New Syndicate Item: Chameleon Matter (aka Chameleon Counterfeiter)

[Pckables]

EDIT Oct 16th 2022: Thanks to Henri215, this item has been successfully added under the name Chameleon Counterfeiter.
A big round of applause to Henri for going out of his way to code the functionality of this item himself.
Further discussion should be focused around item balance/additions.

 

A neat, cheap little device to aid traitors in stealthily thieving: Chameleon Matter!

This wonderful bit of hi-tech putty works similarly to a chameleon projector, but instead of disguising the user, it perfectly replicates the appearance of an item it's used on (functionality not included).

Simply slap the putty on the object you want to create a fake copy of, and viola! Not even the sharpest eyes could tell the difference!
Should you want to return the copy to putty form,  just use it in-hand to mash it back to its original shape.

Fool your friends! Fool your enemies! Just a quick swap is all it takes!
By the time they notice something's off, you'll be long gone! And the best part? No fingerprints!
Yours now for only 2 1TC!

 

Description:

The Chameleon Matter is a small block of syndicate putty used to create high-quality copies of items to aid operatives in stealing objects of high value.
Chameleon Matter can be used on any item that can be held in-hand and make a perfect visual copy, but not functionally. A copy of a gun will not be able to fire, and a copy of an ID will not open doors.
Once the Matter has been turned into a copy, it will not copy anything else until reverted.
Using a copy in-hand will revert it to its original putty form.

The intended use of Chameleon Matter is to lengthen the time it takes for the station to realize something important has been stolen, be it something minor, like the clown's jug, or major, such as the nuke-disk or HoS's gun.
A clever traitor might even make a fake trade.

Naturally, Chameleon Matter has been designed to not retain fingerprints from its users, as that would betray its intended purpose.

Other notes: Ideally copies of clothes and weapons would be able to retain their ability to be worn/holstered like the original, but that seems like it may be tough to get working.

EDIT: The No-fingerprints aspect seems unanimously disliked.

Edited October 16, 2022 by Pckables
This item has been Merged

[Viz]

Not sure how I feel about stealthy thefts being even stealthier. Antagonists that go completely undetected and cause no issues to anyone might have as well never existed.

[Shadowradar1212]

On 7/27/2022 at 12:42 AM, Viz said:

Not sure how I feel about stealthy thefts being even stealthier. Antagonists that go completely undetected and cause no issues to anyone might have as well never existed.

honestly this.

also not having prints seems a bit overkill, its already got enough potental in that it buys you time from a short-term glance.

 

thaaat being said, I actually want to see stealth tots try and pull something off with this, we have too many antags focus on riling half of the entire station's sec force too often, plus people can probably do some funny tomfoolery and traitor gear memery with this, like ripping people off for "real" traitor keys. It definitely has potental.

[Fraggloid]

I actually really like this idea. It's a classic trope in heist films; leaving a fake in place of the original.

I'd vote for it being obvious on examining the item, with a description of "That's a Captain's Antique Laser Pistol. It doesn't look quite right..." or something to that effect.

I'd definitely let it retain fingerprints though. Maybe a time-based fingerprint retention, explained in-lore by a mildly acidic compound within the putty? Has fingerprints when originally formed that degrade over, say, 10-15 minutes.

[henri215]

1 tc that disguises the chameleon matter and not another item, with it being obvious when examining the item, that i think would work.