Cultist
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REASON: This page is out of date. It needs to be overhauled/rewritten based on the new cult mechanics introduced in https://github.com/ParadiseSS13/Paradise/pull/14516
A temporary updated wiki page can be found Here!
Cultist
Superiors: Your Deity (Nar'Sie, Pyr'kus or The Reaper)
Difficulty: Medium
Guides: This page has the guide integrated! Well, only Nar'Sie has a guide now.
Access: Varies
Duties: Complete your dark god's objectives.
Departmental Head
Unknown
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| Combat • | Death • | Hacking • | Traitor Items • | Agent Items • | Crafting • | High-Risk Items • | E-maggable objects • | C-maggable objects • | Martial Arts |
Cultists have been randomly selected by a deific bluespace abomination to carry out their will and do their bidding, serve them in whatever way possible. Remember to check out Cult Magic to gain a better understanding on your dark God's gift to the randomly selected cultists.
Help! I've been converted into a cultist and don't know what to do!
The Initial Steps
This section assumes you've just been turned into a cultist and immediately went or got directed to the wiki page to learn what to do. The first things you need to know are:
- Pick up the arcane tome that spawned underneath you when you were converted. You will need it to do several cultist activities - namely making runes on the floor or removing holy water from another cultist by hitting them with it. If you can't find it or someone else grabbed it while you were cuffed, ask the other cultists if they can give or make one for you.
- To talk to other cultists globally, use the "Commune" action command in the top-left of the screen. This will send a message to all other cultists and you will be able to see the commune messages from other acolytes in the chat window. Take care when using commune on the station, you will whisper strange cultist words and anyone nearby will hear them.
- If you were teleported off the station and into a cult base of some kind, you can get back to the station by using a teleport rune that will likely be somewhere on the base. Ask in the commune chat where a teleport rune is if you weren't directed to one, or make one yourself by using the Arcane Tome in-hand and choosing the "Teleport" option in the list of runes. Once you've found or made a teleport rune, stand on top of it and either click the rune directly or alt-click the tile and select it from the status window. You will see a list of teleport names and the rough location of each one - so pick somewhere you have access to.
- Do not attack other cultists or constructs once you have been converted and do not hand yourself over to security or give them information on the cult. You'll know who other cultists are as they will have an icon above their sprite in-game, which you will also have. Once converted you are to assist the cult above all other priorities you previously had. You can still work in your department to maintain cover, but don't go and ask security for deconversion - if you don't want to be a cultist at all then it needs to be Ahelped instead.
How do I help the cult?
So you've got your tome, know how to activate a teleport (or any other) rune and how to chat to other cultists. The next step is figuring out what you can do to help the cult in general rather than hanging around the base. Some easy but still useful things you can do include:
- Bring supplies to the base - Once you've figured out how to use teleport runes, bringing some supplies such as paper (for making talismans), tools and cable coils, medicine and medical tools, metal and plasteel (for cult construction), improvised weapons and even food will help keep the base stocked with things other cultists are probably going to need at some point.
- Making Talismans - Cultists will need lots of these for catching potential converts, making cult items and structures and dealing with security. You'll need some paper (or better - an entire paper bin) to make talismans - start by making a "Rite of Binding" with your arcane tome if they're isn't one already nearby. Once you have the Binding rune - place a piece of paper on top of it, then click the rune to invoke it. Select the type of talisman you want to make and after a few seconds, the paper will change into the selected talisman. Some common talismans that see heavy use in a cult include talismans of Stunning, Shackling, Teleportation, Arming and Construction.
- Making Runes - While the base you were dragged away to will likely have all the runes it needs, you can still help by making some teleportation runes on the station for other cultists to use. Hiding them inside you department or maintenance are usually the ideal locations, but make sure you hide them Well. Underneath structures such as tables means that non-cultists will need to actively search for the rune to spot it. If security find your rune and have the detective scan it - it will let them know you were to one who made it, so be careful.
- Recon on station - Believe it or not, going back to the station and keeping an eye on things is quite helpful to the cult. The more eyes they have spread out across the station - the better. If you're keeping within your department, you might be able to let other cultists inside to capture potential new acolytes or constructs. If you're in the halls, you can let the cult know via commune if security are patrolling a certain area, arming up with R&D tools and mechas and most importantly, if they've captured a fellow cultist. Letting the cult know who's been caught as early as you can gives the members back on base enough time to teleport them back, away from a potential deconversion.
What do I do for the final summoning?
If you're reading this section, someone is either saying that the cult needs to summon their god, or you were converted right when they were about to do so. The actual logistics for this are likely being handled by someone else in the cult who has the ability to do so, but there are a few things you'll need to do to ensure the summoning goes smoothly:
- The most important point - keep an eye on commune chat for when they're about to start the summoning and what rune you need to teleport to. The previous sections mentioned how to use and make teleport runes - so just make sure you're ready to invoke them. Whoever is organising the summoning will likely tell you the exact name of the rune you need to teleport to, but ask via commune chat if there's any confusion.
- If you lack any weapons or can't find any around the cult base, making a Talisman of Arming through a Rune of Binding and some paper will give you a cult sword, bola and robes when you use it.
- Once a cultist begins the summoning, they will be surrounded by a shield and a Very obvious message will appear in chat to everyone on the server, warning them that the cult is trying to summon their god. Focus on making sure whoever is summoning the god is protected and block all possible routes into wherever you are summoning from. You'll need to wait for the shields surrounding the summoner to go down before you move onto the final step.
- Once you see a 3X3 rune on the floor where the summoner was originally stood, make sure 9 cultists are on top of the rune, then click it to summon your god. You can be lying down on any part of the rune as well and it will count towards the 9 people needing to be on the rune to invoke it. If they're aren't enough cultists around to invoke it, make a "Rite of Spectral Manifestation" rune on the floor away from the summoning rune, then invoke it repeatedly to summon several cult ghosts, who will likely know they need to move to the rune. This will quickly drain your health, but since this is the last stretch to summon your god it's worth the risk.
Objectives
Your objectives and god will vary shift to shift, but your objectives will occur in phases to include:
- Spilling blood on the station,
- Sacrificing a target,
- Converting a set number of people
- and Summoning your god or demons.
Remember: Even if you god does not EXPLICITLY tell you to convert people there is ALWAYS safety in numbers.
The general path of action of the cult and those in it:
- Summon your tome.
- Contact your allies through your Commune action button. The Commune action sends a whispered message to all cultists.
Important: Communication and teamwork is essential! Also note, your communing will NOT be silent - Find an area to convert into a base, usually accessible by one or more members of the cult, and cut cameras and in general make the base usable and hidden for the cult.
- Setup a teleport rune, so all cultist can access it.
- Secure your base by placing wall runes infront of windows and doors.
- Get some paper for talismans and if possible get metal for constructing empty shells and platsteel for creating cult structures.
- Convert new members and give them a tome.
- Fulfill your objectives.
File:Tome.png The Tome
Your Tome is your most important object and has several functions:
- You can draw runes with it.
- Hitting a cultist with it, removes holy water from them.
- Hitting a non cultist with it, causes them burn damage.
- Hitting runes with it, removes them.
- Hitting cult structure with it, will unachor and anchor them.
- Hitting a cult wall with it will open/close the wall (like fake walls).
If you're in a position that would usually wander the halls, try to seek out your fellow cultists in person. If not, check in with your brothers using your Commune, but do this in private, to prevent people from hearing your whispers. A lot of jobs have access to isolated areas of the station that are great for this, and there's also space. Remember, if you get caught, you endanger the entire cult.
File:SupplyTal.png The Starting Talisman
You will have an innocuous-looking paper in your backpack or pocket. It's a special talisman imbued with blood, which can be invoked three times to spawn a number of useful objects, including a regular 1-use talisman of varying types, a soulstone or a construct shell. Make sure to hide the talisman from everyone who does not serve Nar-Sie.
| Name | In Starting Talisman | Description |
|---|---|---|
Summon a soul stone |
Only starting Talisman. | Summons a soul stone, used to capure the spirits of dead or dying humans |
Summon a construct |
Only starting Talisman. | Summons a construct shell for use with soulstone-captured souls.. |
| File:TomeTal.png
Talisman of Tome Summoning |
Yes. | Summons an arcane tome, used to scribe runes and communicate with other cultists. |
| File:TeleportTal.png
Talisman of Teleportation |
Yes. | A single-use talisman that will teleport a user to a teleport rune, which you can choose from a list. |
| File:VeilTal.png
Talisman of Veiling |
Yes. | A multi-use talisman that hides nearby runes. On its second use, will reveal nearby runes. |
| File:StunningTal.png
Talisman of Stunning |
Yes. | A single-use talisman that allows you to stun a person by attacking them with the talisman. |
| File:EMPTal.png
Talisman of Electromagnetic Pulse |
Yes. | A talisman that will cause a moderately-sized electromagnetic pulse. |
| File:DisguisingTal.png
Talisman of Disguising |
No. | A talisman that will make nearby runes appear fake. |
| File:ArmingTal.png
Talisman of Arming |
No. | A talisman that will equip the invoker with cultist equipment if there is a slot to equip it to. |
| File:HorrorTal.png
Talisman of Horrors |
No. | A talisman that will break the mind of the victim with nightmarish hallucinations |
| File:ConstructionTal.png
Talisman of Construction |
No. | Use this talisman on at least twenty-five metal sheets to create an empty construct shell or on platsteel to create runed metal. |
| File:ShacklingTal.png
Talisman of Shackling |
No. | Use this talisman on a victim to handcuff them with dark bindings. Can be used several times. |
The Tome
The Tome allows you to scribe a random set of these runes, using Scribe Rune, or to access information on these runes, with Read Tome, though you clearly don't need to do that if you're here.
- NOTE: An "Invoker" is a cult-aligned person standing next to a rune. This includes yourself, cultist constructs, and summoned ghosts. A rune needing 1 invoker only requires yourself, while 2 invoker runes requires one other cultist.
| Name | Invokers Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Rite of Offering | 1-3 | With 2 Invokers, instantly converts a normal crew member on top of it to the cult and spawns an arcane tome. If they are living and unconvertable (ie. mind-shielded, cyborg, 'offstation' role), or are the target of the cult, they will be sacrificed instead and require 3 invokers to do so. Successful sacrifices will have their soul placed in a soul shard, assuming they still have one. Dead crew and simple mobs only require 1 invoker to sacrifice, but simple mobs will not provide a soul shard. |
| Rite of The Corporeal Shield | 1 | This rune magically thickens the air above it when used, stopping everything trying to pass through it, including cultists. Invoke the rune to toggle this effect, at the cost of some damage. When activated, it also activates nearby wall runes for free, but turns off after 90 seconds. |
| Boil Blood | 3 | When invoked, it instantly deals extreme amounts of damage to any non-cultists who see it. However, cultists in range of the rune will take some damage. The rune itself will lightly explode when used, so be careful! |
| Leeching | 1 | When invoked, this rune will transfer lifeforce from the victim to the invoker |
| Rite of Disruption | 1-9 | This rune causes a large EMP, disabling machines and, more specifically, cyborgs, in a large area. However, the rune will be consumed on invoking. The more people invoke the rune at once, the bigger and stronger the EMP gets. It's deleted after being used. |
| Rite of Resurrection | 1 | Placing a corpse and fellow dead cultist on this rune together will enable the invoker to sacrifice the non-cultist corpse and revive the dead cultist. The sacrifice does not have to be sentient, and turns to dust after being sacrificed. |
| Teleport | 1 | This rune warps everything above it to another teleport rune, which you can choose from a list. |
| Rite of Joined Souls | 2-3 | This rune allows you to summon any cultist to the rune. If the target is handcuffed or has holy water in them, 3 invokers are needed to summon. The rune is deleted after use. |
| Astral Communion | 1 | 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, locating people, and so on. You can re-enter your body the same way as you re-enter corpse as a regular ghost. The body itself slowly receives damage while you are ghosted, and the rune will automatically keep your body anchored to the rune itself. |
| Rite of Spectral Manifestation | 1 | This rune allows you to manifest ghosts as semitransparent homunculi, which are effectively weak, humanoid cultists with no self preservation instinct. To sustain these homunculi, you must remain on the rune, and each homunculi you have summoned will cause you damage. |
| Rite of Binding | 1 | This rune transforms paper into powerful magic talismans. You put a paper on top of it, invoke it and choose which one you want to create. After a brief channel, it will convert the paper into a talisman. For possible Talismans and their effects, see above. |
| Ritual of Dimensional Rending | 9 | This rune tears apart dimensional barriers, calling forth the Geometer. To draw this rune you needs a free 3x3 space around you. Starting to draw this rune creates a weak 3x3 forcefield and alarms the entire station of your location. Requires 9 invokers. Can only be invoked, if all other objectives are fulfilled. |
Structures
By using a construction talisman on plasteel, you are able to get runed metal. With it you can build several structures, with unique powers. You can unanchor cult buildings by hitting them with your tome.
| Name | Cost | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Altar | 5 runed metal | A bloodstained altar dedicated to Nar-Sie. By using it, you are able to create a Eldritch Whetstone, to sharpen your weapon, a Zealot's Blindfold, which lets you see in he dark, a Flask of Unholy Water, which heals cultists or a Deadly Sacrificial dagger. After using the altar, it needs some time to recharge. |
|
Forge | 5 runed metal | A forge used in crafting the unholy weapons used by the armies of Nar-Sie. By using it, you are able to create a Shielded Robe, which creates a powerful shield around the user, a Flagellant's Robe, which makes you faster, but at the cost of increased damage or a cultist Hardsuit, for space walks. After using the forge, it needs some time to recharge. |
|
Pylon | 3 runed metal | A floating crystal that slowly heals those faithful to Nar'Sie. Also slowly turns the surrounding floor into engraved floor. |
| File:Altar.gif | Archives | 2 runed metal | A desk covered in arcane manuscripts and tomes in unknown languages. Looking at the text makes your skin crawl. By using it, you are able to create a Supply Talisman, the one a cultist gets at the start of the round, a Veil Shifter, a 4 use random teleporter that moves you a random medium distance exactly in the direction you're facing or a Shuttle Curse, which when used, delays the escape shuttle for 2 minutes (a maximum of two Shuttle Curses can be used for a total of 4 minutes of delay). After using the archives, it needs some time to recharge - around five minutes. |
|
Runed door | 1 runed metal | Only opens for cultists. Useful securing your base, but a dead giveaway that a cult is onboard. |
Constructs
Robust cultists will likely want to enlist the services of a few constructs. To create a construct, a cultist requires:
- A filled soul stone, either by sacrificing a human, or capturing a soul manually with a stone from a supply talisman or an artificer.
- An empty shell, either by using a construction talisman on 25 metal sheets, from an artificer, or from a starting talisman.
When the filled soul stone shard is used on an empty shell, the cultist will be allowed to choose the desired construct to create. Keep in mind these guys are pretty much a dead giveaway that there is cult activity on the station, so try to be covert about it in the beginning.
Artificers will poop out new soulstones and shells, wraiths can kill the AI, and juggernauts are great tanks.
Threats to the Cult
Even with access to a large amount of different runes and talismans, there are still several threats to the cult on the station.
Security and the Chaplain 
Even the best prepared cultists will have trouble to defend themselves against the united power of security .Especially if the Chaplain Helps them. The Chaplain is able to turn normal water into Holy Water, which will turn cultist back to normal people, if it stays long enough in their system. The Chaplain is also immune to cult magic and his bible is able to make hidden runes visible by hitting the the suspected tile with it.
40 Units (8 Sips of a Cup) is the best amount to give a cultist in order to deconvert them.
- Cultists always take at least 150 seconds to deconvert after ingesting holy water.
- 40u total of holy water is 99.8% effective at deconverting cultists within 150-180 seconds of it entering their system.
- 30u or less total dose of holywater will never deconvert any cultist.
- More than 40u total dose of holywater is a waste of holywater.
Tips
- Cultists can know a rune's name and effects by examining it.
- Your tome is a robust burning weapon.
- The chaplain is immune to your magic. Don't attempt to use talismans on him, or you will get discovered and beheaded.
- Constructs can invoke runes.
- Tables hide runes far better than items.
- Cultists often find a use for medibots. Having a single bot with a low threshold, backed up with the odd bruise pack, can allow a tiny number of cultists to summon and arm a vast number of ghostly warriors to their aid. A single bot can juggle multiple people at once, if they are relatively close to each other. Pylons also serve this purpose very well.
- Engineering staff during cult are top-priority converts, as they can sabotage telecomms for you, or build secret bases in space.
- Are you cult? Got talismans? You can store them on a clipboard, and nobody ever checks clipboards, especially if you're QM or another role that spawns with them. Right-click the papers to label them and keep track of their effects, or just examine them.
- Get some platsteel either from mining, stealing it from robotics, engineering or EVA storage, or deconstructing reinforced walls/tables if you are desperate.
- Drag paper bins onto you to pick them up. A single paper bin holds 30 papers, and that's 30 potential talismans!
- Always be ready to summon a cultist in trouble. He will likely not be able to call for help on the cult chat, so keep an eye on normal comms. Even better if you have someone in Astral Communion to warn you.
- Astral Communion is an incredibly powerful exploration tool, and ghosts can give you precious hints.
- The EMP rune's area of effect scales with invokers, and can hit most of the station if placed in a central enough spot, effectively working as a powersink. Combine this with crowbars for free access everywhere.
- Are almost all other cultist dead? Get a medibot and create a ghost army with Manifest Spirit and arm them with Talismans of Arming.
- Manifest Spirit is also useful for getting those missing cultists you need for the Nar'Sie rune.