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# System prepended metadata

title: 'Changelings: The Deceptively, Cunning, Invasive Antag'

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## Why Changelings?
Changelings are an incredibly deceptive and roleplay heavy antag. So, whats holding them back? They're an antag, a very POWERFUL antag. They have a strong kit. Self revive, morphing to look like someone, ability to cuff break, go fast, the list goes on.

So, what's their impact on roleplay if they're combat heavy? Their ability to act and become someone they're not is the goal. Changelings should be feared not for their strength, but for their ability to be deceptive and weasle their way into areas they shouldn't be.

The main goal is to get changelings off a rather combat heavy focused kit and merge them to be more roleplay oriented (while stilll having a battle ready kit). Their armblades will remain, thats how you'll know they're a changeling!

Some mechanics behind determining IF someone is a changeling will be looked into as well (namely, the beheading situations).

The changes here are to reflect lore changes as well.

## Changelings Objectives: What they Should Do
Changelings should be focusing on manipulation, deception and confusion. Death and destruction shouldn't be the focus of a changeling at all. Sure, one or two deaths here or there gets security off your back, but fighting isn't integral to a changelings kit. It's all about deception and fooling the crew.

### Objectives
Changelings objectives are aimed to be reworked as well.

#### Absorb as much DNA as possible
Changelings will aim to try and absorb as much DNA as possible. Being the better changeling of the others is key to the species survival.

#### Spawn as many headslugs as possible
Changeling reproduction is slow, annoying, and yields only one offspring. Changelings will aim to "inject" their next generation into a proper vessel, in a similar fashion to how Xenos facehuggers violate someones face, and explode their chest.

#### Survive as another identity
Escape and survive as someone you are not.

#### Survive and steal some medical/research equipment
Working idea, pending on how much materials get added over time to these departments. Changelings are an advanced species and aim to cripple their prey in anyway shape or form.

## Changelings Kit: What to Change (and Keep)
### Adrenaline Sacs
KEEP.

### Augmented Eyesight
KEEP.

### Biodegrade
REMOVE.
Changelings shouldn't have a free Get-Out-Of-Jail free card. This'll help facilitate roleplay while punishing the "I'm an antag, fuck you sec" bullshit.

### Chameleon Skin
KEEP.
May be tweaked to be made faster.

### Digital Camouflage
NO COMMENT.
Pending lore implacations.

### Fleshmend
BUFF.
Ability to regen limbs should be added, if its not a hellscape to code.

### Last Resort
REMOVE.
Burst into a headslug. Headslugs are to be treated as vectors for new changelings, not for a changeling to become a new body.

### Lesser Form
NO COMMENT.
Pending lore implacations.

### Mimic Voice
BUFF.
Tweak chem drain, as well as stopping chem drain altogether if your voice matches the body you're disguised as.

### Arm Blade
KEEP.
Nerf chem cost to 30.

### Tentacle
KEEP AND REWORK.
Pending lore implacations.

### Organic Shield
KEEP.
Buff chem cost to 15.

### Organic Space Suit
KEEP.
Resprite this atroscity.

### Chitinous Armor
KEEP.
Slightly nerf to allow changeling to take damage.

### Anatomic Panacea
KEEP.
Buff chem usage to 10.

### Pheromone Receptors
REMOVE.
Changelings shouldn't care about trying to find one another. Goes for their objectives as well.

### Resonant Shriek
BUFF.
Shirek should break glass, cause carbons to kneel over and experience pain.

### Dissonant Shirek
REMOVE.
Move this into Resonant Shriek.

### Spread Infestation
REMOVE.
Spider memes no thank you.

### Strained Muscles
KEEP.
Buff where it doesn't strain the changeling as much.

### Transformation Sting
REMOVE.
Meme sting can fuck off.

### False Armblade Sting
REMOVE.
Another meme sting. Fuck off.

### Mute Sting
KEEP.

### Blind Sting
NO COMMENT.
Mute may just be enough, not sure yet.

### Hallucination Sting
REMOVE.
Mute as a baseline is good enough. Causing psychological trauma is kinda mid.

### Cryogenic Sting
REMOVE.
Kinda memey sting. 

## Changeling Kit: What to Add

### Injection Sting
A sting that injects a parasite into an unwilling host. The changeling needs to be behind their vicitm, targeting their head for this to work. Over time, the victim will experience cognitive and psychological issues, before kneeling over and their head exploding into a gorey explosion of viscera.

### Headslug Mitosis
Similar to injection sting (this is another reproductive measure), one of the changelings arms will undergo rapid mitosis before turning into a new headslug. The changelings arm will be rendered unusable for a short period before regorwing. The headslug can be picked up, similar to a Xeno's facehugger, and thrown at a victim. Over time the victims internals will be liquified, turning them slowly into a husk.

### Amnestic Sting
A type of sting that causes the victim to experience no pain, but also causes them to trip balls. They gargle their words are unable to vocalize for a short time as well.

### Weaken Pain Receptors
Changelings weaken their own neural feedback loops for pain, weakening the effects that cause pain over time. This halves their chem regen while active, and the more pain they have, the more chems it'll take to use, causing their chem regen rate to halt entierly.