Fungal missionary NPCs

[redxlaser15]

I’m curious as to why anyone thinks that solid proof wouldn’t be believed. Of course, some people are just stubborn and/or stupid and don’t see the facts right before their eyes, but it seems like some of you are strangely adamant abo- gasp “Fungus! Sic ‘em mutant army!”
But in all seriousness, why are you so adamant about this?

[nameless_survivor]

Well as kevin mentioned, its not about the proof of the danger of the fungus itself, its about your social credibility to convince people that a particular person is infested and a threat. I just initially misunderstood what he was asking for.

People will probably believe you if you show up with physical or visual evidence of the dangers of the fungus itself. They see fungal zombies or a fungus patch, they would stay away from it or burn it. But convincing them that their neighbor is secretly a fungal infiltrator is something else entirely, especially if they aren’t running around openly preaching about the fungus or otherwise flaunting their fungus-ness.

[redxlaser15]

‘Flaunting their fungus-ness’ almost sounds like it’s starting to get rated M here. How would a fungus person work in that kind of case? Actually, I don’t wanna know.

Also why can’t you spike a drink with anti-fungal drugs to prove he is a fungus, but do it in such a way that can’t straight up blame you?
Just walk into the kitchen, sneakily plop a anti-fungal drug into the comunity pot (presumably there would be one or two large pots or whatnot to feed the whole group due to the End killing off so many) and walk away.
Of course, if you’ve been blabbering about them being a fungus for a long time then you would be rather suspect.

[Wayticus]

What makes you think they are meat puppets? If a player gets infected, some would say enhanced, by Mycus they do not loose free will. The animals/zombies that get infected do not really change their behavior, they just don’t attack others with the same infection, it is just a plant that spreads like any other plants, do you think weeds are hive minded because they spread, or real life mold is some sentient malignant entity?

Sounds like your understanding of the Mycus is more akin to what the Blob is, which does control the creature it infects

[redxlaser15]

Well I could easily just chalk that up to video game logic.

[nameless_survivor]

I figured most people would just become organic automatons, but that some would be allowed to keep their free will (mostly) because to the Mycus they are more useful as an independent agent…for the time being. The moment you have outlived your usefulness as a free agent, I suspect it would absorb you. And even as an independent agent, I suspect your mind has been subtly altered to be more receptive to the fungus. Once it gets its tendrils in your brain, you belong to it.

I always imagine the Mycus mind to be cold, calculating, & efficient, with a preference for tactics that are subtle & insidious. It plans for long term gain & growth, with a minimal expenditure of effort, and treats everything and everyone like a number on a spreadsheet.

[Wayticus]

Again that is what the Blob does, takes over.

There is no central Mycus no brain, no hive mind, you could maybe apply that logic to the Triffids, because they do actively attack things, but they are not really trying to spread by infecting things, the blob is a sentient mass, that is trying to spread.

The Mycus is just a type of plant, doing plant things, the spores spread the infection, not them attacking/abducting people/creatures to infect.

[redxlaser15]

Mycus willingly give you freedom with option of control
Player burns down fungal forest
Mycus doesn’t care
Like I said, video game logic.

[nameless_survivor]

Everyone and everything on earth is infected by the blob, but humans aren’t controlled, or even mutated, until they are dead, and even then as I understand it, the blob isn’t really controlling/directing or aware of zombies any more than you are with your skin cells.

Anyway, its up to @kevin.granade what the fungus really is, its his game. I’ve always just got a really sinister vibe off of the stuff, as described above.

[redxlaser15]

Personally, I’ve always gotten a ‘you are really annoying but I don’t actually care that much’ vibe about the fungus.
I’m fairly certain vibes arent usually that long, but eh.

[TheZoneWizard]

It depends on what device you want to implement. I was pointing out it is a possible way of accurate detection congruous of the topic of how.

Making a device in game isn’t a stretch. The game can be fudged with the idea. I mean. We do have death mobiles and power armor. So a pocket detector is a no go? lol

[nameless_survivor]

Not if you want it to make it into the base game it won’t. Kevin will usually nuke any idea that isn’t based on something that currently exists in reality, with every detail accounted for using cited sources, and all documentation notarized. Its his game, so we play by his rules. Unless you are making a mod.

[TheZoneWizard]

Hey Kevin. Care to comment about allowing this little nugget? You know it would take less than the technology to make power armor and it would wrap this avenue up reasonably.

Killer robots can shoot us. We can shoot back with laser guns. A pocket size mold detector hardly seems out of the realm of reason.

[nameless_survivor]

He already has:

FMS: Frequently Made Suggestions

“Seeing as we have nanobots and power armors…”, “We have teleportation, so it’s not unreasonable to have…”: Irrelevant This isn’t a suggestion, but an argument that comes up in support of suggestions or alterations to the game. It comes up constantly so I’m putting a note about it here. If you make this argument, you will not only not make the intended point, since the argument is nonsensical, but you will also damage your credibility with me personally, and I suspect with the other contribut…

[TheZoneWizard]

I find it amusing that the comment is illogical to a point of absurdity. Saying the correlation is “nonsensical” is the punch line. The argument comes up so often because it makes sense to assume that if people have a very high form of technology. That a lesser form of the same technology would be feasible.

Power Armor has air filtration and computerized sensors. Having a cell phone is even surpassing a mold detector which actually exists.

take a look at the Zefon Z lite kit and pump. Maybe not pocket sized. But seems it could be put in the game at least in a small tool box.

[Darkfirephoenix]

…I had posted a coment here… where did it go? Does a mod have to approve it? It was a rather long one and I didn’t save it somewhere else…

[TheZoneWizard]

Well, I can read this comment you just wrote. So…try again? Sucks if it is a long comment though. I hate when a site doesn’t work. I had the same thing happen 20 minutes ago on a different site. =/

Edit:

Nameless-
Don’t take my comments the wrong way mate. I’m trying to get your idea rounded so it fits into the game. I dig the idea. But it has to work in the context of the game. I’m interested in the idea working. I read over the arguing commentary. So I figured it would make sense to have a kit or a specific item for the job.

[Darkfirephoenix]

Nah, I think it said “waiting for moderator approval” when I posted it

[Mantar]

It’s nonsensical because it’s basically saying “we put a man on the moon, so where’s my jetpack?” and expecting someone to hand you a jetpack. Power armor is high end experimental tech, and having one experimental tech does not justify popping another kind of experimental tech into existence. The argument could be used to justify adding every last bit of fictional tech that has ever been imagined to the game one piece at a time, which means it’s not a very useful argument.

That said, some kind of spore detector doesn’t sound too unreasonable to me.

[TheZoneWizard]

Power Armor is a closed cycle system item. Inside we would have computers in micro form controlling air filtration. Plus sensors that would work in conjunction within this system.

A mold sampling device would be more than reasonable, as this would be a precursor to the technology that makes power armor.

Reasonable since it actually exists. Just not cell phone small. But we could make it such in game…or not. In any event. The mycus idea could work if we have a more elaborate NPC system. I’m not sure how to get it to work before then.