% fine with it being temporarely and is only permanent if you empower it, but at the same time you cannot change back unless you mutadone.