Change/add some things on Borers

[Cyiko]

Borers have the potential to be entertaining semi-antags but a few mechanics make them a bit boring. So far how it goes is borers show up and people go either "EWW SLUGS" and instantly kill them, or someone accepts them and they get a slug buddy... aaaaand that's it.

I had an entertaining round where I decided to be more aggressive as a host, working with my borer to capture and forcefully infect people with borers, noticing how entertaining it could be if this was more like the crew being taken over by a hivemind with just one little thing added, it would still leave them as a secondary antag

 

"You feel like you're no longer alone and the station seems like a brighter place now you're a symbiotic host. You feel the urge to protect and spread this gift to everyone!"

(This does not overwrite your objectives if you are an antag, but you must protect your borer and if possible help them infect others.) Basically it means you can't just casually walk up to medical and ask them to remove the slug or chug sugar to do it, it'd be equivalent to walking up to medical and asking them to dethrall you. Again this doesn't mean you're enslaved to it and have to do EVERYTHING it says, it just means it's done something to your brain that makes you character like it and potentially want to give everyone else the "gift"

This is a very W.I.P thing but idea is it will stop people going HALP BORERS and chugging sugar to get them out and will give them more of an impact on the round

 

TL:DR Borer hosts gonn kidnap ya and shove slugs in your ears and you can't just decide "no" anymore

Edited June 20, 2017 by Cyiko

[Enginseer-42]

Do you WANT Borer hosts to get purged with fire? Conversion antags are kind of high priority kills.

[Cyiko]

On 6/20/2017 at 9:16 AM, Enginseer-42 said:

Do you WANT Borer hosts to get purged with fire? Conversion antags are kind of high priority kills.

Difference is cultists want to destroy the station, shadowlings want to enslave everyone and in both those ways everyone gets fucked

Borers don't, there's no greentext for infesting everyone, no murder X person and then summon an eldritch god... Only a little bit of text that basically says "No you can't be an asshole who instantly chugs all the sugar they can because memeslug"

Edited June 21, 2017 by Cyiko

[Malphystoh]

Conversion antags are high priority kills? Shadowling yeah... but The thralls? and Cultists? All able to be de-converted. Much like borers which can be removed. 

15 hours ago, Enginseer-42 said:

Do you WANT Borer hosts to get purged with fire? Conversion antags are kind of high priority kills.

 

[Enginseer-42]

If that's practical at the time. Once things spread I often see people just go for the kill.

[Malphystoh]

Just cuz people do it, doesn't make it right. I mean i get trying to save your life in RP'ness and Compared to being enslaved by a dark god or turned into an abomination or some other form of slave who's likely to be gibbed or devoured or roasted for all eternity murdering someone in self defense is a logical conclusion. But in the same thread, these people are enslaved and are your comrades. Imagine the grieving families after the fact. "Oh yeah sure I coulda' spared Greytiderkult#1 but I decided to smash your child's head in with a toolbox. Just to be safe. Because "Valids"

[Enginseer-42]

Umm we have litteral resurection chemicals.

[Malphystoh]

Death can be a permanent end. Sometimes medical is in shambles. Depending on the timing of the round, dragging an injured person cuffed to get holy water would be alot easier then trying to heal their body / clone them / "Resurrection chem". But hey justify them valids. Not like they would be traumatized or suffer excruciating pain from being murdered. 

[HarakoniWarhawk]

4 hours ago, Malphystoh said:

Death can be a permanent end. Sometimes medical is in shambles. Depending on the timing of the round, dragging an injured person cuffed to get holy water would be alot easier then trying to heal their body / clone them / "Resurrection chem". But hey justify them valids. Not like they would be traumatized or suffer excruciating pain from being murdered. 

Unless your Sec, making any attempt to deconvert a conversion antag counts as validhunting so even that's a no go.

[Shadeykins]

Borers have always been in a grey area. If you make them have actual antagonist objectives, you should also come up with some procedure revolving around them.

Far too many people think borers are cool and actively impede people from destroying them despite borers taking over people, dumping 100u of meth in them, and killing them on a regular basis - or using their host to murder/steal/cause havoc on station.

tl;dr if Borers get objectives, there needs to be a clause in SOP or Space Law stating that they're illegal to posses - giving MD's the cover they need to sedate and drag unwilling hosts to surgery.