Goonhub
04-04-2025, 05:47 PM
This is a redo of a prior idea of mine, but it's my professional opinion that my prior idea sucked ass and isn't worth entertaining. So, here's the better version!
Several supernatural forces in the universe are available for the chaplain to tap into, some more strange than others. With the right practices, the chaplain can not only take advantage of said forces, but even recruit members into the congregation!
So, how does this work? First, it applies to more bizarre and thematic cult-y stuff, not anything based in real-world religion. Second, it still scales with faith. Third, the chaplain must be wearing a matching set and use the respective book for the practice. For example, a flame priest will need to put on the flame mask, scorched robes, and use the tome of conflagration. The more faith the chaplain has, the stronger the effects are, and the more abilities are unlocked.
True to the nature of the station chaplain, the abilities are typically focused towards benefiting the crew, self, or station. For example, an infernal evocation could have neat little cosmetic effects such as lighting up all candles in a room, or something more crazy like rendering followers fireproof for a minute or two. (FIREproof, not immune to burns altogether.) Or perhaps a druidic charm could cause nearby plants to develop a massive burst in health and growth speed, or perhaps have a forced mutation, etc. The effects generally range from neat little cosmetic ones to up the roleplaying wackiness, and massively beneficial ones that cost a ton of faith.
Antagonists are an interesting twist on this, as they will have access to more harmful spells that normal chaplains don't.
Crew can become followers by being approved by chaplain, who can write their name down in a spirit book in the chapel office, or later erase it. Followers get the benefits and drawbacks of these practices, more on that later. Atheists are unable to join.
I'll give a quick rundown on the general concepts of most or all of the zany practices you can start with the Deus Ex Machina's stock...
-Light set grants abilities to heal physical damage, illuminate dark areas, fend of dark enemies, etc. Followers develop a radiant glow to them, but it also shines inside lockers, behind cloaks, etc. You can't stealth as a walking human light bulb.
-Flame set is all about fire. Control flame, heat things up, bolster flames, etc. Inferno abilities typically involve protecting against fire or manipulating it into more manageable forms, as well as fireproofing things and people. The downside is that you constantly give off steam and smoke, which wrecks your hygiene and slightly impairs your vision, but your touch is also quite hot. You'll need to wear heavy duty thermal resistant gloves to handle anything that can melt or is sensitive to heat, such as volatile chems. Gloves also have a propensity to burn if not regularly maintained on your hands, and catching fire will actually have it's counter increment up instead of down.
-Walker of the Stars set is all about the eldritch cosmic darkness! Your eyes become fogged and sheathed in the darkness, and your mind grows dissonant with the unyielding expanse. On the plus side, you become able to navigate dark areas by feeling and sensing the cosmic vibrations guiding you around. You can also heal brain damage and undo neurological-type genetic deformities, as well as have access to eldritch power that can allow strange, almost magical-seeming abilities... The downside is that you are not only EXTREMELY susceptible to brain damage due to your frayed mind, but your vision also diminishes. The very presence of the steely cosmos staring into the coast of your brain has clouded your vision, and rendered you partially unable to see like a normal human.
-Druidic set grants you attunement with wildlife, a strange prospect aboard a space station. You can hear the call of the wild, the chirps and roars of wildlife. Plants seem to sway in your presence, and you radiate life to those around you. Your abilities are generally focused on plants, creatures, and life. You can slowly heal damage from others, siphon poison from their wounds, and cause friendly critters to show up as pets or (hilariously weak) defense. Botany will benefit from you, as your mere presence will cause plants to become stronger and healthier. You have sway over their growth, commanding them to mutate into a subspecies or prioritize their random mutations to a specific stat. The downside is that you're so intrenched in your wild ways, the sterility of modern life is caustic to you! Eating anything besides fresh produce and meat, and drinking any kind of soda will cause slight TOX damage and penalize your faith. You also take more damage from fire, just like plants.
-The Clown set has two sides: joy and curse. Joy turns you into a clown! Your abilities are negligible, just causing honking sounds and forcibly making people in a room fart. There's basically no utility to this, it's a literal meme practice. Just pick it if you want to shitpost or make the station laugh with rainbow chalk or something.
Curse, on the other hand, turns you into a gibbering cluwne. Some people seek that torment as an alternative to regular existence, for some reason. And no, you can't forcibly cluwne others. It only happens to you and whoever follows you after.
The chapel will also change and warp to match what's currently being practiced. For example, the inferno set will cause it to become a searing red with (thankfully safe) volcanic magma here and there, while the druidic set will have the steel tiles turn into dirt, and plant life sprout in it.
All in all, this is just to make chaplain more interesting, as you can only get so far with pure roleplaying and limited access. Chaplains being excruciatingly bored just doesn't sit right to me, so this seeks to remedy that. It's also a rough concept with many details left out, so I would love to see feedback!
Several supernatural forces in the universe are available for the chaplain to tap into, some more strange than others. With the right practices, the chaplain can not only take advantage of said forces, but even recruit members into the congregation!
So, how does this work? First, it applies to more bizarre and thematic cult-y stuff, not anything based in real-world religion. Second, it still scales with faith. Third, the chaplain must be wearing a matching set and use the respective book for the practice. For example, a flame priest will need to put on the flame mask, scorched robes, and use the tome of conflagration. The more faith the chaplain has, the stronger the effects are, and the more abilities are unlocked.
True to the nature of the station chaplain, the abilities are typically focused towards benefiting the crew, self, or station. For example, an infernal evocation could have neat little cosmetic effects such as lighting up all candles in a room, or something more crazy like rendering followers fireproof for a minute or two. (FIREproof, not immune to burns altogether.) Or perhaps a druidic charm could cause nearby plants to develop a massive burst in health and growth speed, or perhaps have a forced mutation, etc. The effects generally range from neat little cosmetic ones to up the roleplaying wackiness, and massively beneficial ones that cost a ton of faith.
Antagonists are an interesting twist on this, as they will have access to more harmful spells that normal chaplains don't.
Crew can become followers by being approved by chaplain, who can write their name down in a spirit book in the chapel office, or later erase it. Followers get the benefits and drawbacks of these practices, more on that later. Atheists are unable to join.
I'll give a quick rundown on the general concepts of most or all of the zany practices you can start with the Deus Ex Machina's stock...
-Light set grants abilities to heal physical damage, illuminate dark areas, fend of dark enemies, etc. Followers develop a radiant glow to them, but it also shines inside lockers, behind cloaks, etc. You can't stealth as a walking human light bulb.
-Flame set is all about fire. Control flame, heat things up, bolster flames, etc. Inferno abilities typically involve protecting against fire or manipulating it into more manageable forms, as well as fireproofing things and people. The downside is that you constantly give off steam and smoke, which wrecks your hygiene and slightly impairs your vision, but your touch is also quite hot. You'll need to wear heavy duty thermal resistant gloves to handle anything that can melt or is sensitive to heat, such as volatile chems. Gloves also have a propensity to burn if not regularly maintained on your hands, and catching fire will actually have it's counter increment up instead of down.
-Walker of the Stars set is all about the eldritch cosmic darkness! Your eyes become fogged and sheathed in the darkness, and your mind grows dissonant with the unyielding expanse. On the plus side, you become able to navigate dark areas by feeling and sensing the cosmic vibrations guiding you around. You can also heal brain damage and undo neurological-type genetic deformities, as well as have access to eldritch power that can allow strange, almost magical-seeming abilities... The downside is that you are not only EXTREMELY susceptible to brain damage due to your frayed mind, but your vision also diminishes. The very presence of the steely cosmos staring into the coast of your brain has clouded your vision, and rendered you partially unable to see like a normal human.
-Druidic set grants you attunement with wildlife, a strange prospect aboard a space station. You can hear the call of the wild, the chirps and roars of wildlife. Plants seem to sway in your presence, and you radiate life to those around you. Your abilities are generally focused on plants, creatures, and life. You can slowly heal damage from others, siphon poison from their wounds, and cause friendly critters to show up as pets or (hilariously weak) defense. Botany will benefit from you, as your mere presence will cause plants to become stronger and healthier. You have sway over their growth, commanding them to mutate into a subspecies or prioritize their random mutations to a specific stat. The downside is that you're so intrenched in your wild ways, the sterility of modern life is caustic to you! Eating anything besides fresh produce and meat, and drinking any kind of soda will cause slight TOX damage and penalize your faith. You also take more damage from fire, just like plants.
-The Clown set has two sides: joy and curse. Joy turns you into a clown! Your abilities are negligible, just causing honking sounds and forcibly making people in a room fart. There's basically no utility to this, it's a literal meme practice. Just pick it if you want to shitpost or make the station laugh with rainbow chalk or something.
Curse, on the other hand, turns you into a gibbering cluwne. Some people seek that torment as an alternative to regular existence, for some reason. And no, you can't forcibly cluwne others. It only happens to you and whoever follows you after.
The chapel will also change and warp to match what's currently being practiced. For example, the inferno set will cause it to become a searing red with (thankfully safe) volcanic magma here and there, while the druidic set will have the steel tiles turn into dirt, and plant life sprout in it.
All in all, this is just to make chaplain more interesting, as you can only get so far with pure roleplaying and limited access. Chaplains being excruciatingly bored just doesn't sit right to me, so this seeks to remedy that. It's also a rough concept with many details left out, so I would love to see feedback!