Building Your Own

Although drugs are bad news, they are a prominent theme of the cyberpunk genre. It stands to reason that sooner or later, enterprising Referees (or players) may want to unleash their own biochemical horrors on the world. As any fan of Miami Vice (or a player who watches a lot of real life cop shows) can tell you, drugs are a great way to get people fired up on the streets with lots of automatic weapons; in short, the perfect "McGuffin" for a mean, nasty, lowlife adventure.

The drugs given here are only examples; it's a good idea for Referees to build any new ones before introducing them into gameplay. Drug building requires a Phormoceuticals Skill check against the DIFFICULTY of building the drug. To determine this value, you must first check the Effects Table below and choose what effects you want the drug to have. Add the total DIFFICULTY values together to arrive at a Base Difficulty for that drug.

EFFECTS TABLE
Diff	EFFECT
15	Increase REF by Strength of drug.
15	Increase INT by Strength of drug.
15	Increase CL by Strength of drug.
15	Enhanced Perception (+Strength to Awareness checks).
15	Increase healing rate 1 point per point of Strength.
15	Antidote (+1 to Save per Strength).
10	Increased Endurance (+Strength to Endurance checks).
10	Negate Pain Effects (+Strength to Stun Saves).
5	Depressant (-Strength to Awareness).
5	Euphoric (makes you feel good).
10	Hallucinogenic (makes you see things).
10	Reduce Stun (+Strength to Stun Saves).
5	Soporific (-Strength to Save vs. Sleep).
10	Aphrodesiac (-Strength to resist Seduction checks).
10	Contraceptive (male or female).
10	Antibiotic (+Strength to Saves vs. disease).

Strength

Strength is the power level of the drug. The higher the Strength of the drug, the greater it's plus or minus effect on the body. Drugs come in strengths from 1 to 3. Add the Strength of the Drug to its Base Difficulty.

Side Effects

You can buy down the cost of a drug by buying side effects. These are bad things that balance out the beneficial side of the drug (for example, if cocaine wasn't psychologically addictive and didn't cause delusions, it would be everything Sigmund Freud thought it would be). You may never buy a drug's Difficulty costs below 2.

Psychological Addiction (-8pts): The character is psychologically addicted, and must roll lower than his CL each hour following the last dose of the drug. On a failed roll, he suffers extreme anxiety, fear and depression; he become driven to find more of the drug and can do nothing else. Kicking the addiction is a VERY DIFFICULT Endurance check, and may take as long as the Referee decides is sufficient.

Physiological Addiction (-10pts): The character is physiologically addicted, and must roll lower than his BT each hour following the last dose of the drug. On a failed roll, he will suffer intense pain and take 2D6 in damage until he can kick the habit (a VERY DIFFICULT Endurance check, taking as long as the Referee decides is sufficient).

Death (-15pts): The drug has a fatal component that can kill the unawary. Each time the drug is taken, a Death Save must be made with a negative modifier equal to the drug's Strength number minus one.

Reduced REF (-5pts): The drug reduces REF at a rate of 1 point per dose for the duration of the dose. If a new dose is taken before the last has worn off, the REF penalty is cumulative.

Reduced INT (-5pts): The drug reduces INT at a rate of 1 point per dose for the duration of the dose. If a new dose is taken before the last has worn off, the INT penalty is cumulative.

Tremors (-2pts): The drug causes painful tremors in the hands, face (-2 to REF).

Hallucinations (-5pts): The drug causes hallucinations (colors, voices, strange shapes). The character is virtually unable to function normally If you buy this as a side effect for a hallucinogen, the character will always have a really bad trip that is totally at the Referee's sadistic discretion. You Have Been Warned.

Paranoia (-3pts): The character is subject to paranoic delusions; he thinks "they" are after him, etc. (although in Cyberpunk, this may not all be delusion). The character must drop everything and devote his actions to defending himself against "them". Who "they" are is, of course, up to the Referee.

Delusions (-5pts): The character is subject to strong delusions; he thinks untrue things are real, that aliens are talking to him, etc. The character must drop everything and devote all actions towards the maintenance of his delusion. Which, again, is up to the Referee.

Sterility (-8pts): The drug causes permanent sterility on a 3 in 10 chance.

Carcinogenic (-10pts): The drug causes cancer (3 in 10). If cancer is developed, the character will take 1 point of permanent damage unless a cure is effective (a VERY DIFFICULT Medical Tech check) or he dies.

Psychotic Rage (-10pts): The drug causes the character to fly into a psychotic rage, attacking anyone within range.

Aggressive Behavior (-12pts): The drug causes the character to become irritable and aggressive. On a 5 in 10 chance, he will pick a fight with the nearest person to him.

Irrational Fear (-12pts): The drug causes the character to become inordinately fearful of everything. He must drop everything and cower in near catatonia until the drug wears off.

Nerve Degeneration (-15pts): The drug causes severe nerve damage (-2 REF lost permanently).

Duration

Drug duration's vary from dose to dose, situation to situation. When a drug is taken, roll 1D6+1 to determine the total amount of time the drug will remain active in the system:

1D10+1 turns	x1
1D10+1 minutes	x2
1D10+1 hours	x3

Multiply the total DIFFICULTY (BASE + STRENGTH, minus SIDE EFFECTS) to determine the final Difficulty of creating the drug.

Cost

Per-dose cost is determined by multiplying the Difficulty level of the drug by 25 euro. Example: Sindementaphilinine has a Difficulty of 26. Its street cost would be 650eb per dose.