Add a "Mute" Trait

[RelentlessGarbage]

As the title suggests, I'd propose adding a "Mute" character trait that can be added to any Goonstation character. It would be a costless trait (+0) that gives the character a reinforced version of Frontal Gyrus Suspension; this would make the character incapable of speaking or screaming audibly, exactly like the Mime. They would still be able to use gesture emotes like any other character.

Why is this needed? Traits already allow you to get the disadvantages of being a clown with any character (namely in having reinforced clumsiness). However, the same cannot be said for the disadvantages of being a mime (reinforced inability to speak). The inability to speak allows for unique interactions involving gesturing and other forms of chat-based body language, and may encourage people to use the oft-neglected PDA Messenger device. To discourage powergaming from people that self-antag or don't talk anyways, it would have no associated trait point cost or gain.

(Also, the only way I'll ever play on RP is if I can play as a deaf and mute character, thereby having a completely valid excuse not to make small talk with people. )

[pali6]

Terrible idea. This is a game about social interaction.

[RelentlessGarbage]

Terrible idea. This is a game about social interaction.

People already don't talk when they're going murderhobo on Goon1 - hell, plenty of people don't talk even when they're not going murderhobo. Mimes engage in social interaction despite being unable to speak. Ghostdrones and Ghost Critters can pull off gimmicks with other crew despite being unable to speak (or in the case of Ghost Drones, being barely able and discouraged from interacting with crew). We have both visual and auditory emotes that I'm pretty sure anyone can use. Flipping is a universal language, and actions speak louder than words in all cases.

Being unable to speak does not mean you cannot interact socially. You just have to do it differently.

[Frank_Stein]

This is a game about social interaction.

The mime is an exception to this, but part of that is they're dressed like a mime: Another player can see that and immediately understand that they won't speak back.

If this was a trait, you wouldn't as easily be able to parse that.

There's also the aspect of antisocial minimaxing for turbo murder

[Frolicsome Flufficorn]

Im still devastated that they didn't allow mime to be a round start job. Breaks my heart every time

[RelentlessGarbage]

The mime is an exception to this, but part of that is they're dressed like a mime: Another player can see that and immediately understand that they won't speak back.

If this was a trait, you wouldn't as easily be able to parse that.

There's also the aspect of antisocial minimaxing for turbo murder

That's fair; adding it as a trait might cause confusion, since you'd have to examine the person to tell that they were mute. As for antisocial minmaxing, that's also valid - making the trait give no points might solve that so you'd take it purely for the aesthetic. (The inability to speak does confer some problems for muderhobos, though, so I think it being +2 is reasonable, but for the sake of discouraging trait abuse it can be point-neutral.)

[Kotlol]

Against due the same reason.

What I am NOT against is a trait that lowers your speaking volume.
Or basicly put: "Shrinks your talking text by several font sizes"

And you have to "YELL" to talk normally. Wich if done too much will make you lose breath and take oxygen damage and some minor brute damage (cause you are hurting your throat yelling all the time)

This way it's better for them to "Mime" but they can still TALK if needed. Especially via the radio.
And it can be treated by certain mutations.

[UrsulaMejor]

No.

[Emrsnn]

In theory this is super cool because I'm a big fan of seeing massive custom emotes and sometimes I just wanna be in the room reacting to stuff instead of adding my own commentary. But in practice the main issue I could see coming out of it is that being mute massively inhibits your ability to communicate in a quick and unmistakable way, including your ability to communicate that you're literally incapable of talking, and I foresee that becoming a huge issue for most job roles that aren't "funny little french fella".
I do already see the occasional mute character on RP and I'll go along with a game of charades to figure out what they want from me, but to be completely blunt I've already found a handful of mute characters to be frustrating and awkward to interact with. A large number of them still talk exactly how they would verbally, but now we need to pass a sheet of paper back and forth or I have to tab back out of the PDA window every time they say something. (Seriously, why does the window pop up every time I get a message even though the message shows up in the chat log? Is that a bug?)
In sum, a character that uses as few words as possible or one who has to look away from the other person to talk would be more fun to interact with than one that will ultimately opt to text the other person while they're standing right next to each other. That's my two cents on it.

[Cal]

you can do this without a trait just emote a lot