A new selection of stealth tools

[Renomaki]

 

I'm a fan of covert ops, if people didn't know. I like using items that I can hold in plain sight and not be questioned, and clever traps that cause panic and confusion. As of now, there is a moderate selection, some of them pretty damn good.. But I wouldn't mind more options to mess with the meta a bit and make people even more paranoid. You know, install fear back into our shifts.

 

So I thought up some possible additions to the server in a neat little format for your opinion. Maybe if I am lucky, at least one of these will be a reality, but it is just a suggestion after all.. So I won't get my hopes up.

 

Tool: Medkit bomb

Appearance: A medkit, can change color via its settings to simulate other types of kits.

Cost: 6 points

Available to: Medbay staff

Use: As we all know, the Pizza bomb is a hilarious toy to play with, capable of causing all kinds of chaos if you set it up JUST right.. However, in other cases, some people are harder to fool, and even if they did trust it, it doesn't mean they are going to open it. This makes it more of a plaything than a real assassin's tool.. Will the medkit bomb change that? Possibly.

 

Unlike pizza, people go crazy for medkits. In a station where you are bound to get hurt in one way or another, having a medkit on hand is very useful to save yourself a trip to medbay, more so in emergencies. This tool exploits that thought process by tricking people into thinking it is just another medkit, when in reality it is a bomb ready to gib anyone foolish enough to reach inside it.

 

While it has a much higher chance of tricking someone, the downside is it doesn't have as large an AOE of the pizzabomb, being only more than half the blastsize. It still has a lot of power to it, though, and an adjustable timer that ranges from 1-15, for when you prefer to leave a distraction for security rather than kill someone.

 

To set it up, all you have to do is hold it and click on it with a free hand, adjust the timer and select a color, and then you are set. What you do with it is up to you.

 

Possible exposure: While adjusting, you can change the color of the medkit to be that of any other type of medkit normally found on the station. However, it will be pretty easy to notice a medkit magically changing colors in front of everyone. This is the only way to really discover it's true design, however, because one it is set, there is no way to tell other than reaching inside it and hoping it doesn't go boom.

 

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Tool: Mini pistol

Appearance: A blue tipped pen

Cost: 8 points

Available to: Everyone

Use: There is a small selection of guns that agents can use, all of them bound to be taken from you the moment they discover you don't have a weapon's permit to hold them. A guy needs something to protect himself from rival agents and other threats, right? This is where the mini pistol comes in.

 

The mini pistol takes the form of a pen, and thus can fit in a PDA for safe keeping. It isn't very good for writing, though, since the tip of the pen is really one of 3 bullets loaded inside. Each of these bullets does a decent 40 brute damage to an unarmored target, making it a great way to scare off a pesky gray tider. To use it, all you have to do it take it in hand and click upon it, activating it's gun mode. In this mode, it behaves just like a gun, where you aim and shoot like normal. Clicking it again in your hand brings it back to normal, allowing you to safely store it for later use.

 

However, you only get 3 shots, so you have to make them really count. Afterwards, the pistol becomes a dull old pen again, losing all it's old interactions.

 

Possible exposure: If it has ammo inside, you can expose it's true use by clicking on it in your hand, turning on it's gun mode. However, if it is empty, nothing will happen. This means the best tactic with the pen is to make use of all three shots when you do use it, rather than just using only one or two. After all, the person being shot at won't be able to know where the bullets are coming from, so you could bullshit your way out of jail if security tries to search you for a firearm.

 

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Tool: Laser goggles

Appearance: Science goggles

Cost: 15 points

Available to: Science staff

Use: All the power of a laser rifle in the palm of you hand.. That you can wear on your face.

 

To the naked eye, they look like standard issue goggles given to science members for their R&D use. But in reality, it is the ultimate X-men cosplay item, allowing your inner Cyclops to be unleashed upon anyone who DARES to get in your way. In other words, it is a laser gun in goggle form. Has the same damage, ammo, and can be recharged in a charger (provided no one is looking)

 

What sets it apart from most weapons and explains its cost, however, is due to how it works. By default, it is set to off, being just normal goggles. But once turned on, anywhere you click while having the goggles on your face lets you shoot out a deadly beam of death. Doesn't sound all that neat until you realize you can combine it with other weapons as well, such as ANOTHER laser gun, or a shotgun, or even just a bikehorn. Whatever item you have in your active hand can be used alongside the laser, doubling up the punishment.. As long as it is on and charged. Just be careful when treating your wounds, though.. You can easily shoot yourself with your own goggles, making it just as dangerous as it is useful.

 

Possible exposure: Due to its design, you have to always remember to turn it off while not being used, because nothing is more embarrassing than shooting off a laser in public while trying to grab a drink from a vending machine or playing the slots... Or even putting a bandaid on yourself.. That would really suck.

 

Otherwise, in the hands of a smart player, it makes for a great hands free blaster, until people other than you wear it and try to examine something with it. Don't let them do that.

 

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Tool: Mind Hack Dart

Appearance: A red tipped pen, alongside a basic PDA

Cost 16

Available to: Everyone

Use: So, there is this guy you hate. You really hate him.. You wish there was a way to get rid of him somehow.. But you can't just go and murder him, no.. That would be too messy.. Maybe you could frame him instead? Yeah, maybe do it in such a way that security has to put him away forever.. Maybe even deathrow.. But how can you possibly frame him for a crime serious enough to get security's attention?

 

With a nifty mind control dart, of course. While costly and very risky to use in plain sight, in the hands of a clever framer you can ruin someone's day with the press of a button. Only problem is getting the implant needed to control your target in him in the first place. Have no fear, though, this is where the pen comes in.

 

The pen comes bundled with the PDA, which when clicked on causes your avatar to take the pen up to their mouth (which everyone can see you do, so don't do it in plain sight), ready to blow into it. For this isn't so much a pen as a dart gun with a weak mind control implant inside. Once readied, you just take aim at your target of choice, and blow... Hoping it hits. If you aim it just right [and your target isn't an IPC], you'll nail em and have them ready to control.

 

After that, it is a simple matter of whipping out your "PDA" and activating it in a secluded spot. From your location, you take full control of your target and see what they see for a brief 20 seconds, and ONLY 20 seconds.. When time runs out, the implant dies, and you can't control them again for the rest of the shift.. Meaning you have to really make it count. This makes it a very huge risk VS reward tool, but if you manage to pull it off just right, you can get someone jailed for a crime he had no intent to commit, and cause all sorts of confusion in the process.

 

Possible exposure: People will see you move the pen to your mouth if you do it in public, and blowing into it will also get some attention. If you fuck up and miss, the implant will lay on the ground for everyone to see, which will not only waste your TC but also risk exposing your plans as well. Your target won't notice if he gets hit, though.. So try to do it in a way that prevents him to seeing who shot him before doing any antics. Once used up, the PDA and pen return to normal, meaning they can't use it to arrest you afterwards.

 

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And lastly, a little something crazy and violent.

 

Tool: Gas Attack Pill

Appearance: A little green pill, although you won't be holding onto it for long.

Cost: 12 points

Available to: Assistants, Clown, Medbay Staff

Use: Fart jokes are funny. People like farting in people's faces when given a chance. Some people even gain super farts which throw people all over the place when performed. Maybe it's time to start fearing the fart.

 

This little pill is made to be ingested the moment you buy it. Once eaten, you gain a new superpower that can only be earned from the blackmarket: The gas attack.

 

It has a 200 second cooldown, but once she is charged up, triggering it causes your avatar to emote the same way one would if they were doing a superfart.. But instead of blowing everyone away, you unleash several highly toxic clouds of nasty, which will cause people who take just a single huff to fall over as well as take continuous toxins damage as long as they stay within the cloud of death. No one will see it comin, and if you are in a tight space, no one is going to get away from it.

 

Only downside is every time you use it, you take 30 brute damage due to the nature of your genetic upgrade, and if you are not wearing internals, you'll end up killing yourself with your own fart. Unless you are supposed to die gloriously, bring internals before using.

 

Possible exposure: The moment you use this power, people will know you are not one of them. Plan your usage wisely, and exploit tight spaces to really get the most out of it and ensure no witnesses. Also, try not to take a visit to medbay, because medical scanners will notice "genetic damage" on your avatar. It'll be hard to explain why someone who seems perfectly fine and isn't a clone has genetic damage.

 

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And... That is about it. Maybe one day these might be reality.. But for now, they are just a dream. Would you like any of these to be real, and if not, why?

 

[Scrat]

 

All of those seem pretty cool. The pen gun's cost and damage are between the stetchkin and revolver's (stetchkin = 20 brute, revolver = 60 brute), but unless the gun is silenced and shows no attack messages or projectiles, it'd be fairly obvious who the shooter is and you'd be exposed right off the bat.

 

Mind Hack dart seems pretty expensive, as if you control someone and make them do something illegal, if they are searched and nothing is found on them, they obviously wont be charged with EoC as they'd probably be believed when saying they were forcefully controlled, you'd need to slip some traitor gear onto them too, or not much will happen, and with only 4 TC left should you buy it, there isnt many options. For a one-use, third-of-a-minute controller, I'd say drop the price a bit.

 

[Renomaki]

 

All of those seem pretty cool. The pen gun's cost and damage are between the stetchkin and revolver's (stetchkin = 20 brute, revolver = 60 brute), but unless the gun is silenced and shows no attack messages or projectiles, it'd be fairly obvious who the shooter is and you'd be exposed right off the bat.

 

Mind Hack dart seems pretty expensive, as if you control someone and make them do something illegal, if they are searched and nothing is found on them, they obviously wont be charged with EoC as they'd probably be believed when saying they were forcefully controlled, you'd need to slip some traitor gear onto them too, or not much will happen, and with only 4 TC left should you buy it, there isnt many options. For a one-use, third-of-a-minute controller, I'd say drop the price a bit.

 

I imagine the pen simply showing up as "Pistol" when fired, so you won't be able to tell it is just a pen. If someone tries to report that you attacked them or have a firearm, you can let them search you in confidence and they won't have any proof that you fired a gun. Just play it cool... Or get a disguise, that is what I do.

 

As for the Mind Hack Dart, you forget there are other Capital Crimes out there. Murder, for instance, can cause a person to be put into perma/death row regardless of who they work for. I should know, I had it happen to me while I was an agent and pretended I threw someone into space in a fit of rage with no intent to kill. They still put me in perma regardless. So if you know your space law, you can use it to set someone up. I assume 20 seconds (not in Byond time, of course) would be enough to not be overpowered but still enough to get a person in serious trouble. Bonus points if you get lots of witnesses to see it.

 

[Keroman]

 

As much as I like the idea of having a pistol hidden in a pen you could get a storage implant and stechkin w/suppressor for 13 TC. Shoot at your target (8 shots @ 20 damage for a potential of 160) and even if they don't die you can just hide the stechkin in your storage implant until you get another chance.

 

I feel like, given the choice, many players will just opt for the hidden stechkin rather than worrying about trying to hit 3 shots without missing a single one.

 

[Renomaki]

 

As much as I like the idea of having a pistol hidden in a pen you could get a storage implant and stechkin w/suppressor for 13 TC. Shoot at your target (8 shots @ 20 damage for a potential of 160) and even if they don't die you can just hide the stechkin in your storage implant until you get another chance.

 

I feel like, given the choice, many players will just opt for the hidden stechkin rather than worrying about trying to hit 3 shots without missing a single one.

 

Aw, I never thought of that.. The only downside with that though is that it costs more.

 

Then again, in all my times as traitor, I never really used a gun yet. I always tried to kill indirectly and with stealth tools most of the time. I gotten so many kills with just a pizzabomb alone, target or not.. and I'll never forget the time I managed to kill the barkeep with a deadly pie as chef.. Good memories.

 

Oh well, it was an attempt at making a more covert pistol at least.

 

[Renomaki]

 

Bumping up because waahh, I worked hard on these ideas and barely anyone shared their opinion with meh...

 

Sad face..

 

[Daylight]

These items are really cool, but for the mind control dart, it's just easier to get them alone and sleepy pen + mindslave, then you could have control over them for the entire round.

[SigholtStarsong]

 

From your location, you take full control of your target and see what they see for a brief 20 seconds, and ONLY 20 seconds.

 

say ;"Captain's a fucking changeling!"

suicide

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FLAWLESS VICTORY.