Inquisitor
Alert
Info
Control
Type
Power to Interrogate
Finds the Truth
As an actor, after arrival, you may use this power to hail a leader and ask them one question relevant to the match that can be answered with “yes” or “no.” That leader must answer your question honestly and are bound by their answer until the end of upkeep.
Legacy: During arrival, the invader must broadcast a question related to the match that can be answered with “yes” or “no.” The defender must honestly broadcast “yes” or “no” in response and are bound by their answer until the end of upkeep.
The Inquisitors act as agents of their righteous Cause, endlessly invading other planets in search of filthy heathens. Even if you expect their arrival, you won’t be rid of them until they get an answer out of you.
Actor: Arrival
Optional
Wild Flare
When you are commissioned, you may discharge this flare to force the commissioner to relay an encounter pod from their cache to you. If you sponsor that leader this encounter, that leader must prime the relayed pod during approach.
Rally: Bystander
Super Flare
When using your power, you may discharge this flare. Your question may take any form, as long as it is relevant to match.
Actor: Arrival
Modifications
- This alien received a reskin from its original name “Seeker” and original power of “truth.” I changed the name after finding difficulty visualizing what a “Seeker” would look like or represent, as “truth” is a difficult thing to draw. I liked the idea of an inquisitor who squeezes the truth out of another alien through forceful interrogation.
- The major difference between the original Seeker and my Inquisitor isn’t actually related to the power itself; it’s the implementation of my voice channel system. By utilizing the voice channel system, Inquisitor’s question will only be heard by the enemy leader and their sponsors, increasing the potential value of the information Inquisitor gains. It feels more intimate this way, like Inquisitor has engaged in a personal interrogation, especially when one-on-one.
- Inquisitor’s legacy gives the invader a chance to ask a “yes” or “no” question, only via broadcast instead of voice channel. This legacy works much more like the original power, giving everyone access to the same information from the question. Original Cosmic has no legacies.
Tips
- Inquisitor can act as a pseudo-Mind and probe the enemy’s cache for specific pods. Inquisitor’s power lets you be as specific or broad as you want in your question, as long as the answer is “yes” or “no.”
- When acting as a sponsor, Inquisitor can interrogate its own leader to gauge their actions. The power activates after arrival, so there’s no backing out after the interrogation.
- Inquisitor’s power doesn’t limit the use of conditionals. You can ask someone if they will cancel a negotiation if you negotiate this encounter.
- Your questions only apply for the current invasion. So if you ask “Will you prime a 40 pod?” and they say no, they may still prime a 40 pod during a later encounter.
- Be wary of Inquisitor if you have an optional power, as it means Inquisitor can compel you to either use it or not use it ahead of time. Don’t rely on the element of surprise to defeat this one.
- Inquisitor’s Super flare can be devastating in a skilled hand. “Will you play a 40 pod?” suddenly becomes “What pod will you play?” “Do you have a 40 pod?” becomes “What pods do you have in your cache right now?” If you obtain this flare, bring out your creative mind to maximize its potential. Note that the other player no longer has to answer with “yes” or “no”, but they do need to give a definitive, honest answer. “Maybe” is not an answer unless they don’t know it.
Development Notes
- Though Inquisitor’s power is very simple to understand, it represents just how the power combination in Cosmic can explode to make wildly new experiences. Not only does it allow Inquisitor’s power to gain specific future info on powers that not even Oracle can foresee (Will you equalize, Calculator? Will you bluff, Gambler? Will you sacrifice 3 or more of your ships, Kamikaze?), but the fact that the opponent is bound by their response allows Inquisitor to manipulate its opponents into doing things they otherwise wouldn’t. For instance, Inquisitor can ask Envy if they will take its pod. If they answer ‘no’, Inquisitor can freely play its 40 without concern. If they answer ‘yes’, Inquisitor can play a weak pod and force Envy to take it. This compelling part of the power can be difficult to wield, as the opponent always gets a choice no matter what. Asking Vacuum if they will suck up your ships if you win won’t do much for you if they say ‘yes.’
- The Super flare is a fantastic example of a power exploding into infinity, letting Inquisitor ask any one question. Factor in the compelling factor with other powers, and there’s no limit to how it can be utilized. How many ships will you sacrifice, Kamikaze? What two pods will you prime, Deuce?
- It’s important that Inquisitor’s power is restricted to the current invasion. Since the answer is given verbally, aliens would otherwise have to remember past information, which violates one of my design edicts.
- Inquisitor is one of the reasons Cosmic is so impossible to operate as a fully automated program with everything automatically calculated. There’s a huge difference between being able to ask any yes/no question and being able to ask one from a set pool, even if the pool is huge. Programming it can guarantee the question will be answered truthfully since the computer can tell you instead of the human. But the loss of freedom just isn’t worth it.
- I wanted to add the extra clause that makes the questions related to the match, to prevent weird immersion-breaking “out-of-universe” questions. Especially with the super flare letting them ask any question. This way people don’t have to cheat at Cosmic to avoid answering questions that might have real-world consequences.
- Since Inquisitor’s power can be used on either leader as a sponsor, it would be interesting if it activated before rally. But then the power would need to be “Leader or Bystander”, and I don’t think Inquisitor needs the buff.