Spider Queen: Midround Major Antagonist

src/SUMMARY.md

@@ -190,6 +190,7 @@ Space Station 14
 		- [Thief](en/space-station-14/round-flow/antagonists/thief.md)
 		- [Xenoborgs](en/space-station-14/round-flow/antagonists/Xenoborgs.md)
 		- [Pursuer](en/space-station-14/round-flow/antagonists/pursuer.md)
+ 		- [Spider Queen](en/space-station-14/round-flow/antagonists/spider-queen.md)	
 
 	- [Proposals]()
 		- [Cleanup Crew Gamemode](en/space-station-14/round-flow/proposals/cleanup-crew-gamemode.md)

src/en/space-station-14/round-flow/proposals/spider-queen.md

@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+# Spider Queen
+
+| Designers | Implemented | GitHub Links |
+|------------|-------------|--------------|
+| Shaddap1 | :x: No | [Design Doc PR](https://github.com/space-wizards/docs/pull/533) |
+
+## Overview
+A mid-round ghost-role major antagonist focused on stealth, ambush, brood expansion, and territorial control. The Spider Queen survives and grows by feeding, weaving webs, cocooning victims, spawning broodlings, and upgrading a wide range of mechanics. Crew counterplay centers on teamwork and environmental control.  I believe this design sticks to the central theme of a spider queen while operationalizing the best mechanics and attributes of other similar antagonists such as the Rat King and Dragon, and provides a new and interesting antagonist that will contribute meaningfully to roundflow.
+
+## Background
+The Spider Queen is inspired by a mix of xenomorph, dragon, and rat king. The design prioritizes stealth, strategy, and slow escalation rather than immediate overt crisis.  It is designed to be a sister-antag to the Rat King while featuring a more comprehensive scope and more diverse mechanics and playstyles.
+
+## Features to be added
+- Two new Team Antagonists, the Spider Queen and Broodling.
+- Spider Queen abiltiies and mechanics
+### Core Loop
+- The Spider Queen expands upon the existing spider infestation event. When the event triggers, there is a 25% chance that a Queen will spawn alongside ordinary spiders, similar to Rat Kings. Optionally, it could be called in by Spider-Clan ninjas when they hack the comms console.
+- Feed on animal protein (mice, roaches, pets, crew) to gain **biomass**.
+- Use biomass to produce **webbing** and **venom**, which drain biomass passively over time.
+- Weave webs and cocoon victims to store food and expand territory.
+- Feed on cocoons 2–3 times for biomass recovery.
+- Lay **broodling eggs** or upgraded **egg-sacs** (1 or 3 broodlings respectively).
+- Form hunting parties with broodlings to ambush isolated crew.
+- Can lay one expensive **Queen Egg**; if killed, this becomes a ghost-role spawn for a successor Spider Queen after a 30-second incubation delay if the egg is not destroyed.
+
+### Broodlings
+- Hatch from eggs after a short delay.
+- Defensive AI near Queen; aggressive toward crew.
+- Default AI similar to space carp but rat servant style commands could be implemented.
+- Ghost-role eligible, using the standard raffle system similar to dragon carp.
+- Broodlings are tankier and faster than space carp. A single crewmember can handle one, but a swarm requires a coordinated response.
+
+### Resources, Abilities, and Upgrades
+
+**Resources**
+- **Biomass** – primary resource; gained from feeding.
+- **Webbing** – converted from biomass; used for webs and cocoons.
+- **Venom** – converted from biomass; fuels venomous bites.
+
+**Queen Starting Abilities**
+- *Weave Webs*: Toggle; movement slowed, webs placed per tile; costs webbing. Biomass is not drained to replenish webbing while toggled off.
+- *Venom*: Toggle; bites inject venom; costs venom. Biomass is not drained to replenish venom while toggled off.
+- *Cocoon Target*: Do-after; wraps downed targets in a thick cocoon.
+- *Lay Egg / Egg-Sac*: Eggs hatch broodlings after an incubation delay.
+- *Feed on Cocoon*: Long do-after; yields extra biomass from cocooned victim and incentivizes the Queen to not gib players.
+- *Pry Door* and *Pull Mob*: Basic mobility and victim relocation (upgradable).
+
+**Queen Upgrades**
+- **Web Mutations** *(mutually exclusive)*  
+  - *Nanofilament Webbing*: Lower opacity, harder to see.  
+  - *Glycoprotein Recombination*: 10% chance to stick blunt/slash weapons, requiring them to be pulled out like knives thrown into walls.  
+  - *Keratin Composite Filament*: Web traversal inflicts pierce/slash damage like flesh kudzu.  
+- **Venom Mutations** *(mutually exclusive)*  
+  - *Caustic Glands*: Adds caustic damage.  
+  - *Aphasia Toxin*: Temporarily mutes victims.  
+  - *Virulent Neurotoxin*: Slows and briefly sleeps targets.  
+- **Other Upgrades**  
+  - *Egg-Sacs*: Eggs spawn 3 broodlings.  
+  - *Hunting Pounce*: Leap to target; stam-crit and disarm on hit. Long cooldown.  Similar to vulpakin pounce.  
+  - *Insulated Carapace*: Immune to electric shock. Essential for AI counterplay. Allows Queen to bite and break LV, MV, and HV cables.  
+  - *Armored Carapace*: Increases brute resistance.  
+  - *Chromatophores*: Camouflage or invisibility while stationary.  Custom shader would be dope.  
+  - *Enhanced Photoreceptors*: Night vision (planned system).  
+  - *Enhanced Hydraulics*: Faster door pry and mob pulling.  
+  - *Mass Scaling (Passive)*: Biomass spent increases Queen size (Small/Medium/Large), affecting sprite size, speed, and noise. Small queens move silently and can hide under tables. Larger Queens are louder and slower but tougher.
+
+### Resource Economy and Management
+- **Biomass**: Gained from animal kills; consumed by webbing and upgrades.  
+- **Webbing**: Regenerates by draining biomass; capped (~30 tiles).  
+- **Venom**: Regenerates by draining biomass; capped (~100).  
+
+**Placeholder Values**
+- Biomass cap: 100  
+  - Mouse/Roach: +10  
+  - Pet: +20  
+  - Cocoon Feed: +50  
+  - Ruptured Egg: +5  
+- Web cost: 1 tile (2 for low-opacity, 3 sticky, 4 thorny).  
+- Web regen: Every 3s → 2 biomass → +1 tile.  
+- Egg: 20 biomass; Egg-Sac: 40; Queen Egg: 90.  
+- Venom Bite: Normal 1/5 pool, Caustic/Mute 1/4, Paralytic 1/2.  
+- Venom regen: 5 biomass → +20% of pool.  
+
+All values are preliminary and will require testing.
+
+## Round resolution
+Crew victory occurs when all Spider Queens and eggs are destroyed.  
+Queen success is measured by survival and brood strength.  
+The end-round summary lists brood size, whether a Queen Egg was laid, and survival.
+
+## Game Design Rationale
+The Spider Queen adheres to SS14’s core design principles:
+- **Chaos**: Webs, cocoons, and brood interactions create unpredictable situations.  
+- **Seriously Silly**: Combines horror tension with getting to watch the clown being devoured by spiders.
+- **Dynamic Environment**: Webs and nests alter station condition.
+- **Player Interaction**: Encourages multi-department cooperation (Security, Engineering, Medical).  
+- **Player Agency**: Crew and Queen both retain counterplay choices, Queen gameplay requires extensive decision making, resource management, strategy, and skill expression.
+
+The design ensures escalation over time, promotes teamwork, and avoids “guaranteed chaos” by relying on player decisions rather than overly impactful abilities.   
+
+## Roundflow & Player Interaction
+**Early** – Hide, feed, and establish the first nest.  
+**Mid** – Hatch broodlings, expand territory, hunt, and purchase 1–2 upgrades.  
+**Late** – Multiple nests, large brood, several upgrades, Queen Egg laid, crew freaking out.  
+
+Departments involved:  
+- **Engineering**: Burns webs with welders, rebuilds maintenance.  
+- **Security**: Engages broodlings and Queens, escorts engineers.  
+- **Medical**: Treats toxins and rescues crew from cocoons.
+- **All Crew**: Potential snacks
+
+- A typical round might look like this:
+  - Spider queen spawns at around 20 minutes in
+  - Early phase
+  - Keeps to maints, trying to avoid detection from crew.  Tries to find an isolated and infrequently visited section of maintenance.
+  - Runs into a crewmember, should be able to crit them provided they are not well armed.
+  - Drags them to a safe location, webs them up in a cocoon, and feeds.
+  - Buys an upgrade, lays a few eggs, and weaves some webbing to protect them.
+  - A paramedic comes looking for the dead crew member at the behest of AI
+  - Spider Queen smartly hides, waiting for the paramedic to try to free the crew member from the cocoon or attack the eggs.  Lays webbing at escape routes before ambushing paramedic.
+  - Cocoons paramedic, but is likely outed on radio first.  Broodlings hatch.  Spider Queen quickly feeds on paramedic and departs for a new section of maintenance to hatch more broodlings
+  - Queen is well protected/upgraded enough to abduct station pets or unarmed crew members for additional biomass and upgrades.
+  - Mid phase
+  - Sec is actively searching for the Spider Queen
+  - Spider Queen balances staying mobile enough to evade direct confrontation with finding biomass sources, creating nests, hatching more broodlings, and buying upgrades
+  - Now strong enough to raid unprotected departments and flee back to maintenance
+  - Late phase
+  - Most of the crew is aware and responsive to the Spider Queen threat.  Easy victims are difficult to find.  Confrontation is necessary.
+  - Spider Queen assaults the medbay with her brood, seeking to drag victims into maintainance and leave her brood and webbing behind to fight and delay pursuit.
+  - Sec responds and dies and/or succeeds in dealing critical damage to the Queen
+  - The Spider Queen escapes with a victim, bleeding, with death immminent in the next few minutes
+  - She quickly cocoons her prey, feeds, and flees a bit further to lay a hidden Queen Egg.
+  - The Queen moves across the station, far away from the egg, to draw security away.
+  - The Queen is tracked down and killed, but the Queen Egg begins to hatch.
+  - The threat is lowered, but the station is still armed, and security will be searching maintenance for any more eggs and broodlings
+  - The new Spider Queen hatches and begins the process from the beginning, with the added threat of additional armed security patrols and more cautious victims
+  - She manages to feed from a few left over corpses and raises a small army but is found by security and killed.
+  - During the chaos of the past 20-40 minutes, syndicate agents, thieves, and other antagonists may have taken advantage of the chaos to accomplish their objectives.
+  - The disruption caused by the Spider Queen was major but not round-ending, demanding a coordinated crew response to resolve the crisis.
+
+Queens should rely on stealth and selective combat. They should not be able to solo a squad of security officers.
+
+## Administrative & Server Rule Impact (if applicable)
+- Goal is survival and expansion, not griefing.  
+- Prohibited: round-ending sabotage (singulo/tesla releases, mass plasma fires).  
+- Ghost roles use the standard raffle. A successor Queen should ideally go to a different player.  
+- Playtime requirement recommended due to mechanical complexity.
+
+## List of Sprites
+- **Spider Queen:**
+  - Small size 
+    - Alive, crit, dead
+  - Medium size 
+    - Alive, crit, dead
+  - Large size 
+    - Alive, crit, dead
+  - Probably needed eventually: Living animation for alive sprites
+  - Optional: Visual changes to alive sprites for certain upgrades: armored carapace, insulated carapace, camoflauge, etc.
+- **Broodling:**
+  - Alive, crit, dead
+  - Probably needed eventually: Living animation for alive sprites
+- **Eggs:**
+  - Broodling egg
+    - Alive, ruptured, OPTIONAL: hatching animation?
+  - Spider Queen egg
+    - Alive, ruptured, OPTIONAL: hatching animation?
+- **Webbing:**
+  - Monofilament webbing: lower opacity, thinner strands (harder to see)
+  - Sticky webbing: probably sort of goop visible on the web
+  - Thorn webbing: Spikes or spines visible on the web
+- **Icons:**
+  - Action bar icons
+  - Upgrade menu icons (can be same as action bar probably)
+  - Biomass resource icon (can borrow from changeling?)
+  - Webbing resource icon (can probably use existing spiderweb sprites, would be nice if it updated to purchased web upgrade)
+  - Venom resource icon
+
+# Technical Considerations
+- **New Systems**: WebTypeComponent, CocoonComponent, BroodLeashSystem, ResourcePools, QueenEggIncubatorSystem, QueenActions.  
+- **Reused Systems**: Spider content, knife-stick mechanic, flesh kudzu behavior, Vulpakin pounce.  
+- **Performance**: Broodling cap may be required.  
+- **UI**: Resource bars and simple upgrade menu (similar to uplink/grimoire).  
+- **Sprites**: See above list
+- **Audio**: Briefing audio, custom hisses/screeches, egg hatching noises.
+- **Testing**: Extensive playtests needed for web burn behavior, biomass balance, and venom regeneration.