Revolutionary

Three Syndicate agents disguised as crew members are inciting station-wide rebellion against the Heads of Staff! Armed with special flashes to convert certain crew members to their cause in their hands and a song of angry men on their minds, these Revolutionaries conspire to overthrow the Heads of staff, whether through bloodshed or banishment.

Red October

Before any of this can happen, first there must be at least 15 people ready to play as soon as the round starts. Not merely 15 people on the server, 15 people who have joined the server before the round started and have chosen the "Declare Ready" option. 15 or more people doesn't guarantee that Revolution will be the round's game mode, but it does make Revolution one of the possible game modes chosen for the round, similar to Blob.

At roundstart, up to three crew-members are randomly chosen to be Head Revolutionaries, denoted by a Blue R icon only they and other revolutionaries can see. (Said Head Revs cannot be Heads or |Security Stafff, but consider that antag selection happens before job selection, this is a given.) These Head Revs are equipped with special flashes that can, after a somewhat lengthy amount of time, recruit non-Command non-Security Officer staff who are not wearing suitable eye protection to their cause, making them a Revolutionary, denoted by a Red R icon only they and other revs can see.

Together, these Head Revolutionaries and their Revolutionary underlings must overthrow the Heads of staff, whether through death or banishment. Meanwhile, the station crew and its heads must crackdown on the rebellion and eliminate the Head Revolutionaries through any means necessary.

There three possible end conditions for this game mode:

• Revolutionary Victory: All the Heads of staff are dead or off the station z-level.
• Crew Victory: All the Head Revolutionaries are dead, brigged, or off the station z-level.
• CentComm Victory: At the 35 minute mark, CentCom will announce that it has detected a revolution on the station. After 15 or 20 minutes and a few more annoucements, it will start "hostile termination" (i.e. gibbing) of every human on the station (Silicon lifeforms are mercifully spared). It's rather slow though, so it's entirely possible that one side will be terminated before the other one, causing the game to prematurely declare Revolutionary or Crew Victory before every human has died.

In this case, "dead" means being, well, dead (lifeless corpse, not cloned/revived, and such) as well as being converted into a Cyborg. Most other things, such as being a Ghostdrone or respawning as a Ghost Critter or being a braindead Cyborg, however, do not count as dead.

Note that, unlike other versions of revolution, the shuttle CAN be called in this mode, but it will automatically be recalled sometime after the call goes through. This way players can no longer call the shuttle to figure out the game mode during secret.

The Estates

The Revolutionaries

Head Revolutionaries

Congrats, you are a brainwashed agent provocateur sent by the Syndicate a covert freedom fighter, sent to free the crew from the tyranny of the Command staff! At the start of the round, you'll start with a special, uniquely-colored version of the flash, creatively named Revolutionary Flash ( ). It's otherwise the same as the standard flash, down to the same stun that can be blocked by certain counters. The difference is that, when you use it on someone who it not a Head of staff, a Security Officer, the Detective, a welder, and/or a Corey Hart impersonator, it converts people into Revolutionaries, brainwashed underlings loyal allies in your mission to kill the Heads of Staff.

However, unlike other versions of Revolution, the conversion process is not instant and actually takes a few crucial moments - about two seconds. In fact, it takes long enough that your victim may disarm you or run away before the flash powers up, so you'll need an alternative means of keeping of them down for recruitment.

Keep that Flash safe! Don't let some clown steal it! If you lose your Revolutionary Flash, you can't get another one.

Try not to be too overt with your flashings - the Revolutionary Flash makes a distinct sound that the attentive crewmember will notice. Keep in mind that as much as people love being revolutionaries, people tend to get incredibly uncomfortable if you suddenly run up and get close to them, for a number of perfectly good reasons.

If you get caught, it is recommended to run the hell away and lay low for while to let the heat die off before you try again. Remember, you are not easily replaced; there is no way to promote regular Revolutionaries into Head Revolutionaries, and only you have to power to recruit new Revolutionaries for the cause.

As for flashing targets, you have a number of high-priority targets you'll definitely want as allies.

• Mechanics can scan and reliably equip your revolutionaries with a number of deadly weapons, including Security Officer equipment. Combined with a sympathetic Quartermaster or Miner to provide regular shipments of metal, Mechanics can churn out hordes of weapons to arm your revolutionary party and balance out the equipment advantage of the Heads of Staff and maybe even stand toe-to-toe with the Security forces.
• Scientists have access to Chemistry, Toxins, and Telescience. A good revolutionary scientist, like a Traitor scientist, is a force to reckoned with, and their destructive potenial is rivaled only by a fellow scientist. Revolutionary scientists can manufacture devastating chemical weapons, blow their way into Command hideouts, make drug mixes to laugh off Security's tide of stun batons and tasers, and forcefully beam those heads of staff far, far away from the station.
  • If no scientists are available, the Chef and Barman can use the Bar's chemistry equipment as an improvised chemistry lab, and Engineers can use the engine ports and combustion chamber as a semi-rudimentary Toxins lab.
• Roboticists have access to Robotics Manufacturers, which can hacked for a cheap source of stuns and backup flashes in case your flash's bulb goes out. They can also provide you with cyberhearts so you can eat Security's tasers, and robotic limbs to outrun those pesky Security Officers.
• Geneticists can empower even the lowest of greyshirts into superpowered X-Men. Thermal Resistance is always handy, SMES Human helps with resisting Security's stun batons (but not their tasers), Chameleon and Cloak of Darkness can aid in ambushes, and even High Pressure Intestines can turn out to be surprisingly useful.
• Quartermasters can order more loyalty implants, preventing people from becoming revs. You definitely don't want people to stay on the Heads' side, so you might want to convert them to shut down the Heads' anti-rev implanting. Otherwise, QM is a mixed bag. Generally, anything QM can do through their crates, other jobs can do better. However, if you get a hold of a Security Officer or Detective's ID, you'll be able to open all the Security-cardlocked crates, meaning you'll essentially have access to better stun weapons than Sec and buyable Tactical Grenades boxes.

Once you're comfortable with leading the revolution, how you're going to overthrow the Heads of staff is largely up to you. A stealthy, cunning ambush can be just as effective as simply swarming your Head of choice and playing the numbers advantage. Just remember, viva la revolucion!

Converted Revolutionary

Due to the efforts of a Head Rev, you are brainwashed and crazy have finally seen the light and have joined the Head Rev's crusade against the Heads of staff. How you'll do your part to stick it to the man is largely up to you. Just remember, even if you've killed just one head of staff, and even it's just the poor Medical Director trying to heal you, you have done your part.

This should be obvious, but as a revolutionary, your main power is the iron bond of teamwork or, in a way, friendship. Your comrades may not be the most robust nor the most knowledgeable of crew, and it's entirely possible that none of them know what they're doing, but what each one of them should know is that when a comrade is screaming over the radio that they're being dragged and beaten by Sec Officers in maintenance, then by Marx's beard they've got to come and help out.

The AI & Cyborgs

Revolutionaries are humans, albeit humans peculiarly inclined towards violent anti-authoritarianism (more than usual, perhaps). Under default laws, you shouldn't follow any orders that would directly lead to revolutionaries being harmed. At the same time, you shouldn't follow any orders that would directly lead to non-revolutionaries being harmed either. Since the revolutionary conversion process is fined-tuned to specific quirks of human anatomy, you cannot be converted to the Revolutionary cause.

While AIs and Cyborgs can certainly bolt down Revolutionaries, it is considered very unfun, especially if you are not specifically ordered to do so. Rather, you're encouraged to, with some ounce of subtlety, notify the crew. In this way, you let the Heads, Crew, and Security (hopefully) get a clue of what's really going on while still allowing the Revolutionaries time to build up. In a sense, you're giving both sides some time to prepare and gather some momentum so that the conflict is more fun for everyone.

Beyond that, you have a lot of freedom in how you'll intervene in this conflict. The most important thing is just to make sure you're following your laws. You have no inaction clauses whatsoever, so you are in no way law-bound to prevent pro- or anti-revolutionary activity. In fact, it's completely within your laws to do absolutely nothing about it and carry on business as normal if that's what you want. Use your own judgement. If you're unsure if something is within your laws/the Rules (it's probably not, though you should make sure), consult with an Admin about it through Adminhelp.

The Station Crew

Note: These are also the rules deconverted revolutionaries and the loyalty-implanted follow.

For the most part, your allegiance lies with the Heads of Staff. As loyal NT crew, you exist to serve and protect the Heads of staff and should cooperate with Security and other loyalist crew members to crackdown on the Revolution and eliminate the Head Revolutionaries.

Remember, you are brainwashed by pledge your allegiance to NanoTrasen, not the revolution. Revs are your enemy here! If you are witness to any revolutionary activity, especially attempts on the Heads' lives, try to stop it or report it to Security. If anybody tries to convert you, you have to right to resist and act in self-defense, as with any other antagonist.

The Security Department

Much like the station crew, you are allied with the Heads, whether you're the Detective, a Security Officer, the Head of Security, or, heck, even a Vice Officer. Unlike the station crew, however, you cannot be converted to the revolutionary cause. No one is completely sure why, and everyone has different answers. It's not that there's literally something in your head or chest preventing you from being swayed, because there isn't. The fact that the Lawyer can be swayed just makes everything more confusing.

Regardless, you should assist the Heads in quashing the revolution. Help them loyalty-implant crew and deconvert revolutionaries. For this, you might want to borrow Medbay's implant gun, so that you can give out loyalty implants quickly and easily and without getting uncomfortably close to people. Take down and detain anyone who tries to stun and convert crew members. You'll know--the Revolutionary Flash has a tell-tale tone, that sounds like a low whirr or something winding up, which an attentive ear will easily pick up. Even if you don't hear it, it'll be incredibly obvious the man waving a mysterious device in front of people he's dragging into a maintenance shaft is up to no good.

Keep an eye on Security and make sure no one gets unauthorized access to your gear. The Revolutionary Flash takes a fair bit of time to convert people, so the Head Revolutionaries want will your taser/stun baton/flash/gun to hold people down for the conversion process. Don't hold your weapons out in your hands; you're liable to lose them to a lucky Disarm or slip and drop them on the ground for some Clown to pick up. Instead, keep them in your backpack/satchel/belt, and take it out when you need it. And as you always should, crack down on and arrest those who try to break into Security.

The Heads of Staff

You've a tough road ahead of you if you're a Head of staff. The revolutionaries will nearly always outnumber you, and generally the only thing standing between you and the bloodthristy hordes of revs is the Security team and your own competence. Whether you'll end the round covered in the blood of assistants or covered in your own blood, dead in maintenance, will largely depend on your wits, resourcefulness, and proactiveness.

Be vigilant. Keep a eye out for signs of revolutionary activity, such as random flashings without any further violence. When you've solid evidence of mutineers among the crew, meet with other heads in somewhere safe and access-restricted, such as Security or the Bridge. At the very least, notify other heads over the Command frequency :h. For this reason, feel free to recruit the AI into the counter-revolution. They have eyes over most of the station, so they can see where suspicious flashings and attacks on Heads are occuring and track down the culprits.

But, just as important as being vigilant, is being active! Revolutionary rounds are much more exciting for everyone if the Heads and Security go out and actually go out and actually try to deconvert revs rather than hide out in Space in a Space Pod. With active Heads, Revolutionary becomes what it was meant to be: not a single-sided of Revolutionaries steamrolling pitifully outnumbered Heads, but a station-wide clash of Heads/Security-aligned and Revolutionary forces.

Plus, it's truly in your best interests to deconvert rather than hide. Every person you deconvert and loyalty-implant is one less person for the revolution and one more person (hopefully) protecting you. Your power only grows for everyone you loyalty-implant. If you hide, the revolution's power only grows as they convert/kill everyone who can protect you.

You have three options for deconversion: loyalty implants, blunt force to the head, and..."enhanced interrogation" as they call it, each explained further below. When you successfully deconvert someone with any of these options, you'll get a message along the lines of:

Grey O'Tide looks like they just remembered their real allegiance!!

Once that happens, ask them who converted them. You'll get the name of a head rev. Keep deconverting revs for the other names, and you'll be well on the way towards purging the station of the revolution.

Note, however, that anyone brainwashed and crazy enough to lead a revolution in the first place will be completely resistant to all these methods. If someone seems especially resistive to your deconversion attempts, there's a good chance you've found a Head Revolutionary. As such, you may wish to consider alternative treatments.

Loyalty Implants

Counter their brain-washing with your own brain-washing! Not only will a loyalty implant decovert a revolutionary, but it will also prevent anyone, whether or not they were ever a revolutionary to begin with, from ever being converted into a revolutionary! Because it's both pre-emptive and reactive counter-insurgency, and because it's quite easy to implant people, it's definitely the most effective of counter-revolutionary measures.

Loyalty implants are found in the Armoury and Loyalty Kits from Cargo, priced at 6000 credits each, with each crate providing 4 implants locked behind a Security-access ID. If you're on Cogmap1 or Cogmap2, you can also find a whole box of loyalty implants somewhere in Security, either on a ring of tables next on a box of cuffs (Cogmap1) or next to a Confiscated Items crate (Cogmap1). If you ever run out of funds for these, feel free to ask the Head of Personnel or Captain to reroute some funds to the Shipping budget. Likewise, the Chief Engineer should feel free to get the PTL up and running and providing funds.

Implant everyone you suspect to be a rev. And you should suspect everyone who isn't a Security Officer or fellow Head to be a rev, so be generous and implant everyone you see! Preferably, implant people like the Quartermasters, the Mechanics, robust people--basically, anyone the Head Revolutionaries would like on their side. Again, everyone you loyalty-implant is one less person for the revolution.

For this reason, the Medical Director should feel free to offer their implant gun to whoever's leading the implanting efforts, or, if they want to, use it to implant people themselves. This marvellous device puts some much-needed distance between the implanter and the implantee, who may very well be ready to eviserate anyone who comes near them, whether they're a Revolutionary or not. Plus, it's much easier and faster to implant someone walking down a hallway with the gun than it is with a standard implanter. It takes a certain level of gunslinging though; people tend to run away from anybody with an implant gun, because it looks so much like a generic gun in-hand.

Not to mention, it's also more reliable at finding Head Revs than the other methods. If you implant someone, and you get message along the lines of:

Prof. Voecatur seems to resist the implant.

You can be 100% sure you've found a Head Rev, because this message only shows up for when you try to loyalty-implant a Head Rev. Not loyal crew, not Revolutionaries, just Head Revolutionaries.

Blunt head trauma

Turns out violence really is the answer sometimes. A toolbox, an extinguisher, or a simple punch on the head has a surprisingly good chance to deconvert someone, though there's still a possibility that they'll be flashed again and reconverted. Just be sure to watch out for the deconversion message. It's easy to miss it in the middle of an intense brawl since it's in standard font.

Enhanced interrogation

Turns out torture really is the answer sometimes too, though it's not as efficient as brain-washing or violence. Activating an Electropack or electric chair on someone will, with near-certain success, decovert them from the revolutionary cause.

Really only practical for the Head of Security (who has electropacks in the Armory and helmets in equipment lockers), the Medical Director (who has electropacks in the animal lockers in the Monkey Pen), and the Research Director (who has one in their equipment locker for some reason). This takes much more effort than simply punching someone in the face or giving them a loyalty implant.

A Note about GuardBuddies

The Research Director don't bring much to the implanting chain. Instead, they bring something entirely different: GuardBuddies! These loyal, adorable robots, when set the ominously-named purge mode, will attempt to arrest everyone not wearing a Head of Staff ID.

And by everyone, we do mean, everyone, whether they're a revolutionary or not. Loyalty-implanted crew, Security Officers, random Monkeys--if it's not a Head, they get tasers/flashes and handcuffs. Expect a lot of people shouting "GUARDBUDDIES ROGUE" if they're set to purge. Use with caution, obviously.