Hiccups { Special Ability }

Special Disability: Hiccups

Ever since Helen (your Helen, the modern Helen) experimented on you to give you shape-shifting ability, you've had to deal with the side-effect of a nervous esophagus. Whenever you get stressed, you tend to hiccup. (And boy, are you stressy this week!) Unfortunately, every time you hiccup, you shape-shift -- that's how it works. Every time you hiccup, you transform from gerbil to human form, or back again. Each time you transform, switch to the appropriate (human or gerbil) button.

You have some control over the hiccups, but it's rough -- you can't do it on demand. Due to nervousness, you must hiccup at least once every 30 minutes, and you must wait at least ten minutes before doing so again. The only exception to this is story-based: if it would be particularly amusing for some reason, you may hiccup more frequently. You may also concentrate hard and spend one Point to make yourself hiccup at any time.

There's one additional problem with the transformation: your clothes don't come with you when you shift out of human form, they just land in a pile, and they are much too bulky to carry around when you are in gerbil form. This isn't a problem in your gerbil form, of course -- gerbils aren't prone to modesty. But it's really embarassing when you transform to human form and are naked. If you are in your pile of clothes when you transform, you can appear in human form fully dressed, but not otherwise. If you transform to human form without clothes around, you should put on your "Naked Man" button as well as your usual human-form button.

You have a set of clothes that you got from one of the wagons a couple of days ago, which you have been secreting in hidden places around the camp so you can transform into it.

Important: Your abilities in gerbil and human forms are completely unrelated. All of your gerbil-related abilities and disadvantages, such as Cute and Can't Carry, do not apply when you are in human form.

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Characters In Game: Artie

All Characters: Artie

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Historical Notes

The following are notes made while this was in development. They do not necessarily represent the current state of this ability.

Artie has persistent hiccups whenever he gets stressed, and he's pretty stressed at the moment. The problem is, whenever he hiccups, he transforms back and forth between his gerbil and human forms. He must hiccup at least once every 30 minutes, and must wait at least ten minute before doing so again unless it would be particularly amusing for him to do otherwise. Should note that his other special abilities only apply when he is in gerbil form.