Pharmaceuticals and Street Drugs

Injecting or ingesting a drug requires a Main Action. Some drugs require medical expertise to administer safely. The table gives the minimum Heal skill required to apply a drug, or “None” for those so user-friendly that anyone could shoot it up.

Some drugs inflict System Strain on use. If the total would exceed the user’s maximum System Strain they get no benefit from the chem but suffer any negative effects normally.

Some drugs grant bonuses or combat benefits. In the case that multiple drugs are taken at once, only the highest bonus applies

Chem	Cost	Min. Heal
Avalanche	$100	0
Boneshaker	$10	None
Chokeout	$50	None
Control-Delete	$25	None
Hellbender	$100	None
Lurch	$25	0
Madeleine	$100	None
Medical prescription	$20	None
Olympus	$100	0
Panacea	$200	1
Pillow	$10	0
Psycho	$10	None
Reset	$1,000@	None
Sand	$2	None
Trauma Patch	$50	None
Window	$200	1

@: This chem is rare enough to require a Contact or other connection to obtain it on the street.

Avalanche:

A somewhat pricey combat drug favored by shock troops and those first out of the trenches, Avalanche numbs sensations of pain or exhaustion for one hour, granting the user an effective +10 to their current hit points, even if it takes them above their maximum. This numbness tends to make it harder to notice serious harms, however, and the d12 roll for any Major Injury suffered while under its effects takes a -1 penalty.

Boneshaker:

A filthy mix of jailbroken corp industrial chems and amphetamine scrapings, Boneshaker is a popular combat drug among the most impoverished or savage street gangs. On application, the subject is filled with blind aggression, gaining a +2 Morale bonus and a +2 bonus to hit rolls, damage, and Shock. The recklessness induced by Boneshaker leaves them wide open, however, and all attacks against them add +2 to any Trauma Die rolls. Boneshaker lasts for one scene and adds 2 System Strain at the end of it.

Chokeout:

A chem that briefly induces severe swelling of the mucous membranes, Chokeout is odorless and tasteless, but must be consumed in food or drink and naturally degrades after twelve hours. A subject who consumes a dose of Chokeout must make a Physical save; on a failure, they are strangled to unconsciousness for an hour, waking up with one hit point at the end. On a success, they take 1d10 non-lethal damage as they struggle to breathe. On a natural saving throw of 1, the victim chokes to death.

Control-Delete:

A chemical that temporarily destroys a person’s ability to form long-term memories, Control-Delete must be ingested in food or drink. Toxin-filtering cyber can fend it off, but it otherwise grants no saving throw. Once affected, the target will continue to act normally, but anything that happens to them between then and their next sleep or unconsciousness will be completely forgotten by the time they awake.

Hellbender:

A watery black toxin that must be administered through food or direct injection, Hellbender causes the victim to convulse with bone-cracking force shortly after consumption. A dose of Hellbender has a distinct acrid taste, but if the victim consumes it they must make a Physical saving throw or begin convulsing helplessly for 1d6 rounds, suffering 1d10 damage each round unless restrained by at least two associates. This damage can kill an unfortunate victim.

Lurch:

An emergency stimulant meant to shock a downed ally back into mobility, Lurch heals 1d10 damage plus the physician’s Heal skill on application, adding one System Strain to the target. Each dose of Lurch after the first each day increases the required Heal skill by one, so the third dose requires Heal-2 to successfully administer. Lurch only works on conscious and stabilized targets; the shock will kill a Mortally Wounded subject that hasn’t been made stable.

Madeleine:

A chem that intensely stimulates a subject’s memory centers, Madeleine has its dangers. Users normally focus on a particular memory before injecting the drug; for the next 1d6 hours, they relive some portion of that memory with perfect fidelity while remaining oblivious to their physical surroundings. Psychological addiction is a considerable risk for long-term users, as well as choosing a less pleasant memory to recall.

Medical Prescription:

One of a thousand different medical drugs, a prescription like this is often necessary to treat some chronic condition or keep a medical problem from growing worse. Corp employees get their drugs for a pittance, but less fortunate souls need to source their drugs from extortionate corp pharmacies or street docs. Lucky users only need a dose a few times a week, but others must have a daily supply or suffer potentially lethal complications.

Olympus:

A “respectable” combat chem used by certain units of corporate security, Olympus numbs pain, sharpens mental focus, and slows down instinctive panic or rush instincts, allowing a calm observation of the battlefield. Users can reroll their first failed Morale check in a fight and gain a +2 bonus to hit rolls. One dose of Olympus lasts for one scene, and adds one System Strain at its end.

Panacea:

Not so much a single drug as a pharmaceutical suite in a single injection system, this chem requires a skilled physician to adjust its mix. When used as part of a first aid attempt, this drug doubles the amount of hit points recovered by the attempt, with a minimum healing rate of 6 HP. Rumors of a drastically increased rate of bone cancers among regular users are, of course, mere slander against its manufacturer.

Pillow:

A powerful sedative that requires medical expertise to administer properly, Pillow must be injected into a restrained or helpless subject, as vigorous physical action can disrupt the effects. Once injected, the subject falls into a torpor indistinguishable from death that lasts for 24 hours. They require only trace amounts of oxygen while in their trance, and can be identified as alive only through careful medical examination. If Pillow is administered with less than a 24-hour gap between doses, the victim must make a Physical save or die sometime before the dose ends.

Psycho:

Ingesting one of these small pills rapidly flattens a user’s capacity for emotional distress while heavily increasing their aggressiveness. For roughly one hour, users gain a +2 bonus to Morale checks and experience no immediate emotional trauma from performing even the most heinous and violent actions. The drug is a favorite pre-fight dose among gangers, and used as self-medication among many of them who would otherwise be incapacitated by the emotional scars of what they’ve done.

Reset:

A rare drug of desperation, Reset is a combination injector patch and wireless cyber override key. When applied to a willing subject with at least one Body or Nerve cyber system, it deluges the user’s system with safety override commands and neurotransmitter stimulants. They lose all accumulated System Strain in excess of their permanent minimum. Five minutes later, their System Strain is maximized and they must make a Physical saving throw at a penalty equal to the number of System Strain they’ve gained since the drug was taken. On a success, they drop to 1 hit point. On a failure, they become Mortally Wounded. If their adjusted roll is 1 or less, they must make a second modified Physical save or instantly and unavoidably die. Using Reset more than once a week is invariably fatal.

Sand:

A gritty powder trafficked to those addicts too poor to afford anything better, a snorted dose of Sand will put its user into a euphoric haze for as long as an hour, depending on tolerance. Beautiful visions and dreamy contentment give way to shooting pains and intense light sensitivity afterwards, with most heavy users dying within six to twelve months of picking up the habit.

Trauma Patch:

A theoretically foolproof cocktail of coagulants, stimulants, and painkillers, a trauma patch can be applied to a Mortally Wounded ally to stabilize them on a successful Int or Dex/Heal skill check against difficulty 6, with a +1 difficulty penalty for each full round since the subject went down. The patch is useless after six rounds. Trauma patches cannot revive victims downed by poisons or diseases, or those dismembered by explosives or heavy weapons.

Window:

A neurobooster favored among hackers and knowledge workers, Window augments the user’s focus and mental reaction speed at the cost of distracting them from their terrestrial surroundings. A Window user can trade their Move action to gain a bonus Main Action that can only be used for cyberspace actions. Each time this is done in a scene, however, the user gains one System Strain. One dose lasts for one scene.