Confusion

is a mental mutation that allows the player to confuse nearby enemies.

This mutation grants the "Confusion" activated ability, which when used, will prompt the player to pick a target tile. This will also display the effective area of the ability, which will be a cone shape originating from the player. The size and angle of this cone are determined by mutation level.

Any creatures caught within the cone of the ability will be inflicted with the status, penalizing their DV, MA, Willpower, Intelligence, and Ego by a mutation level-based amount. It will also cause them to move and act semi-randomly. This effect will last for a number of rounds as determined by mutation level. Creatures without a mind, such as oozes, robots, and plants, cannot be confused.

Using Confusion on a neutral creature does not count as a hostile action on it's own, and will not incite aggression from such creatures or their allies.

Formulas
The following formulas are used to determine mental penalty (rounded down), cone angle and length (rounded down), and duration of confusion (rounded down) based on mutation level. Note that the mental penalty cannot be any lower than -10.

Advantages

 * Causes affected creatures to lose control of their actions, making them vulnerable
 * Penalizes mental attributes, making creatures more susceptible to other mental abilities and attacks
 * Decent area of effect

Disadvantages

 * High cost at character creation
 * Relatively poor range
 * Relatively long cooldown