Darkspawn

EXTRATERRESTRIAL STAFF
Darkspawn	Access: Wherever your job has access to Additional Access: Anywhere you can break or sneak into Difficulty: Medium - High Supervisors: None Duties: Consume people's will and turn into a screamy-monster-thing Guides: This is the guide

Gamemode in rotation

Darkspawn begins disguised as a normal crewmember with the ability to reveal their true form. If they refuse to do so within 25 minutes, the Darkspawn will be forced to reveal themselves.

Before divulging, the Darkspawn will need to select one of three classes, Warlock, Fighter, or Scout. Selecting a class will grant access to the basic abilities of the class. If a class is not selected before 25 minute passes, one is selected at random before the forced reveal happens.

After divulging, the Darkspawn get access to the Psi web tab of the antag menu, as well as 6 starting willpower that can be used to purchase upgrades and abilities from the Psi web. To gain more willpower, using the Devour Will ability on a humanoid will grants 2 points the first time and 1 point for every following time.

The win-goal of the Darkspawn is to use the Devour Will ability on 5-25 unique individuals (scaling with population), and use the Sacrament ability.

If the darkspawns have neither died nor won by the 75 minute mark, an announcement will sound and it will trigger Gamma alert, this allows all players to freely join the fight to oppose the darkspawn.

Use .w to communicate with other Darkspawn.

The Sacrament

After devouring enough individuals, the Sacrament ability will be enabled. Upon using the sacrament ability, the Darkspawn is trapped in a 5x5 square and a global sound starts to alert the crew. After approximately 30 seconds the Darkspawn will turn into a progenitor and the emergency shuttle will be called with a 1 minute timer that cannot be recalled.

Progression abilities

A darkspawn that has selected a class will receive these abilities regardless of which class they have selected.

Name	Psi Cost	Description
Sacrament	0	After absorbing enough lucidity, form a psionic barrier and perform a lengthy ritual. Once complete, the caster will ascend and the Darkspawn will win the game. Once completed once, other Darkspawns can use this ability to ascend without needing to perform the ritual.
Devour Will	5	Puts a dark bead in the user's hand that they can use on a living human to drain willpower and lucidity after a brief cast time. Having the cast time interrupted will briefly disable the caster. Successfully devouring a human's will grants 2 willpower and 1 lucidity, as well as putting them to sleep for 30 seconds. Careful! taking damage will instantly wake them up. You can devour a target additional times after a lengthy wait, but will receive half as much willpower and no additional lucidity.
Restrain Body	5	A touch attack spell that applies handcuffs to the target after a short cast time.

Fighter

Stat Differences:

30% reduced brute damage
25% increased base darkness healing

Innate Abilities:

Icon	Name	Psi Cost	Description
	Umbral Tendril	0	Summons a sizeable mass of tendrils that are capable of permanently disabling the lights of anything struck by it. These tendrils can be improved by purchasing certain upgrades.

Pros:

Easy to learn
High durability
High kill potential

Cons:

Low skill ceiling
Can struggle to restrain crewmembers for devouring will
Can struggle to escape encounters

Tips:

Shadow crash can provide much needed mobility for closing on targets, and at only 1 willpower to unlock, it's always a decent first purchase.
Lightblind sigils provide immunity to flashes and flashbangs, depending on how coordinated the security team is, this can prove to be a vital upgrade.
Duality sigils are strong. Not only does you tendril's projectile attack now knock down, but it also pulls them closer, within attacking range. It also greatly increases your melee damage output.
Cleaving sigils provide considerable power if you're outnumbered, being able to attack several security members at once can be the difference between winning, and being overwhelmed.
Undying sigil grants the ability to revive if your corpse is left in the dark for long enough, this can make all the difference sometimes. Though it isn't uncommon to be immediately cremated if you don't have an ally to extract your corpse.

Scout

Stat Differences:

None

Innate Abilities:

Icon	Name	Psi Cost	Description
	Shadow Step	N/A	The scout is able to walk through solid objects and walls so long as the location is completely dark on all sides
	Light Eater	0	Summons a blade that is capable of permanently disabling the lights of anything struck by it.

Pros:

Easy to learn
Very high mobility
High synergy with other clases

Cons:

Low kill potential
Vulnerable

Tips:

Shadowwalk sigils provide unmatched mobility while in the dark, though at 3 willpower to unlock it might be worth leaving until you've drained a bit of extra willpower.
Traps have a fairly short cooldown and are permanent until they are triggered, so make sure to regularly place them in key choke points like maintenance airlocks.
Traps can't be stacked, but they're hard to see, and even harder while hidden in the dark. Allies don't trigger them, and can identify what a trap does by examining it.
The shadow caster can be used to shoot out lights from a distance, this also includes lights held by players.

Warlock

Stat differences:

Doubled Psi cap
Doubled Psi regeneration

Innate Abilities:

Name	Psi Cost	Description
Channeling Staff	0	Summons a staff that consumes psi to shoot projectiles. Starts out being roughly equivalent to a disabler. Can be improved with additional effects by purchasing certain upgrades.
Thrall Mind	100	A touch attack spell. Consume 1 willpower to thrall the mind of someone that recently had their will devoured. Can only thrall people up to the cap determined by the darkspawn team. Can also be used to revive dead thralls.
Release Thrall	0	Using this brings up a menu of all your thralls. Selecting one will release them from your control, allowing you to thrall additional people.
Panopticon	35	Places a reskinned camera console that shows all darkspawn and thralls as well as any eyes placed by a warlock or thralls.
Opticial	20	Places a reskinned camera that is used by the camera console. Also given to thralls.

Pros:

High skill ceiling
Global abilities
Ability to buff allies

Cons:

Difficult to learn
Can struggle to escape encounters
Can be caught unaware while using panopticon
Weak without allies to rely on

Tips:

Despite having lots of thrall based upgrades, warlock still has plenty of abilities to do damage directly like abyssal call, extract, or mind blast. Upgrading their staff can also make it apply debilitating effects to enemies hit by a projectile.
If you get thralls, give them any weapons you pick up. You don't need a stunbaton or cuffs to keep anyone down (Restrain Body), you can't shoot guns, and you probably don't have room to carry a spear. They can use all of these to bring you more prey.
Because the only tell that thralls have requires them to strip, plasmamen thralls effectively have no tells as no reasonable person should expect them to strip.
Thralls can be decoverted by removing the tumor in their head, however this will only work if the thrall is unconscious, as otherwise they will knockback anyone nearby when the removal is attempted.
Thralls are granted a version of Opticial that doesn't cost psi to use, this can allow them to spread your vision network while you sit safely in maints.
Stealing a handheld crew monitor can be valuable as if your thralls set their sensors to exact vitals (not tracking beacon), it can allow you to more accurately gauge who is in need of support at any given time.

Psi web Upgrades

Once divulged, the Psi web will become available through the antag menu. Spend willpower gained through devour will to purchase upgrades via the Psi web.

Offensive Abilities

Name	Classes	Willpower Cost	Psi Cost	Description
Shadow Crash	Fighter	1	20	Charge in a direction, knock back and briefly paralyze anyone you collide with.
Demented Outburst	Fighter	2	50	Deafens and confuses listeners after a five-second charge period, knocking away everyone nearby.
Incite	Fighter	2	15	Force everyone nearby to walk towards you, but disables your ability to attack for a time.
Duality Sigils	Fighter	4	N/A	Causes umbral tendrils ability to spawn tendrils in both hands if possible, empowering both.
Cleaving Sigils	Fighter	2	N/A	Causes umbral tendrils to cleave
Permafrost	Scout	3	65	Freezes the ground is a 7x7 area and extinguishes the user if they are on fire.
Shadow Caster	Scout	4	N/A	Twists an active arm into a bow that shoots arrows made of solid darkness.
Psi Trap (Damage)	Scout	2	35	Place a trap that deals damage to non-ally that crosses it.
Psi Trap (Restrain)	Scout	2	35	Place a trap that restrains the legs of any non-ally that crosses it.
Psi Trap (Nausea)	Scout	2	35	Place a trap that makes any non-ally that crosses it sick to their stomach.
Psi Trap (Teleport)	Scout	2	35	Place a trap that teleports any non-ally to a random location on the station.
Seize	Warlock	2	35	Restrain a target's mental faculties, preventing speech and actions of any kind for a moderate duration. Has reduced effect at range.
Confusion Sign	Warlock	1	N/A	Empower your staff with the ability to confuse any enemy shot.
Light Eater Sign	Warlock	2	N/A	Empower your staff with the ability to consume the light of anything shot.
Mass Hallucination	Warlock	2	30	Forces nearby enemies to experience hallucinations.
Mind Blast	Warlock	2	40	Focus your psionic energy into a blast that deals physical damage. Can also be projected from the minds of allies.
Extract	Warlock	2	10/s	Channel to drain a target's life force or bestow it to an ally.
Abyssal Call	Warlock	2	35	Call a tendril at a targeted location to grasp an enemy.
Void Beam	Warlock	3	100	After a short delay, fire a huge beam of void terrain across the entire station.
Null Burst	Warlock	3	100	After a short delay, create an explosion of void terrain at the targeted location.
Icy Veins	Warlock Scout	2	30	Instantly freezes the blood of nearby people, slowing them and rapidly chilling their body.

Utility Abilities

Name	Classes	Willpower Cost	Psi Cost	Description
Deluge	Fighter	2	25	Douses all nearby creatures with water, extinguishing them and protecting from fire.
Encroach	Fighter	2	5/s	Grants immunity to lightburn while active. Can be toggled on and off.
Time Dilation	Fighter	4	75	Greatly increases reaction times and action speed, and provides immunity to slowdown.
Indomitable	Fighter	2	5/s	Grants immunity to all CC effects, but locks the user into walking.
Void Jump	Scout	2	20	A short range targeted teleport.
Void Jaunt	Scout	3	70	Move through the veil for a time, avoiding mortal eyes and lights.
Blinding Miasma	Scout	3	35	Spews a cloud of smoke which will blind enemies and provide cover from light.
Efficiency Sign	Warlock	2	N/A	Optimize your staff to reduce the Psi cost to shoot.
Recovery Sign	Warlock	2	N/A	Empower your staff with the ability to heal allies shot.
Stifle Sign	Warlock	1	N/A	Empower your staff with the ability to extinguish the fire on allies shot.
Extinguish	Warlock	3	60	Extinguish all light around you.
Thrall Recovery	Warlock	1	50	Heals all thralls for an amount of brute and burn.
Thrall Envigorate	Warlock	1	50	Give all thralls a temporary movespeed bonus.
Elucidate	Warlock	2	100	Channel significant power through an ally, greatly healing them, cleansing all CC and providing a speed boost.
Null Charge	Warlock	3	200	Meddle with the powergrid via a functioning APC, causing a temporary stationwide power outage. Breaks the APC in the process.
Quantum Disruption	Warlock	3	80	Bend the laws of reality to allow free passage all through-out spacetime for a short duration.
Fray Self	Warlock	3	100	Attemps to split a piece of your psyche into a sentient copy of yourself that lasts until destroyed.
Umbral Trespass	All	2	30	Melds with a target's shadow, causing you to invisibly follow them.
Simulacrum	All	2	40	Creates an illusion that closely resembles you. The illusion will fight nearby enemies in your stead for 10 seconds.
Crawling Shadows	All	3	55	Assumes a shadowy form that can crawl through vents and squeeze through the cracks in doors.
Silver Tongue	All	2	60	When used near a communications console, allows you to forcefully transmit a message to Central Command, initiating a shuttle recall.

Passive Abilities

Name	Classes	Willpower Cost	Effect
Medical Sigil	All	1	Provides you with a medhud
X-Ray Sigil	All	3	Grants X-Ray vision
Psionic Reserve Sigils	All	2	Increases the psi cap by 100. Can be purchased an infinite number of times.
Vigor Sigils	Scout Fighter	2	Cuts stamina damage in half.
Mending Sigil	Scout Fighter	2	Increases darkness healing by 25%. Can be purchased an infinite number of times.
Lightward Sigil	Scout Fighter	2	Prevents taking damage in low light.
Stability Sigil	Scout Fighter	1	Prevents slipping.
Storm Sigil	Warlock Scout	2	Reduces ability cooldowns by 25%.
Lightblind Sigil	Fighter	1	Grants immunity to flashes.
Shadowskin Sigil	Fighter	2	Reduces light damage taken by 20%. Can be purchased an infinite number of times. Stacks Multiplicatively.
Callous Sigil	Fighter	2	Reduces brute damage taken by 20%. Can be purchased an infinite number of times. Stacks Multiplicatively.
Stifle Sigil	Fighter	2	Reduces burn damage taken by 15%. Can be purchased an infinite number of times. Stacks Multiplicatively.
Undying Sigil	Fighter	2	Grants the ability to revive if your corpse is left in the dark for some time.
Shadowwalk Sigils	Scout	3	Grants incredible speed while in the dark.
Psionic Relief Sigil	Warlock	2	Reduces the delay to regenerate psi by 5 seconds.
Psionic Recovery Sigil	Warlock	1	Doubles the speed at which psi regenerates. Can be Purchased an infinite number of times.
Control Sigil	Warlock	3	Allows for the control of two additional thralls.
Unity Sigil	Warlock	1	Allows your veil buffing spells to affect allied darkspawns too. Does not allow for self buffs.

General Tips

Get together, stay together! People will arm up and travel in groups to fight darkspawn, and one darkspawn is never strong enough to fight a coordinated security force with armory gear.
If you can wipe out security, you're in the clear for the rest of the round. All the more reason to be ready and in force when they come hunting. Of course, picking them off one by one would be ideal, but you can't always rely on them splitting up.
Incendiary weapons are your bane. Not only do you take additional damage from heat and burn, but fire glows dealing additional damage because of the light. This is especially bad if you're grouped up with friends, as the fire will spread among you: so, get a fire extinguisher before you divulge or purchase fire mitigation abilities afterwards.
Try to get maintenance access before you divulge. Hacking and class specific tools are good and all, but maintenance access means you can move through and between hideouts stealthily and under time pressure. If security is searching your maint, just run across the hall into the next one over!
Darkspawn don't have hearts and don't passively revive in the dark light Nightmares do. If they die, the only ways to revive them are cloning or revival surgery, both of which require a fairly heavy hold on medbay. Thrall Mind is helpful for this, too.
Knocking out lights all throughout the station can provide more space for a warlock to hide, and more space to roam for the scout.
Crawling shadows can be used to get around the station smoothly as it provides both vent crawling and the ability to pass through doors.
Encroach is good for safely passing through lit areas, making it far safer to enter a room and break the lights without taking damage. Can also be used to mitigate the light damage from fire if you're rushing to get a fire extinguisher.
Umbral trespass can be quite versatile. Can be used on thralls to get around the station quietly and "safely". Can be used on security to briefly escape a fight. Forces you out of the target if they enter the dark, good for espionage.
Silver tongue allows the darkspawn to recall the shuttle no matter what time it is at making this a very powerful ability especially if you start overwhelming the station.
Purchasing the medical sigil early can ensure that you don't accidentally kill people you're trying to capture.