Might be some more monke specific changes here. Review and fix, someone that can actually play changeling.
| EXTRATERRESTRIAL STAFF | |
|---|---|
| [ job_image ] Changeling |
Access: Whatever your job is Additional Access: Any place you or your victims had access to Difficulty: Hard Supervisors: The Syndicate, Tiger Cooperative Duties: Drink people's DNA, fool people Guides: This is it |
A changeling is a highly intelligent alien predator that is capable of altering their shape to flawlessly resemble a human. They are typically deployed in simple social groupings, although they maintain total autonomy and act individually. As a result of their expertise in infiltration, the Syndicate often hires Changelings (through connections with the Tiger Cooperative) to steal high-risk items from Nanotrasen, as well as discreetly assassinate key targets within their ranks. The Changeling hunts with its ability to synthesize deadly chemicals internally, adopt the form of it's past victims, and even directly alter its form to be more suited to the task at hand.
Important: Use alt+click or middle mouse button to sting someone with your currently active sting. You can sting someone up to 2 tiles away. Changelings, regardless of origin, are linked together through the hivemind (default :g), but they are not required to work together, and might even betray you, as absorbing your own kind gives a massive boost to your powers.
Now, you may notice the clusterfuck of HUD icons on the top of your screen. These are your abilities. Hover mouse over the icons to see their names.
First:
The goal of many changelings is to acquire 5-7 DNA strains, for some unknown and alien reason. To do this, it must take ANY human, living or dead (even thrown away soulless bodies from genetics), and acquire their DNA.
DNA can be acquired in two ways:
Acquiring DNA via absorbing requires you to be strangling your victim and clicking the absorb ability. You then have to go through three long progress bars as you stab and drain the victim with a proboscis.
The changeling can shift its appearance, making them look and sound exactly like a victim of which they have absorbed. This can be massive compromise in security, especially if command staff are absorbed and the changeling is able to imitate them.
Changelings can also, via their lesser form ability, transform into monkeys and do monkey things.
Transforming is subtle and does not give a message in chat, though an observant crewmember may notice that you're suddenly someone else entirely.
Changelings have the ability to 'kill' themselves, and appear dead for about a minute. After this period is over, the changeling can revive at will, fully healed of all injuries and illnesses. Both entering stasis and leaving it cost 15 chemicals, however you will still regenerate chemicals up to half your max capacity (37) even in death.
This makes them nigh-unkillable, as they can fully regenerate themselves even from death if their bodies are intact and they have enough chemicals. Spaced changelings may also be able to make it back on station given enough time. The best way to permanently deal with a changeling is to gib it or cremate it in the chapel.
Changelings may have the following objectives:
Absorb 5-7 DNA stands: You just need to get DNA, easiest way is through your DNA extraction sting Sting extract.png.
Extract more compatible genomes than any other Changeling.: Pretty self-explanatory, you can either spam DNA extract sting Sting extract.png or kill the other poor sap who gets this objective.
Assassinate/Maroon a person: Kill some unlucky crewmember. This can be fulfilled via normal means or through some of your various abilities.
Absorb another Changeling: You have to kill and then absorb Ling absorb hud.png another changeling.
Steal an object: Steal a special or rare object from the station, you will be informed of what to steal.
Escape alive: All changelings get an escape objective, to fulfill, be on the escape shuttle or a pod when they land at Central Command.
Escape with identity: In addition to escaping alive, the changeling must have transformed to the target person and wear an ID card with the target's name on it to succeed.
Going Solo or Teaming Up
You are a solo antagonist, so it's completely up to you whether you want to kill or team up with any other changelings you may encounter.
The changeling possesses dangerous and alien abilities including precooked stingers, body augmentations and chemical enhancements, natural bio-camo, grotesque blades/tentacles/armor made of flesh and bone, AoE screech abilities, and more! Their stored chemicals regenerate quickly at a rough set rate of half a chemical per second.
Changelings start with 10 evolution points and can only get more by absorbing another changeling. The cost of abilities (if applicable) are listed below. By husking a lifeform, the changeling gains charge for an ability to reset their learned abilities and choose new ones, adapting to situations as they arise. This will reset their evolution points back to the starting 10. Absorbing other changelings may let you have more than 10 evolution points.
Changelings can store up to 7 DNA strands, acquiring them either by absorbing or DNA stinging people; if they acquire more, the oldest will be overwritten (but will still count for objectives).
Stinger abilities can be used up to two tiles away from a target, and only consume Chemicals on use. Only one sting ability can be prepared at a time.
Note that changelings are immune to each others' stings and are able to notice they've been stung. If you try to sting someone and they don't react, they might be one too!
Innate Abilities
All changelings start with these abilities by default and will never lose them, even when resetting their abilities.
All changelings start with these abilities by default and will never lose them, even when resetting their abilities.
| Ability | Chemical Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Absorb DNA | 0 | Absorb the DNA of our victim. Requires us to strangle them. |
| Reviving Stasis | 15 | We fall into a stasis, allowing us to regenerate and trick our enemies. |
| Regenerate | 10 | Allows us to regrow and restore missing external limbs and vital internal organs, as well as removing shrapnel, healing major wounds, and restoring blood volume. |
| Transform | 5 | We take on the appearance and voice of one we have absorbed. |
These abilities must be evolved through the Cellular Emporium, accessible through an action button in the upper left portion of the screen. Resetting abilities after absorbing someone will clear all of these abilities and must be re-evolved.
| Ability | Chemical Cost | DNA Cost | Description | Help Text |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrenaline Sacs | 20 | 2 | We evolve additional sacs of adrenaline throughout our body. | Makes you stun immune for 20 seconds and grants you a burst of speed. Can be used while unconscious. Mildly toxic. Maximum stack duration of a minute. |
| Augmented Eyesight | 0 | 2 | Creates more light sensing rods in our eyes, allowing our vision to penetrate most blocking objects. Protects our vision from flashes while inactive. | Grants us x-ray vision or flash protection. We will become a lot more vulnerable to flash-based devices while x-ray vision is active. |
| Biodegrade | 20 | 2 | Dissolves restraints or other objects preventing free movement. Costs 20 chemicals. | This is obvious to nearby people, and can destroy standard restraints and closets. |
| Chameleon Skin | 10 | 1 | Our skin pigmentation rapidly changes to suit our current environment. | Allows us to become invisible after a few seconds of standing still. Can be toggled on and off. |
| Darkness Adaptation | 10 | 2 | Our skin pigmentation and eyes rapidly change to suit the darkness. Requires 10 available chemicals and slightly slows down chemical regeneration. | Makes us translucent. Works best in dark enviroments and garments. Makes our eyes more sensitive to flashes. |
| Defibrillator Grasp | Passive Ability | 0 | We prepare ourselves while in stasis. If one of our enemies attempts to defibrillate us, we will snatch their arms off and instantly finalize our stasis. | This ability is passive, and will trigger when a defibrillator paddle is applied to our chest while we are dead or in stasis. Will also stun cyborgs momentarily. |
| Digital Camouflage | Passive Ability | 1 | By evolving the ability to distort our form and proportions, we defeat common algorithms used to detect lifeforms on cameras. | We cannot be tracked by camera or seen by AI units while using this skill. However, humans looking at us will find us... uncanny. |
| Fleshmend | 20 | 2 | Our flesh rapidly regenerates, healing our burns, bruises, and shortness of breath, as well as hiding all of our scars. | Lasts for 10 seconds and does not stack. If we are on fire, the healing effect wont function. Does not regrow limbs or restore lost blood. Functions while unconscious. |
| Last Resort | 20 | 1 | We sacrifice our current body in a moment of need, placing us in control of a vessel that can plant our likeness in a new host. | We will be placed in control of a small, fragile creature. We may attack a corpse like this to plant an egg which will slowly mature into a new form for us. |
| Lesser Form | 15 | 1 | We debase ourselves and become lesser. We become a monkey. | We become much smaller, allowing us to slip out of cuffs and climb through vents. Right-click to drop items. |
| Mimic Voice | Reduces Chemical Regen | 1 | We shape our vocal glands to sound like a desired voice. Maintaining this power slows chemical production. | Will turn your voice into the name that you enter. We must constantly expend chemicals to maintain our form like this. |
| Arm Blade | 20 | 2 | We reform one of our arms into a deadly blade. | We may retract our armblade in the same manner as we form it. Cannot be used while in lesser form. |
| Tentacle | 10 | 2 | We ready a tentacle to grab items or victims with. | We can use it once to retrieve a distant item. If used on living creatures, the effect depends on our combat mode: In our neutral stance, we will simply drag them closer; if we try to shove, we will grab whatever they're holding in their active hand instead of them; in our combat stance, we will put the victim in our hold after catching them, and we will pull them in and stab them if we're also holding a sharp weapon. Cannot be used while in lesser form. |
| Organic Shield | 20 | 1 | We reform one of our arms into a hard shield. | Organic tissue cannot resist damage forever; the shield will break after it is hit too much. The more genomes we absorb, the stronger it is. Cannot be used while in lesser form. |
| Chitinous Armor | 20 | 1 | We turn our skin into tough chitin to protect us from damage. | Upkeep of the armor requires a low expenditure of chemicals. The armor provides decent protection against brute force and energy weapons. Cannot be used in lesser form. |
| Anatomic Panacea | 20 | 1 | Expels impurifications from our form; curing diseases, removing parasites, sobering us, purging chemicals and radiation, curing traumas and brain damage, and resetting our genetic code completely. | Lasts for a minute. Can be used while unconscious. Will purge helpful things as well. Maximum stack duration of 2 minutes. |
| Pheromone Receptors | Reduces Chemical Regen | 2 | We attune our senses to track other changelings by scent. The closer they are, the easier we can find them. | We will know the general direction of nearby changelings, with closer scents being stronger. Our chemical generation is slowed while this is active. |
| Resonant Shriek | 20 | 1 | Our lungs and vocal cords shift, allowing us to briefly emit a noise that deafens and confuses the weak-minded. | Emits a high-frequency sound that confuses and deafens humans, blows out nearby lights and overloads cyborg sensors. |
| Dissonant Shriek | 20 | 1 | We shift our vocal cords to release a high-frequency sound that overloads nearby electronics. | Emits a high-frequency sound that causes a large-scale EMP. |
| Strained Muscles | 10 | 1 | We evolve the ability to reduce the acid buildup in our muscles, allowing us to move much faster. | Causes us to become fatigued over time. Cannot be used in lesser form or while unconscious. Overuse will lead to us collapsing. |
| Transformation Sting | 33 | 2 | We silently sting an organism, injecting a retrovirus that forces them to transform. | The victim will transform much like a changeling would. For complex humanoids, the transformation only lasts 8 minutes, but the duration is paused while the victim is dead or in stasis. For more simple humanoids, such as monkeys, the transformation is permanent. Does not provide a warning to others. Mutations will not be transferred. |
| False Armblade Sting | 20 | 1 | We silently sting a human, injecting a retrovirus that mutates their arm to temporarily appear as an armblade. | The victim will form an armblade much like a changeling would, except the armblade is dull and useless. |
| Extract DNA Sting | 25 | 0 | We stealthily sting a target and extract their DNA. | Will give you the DNA of your target, allowing you to transform into them. |
| Mute Sting | 20 | 2 | We silently sting a human, completely silencing them for a minute. | Does not provide a warning to the victim that they have been stung, until they try to speak and cannot. |
| Blind Sting | 25 | 1 | We temporarily blind our victim. | This sting completely blinds a target for 40 seconds, and leaves them with blurred vision for 80 seconds. |
| Hallucination Sting | 10 | 1 | We cause mass terror to our victim. | We evolve the ability to sting a target with a powerful hallucinogenic chemical. The target does not notice they have been stung, and the effect occurs after 30 to 60 seconds. |
| Cryogenic Sting | 15 | 2 | We silently sting our victim with a cocktail of chemicals that freezes them from the inside. | Does not provide a warning to the victim, though they will likely realize they are suddenly freezing. |
| Void Adaption | Passive Ability | 2 | We prepare our cells to resist the hostile environment outside of the station. We may freely travel wherever we wish. | This ability is passive, and will automatically protect you in situations of extreme cold or vacuum, as well as removing your need to breathe. While it is actively protecting you from temperature or pressure it reduces your chemical regeneration rate. |
| Storage Cavity | Passive Ability | 1 | We evolve smaller organs, allowing us to covertly store things in their place. Opening and closing it isn't very stealthy, though. | Can store up to 3 small items. IDs can open things from inside. Works in lesser form and while downed. Can be seen and removed via surgery. |
| Birth Teratoma | 60 | 2 (Requires 3 Absorptions) | Our form divides, creating an egg that will soon hatch into a living tumor, fixated on causing mayhem. | The tumor will not be loyal to us or our cause. Requires 3 absorptions. |