The Photographer ego 📸 | A blinding Snapshot! ✨

[SkylarkHYP]

The Photographer ego 📸

An offensive powerup collection archetype that wields a grand arsenal of debuffs,
Capture your deepest thoughts with a blinding flash, and rack up immerse force with perfectly planned burst damage.

Original oil painting by SkylarkGSH via adobe photoshop

Lore: "I rested lazily at my window, drowsy, gazing at the world through the lens of my cherished camera with my dream journal at hand. My eyes gravitated to the center of the black eye positioned perfectly at my draining face, as the dream journal slipped out of my enfeebled hands onto the floor. And within a flash, I could feel the darkness of my life pooling out into the world around me, leaving me in a distorted abyss, but I grabbed tightly to the camera nestled in my hands, attempting to shoot at the optical abnormality before me.. The world was changing rapidly around me as both my mind and camera went haywire. Yet all I could think was "Did I leave the lens on the camera?" as I delved deeper into my subconscious

Viability: Hypnagonia is in serious need of a unique mechanic, and also lacks little-to-no burst damage. I'd also like to point out that most archetypes are lacking a synergy for half of their mechanics, and that would be: Dreamer debuffs besides doubt and confusion. Also, The Photographer should usually be paired with good defense archetypes like fearless or exploitation for people who want to achieve overall balance.

Key terms

Snapshot: When a card has snapshot, it will take a "photo" of a torment, which will add a lesser photo into your album that cannot be used for 1 turn.
Photo: A photo is stored in the album, photos can be gained from snapshots, rewards, or some NCEs, Photos are click/drag to activate cards that can add minor card effects, boost cards, or give permanent bonuses as long as they are kept. Photos are based of the NCE or Torment they are taken of, therefore they have an understanding-like effect, and are considered either concentrations or understandings. Photos are always readily available to use, and can be easily interchanged when needed, and adds secondary deckbuilding as a unique mechanic.
Album: Your album is like a secondary deck where you can store photos. Your album has a max capacity of 5. When you reach your max capacity, you may choose to swap or reject photos.
Montage and editing: Photos can also be edited, (enhanced or scarred), as well as Montaged (perma-Fused), to provide different effects at a special recurring encounter for the photographer called "Gallery".
Lesser Photo: Lesser photos are gained from snapshots, and provide minimal bonuses to the dreamer, lesser photos are usually easier to get and the main point is to gather duplicates and montage them in the Gallery encounter.
Basic photos: Basic photos are meant to almost be equal to common curious, or understandings, giving a moderate effect as well as being worthy candidates to be edited, as the dreamer is most likely to have around 2-6 basic photos per run.
Greater Photos: Greater photos are intended to be slightly better then rare cards and equal to rare curios, greater photos are only given on special occasions, or if 2 basic photos are fused together. The dreamer can only have a max of 3 greater photos in their album at all times.

Note: Greater photos usually depend on album space, which can be accomplished mostly by plushies

Photo fusion:
Basic: 2 lesser
Greater: 2 Basic = 4 Lesser

Btw, if you really like the ideas of photos, you could as it as a main mechanic if you wanted to.

Mechanics

New mechanics introduced:

Capture: The collection and removal of photos within your album. (cherished mini understandings)
Sentiment: The collection and removal of memories.
Frail: When a torment or dreamer is frail, they will take X more frail compr./anxiety for the next 1 unblocked stress/int./Envy

Secondary mechanics:

Cherish: Mostly centered around cherishing understandings as mementos
Shaken: Shaken and frail go hand in hand to limit huge perplexity torments whiles slowly piling up a grand finale if played correctly.
Envy: Envy is in serious need of more cards, and also acts as a double-edged sword with frail. Envy is bad when the dreamer is trying to stack up high frail, but also can add some decent perplexity removal for good frail burst.
Prominence: Prominence is a bit expensive for the photographer but is the lead activator to heavy interpretation when combined with frail, since prominence and frail both affect interpretation value.

Plushies (No we are not using that camera curio)

Note: Item names are prompts for koboldAI generated names.

Starting Plushy: Phote (A cherished photo)
At the start of your turn, a random understanding in your hand gains cherish.

Common plushies:

(External Hard Drive): Your album can hold 1 more photo, upon release, lose 1 max photo.
(Collage): Choose two photos, and montage them, if they aren't duplicates, count the second as a duplicate. If this plushy is released, splice them.
Clear filter: Whenever you take a snapshot, gain 20 confidence
Heat filter: Whenever you take a snapshot, deal 10 interpretation to all enemies
(Handheld mirror): Gain 5 envy at the start of the ordeal and apply 5 envy to all torments.
(Memory Card): Draft a random card (out of 4), gain 1 photo, and gain 1 memory, if any of them is released or swap, release all the others.
Picture frame: You may release 1 photo to gain a random memory
Photocopy: Duplicate a random Photo in your album, if your album would be full, montage it.
Sticker: Enhance a random photo in your album.

Rare plushies:

(Silly Lens): Whenever you apply shaken, apply 1 prominence
(Speedlight): Whenever you apply shaken, apply 1 more shaken
Polarizing filter: Whenever you take a snapshot apply -1 solidity to all torments
Gorgeous filter: Whenever you take a snapshot apply 5 envy to all torments
Laminated page: Choose 1 photo in your album and enhance it, it cannot be swapped or released,
GIMP: You can enhance photos during rest encounters

Boss plushies

(Thicker Binder): draw 1 less card at the start of your turn, your album can hold 5 more photos
Old Photo: Draft a random greater photo
Scrapbook: Your photos automatically montage every turn, your album can hold 5 more photos, you lose all photos at the end of an ordeal

Under Construction

Cards

Name	Cost	Type	Rarity	Effect
Trusty Camera	0	Understanding	Starter	Apply 1 shaken and Snapshot all torments, forget
Photo Shoot	1	Action	Common	Release 1 photo, deal 10 interpretation and apply 1 prominence
Quick Pic	0	Control	Common	Snapshot and apply 1 prominence to a random torment

Photos
Gallery

[db0]

Just a FYI, this is a incredibly difficult mechanic that you're describing. Making a new effect per torment? Oof. I would suggest you work on those as well