Difference between revisions of "Cultist"

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{{Needsrevision|reason = This page is out of date.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}}
{{MaintainedBy|assign = SabreML}}
{{JobPageHeader
{{JobPageHeader
|colour = 222222
|colour = 453249
|hcolour = red
|hcolour = red
|stafftype = ANTAGONIST
|stafftype = ANTAGONIST
|img = Cultist.png
|img = Cultist.png
|jobtitle = Cultist
|jobtitle = Cultist
|access = Varies
|access = Your workplace and cult airlocks.
|difficulty = Medium
|difficulty = Medium
|superior = Your Deity (Nar'Sie, Pyr'kus or The Reaper)
|superior = Your Deity (Nar'Sie, Kha'Rin or The Reaper)
|duties = Complete your dark god's objectives.
|duties = Assist your cult in accomplishing its dark goals.
|guides = This page has the guide integrated! Well, only Nar'Sie has a guide now.
|guides = No external guides.
}}
}}<div style="float: right;">{{JobAntag}}</div>
{{JobAntag}}
 
''"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."''
 
 
Even in the far future, some things are never quite understood. There are things that lurk in the darkness of space, unspeakable horrors of ancient power that wish to bring ruin to the universe and to shape it into their image. They reach out from the void, and turn the minds of mortal men and women in their favor in hopes that one day they shall be brought once more into this plane of existence.
 
Unfortunately for the station, it looks like Nanotrasen accidentally positioned the station near an undetectable weak point in time and space. Whoops. Who would've known?
 
===The Beginning of a New Era===
The Geometer of Blood, Nar'Sie, has sent a number of her followers to [[NSS Cyberiad]]. As a cultist, you have an abundance of cult magics at your disposal, something for all situations. You must work with your brethren to summon an avatar of your eldritch goddess!
 
At the beginning of a Cult round, several cultists will arrive on the station. When you spawn, you'll find a ritual dagger and 10 runed metal in your bag. The dagger is essential for drawing runes, while the runed metal is used to make valuable structures; additional runed metal can be created by using the Twisted Construction ability on any ordinary plasteel.
 
The Cult has two major objectives. The first is to use an Offer rune to sacrifice two targets to Nar'Sie, which are often high ranking members of the crew or Security officers. Once the targets have been sacrificed, Nar'Sie can be summoned in one of three predetermined locations on the station, using 9 cultists and/or constructs and after a 45-second rune drawing process. If Nar'sie is summoned, the Cult wins!
 
==Cultist Quick Guide==
 
Have you never played as a Cultist before? Have you found yourself recruited? Or perhaps you've joined the station as an initial follower? Here's a quick primer on the most important aspects:


'''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 [[Cultist#The Starting Talisman|Cult Magic]] to gain a better understanding on your dark God's gift to the randomly selected cultists.
*<big>'''Staying hidden:'''</big>
A cult grows more easily if it is not a known threat. People won't fear Maintenance, and Security will not be hunting for bases. It is therefore best for a cult to stay hidden, and convert silently for as long as it can. Refrain from uttering incantations in the open, letting people scream about the cult on the radio, or making easily found runes.


== '''Help! I've been converted into a cultist and don't know what to do!''' ==
*<big>'''Communing:'''</big>
The very first thing to do is find somewhere where you can be alone, and talk to your fellow cultists using your Commune ability (Button to the top left). Communing broadcasts messages to all other cultists, but <u>any nearby crew can see and hear you whispering, potentially revealing your cult.</u> Talk to your allies, find out where everybody else works and has access to, formulate a plan, and ask senior cultists for advice if needed.


===The Initial Steps===
*<big>'''Blood Magic:'''</big>
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:
By clicking the Blood Magic icon, you can prepare up to one spell from a variety of blood magicks. Preparing a spell takes a few seconds, and leaves a blood splatter on the floor, so do it somewhere where nobody's looking. Once you have a spell prepared, click its icon to "put it in your hand," and then click on a target with it to cast it. Starting off, the most important spells are generally Stun and Teleport.
* '''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. <span style=color:red>Take care when using commune on the station, you will whisper strange cultist words and anyone nearby will hear them.</span>
* 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? ===
*<big>'''Cult Bases:'''</big>
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:
By using your Ritual Dagger, you can create runes at your feet. To create a starting cult base, find somewhere secluded and safe to start placing runes. The most important rune is a Teleport rune, which lets any cultist warp to it using the Teleport blood magic spell or by clicking on a different rune. Commune once you have a Teleport rune up in a safe place, so others can join you. Make sure no non-cultists find your runes!
* '''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? ===
*<big>'''Runes:'''</big>
Afterwards, place an Empower rune; standing on it lets you prepare four blood magic spells simultaneously. Then place an Offer rune, which will allow you to convert others to your cause. Simply drag someone onto it, and click the rune with an empty hand. (If the rune is hidden due to a locker, table, or other obstruction, alt click, and select the rune in the upper right menu). Offering a live crewmember requires two cultists and/or constructs to be standing by the rune, so make sure you have a friend with you to help. There are other runes, but Teleport, Empower and Offer are the most important.


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:
*<big>'''Conversions:'''</big>
* 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.
Once you have a base, you can begin Offering. While standing on the Empower rune, prepare a Stun, a Shadow Shackles, and two other spells; remember that you can prepare multiple Stuns at once. Find a crewmember, Stun them, drag them somewhere secluded, Shackle them, remove their headset while they are muted, then drag them onto the Offering rune, and use it with a friend (Or with a Manifest Rune if you are alone). Of course, if you have the means to abduct people without blood magic, feel free to use the mundane methods. If they don't have a mindshield implant, they'll become a cultist! If they are mindshielded, like Security or the Heads (or dead), they'll explode violently and leave behind a soulstone. Either outcome is good for you!
* 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 <span style=color:red>Very</span> 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==
*<big>'''Structures:'''</big>
By using the Runed Metal cultists begin with (get more by using the Twisted Construction blood magic on plasteel), you can build one of four constructions: pylons, altars, archives and forges. Each cultist starts with enough metal to build 3 of the 4 options, so once you have a main base going, make sure someone's built at least one of each except for pylons. Pylons only heal cultists, but the other three let you build useful items, weapons and tools. Don't build items unless you need them; once any item is built, that structure goes on a 4 minute cooldown. If you have the metal, building multiples of each structures isn't a bad idea.


Your objectives and god will vary shift to shift, but your objectives will occur in phases to include:
*<big>'''Constructs:'''</big>
* Spilling blood on the station,
When you sacrifice an dead or mindshielded crewmember on an Offer rune, they'll leave behind a soulstone shard. Create a construct shell at an altar, and you can put the soulstone inside it to transform the soul within into a construct. Constructs come in three types: utility Artificers, tanky Juggernauts, and sneaky assassin Wraiths. The first one you create should almost always be an Artificer, as they can create more soulstones and shells. If a soulstone is empty, using it on a corpse will attempt to put the corpse's soul into the shard, and you can release the soul as a much less useful Shade by clicking it in your hand, which can act as a fellow cultist for invoking runes.
* 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.
*<big>'''Going Loud:'''</big>
Unless your cultists are (un)godly talented and lucky, you'll eventually be caught out. Either someone will slip up, somebody will find your base, or your cult will grow so powerful that it becomes impossible to hide (red eyes, then a dark halo). Once you know the jig is up, start playing more aggressively; place extra Teleport runes and mini-bases around the station in case your main hideout gets raided, make more power moves to convert or kill crewmembers, and find some way to kill or subvert the AI if it hasn't been done.


*<big>'''Summoning Your God:'''</big>
The first step to actually summoning your dark god is to Offer her desired targets, randomly picked at the start of the round, which can be checked with the 'Study Veil' cultist action. Use teamwork and co-operation to take them down, drag them to your base, and sacrifice them. Once you've sacrificed two targets, you will be informed of three possible summoning locations. Head there, fortify the location, organise your cult to come to or near the summoning spot, and begin drawing the final rune. Drawing the Nar'Sie rune requires a 3x3 area, takes 45 seconds, surrounds the drawer in force fields, and tells the entire station where it's happening. Be prepared, you may need to make a final stand against whatever's left of the crew! If you can hold out long enough to finish the rune, have 9 cultists and/or constructs stand on it (use the 'rest' button to lie down and make more room), click on it with an empty hand, and Nar'Sie will be summoned, giving your cult the win!


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.<br>'''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|60px]] The Tome==
==The Ritual Dagger==


Your Tome is your most important object and has several functions:
Your dagger is your most important tool, and has several functions:


* You can draw runes with it.
* You can draw runes with it.
* Hitting a cultist with it, removes holy water from them.
* Hitting a cultist with it will purge [[Chaplain|Holy Water]] from them.
* Hitting a non cultist with it, causes them burn damage.
* Hitting a non-cultist with it will result in you stabbing them (huh), dealing 15 armor-piercing brute damage.
* Hitting runes with it, removes them.
* Hitting a rune with it will remove it.
* Hitting cult structure with it, will unachor and anchor them.
* Hitting a cult structure with it will anchor/unanchor them, allowing you to move them around.
* Hitting a cult wall with it will open/close the wall (like fake walls).
* Hitting a runed girder with it will disassemble the girder.


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.'''
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 verb, 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|60px]] The Starting Talisman ===
==Blood Spells==
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.
'''Blood Spells''' are limited-use blood magic spells that dissipate after they're spent, and they're your bread and butter when fighting the crew. Blood Spells can be created at any time via an action button that appears below your character. '''However''', blood spells created without an Empowering Rune will take longer, cause significant blood loss, and will cap your spell count at a measly one. Using an Empowering Rune circumvents this issue and allow you to acquire up to 4 spells. You can use an Empowering Rune to remove these spells as well to free up room for others if need be.


A good tip is to make sure to try and have a stun spell and a teleport spell with you to escape risky situations. This will leave only two other options for spells though, so carefully choose what you think might help best for a particular situation.
===How to use and unequip blood spells===
After carving a spell into your flesh you get an action button on your HUD. Click it and that spell will be equipped to your hand, like an item. Then you either activate it in your hand and/or use it on a target, depending on which spell you've chosen. '''To unequip the spell, press Q or click the same action button again. '''This will save the spell for later.
==== List of Available Spells ====
{| border="2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable"
{| border="2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable"
! style='background-color:brown' width='130px'|Name
! style='background-color:brown' width='130px'|Name
! style='background-color:brown' width='73px'|In Starting Talisman
! style='background-color:brown' width='830px'|Description
! style='background-color:brown' width='830px'|Description
! style='background-color:brown' width='73px'|No. of Charges/Health Cost
! style='background-color:brown' width='64px'|Invocation
|-
|-
![[File:Soulstone.png|60px]]
Summon a soul stone
|Only starting Talisman.
|Summons a soul stone, used to capure the spirits of dead or dying humans
|-
|-
![[File:Shade.png|60px]]
!Stun<br>[[File:Cult_Stun.png]]
Summon a construct
|A potent spell that will knock down, do a large amount of stamina damage, silence and mark a target. Stabbing a marked target with a cult dagger or cult blade will detonate the mark, fully stunning them and refreshing the silence. If used on a [[cyborg]] it stuns it as if hit by a heavy EMP.
|Only starting Talisman.
 
|Summons a [[construct]] shell for use with soulstone-captured souls..
While slurring cult-speak, victims will speak in a disturbing, incomprehensible way. This is usually a dead giveaway that a Cult is onboard when shouted over the radio.
|Charges: '''1'''<br>Health Cost: '''10'''
|''"Fuu ma'jin!"''
|-
|-
![[File:TomeTal.png|60px]]
!Teleport<br>[[File:Cult_Teleport.png]]
Talisman of Tome Summoning
|A useful spell that teleports cultists to a chosen [[#Runes|teleport rune]] on use. You can teleport yourself or other cultists, if need be.
|Yes.
|Charges: '''1'''<br>Health Cost: '''7'''
|Summons an arcane tome, used to scribe runes and communicate with other cultists.
|''"Sas'so c'arta forbici!"''
|-
|-
![[File:TeleportTal.png|60px]]
!Electromagnetic Pulse<br>[[File:Cult_EMP.png]]
Talisman of Teleportation
|A large AOE spell that allows a user to channel dark energy into an EMP, causing all electronics in the area to malfunction or be disabled. This will affect you and nearby non-cultists/objects, but not other cultists.
|Yes.
|Charges: '''1'''<br>Health Cost: '''10'''
|A single-use talisman that will teleport a user to a teleport rune, which you can choose from a list.
|''"Ta'gh fara'qha fel d'amar det!"''
|-
|-
![[File:VeilTal.png|60px]]
!Shadow Shackles<br>[[File:Cult_Shackles.png]]
Talisman of Veiling
|A stealthy spell that will summon shadowy handcuffs on a person, and temporarily silence them for 12 seconds. Useful for keeping crew restrained until they can be converted. The restraints will disappear when the victim is converted.  
|Yes.
|Charges: '''4'''
|A multi-use talisman that hides nearby runes. On its second use, will reveal nearby runes.
|''"In'totum Lig'abis!"''
|-
|-
![[File:StunningTal.png|60px]]
!Twisted Construction<br>[[File:Cult_Construction.png]]
Talisman of Stunning
|<u>A sinister spell used to convert:</u>
|Yes.
 
|A single-use talisman that allows you to stun a person by attacking them with the talisman.
* Plasteel into Runed Metal.
* 50 Metal into a [[#Cult Items|Construct Shell]].
* Airlocks into Brittle Cult Airlocks when used on Harm intent. A weaker version of [[#Structures|Runed Airlocks]]. Conceal Presence can be used to keep the airlock's original appearance.
|Charges: '''1'''<br>Health Cost: '''12'''
|''"Ethra p'ni dedol!"''
|-
|-
![[File:EMPTal.png|60px]]
!Summon Equipment<br>[[File:Cult_Equipment.png]]
Talisman of Electromagnetic Pulse
|This spell enables you to summon a full set of combat gear on you or another cultist, including a jumpsuit, armored robes, cultist boots, a backpack, a runed bola, and an eldritch blade.<br>If you are already wearing items in those slots you will only summon the sword and bola. The blade fits into the suit storage slot of every type of cult armor.
|Yes.
|Charges: '''1'''
|A talisman that will cause a moderately-sized electromagnetic pulse.
|''N/A''
|-
|-
![[File:DisguisingTal.png|60px]]
!Summon Dagger<br>[[File:Summon_Dagger.gif]]
Talisman of Disguising
|This spell enables you to summon a new ritual dagger. Useful if you've lost your original one.<br>As you can create and cast blood spells without a dagger, this spell in combination with Summon Equipment lets you gear up again, even if you are left completely naked.
|No.
|Charges: '''1'''
|A talisman that will make nearby runes appear fake.
|''N/A''
|-
|-
![[File:ArmingTal.png|60px]]
!Hallucinations<br>[[File:Cult_Hallucinations.png]]
Talisman of Arming
|A stealthy, ranged spell that will break the mind of the victim with nightmarish hallucinations. Fun for spooking people, rarely useful in practice.
|No.
|Charges: '''4'''
|A talisman that will equip the invoker with cultist equipment if there is a slot to equip it to.
|''N/A''
|-
|-
![[File:HorrorTal.png|60px]]
!Conceal Presence<br>[[File:Cult_Conceal.gif]]
Talisman of Horrors
|A multi-function spell that alternates between hiding and revealing nearby [[#Runes|runes]] and cult [[#Structures|structures]]. You can still teleport to concealed teleport runes and prepare blood magic on concealed empower runes. Will make [[#Structures|runed airlocks]] look like standard airlocks but only cultists will have access. Has a range of 5 tiles and can be used to hide cult outposts in plain sight! '''''(Wearing a [[#Cult Items|Zealot's Blindfold]] will allow you to see concealed runes!)'''''
|No.
|Charges: '''10'''
|A talisman that will break the mind of the victim with nightmarish hallucinations
|''"Kla'atu barada nikt'o!"''
|-
|-
![[File:ConstructionTal.png|60px]]
!Blood Rites<br>[[File:Blood_Rites.png]]
Talisman of Construction
|A unique multi-function spell that allows you to gather blood from the floor, or from live victims (50 per drain). Then, you can expend the blood to heal yourself or others. (Including constructs!)
|No.
'''<u>Or, you can use the spell in hand to perform some powerful offensive magic attacks:</u>'''
|Use this talisman on at least twenty-five metal sheets to create an empty construct shell or on platsteel to create runed metal.
 
|-
# '''Blood Orb (50)''' summons a vessel for storing any number of blood charges above 50, which can later be drained via Blood Rites to gain everything stored inside. Very useful if you want to swap to another spell temporarily, but don't want to lose all of your precious blood charges.
![[File:ShacklingTal.png|60px]]
# '''Blood Recharge (75)''', as the name implies, can be used to recharge cult items back to their original capacity. Currently this is usable on [[#Cult Items|Empowered Cultist Robes]] ''(Shielded Robes)'' and [[#Cult Items|Veil Shifters]].
Talisman of Shackling
# '''Blood Spear (150)''' summons a robust two-handed blood halberd that deals 24 brute, and can be recalled to your hand from up to 10 tiles away. The blood halberd can also be thrown, which, if it hits someone, will shatter, dealing 40 brute damage and a stun to whoever it hits.
|No.
# '''Blood Bolt Barrage (300)''' temporarily grants you the ability to launch several powerful projectiles from your hands. This spell is easier to cast with both hands free, as you'll switch hands after each shot. Each shot deals 20 brute damage, and you get 25 of them!<br><u>Will heal cultists and constructs instead of damaging them.</u> Very useful against very big targets such as mechs.
|Use this talisman on a victim to handcuff them with dark bindings. Can be used several times.
|Charges: '''5'''<br>Increases with blood gathered.
|''"Fel'th Dol Ab'orod!"''
|-
|-
|}
|}


=== The Tome ===
== Runes ==
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.
The Ritual Dagger allows you to scribe any of these runes, using Scribe Rune. Simply pick the rune you want, and wait until completion. Scribing a rune deals minor damage, since you need to cut your wrists to get the necessary blood. Activate a rune by clicking on it.  
 
*'''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.


{| border="2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable"
{| border="2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable"
! style='background-color:brown' width='130px'|Name
! style='background-color:brown' width='130px'|Name
! style='background-color:brown' width='830px'|Description
! style='background-color:brown' width='73px' |Invokers Required
! style='background-color:brown' width='73px' |Invokers Required
! style='background-color:brown' width='830px'|Description
! style='background-color:brown' width='64px' |Invocation
|-
|-
!{{anchor|Offer Rune}}Rite of Offering
!{{anchor|Rite of Offering}}Offering Rune<br>[[File:Cult_Offer_All.gif]]
|1-3
|Instantly converts a normal crewmember on top of it to the cult, healing them for 90% of their brute and burn damage, and spawning a ritual dagger.<br>Mindshield-implanted crew cannot be converted, only sacrificed, (but constructs are no less dangerous than humans) - '''therefore it is recommended that you quickly finish off security victims before their radio or suit sensors can give you away!'''
|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.
<br>
If the target is dead, ineligible for conversion, or is the required sacrifice target, they'll be sacrificed instead, gibbing them and creating a [[#Cult Items|Soulstone Shard]] that can be used to power a construct.
You can sacrifice a head or a brain if it contains a soul, resulting in a soulshard. This can also be done to complete the sacrifice objective.
 
Off station roles(except ERTs) can be sacrificed, however, they only contribute towards counts for revival runes, and will not store the sacrifice in the shard.
 
|'''1''' to sacrifice dead targets. <br> '''2''' to convert. <br> '''3''' to sacrifice the objective or mindshielded targets.
|''Mah'weyh pleggh at e'ntrath!''
|-
|-
!Rite of The Corporeal Shield
!Teleport Rune<br>[[File:Cult_Teleport_All.gif]]
|1
|This rune warps everything above it to another teleport rune when used. Creating a teleport rune will allow you to set a tag for it.<br>'''<u>Warning: Teleporting from Lavaland or Space will make the destination rune glow brightly and open a rift in reality that may not only reveal the rune, but the location of your main base as well, choose your rune locations wisely!</u>'''
|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.
|'''1'''
|''Sas'so c'arta forbici!''
|-
|-
!Boil Blood
!Empowering Rune<br>[[File:Cult_Empower_All.gif]]
|3
|Allows cultists to prepare greater amounts of blood magic at far less of a cost. While standing on an empowering rune, the spell count is capped at 4 instead of 1. Additionally, preparing blood magic takes far less time, and you don't lose as much blood while doing it.
|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!
|'''1'''
|''H'drak v'loso, mir'kanas verbot!''
|-
|-
!Leeching
!Revive Rune<br>[[File:Cult_Revive_All.gif]]
|1
|Whenever someone is sacrificed on an Offering rune, they add one (global) charge to this rune. Placing a Cultist corpse on the rune and activating it will bring them back to life, expending a hefty three charges in the process. It starts with one freebie revival, so use it sparingly.
|When invoked, this rune will transfer lifeforce from the victim to the invoker
 
Catatonic(disconnected/ghosted) cultists can be reawakened with a new soul by putting them on the Revive rune and activating it. This method of revival does not consume any charges.
|'''1'''
|''Pasnar val'keriam usinar. Savrae ines amutan. Yam'toth remium il'tarat!''
|-
|-
!Rite of Disruption
!Barrier Rune<br>[[File:Cult_Barrier_All.gif]]
|1-9
|When invoked, this rune makes a shield wall to block passage, and chain activates any adjacent Barrier runes. Can be invoked again to reverse this. Costs 2 brute per rune to invoke and to deactivate - this includes the chained adjacent runes.
|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.
|'''1'''
|''Khari'd! Eske'te tannin!''
|-
|-
!Rite of Resurrection
!Summoning Rune<br>[[File:Cult_Summon_All.gif]]
|1
|This rune allows you to instantly summon any living cultist to the rune, consuming it afterward. <u>This rune will only work on the main space station</u>, but can grab cultists from almost any location!
|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.
'''<u>Does not work on restrained cultists who are buckled or being pulled.'''</u>
|'''2'''
|''N'ath reth sh'yro eth d'rekkathnor!''
|-
|-
!Teleport
!Blood Boil Rune<br>[[File:Cult_Blood_Boil_All.gif]]
|1
|When invoked, it saps some health from the invokers to charge up, then sends three damaging pulses to anyone non-cultists who can see the rune, causing 45 burn damage over a short period of time and lighting them on fire.
|This rune warps everything above it to another teleport rune, which you can choose from a list.
<u>Some species such as Golems and IPCs do not have blood, and thus are immune to this rune.</u>
|'''2''' cultists invoking for the duration.
|''Dedo ol'btoh!''
|-
|-
!Rite of Joined Souls
!Rune of the Spirit Realm<br>[[File:Cult_Spirit_Realm_All.gif]]
|2-3
|This rune gives you two powerful options:<br><br>
|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.
'''(1)''' 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 homunculus you have summoned will cause brute damage over time. <u>This option is only available on the space station itself, as the veil is not weak enough in space or Lavaland to give spirits a physical form.</u> If you get stuck on the rune after summoning a ghost, use your ritual dagger to remove the rune before you get hurt too badly. Each rune can summon up to 4 ghosts total, but each objective accomplished lower the rune's power, to a minimum of 2 ghosts.
<u> Homunculi who wander too far from their summoner will begin to take damage.</u>
 
'''(2)''' To ascend as a dark spirit. This option will give you virtually unlimited knowledge. You can use information given to you by ghosts in this form and commune with the cult with your booming voice to coordinate them. You can even use this function after manifesting ghosts to help guide them in combat - manifested ghosts can also see regular ghosts and therefore can see your dark spirit as you lead them in battle!
|'''1'''
|''Gal'h'rfikk harfrandid mud'gib!''
|-
|-
!Astral Communion
!Ritual of Dimensional Rending<br>[[File:Narsie_Rune_All.gif|64px]]
|1
|This rune tears apart dimensional barriers, calling forth the cult's master. It needs a free 3x3 space, and can only be created in 3 areas around the station. To start drawing it the requested target must have already been sacrificed. Starting to draw this rune creates a weak forcefield around the caster and alarms the entire station of its location. The caster must be defended for 45 seconds before it's complete.
|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.
 
After it's drawn, 9 cultists, constructs, or summoned ghosts must stand on the rune, which can then be invoked to manifest Nar'Sie itself.
 
'''Cannot be cleaned off by traditional means, it will require the chaplain's null rod in order to erase'''
|'''9'''
|'''''TOK-LYR RQA-NAP G'OLT-ULOFT!!'''''
|-
|-
!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.
== Structures ==
By using a construction spell on plasteel, you are able to get runed metal. With it, you can build several structures, with unique powers. You can anchor and unanchor cult buildings by hitting them with your ritual dagger. Using "Conceal Runes" near these structures will make them turn invisible, and make runed doors look like regular airlocks.
{| border="2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable"
! style="background-color:brown" width='140px'|Name
! style="background-color:brown" width='830px'|Description
! style="background-color:brown" width='73px'|Cost
|-
!Altar<br>[[File:Altar_All.gif]]
|A bloodstained altar dedicated to Nar'Sie. Used to create:
* Eldritch Whetstone. Sharpens your weapon. One time use.
* Construct Shell. Used with soul gems to create...well, Constructs.
* Flask of Unholy Water. Heals cultists, and greatly reduces stuns.
After creating an item with the altar, it will need 4 minutes to recharge.
|'''3''' Runed metal
|-
!Archives<br>[[File:Archives_All.gif]]
|A desk covered in arcane manuscripts and tomes in unknown languages. Looking at the text makes your skin crawl. Used to create:
* Zealot's Blindfold. A flash-proof eyewear, which lets you see in the dark, see Concealed cult structures/runes, and gives you a Medical HUD!
* Veil Shifter. A 4 use teleporter which teleports you (and anything dragged by you) forward a medium distance (with some randomness)
* Cursed Orb. When used, delays the escape shuttle for 3 minutes. You can only use a certain amount of shuttle curses each round.
After creating an item with the archives, it will need 4 minutes to recharge.
|'''3''' Runed metal
|-
!Forge<br>[[File:Forge_All.gif]]
|A forge used in crafting unholy weapons, to be used by the armies of Nar'Sie. Used to create:
* Shielded Robe. Creates a powerful shield around the wearer that blocks three attacks, and can be recharged via Blood Rites
* Flagellant's Robe. Makes the wearer faster, at the cost of increasing damage taken by 50%
* A mirror shield. Blocks 50% of attacks while providing distracting illusions. Reflects blocked energy shots!
After creating an item with the forge, it will need 4 minutes to recharge.
|'''3''' Runed metal
|-
!Pylon<br>[[File:Pylon_All.gif]]
|A floating crystal that slowly heals those faithful to Nar'Sie. Also slowly turns the surrounding floors and walls into their cult variants, if built outside of the main station!
|'''4''' Runed metal
|-
|-
!Rite of Binding
!Runed door<br>[[File:Cult_Doors_All.gif]]
|1
|Builds a Runed Airlock. Only opens for cultists. Useful for securing your base, but a dead giveaway that a cult is onboard. Non-cultists who attempt to use these airlocks are knocked down for 4 seconds and thrown back.
|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.
|'''3''' Runed metal
|-
|-
!Ritual of Dimensional Rending
!Runed girder<br>[[File:Cult_Girder_All.gif]]
|9
|A wall girder that can instantly be disassembled with your ritual dagger. Is built much faster than regular girders, and can be quickly reinforced into a cult wall with another sheet of runed metal.
|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.
|'''1''' Runed metal
|-
|-
|}
|}


=== Structures ===
== Cult Items ==
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.
You can acquire these items using blood spells or cult structures.


{| border="2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable"
{| border="2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable"
! style="background-color:brown" width='64px' |
! style="background-color:brown" width='140px'|Name
! style="background-color:brown" width='140px'|Name
! style="background-color:brown" width='73px'|Cost
! style="background-color:brown" width='700px'|Description
! style="background-color:brown" width='830px'|Description
! style="background-color:brown" width='200px'|Source
|-
!Cult Dagger<br>[[File:Ritual_Dagger_All.gif]]
|Can be used to scribe runes, and is a decent melee weapon, hitting for 15 brute damage.<br>Can also be used on cultists to purge holy water, or on runes to erase them.
|Conversion or Summon Dagger
|-
!Cult Blade<br>[[File:Cult_Blade_All.gif]]
|A large blade, dealing 30 damage per swing, similar to an energy sword.<br>Can be stored on all types of cult armor, but not in backpacks.
|Summon Equipment
|-
!Runed Bola<br>[[File:Cult_Bola.gif]]
|Reinforced runed bolas that will trip and slow non-cultists, while bouncing off any cultists hit.
|Summon Equipment
|-
!Cult Robes<br>[[File:Cult_robes.png]]
|Reinforced cult robes providing moderate protection. Putting on the hood will hide your identity if worn without ID.
|Summon Equipment
|-
!Empowered Cult Robes<br>[[File:Empowered_robes.png]]
|Armored cult robes, providing solid protection with no downsides other than stealth. Starts with an energy shield that can absorb 3 hits before fading. Can be recharged via Blood Rites.
|Forge
|-
!Flagellant Robes<br>[[File:Flagellant_robes.png]]
|A set of nimble, occult robes that provide a significant speed boost, but will increase all damage taken. Don't get hit!
|Forge
|-
!Mirror Shield<br>[[File:Mirror_shield.gif]]
|Provides a 50 percent chance to block most attacks. Energy shots blocked will be reflected. On block, summon an illusion of yourself that will either run or attack non-cultists. Can be shattered by strong projectiles such as lethal revolver rounds, autorifle rounds, or a mech's laser cannon. The wielder is stunned when the shield shatters. Fits in a backpack. '''Before gaining the ability to obtain this item, the cult must complete their first summon objective'''
|Forge
|-
!Cursed Orb<br>[[File:Shuttle_Curse.gif]]
|Use this orb when the escape shuttle has been called to delay it by 3 minutes. Two orbs can be used before they stop working.
|Archives
|-
!Zealot's Blindfold<br>[[File:Blindfold.png]]
|A magical blindfold that will grant cultists night vision, protection from flashes, and the ability to see the health of others, similar to a Medical HUD.<br>Wearing this will also show any cult runes or structures in view as a ghostly image! Useful for making lots of small, hidden bases.
|Archives
|-
!Veil Shifter<br>[[File:Veil_shifter.gif]]
|A relic that teleports you 1 to 9 tiles forward in the direction you're facing when used. 4 uses, but can be recharged using Blood Rites. Useful to break in and out of restricted areas if you know where to go, but can be unreliable due to the randomness of the teleport. Make sure to have a teleport blood spell ready to cast and a teleport rune to escape to just in case!
|Archives
|-
|-
|[[File:Archives.png|64px]]
!Reality Sunderer<br>[[File:Reality Sunderer.gif]]
!Altar
|A one-use amulet. When used on a teleport rune, it destroys both the rune and the amulet, creating a one-way portal to the destination rune. The portal will last for 4 minutes and will cause the destination rune to glow brightly, even if concealed with Conceal Presence. The portal can be closed by using either a Cult Dagger or a Null Rod on it.  
|5 runed metal
|Archives
|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.
|-
|-
|[[File:Forge.gif|64px]]
!Eldritch Whetstone<br>[[File:Cult_Whetstone.gif]]
!Forge
|Increases the damage of a dagger or blade by 5. One use, cannot sharpen weapons that were already sharpened.
|5 runed metal
|Altar
|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.
|-
|-
|[[File:Pylon.gif|64px]]
!Flask of Unholy Water<br>[[File:Unholy_flask.png]]
!Pylon
|Drinking from this flask will heal cultists overtime (20 of each damage type per use) and reduce stuns for a short duration. Contains 40 units, consumes 10 per use. Do not be on harm intent when drinking or you'll accidentally smash the bottle on your face!
|3 runed metal
|Altar
|A floating crystal that slowly heals those faithful to Nar'Sie. Also slowly turns the surrounding floor into engraved floor.
|-
|-
|[[File:Altar.gif|64px]]
!Soul Stone<br>[[File:Soulstone.png]]
!Archives
|Soul Stones hold the spirit of the sacrificed. If the stone is filled, you can use it in hand to release a shade that can help you invoke runes requiring multiple cultists. They are mediocre fighters, however. A better use is to insert them into an empty shell to create a [[Construct]]. Empty stones can be used on non-cultist corpses to capture the soul, dusting the corpse in the process. Soul stones can be purified by any non-cultist with a bible, and corrupted back by cultists with a cult dagger.
|2 runed metal
|Sacrifice crew with Offer rune
|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.
|-
|-
|[[File:Runed_airlock.png|64px]]
!Empty Construct Shell<br>[[File:Construct_Shell.gif]]
!Runed door
|Insert a filled Soul Stone to create a [[Construct]] loyal to the cult.
|1 runed metal
|Altar or Twisted Construction on 50 metal sheets
|Only opens for cultists. Useful securing your base, but a dead giveaway that a cult is onboard.
|-
|-
|}
|}


== Constructs ==
== Constructs ==
Robust cultists will likely want to enlist the services of a few [[Construct|constructs]]. To create a construct, a cultist requires:  
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.
* '''A filled soul stone''', either by sacrificing a human, or capturing a soul manually with a stone from an artificer.
* An empty shell, either by using a construction talisman on 25 metal sheets, from an artificer, or from a starting talisman.  
* An empty shell, either by casting Twisted Construction on 50 metal sheets, from an Artificer, or from an archive.  


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.  
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.
[[Construct|A complete guide to constructs can be found here]]. Artificers will can make new Soulstone Shards and Shells, Wraiths can kill the AI, and Juggernauts are great tanks.
 
 
==The Inevitable Discovery==
As the cult rises in power, you and your brethren will begin to undergo some revealing effects caused by the power gained due to the number of members you have in the cult. This will make you easier to spot by [[Security|unfriendly crewmembers]], and after a certain point, there will be no way to hide from the crew. You'll have to make a stand and fight off the rest.
 
 
<span style="color:maroon;"><big>'''The veil weakens as your cult grows, your eyes begin to glow...'''</big></span>
* Once the blood cult reaches '''10%''' of the active player population, everyone in the cult will receive a notice that the cult is "rising" - and after a moderate delay, the eyes of all existing and new cultists will be permanently <span style="color:red;">'''red'''</span>. Examining any cultist with uncovered eyes will confirm their supernatural appearance. Thankfully, this is easily avoidable by wearing any form of eyewear or face cover, but still could get you caught out if people are examining you closely without eyewear.
 
 
<span style="color:red;"><big>'''Your cult is ascendant and the red harvest approaches - you cannot hide your true nature for much longer!!'''</big></span>
* Once the blood cult reaches '''30%''' of the active player population, everyone in the cult will receive a warning, and after a moderate delay will gain a <span style="color:red;">'''blood-red cult halo'''</span>, '''permanently revealing the identity of existing AND new blood cultists. There is no way to hide this one.''' If you've managed to get this far, you ''should'' have no problems defeating the crew in a head-on battle, assuming you can deal with Security.


== Threats to the Cult==
== 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.
Even with access to a large amount of different runes and blood magic, there are still several threats to the cult on the station.


=== Security and the Chaplain [[File:Generic_hos.png]][[File:Generic_chaplain.png]] ===
=== Security and the Chaplain [[File:Generic_hos.png]][[File:Generic_chaplain.png]] ===


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.
Even the best prepared cultists will have trouble defending themselves against the united power of security. Especially if the Chaplain helps them. The Chaplain is immune to cult magic thanks to their [[Chaplain#Null Rod|null rod]], and is in possession of a bible. Said bible is able to turn normal water into Holy Water, which will turn cultists back to normal people, if it stays in their system for long enough. It is also able to make hidden runes and structures visible, by hitting the suspected tile with it.


<b>40 Units (8 Sips of a Cup) is the best amount to give a cultist in order to deconvert them.</b>
'''40 Units (8 sips from a Cup or 4 sips from a Flask) 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.
# 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.
# 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.
# 30u or less total dose of holywater will never deconvert any cultist.
# More than 40u total dose of holywater is a waste of holywater.
# More than 40u total dose of holywater is a waste of holywater.


== Tips ==
== Tips ==
* Cultists can know a rune's name and effects by examining it.
* Cultists can know a rune's name and effects by examining it.
* Your tome is a robust burning weapon.
* Your dagger is a robust melee weapon with 15 damage and good armor-piercing, it can also be sharpened to further increase its lethality.
* The chaplain is immune to your magic. Don't attempt to use talismans on him, or you will get discovered and beheaded.
* The chaplain's [[Chaplain#Null Rod|holy weapons]] render them immune to your magic.
* Constructs can invoke runes.
* Constructs can invoke runes.
* Tables hide runes far better than items.
* 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.
* Spirit Sight is an incredibly powerful exploration tool, and ghosts can give you precious hints.
* Engineering staff during cult are top-priority converts, as they can sabotage telecomms for you, or build secret bases in space.
* You can get plasteel from Mining, Engineering, EVA storage, or even by deconstructing reinforced walls/tables, if you're desperate.
* 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.
* Keeping a shade in a Soulstone Shard with you will allow you to use two-person runes by yourself, by releasing and then recapturing the shade. You can also use manifested ghosts.
* Get some platsteel either from mining, stealing it from robotics, engineering or EVA storage, or deconstructing reinforced walls/tables if you are desperate.
* Always be ready to summon a cultist in trouble, but be aware you cannot summon cultists if you are away from the station or if they are being dragged in cuffs or bucklecuffed.
* Drag paper bins onto you to pick them up. A single paper bin holds 30 papers, and that's 30 potential talismans!
* If you need additional manpower to do the final summoning, you can summon ghosts using the Spirit Realm rune. You will need at least 5 physical cultists or constructs, probably more, as you can only summon so many ghosts for each rune.
* 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.


{{JobsTable}}
{{JobsTable}}


[[Category: Jobs]]
[[Category:Jobs]]

Latest revision as of 00:35, 27 April 2024

ANTAGONIST

Cultist.png
Cultist

Superiors: Your Deity (Nar'Sie, Kha'Rin or The Reaper)
Difficulty: Medium
Guides: No external guides.
Access: Your workplace and cult airlocks.
Duties: Assist your cult in accomplishing its dark goals.

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."


Even in the far future, some things are never quite understood. There are things that lurk in the darkness of space, unspeakable horrors of ancient power that wish to bring ruin to the universe and to shape it into their image. They reach out from the void, and turn the minds of mortal men and women in their favor in hopes that one day they shall be brought once more into this plane of existence.

Unfortunately for the station, it looks like Nanotrasen accidentally positioned the station near an undetectable weak point in time and space. Whoops. Who would've known?

The Beginning of a New Era

The Geometer of Blood, Nar'Sie, has sent a number of her followers to NSS Cyberiad. As a cultist, you have an abundance of cult magics at your disposal, something for all situations. You must work with your brethren to summon an avatar of your eldritch goddess!

At the beginning of a Cult round, several cultists will arrive on the station. When you spawn, you'll find a ritual dagger and 10 runed metal in your bag. The dagger is essential for drawing runes, while the runed metal is used to make valuable structures; additional runed metal can be created by using the Twisted Construction ability on any ordinary plasteel.

The Cult has two major objectives. The first is to use an Offer rune to sacrifice two targets to Nar'Sie, which are often high ranking members of the crew or Security officers. Once the targets have been sacrificed, Nar'Sie can be summoned in one of three predetermined locations on the station, using 9 cultists and/or constructs and after a 45-second rune drawing process. If Nar'sie is summoned, the Cult wins!

Cultist Quick Guide

Have you never played as a Cultist before? Have you found yourself recruited? Or perhaps you've joined the station as an initial follower? Here's a quick primer on the most important aspects:

  • Staying hidden:

A cult grows more easily if it is not a known threat. People won't fear Maintenance, and Security will not be hunting for bases. It is therefore best for a cult to stay hidden, and convert silently for as long as it can. Refrain from uttering incantations in the open, letting people scream about the cult on the radio, or making easily found runes.

  • Communing:

The very first thing to do is find somewhere where you can be alone, and talk to your fellow cultists using your Commune ability (Button to the top left). Communing broadcasts messages to all other cultists, but any nearby crew can see and hear you whispering, potentially revealing your cult. Talk to your allies, find out where everybody else works and has access to, formulate a plan, and ask senior cultists for advice if needed.

  • Blood Magic:

By clicking the Blood Magic icon, you can prepare up to one spell from a variety of blood magicks. Preparing a spell takes a few seconds, and leaves a blood splatter on the floor, so do it somewhere where nobody's looking. Once you have a spell prepared, click its icon to "put it in your hand," and then click on a target with it to cast it. Starting off, the most important spells are generally Stun and Teleport.

  • Cult Bases:

By using your Ritual Dagger, you can create runes at your feet. To create a starting cult base, find somewhere secluded and safe to start placing runes. The most important rune is a Teleport rune, which lets any cultist warp to it using the Teleport blood magic spell or by clicking on a different rune. Commune once you have a Teleport rune up in a safe place, so others can join you. Make sure no non-cultists find your runes!

  • Runes:

Afterwards, place an Empower rune; standing on it lets you prepare four blood magic spells simultaneously. Then place an Offer rune, which will allow you to convert others to your cause. Simply drag someone onto it, and click the rune with an empty hand. (If the rune is hidden due to a locker, table, or other obstruction, alt click, and select the rune in the upper right menu). Offering a live crewmember requires two cultists and/or constructs to be standing by the rune, so make sure you have a friend with you to help. There are other runes, but Teleport, Empower and Offer are the most important.

  • Conversions:

Once you have a base, you can begin Offering. While standing on the Empower rune, prepare a Stun, a Shadow Shackles, and two other spells; remember that you can prepare multiple Stuns at once. Find a crewmember, Stun them, drag them somewhere secluded, Shackle them, remove their headset while they are muted, then drag them onto the Offering rune, and use it with a friend (Or with a Manifest Rune if you are alone). Of course, if you have the means to abduct people without blood magic, feel free to use the mundane methods. If they don't have a mindshield implant, they'll become a cultist! If they are mindshielded, like Security or the Heads (or dead), they'll explode violently and leave behind a soulstone. Either outcome is good for you!

  • Structures:

By using the Runed Metal cultists begin with (get more by using the Twisted Construction blood magic on plasteel), you can build one of four constructions: pylons, altars, archives and forges. Each cultist starts with enough metal to build 3 of the 4 options, so once you have a main base going, make sure someone's built at least one of each except for pylons. Pylons only heal cultists, but the other three let you build useful items, weapons and tools. Don't build items unless you need them; once any item is built, that structure goes on a 4 minute cooldown. If you have the metal, building multiples of each structures isn't a bad idea.

  • Constructs:

When you sacrifice an dead or mindshielded crewmember on an Offer rune, they'll leave behind a soulstone shard. Create a construct shell at an altar, and you can put the soulstone inside it to transform the soul within into a construct. Constructs come in three types: utility Artificers, tanky Juggernauts, and sneaky assassin Wraiths. The first one you create should almost always be an Artificer, as they can create more soulstones and shells. If a soulstone is empty, using it on a corpse will attempt to put the corpse's soul into the shard, and you can release the soul as a much less useful Shade by clicking it in your hand, which can act as a fellow cultist for invoking runes.

  • Going Loud:

Unless your cultists are (un)godly talented and lucky, you'll eventually be caught out. Either someone will slip up, somebody will find your base, or your cult will grow so powerful that it becomes impossible to hide (red eyes, then a dark halo). Once you know the jig is up, start playing more aggressively; place extra Teleport runes and mini-bases around the station in case your main hideout gets raided, make more power moves to convert or kill crewmembers, and find some way to kill or subvert the AI if it hasn't been done.

  • Summoning Your God:

The first step to actually summoning your dark god is to Offer her desired targets, randomly picked at the start of the round, which can be checked with the 'Study Veil' cultist action. Use teamwork and co-operation to take them down, drag them to your base, and sacrifice them. Once you've sacrificed two targets, you will be informed of three possible summoning locations. Head there, fortify the location, organise your cult to come to or near the summoning spot, and begin drawing the final rune. Drawing the Nar'Sie rune requires a 3x3 area, takes 45 seconds, surrounds the drawer in force fields, and tells the entire station where it's happening. Be prepared, you may need to make a final stand against whatever's left of the crew! If you can hold out long enough to finish the rune, have 9 cultists and/or constructs stand on it (use the 'rest' button to lie down and make more room), click on it with an empty hand, and Nar'Sie will be summoned, giving your cult the win!


The Ritual Dagger

Your dagger is your most important tool, and has several functions:

  • You can draw runes with it.
  • Hitting a cultist with it will purge Holy Water from them.
  • Hitting a non-cultist with it will result in you stabbing them (huh), dealing 15 armor-piercing brute damage.
  • Hitting a rune with it will remove it.
  • Hitting a cult structure with it will anchor/unanchor them, allowing you to move them around.
  • Hitting a runed girder with it will disassemble the girder.

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 verb, 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.

Blood Spells

Blood Spells are limited-use blood magic spells that dissipate after they're spent, and they're your bread and butter when fighting the crew. Blood Spells can be created at any time via an action button that appears below your character. However, blood spells created without an Empowering Rune will take longer, cause significant blood loss, and will cap your spell count at a measly one. Using an Empowering Rune circumvents this issue and allow you to acquire up to 4 spells. You can use an Empowering Rune to remove these spells as well to free up room for others if need be.

A good tip is to make sure to try and have a stun spell and a teleport spell with you to escape risky situations. This will leave only two other options for spells though, so carefully choose what you think might help best for a particular situation.

How to use and unequip blood spells

After carving a spell into your flesh you get an action button on your HUD. Click it and that spell will be equipped to your hand, like an item. Then you either activate it in your hand and/or use it on a target, depending on which spell you've chosen. To unequip the spell, press Q or click the same action button again. This will save the spell for later.

List of Available Spells

Name Description No. of Charges/Health Cost Invocation
Stun
Cult Stun.png
A potent spell that will knock down, do a large amount of stamina damage, silence and mark a target. Stabbing a marked target with a cult dagger or cult blade will detonate the mark, fully stunning them and refreshing the silence. If used on a cyborg it stuns it as if hit by a heavy EMP.

While slurring cult-speak, victims will speak in a disturbing, incomprehensible way. This is usually a dead giveaway that a Cult is onboard when shouted over the radio.

Charges: 1
Health Cost: 10
"Fuu ma'jin!"
Teleport
Cult Teleport.png
A useful spell that teleports cultists to a chosen teleport rune on use. You can teleport yourself or other cultists, if need be. Charges: 1
Health Cost: 7
"Sas'so c'arta forbici!"
Electromagnetic Pulse
Cult EMP.png
A large AOE spell that allows a user to channel dark energy into an EMP, causing all electronics in the area to malfunction or be disabled. This will affect you and nearby non-cultists/objects, but not other cultists. Charges: 1
Health Cost: 10
"Ta'gh fara'qha fel d'amar det!"
Shadow Shackles
Cult Shackles.png
A stealthy spell that will summon shadowy handcuffs on a person, and temporarily silence them for 12 seconds. Useful for keeping crew restrained until they can be converted. The restraints will disappear when the victim is converted. Charges: 4 "In'totum Lig'abis!"
Twisted Construction
Cult Construction.png
A sinister spell used to convert:
  • Plasteel into Runed Metal.
  • 50 Metal into a Construct Shell.
  • Airlocks into Brittle Cult Airlocks when used on Harm intent. A weaker version of Runed Airlocks. Conceal Presence can be used to keep the airlock's original appearance.
Charges: 1
Health Cost: 12
"Ethra p'ni dedol!"
Summon Equipment
Cult Equipment.png
This spell enables you to summon a full set of combat gear on you or another cultist, including a jumpsuit, armored robes, cultist boots, a backpack, a runed bola, and an eldritch blade.
If you are already wearing items in those slots you will only summon the sword and bola. The blade fits into the suit storage slot of every type of cult armor.
Charges: 1 N/A
Summon Dagger
Summon Dagger.gif
This spell enables you to summon a new ritual dagger. Useful if you've lost your original one.
As you can create and cast blood spells without a dagger, this spell in combination with Summon Equipment lets you gear up again, even if you are left completely naked.
Charges: 1 N/A
Hallucinations
Cult Hallucinations.png
A stealthy, ranged spell that will break the mind of the victim with nightmarish hallucinations. Fun for spooking people, rarely useful in practice. Charges: 4 N/A
Conceal Presence
Cult Conceal.gif
A multi-function spell that alternates between hiding and revealing nearby runes and cult structures. You can still teleport to concealed teleport runes and prepare blood magic on concealed empower runes. Will make runed airlocks look like standard airlocks but only cultists will have access. Has a range of 5 tiles and can be used to hide cult outposts in plain sight! (Wearing a Zealot's Blindfold will allow you to see concealed runes!) Charges: 10 "Kla'atu barada nikt'o!"
Blood Rites
Blood Rites.png
A unique multi-function spell that allows you to gather blood from the floor, or from live victims (50 per drain). Then, you can expend the blood to heal yourself or others. (Including constructs!)

Or, you can use the spell in hand to perform some powerful offensive magic attacks:

  1. Blood Orb (50) summons a vessel for storing any number of blood charges above 50, which can later be drained via Blood Rites to gain everything stored inside. Very useful if you want to swap to another spell temporarily, but don't want to lose all of your precious blood charges.
  2. Blood Recharge (75), as the name implies, can be used to recharge cult items back to their original capacity. Currently this is usable on Empowered Cultist Robes (Shielded Robes) and Veil Shifters.
  3. Blood Spear (150) summons a robust two-handed blood halberd that deals 24 brute, and can be recalled to your hand from up to 10 tiles away. The blood halberd can also be thrown, which, if it hits someone, will shatter, dealing 40 brute damage and a stun to whoever it hits.
  4. Blood Bolt Barrage (300) temporarily grants you the ability to launch several powerful projectiles from your hands. This spell is easier to cast with both hands free, as you'll switch hands after each shot. Each shot deals 20 brute damage, and you get 25 of them!
    Will heal cultists and constructs instead of damaging them. Very useful against very big targets such as mechs.
Charges: 5
Increases with blood gathered.
"Fel'th Dol Ab'orod!"

Runes

The Ritual Dagger allows you to scribe any of these runes, using Scribe Rune. Simply pick the rune you want, and wait until completion. Scribing a rune deals minor damage, since you need to cut your wrists to get the necessary blood. Activate a rune by clicking on it.

Name Description Invokers Required Invocation
Offering Rune
Cult Offer All.gif
Instantly converts a normal crewmember on top of it to the cult, healing them for 90% of their brute and burn damage, and spawning a ritual dagger.
Mindshield-implanted crew cannot be converted, only sacrificed, (but constructs are no less dangerous than humans) - therefore it is recommended that you quickly finish off security victims before their radio or suit sensors can give you away!


If the target is dead, ineligible for conversion, or is the required sacrifice target, they'll be sacrificed instead, gibbing them and creating a Soulstone Shard that can be used to power a construct. You can sacrifice a head or a brain if it contains a soul, resulting in a soulshard. This can also be done to complete the sacrifice objective.

Off station roles(except ERTs) can be sacrificed, however, they only contribute towards counts for revival runes, and will not store the sacrifice in the shard.

1 to sacrifice dead targets.
2 to convert.
3 to sacrifice the objective or mindshielded targets.
Mah'weyh pleggh at e'ntrath!
Teleport Rune
Cult Teleport All.gif
This rune warps everything above it to another teleport rune when used. Creating a teleport rune will allow you to set a tag for it.
Warning: Teleporting from Lavaland or Space will make the destination rune glow brightly and open a rift in reality that may not only reveal the rune, but the location of your main base as well, choose your rune locations wisely!
1 Sas'so c'arta forbici!
Empowering Rune
Cult Empower All.gif
Allows cultists to prepare greater amounts of blood magic at far less of a cost. While standing on an empowering rune, the spell count is capped at 4 instead of 1. Additionally, preparing blood magic takes far less time, and you don't lose as much blood while doing it. 1 H'drak v'loso, mir'kanas verbot!
Revive Rune
Cult Revive All.gif
Whenever someone is sacrificed on an Offering rune, they add one (global) charge to this rune. Placing a Cultist corpse on the rune and activating it will bring them back to life, expending a hefty three charges in the process. It starts with one freebie revival, so use it sparingly.

Catatonic(disconnected/ghosted) cultists can be reawakened with a new soul by putting them on the Revive rune and activating it. This method of revival does not consume any charges.

1 Pasnar val'keriam usinar. Savrae ines amutan. Yam'toth remium il'tarat!
Barrier Rune
Cult Barrier All.gif
When invoked, this rune makes a shield wall to block passage, and chain activates any adjacent Barrier runes. Can be invoked again to reverse this. Costs 2 brute per rune to invoke and to deactivate - this includes the chained adjacent runes. 1 Khari'd! Eske'te tannin!
Summoning Rune
Cult Summon All.gif
This rune allows you to instantly summon any living cultist to the rune, consuming it afterward. This rune will only work on the main space station, but can grab cultists from almost any location!

Does not work on restrained cultists who are buckled or being pulled.

2 N'ath reth sh'yro eth d'rekkathnor!
Blood Boil Rune
Cult Blood Boil All.gif
When invoked, it saps some health from the invokers to charge up, then sends three damaging pulses to anyone non-cultists who can see the rune, causing 45 burn damage over a short period of time and lighting them on fire.

Some species such as Golems and IPCs do not have blood, and thus are immune to this rune.

2 cultists invoking for the duration. Dedo ol'btoh!
Rune of the Spirit Realm
Cult Spirit Realm All.gif
This rune gives you two powerful options:

(1) 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 homunculus you have summoned will cause brute damage over time. This option is only available on the space station itself, as the veil is not weak enough in space or Lavaland to give spirits a physical form. If you get stuck on the rune after summoning a ghost, use your ritual dagger to remove the rune before you get hurt too badly. Each rune can summon up to 4 ghosts total, but each objective accomplished lower the rune's power, to a minimum of 2 ghosts. Homunculi who wander too far from their summoner will begin to take damage.

(2) To ascend as a dark spirit. This option will give you virtually unlimited knowledge. You can use information given to you by ghosts in this form and commune with the cult with your booming voice to coordinate them. You can even use this function after manifesting ghosts to help guide them in combat - manifested ghosts can also see regular ghosts and therefore can see your dark spirit as you lead them in battle!

1 Gal'h'rfikk harfrandid mud'gib!
Ritual of Dimensional Rending
Narsie Rune All.gif
This rune tears apart dimensional barriers, calling forth the cult's master. It needs a free 3x3 space, and can only be created in 3 areas around the station. To start drawing it the requested target must have already been sacrificed. Starting to draw this rune creates a weak forcefield around the caster and alarms the entire station of its location. The caster must be defended for 45 seconds before it's complete.

After it's drawn, 9 cultists, constructs, or summoned ghosts must stand on the rune, which can then be invoked to manifest Nar'Sie itself.

Cannot be cleaned off by traditional means, it will require the chaplain's null rod in order to erase

9 TOK-LYR RQA-NAP G'OLT-ULOFT!!

Structures

By using a construction spell on plasteel, you are able to get runed metal. With it, you can build several structures, with unique powers. You can anchor and unanchor cult buildings by hitting them with your ritual dagger. Using "Conceal Runes" near these structures will make them turn invisible, and make runed doors look like regular airlocks.

Name Description Cost
Altar
Altar All.gif
A bloodstained altar dedicated to Nar'Sie. Used to create:
  • Eldritch Whetstone. Sharpens your weapon. One time use.
  • Construct Shell. Used with soul gems to create...well, Constructs.
  • Flask of Unholy Water. Heals cultists, and greatly reduces stuns.

After creating an item with the altar, it will need 4 minutes to recharge.

3 Runed metal
Archives
Archives All.gif
A desk covered in arcane manuscripts and tomes in unknown languages. Looking at the text makes your skin crawl. Used to create:
  • Zealot's Blindfold. A flash-proof eyewear, which lets you see in the dark, see Concealed cult structures/runes, and gives you a Medical HUD!
  • Veil Shifter. A 4 use teleporter which teleports you (and anything dragged by you) forward a medium distance (with some randomness)
  • Cursed Orb. When used, delays the escape shuttle for 3 minutes. You can only use a certain amount of shuttle curses each round.

After creating an item with the archives, it will need 4 minutes to recharge.

3 Runed metal
Forge
Forge All.gif
A forge used in crafting unholy weapons, to be used by the armies of Nar'Sie. Used to create:
  • Shielded Robe. Creates a powerful shield around the wearer that blocks three attacks, and can be recharged via Blood Rites
  • Flagellant's Robe. Makes the wearer faster, at the cost of increasing damage taken by 50%
  • A mirror shield. Blocks 50% of attacks while providing distracting illusions. Reflects blocked energy shots!

After creating an item with the forge, it will need 4 minutes to recharge.

3 Runed metal
Pylon
Pylon All.gif
A floating crystal that slowly heals those faithful to Nar'Sie. Also slowly turns the surrounding floors and walls into their cult variants, if built outside of the main station! 4 Runed metal
Runed door
Cult Doors All.gif
Builds a Runed Airlock. Only opens for cultists. Useful for securing your base, but a dead giveaway that a cult is onboard. Non-cultists who attempt to use these airlocks are knocked down for 4 seconds and thrown back. 3 Runed metal
Runed girder
Cult Girder All.gif
A wall girder that can instantly be disassembled with your ritual dagger. Is built much faster than regular girders, and can be quickly reinforced into a cult wall with another sheet of runed metal. 1 Runed metal

Cult Items

You can acquire these items using blood spells or cult structures.

Name Description Source
Cult Dagger
Ritual Dagger All.gif
Can be used to scribe runes, and is a decent melee weapon, hitting for 15 brute damage.
Can also be used on cultists to purge holy water, or on runes to erase them.
Conversion or Summon Dagger
Cult Blade
Cult Blade All.gif
A large blade, dealing 30 damage per swing, similar to an energy sword.
Can be stored on all types of cult armor, but not in backpacks.
Summon Equipment
Runed Bola
Cult Bola.gif
Reinforced runed bolas that will trip and slow non-cultists, while bouncing off any cultists hit. Summon Equipment
Cult Robes
Cult robes.png
Reinforced cult robes providing moderate protection. Putting on the hood will hide your identity if worn without ID. Summon Equipment
Empowered Cult Robes
Empowered robes.png
Armored cult robes, providing solid protection with no downsides other than stealth. Starts with an energy shield that can absorb 3 hits before fading. Can be recharged via Blood Rites. Forge
Flagellant Robes
Flagellant robes.png
A set of nimble, occult robes that provide a significant speed boost, but will increase all damage taken. Don't get hit! Forge
Mirror Shield
Mirror shield.gif
Provides a 50 percent chance to block most attacks. Energy shots blocked will be reflected. On block, summon an illusion of yourself that will either run or attack non-cultists. Can be shattered by strong projectiles such as lethal revolver rounds, autorifle rounds, or a mech's laser cannon. The wielder is stunned when the shield shatters. Fits in a backpack. Before gaining the ability to obtain this item, the cult must complete their first summon objective Forge
Cursed Orb
Shuttle Curse.gif
Use this orb when the escape shuttle has been called to delay it by 3 minutes. Two orbs can be used before they stop working. Archives
Zealot's Blindfold
Blindfold.png
A magical blindfold that will grant cultists night vision, protection from flashes, and the ability to see the health of others, similar to a Medical HUD.
Wearing this will also show any cult runes or structures in view as a ghostly image! Useful for making lots of small, hidden bases.
Archives
Veil Shifter
Veil shifter.gif
A relic that teleports you 1 to 9 tiles forward in the direction you're facing when used. 4 uses, but can be recharged using Blood Rites. Useful to break in and out of restricted areas if you know where to go, but can be unreliable due to the randomness of the teleport. Make sure to have a teleport blood spell ready to cast and a teleport rune to escape to just in case! Archives
Reality Sunderer
Reality Sunderer.gif
A one-use amulet. When used on a teleport rune, it destroys both the rune and the amulet, creating a one-way portal to the destination rune. The portal will last for 4 minutes and will cause the destination rune to glow brightly, even if concealed with Conceal Presence. The portal can be closed by using either a Cult Dagger or a Null Rod on it. Archives
Eldritch Whetstone
Cult Whetstone.gif
Increases the damage of a dagger or blade by 5. One use, cannot sharpen weapons that were already sharpened. Altar
Flask of Unholy Water
Unholy flask.png
Drinking from this flask will heal cultists overtime (20 of each damage type per use) and reduce stuns for a short duration. Contains 40 units, consumes 10 per use. Do not be on harm intent when drinking or you'll accidentally smash the bottle on your face! Altar
Soul Stone
Soulstone.png
Soul Stones hold the spirit of the sacrificed. If the stone is filled, you can use it in hand to release a shade that can help you invoke runes requiring multiple cultists. They are mediocre fighters, however. A better use is to insert them into an empty shell to create a Construct. Empty stones can be used on non-cultist corpses to capture the soul, dusting the corpse in the process. Soul stones can be purified by any non-cultist with a bible, and corrupted back by cultists with a cult dagger. Sacrifice crew with Offer rune
Empty Construct Shell
Construct Shell.gif
Insert a filled Soul Stone to create a Construct loyal to the cult. Altar or Twisted Construction on 50 metal sheets

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 an artificer.
  • An empty shell, either by casting Twisted Construction on 50 metal sheets, from an Artificer, or from an archive.

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.

A complete guide to constructs can be found here. Artificers will can make new Soulstone Shards and Shells, Wraiths can kill the AI, and Juggernauts are great tanks.


The Inevitable Discovery

As the cult rises in power, you and your brethren will begin to undergo some revealing effects caused by the power gained due to the number of members you have in the cult. This will make you easier to spot by unfriendly crewmembers, and after a certain point, there will be no way to hide from the crew. You'll have to make a stand and fight off the rest.


The veil weakens as your cult grows, your eyes begin to glow...

  • Once the blood cult reaches 10% of the active player population, everyone in the cult will receive a notice that the cult is "rising" - and after a moderate delay, the eyes of all existing and new cultists will be permanently red. Examining any cultist with uncovered eyes will confirm their supernatural appearance. Thankfully, this is easily avoidable by wearing any form of eyewear or face cover, but still could get you caught out if people are examining you closely without eyewear.


Your cult is ascendant and the red harvest approaches - you cannot hide your true nature for much longer!!

  • Once the blood cult reaches 30% of the active player population, everyone in the cult will receive a warning, and after a moderate delay will gain a blood-red cult halo, permanently revealing the identity of existing AND new blood cultists. There is no way to hide this one. If you've managed to get this far, you should have no problems defeating the crew in a head-on battle, assuming you can deal with Security.

Threats to the Cult

Even with access to a large amount of different runes and blood magic, there are still several threats to the cult on the station.

Security and the Chaplain Generic hos.pngGeneric chaplain.png

Even the best prepared cultists will have trouble defending themselves against the united power of security. Especially if the Chaplain helps them. The Chaplain is immune to cult magic thanks to their null rod, and is in possession of a bible. Said bible is able to turn normal water into Holy Water, which will turn cultists back to normal people, if it stays in their system for long enough. It is also able to make hidden runes and structures visible, by hitting the suspected tile with it.

40 Units (8 sips from a Cup or 4 sips from a Flask) is the best amount to give a cultist in order to deconvert them.

  1. Cultists always take at least 150 seconds to deconvert after ingesting holy water.
  2. 40u total of holy water is 99.8% effective at deconverting cultists within 150–180 seconds of it entering their system.
  3. 30u or less total dose of holywater will never deconvert any cultist.
  4. 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 dagger is a robust melee weapon with 15 damage and good armor-piercing, it can also be sharpened to further increase its lethality.
  • The chaplain's holy weapons render them immune to your magic.
  • Constructs can invoke runes.
  • Tables hide runes far better than items.
  • Spirit Sight is an incredibly powerful exploration tool, and ghosts can give you precious hints.
  • You can get plasteel from Mining, Engineering, EVA storage, or even by deconstructing reinforced walls/tables, if you're desperate.
  • Keeping a shade in a Soulstone Shard with you will allow you to use two-person runes by yourself, by releasing and then recapturing the shade. You can also use manifested ghosts.
  • Always be ready to summon a cultist in trouble, but be aware you cannot summon cultists if you are away from the station or if they are being dragged in cuffs or bucklecuffed.
  • If you need additional manpower to do the final summoning, you can summon ghosts using the Spirit Realm rune. You will need at least 5 physical cultists or constructs, probably more, as you can only summon so many ghosts for each rune.


CaptainHead of PersonnelHead of SecurityChief EngineerResearch DirectorChief Medical OfficerQuartermaster
Nanotrasen RepresentativeBlueshield Officer
Internal AffairsMagistrate
WardenSecurity OfficerDetective
Station EngineerAtmospheric Technician
Medical DoctorParamedicChemistGeneticistVirologistPsychologistCoroner
ScientistRoboticist
Cargo TechnicianShaft Miner
JanitorChefBartenderBotanistClownMimeChaplainLibrarianExplorer
AnimalAssistantDerelict ResearcherGhostGolemSyndicate Researcher
AICyborgMaintenance DronePersonal AI
AbductorsAsh WalkerBlobChangelingConstructContractorCultistGuardianLavaland EliteMorphNuclear AgentRevenantRevolutionaryShadow DemonSlaughter DemonSITSyndicate ResearcherTerror SpiderPulse DemonTraitorVampireXenomorphWizard
Central Command OfficerDeath CommandoEmergency Response TeamHighlanderSol TradersSpecial Event RolesSuper HeroesSyndicate Infiltration TeamCluwne