Hemophage
This design document has been completely implemented into Ephemeral Space. All information here should be present in-game.
Name: Hemophage
Troupe: Parasite
Archetypes: Jester, Converter
Description: Spread your infested blood across the station to infect crew with your parasites.
Objectives: None.
Masquerade notes: N/A
Slurp my ssssssIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKkkkkkk bloood..... slurp it. slurpt it. sluirpt i.
This design technically works with simple blood puddles but I think is most enhanced through the presence of blood stains on clothing. It's just far more interesting to make it follow the actual wearer of clothing and it introduces an interesting cleanliness vector into the game.
Concept
The hemophage is a parasite mask that spreads the infection through blood puddles and blood-soaked clothing.
Abilities
When the hemophage dies, any sufficiently large amount of its blood on the station will manifest a huddle of worms for a short period. If someone comes into contact with these worms, they will burrow into the target and convert them to a parasite.
Gameplay
The hemophage's gameplay is largely centered on trying to set up an environment where its blood has meaningfully spread and can infect people upon its death. Since long-range weapons and lasers are not likely to leave blood stains on the attacker, it's most important to try and pick fights with people who will be forced to engage in melee combat. Additionally, since leaving blood puddles primes the hemophage for potential big conversions, they may want to try and draw out encounters so that they can create a sufficient region for infection.