 November 12, 2009 - 12:03pm | Earlier this year in a PBP game I considered having my character get a shot of stim dose to justify his long active hours in game but discarded the idea as I thought the GM would disallow it saying, "Thats not how you use stim dose." It wasn't like it really was going to have an impact on the game as there didn't seem to be a penalty for not sleeping. I've been kicking around this idea for months now- allow characters (PC & NPC alike) to use stim dose in situations where they have to fore go sleep to stave off the effects of drosiness and remain active past their bed time. After all if the drug can wake the dead (so to speak) then why not this effect on a healthy body? The idea here is just to propose a new use for an old drug. Currently, according to the rules, Stim dose can restore 10 STA lost becasue of poison or disease and wake and unconscious or stunned character and if more than one dose is given in a 20 hour period the second is of no effect. Its really just a small thing to allow this extra capability, (maybe a bit of background fluff can be written to describe stim addiction- players recognize a NPC as suffering from stim addiction and bribe him with offer of a stim dose to get the info they desire from him) If for any reason a character has 3 or more shots of stim dose in a week (and for every subsequent dose in that week) they roll d100 to see if they become addicted the chance is 10% per shot of stim dose minus PER score (or 1/2 PER?) Results of stim addiction: must have a stim dose every day to just get going otherwise they are -5 STR and -5 RS otherwise if they do get their stim dose they have -5 Dex and +5 RS My resoning on those penalties is to try to simulate a character with low energy and pep without stim dose and kind of shaky or twitchy while on it. If a character goes 1 week (or 2 weeks) cold turkey from stim dose (suffering the above penalty the whole time) it works itself out of their system. There may be an option to go to rehab for 3 days and get their body flushed. Thouhgts? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 12, 2009 - 1:51pm | Jedion, some day I want to see the inside of your mind. Just a snapshot will do.  Tie these mechanics to an adventure and it's cool. I seem to remember Star Trek (Voyager I think) where the crew was up for weeks during an intense battle. Not sure I would use in general. |
November 12, 2009 - 8:50pm | Jedion, some day I want to see the inside of your mind. Just a snapshot will do. Tie these mechanics to an adventure and it's cool. I seem to remember Star Trek (Voyager I think) where the crew was up for weeks during an intense battle. Not sure I would use in general. for a snap shot of my mind you better start with strong brazillian coffee and lots of it. I didn't have a specific adventure idea but was sort of thinking this would be something that would go with a combat that required the PCs to be on the run or die. Sort of a scenario where you never give the PCs a chance to rest just as soon as they start to think they can rest and try to restock something else happens once the clock hits a certain point they can either suffer exhaustion penalties or use stim dose. But more than rail roading the PCs I just thought it would be good for story hooks and changing up some NPC encounters. I would very much consider using a street wise NPC contact that's hooked on stim but paranoid that the mega corps are out to get him so he doesn't sleep or something similar I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 13, 2009 - 11:43am | Coffee is the lifes blood that drives the dreams of champions. hehehe At least I got to scare an alien rabbit thingy...... |
 November 13, 2009 - 6:25pm | Yup. Same with us Army grunts too. The stories I could tell of sleep deprivation would... well... probably bore everyone to tears. :D The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of
the strong. * Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi |
 November 14, 2009 - 9:47am | Maxwell House Coffee is my stimdose.... "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
 November 17, 2009 - 12:05pm | Sounds like a couple good articles or optional rules -- effects of sleep deprivation and drug additction. I like the non-traditional use for a stimdose. Maybe play around and create a wide variety of other meds, too, as well as possible side effects. |
November 17, 2009 - 7:58pm | Yeh, I'd like to see what Jed comes up with. I think he just volunteered to do a SFman article At least I got to scare an alien rabbit thingy...... |
November 17, 2009 - 8:25pm | Maybe play around and create a wide variety of other meds, too, as well as possible side effects. There was a point in Terl's Obar Enterprises game where a couple of us considered using Staydose to incapacitate a... er... disruptive ... teammate. I have no idea how Terl would have ruled it should we have tried. IMHO, since Staydose keeps a near death character from dying, it most likely works on the autonomic nervous system to slow the heart rate, breathing, and other vital functions. So on a healthy character, it would likely induce a coma. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of
the strong. * Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi |
November 17, 2009 - 10:56pm | Yeh, I'd like to see what Jed comes up with. I think he just volunteered to do a SFman article What?!? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 18, 2009 - 5:01pm | Maybe play around and create a wide variety of other meds, too, as well as possible side effects. There was a point in Terl's Obar Enterprises game where a couple of us considered using Staydose to incapacitate a... er... disruptive ... teammate. I have no idea how Terl would have ruled it should we have tried. IMHO, since Staydose keeps a near death character from dying, it most likely works on the autonomic nervous system to slow the heart rate, breathing, and other vital functions. So on a healthy character, it would likely induce a coma. That's assuming Maria would've let ya....  "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
 November 18, 2009 - 5:50pm | Jedion, some day I want to see the inside of your mind. Just a snapshot will do. for a snap shot of my mind you better start with strong brazillian coffee and lots of it.  View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
November 20, 2009 - 10:57am | "I drink sixteen tons. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
 November 20, 2009 - 12:13pm | "I drink sixteen tons. Love it Gold is for the mistress-silver for the maid-copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade.But Iron-Cold Iron- is master of them all |
December 9, 2009 - 5:55pm | That's..... "I owe my soul to the local Starbucks' stowe!" :-) Nice one Will. |
December 12, 2009 - 8:34pm | To encorporate stim dose use into a campaign there would have to be penalties for not resting. I would guess the rule of thumb would be 5-6 hours in a 20hr day minimun. Failure to rest incurrs a temporary reduction of STA -5/ day without rest and a flat -5 INT & -5 LOG for any amount of time without rest. Stim dose can be used each day instead of resting but again only once per day so it wont work for its other uses if used for this use. Plus there is the risk of addiction. Situations to use it in: 1. to get that pesky 50 hour (5 light year) astrogation jump computed 2. a chase/being chased 3. Adventure where the PCs are on a derelick ship an have a desparate race to fix things going wrong with a timeline of new problems every so many hours. 4. a combat run in hours: PCs have a fire base type position and hordes of non shooting alien opponents keep swarming every so often- run combat in standard round but track the 10 minute turns or hours and have more mooks show every so many or according to a timeline. Rescue is coming but they need to hold out for 2-3 days New Drug: Roid dose (Sometimes called Rage dose) Cost 20cr. One dose confers a 20% bonus to a Battle rage attempt but carries a -5 STA penalty none curable to standard medic skill use instead it returns 20 hours latter. Multiple doses are possible but Roid dose must have been used for the initial attempt and a fresh dice roll must be made for each injection (no using the original dice result). Example: a yazerian marine and a yazerian pirate are facing off in melee with identical battle rage scores of 5%. The marine attempts to battle rage on his 5% and rolls a 15% FAIL! Even though he has a med inject device loaded with a dose of Roid since he can't use it now. The Pirate has a med inject device and a hypo spray both loaded with Roid; he injects the hypo for his initial Battle rage attempt he needs a 25% or less but gets a 36% using his body comp he triggers the med inject device and now needs a 45% and rolls a 12% ooooh to bad for the marine but the pirate starts the combat down by 10 STA so maybe the marine has a chance. I've been debating to make Roid dose usable by all other races but cut the bonus in half since their physiology was never suited to battle rage. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
June 10, 2010 - 4:37am | New drug idea Twitch- injectable that confers +20 to both RS/DEX however the effect fades by 2 pts every hour. It also acts as a slow poison where the duration is counted in hours instead of turns, thus: S2 D10 so that would be -2 points of stamina every hour for 10 hours - everyone knows that stimdose will counter act poison damage AFTER A DOSE OF ANTITOX IS GIVEN so that most people figure they can use antitox and stim if they get too low on STA. However antitox cancels all benefits from the drug and PC is at -5 to RS/DEX for remainder of the duration. If a character has been a heavy user the GM can simulate withdrawl and addiction effects by applying the standard wounded penalty for all actions by the character until they take a new dose or last d10 days to work it out of their system. taking the new dose wipes out the wound penalty for this (but not for real wounds) I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
June 12, 2010 - 12:49pm | Such drugs will need a customized addiction and withdrawal (A/W) rate. I say call the first drug "Rage Dose". "Roid Dose" seems too overt and kinda eyerolling. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
 June 13, 2010 - 4:52am | I really like this. One of the things that always felt missing from the game is recreational and performance-enhancing drugs (or how such roguish characters with paramedic-quality first-aid drugs would not abuse their stock). But then again, I felt the same way about Cyberpunk 2020 (such types of drugs was a staple in the Gibson books). |
