Shadowlings

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Shadowling
SUPERIORS:	The Darkness
CLASSIFICATION:	Stealth/Conversion Antagonist
RISK FACTOR:	Very Hard
CLEARANCE:	Depends on your job.
"I was born in the darkness... molded by it..."

They aren't gods. But they want to become one... These enigmatic aliens have baffled even the most advanced research divisions.

Shadowlings are light-sensitive xenoform alien creatures that come from space. Primarily defensive in nature, they possess the ability to enthrall crew members, taking full control of their minds and loyalty. Shadowlings starts off disguised as a normal crew member. After they awake, they must 'hatch' to unlock their powers. When hatched, shadowlings will resemble humans with black skin, small horns, red eyes, and claws. Shadowlings take damage in the light, heal in the dark, and are clumsy with guns. They cannot wear clothes of any kind but can still equip headsets and backpacks.

Starting Out as a Shadowling

You gain power as you enthrall others, so staying undetected is important while you are at your weakest point.

Start by finding an isolated location and break nearby lights to create a safe territory. Doing this while still a human is good, as once you transform, there is no going back, and lights start to hurt you! Choose a hidden place to hatch that will keep your egg safe during your 15 second hatching period and make sure you have the tools to get out when you are ready! Upon hatching, pick up your ID for access, your backpack for belongings, and your headset, and to remain unknown, you must re-hide your egg. You are now a Shadowling so you need to worry about lights! Toggling off night vision can help you see lights, and your Veil ability disables and breaks lights in a large range. Your fists also work for hitting lights as you don't get shocked. You now look like a demon, so if you are spotted by security, you are always vulnerable to being flashed, so your best option early on is to run while you gain abilities and allies. You are very capable of fleeing if you use Shadow Walk to rapidly move while invisible, and Icy Veins to freeze everyone nearby.

Enthralling Others

Your general goal from here is to convert 20 people, so how do you do that? First of all, you can't enthrall IPCs or mindshielded people until you are empowered. Your conversion ability Enthrall takes 5 seconds of standing near someone, so you need that person to stay still for you. This is best achieved with Glare, which is a 6 second instant stun and mute, which works best at close range. You may need to [bold]Veil[/bold] to disable all nearby lights, to make sure you are uninterrupted by light damage during this time. Conversions can be secured slightly easier with makeshift handcuffs but make sure to quickly take off their headset after they are restrained. If you succeed, this thrall is now essentially mind controlled to you, but they also gain the ability to see in the dark and temporarily turn invisible. They are a normal crewmember but can be identified as a thrall if they are not covering their eyes, so tell them to wear face or eyewear, and to start breaking lights to expand your territory.

Shadowling Progressive Abilities

Once you start gaining thralls, you gain access to more abilities. Use the ability Collective Mind to see your progress and reap the rewards.

Your abilities are unlocked at set thresholds, being:

Starting Abilities	Description
Sonic Screech	Unlocked at 3 thralls: used to temporarily disorient nearby victims
Null Charge	Unlocked at 5 thralls: Used to damage and disable APCs
Black Recuperation	Unlocked at 7 thralls: Used to revive thralls and to create up to 5 lesser Shadowlings, at the cost of giving up your resistance to light
Smoke Cloud	Unlocked at 10 thralls: Used to create a smoke cloud that heals thralls and shadows, while blinding those who aren't
Enter Regenerative Stasis	The changeling instantly dies, and the exit stasis ability is unlocked. Can be used while cuffed or in lesser form. Can be used while on fire.
Empowered Enthrall	Unlocked at 12 thralls: Enthrall is replaced with an empowered version, allowing the conversion of mindshielded targets and IPCs, with the rate of conversion being much faster
Nox Imperii	Unlocked at 15 thralls: Gain full immunity to light damage
Ascendance	Unlocked at 20 thralls: Form your ascension egg to begin your 5-minute ascension period

How do I ascend?

Once you have your 20 thralls, use your "Ascendance" ability to place your ascension egg. Right-click the egg and select "Start Ascension". You will be immobile and vulnerable for 5 minutes during this process. If the egg is destroyed, you become an abomination, which means:

• No powers
• Extremely slow movement
• Practically useless

Protect your egg at all costs. Failure means humiliation.

I'm a thrall, what is my purpose?

You're similar to a revolutionary, but with time and obedience, you can become something far more powerful.

As a thrall, your main purpose is to listen to your shadowling, the one that converted you. You can be identified as a thrall through examination if you don't cover your eyes with a mask or glasses. If your Shadowling demands that you suicide, you must suicide. It doesn't matter if you're a Wizard or a Nukie.

You also have a few abilities at your disposal, like Guise and Thrall Darksight.

• Guise: Grants temporary invisibility when used in the dark.

• Thrall Darksight: Grants night vision, allowing you to see in complete darkness.

The more obedient and useful you are, the more valuable you become to your Shadowling.

What can I do as crew to fight against a Shadowling?

A Shadowling is a threat that should be taken care of early in the shift.

• Never patrol maintenance alone. Stick to groups.
• Security should stay armed and alert.

Nanotrasen has also issued the Station with a special device that essentially took several decades of researching this strange alien species and its effects on living beings.

The anti-mind control device can remove any mind control from any person and apply further resistance to the Thrall that is to be de-converted.

It exists in Tier 2 research through the prolathe and it has the same materials as a Flash, but with Gold required. Don't forget that it has only 5 charges per device. Other than that, note that Lesser Shadowlings are not affected from it. Their mind is lost, and sadly unrecoverable. Mindshield implants also offer temporary protection, though Shadowlings will gain the ability to bypass them.

If a Shadowling starts to ascend, all available crew should arm themselves and rush to destroy the ascension egg before the process completes. Succeed, and you live. Fail... and witness a god!

What Happens if a Shadowling Ascends?

If a Shadowling ascends, there's still a chance to win by killing the Shadowling. However, it has a good amount of health and very strong abilities, including an instant ranged enthrallment, instant ranged gibbing, and a charged lightning frenzy. Once an ascension completes all Thralls will be turned into Nightmares. Nightmares have arm-blades that can ash lights, and they can phase through walls without a care in the world! Nightmares also reflect all bullets when in the dark.

What is a Lesser Shadowling?

A lesser Shadowling is a thrall who got converted by the Black Recuperation ability. Lesser Shadowlings cannot be deconverted by the anti-mind control device. However, they do take damage from lights, similarly to a Shadowling. Much slower, though. They also gain a weaker version of Veil, that stuns and mutes for less time, but long enough to cuff for conversions. You can have up to 5 of them, so choose them carefully. Quality over quantity.

Tips and tricks

• As a Shadowling, you can identify your thralls by examining them.

• Your Collective Mind ability paralyzes your Thralls once you gain a new power. However, it also informs you on how many thralls you need to ascend.

• Examine yourself to see how much light resistance you have.

• Black Recuperation decreases your light resistance per use, so be careful when you use it.

• As crew, you do not have to ash or gib a Shadowling. They lose all thralls at death.

• This is a stealth antagonist, do not try to fight people as a Shadowling. Instead, play defensive and enthrall people.

• The emergency shuttle can be delayed with your Destroy Engines ability.

• All of your damage, internal and external, can be healed with Rapid Rehatch, but only when not critical.