This is a re-post of a write up I did before the forums changed in Fall 2019. I’m porting it over to the new forum:
I posted this as a comment in another thread but I thought it was worth cleaning up a bit and posting it here as well. I think it deserves a look.
Vashta Nerada:
Here’s a suggestion for a modification to the blob / the kudzu / sentient disease to make Vashta Nerada (from the Doctor Who “silence in the Library” episode). I’m calling them “Vashta” for short, from here on.
I dunno if this idea is more like a blob variation thing, or more of something like a sentient disease. I’m thinking its more like the blob / Kudzu with a few disease elements.
Basically Vashta Nerada are an invisible microscopic swarm cloud that can only exist when in darkness on wood tiles.
If anyone stands on a wooden floor tile where they exist for more than 5 seconds, AND the tile is in a low light level/darkness that person gets gibbed.
If a person wearing a helmet / hardsuit is in darkness for more than 5 seconds, instead of getting gibbed, their helmet visor goes dark. They don’t die immediately, but they can only say the last 3 phrases they said on repeat.
—This is like stage one of a disease. If they take their helmet off they drop dead and their body is a skeleton. Anywhere that person goes that is in darkness causes the Vashta Nerada Wood tiles, to spread around them. Effectively making people in hardsuit’s carriers of the Vashta.
When they aren’t standing in darkness, they will be on a timer (like blobbonaut), and drop dead if the timer runs out.
Otherwise, they aren’t even aware they have been “turned” aside from the fact that they can only say the last 3 things they said.
—After a few minutes they get a message making them aware that they have been “turned”, and their sprite changes to a form more like a Dark colored Blobbynaut, and need to stay on Vashta tiles (or Wood tiles in darkness)in order to survive.
This is like stage 2 of a disease Basically they have become like a Blobbynaut.
The Vashta (I assume its one singular entity like a blob), can only spread to a wooden tile that is in darkness. Maybe give it the Revenant’s ability to cause the lights nearby to break.
I am thinking sort of like how the blob / kudzu spreads into different tiles. Essentially slowly devouring the station kind of like the blob.
Only the Vashta basically turn the station into wood in order to “take back our forest”.
Vashta should only be able to move on wooden tiles. They are however, able to convert tiles next to them into wood floor tiles, (maybe based on the number of people they have “eaten”), in fitting with the theme of them reclaiming the forest. (Go see the Doctor Who episode sometime). Any time those tiles have a higher light level they function basically just as wooden tiles and don’t harm anyone. But if those tiles are in darkness then the Vashto can spread or move on them.
The Vashta should be immune to physical brute damage, but possibly can be harmed by fire or atmospheric related damage. Station crew can harm the Vashta by keeping them in the light. As long as a tile is covered by a light level of moderate or higher, the Vashta cannot spread to those tiles, and will slowly take damage if on those tiles. Similarly the crew can also remove wood flooring and replace it with normal tile. The “Vashta core” can be killed by fire damage or by exposing it to a high enough light level for damage over time.
Burning the wooden tiles can help to harm the Vashta, but it also means lighting the station on bleeping fire, which may do worse harm to the crew.
Bonus 2: If it is discovered, a certain amount of time passes, or the Vashta spreads too much, the AI gets a new law to “save” the crew, by teleporting them to a safe location on another Z level. Announcing for example"Cuban Pete has left the station, Cuban Pete has been Saved" whenever this happens (A reference to the Dr. Who episode).
Maybe they get teleported to a room with flashlights and things for the crew to arm themselves. Then the crew can gather light sources and the AI can teleport people back onto the station to fight it.
In a nutshell, I am thinking dark colored blob tiles that kill those caught in them without hardsuits or convert those with hardsuits / helmets into their minions. They can only spread over wooden floor tiles that are in darkness. The “Vashta Blob” can convert adjacent tiles into Wood tiles.
Combo these ideas however you’d like.
-Schneckenhof