User:ThatsMamaLuigiToYouMario/Arcfiend

 hello dear reader, WIP here. 

One day, you wake up in your crew quarters after having a dream about some power-crazed psycho. Your hands glow and static electricity sparks out from them. You realize you're an Arcfiend, a being able to harness the station's electrical power to use for their own nefarious purposes.

Disguised as an ordinary crewmember, the Arcfiend uses the station's power supply, draining it from objects that use power and using it for powers such as discharging it at people, using it as a mode of transportation, and even stopping someone's heart. However, without power you are like any ordinary being, disguised amongst the crew as but yet an ordinary person. Think of yourself as similar to the Vampire, but instead of blood you gorge on the station's power supply.

Feeling Some Spark: Obtaining Your Powers

Power Accumulation

Of course, to use your abilities you're gonna need power and lots of it. You gain this mainly through your Sap Power ability which allows you to take power out of a machine and add it to your own energy supply, which is the top left number at the top. The speed of the sap is determined by the type of machine and its draw. APC's are the fastest, followed by high power machines such as SMES Units. Some machines use so little power that you can't drain from them at all such as chem dispensers, sleepers and the like. When activated and clicked on a machine of your choosing, a battery icon will appear over your head and many sparks will fly out of the machine that will make it obvious to others that you're draining the machine of its precious power supply. Draining from APC's is even more obvious, as the APC has a chance to break and turn off all electronics in an area. This APC will need to be repaired and will likely alert people there's an Arcfiend about if seen.

You also have the option to drain power from entities. NPC monkeys don't give any power, but player controlled monkeys, cyborgs and any human race (NPC or not) have a big ol' battery right inside their chest. When Sap Power is used on an entity next to you, you will preform the same actions as you would normally with a powered object, only this time you will proceed to do 5 BURN to the entity and gain 40 energy every few seconds or so as well as draining their stamina generously. This is best used when the target is already incapacitated by something else however, as your victim will still be able to run away if given a moment to do so.

Powers

You have a maximum of 2500 watts of power, enough to use your abilities as much as you want. When you try to cast Sap Power again on a machine, the battery animation and the sparks will still fly out but the machine in question won't lose any power and your power at the top won't go up. As for entities, your power still won't go over 2500 but you will still continue to deal damage to the entity in question.

The only way to lose power is to use your abilities. You can't, say, be wired to the station's power and used as a generator.

Icon	Name	Cooldown	Energy Cost	Description
	Sap Power	N/A	N/A	Sap an entity's or object's power to gain it for your own personal usage. Both you and the entity or object in question must stand still and not be interrupted in order for this to work. More power is obtained through using this on objects that use more power (i.e SMES Units, APC Units). For objects, you will proceed to drain the object until no power is left or if you reach your maximum power level. For entities, you will deal 5 BURN for every power drainage cycle (around 2 seconds) and gain their power until the entity in question dies.
	Discharge	15 seconds	25	You extend your hand out to a mob dealing around 30 BURN and disorienting them slightly for a few seconds, or extend your hand out to an airlock and instantly depowering it. Both powers can only be done within melee range.
	Flash	10 seconds	25	Releases a burst of energy around you in a 5x5 radius, disorienting anyone caught in this area for a few seconds when activated. Similar to the multitool's spark ability except on a much greater scale.
	Arc Flash	15 seconds	50	Unleash a ranged bolt of electricity that does 24 BURN and has the ability to chain to other targets in a short area for a little bit more then half of the damage, along with disorienting the targets draining a bit of stamina.
	Polarize	12 seconds	50	Unleash a wave of charged particles polarizing nearby mobs giving them magnetic auras similar to the Bio-Magnetic field random event. Either a Positive or Negative aura is chosen and then applied to all mobs in range unless if they have SMES Human or are Unionized. Casting this again before an aura ends will extend an auras duration but can not change its polarity, even if the polarity being applied to aura-less mobs was of the opposite polarity.
	Ride The Lightning	N/A	75	Expend energy to travel through electrical cables. It takes a few seconds to enter the cable but once you're in you can travel through any cable as long as it's connected to the one you're in. Cables as well do not need to be connected to a power source or be powered in order to be used. Energy is slowly expended when residing within a cable and is quickly consumed when moving. It is advised not to spam the button as doing so can result in a huge loss of power when over a line due to no cooldown.
	Jamming Field	2 minutes	150	You're radiating out electromagnetic waves and jamming nearby broadcasts for 30 seconds, meaning that no radio signals can come in or out to nearby headsets. Excellent for stealth takedowns of one target, as using this will render them unable to call for help. Note that you will emit a yellow-like aura when casting this ability meaning that someone might catch onto you emitting the signal.
	Jolt	2 minutes	500	Charge up and release a series of powerful jolts into your target that will do 5 BURN like your Sap Power ability. If given enough time, your victim's heart will stop working leaving them good as dead. Any actions taken by or against you will end the ability early. Can only be done within melee range.
N/A	SMES Human	Passive	N/A	Identical to the genetics trait of the same name. Be 40% more immune to stuns as well as not taking damage from other electrical attacks, i.e an enemy Arcfiend or an engine hotwire. Additionally prevents you from getting a bio-magnetic field from either other arcfiends or the random Bio-Magnetic event. This appears hidden and doesn't have the electric field looking sprite around your character unlike the normal SMES.

Being Ir-resistor-ble: Strategies as an Arcfiend

• Discharge is useful as an all-around tool, whether for one-on-one combat or making a quick escape and depowering a door to buy you a few precious seconds to run away. Mind you, activating this ability will activate a sound similar to a sound of high voltage shooting out, so this isn't recommended for a stealthy approach. Just remember that the attack only works within melee range, so you might need to get a bit cozy with someone you usually don't want to.
• Flash excellent for area denial when a large group is chasing you to buy you a few seconds. Doesn't do any damage in of itself so it is best paired with something else such as Arc Flash, which can hit multiple people at once and do a decent amount of damage.
• Arc Flash can be used as long as you have eyes on your victim, meaning it can go through doors and walls. Perhaps acquiring X-Ray from genetics or a pair of thermal goggles from the detective might be of use to you.
• Polarize is an excellent crowd control option, sucking in people with an opposite charge and repelling those with the same charge. Consider using Polarize around vending machines and glass tables, as these can do massive damage if someone falls into either of them.
• Ride the Lightning is an excellent maneuvering tool but it does come with its disadvantages, such as running into a wire's dead end. Scout out areas you plan on going into with a T-Ray Scanner or better yet, make your own escape routes by laying out additional wires onto the floor.
• Jamming field can be an excellent tool for one-on-one takedowns. This works especially well with a cornered security officer, as by doing this they'll be unable to call for help over radio and alert other officers of your presence.
• Jolt is a very powerful tool, but should only be used when your opponent is on the verge of being knocked out. Consult Being A Better Traitor and maybe Chemicals on how to incapacitate someone.
• Bring tools, especially a welder, screwdriver, and wirecutters. If you weld and bolt the door behind you, you can use Ride the Lightning in order to make a speedy getaway.

Pacifism Mode

Like the vampire, you are able to play arcfiend 100% passively if so desired. Obviously, you can do this by draining APC's on-station but if you wish to minimize as much impact to the station as possible, consider going to off-station areas that aren't used very often and have an ample supply of power such as the Space Diner or Mining Outpost. The Mining Outpost specifically has 4 dedicated SMES units which will provide you as much power as you need as long as you provide a way to get in. Just remember that you won't unlock any new powers when you reach a certain power level unlike the vampire.

Power to the People: Hunting an Arcfiend

Arcfiends are disguised as regular players and as such you might have a hard time finding out who's who much like vampires and changelings. While spotting one out in the open can be a bit difficult, there's some counters that can protect you from becoming toast. One of the strongest counters against Arcfiends is an ability that which they already have that all you have to do is call up your local geneticist. SMES Human counters all offensive powers used by the Arcfiend and deals no damage or disorientation if you possess said ability. This however may take some time to find and unlock completely, so if you confirm the presence of an Arcfiend and tell a geneticist about it, don't expect them to have the power up and ready to go in a few minutes.

There is however a small counter available to you on round-start. The unionizing trait will not only increase your paycheck by 150%, but will also counter the effects of the bio-magnetic field that both the Arcfiend and the Random Event can do. Mind you, this will cost 1 trait point, so you may need to remove another trait or have a negative trait alongside it.

As for searching for an Arcfiend, look for damaged APC's or areas which power is out, especially in isolated places such as in maintenance or off-station areas such as the space diner. Scan them for prints if you have access to a forensics device, as Arcfiends have no choice but to touch the object to sap power from. Additionally, there are some small signs a person may be Arcfiend such as not having a bio-magnetic field during the random bio-magnetic field event or taking a slight bit longer to stun. These two are not to be taken for fact however as they can usually be clocked up to drugs or whatnot.

In conclusion, despite all these wacky and zany powers, Arcfiends are at the end of the day still very human and still have the same weaknesses to fire, space, explosives, oxygen, crushers, bullets and lasers that you do.