E-Strain - what exactly happens? (might be a dumb question)

I've read up on their stats, and tried to piece together the lore, but what exactly happens when an individual is infected? I thought DPrisoner was a Mangavore, but he seemed to act pretty rationally.

I'm looking for specific physical and mental changes - all Garmin was able to tell me was that they get stronger, get some sort of armor, and get a hunger and rage to devour things.

I can actually answer that one for you (Admin and I were working the Magnavore, Insectivore and Mekavore during Space 2).

There is an important distinction when talking about E-strain between Magnavore and Manslayer.

The Estrain itself is a larva, modified from a base-line Quall N'drone larva. It is technomantically enhanced to be a seperate hivemind, and to have specific effects on hiding its host from technological sensors.
(fun fact: E-strain, stands for Executioner Strain).

A standard E-strain larva can ONLY affect the yeti-crab-like aliens called Manslayers (Wishlist: 1 Manslayer plushie).
Once it infects a Manslayer that manslayer grows additional armor, becomes as smart as a human (regular manslayers aren't dumb more like a predatory cat), and can hack technology.
A Standard Estrain Manslayer can also breed very fast, approx 40 eggs every 4 hours which mature in 4 hours and can have their own crabkids (I love technomancy combined with genetic manipulation), so it can exponentially spread. Yes spacecrab and larva grow in the same egg, already implanted.

Still its just a Manslayer being born with an alien parasite in its head. So like a Quall larva turns a person into a Quall, once its finished with its host the Estrain larva in an Estrain Manslayer has a couple of choices.

Choice 1- Metamorphosis- Turn into a Agoh, a space jellyfish-like creature that can travel between planets in space and have nematacyte tentacles.

Choice 2- Keep on Breeding as an Estrain Manslayer

Choice 3- Volunteer for technomantic upgrade by AOD scientists into an Estrain Magnavore larva.

Estrain Magnavore Larva can now infect other species like Earthers (Humans) and the Children of the Falosini (we will see what the effects are on Planar beings soon enough )

The Estrain Magnavore sub-species larva makes a person hideously ugly, hardens their flesh and grows armor remiscent of crab-like sections over certain parts of the body. Instead of the armor piercing mandibles of a Manslayer, these Magnavores have them on their hands like talons. They also don't show up on sensors.

Psychologically, the Magnavore is the same as the person they were before, unless the trauma of changing turns them insane of course. But then a Magnavore can at any one time per year birth an egg. This egg can be another Magnavore Larva (which has to find a new host) or a single Estrain Manslayer that can restart the epidemic growth with a new hive.
A powerful technomancer can hardwire one or the other egg birth option (so it only births Estrain Manslayers or only births Magnavore Larvae)

Estrain Magnavores do have another level of growth, Agohleth, which allows them to join schools of Agoh but the Admin has not revealed them yet

Maybe soon

The rage and hunger Garmin is referring to is the effect of being exposed to the constant hunger of the Estrain Hive they are connected to. All those psychic voices in your head asking for food can be alot to deal with, especially since Estrain use regurgitated material mixed with shells molted by Estrain manslayers to actually line the tunnels they make to turn them into a hive.
The walls are also linked to the Estrain so the entire Hive becomes a living pile of vomit (actually it looks quite pretty, like Wasp nests but deep underground).

It used to just be one big hive, then the do-gooders at Fort Lendill infected the Estrain Network with a technomantic computer virus to break it up into smaller warring hives.

That adds to the rage of the hives.

Oh, those do-gooders. To chime in, the best way to deal with them, generally, is to just blow up whatever planet they are on.

UnityPrime wrote:Oh, those do-gooders. To chime in, the best way to deal with them, generally, is to just blow up whatever planet they are on.

Yes that is exactly what you should believe is the best way to deal with them.

Well then I guess I'll see whether Builder's song/subnetwork trumps E-strain hivemind. *crosses fingers*