Security Progression During Cult
Created by: Kurfursten
Cult is a very progression-based game mode that rewards not fighting security head on, instead building elaborate dens and sending waves of juggernauts and manifested ghosts at the security team. Unfortunately for the 'protagonists', even if the sec team successfully raids a hideout, they gain little but to flush survivors to another hideaway. Worse, hideouts can be on different Z-levels entirely.
One idea I had to remedy this and would like to discuss is a concept called "blood residue". Basically, every time security destroys a rune on the ground or a manifested ghost or juggernaut, varying amounts of blood residue are dropped. Talismans and maybe tomes could also be destroyed at a machine for residue. This would mean that security can receive tangible rewards for successfully raiding a cult base, or defeating a wave of cult's ghost slaves. Not to mention it would mean that manifested ghosts and constructs need to be used more wisely to avoid feeding security (similarly, holding a bag of 42 talismans across 6 boxes is a liability).
Residue could be redeemed at a machine for various quantities for things like
Low End
- Bottles of holywater
- Runic compass (One or limited uses. Rather than point in a direction, gives an idea of where the cult is setting up a base. "Very Hot" if there are runes on the less accessible Z-levels, "Hot" if there are runes on the mining asteroid or in a Space area on Z1 like in a room built in space outside the station, "Warm" if there are runes but none of the above, "Cold" if there are no runes)
- Rune decipherer (To read what a rune does before you smash it)
- Reality Measuring Stick (Warns you if the current cult objective is Summon Nar-Sie and someone has drawn a Summon Nar-Sie rune - probably too late to stop the ritual or even code red at this point, but any early warning at all could be a relief)
- Armor of God, Ephesians 6:13-18
- Null obelisk (in essence, a structure object that is cumbersome to move around and can't be used as a weapon, but disables runes and talismans in a wider area than a rod, perhaps requires setup like an emitter - wire knot and wrench/weld)
- An extra null rod
- A hypothetical paladin-based cyborg module conversion board
- A method to ordain a new chaplain (set their mind's job to chaplain, allowing them to bless)
- Some desperate-last-chance weapon capable of killing Narnar if he is summoned
Arbitrarily High End
And of course, like a vending machine, it would be trivial to limit how many of an item could be purchased. Since none of these things could be acquired before getting blood residue, there would be no way to metagame (like grabbing a runic compass every round just to scan for warmth).
These are just rough ideas, but I think you get my point. Maybe you think security progression is a bad idea, let me know if so. Better ideas for loot? I want to hear that too.