Alcoholism and RP. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Alcoholism and RP. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
RossMills
12-09-05, 10:18 AM Before, my character liked a few drinks, but wasn't silly at it.

Now, we've just had a kid killed because of us and I'm looking at it really affecting my character.

I'm not looking to dredge up horrible memories for people, but how should a character (in this case, a lvl 2 Changeling Bard) act if they turn to alcohol following a traumatic event?

I figured I'd be generally angry with the people I blame, and get angrier when drunk, although I don't want to detract from the flow of the game, or annoy other players and make them enjoy playing less.
TheGreenMan
12-09-05, 10:48 AM I think the mental issues in D20 Call of Cthulhu or it's reprinting in Unearthed Arcana might help you out. I thought I recalled a section on addiction in there. Could be wrong. Sounds like a interesting RP idea.
Vestigial_Thumb
12-09-05, 12:42 PM There are rules for addiction in BoVD which you can use. BoVD can be pretty handy if you disregard all the western civilization crap (Evil = Icky = Ugly = Insects), which is about 75% of the book.
deafbymetal
12-09-05, 03:58 PM Well, the best advice I can give you (speaking from experience) is start small. Alcoholics do not end up living in a gutter after their first drink. It's a long and painful process. Another thing to remember is alcohol is a depressant. Also, alcoholism is a disease (first classified in 1933, recognized by the AMA in 1954) and it affects all aspects of a persons (characters) life- emotional, physical, mental and spiritual.
An alcoholic character will begin drinking more, and drink more frequently. He will soon need to hide the amount of his drinking from his fellow adventurers, and make excuses for his actions. His drinking and his actions will seem completely normal to him, and he will justify those actions ("I drink when we travel because it relaxes me, and I don't want to freeze up if we get attacked." for example). It's only later when his body is physically craving alcohol that he will get the shakes, the DT's (Delirium Tremens- hallucinations, confusion, delusion, etc.), and assorted other ailments. Oddly enough, a person's spirituality is one of the first things affected- and if you're playing a cleric that is very bad news indeed.
One resource that is free can be found at most libraries- the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous. There are stories in the back, written by recovering alcoholics, that can give you a ton of ideas for your character. These people give great details about their actions and things they said that would not be hard to convert into a D&D character.
My suggestions are more for the roleplaying standpoint that a game mechanics perspective. For that see the other suggestions- Unearthed Arcana has a section about insanity (while the actions of an alcoholic are far from sane, legally and medically in the USA he is still considered to be sane), and the BoVD had a section on drugs, and their effects on a character (page 11 and Chapter 3)- but sadly, not many RP suggestions. Good luck, and have fun with it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
RossMills 12-09-05, 10:18 AM	Before, my character liked a few drinks, but wasn't silly at it. Now, we've just had a kid killed because of us and I'm looking at it really affecting my character. I'm not looking to dredge up horrible memories for people, but how should a character (in this case, a lvl 2 Changeling Bard) act if they turn to alcohol following a traumatic event? I figured I'd be generally angry with the people I blame, and get angrier when drunk, although I don't want to detract from the flow of the game, or annoy other players and make them enjoy playing less.
TheGreenMan 12-09-05, 10:48 AM	I think the mental issues in D20 Call of Cthulhu or it's reprinting in Unearthed Arcana might help you out. I thought I recalled a section on addiction in there. Could be wrong. Sounds like a interesting RP idea.
Vestigial_Thumb 12-09-05, 12:42 PM	There are rules for addiction in BoVD which you can use. BoVD can be pretty handy if you disregard all the western civilization crap (Evil = Icky = Ugly = Insects), which is about 75% of the book.
deafbymetal 12-09-05, 03:58 PM	Well, the best advice I can give you (speaking from experience) is start small. Alcoholics do not end up living in a gutter after their first drink. It's a long and painful process. Another thing to remember is alcohol is a depressant. Also, alcoholism is a disease (first classified in 1933, recognized by the AMA in 1954) and it affects all aspects of a persons (characters) life- emotional, physical, mental and spiritual. An alcoholic character will begin drinking more, and drink more frequently. He will soon need to hide the amount of his drinking from his fellow adventurers, and make excuses for his actions. His drinking and his actions will seem completely normal to him, and he will justify those actions ("I drink when we travel because it relaxes me, and I don't want to freeze up if we get attacked." for example). It's only later when his body is physically craving alcohol that he will get the shakes, the DT's (Delirium Tremens- hallucinations, confusion, delusion, etc.), and assorted other ailments. Oddly enough, a person's spirituality is one of the first things affected- and if you're playing a cleric that is very bad news indeed. One resource that is free can be found at most libraries- the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous. There are stories in the back, written by recovering alcoholics, that can give you a ton of ideas for your character. These people give great details about their actions and things they said that would not be hard to convert into a D&D character. My suggestions are more for the roleplaying standpoint that a game mechanics perspective. For that see the other suggestions- Unearthed Arcana has a section about insanity (while the actions of an alcoholic are far from sane, legally and medically in the USA he is still considered to be sane), and the BoVD had a section on drugs, and their effects on a character (page 11 and Chapter 3)- but sadly, not many RP suggestions. Good luck, and have fun with it.