Sandbox:Sneakyranger

A technomancer is an antagonist whose abilities come from the core on their back and the wide variety of tools they can order before they on arrive the station. Technomancer is one of the more open-ended antagonists as far as gimmicks go, given the wide variety of playstyles at their disposal.

Technomancer General Information
To begin, you spawn in wearing a large black item on your back. This is a manipulation core, or "core", which is what lets you use all your fancy abilities. Don't lose it! You're (almost) powerless without it. You can purchase functions for your core using the catalog item which should spawn in your pocket. More on those later.

There are a few things you need to keep in mind as you use your core. Firstly, your core requires energy, which should be displayed as both an icon above your internals indicator and as a number in the "Spell Core" tab on the UI. The majority of functions require energy in order to work, and so it is important to keep an eye on how your core is doing. While all types of core regenerate energy on their own (some faster than others), you can also purchase functions that generate energy when doing a specific action. Again, more on functions later.

Secondly, using the powers of your core generates instability. Instability is a result of your highly-advanced core doing what it does, and given the aforementioned highly-advanced nature of the core it is poorly understood. What is understood is that instability is incredibly dangerous. Instability will grow and cling to you as you use more functions more often, with more powerful functions creating more instability per use. While the effects of instability are generally harmless at lower levels and have minor effects such as sparks or forced blinking, high levels of instability will have progressively more dangerous and deadly effects.

Your core will tell you your current level of instability, and instability levels can be viewed in the "Spell Core" tab, right below your core charge. Aside from that, you also have a visual indicator of instability: purplish lightning will appear around your character (or the characters of others) if instability is present. At high levels of instability, affected persons will begin to glow a dark purple - this effect spreads the instability and is highly dangerous - multiple glowing objects can create a dangerous feedback loop if not separated. As for how to get rid of it, you're in luck! Instability will go away on its own over time.

You should strive to keep your core secure. To help with this, each core comes with a locking mechanism that prevents forceful removal by a third party until it is unlocked by the wearer. Note that your core will automatically unlock if you die. Additionally, if you do die, there is an anti-tamper mechanism installed in your core as well. If an unauthorized individual picks up your core, it will discharge large amounts of instability in to them until it is put down again.

With that out of the way, it's almost time to get in to your catalog. A few things to note before you do:
 * A function can be thought of as a spell, that you use by activating the function then holding the pseudo-item in your hands and trying to use it on a target of your choice. This did replace the wizard game mode, after all.
 * Some functions can have their abilities enhanced by a special rod called the Scepter of Enhancement. If a function is able to be modified with it, it will be shown underneath the description of the function as Scepter Effect:.
 * Functions can also be boosted with the core itself. A function that is able to benefit from this will have 'Spell Power:' underneath. Different Cores have different amounts of spell power.
 * When a function refers to 'allies', it means you, your apprentices, currently controlled entities (with the Control function), and friendly simple-minded entities that you've summoned with the Scepter of Enhancement.
 * A meter is equal to one 'tile'.
 * You can refund functions, equipment items, and assistance items so long as you are in your base. After leaving, though, you can no longer refund anything. You can still buy things in your catalog if you still have points remaining. To refund functions, just click the 'Refund Functions' button on the top, when in the functions tabs. For equipment items, you need to hit it against the catalog.

Finally, before we delve in to the functions category, one last note of general information: you spawn in wearing chameleon clothing, which you can customize to any appearance you desire by right clicking on it and selecting "Change (Item) Appearance". Your core can also have its appearance changed in the same way.

Technomancer Equipment
Now that you're in your catalog, you've got a lot of tabs looking back at you, each with a wide variety of things in them. Let's start with equipment.

Cores
Your cores are the key to all of your abilities. There are a lot of options, so they're condensed down here.
 * Manipulation Core: You spawn with this one. It's only in the catalog so that in the event you change your mind and refund a different core you can get the default one back. The stats are as follows:
 * Energy Capacity: 10k
 * Energy Recharge Rate: 50/s
 * Instability Modifier: 80%
 * Energy Cost Modifier: 100%
 * Spell Power: 100%
 * Purchase Cost: 100


 * Rapid Core: This core has a faster power recharge rate, but a lower power capacity. It also makes you run slightly faster.
 * Energy Capacity: 7k
 * Energy Recharge Rate: 70/s
 * Instability Modifier: 90%
 * Energy Cost Modifier: 100%
 * Spell Power: 100%
 * Purchase Cost: 100


 * Bulky Core: This core is optimized for power capacity over recharge rate. You may want to consider getting some energy generating functions if you choose to use this one, and you should also note that it slows you down slightly.
 * Energy Capacity: 20k
 * Energy Recharge Rate: 25/s
 * Instability Modifier: 100%
 * Energy Cost Modifier: 100%
 * Spell Power: 140%
 * Purchase Cost: 100


 * Unstable Core: This core makes your instability increase faster in exchange for having other stats improved across the board. Interestingly, your energy recharge rate increases the higher your instability.
 * Energy Capacity: 13k
 * Energy Recharge Rate: 35/s to 110/s+
 * Instability Modifier: 130%
 * Energy Cost Modifier: 70%
 * Spell Power: 110%
 * Purchase Cost: 100


 * Recycling Core: This core has a 30% chance of refunding half the energy cost of an action any time energy is spent.
 * Energy Capacity: 12k
 * Energy Recharge Rate: 40/s
 * Instability Modifier: 60%
 * Energy Cost Modifier: 80%
 * Spell Power: 100%
 * Purchase Cost: 100


 * Summoning Core: This is the core to use if you want to summon a lot of creatures to do your bidding. The energy cost of maintaining summons is severely reduced and you can maintain up to 40 at once.
 * Energy Capacity: 8k
 * Energy Recharge Rate: 35/s
 * Instability Modifier: 120%
 * Energy Cost Modifier: 100%
 * Spell Power: 120%
 * Purchase Cost: 100


 * Safety Core: This core lowers your instability gain drastically in exchange for having fairly poor stats everywhere else.
 * Energy Capacity: 7k
 * Energy Recharge Rate: 30/s
 * Instability Modifier: 30%
 * Energy Cost Modifier: 100%
 * Spell Power: 70%
 * Purchase Cost: 100


 * Overcharged Core: Max spell power, max energy cost. Since every function costs twice as much, your energy capacity is effectively halved - though your functions are twice as effective, too.
 * Energy Capacity: 15k (effectively 7.5k)
 * Energy Recharge Rate: 40/s
 * Instability Modifier: 110%
 * Energy Cost Modifier: 200%
 * Spell Power: 175%
 * Purchase Cost: 100

Other Equipment
These items aren't as important as your core, but they're still very useful.
 * Hypo Belt
 * A medical belt designed to carry autoinjectors and other medical equipment. Comes with one of each hypo. Purchase Cost: 50.


 * Belt of Holding
 * This belt can both hold large items and more items in general. Almost essential for storage - your core doesn't function as a backpack! Purchase Cost: 50.


 * Thermoncle
 * A fancy monocle with a thermal optics lens installed. Allows you to see people through walls. Purchase cost: 150.


 * Night Vision Goggles
 * Exactly what it says on the tin. Useful for sneaking around in the dark. Purchase Cost: 50.


 * Omnisight Scanner
 * Think x-ray vision goggles and you get the picture. Very useful, but expensive. Purchase Cost: 300.


 * Medical HUD
 * A bog-standard medical HUD for monitoring the vitals of others. Purchase Cost: 25.


 * Scepter of Empowerment
 * This little staff modifies or enhances most of your core functions. To use it, you just have to hold it in one of your hands while you use a function. Purchase Cost: 200.


 * Spyglass
 * Look far ahead with this spyglass. Similar to binoculars, just minus one half. Purchase Cost: 100.


 * Boots of Speed
 * These boots both prevent you from slipping and make you run faster. Purchase Cost: 50.


 * Gloves of Regeneration
 * These gloves constantly feed a chemical blend into your system, greatly increasing your metabolism and therefore your healing rate. On the other hand, increasing your metabolism makes you get hungry faster, and putting the gloves on or taking them off hurts quite a bit due to their skin connection. Synthetic technomancers probably shouldn't bother, though these gloves are a bit more protective than some others. Purchase Cost: 50.


 * Personal Shield Projector
 * A personal shield generator. It can outright block lasers and it reduces the velocity of both bullets and close quarters attacks, lowering their damage significantly. The shield will block 75% of the damage from each hit, and removes energy from your core proportional to the amount of damage inflicted. Weapons with armor penetration have no effect on the shield. If your core runs out of power, the shield will deactivate. Purchase cost: 200.
 * Tesla Armor
 * This armor has a retaliation-based defense. After a moment of charging up, the armor will completely protect you from the next attack and strike the attacker with a bolt of lightning (if they are close enough). This effect requires fifteen seconds to recharge; if you are attacked during the recharging phase, a weaker bolt is sent out and the armor does not block the attack. Purchase Cost: 150.

Technomancer Functions
Now that we're done with equipment, it's time for the real meat of your loadout as a technomancer: functions. Remember that to use most functions you first activate it to get the hand item and then select a target with the hand item, like using a gun. If a function doesn't have a spell power effect or scepter effect listed, it doesn't have one.

Utility Functions
These functions are pretty diverse, but all functions within are bent towards doing something not covered by one of the other categories.
 * Abjuration
 * This ability attempts to send summoned or teleported entities or anomalies to the place from whence they came, or at least far away from the caster. Failing that, it may inhibit those entities in some form.
 * Purchase (25)


 * Apportation
 * This allows you to teleport objects into your hand, or to pull people towards you. If they're close enough, the function will grab them automatically.
 * Scepter Effect: Range is unlimited.
 * Purchase (25)


 * Audible Deception
 * Allows you to create a specific sound at a location of your choosing.
 * Scepter Effect: An extremely loud bike horn sound that costs large amount of energy and instability becomes available, which will deafen and stun all who are near the targeted tile, including yourself if unprotected.
 * Purchase (50)


 * Chroma
 * Creates light around you, or in a location of your choosing. You can choose what color the light is. This could be useful to trick someone into believing you're casting a different spell, or perhaps just for fun.
 * Purchase (25)


 * Condensation
 * This causes rapid formation of liquid at the target, causing floors to become wet, entities to be soaked, and fires to be extinguished. You can also fill contains with water if they are targeted directly.
 * Scepter Effect: Floors affected by condensation will also freeze.
 * Purchase (50)


 * Energy Siphon
 * This creates a link to a target that drains electricity, converts it to energy that the Core can use, then absorbs it. Every second, electricity is stolen until the link is broken by the target moving too far away, or having no **more energy left. Can drain from powercells, microbatteries, and other Cores. The beam created by the siphoning is harmful to touch.
 * Spell Power: Rate of siphoning is scaled up based on spell power.
 * Scepter Effect: Rate of siphoning is doubled.
 * Purchase (100)


 * Gambit
 * This function causes you to receive a random function, including those which you haven't purchased.
 * Spell Power: Makes certain rare functions possible to acquire via Gambit which cannot be obtained otherwise, if above 100%.
 * Scepter Effect: Instead of a purely random spell, it will give you a "random" spell.
 * Purchase (50)


 * Illusion
 * Allows you to create and control a holographic illusion, that can take the form of most object or entities.
 * Scepter Effect: Illusions will be made of hard light, allowing the interception of attacks, appearing more realistic.
 * Purchase (25)


 * Instability Tap
 * Creates a large sum of energy (5,000 at normal spell power), at the cost of a very large amount of instability afflicting you.
 * Spell Power: Amount of energy gained scaled with spell power.
 * Scepter Effect: 50% more energy gained, 20% less instability gained.
 * Purchase (100)


 * Mark
 * This function places a specific 'mark' beacon under you, which is used by the Recall function as a destination. Note that using Mark again will move the destination instead of creating a second destination, and only one **destination can exist, regardless of who casted Mark.
 * Purchase (25)


 * Recall
 * This function teleports you to where you placed a mark using the Mark function. Without the Mark function, this function is useless. Note that teleporting takes three seconds. Being incapacitated while teleporting will cancel it.
 * Scepter Effect: Recall takes two seconds instead of three.
 * Purchase (25)


 * Passwall
 * An uncommon function that allows the user to phase through matter (usually walls) in order to enter or exit a room. Be careful you don't pass into somewhere dangerous.
 * Scepter Effect: Cost per tile is halved.
 * Purchase (100)


 * Targeting Matrix
 * Automatically targets and fires a ranged weapon or function at a non-friendly target near a targeted tile. Each target assisted attack costs some energy and instability.
 * Purchase (50)


 * Track
 * Acts as directional guidance towards an object that belongs to you or your team. It can also point towards your allies. Wonderful if you're worried someone will steal your valuables, like a certain shiny Scepter...
 * Scepter Effect: You will be able to track most other entities in addition to your belongings and allies.
 * Purchase (25)


 * Darkness
 * Disrupts photons moving in a local area, causing darkness to shroud yourself or a position of your choosing.
 * Purchase (25)


 * Summon Creature
 * Teleports a specific creature from their current location in the universe to the targeted tile, after a delay. The creature summoned can be chosen by using the ability in your hand. Available creatures are; mice, crabs, parrots, bats, goats, cats, corgis, spiders, and space carp. The creatures take a few moments to be teleported to the targeted tile. Note that the creatures summoned are not inherently loyal to the technomancer, and that the creatures will be hurt slightly from being teleported to you.
 * Spell Power: The strength and endurance of the summoned creature will be greater.
 * Scepter Effect: Summoned entities will never harm their summoner.
 * Purchase (100)

Offensive Functions
These functions are all geared towards direct attacks.
 * Flame Tongue
 * Creates a miniaturized flamethrower in your hand. Acts as a welder and lights enemies on fire on contact.
 * Cost: 50


 * Radiance
 * Causes you to be very radiant, glowing brightly in visible light, thermal energy, and deadly ionizing radiation. Note that this WILL affect you.
 * Spell Power: Spell power increases the amount of radiation and heat radiated, as well as the radius.
 * Scepter Effect: Radiation will not affect the caster or their allies.
 * Cost: 100


 * Warp Strike
 * Teleports you next to your target, and attacks them with whatever is in your off-hand, spell or object.
 * Cost: 100


 * Fire Storm
 * This causes everyone within four meters of you to heat up, eventually burning to death if they remain for too long. This does not affect you or your allies. It also causes a large amount of fire to erupt around you, however the main threat is still the heating up.
 * Spell Power: Radius, heat rate, heat capacity, and amount of fires made increased.
 * Scepter Effect: Increased heat generation, more fires, and higher temperature cap.
 * Cost: 100


 * Electric Aura
 * Repeatedly electrocutes enemies within four meters of you, as well as nearby electronics.
 * Spell Power: Radius and damage scaled up.
 * Scepter Effect: Aura does twice as much damage
 * Cost: 100


 * Degen Aura
 * Destabilizes your enemies, breaking their elements down to their basic levels, slowly killing them from the inside. For each person within fourteen meters of you, they suffer 1% of their current health every second. Your allies are unharmed.
 * Spell Power: Radius is increased.
 * Cost: 150


 * Beam
 * Fires a laser at your target. Cheap, reliable.
 * Spell Power: Increases damage dealt.
 * Cost: 100


 * Force Missile
 * This fires a missile at your target. It's cheap to use, however the projectile itself moves and impacts in such a way that armor designed to protect from blunt force will mitigate this function as well.
 * Spell Power: Increases damage dealt.
 * Cost: 50


 * Ionic Bolt
 * Shoots a bolt of ion energy at the target. If it hits something, it will generally drain energy, corrupt electronics, or otherwise ruin complex machinery.
 * Cost: 50

prepare a strike. Lightning functions cannot miss due to distance.
 * Lightning Strike
 * This uses a hidden electrolaser, which creates a laser beam to ionize the enviroment, allowing for ideal conditions for a directed lightning strike to occur. The lightning is very strong, however it requires a few seconds to
 * Cost: 150


 * Overload
 * Fires a bolt of highly unstable energy, that does damaged equal to 0.3% of the technomancer's current reserve of energy. This energy pierces all known armor. Energy cost is equal to 10% of maximum core charge.
 * Spell Power: Increases damage dealt, up to a cap of 80 damage per shot.
 * Scepter Effect: Will do damage equal to 0.4% of current energy.
 * Cost: 100


 * Destabilize
 * Creates an unstable disturbance at the targeted tile, which will afflict anyone nearby with instability who remains nearby. This can affect you and your allies as well. The disturbance lasts for twenty seconds.
 * Cost: 100


 * Fire Blast
 * Causes a disturbance on a targeted tile. After two and a half seconds, it will explode in a small radius around it. Be sure to not be close to the disturbance yourself.
 * Cost: 175


 * Pulsar
 * Emits electronic pulses to destroy, disable, or otherwise harm devices and machines. Be sure to not hit yourself with this.
 * Cost: 100