Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 fallen11 Mar 20, 2009 7:58:51	I need a bit helps for some drugs/narcotics for mi campaign. It is desert campaign. I want to give players some substances from "black market" which would improve some of their abilities or statistics when used regularly,but if they stop to use them(buy :p) they would suffer penalty,become more aggressive or similar. If you could share yours rules or ideas ?
#2 Larni Mar 20, 2009 8:22:22	I need a bit helps for some drugs/narcotics for mi campaign. It is desert campaign. I want to give players some substances from "black market" which would improve some of their abilities or statistics when used regularly,but if they stop to use them(buy :p) they would suffer penalty,become more aggressive or similar. If you could share yours rules or ideas ? I would give them a +1 or so on skill use. Give the drug a duration of round/encounter/till rest as you deem fit. Each each use extends the duration of the effect. Let them use it as many times as their Con bonus with no ill effects. If they go over that they loose the bonus and suffer a flat -1 to everything if they stop using. They need to keep using to stave off the flat -1. If they stay clean (accepting the -1 penalty) for a week that can make a fort/will save to dry out. Just in general, drugs won't make you better at anything apart from ignoring things that would distract you (pain, hunger, common sense, worry etc).
#3 evilkobra Mar 20, 2009 9:23:32	The beginning of my campaign had exactly that sort of premise - an exotic/desert setting where a whole nation's wealth came from drug exports. Later, the PCs have met characters throughout the world who had some sort of connection with it (e.g. a ship captain who made a fortune smuggling it into other ports, a wizard who needed it to fuel his research all-nighters, broken families...). I modelled the drugs as consumable items, let me dig them up for you...
#4 evilkobra Mar 20, 2009 9:28:23	Wyllflower Seeds Consume: Minor Action Effect: Spend one healing surge. Until the end of the encounter, gain +2 to all attacks, -2 to all defenses. Followup: During the next extended rest, roll Endurance (DC 18, +5 for each dose after the first). If unsuccessful, do not recover the healing surge(s) until the next extended rest, or until another dose is consumed. Wyllflower Extract Consume: Minor Action Effect: Spend one healing surge. Until the end of the encounter, gain +3 to all skill checks, -2 to all attacks. Followup: During the next extended rest, roll Endurance (DC 18, +5 for each dose after the first). If unsuccessful, do not recover the healing surge(s) and -1 to all defenses until the next extended rest, or until another dose is consumed.
#5 fragsie Mar 20, 2009 9:41:26	In case it's helpful, here is what the 3.0 rules had to say about drugs and addiction: Drug addiction functions much like diseases as described in the DMG. Upon initial exposure (anytime a character imbibes or applies a drug with an addiction rating), the character must succeed at a Fortitude save or become addicted, as shown below. Addiction proceeds like a disease—while addicted, the character takes ability score damage each day unless he succeeds at a Fortitude save against the given DC. Addiction Rating: Drugs are rated according to their addictive potential. For example, many popular stimulant drinks have a negligible addiction rating, but have addictive qualities all the same. Sometimes, an individual’s long-term addiction increases a drug’s addiction rating for that individual. Drugs with a negligible rating are not subject to this change. Stronger drugs increase their rating by one step for every two full months a character remains addicted to the drug. A character who recovers from an addiction and later becomes addicted again does so at the addiction rating the drug had just prior to his recovery. Satiation: Each time a user takes a drug to which he is addicted, he is satiated and staves off withdrawal symptoms for the given period of time. After the satiation period wears off, the DC of the Fortitude save to resist the effects of addiction increases by +5. The dose in which a character becomes addicted counts for satiation. For example, a character unfortunate enough to become addicted to devilweed (low addiction) on his first use of the drug must succeed at a Fortitude save every day or take 1d2 points of Wisdom damage. As long as he continues to smoke devilweed every 10 days, his saving throw DC is only 6. If he stops smoking devilweed for more than 10 days, the DC of the addiction saving throw increases to 11. If he starts using it again, the DC drops back to 6. Damage: Addiction deals the listed damage each day unless the character succeeds at a Fortitude saving throw or is satiated. Ability score damage is temporary, and characters naturally heal 1 point in each ability score per day. Recovery: If a character makes two successful saving throws in a row, he has fought off his addiction and recovers, taking no more damage. Of course, he can always become addicted again later by taking another dose of the drug and failing his Fortitude save to resist addiction.
#6 GelatinousOctahedron Mar 20, 2009 9:53:01	The main Eberron campaign setting book or one of the supplementary Eberron books also had sections on drugs. If I remember right some drugs would do things like let the wizard spells do an extra 1d6 damage 1/day or something similar, but had a chance of addiction/permanent damage and were fairly expensive. We had several campaign plots that revolved around finding and trading in the drugs, although none of our characters ever used them because they were not worth cost in gold or potential damage to the character.
#7 fallen11 Mar 20, 2009 15:18:59	Effect: Spend one healing surge. Until the end of the encounter, gain +2 to all attacks, -2 to all defenses. Followup: During the next extended rest, roll Endurance (DC 18, +5 for each dose after the first). If unsuccessful, do not recover the healing surge(s) until the next extended rest, or until another dose is consumed. ok,if I understand this correct,when party takes time to rest/sleep if they fail DC,they dont recover any health or what? What is that healing surge? I dont want drugs to be too expensive,so that they wont even consider them as option,but introduce them perhaps first cheaper,so that they get hooked on them,and later dealer would rise the price,hehe
#8 evilkobra Mar 20, 2009 17:13:27	ok,if I understand this correct,when party takes time to rest/sleep if they fail DC,they dont recover any health or what? What is that healing surge? They don't recover the healing surge they spent when taking the drug. They recover the rest normally. It's similar to hazardous environments: if you lose surges to extreme heat/cold/etc, you don't get them back when you rest if you're still in the desert/arctic/etc, though you do recover surges lost in combat.
#9 jimprofit Mar 20, 2009 18:10:42	Book of Vile Darkness did this well. Now mind you, I don't use drugs in my capaign so I just kind of skimmed through this, but here's an example. I'll try to convert it to 4th edition. Agony "Liquid Pain" Ingest this drug, the drug attack is 18 vs your fortitude defense. First effect: User is stunned for 1d4+1 rounds, and can only take partial actions for 1d6 minutes after that. Second effect: 1d4+1 enhancement bonus to charisma score for 1d10+50 minutes. Fluff: "Liquid Pain" is the ironic street name for "agony" which I guess is suppose to be ironic because this tiny liquid puts you into a euphoric state. Overdose: If more then one dose is taken within a 24 hour period, the user falls unconscience immideatly for 1d4 hours unless he makes a succesful saving throw of 18. Addiction: After taking this drug, the drug has an attack of 25 vs fortitude defense. If it overcomes your defense, you are now addicted. I could see just this drug alone being taken by warlocks or any other charisma based caster. It's the only thing keeping them from being total pricks, they only feel sociable and confident enough to use their powers when they're high as a kite.
#10 febo Mar 20, 2009 18:49:06	Malange This highly addictive, cinnamon-like spice enhances your ability to use your powers... at a price. Effect: If you take Malange before an extended rest, the following day any time you use your second wind, all of your spent Encounter and Daily Powers become available again, and you regain all of your day’s Healing Surges. Addiction: If, after taking Malange for one or more days, it is not taken before the next extended rest, you begin the day with only 1 healing surge, your Encounter Powers can be used only once per day, and only one Daily Power may be used each day. This effect lasts for the same number of days you had been taking Malange, or until you start taking Malange again. Long Term Use: If you use Malange continually for one week, the positive effective will linger in your system for one day before the negative withdrawal effects kick in. This lingering effect is cumulative, so if you use Malange continually for 10 weeks, the positive effects will linger to 10 days.
#11 fallen11 Mar 22, 2009 5:19:30	Nice,I like your ideas ;) what do you think about something,that would act similar as barbarian rage,perhaps a bit different? maybe instead of giving you temporary hit points you could continue to fight even if your hit points drops below 0 ?
#12 gregt_314 Mar 22, 2009 5:32:28	Forget mechanical effects. Do it by trickery. It's cleverer and it's better storytellilng. Player takes some drugs; tell them they feel faster, stronger, better. They make a check; don't fudge the dice at all, but if they pass, tell them that you're pretty impressed, and that they only passed because of the effect of the drugs. Later, when they've come down, and they bodge a roll, point out how they would have passed it if they'd been "under the influence". Again, no fudging the dice; you're letting them assume that you are fudging difficulties and whatnot behind the scenes, when you're not. Keep this up for a session or two; then when they're using, start describe it as "feeling normal" rather than feeling special. Stop telling them they're doing well because of the drugs. When they're down, tell them they feel terrible, and can't hit for crap. Four sessions in, start docking them healing surges when they wake from their extended rest if they haven't used in the last 24 hours. You're still not giving them bonuses for using; you're giving them penalties for not. Finally, start pretending they're taking penalties while using. "Boy, you would have hit that guy if you could just think straight. You got to get off the stuff, man." And again, when they try, you're docking them healing surges - more every day, until they wake with none, and if they perservere after that, maybe they can start beating their addiction. NOTE: All that is if, and only if, you want to make this a major theme or character sidestory of your game. Don't treat is a joke, or as just mechanics. If you don't want it completely dominating the play experience for at least one character, then don't offer the option - if drugs come up, just say, "No, heroes don't touch that stuff," or whatever comes across to you as suitably not-after-school-special for your game. Or, y'know, run Shadowrun or something that's anti-heroic fantasy rather than heroic fantasy. They've got whole subsystems designed specifically for this kind of thing, and it actually fits the setting.
#13 febo Mar 22, 2009 7:35:20	I like the idea of making the effects of drug all in the mind, of both the player and the character, but the problem is that in most groups players roll their own attack rolls, and would therefore easily figure out that their is no real mechanical effect going on. I suppose it would work well if it is your groups policy that the DM makes all dice rolls behind the screen -- or if the DM suddenly starts making dice rolls behind the screen just for the players whose characters are using drugs.
#14 fallen11 Mar 22, 2009 9:07:14	well,here players roll most of rolls,and I sure dont want to roll for them,since they would blame me If they died because of my weak rolls...and it wouldnt be fun...
#15 gregt_314 Mar 22, 2009 18:50:40	I like the idea of making the effects of drug all in the mind, of both the player and the character, but the problem is that in most groups players roll their own attack rolls, and would therefore easily figure out that their is no real mechanical effect going on. Well, we play with players rolling in the open, but the DM concealing enemy defences and DCs - player calls their roll, and the DM says "you hit!" or "you missed!" Clever players can of course work out the target values by comparing what hits to what doesn't, so as a DM doing this kind of manipulation you'll need to be careful when you "fudge" and when you don't; save it for when the player has an enemy all to himself, or is hitting a minion, or something like that.