Suggested additions to diversify chaplain roleplay.

[WhatMG]

To put it plainly,
Chaplains lack the things that one would expect them to have as a roleplay-centric role. They have access to a single holy book in the form of the Bible and several outfits uniquely available to them. The present issue with both the Bible and the majority of these outfits is that they are directly based on real-world religions. I can't speak for others, but personally I feel that it stifles creativity since I don't feel at ease using them for goofy spaceman game antics.

To that end, I'd like to propose that new books, clothes, and props are provided to the chaplain so that they may better pursue whatever silly gimmick they had in mind. These new things wouldn't be directly based off of real-world religions to avoid the issues mentioned earlier in this post, but would rather be inspired by in-game things that one might form a strange religion around, in addition to the potential for references from other media. The props that I can think of are largely decorative as I personally have no experience with coding and can't think of anything fun for them to do.

This would involve spriting the new clothes, books, and props, and adding them to the maps. The current chaplain locker might not work if anything new is added, however, so a new vending machine similar to the newer departmental clothing vendors may need to be introduced as well.

I'd like this thread to be both a discussion of this idea in general and a place where ideas are given. To start off, I'll give ideas on what themed sets I can think of the moment.

• A fire set, with singed robes and book. Maybe a big (harmless) torch to carry around that provides a dim light, akin to a candle.
  
• Various vague eldritch sets, with ominous masks and books filled with strange symbols.
  
• An expansion to the mechanicus and flock clothes, adding "books" to fit them.
  
• Cute bee stuff : ] 
  

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I look forward to your feeback.

[Kotlol]

This request is nothing new...

You know what we were told?
"Make the sprites yourself"

[WhatMG]

This request is nothing new...

You know what we were told?
"Make the sprites yourself"

That's not an issue as I'm capable of making the sprites myself. Your concern is understandable, but it's not a question IF this is possible. I'll attach some sprites here - They're old at this point and would need touching up, but hopefully this should show that I'm intent on making this a thing and not just talking it up.

[Kotlol]

Cool! Now you can make a PR and trust when I say.. having sprites, PR and most of the work done just means people gotta approve it!

ALSO NICE SPRITE WORK MY DUDE!

Now I am not an admin or dev.. but this kinda stuff does speed up the progress!
Also talk in discord.. it helps too :P

[Bartimeus]

I'd be down for a new bible, as the current one has a very flagrant golden cross on it, and it does feel a bit strange for a priest of Mechanicus, or a rabbi, or a buddhist, to hit you with a bible. The one concern i have with the possibility of respriting a bible is that it might end up making it more difficult to spot.

Keep in mind that a bible is an item with the potential for very high amounts of destruction. Wielded by a chaplain it can cause brain damage leading up to a relatively quick kill on someone, or be used to biblefart. It also serves as a hidden storage with some unique properties, and contains the chaplain's gun. A bible needs to have a sprite that is immediatly recognizable at first glance so you instantly know to keep your finger off the "F" key as you risk immediatly getting gibbed otherwise. If you add a bunch of different bible sprites then they also need to be immediatly recognizable, and the more sprites you add the harder this task becomes.

It's not impossible, but it would likely need to keep at least some semblance of shape between the different flavors of space religion, and it'd need to stand out from other regular books.

More chaplain clothes though i'd like, yeah.

[valtsu0]

I suggest making all the holy objects quite distinct from each other and make the chaplain choose with a chaplain token. For example one that could be used to cast diffrent types of spells, one that would have various methods of getting people high (and farting on it would be similar to omega weed). Adding some offencive abilities to them should not be a problem since the regular bible gets a gun. (I would not be opposed to coding these but due to life things my free time is very limited)

That does have some problems tho, like how would it work with vampires and cluwnes, and having a much bigger scope.


I do think chaplain should move away from real world religions.


For the suits a vendor would be a good idea

[WhatMG]

Stuff & Things

Thank you! and yeah, it's been discussed (And will be discussed further) in the discord. It was suggested to me that I make a thread here there, actually.

Things & Stuff

The book recognizability issue is a very good point, and i've got a few ideas on that front. The first, and easiest (I think) is making it so only one particular type of holy book has any of the fancy effects. It remains recognizable and retains it's utility, allowing other books to be used as props. The current sprite would have to be changed, so it doesn't read as "screw this religion in particular." This has the added benefit of allowing you to produce and distribute religious books without worrying about their inventory being accessed or someone gibbing themself with them. 
    Alternatively, you could just make any holy book act the same. I don't have too much to add there, other than that it has the benefits of making extra books more than just props.

Stuff! Things!

It's POSSIBLE, but any game-changing stuff (outside of making things look different) is outside the scope of this particular proposal. I invite you to play around with the idea if it interests you, though. Feel free to use any sprites I post later on.

Thanks for the feedback and ideas. I'll be posting some sprites in the discord at some point in the future.