New Chapter Idea: Infectious Despair
First time posting to the forums, and I wanted to grace it with what I hope is a pretty cool idea for a chapter. Feel free to critique it and give your thoughts on it. Enjoy.
Here is the next chapter for Dead by Daylight. Endure the agony of a steam-powered plague, with Infectious Despair. Enter the Heart of Gears. A marvel of science and engineering, the Heart of Gears was a large factory and energy plant that launched an industrial revolution. However, due to a devastating viral outbreak, it was converted into a quarantine and research laboratory to fight the disease, but to no avail. Countless lives were lost to the plague, and the Heart of Gears was abandoned, a curious relic that remains a historical mystery.
The new killer is The Crow. Bethany Ingrid was a brilliant scientist and engineer. Every day she made a new revelation and brought a new invention to her world. However, she was always looked down upon by her colleagues, her ideas referred to as radical and outlandish. Despite her label as a maverick, Bethany was firm in her convictions, and faced each of her trials with vigor. When a horrendous plague struck the country, she was reassigned as a researcher under the watchful eye of Dr. Samuel Owens, to help develop a cure to the disease. Bethany despised working under Owens, seeing him as a symbol of everyone that had wronged and ridiculed her. Owens was always opposed to Bethany's way of thinking, and even amid a plague would not listen to Bethany's theories and observations. Bethany created a new contraption that she felt would kickstart the development of the cure tenfold: The Da Vinci Box. It was a box that took the blood of deceased plague victims and filtered it, separating foreign substances from the blood. Her hope was to extract the virus from the blood and use it to create a cure. She was about to present her findings until she made a grim discovery: Owens was performing experiments on living victims, extracting their organs and turning them into twisted automatons. His ultimate goal was to create a group of humans immune to the plague, among other things, and eventually become an automaton himself. Bethany became enraged at Owens and his twisted experiment, lashing out at him. She managed to incapacitate him, impale his heart with a staff and stick the heart in her machine. As the machine ground up Owens' wicked heart, Bethany donned her scientist robes and a bird mask, and fled the country. Her experiences left her a bitter shell of a human, resentful of all those around her, and she lived out the rest of her life in solitude, with only her inventions to keep her company. As a dark fog enveloped her, she vowed to prove herself to the world, no matter what it took to make people listen.
The Crow's power is Bitter Blight. You are a shorter killer, have normal movement speed (115%) and have a smaller terror radius (24m) than normal. You have access to a plague doctor's cane to bludgeon survivors with, a satchel of flasks containing a debilitating disease and your prized invention, the Da Vinci Box. Whenever you injure a survivor with a basic attack, you apply a Blight Mark to that survivor, gain a Blight Mark of your own, and they suffer from a new status effect: Debilitated. While Debilitated, a survivor's repair speed is reduced by 12% for 60 seconds and they suffer other status effects that stack based on the number of Blight Marks they have accumulated. The repair speed penalty can be removed by healing to healthy, but survivors cannot remove Blight Marks by any means.
1st Blight Mark Applied: Survivors are afflicted with the Hemorrhage status effect
2nd Blight Mark Applied: Survivors are afflicted with the Blindness status effect
3rd Blight Mark Applied: Survivors are afflicted with the Deep Wound status effect
The Crow holds 6 flasks of a virulent fluid in her satchel that affect not only people but objects around her. Tap or press and hold the Power Button to throw a flask that breaks on contact with an object or survivor. Hitting a survivor with a flask applies the Hindered status effect (reduces movement speed by 20%) for a few seconds, and exacerbates existing Blight Marks, applying other status effects based on the number of Blight Marks on the survivor. Exacerbated status effects stack with each other.
1 Blight Mark: Survivors are afflicted with the Mangled status effect for 60 seconds
2 Blight Marks: Survivors are afflicted with the Oblivious status effect for 60 seconds
3 Blight Marks: Survivors are afflicted with the Exposed status effect for the duration of the Hindered status effect
Downing a survivor that has Blight Marks removes all Blight Marks on that survivor, and applies them to you. Hitting a window vault with a flask contaminates it for 20 seconds, forcing survivors to medium vault it and block the vault location. Hitting a pallet that is either upright or dropped with a flask causes it to become brittle for 20 seconds, breaking it as soon as it is dropped or vaulted by a survivor, however you still suffer from the stun effect if the pallet hits you. Flasks can be replenished one at a time by pressing the Active Ability button. Replenishing takes 2.5 seconds.
The Da Vinci Box grants The Crow newfound power when she accumulates infected blood. Upon collecting 6 Blight Marks from survivors, The Crow caws with fury and immediately enters a Rage, granting her 120% movement speed, and faster vaulting for 60 seconds. The Crow cannot gain any new Blight Marks while in her Rage, and her current Blight Marks are spent after her Rage ends.
The Crow comes with three teachable perks:
Tampered Machine
(To clarify, Accelerated Skill Checks have an increased chance of appearing for the 35 second duration. If you are using Overcharge alongside this perk, Tampered Machine does not affect Overcharge Skill Checks, and when breaking a generator, the Overcharge Skill Check occurs first.)
Misanthropy
(The speed boost from this perk can only be gained once, so being stunned a second time before the perk deactivates will not give you 10% increased movement speed, for example.)
Malpractice
(In case it's not completely clear, if a survivor recovers themselves from the Dying State with Unbreakable, this perk will reveal their aura as well.)
Common Add-Ons
Blighted Bird Beak: The beak of a crow that succumbed to the plague. Bethany studied it in hopes of finding a cure. Increases Debilitated duration by 20 seconds
Morocco Leather Gloves: Gloves that protect the user from contact with disease. They were previously engineering gloves. Decreases Flask reload time by 0.5 seconds
Polished Eyeglass: An old glass eyepiece polished to a perfect shine. Shows the arc of the Flask
Liquid Tar: A viscous substance used in some engineering projects. Bethany usually refuses to use it on account of it being "primitive". Increases Hindered effect duration by 1 second
Uncommon Add-Ons
Medical Syringe: A syringe that allows for easy transfer of various liquid substances. Decreases Flask reload time by 0.7 seconds
Travel Satchel: A decently sized satchel for transporting science tools and equipment. Start with 1 extra Flask. Increases Flask carrying capacity by 1
Taxidermal Beak: The beak of an eagle kept in pristine condition, a trinket from the times Bethany studied biology. Increases Debilitated duration by 30 seconds
Acid Formula: A formula sheet for a corrosive liquid written by Bethany. Causes a very severe burn. Debilitated survivors suffer from the Mangled status effect for 20 seconds longer when hit with a Flask
Noisemaker Diagram: Blueprints for a noise-making device drawn by Bethany. Causes hearing loss from prolonged exposure. Debilitated survivors suffer from the Oblivious status effect for 20 seconds longer when hit with a Flask
Rare Add-Ons
Ribbon Satchel: A satchel decorated with brightly colored ribbons. Although her colleagues described it as "tacky", it was Bethany's favorite satchel. Start with 2 extra Flasks. Increases Flask carrying capacity by 2
Specialized Glue: A very strong glue that is also waterproof. Bethany invented it herself and would use it extensively. Increases Hindered duration by 1.5 seconds
Repulsive Petri Dish: A petri dish that has not been cleaned in months. The virus contained in this dish seems to be especially resilient. Increases contamination time on Vaults and Pallets by 20 seconds
Razor Cane: A plague doctor's cane that can also be used as a weapon. Being struck by this cane causes gruesome wounds. Hitting a survivor with The Crow's Basic Attack when they have at least 1 Blight Mark applies the Broken status effect for 60 seconds
Severed Pig Head: A decaying pig head that has an overpowering smell. It reminds Bethany of all those that ridiculed her. The Crow's Rage grants 130% movement speed, but requires 3 extra Blight Marks. Reduces Rage duration by 15 seconds
Very Rare Add-Ons
Lavender Vial: A vial of translucent purple liquid. Despite its intended use as a way to keep away miasma, Bethany instead used it as a perfume. Debilitated survivors suffer from the Exhausted status effect for 30 seconds when hit with a Flask, but no longer suffer from the Exposed status effect when they have 3 Blight Marks
Arsenic Bottle: A bottle of liquid containing poison used to euthanize plague patients. Bethany has considered using it on healthy people more than once. Flasks can injure survivors, but The Crow does not gain Blight Marks by injuring survivors in this manner. Reduces Flask carrying capacity by 2
Shadow Hood: Although most plague researchers wore wide-brimmed hats, Bethany wore this hood in rebellion, uncaring about the symbol of profession. Wearing this grants Bethany a set of ingenious new tricks. The Crow starts the match with a 32m Terror Radius. Reduces Terror Radius by 4m for every Flask spent (6 Flasks = 32m, 0 Flasks = 8m)
Samuel's Heart: The still beating heart of Dr. Samuel Owens that Bethany tore out in a fit of rage. Hearing its beat fills Bethany with an indescribable fury. The Crow gains 2 Blight Marks when injuring a survivor with a Basic Attack, but Rage requires 3 extra Blight Marks
Ultra Rare Add-Ons
Margaret's Photo: A small photo of a colleague before she succumbed to the plague. Bethany keeps it in her satchel as a memento of the only person that didn't ridicule her, and gazing upon it keeps her calm. The Crow no longer gives any indication to survivors when her Rage is active, and Rage grants The Crow the Undetectable status effect for its duration
Iridescent Gear: A very shiny gear in mint condition since Bethany made it in the factory. Putting this gear in the Da Vinci Box makes it incredibly efficient. Flasks now apply Blight Marks to survivors, but can no longer contaminate Vaults or Pallets
The new survivor is Margaret Luna. Margaret Luna is a solitary astronomer who was always fascinated by what lay in the cosmos, by celestial bodies that made her life as an individual seem so small. As a shut-in, she would spend hours upon hours observing stars through her telescope, writing down her findings and mailing them to scientific groups to peer-review. Margaret's hesitation to leave her home was only worsened when a plague hit her country, and she grew more and more paranoid. When she received word that a colleague needed her assistance, she gathered her courage and went to help them. With her specialty in telescopes, she was able to help develop microscopes to aid in discovering a cure for the disease. Unfortunately, Margaret eventually fell ill with the disease, doomed to die in a cold bed. The last thing she felt as her eyes closed was the gloved hand of her colleague, who attempted to comfort her as she faded from consciousness. Margaret opened her eyes once more, finding herself in a terrifying realm, far from the familiarity of her home. Filled with a new determination, she began looking to the stars again, hoping to find her way back.
Margaret Luna comes with three teachable perks:
Look to the Stars
(This is just a simple aura reading perk. Having the Exit Gates revealed to you after all the generators are powered helps you know exactly where to run towards to escape, or as a reminder if you can't get to the Exit Gates right away.)
Distressed Sonata
(You start the trial with 1 token. Needing to stand still to use the perk's active ability prevents it from conflicting too much with other perks that use the active ability button. If you're also using Diversion, you won't use up a token if you're crouched when pressing the active ability button. If you're also using Any Means Necessary, you won't use up a token as long as you make sure you're near a pallet.)
Blessed Timepiece
(Essentially Leader, but for yourself each time you succeed a Great Skill Check. The perk displays tokens similar to We're Gonna Live Forever and Autodidact)
A dire situation can cause fear and paranoia, and bring out the worst in people. They become selfish, turn on each other, and cause an outbreak of despair. Experience bitter resentment and wrath with the Infectious Despair chapter.
And that's it. I'll update this post with original artwork when I have time. Thank you for leaving feedback!