Parasites

Parasites are a major troupe focused on jester-type gameplay and taking advantage of people's violent nature. They consist of a league of mind-altering parasites who force themselves into brains and guide them into death in order to propagate the infection further. Their ultimate goal is to infect the entire station, building a strong nest to spread further into space.

Parasites are not uniquely powerful or well-geared compared to the average member of the crew, but are rather poised in an interesting gameplay situation. They must goad others on the station into attacking and killing them, spreading their parasitic infection to others. However, as they spread, becoming known across the station, the crew must deescalate and prevent violence from taking over. The dynamic of the troupe lies in this balance; can the crew stop themselves from devolving into violence and death, even as the parasites slowly infect and turn them against each other.

The troupe itself is a bit of a boogeyman: once the infection starts to spread, there's no question that you're dealing with parasites. However, you have no way of knowing who has been infected and who is safe. When people start to turn on you, are they simply the infected trying to advance their parasitic goals or are they traitors or other miscellaneous crew trying to do their best?

Infection

Parasites react specifically to hormonal spikes produced by the brain in response to taking the life of another. In an uninfected host, this prompts the parasites to attempt to infect the killer and brainwash them, converting them into a parasite mask. For someone already harboring the parasite, the spike triggers a frenzy, notifying the host of their doom and slowly killing them as the parasite eats their brain.

While the specific form the parasite takes outside the body varies from mask to mask, they all share the general form of a small, weak, parasitic worm. Seeing these worms emerge from a body or just amble around the station serves as a strong indication of the troupe's presence on the station.

Once a parasite mask infects someone else, be it through some small pest or any other conversion method, the victim will gain the same mask as the one who infected them. This creates a general "presence" which serves to counteract the knowledge barrier and obscurity of conversions. If a single burstworm infects a crowd of people, more will be on the way and accounting for that becomes an important element of counteracting the troupe.

Death Expert

The parasites all share a handful of tools which allow them to better control their death. Since dying in an opportune location or near certain people is a key part of spreading the infection, it makes sense that parasites would have tools to do so without simply being at the whim of wounds and trauma.

When in critical condition, the parasite gains a few new actions:

• They can slow down the host's metabolism, prolonging their critical state
• They can speed up the host's metabolism, causing the host to die faster

The goal is that, depending on the needs of their mask, the parasite can manipulate their metabolism to die at the most opportune time.

Worm Domination

Once the parasites have infected the majority of the station, they have (effectively) won and enter their final phase. This serves as a narrative climax to the round rather than a gate to the troupe winning. The goal is really just to have a very visible and chaotic capstone to what could potentially be a very stealthy victory.

Before the end phase starts proper, all parasites will be given a 60-second notice ahead of time. Once the time is up, all parasite members, living or dead, will undergo a series of changes. Most obviously, a large parasite will burst out of the person's skull, effectively becoming their new head. This will be paired with a continuous surge of adrenaline and painkillers, turning the host's body into a near-unstoppable machine capable of powering through anything. Additionally, smaller worm parasites will start wriggling out of the host, landing on the floor and chasing those who are not already infected.

From here, it's just a matter of the last person standing. The parasites have succeeded, and all that's left is to feast on the few left who are uninfected and secure the station for their parasitic needs.