Stinger (Confusing Venom)


 * Note that for easier wiki use, ID has its Class constructor appended to it. The ingame ID is Stinger with constructor="Confuse".

Stinger (Confusing Venom) is a physical mutation that grants the player a that delivers confusing venom on a successful attack.

The stinger functions as a Long Blade-class weapon, benefitting from any skills the player has within that tree. It has a flat 20% chance to attack in melee if it is not your primary weapon; if it is, it will attack 100% of the time, but will only apply it's venom 20% of the time. If the player uses the Charge or Lunge abilities, the stinger will always attack and always apply venom if it hits.

The stinger's damage and penetration are based on mutation level; however, the stinger is only able to penetrate a single time, regardless of circumstance.

This mutation grants the player the "Sting" ability, allowing the player to make an attack with their stinger that will always hit and penetrate, ignoring stats like your own Accuracy and PV, as well as the target's DV and AV. An attack made using this ability will always apply venom.

When venom is applied, the target will become confused for a number of rounds based on mutation level, acting semi-randomly until the effect wears off. Confusion also lowers the target's DV and MA. The target has a chance to make a Toughness save against the confusion, with the difficulty being based on mutation level. If this is successful, the target will "resist" the confusion. Creatures that lack a brain, such as robots and oozes, cannot be confused.

Formulas
The following formulas are used to determine penetration (rounded down), duration of confusion (rounded down), and save difficulty against confusion based on mutation level. Note that penetration cannot exceed 13, and the duration of confusion cannot exceed rounds. If the mutation level is less than 2, penetration is 7, and if it's less than 3, duration is rounds. Additionally, damage is not determined by a formula and instead is determined by meeting certain level thresholds.

Advantages

 * Grants a chance for a "free" attack each round in melee, assuming that the stinger is off cooldown
 * Confusion venom effectively neutralizes a given enemy for its duration, allowing for easier victories or safer getaways
 * Confused enemies are more susceptible to mental attacks
 * Synergizes extremely well with builds focused on making multiple attacks per round
 * Grants bonus reputation with arachnids, though not enough to make them neutral by default

Disadvantages

 * Moderate cost on character generation
 * Confusion venom has a much shorter duration than the Confusion mutation at equivalent levels, though multiple stings can theoretically keep a creature confused for longer
 * Confused creatures may wander away from combat, possibly making battles take longer