Cannibal
This design document has been completely implemented into Ephemeral Space. All information here should be present in-game.
Name: Cannibal
Organization: Crew
Description: Consume the flesh of another to steal their secret identity for yourself.
Objectives: Eat someone's corpse to copy their secret identity and objective completion. Then, complete their objectives as normal.
(viscerally unnerving muffled chewing and squelching sounds)
Concept
The general function of the Cannibal is to be a "secret identity-copier". By eating a corpse, the Cannibal transforms their own secret identity into the targets, and has to deal with everything that entails. If a Cannibal succeeds at their new objectives, the original victim will count as succeeding as well.
Abilities
The Cannibal can use an action to consume a corpse, starting a doafter that on completion will take their secret identity as their own, including objective completion. The original victim will count as succeeding if the Cannibal succeeds. The corpse will be transformed into a cryohusk once eaten.
The Cannibal's ability does not work if anyone is within line of sight. If the corpse's objectives have already been completed, their corpse can not be eaten.
Gameplay
Identity-copiers introduce ambiguity into rounds by not guaranteeing that the gameplay of someone's secret identity will end even after they die. Furthermore, the condition that the victim succeeds if the Cannibal does introduces a strange win-win incentive that can lead to fun gameplay--perhaps someone's dying wish is to have their corpse eaten in order to continue their legacy.
Because the Cannibal copies objective completion, they want to be choosy in which secret identity they eat, and they have some incentive to delay their feast until it's more guaranteed that they can nab someone whose objectives will be easy. However, the longer they wait, the less it's guaranteed they'll be able to find a good secret identity to steal and the less time they'll have to complete someone's objectives if their target actually sucked at completing them the entire time.
If the Cannibal copies the secret identity of someone in a differing organization, they may find it difficult to justify why exactly they're there, providing some strange but fun ambiguity and potential "friends to enemies" situations.