Difference between revisions of "Cult Magic"

From Paradise Station Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Not everyone can start as a cultist)
Line 1: Line 1:
<onlyinclude>The Cult of Nar'Sie is a vile magic cult that has infiltrated the station with the intent to either spread its influence or summon The Dark One and destroy the station. Cult is quite similar to revolution with some exceptions:
<onlyinclude>
This guide was written with the assumption that you have read and understood the [[Cultist]] guide beforehand. If you have not yet done so please read through that page first and then come back when you're more familiar with the Cult of Nar'Sie!


* There are no defined cult 'heads', all cultists are equal; but each original cultist starts knowing the meaning of one rune word and a special 5-use talisman.
The Cult of Nar'Sie is a blood-magic cult that has infiltrated the station with the intent to sacrifice a crew member and then either spread its influence or summon Nar'Sie to destroy the station.
* Since cultists don't know all words required for creation of runes, they need to find these words out through experimentation or get them from their horrible deity by sacrificing. As such, the crew has some time before the cult starts spreading.
 
* The [[Chaplain]] can use his Null Rod to reveal and erase hidden runes, as well as de-convert cultists. Apply the Null Rod directly to the forehead or to the floor, depending on what you want to achieve. A less deadly way is to have said cultist drink holy water (Bugged, cultist is no longer part of the cult but will have a cult icon above their forehead to any remaining cultists.)
Before jumping into a guide here's a few quick tips:
* Cultists draw runes from their own blood, requiring arcane tomes to do so, as well as causing slight brute damage.
* There are no defined cult 'heads'; all cultists are equal but each original cultist starts with a special 5-use talisman in their backpack as well as knowing the meaning of one rune word.
* Rather than a syndicate uplink, cultists can draw on pieces of paper using their own blood (again taking some brute damage) to gain cult items and powers, though most of the time they use runes drawn upon the floor.
* Since cultists don't know all words required for creation of runes they need to [[Cult Magic#Rune Word Research|research]] these words out through experimentation or by sacrificing. As such, the crew has some time before the cult starts to spread.
* The shuttle is possible to call and will end the round. Having a number of cultists escape on it is one of the possible objectives.
* The [[Chaplain]] can use his holy book to reveal hidden runes and his null rod to destroy visible runes. See the the [[Chaplain]] page for more details.
* Cultists draw runes from their own blood, requiring arcane tomes to do so.  This causes a small amount of brute damage.  Experienced players may take notice of anyone who has sustained minor brute damage on several limbs. Saline-glucose pills are a handy way to heal this damage an disguise your status as a cult member.  '''Remember: this damage shows up on crew monitors so turn them off if you plan to use a lot of runes/talismans!'''
* Using the imbue talisman rune cultists can inscribe the following runes on pieces of paper: stun, blind, deafen, communicate, teleport, summon tome, summon armor.
* For a quick escape a cultist can carry around a paper imbued with the teleport rune.  If he or she is worried about getting caught they can use the talisman to teleport away. Doing so in view of non-cultists, however, will alert them to the presence of a cult!
* The shuttle is possible to call and will end the round. One possible cult objective is to have a certain number of cultists on board the shuttle by the time it docks at Central Command.
* It is impossible to convert either the [[Chaplain]] or the [[Captain]] regardless of whether or not they have a loyalty implant.
* Using cult magic, whether a tome, rune, or talisman, is very visible and obvious to anyone who can see you.  If your cult is trying to be stealthy do your best to avoid using any sort of cult magic out in the open unless absolutely necessary. If you are apprehended by security for some reason but they are not aware of the cult it may be better for you to accept a stay in the brig rather than use magic to escape and reveal that a cult is on board!  Remember, however, that if they find cult items on your person the cult will be discovered!


Cultists should work together to achieve their objectives, and have access to many otherworldly powers to bring this about.</onlyinclude>
Cultists should work together to achieve their objectives, and have access to many otherworldly powers to bring this about.</onlyinclude>


==Quick Start Guide==
==At Round Start==
A cultist starts off with his Starting Talisman and with the knowledge of 1 word. It has 5 charges and is good for communicating anonymously and secretly with other cultists. The other important feature is that you can use it to summon an Arcane Tome. The Arcane Tome is where you will be doing your rune work from.  
[[File:Talismanandtome.png|85px|border|left]]A cultist begins the round with a starting talisman in his backpack as well as the knowledge of 1 rune word which appears in your round-start text log.  '''If you forget your starting rune word you can check what it is in your Notes verb in the IC tab.'''  The talisman has 5 charges and is good for a number of things including summoning an arcane tome and communicating anonymously and secretly with other cultists. Your first act should be to find an isolated place and get two talismans: one to summon a tome and one to communicate with other cultists.
 
Summon your tome in a secluded place.  It drops at your feet upon using the talisman and if you do this anywhere people can see you they WILL notice!  This is important enough to reiterate: '''DO NOT summon a tome where you can be seen by non-cultists as it will appear on the floor where you stand!'''
 
Next use the communication talisman to tell your rune word to the other cultists.
 
[[File:Communicationrunetextlog.png|border|left]]
 
 
 


It has 3 options: 1st Read the book to study spells (or read this guide), 2nd is for casting runes, and 3rd is Notes.  '''You have to have the words assigned to cast a rune'''. So if ire is self then you must change it in your Arcane Tome or you won't be able to cast runes that use the word ''self.''When casting spells or drawing runes You will make sounds so and runes are clearly visible and different from regular runes drawn by the clown. Your starting Spells Cost nothing, but you only have 5 charges. Casting a rune takes some blood from you and leaves brute damage (bruises).
Now pull out your arcane tome and activate it in your hand. Your tome has 3 options:
[[File:Youopenthetome.png|border|left]]


The most effective way to discover more words is by experimenting. Find a rune that uses 2 words you know, but the third one is unknown. Make it a simple rune if you can. So if you know ''Self'' and ''Other'' then you should research communicate. It just requires you to guess ''Technology'', thus making it an easy target and it only takes one cultist to cast. Next go to your notes a pick an unassigned word and select it as Technology. Expect to carve a lot of runes this way. So if you can get some Bicardine to heal yourself.
- '''Read it''' allows you to study spells, their required words, and what each spell does.


Note, if you can't find an easy rune to research: most correct and functioning runes glow and pulsate. So while you may not be able to cast ''Convert'' by yourself, you will at least know you found the right word. Also most runes when correctly cast tend to disappear. To manually erase a rune just use your Arcane Tome on it. Also write down which words mean what in your notes section in case you lose your Arcane Tome.
- '''Scribe a rune''' using words you've entered into the tome's Notes section.


It's best to research all the spells if possible. After words imbue some paper with stun spells and start converting people. Have a Teleport Rune ready in case you need to leave in a hurry. A good method is to have a Convert and Teleport Rune ready in a discreet area. Cover them with Trash such as a box and other debris (you can use Alt-Left Mouse Click to find the rune). Then lure a target to the area, stun them, convert them and then teleport them out of the area.
- '''Notes''' is where you enter rune words that you know in order to be able to draw runes.


Lastly be as discreet as possible. This means washing your hands and wearing gloves and washing up again to leave no prints. No talking out loud, over a radio, or near a camera or the AI or someone else over hear you. Finding a good spot to hide is really difficult on the station. The abandoned bar and maintenance tunnels are the absolute worst places to hide. Try to get off the station if you can: such as the Engineering Outpost, Asteroid (either by the mining outpost or Research outpost), or just get a space pod and build a room without cameras away from the station (but in the same sector).


'''TL;DR:'''


1. Do your regular job.


2. Find a place to hide.
In order to draw a rune you must first enter the appropriate rune words into your Notes. If you wish to draw the stun rune you will need to enter the words for ''join'', ''hide'', and ''technology'' into your Notes section of your arcane tome.


3. Communicate to everyone your word and a place to meet.
[[File:Notesedited2.png|thumb|left]]


4. Go to meeting place.


5. Summon an Arcane Tome.
It should be noted that the rune words are randomized every round. If ''certum'' is ''hell'' one round that does not guarantee it will be ''hell'' on any given round after that.  That being said the words will not change during the course of a single round and any words in the Notes section of one arcane tome can be copied over to any other arcane tome by clicking the filled-out tome on the tome you wish to copy the words to.


6. Research Spells.
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; width:239px; margin-left: 10px;"
|[[File:Cultrunescrayonrunes.png]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| A comparison of crayon runes (top) and cult runes (bottom.)
|}


7. Build up your array of spells and armaments.
When drawing runes it is important to ensure the words are entered correctly in your Notes. If the rune word you enter is incorrect the rune will not work, therefore if ''ire'' is listed incorrectly as ''self'' then you must correct it in your arcane tome or you won't be able to cast runes that use the word ''self.''  When casting spells or drawing runes you will make sounds and completed runes are clearly visible and quite different from regular runes drawn in crayon by the clown.  When a rune is drawn you must click on the rune sprite to activate the rune's effect.  Drawing or activating a rune uses your blood and causes a small amount of brute damage in the form of bruises on a random part of your body.


8. Convert followers.
==Finding a Hideout==
The NSS Cyberiad has a myriad of places where you might be able to set up a cult hideout. Where possible, try to set up a hideout in a hidden room in maint.  No cameras, little foot traffic.  Out in space you might get lucky and find the white ship.  The engineering outpost is nice because it has several rooms that are not visible from space and no AI cameras at round-start so you don't have to worry about the AI spying on you!  The mining outpost has cameras but is rarely monitored by the AI, has a medical sleeper to heal brute damage, its own telecomms equipment which is easy to sabotage, and as a bonus the ore boxes that miners use can completely conceal a rune drawn on the ground!  The research outpost is also a common place to set up a cult base as it, too, has a medical sleeper as well as many nooks and crannies that aren't visible to an AI's cameras.  Be warned that cutting a camera's wires can instantly draw the AI's attention so sometime's it's better to simply set up shop where the AI already can't see you.


9. Complete objective.
==Rune Word Research==
=== Guess and Check Method ===
[[File:Cultistman.png|border|left]]At the start of a cult round you will hopefully learn up to 3 rune words from your fellow cultists on top of the one you start with.  If you don't hear from them within 15 minutes of round start you might take a walk around the station to try to find them.  You'll know a fellow cultist by the green cthulhu-like icon above and to the right of their character sprite.  If you can get them to join you in an isolated area you can ask them for their rune word or politely suggest they make use of their starting talisman to communicate their word to the entire cult.  It's entirely possible to research new words without knowing any beforehand but it is a massive pain.  Ideally you will start with as many as possible but you can make some decent headway if you know a minimum of 2.


Find a rune that uses 2 words you know and a third word that you don't.  If you know ''self'' and ''other'' then you should research communicate as it just requires you to guess ''technology'' thus making it an easy target.  Next go to your notes, pick an unassigned word, and set it as ''technology''.  Once that is done activate your tome again and choose to ''Scribe a rune''.  You should be given a list of runes you can scribe, although at this point you may only be able to scribe the communicate rune.  Pick that and you will begin the process of drawing the rune.  Once the rune is complete click on it.  If a window pops up asking you to enter your message, congratulations!


==The Mask of Nar-Sie==
[[File:Communicationrunebox.png]]
One of the cultists will have the option to be the mask of Nar-Sie during a cult round by using the "Become mask" option. A mask is there to assist the cult in their goals, being the one link between the mortal realm and lord Nar-Sie himself. To his disposal are several spells and mask verbs. A manifested spirit can also become a mask of Nar'sie.


One thing to keep in mind: You can only see what followers see. Be a wise guide to your cult and bring them success.
If not go back to your notes and set the next unassigned word to ''technology''.  Unless you're lucky you can expect to carve a lot of runes and accrue a decent bit of brute damage this way until you are successful in finding the correct rune word for ''technology''.


'''Spells:'''
If you can't find an easy rune to research be aware that correct and functioning runes glow and pulsate.
*Create talisman. By far your most powerful spell as it can give cultists additional tools to fulfill Nar-Sie's sinister wishes.
These include:
-Armor
-Blind
-Conceal
-Construct
-Communicate
-Deafen
-EMP
-Teleport
-Tome
-Reveal Runes
-Stun
-Soul stone
*Speak to your acolytes. For when you need to get a message across. Whether this is Nar-Sie's actual will or to get across an internal facepalm
*Spread shadows. Will burst all lights near the cultist in question.
'''Mask verbs'''
*Go to follower. Pretty straight forward. Focuses your mask on another follower.
*Set cult name. This changes the name of one of the cultists. For those who want the cult to be a secret society like the Illuminati.
*Show your favor. This tells people whether they are doing a good job or not. Has three settings: Pleased, displeased, indifference.
*Urge cult. Tells the cult what they need to do. Think of it as an objective that will guide them towards their ultimate goal (the one found in notes)
*Urge cultist. One of your cultists is quite the gem? Use this to give an individual cultist a special mission.


Seeing that cult rounds can be tremendously difficult if one has never played them before. It is highly recommended that this role is filled by an experienced player.
[[File:Glowyrunes.gif]]
For great success: Make a note of all learned words, so they are not lost should your cultists be captured.


==Cult Magic==
So while you may not be able to activate a sacrifice rune by yourself you will at least know you found the right word. Also note that most runes tend to disappear when they have been used successfully. To manually erase a rune just use your arcane tome on it. It is a good idea to write down which words mean what in your IC Notes section in case you lose your arcane tome!
Cult Magic is what being a cultist is all about. To use this magic you need to have an arcane tome and draw runes with proper words. The drawing is made with your own blood, and you'll take some brute damage each time you draw a rune or use a talisman, but this damage will regenerate on it's own very quickly. Certain runes will take more toll on your heath, sometimes even breaking bones, requiring more of your life-force to function. Try to have a bruise pack with you, or some other means of healing yourself.


Once the rune is drawn, click on it to chant an invocation. If everything is right, the rune's spell effects should appear. If the rune is invalid or the spell's requirements are unfulfilled, you will still make a chant, and the rune will glow, but nothing will happen.
=== Sacrifice Method ===
This method requires you to have the words for a sacrifice rune (''hell'', ''blood'', and ''join'',) as well as access to monkeys. Simply draw the rune and have 3 cultists stand adjacent to it (avoid standing ''on'' it unless you want to be the sacrifice!) and activate the rune.  With every sacrifice there is a chance you will learn a new rune word.  This method can be used with any monkey-type creature (farwas, wolpin, stok, etc.) or even captured crew members (although doing so is frowned upon unless said crew member happens to be the target of your sacrifice objective.)


== Starting Talisman ==
If you have the time and the resources it is best to research as many words as possible. Once that is done you should communicate the words to your fellow cultists and then turn your efforts towards converting people and completing your objectives.
When you become a [[Cultist]] at round start, you will have this in your backpack. Its a special talisman, which can be invoked 5 times to aid you.


What you should do is summon a tome for yourself, to be able to actually draw runes, then use a communicate talisman to send the runeword you know to other cultists. Hopefully they will be doing the same themselves. Be patient, as tomes involve vocal incantations and '''can be heard by nearby crew,''' your fellow cultists may need a bit more time to find a private spot.
==Creating Talismans==
[[File:Imbuetalismanrune.gif|border|right|]]Talismans are pieces of paper imbued with the power of a rune.  There are 9 runes in total which you can imbue on a piece of paper:


To use a tome, you click on it in your active hand, which will pull up a list of different options that will each use up some of your tome's magic until the tome itself disappears.
* Blind
* Communicate
* Deafen
* EMP
* Reveal Runes
* Stun
* Summon Armor
* Summon Tome
* Teleport


=== Talisman Options===
To imbue a paper with a spell you must draw two runes: an imbue talisman rune and the rune you wish to imbue onto the paper. You can place the secondary rune on the same tile as the imbue talisman rune or any of the 8 tiles adjacent to it. If you do draw the secondary rune on the same tile as the imbue talisman rune be sure that you ''only'' activate the imbue talisman rune or you risk suffering the effects of the rune you are attempting to imbue onto the piece of paper!  Once both runes are drawn place a blank sheet of paper on the imbue talisman rune and then click on the imbue talisman rune. The secondary rune should disappear leaving only the imbue talisman rune and a newly-imbued piece of paper.  See the spell descriptions below in [[Cult Magic#The Runes|the Runes]] section for information about how each spell works in both rune and talisman form.
There are a number of options to let you summon various items.
* ''N'ath reth sh'yro eth d'raggathnor!'' - Allows you to summon a new arcane tome.
* ''Sas'so c'arta forbici!'' - Allows you to move to a rune with the same last word.
* ''Ta'gh fara'qha fel d'amar det!'' - Allows you to destroy technology in a short range. (EMP Talisman)
* ''Kla'atu barada nikt'o!'' - Allows you to conceal the runes you placed on the floor.
* ''O bidai nabora se'sma!'' - Allows you to coordinate with others of your cult. (Communication Talisman)
* ''Fuu ma'jin'' - Allows you to stun a person by attacking them with the talisman. (Stun Talisman)
* ''Sa tatha najin'' - Allows you to summon armoured robes and an unholy blade. (Usually not a good idea)
* ''Kal om neth'' - Summons a [[Construct|soul stone]].
* ''Da A'ig Osk'' - Summons a [[construct]] shell for use with captured souls. It is too large to carry on your person.


Click on any of the incantations to select which one you wish to invoke. When this is done, the incantation will appear in the form of another paper dropped at your feet. Remember that although your other hand may be empty, the incantation will always appear on the floor, '''noticeable by nearby crew.'''


All of the incantations need only to be clicked in your active hand to activate save for the stun talisman, which must be used by hitting the victim with it. Remember that any incantation that summons a new object will have it appear at your feet, the summon armor/weapon even having you instantly dressed in cult robes and a sword, so make sure you're alone when you're using your tome.


In general, a stun talisman is useful as it can be used as a concealed defence. You may use EMP if you are setting up a hideout and need to disable a camera behind a wall you cant access. Picking a rune concealing talisman is usually pointless, as you wont be able to invoke a hidden talisman unless you reveal it or use a see invisible rune. The teleport talisman is also usually useless, as you dont usually start with knowledge of words needed to make teleport runes.
==The Mask of Nar'Sie==
During a cult round any of the cultists, even crew members converted after the round has begun, will have the option to become the Mask of Nar'Sie.  To do this check the Cult tab on the right side of the game window and choose the ''Become mask'' verb.  You will be given two options: Subtle or Violent. If you choose subtle your belongings will drop to the ground in a neat pile. If you choose violent your body will explode causing your flying limbs to deal a small amount of brute damage to anyone standing too close.  Either way you will find yourself with a new viewpoint hovering invisible at the point where you once inhabited your body. Your goal is to assist the cult as the link between the mortal realm and lord Nar'Sie himself!  At your disposal are a number of abilities beyond what a regular cultist is capable of.


== The Tome ==
'''Spells:'''
The Arcane Tome is the most important item for any cultist. It is used to draw runes with your blood. It also contains some basic info on the runes you can use. The tome doesn't appear on your character's sprite, so as long as nobody examines you, they wont notice that you are holding it in your hand. The tome is useless as a weapon, and does no damage.
The Mask of Nar'Sie has a Spells tab on the right side of their game window with three spells available. Each spell has a cooldown period, in seconds, listed next to it.
*Create Talisman (300 second cooldown) - By far your most powerful spell as it can give cultists additional tools to fulfill Nar'Sie's sinister wishes.  When you provide a talisman, soul stone, or construct shell for a cultist beware that it will appear on the ground at their feet, sometimes several steps behind them if they are moving around.


Access your tome by clicking it in your active hand. You will be faced with a prompt to either Read the tome, Draw a rune, or look at your Notes.
:The objects you can summon include:
Reading your tome will bring you a list of runes, what words are required for them, and further detail on what each one does.
Drawing a rune will bring up another three prompts for which you must choose the word you wish to draw from the list of cult words.
Notes brings you to a list of the words necessary to draw runes. These can be edited so that the unintelligible words that would have normally shown up when drawing a rune (mgar, nahazilet, etc.) will be replaced with the proper words (blood, join, hell, etc.), making it much easier to draw working runes.


== How to Play ==
::-Armor Talisman
Fantastic, you've joined a cult.  At the beginning of the round, you start out with a paper in your backpack. Resist using it right then and there.


Put the paper into your box in your backpack. Wait until there is no one else around and the AI is looking somewhere else, summon your tome, the coordinate paper, and whatever else you want.
::-Blind Talisman


=== Words Are Powerful ===
::-Communicate Talisman
Now that you have your tome, either put it away or put known words into your notes section if anyone else has announced their word. Announce using the communication paper your word and if you feel like it, a place to become a safehouse.


=== Cult Headquarters ===
::-Conceal Talisman
Some good places for a base are the the mining station or some out of the way place in maintenance. The locker room also makes a decent place, since it is seldom visited.


=== How to Research Words ===
::-Construct Shell
Now you've started researching words. The best way to do this is start by using two known words then going down the list to fill in the last word.


A good order to get runes is:
::-Deafen Talisman
# convert
# blood drain  (you now have teleport)
# wall
# ghost
# summon tome
# stun
# imbue


=== Setting up ===
::-EMP Talisman
If you are setting up in a place AI has camera access to, the first thing you should do is cut it. Don't forget to cut cameras behind walls that have your hideout in sight. The AI is stealthcultist's worst enemy, it must not have ANY chance to notice you. Thankfully, it can only see runes as blood stains.


Then set up the teleport rune. If you are planning on making teleport talismans, have one teleport rune with a unique word, so that every time you use a teleport talisman with this word, you teleport to that rune. If not, just set up a teleport rune which connects to a rune on the station, thats how you will be able to enter and leave the hideout. You can have up to 10 teleport networks, so you can set up a whole portal room, with different runes leading to different places on the station. Finally, ensure that no intruders can enter the hideout by setting up and activating wall runes at all entrances. Your hideout is now ready, use it for all kinds of your cultist needs.
::-Reveal Runes Talisman


=== Cult Activities ===
::-Soul Stone
Just found out one of your cult buddies is lost and has no idea what to do? Or is he locked in?


You can use the Free cultist and the Summon cultist to get him out of cuffs, DNA tubes, Even welded and/or locked closets! then if you are quick enough you can use the Summon cultist rune to get him to the lair or wherever the rune is located. This is great for saving cultists that are caught by security.
::-Stun Talisman


Only have 2 cultists and a bunch of words but you need 3 cultists?
::-Summon Tome Talisman
this can easily be solved! by using a simple manifest ghost rune placed next to the rune your going to invoke, you can manifest a ghost, still stand next to the rune your wanting to invoke, and this can even be used to summon NAR-SIE!


=== Summoning Others by Yourself ===
::-Teleport Talisman
If you are by yourself, you can still summon your cultist friends. Set up a manifest ghost next to a summon cultist (or free cultist) rune and manifest two ghosts. Have the two ghosts help summon your friend.


=== Healing ===
*Speak to your Acolytes (200 second cooldown) -  For when you need to get an extremely important message across.
On the chance that you are somewhere out in space, you can still heal yourself. Set up a blood drain rune next to a manifest ghost rune. Manifest the ghost and have him stand on the blood drain rune and drain him of life. Rinse and repeat as needed.
[[File:Maskbroadcast.png|border|left]]


=== Resurrecting Dead Cultists ===
Combine this with summoning others by yourself and you can summon a dead cultist and resurrect him. What you will need is a manifest ghost rune next to two resurrect runes. Put the dead body on one rune and manifest a ghost to stand on the other. Have your cultist buddy in ghost form over his dead body or some jerkoff who wants to be a cultist. It doesn't matter. Invoke the rune, gibbing the ghost and resurrecting your newly arisen cult buddy.


=== Sacrificing ===
*Spread Shadows (100 second cooldown) - This spell bursts all lights near the cultist you are currently viewing.
If you have to, gibbing your target removes the objective to sacrifice, but we don't want that now do we? Locate the body using ghost self and observing your sacrifice target. If possible, have a cohort find the target, dead or alive, preferably dead if he cannot be converted and use a teleport other rune to send the body to the base you have set up for sacrificing.


=== [[Construct]]s ===
'''Mask Verbs:'''
Using the supply-paper starting cultists are granted from their dark lord, they are able to create an army of shades and constructs. This can be used to bring those to your side who typicaly would never do so on their own, like the chaplain or security officers. A wise move is to create an artificer first, wich saves you valuable points on the supply-paper.
Unlike Spells the Mask Verbs have no cooldowns and can be used at any time.
*Go to follower - Focuses your view on another follower.
*Set Cult Name - This changes how a cultist's name appears when they use a communication rune or talisman.  If you do not set a Cult Name for a cultist they will show up as An Unknown Servant.
*Show your favor - This tells people whether they are doing a good job or not.  Has three settings: Pleased, displeased, indifference.
*Urge Cult - Tells the entire cult what they need to focus on. Good for using during the final push when it's time to summon Nar'Sie or escape on the evacuation shuttle.
*Urge cultist - Provides an urge to a single cultist.  Use this to let a single cultist know what they should focus on.


== The Runes ==
Because cultist rounds can be tremendously difficult for players who have never played them before it is highly recommended that this role is filled by an experienced player.  A good Mask makes note of all known rune words and shares them around to all cultists whenever necessary. One thing to keep in mind: You can only see what your followers see. Be a wise guide to your cult and bring them success.
Each rune contains three words written in unknown dialect.
There are 10 words used for rune scribing, what they mean in english is: "travel", "self", "see", "Hell", "blood", "join", "technology", "destroy", "hide", "other". Your Arcane tome however, is written in an unknown dialect and initially you know none of the words.


There are 2 ways to find out meaning of unknown words. First, you can simply use sacrifice rune to sacrifice humans and monkeys, with each sacrifice comes a chance to suddenly remember a rune word. The other way is through trial and error. Knowing 2 out of 3 words needed for some rune, you can find out the last word with just a little bit of experimentation.  
==The Runes==
Runes are the primary method for spellcasting as a cultist.  There are 10 words used for rune scribing: ire, ego, nahlizet, certum, veri, jatkaa, balaq, mgar, karazet, and geeri. What they mean in english is: "travel", "self", "see", "hell", "blood", "join", "technology", "destroy", "hide", "other."


Don't forget, all proper runes always have fixed colors and sprites, while failed runes are random.
Don't forget, all proper runes pulsate visibly from dark red to light red and back, while failed runes are inert and do not change color at all.


{| border="2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" align="center" class="wikitable sortable"
{| border="2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" align="center" class="wikitable sortable"
Line 192: Line 170:
|see  
|see  
|blood  
|blood  
|Hell
|hell
|-
|-
!Cult Armaments
!Cult Armaments
|Hell
|hell
|destroy  
|destroy  
|other
|other
Line 214: Line 192:
|self
|self
|-
|-
!See invisible
!See Invisible
|see  
|see  
|Hell
|hell
|join
|join
|-
|-
Line 222: Line 200:
|blood  
|blood  
|join  
|join  
|Hell
|hell
|-
|-
!Hide Runes
!Hide Runes
Line 230: Line 208:
|-
|-
!Ghost Self
!Ghost Self
|Hell
|hell
|travel  
|travel  
|self
|self
Line 240: Line 218:
|-
|-
!Imbue a Paper
!Imbue a Paper
|Hell
|hell
|technology  
|technology  
|join
|join
|-
|-
!Sacrifice Other
!Sacrifice
|Hell
|hell
|blood  
|blood  
|join
|join
Line 259: Line 237:
|self
|self
|-
|-
!Free / Release Cultist
!Free Cultist
|travel  
|travel  
|technology  
|technology  
Line 295: Line 273:
|-
|-
!Summon Horror
!Summon Horror
|Hell
|hell
|join  
|join  
|self
|self
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; width:239px; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"
|[[File:Teleportrune.gif]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| Making use of a teleport rune.
|}
|}


Line 303: Line 286:
The first two words for this rune are '''"travel self"'''
The first two words for this rune are '''"travel self"'''


Teleport rune is a special rune, as it only needs two words, with the third word being destination. Basically, when you have two runes with the same destination, invoking one will teleport you to the other one. If there are more than 2 runes, you will be teleported to a random one. Since there are 10 words, you can create 10 independent teleport networks. You can imbue a teleport rune into a talisman, which will then teleport you to the destination rune upon use.
The teleport rune is a special rune as it uses the first two words to designate that it's a teleport rune while the third word acts as a destination marker. When you have two runes with the same destination invoking one will teleport you to the other one. If there are more than 2 runes using the same destination marker you will be teleported to a random one. Since there are 10 words you can create 10 independent teleport networks. You can imbue a teleport rune into a talisman which, upon use, will teleport you to the destination rune.


=== Teleport other ===
=== Teleport Other ===
The first two words for this rune are '''"travel other"'''
The first two words for this rune are '''"travel other"'''


This variation of the teleport rune allows you to teleport objects between the runes. You need to have 3 people standing by this rune to properly invoke it, so its utility isnt very high.  
This variation of the teleport rune allows you to teleport objects between the runes. You need to have 3 cultists standing adjacent to this rune to properly invoke it.


=== Summon a tome ===
=== Summon a Tome ===  
The words needed for this rune are '''"see blood Hell"'''.
[[File:Summontome.gif|right|bottom]]The words needed for this rune are '''"see blood hell"'''.


While just having a henchman cultist is useful, he will be of much more help if he has an arcane tome to create more runes. This rune simply summons a new arcane tome. Always have one hidden somewhere so that you can get a new tome in case you lose your current one.  
Use this rune to summon a new tome.  Most of the time you will use this rune to create new tomes for converted crew members. You can imbue this rune into a talisman to make it slightly more concealable. Whether you use the rune or the talisman the new tome will always be summoned on the floor.


=== Cult Armaments ===
=== Cult Armaments ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"Hell Destroy Other"'''.
[[File:Summonarmor.gif|right|bottom]]The words needed for this rune are '''"hell Destroy Other"'''.


Cultists now have access to weapons and hooded robes that double as armor. There is the Cult Blade (an energy sword), Cult Robes (armored robes), and Cult Hoodie (armored hoodie). To invoke, simply activate the rune with an open hand to recieve the cult blade, likewise with the robes and hoodie. Just have the slots open. This is usually a bad idea if you're trying to be stealthy. There really is no reason to get these.
When it's time for the cult to go loud it can pay to properly equip them.  The cult armaments rune or talisman creates and equips a cult robe, hood, boots, and blade on the person who activates it. Before you activate this rune it is a good idea to make sure are not wearing anything on your head, your feet, or in your exosuit slot, and that you have at least one hand free, otherwise the equipment for the unavailable slot will not appear.


=== Convert ===
=== Convert ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"join blood self"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"join blood self"'''.


The first and the most important rune is a rune to convert other people into cultists. To make the person a cultist, you need to put him on top of the rune, and then invoke it. It WILL not work on the Chaplain or Implanted people.
The single most important rune, the convert rune, is used to convert other people into cultists. To properly utilize it you need to put the victim on top of the rune and then click on it. Most folks don't want to be converted so make sure they are properly subdued first (stun talismans work wonders for this.)  Also note that you cannot convert the Chaplain, Captain, or anyone who has a loyalty implant.  If you attempt to convert someone and it does not work then they are immune to it and should be dealt with in a more lethal manner.  It is possible to remove loyalty implants via surgery and then convert someone or to convert the clone of someone who previously had a loyalty implant (provided they do not receive another loyalty implant before you attempt to convert them.)


=== EMP ===
=== EMP ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"destroy see technology"'''.  
The words needed for this rune are '''"destroy see technology"'''.  


Remember those EMP grenades and that EMP wizard spell? This rune does exactly the same. The rune itself doesnt generate a strong pulse, and only disables items in small radius. Imbuing the rune into a talisman makes it alot stronger.
This rune creates an EMP effect in a 3 tile radius around it when activated.  An EMP talisman creates the same effect but centered on the user. The EMP rune is useful for shutting down any cameras that the AI might use to spy on you without giving a notification to the AI.  An EMP talisman is handy to have for use against borgs, mechs, or IPC security who are loyalty implanted and cannot be converted. Be cautious using this spell if you have artificial limbs or internal organs!


=== Drain blood ===  
=== Drain Blood ===  
The words needed for this rune are '''"travel blood self"'''
The words needed for this rune are '''"travel blood self"'''


This rune instantly heals you of some brute damage, at the expense a person placed on top of the rune. Whenever you invoke a drain rune, ALL drain runes on the station are activated, draining blood from anyone located on top of those runes. This includes yourself, though the blood you drain from yourself just comes back to you. This might help you identify this rune when studying words.
This rune instantly heals you of some brute damage at the expense a person placed on top of the rune. Whenever you invoke a drain rune ALL drain runes on the same z-level as you are activated (including those made invisible by a hide rune). If you happen to be standing on a drain blood rune when you activate it you will drain blood from yourself, however it immediately heals you anyways. If you find this rune early on it can help you stay healthy while researching other words.


One drain gives up to 25HP per each victim, but you can repeat it if you need more. Draining only works on living people, so you might need to recharge your "Battery" once its empty.
One drain heals up to 25 damage per victim, however the rune can be activated nearly as fast as you can click it for rapid healing. Drain blood works on people, monkeys, and even manifests.


Blood Hunger: Draining over 50 HP in one gulp intoxicates you, making you want more. You will keep slowly losing health until the hunger goes away or is satisfied. This also means that draining yourself is not a good idea as it makes it more likely to reach the amount of blood needed for blood hunger.
Blood hunger is a special condition you get when draining over 50 HP in one go.  When afflicted by blood hunger you will keep slowly losing health until the hunger goes away or is satisfied.


=== See invisible ===
=== See Invisible ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"see Hell join"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"see hell join"'''.


This nice rune does exactly as it says. It allows you to see invisible objects and people as long as you stay on top of the rune. Most importantly, it lets you see ghosts, this might help you when working in conjunction with a resurrection rune. But it also works on hidden runes, cloakers, and aliens who use invisibility.
This allows you to see invisible objects and people as long as you stay on top of the rune. Mostly you'll want to use this to spot ghosts nearby for when you're attempting resurrections or building a construct army.  When using a see invisible rune you will also be able to see hidden runes, people using the cloak of shadows or chameleon genetic abilities, and even the AI eye if it is nearby.


=== Resurrect ===
=== Resurrect ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"blood join Hell"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"blood join Hell"'''.


So the cloner is blown up? This rune is exactly what you need then. However, unlike the cloning pod, it will not make a body out of nothing, so preparations are needed. To make the rune work, you will need two bodies: a living one, and a dead one. Living body will provide the life essence, while the dead body will provide a vessel for your friend.  
To properly utilize a resurrect rune you must draw two of them in adjacent tiles. Place a living body (either a crew member or manifest) on one rune and a dead body on the other. The ghost being resurrected should stand on the same rune as the dead body and then you can activate the rune underneath the living body. If done correctly the living body will immediately gib while the dead body will rise at full health, now inhabited by the ghost that was previously hovering over it.


Put a dead body on the rune, and then have the ghost of your friend stand directly on top of it. Then put a living non-AFK human body on top of a different resurrect rune (putting it on the same one might or might not work). Note that the living body can be yourself, so don't stand on the rune when invoking it if you dont want to sacrifice yourself.
If there are multiple ghosts on top of a dead body when it is resurrected then only one of them will be resurrected.  Beware that if you stand on the same rune as the living, "sacrificial" body, it is possible to accidentally gib yourself!


If everything is done right, the dead body will be alive and at full health again, controlled by the ghost who was on top of that rune, while the living guy is immediately gibbed. This is the price for the life of a cultist, another life.
=== Hide Runes ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"hide see blood"'''. [[File:Obscurerune.gif|right|bottom]]


If there are multiple ghosts on top of a dead body when its resurrected, only one of them will be resurrected.
When it becomes necessary to conceal a rune but you don't want to completely erase it you can make use of a hide rune.  This rune, which you can also make with your starting talisman, makes nearby runes invisible.  Note, however, that you cannot invoke the runes if you can't see them, so you need to either use a "see invisible" rune, or use a reveal rune.  Oddly enough, though you can get a hide rune talisman from a starter cultist's 5-use talisman you cannot actually make more using the imbue paper rune.


=== Hide runes ===
The hide rune conceals all runes in a 4 tile radius of the rune when activated.  The hide rune talisman conceals all runes in a 2 tile radius from the user when activated.  Both the hide rune and the hide rune talisman work through walls.
The words needed for this rune are '''"hide see blood"'''.


This handy rune, which you can also make with your starting talisman, makes nearby runes invisible. Note, however, that you cannot invoke the runes if you can't see them, so you need to either use a "see invisible" rune, or use a reveal rune.  
One of the most effective uses of a hide rune is when you combine them with wall runes.  A wall rune which is activated and then hidden makes a completely invisible and impassable barrier. This is great for blocking off entry points to your cult hideout as you can use teleport runes, which are unusable by non-cultists, to get in and out of the hideout.


This rune is useful for revealing support runes that you do not activate directly. For example, a teleport rune in a safe place where you can teleport to with a teleport talisman.
=== Ghost Self===
The words needed for this rune are '''"hell travel self"'''.


=== Ghost self===
This rune allows you to leave your mortal body and become a ghost. This comes with all those benefits of being a ghost including being able to communicate with other ghosts, seeing invisible people/items, and so on.  
The words needed for this rune are '''"Hell travel self"'''.


This rune allows you to leave your mortal body and become a ghost. This comes with all those benefits of being a ghost, being able to communicate with other ghosts, seeing invisible, and so on.  
Of course as a ghost you are unable to control your body and if you fly away you will have no idea if something is happening to it. You can re-enter your body using the "Re-Enter Corpse" verb in your Ghost tab on the right half of your game window.


Of course, you are unable to control your body as a ghost, and if you fly away, you will have no idea if something is happening to it. You can re-enter your body the same way as you re-enter corpse as a regular ghost.
While floating around as a ghose your body slowly takes damage.  It is recommended that if you must make extended use of this rune that you have someone capable of healing you on standby to keep you patched up. Also beware that if your body is removed from the rune while ghosted you will not be able to re-enter it!


The body itself slowly receives damage while you are ghosted, and if it is removed from the rune, you will not be able to re-enter it so beware.
=== Manifest a Ghost ===
 
=== Manifest a ghost ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"blood see travel"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"blood see travel"'''.


This rune is close to the resurrect spell, but works differently. It does not need any dead bodies or sacrifices, just you and a ghost both standing on top of a rune.
This rune is close to the resurrect spell but works slightly differently. It does not need any dead bodies or sacrifices, just you and a ghost both standing on top of a rune.
 
You also might want to put a paper with a name on the rune if you want your manifested ghost to have a name, else he will appear as unknown. Once invoked, a new body will appear right where you stand. The body will last indefinitely as long as you are standing on the rune.
 
You, however, will be constantly receiving damage. Once you die or leave the rune, the ghost is banished from the body, gibbing it in the process.


=== Imbue a paper ===
Placing a paper with a name on the rune will give your manifested ghost a name, otherwise he will appear as Unknown.  Once the rune is invoked a new body will appear right where you stand.  The body will last indefinitely as long as you are standing on the rune.  You, however, will begin to take damage.  Once you die or leave the rune the ghost is banished from the body, gibbing it in the process.
The words needed for this rune are '''"Hell tech join"'''.


This handy little rune imbues an empty piece of paper with the power of an adjacent rune. It only works with EMP, Summon Tome, Hide Rune, Reveal rune, Teleport, Notice, Blind and Deafen runes. Have a rune of mentioned type beside the imbue rune, put a paper on the imbue rune, invoke it.  
=== Imbue a Paper ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"hell tech join"'''.


You will now have a 1-use talisman with the power of the target rune. Using a talisman drains alot of health, so be careful with it.
This useful rune imbues an empty piece of paper with the power of an adjacent rune. See the [[Cult Guide#Creating Talismans|Creating Talismans]] section for more information about which runes can be imbued onto paper and how to do so.


=== Sacrifice ===
=== Sacrifice ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"Hell blood join"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"hell blood join"'''.


The sacrifice rune is used to gain favour of your God by sacrificing different living things to it. It also might be your objective to sacrifice a specific person. You can sacrifice monkeys and humans, with all of them having different chance to gain favor of your God.  
The sacrifice rune is used to gain favour of Nar'Sie by sacrificing living things to him.  You need 3 cultists standing adjacent to the rune and any one of them can activate it by clicking on it. You can use this rune to research words with the [[Cult Guide#Sacrifice Method|Sacrifice Method]].  More importantly you will have an objective to sacrifice a specific crew member utilizing this rune.


If you are lucky enough, you will suddenly remember meaning of one of the rune words, possibly one you already know. You can sacrifice dead bodies and monkeys alone, but to sacrifice a living human or your target, you need to have 3 cultists chanting by the rune. Sacrificing a living human is very likely to yield a positive result for you.
=== Reveal Runes ===
 
=== Reveal runes ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"blood see hide"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"blood see hide"'''.


Need to activate that rune you have hidden, but dont know the words for a "see invisible" rune?
The words for the reveal rune are always the same words for the hide rune except in reverse.  Functionally the reveal rune makes hidden runes invisible.  It has the same 4-tile radius range as a rune and 2-tile radius range as a talisman.  Despite the fact that you cannot create hide rune talismans you ''can'' create reveal rune talismans using the imbue paper rune.
 
Well now your hide rune always comes with its sister - the Reveal rune! Just reverse the wording order of the Hide rune, and you will get a rune that reveals all hidden runes in large area around itself.


=== Wall ===
=== Wall ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"destroy travel self"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"destroy travel self"'''.[[File:Wallrune.gif|right|bottom]]


This rune magically thickens the air above it, making an invisible wall. You invoke the rune to create a wall, and invoke it again to remove the wall, so it works pretty much like a doorway for cultists. Add a hiding rune, and it becomes hell of a pain for non-cultists to figure whats going on and how to remove it.  
This rune, when activated, magically thickens the air above it making an invisible wall. When activated again the wall is removed and you can move through the space. Once a wall is activated the rune for it can be hidden so that it cannot be deactivated until the rune is revealed.


=== Free Cultist ===
=== Free Cultist ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"travel technology other"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"travel technology other"'''.


A nice compliment to the summon rune, this rune also requires 3 cultists chanting by it to work. Activating it allows you to free any of your fellow cultist from many kinds restrictions: handcuffs, locked DNA machines, muzzles (but NOT straight jackets), both locked and welded closets.  
While this rune requires three cultists to activate it can be used to free fellow cultists from restraints, including cuffs, locked DNA machines, locked/welded closets, etc.
 
If the cultist you are attempting to free is both cuffed and buckled to a chair or bed you must use the rune twice on them to free them completely.  Note that this rune will not allow a cultist to escape a straitjacket, nor will it move the cultist to safety.


=== Summon Cultist ===
=== Summon Cultist ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"join other self"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"join other self"'''.


This rune allows you to summon any cultist to the rune. You need 3 cultists chanting for it to work, and the target must not be cuffed, buckled or hiding in a closet. Note that this rune drains quite alot of health from every chanting cultist. '''"join other self"'''
Best when paired with the free cultist rune, this rune allows you to summon any cultist to the rune. You need 3 cultists adjacent to the rune for it to work and the target must not be cuffed, buckled, or hiding in a closet.


=== Deafen ===
=== Deafen ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"hide other see"''' .
The words needed for this rune are '''"hide other see"''' .


This rune temporarily makes all non-cultists in visible range deaf. You can imbue this rune into a talisman, it will have the same range, but the duration of deafness will be shorter. '''"hide other see"'''.
This rune temporarily makes all non-cultists in visible range deaf. You can imbue this rune into a talisman which has the same range but the duration of deafness will be shorter.


=== Blind ===
=== Blind ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"destroy see other"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"destroy see other"'''.


Blind rune works exactly the same way as the deafen rune, except it blinds everyone in visible range.
Blind rune works exactly the same way as the deafen rune except blinding everyone in visible range rather than deafening them.  This rune can be imbued into a talisman which has the same range but a shorter duration of blindness.


=== Blood boil ===
=== Blood Boil ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"destroy see blood"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"destroy see blood"'''.


A very dangerous rune, which also requires 3 cultists invoking it for it to work. When invoked, it deals massive damage to all non-cultists in visual range. And it doesnt even really hurt the cultists invoking it. However, there is a probability the rune will simply explode after being invoked, badly damaging everything in a small radius around it.
Another rune which requires 3 cultists invoking it to work. When activated it deals massive damage to all non-cultists in visual range while dealing very little damage to cultists. There is a probability that the rune will simply explode after being invoked, badly damaging everyone in a small radius around it.


[[File:Communicationrunebox.png|right|bottom]]
=== Communicate ===
=== Communicate ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"self other technology"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"self other technology"'''.


This spell allows you to easily (and very safely) communicate with your cult members. Invoke it, type a message, and it will be transmitted to all cult members in big, red letters so they surely won't miss it. You can get one with your starting talisman, and you can imbue a paper with it as well.  
This spell allows you to safely and easily communicate with other cult members. Invoke it and a window will pop up prompting you to enter a message.  Type a message and click OK and it will be transmitted to all cult members in big red letters so hopefully won't miss it. You can get a communication talisman using your starting talisman and it should be one of the first things you do in the ruond (after summoning an arcane tome) in order to share your rune word with the other cultists.


=== Stun ===
=== Stun ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"join hide technology"'''.
The words needed for this rune are '''"join hide technology"'''.


Unlike other runes, this ons is supposed to be used in talisman form. When invoked directly, it simply releases some dark energy, briefly stunning everyone around. When imbued into a talisman, you can force all of its energy into one person, stunning him so hard he cant even speak. However, effect wears off rather fast.
Unlike other runes this one is generally meant to be used in talisman form. When a stun rune is invoked directly it stuns everyone in visual range for 1 second and blinds them for three seconds, including the cultist who invoked the rune.  Though this may not seem useful it can be used as disarm and disorient pursuers. When imbued into a talisman and used on someone they are stunned for 10 seconds and silenced for 15 seconds - plenty of time to cuff them and remove their headset, or even to drag them to a nearby convert rune and activate it.  If you are fast enough you can even draw a new convert rune right next to your victim, activate it, then remove the rune with your tome before the stun talisman wears off.


This talisman is basically a cult version of stun baton. Stun time is rather short (15 ticks), and mute time is even shorter (5 ticks) but unlike other weapons, it can be concealed and not visible when held in hand. Use it to stun candidates for conversion in case they refuse to join you, or robust the security with these.
=== Summon Horror ===
The words needed for this rune are '''"hell join self"'''


=== Summon Horror ===
The final spell, used to summon Nar'Sie.  This rune requires nine cultists standing in a 3x3 grid with the rune in the center.  Any one of the nine cultists can activate the rune, and so long as all nine cultists are are properly positioned Nar'Sie will be summoned.  The summoning will prompt the message "NAR'SIE HAS RISEN!" in giant red letters in the chat-log for all players, and if the evacuation shuttle isn't already on the way it will be automatically called.
The words needed for this rune are '''"Hell join self"'''
 
Take note that not all cult rounds involve an objective to summon Nar'Sie.  Doing so on a round where it is not required is not against the [[Server Rules]] but it is generally frowned upon as it reveals the presence of a cult in the most glaring way possible and the chaos that results can make it difficult to achieve the sacrifice objective if that hasn't already been done.
 
[[File:Joinus.gif|center|border]]


The Final spell. This spell summons a huge all-consuming monstrosity from the outer planes. It is often an objective to summon it, so you need to know how to summon it. What you need is to have 9 cultists standing in circle around and on the rune. When you have enough people and the Horror is summoned, you can try to run away, or submit your mortal body to your god.
Cult Magic Guide updated May 2016 by Keroman


Thanks to the following players for their valuable input: Lukesf (Neri Nalvi), Kyet (Colin Black), and Cid777 (Cid Squishings)
[[Category:Game Modes]] [[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Game Modes]] [[Category:Guides]]

Revision as of 06:37, 16 May 2016

This guide was written with the assumption that you have read and understood the Cultist guide beforehand. If you have not yet done so please read through that page first and then come back when you're more familiar with the Cult of Nar'Sie!

The Cult of Nar'Sie is a blood-magic cult that has infiltrated the station with the intent to sacrifice a crew member and then either spread its influence or summon Nar'Sie to destroy the station.

Before jumping into a guide here's a few quick tips:

  • There are no defined cult 'heads'; all cultists are equal but each original cultist starts with a special 5-use talisman in their backpack as well as knowing the meaning of one rune word.
  • Since cultists don't know all words required for creation of runes they need to research these words out through experimentation or by sacrificing. As such, the crew has some time before the cult starts to spread.
  • The Chaplain can use his holy book to reveal hidden runes and his null rod to destroy visible runes. See the the Chaplain page for more details.
  • Cultists draw runes from their own blood, requiring arcane tomes to do so. This causes a small amount of brute damage. Experienced players may take notice of anyone who has sustained minor brute damage on several limbs. Saline-glucose pills are a handy way to heal this damage an disguise your status as a cult member. Remember: this damage shows up on crew monitors so turn them off if you plan to use a lot of runes/talismans!
  • Using the imbue talisman rune cultists can inscribe the following runes on pieces of paper: stun, blind, deafen, communicate, teleport, summon tome, summon armor.
  • For a quick escape a cultist can carry around a paper imbued with the teleport rune. If he or she is worried about getting caught they can use the talisman to teleport away. Doing so in view of non-cultists, however, will alert them to the presence of a cult!
  • The shuttle is possible to call and will end the round. One possible cult objective is to have a certain number of cultists on board the shuttle by the time it docks at Central Command.
  • It is impossible to convert either the Chaplain or the Captain regardless of whether or not they have a loyalty implant.
  • Using cult magic, whether a tome, rune, or talisman, is very visible and obvious to anyone who can see you. If your cult is trying to be stealthy do your best to avoid using any sort of cult magic out in the open unless absolutely necessary. If you are apprehended by security for some reason but they are not aware of the cult it may be better for you to accept a stay in the brig rather than use magic to escape and reveal that a cult is on board! Remember, however, that if they find cult items on your person the cult will be discovered!

Cultists should work together to achieve their objectives, and have access to many otherworldly powers to bring this about.

At Round Start

File:Talismanandtome.png

A cultist begins the round with a starting talisman in his backpack as well as the knowledge of 1 rune word which appears in your round-start text log. If you forget your starting rune word you can check what it is in your Notes verb in the IC tab. The talisman has 5 charges and is good for a number of things including summoning an arcane tome and communicating anonymously and secretly with other cultists. Your first act should be to find an isolated place and get two talismans: one to summon a tome and one to communicate with other cultists.

Summon your tome in a secluded place. It drops at your feet upon using the talisman and if you do this anywhere people can see you they WILL notice! This is important enough to reiterate: DO NOT summon a tome where you can be seen by non-cultists as it will appear on the floor where you stand!

Next use the communication talisman to tell your rune word to the other cultists.

File:Communicationrunetextlog.png



Now pull out your arcane tome and activate it in your hand. Your tome has 3 options:

File:Youopenthetome.png

- Read it allows you to study spells, their required words, and what each spell does.

- Scribe a rune using words you've entered into the tome's Notes section.

- Notes is where you enter rune words that you know in order to be able to draw runes.



In order to draw a rune you must first enter the appropriate rune words into your Notes. If you wish to draw the stun rune you will need to enter the words for join, hide, and technology into your Notes section of your arcane tome.

File:Notesedited2.png


It should be noted that the rune words are randomized every round. If certum is hell one round that does not guarantee it will be hell on any given round after that. That being said the words will not change during the course of a single round and any words in the Notes section of one arcane tome can be copied over to any other arcane tome by clicking the filled-out tome on the tome you wish to copy the words to.

File:Cultrunescrayonrunes.png
A comparison of crayon runes (top) and cult runes (bottom.)

When drawing runes it is important to ensure the words are entered correctly in your Notes. If the rune word you enter is incorrect the rune will not work, therefore if ire is listed incorrectly as self then you must correct it in your arcane tome or you won't be able to cast runes that use the word self. When casting spells or drawing runes you will make sounds and completed runes are clearly visible and quite different from regular runes drawn in crayon by the clown. When a rune is drawn you must click on the rune sprite to activate the rune's effect. Drawing or activating a rune uses your blood and causes a small amount of brute damage in the form of bruises on a random part of your body.

Finding a Hideout

The NSS Cyberiad has a myriad of places where you might be able to set up a cult hideout. Where possible, try to set up a hideout in a hidden room in maint. No cameras, little foot traffic. Out in space you might get lucky and find the white ship. The engineering outpost is nice because it has several rooms that are not visible from space and no AI cameras at round-start so you don't have to worry about the AI spying on you! The mining outpost has cameras but is rarely monitored by the AI, has a medical sleeper to heal brute damage, its own telecomms equipment which is easy to sabotage, and as a bonus the ore boxes that miners use can completely conceal a rune drawn on the ground! The research outpost is also a common place to set up a cult base as it, too, has a medical sleeper as well as many nooks and crannies that aren't visible to an AI's cameras. Be warned that cutting a camera's wires can instantly draw the AI's attention so sometime's it's better to simply set up shop where the AI already can't see you.

Rune Word Research

Guess and Check Method

File:Cultistman.png

At the start of a cult round you will hopefully learn up to 3 rune words from your fellow cultists on top of the one you start with. If you don't hear from them within 15 minutes of round start you might take a walk around the station to try to find them. You'll know a fellow cultist by the green cthulhu-like icon above and to the right of their character sprite. If you can get them to join you in an isolated area you can ask them for their rune word or politely suggest they make use of their starting talisman to communicate their word to the entire cult. It's entirely possible to research new words without knowing any beforehand but it is a massive pain. Ideally you will start with as many as possible but you can make some decent headway if you know a minimum of 2.

Find a rune that uses 2 words you know and a third word that you don't. If you know self and other then you should research communicate as it just requires you to guess technology thus making it an easy target. Next go to your notes, pick an unassigned word, and set it as technology. Once that is done activate your tome again and choose to Scribe a rune. You should be given a list of runes you can scribe, although at this point you may only be able to scribe the communicate rune. Pick that and you will begin the process of drawing the rune. Once the rune is complete click on it. If a window pops up asking you to enter your message, congratulations!

File:Communicationrunebox.png

If not go back to your notes and set the next unassigned word to technology. Unless you're lucky you can expect to carve a lot of runes and accrue a decent bit of brute damage this way until you are successful in finding the correct rune word for technology.

If you can't find an easy rune to research be aware that correct and functioning runes glow and pulsate.

File:Glowyrunes.gif

So while you may not be able to activate a sacrifice rune by yourself you will at least know you found the right word. Also note that most runes tend to disappear when they have been used successfully. To manually erase a rune just use your arcane tome on it. It is a good idea to write down which words mean what in your IC Notes section in case you lose your arcane tome!

Sacrifice Method

This method requires you to have the words for a sacrifice rune (hell, blood, and join,) as well as access to monkeys. Simply draw the rune and have 3 cultists stand adjacent to it (avoid standing on it unless you want to be the sacrifice!) and activate the rune. With every sacrifice there is a chance you will learn a new rune word. This method can be used with any monkey-type creature (farwas, wolpin, stok, etc.) or even captured crew members (although doing so is frowned upon unless said crew member happens to be the target of your sacrifice objective.)

If you have the time and the resources it is best to research as many words as possible. Once that is done you should communicate the words to your fellow cultists and then turn your efforts towards converting people and completing your objectives.

Creating Talismans

File:Imbuetalismanrune.gif

Talismans are pieces of paper imbued with the power of a rune. There are 9 runes in total which you can imbue on a piece of paper:

  • Blind
  • Communicate
  • Deafen
  • EMP
  • Reveal Runes
  • Stun
  • Summon Armor
  • Summon Tome
  • Teleport

To imbue a paper with a spell you must draw two runes: an imbue talisman rune and the rune you wish to imbue onto the paper. You can place the secondary rune on the same tile as the imbue talisman rune or any of the 8 tiles adjacent to it. If you do draw the secondary rune on the same tile as the imbue talisman rune be sure that you only activate the imbue talisman rune or you risk suffering the effects of the rune you are attempting to imbue onto the piece of paper! Once both runes are drawn place a blank sheet of paper on the imbue talisman rune and then click on the imbue talisman rune. The secondary rune should disappear leaving only the imbue talisman rune and a newly-imbued piece of paper. See the spell descriptions below in the Runes section for information about how each spell works in both rune and talisman form.


The Mask of Nar'Sie

During a cult round any of the cultists, even crew members converted after the round has begun, will have the option to become the Mask of Nar'Sie. To do this check the Cult tab on the right side of the game window and choose the Become mask verb. You will be given two options: Subtle or Violent. If you choose subtle your belongings will drop to the ground in a neat pile. If you choose violent your body will explode causing your flying limbs to deal a small amount of brute damage to anyone standing too close. Either way you will find yourself with a new viewpoint hovering invisible at the point where you once inhabited your body. Your goal is to assist the cult as the link between the mortal realm and lord Nar'Sie himself! At your disposal are a number of abilities beyond what a regular cultist is capable of.

Spells: The Mask of Nar'Sie has a Spells tab on the right side of their game window with three spells available. Each spell has a cooldown period, in seconds, listed next to it.

  • Create Talisman (300 second cooldown) - By far your most powerful spell as it can give cultists additional tools to fulfill Nar'Sie's sinister wishes. When you provide a talisman, soul stone, or construct shell for a cultist beware that it will appear on the ground at their feet, sometimes several steps behind them if they are moving around.
The objects you can summon include:
-Armor Talisman
-Blind Talisman
-Communicate Talisman
-Conceal Talisman
-Construct Shell
-Deafen Talisman
-EMP Talisman
-Reveal Runes Talisman
-Soul Stone
-Stun Talisman
-Summon Tome Talisman
-Teleport Talisman
  • Speak to your Acolytes (200 second cooldown) - For when you need to get an extremely important message across.
File:Maskbroadcast.png


  • Spread Shadows (100 second cooldown) - This spell bursts all lights near the cultist you are currently viewing.

Mask Verbs: Unlike Spells the Mask Verbs have no cooldowns and can be used at any time.

  • Go to follower - Focuses your view on another follower.
  • Set Cult Name - This changes how a cultist's name appears when they use a communication rune or talisman. If you do not set a Cult Name for a cultist they will show up as An Unknown Servant.
  • Show your favor - This tells people whether they are doing a good job or not. Has three settings: Pleased, displeased, indifference.
  • Urge Cult - Tells the entire cult what they need to focus on. Good for using during the final push when it's time to summon Nar'Sie or escape on the evacuation shuttle.
  • Urge cultist - Provides an urge to a single cultist. Use this to let a single cultist know what they should focus on.

Because cultist rounds can be tremendously difficult for players who have never played them before it is highly recommended that this role is filled by an experienced player. A good Mask makes note of all known rune words and shares them around to all cultists whenever necessary. One thing to keep in mind: You can only see what your followers see. Be a wise guide to your cult and bring them success.

The Runes

Runes are the primary method for spellcasting as a cultist. There are 10 words used for rune scribing: ire, ego, nahlizet, certum, veri, jatkaa, balaq, mgar, karazet, and geeri. What they mean in english is: "travel", "self", "see", "hell", "blood", "join", "technology", "destroy", "hide", "other."

Don't forget, all proper runes pulsate visibly from dark red to light red and back, while failed runes are inert and do not change color at all.

Rune First Word Second Word Third Word
Teleport travel self [any word]
Teleport Other travel other [any word]
Summon Tome see blood hell
Cult Armaments hell destroy other
Convert join blood self
EMP destroy see technology
Drain Blood travel blood self
See Invisible see hell join
Raise Dead blood join hell
Hide Runes hide see blood
Ghost Self hell travel self
Manifest a Ghost blood see travel
Imbue a Paper hell technology join
Sacrifice hell blood join
Reveal Runes blood see hide
Wall Rune destroy travel self
Free Cultist travel technology other
Summon Cultist join other self
Deafen hide other see
Blind destroy see other
Blood Boil destroy see blood
Communicate self other technology
Stun join hide technology
Summon Horror hell join self
File:Teleportrune.gif
Making use of a teleport rune.

Teleport

The first two words for this rune are "travel self"

The teleport rune is a special rune as it uses the first two words to designate that it's a teleport rune while the third word acts as a destination marker. When you have two runes with the same destination invoking one will teleport you to the other one. If there are more than 2 runes using the same destination marker you will be teleported to a random one. Since there are 10 words you can create 10 independent teleport networks. You can imbue a teleport rune into a talisman which, upon use, will teleport you to the destination rune.

Teleport Other

The first two words for this rune are "travel other"

This variation of the teleport rune allows you to teleport objects between the runes. You need to have 3 cultists standing adjacent to this rune to properly invoke it.

Summon a Tome

File:Summontome.gif

The words needed for this rune are "see blood hell".

Use this rune to summon a new tome. Most of the time you will use this rune to create new tomes for converted crew members. You can imbue this rune into a talisman to make it slightly more concealable. Whether you use the rune or the talisman the new tome will always be summoned on the floor.

Cult Armaments

File:Summonarmor.gif

The words needed for this rune are "hell Destroy Other".

When it's time for the cult to go loud it can pay to properly equip them. The cult armaments rune or talisman creates and equips a cult robe, hood, boots, and blade on the person who activates it. Before you activate this rune it is a good idea to make sure are not wearing anything on your head, your feet, or in your exosuit slot, and that you have at least one hand free, otherwise the equipment for the unavailable slot will not appear.

Convert

The words needed for this rune are "join blood self".

The single most important rune, the convert rune, is used to convert other people into cultists. To properly utilize it you need to put the victim on top of the rune and then click on it. Most folks don't want to be converted so make sure they are properly subdued first (stun talismans work wonders for this.) Also note that you cannot convert the Chaplain, Captain, or anyone who has a loyalty implant. If you attempt to convert someone and it does not work then they are immune to it and should be dealt with in a more lethal manner. It is possible to remove loyalty implants via surgery and then convert someone or to convert the clone of someone who previously had a loyalty implant (provided they do not receive another loyalty implant before you attempt to convert them.)

EMP

The words needed for this rune are "destroy see technology".

This rune creates an EMP effect in a 3 tile radius around it when activated. An EMP talisman creates the same effect but centered on the user. The EMP rune is useful for shutting down any cameras that the AI might use to spy on you without giving a notification to the AI. An EMP talisman is handy to have for use against borgs, mechs, or IPC security who are loyalty implanted and cannot be converted. Be cautious using this spell if you have artificial limbs or internal organs!

Drain Blood

The words needed for this rune are "travel blood self"

This rune instantly heals you of some brute damage at the expense a person placed on top of the rune. Whenever you invoke a drain rune ALL drain runes on the same z-level as you are activated (including those made invisible by a hide rune). If you happen to be standing on a drain blood rune when you activate it you will drain blood from yourself, however it immediately heals you anyways. If you find this rune early on it can help you stay healthy while researching other words.

One drain heals up to 25 damage per victim, however the rune can be activated nearly as fast as you can click it for rapid healing. Drain blood works on people, monkeys, and even manifests.

Blood hunger is a special condition you get when draining over 50 HP in one go. When afflicted by blood hunger you will keep slowly losing health until the hunger goes away or is satisfied.

See Invisible

The words needed for this rune are "see hell join".

This allows you to see invisible objects and people as long as you stay on top of the rune. Mostly you'll want to use this to spot ghosts nearby for when you're attempting resurrections or building a construct army. When using a see invisible rune you will also be able to see hidden runes, people using the cloak of shadows or chameleon genetic abilities, and even the AI eye if it is nearby.

Resurrect

The words needed for this rune are "blood join Hell".

To properly utilize a resurrect rune you must draw two of them in adjacent tiles. Place a living body (either a crew member or manifest) on one rune and a dead body on the other. The ghost being resurrected should stand on the same rune as the dead body and then you can activate the rune underneath the living body. If done correctly the living body will immediately gib while the dead body will rise at full health, now inhabited by the ghost that was previously hovering over it.

If there are multiple ghosts on top of a dead body when it is resurrected then only one of them will be resurrected. Beware that if you stand on the same rune as the living, "sacrificial" body, it is possible to accidentally gib yourself!

Hide Runes

The words needed for this rune are "hide see blood".

File:Obscurerune.gif

When it becomes necessary to conceal a rune but you don't want to completely erase it you can make use of a hide rune. This rune, which you can also make with your starting talisman, makes nearby runes invisible. Note, however, that you cannot invoke the runes if you can't see them, so you need to either use a "see invisible" rune, or use a reveal rune. Oddly enough, though you can get a hide rune talisman from a starter cultist's 5-use talisman you cannot actually make more using the imbue paper rune.

The hide rune conceals all runes in a 4 tile radius of the rune when activated. The hide rune talisman conceals all runes in a 2 tile radius from the user when activated. Both the hide rune and the hide rune talisman work through walls.

One of the most effective uses of a hide rune is when you combine them with wall runes. A wall rune which is activated and then hidden makes a completely invisible and impassable barrier. This is great for blocking off entry points to your cult hideout as you can use teleport runes, which are unusable by non-cultists, to get in and out of the hideout.

Ghost Self

The words needed for this rune are "hell travel self".

This rune allows you to leave your mortal body and become a ghost. This comes with all those benefits of being a ghost including being able to communicate with other ghosts, seeing invisible people/items, and so on.

Of course as a ghost you are unable to control your body and if you fly away you will have no idea if something is happening to it. You can re-enter your body using the "Re-Enter Corpse" verb in your Ghost tab on the right half of your game window.

While floating around as a ghose your body slowly takes damage. It is recommended that if you must make extended use of this rune that you have someone capable of healing you on standby to keep you patched up. Also beware that if your body is removed from the rune while ghosted you will not be able to re-enter it!

Manifest a Ghost

The words needed for this rune are "blood see travel".

This rune is close to the resurrect spell but works slightly differently. It does not need any dead bodies or sacrifices, just you and a ghost both standing on top of a rune.

Placing a paper with a name on the rune will give your manifested ghost a name, otherwise he will appear as Unknown. Once the rune is invoked a new body will appear right where you stand. The body will last indefinitely as long as you are standing on the rune. You, however, will begin to take damage. Once you die or leave the rune the ghost is banished from the body, gibbing it in the process.

Imbue a Paper

The words needed for this rune are "hell tech join".

This useful rune imbues an empty piece of paper with the power of an adjacent rune. See the Creating Talismans section for more information about which runes can be imbued onto paper and how to do so.

Sacrifice

The words needed for this rune are "hell blood join".

The sacrifice rune is used to gain favour of Nar'Sie by sacrificing living things to him. You need 3 cultists standing adjacent to the rune and any one of them can activate it by clicking on it. You can use this rune to research words with the Sacrifice Method. More importantly you will have an objective to sacrifice a specific crew member utilizing this rune.

Reveal Runes

The words needed for this rune are "blood see hide".

The words for the reveal rune are always the same words for the hide rune except in reverse. Functionally the reveal rune makes hidden runes invisible. It has the same 4-tile radius range as a rune and 2-tile radius range as a talisman. Despite the fact that you cannot create hide rune talismans you can create reveal rune talismans using the imbue paper rune.

Wall

The words needed for this rune are "destroy travel self".

File:Wallrune.gif

This rune, when activated, magically thickens the air above it making an invisible wall. When activated again the wall is removed and you can move through the space. Once a wall is activated the rune for it can be hidden so that it cannot be deactivated until the rune is revealed.

Free Cultist

The words needed for this rune are "travel technology other".

While this rune requires three cultists to activate it can be used to free fellow cultists from restraints, including cuffs, locked DNA machines, locked/welded closets, etc.

If the cultist you are attempting to free is both cuffed and buckled to a chair or bed you must use the rune twice on them to free them completely. Note that this rune will not allow a cultist to escape a straitjacket, nor will it move the cultist to safety.

Summon Cultist

The words needed for this rune are "join other self".

Best when paired with the free cultist rune, this rune allows you to summon any cultist to the rune. You need 3 cultists adjacent to the rune for it to work and the target must not be cuffed, buckled, or hiding in a closet.

Deafen

The words needed for this rune are "hide other see" .

This rune temporarily makes all non-cultists in visible range deaf. You can imbue this rune into a talisman which has the same range but the duration of deafness will be shorter.

Blind

The words needed for this rune are "destroy see other".

Blind rune works exactly the same way as the deafen rune except blinding everyone in visible range rather than deafening them. This rune can be imbued into a talisman which has the same range but a shorter duration of blindness.

Blood Boil

The words needed for this rune are "destroy see blood".

Another rune which requires 3 cultists invoking it to work. When activated it deals massive damage to all non-cultists in visual range while dealing very little damage to cultists. There is a probability that the rune will simply explode after being invoked, badly damaging everyone in a small radius around it.

File:Communicationrunebox.png

Communicate

The words needed for this rune are "self other technology".

This spell allows you to safely and easily communicate with other cult members. Invoke it and a window will pop up prompting you to enter a message. Type a message and click OK and it will be transmitted to all cult members in big red letters so hopefully won't miss it. You can get a communication talisman using your starting talisman and it should be one of the first things you do in the ruond (after summoning an arcane tome) in order to share your rune word with the other cultists.

Stun

The words needed for this rune are "join hide technology".

Unlike other runes this one is generally meant to be used in talisman form. When a stun rune is invoked directly it stuns everyone in visual range for 1 second and blinds them for three seconds, including the cultist who invoked the rune. Though this may not seem useful it can be used as disarm and disorient pursuers. When imbued into a talisman and used on someone they are stunned for 10 seconds and silenced for 15 seconds - plenty of time to cuff them and remove their headset, or even to drag them to a nearby convert rune and activate it. If you are fast enough you can even draw a new convert rune right next to your victim, activate it, then remove the rune with your tome before the stun talisman wears off.

Summon Horror

The words needed for this rune are "hell join self"

The final spell, used to summon Nar'Sie. This rune requires nine cultists standing in a 3x3 grid with the rune in the center. Any one of the nine cultists can activate the rune, and so long as all nine cultists are are properly positioned Nar'Sie will be summoned. The summoning will prompt the message "NAR'SIE HAS RISEN!" in giant red letters in the chat-log for all players, and if the evacuation shuttle isn't already on the way it will be automatically called.

Take note that not all cult rounds involve an objective to summon Nar'Sie. Doing so on a round where it is not required is not against the Server Rules but it is generally frowned upon as it reveals the presence of a cult in the most glaring way possible and the chaos that results can make it difficult to achieve the sacrifice objective if that hasn't already been done.

File:Joinus.gif

Cult Magic Guide updated May 2016 by Keroman

Thanks to the following players for their valuable input: Lukesf (Neri Nalvi), Kyet (Colin Black), and Cid777 (Cid Squishings)

Retrieved from "https://paradisestation.org/wiki/index.php?title=Cult_Magic&oldid=8009"