Psycoactive drugs in D&D

[Da Pwnzlord]

Using Minor Creation, wouldn't it be possible to produce stuff like caffeine, marijuana, and morphine? Are there any books that relate the in-game effects of such drugs? I'm thinking that a fighter would love to get a massive temporary boost to Dex or whatever, and then have the ability score damage from regular usage repaired by Restoration. Has anyone done anything like this on thier game?

[lvl 1 sharnian]

The Book of Vile Darkness has drugs of that sort, as well as addiction rules

[HereticNox]

I thought ability damage recovers naturally. While ability drain does not.

Page 41 of BoVD

You would probably have to introduce a NPC, that deals in the drug trade. Depending on whether substances like these are legal, or widely available, will determine prices,etc.

All usually have a benefit, in addition to the penalty. An example is the equilvelant for marijuana. It does damage to wisdom, while providing a bonus to strength. The mechanics themselves, relying on fort saves for becoming addicted/overcoming an addiction, sets up for physical classes to partake in them.

You might have to tweak the mechanic, which I personally think should rely on Will rather than Fort but personal preference.

[Mando Knight]

Some of the rules for drugs are in the Unearthed Arcana rules for Sanity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/sanity.htm#drugsandSanity)... which further suggests looking into Lords of Darkness as well...

[Foryn Gilnith]

IMHO Mertoran Leaf is OP. +2 Cha for 1 hour for 10 gp? nerf lol

In all seriousness, BoVD is the primary drug source. The ones listed there are a bit bizarre, though. Sharn: City of Towers has more drugs, Sarlona might have one, Waterdeep: City of Splendor might have a few, Lords of Darkness has as much as BoVD (I lied: Lords of Darkness is the primary drug source. It has more).

[Mando Knight]

IMHO Mertoran Leaf is OP. +2 Cha for 1 hour for 10 gp? nerf lol

Plus, it's got a negligible addiction rate.

[Spiryt]

Why don't just give them to players and see how it affects they're roleplaying? It would be way better for roleplaying mental stats, although of course, something should be done with physical.




:smalltongue::smalltongue:

[Foryn Gilnith]

Of course, any drug with a benefit in exchange for ability damage is broken in half by binding Naberius the same way Hellfire Warlock is...

[Mordokai]

IMHO Mertoran Leaf is OP. +2 Cha for 1 hour for 10 gp? nerf lol

Is that from BoVD as well? I don't have the book on me at the moment, so I can't check.

[Spiryt]

Anyway, I remember that Fallout 2 and (to some extent) Fallout Tactics had some solid stats for drugs effect, intoxication, addiction.

It's different system and all, but stats ec aren't really very hard to "translate".

[Tehnar]

I think they made the penalities of withdrawal and addiction not severe enough in DnD rules. Fallout had the right idea, where becoming addicted was one of the worst things that could happen to your character. And for most drugs it was very hard to cure your addiction.

The problem with DnD is that any stat damage or drain, let alone penalty is easily cured. Working around that might provide a better system.

[Milskidasith]

You know, how addictive did they put for the equivalent to marijuana? If it's anything besides 0, they D&D writers really don't have any clue what they are writing about.

[The Glyphstone]

You know, how addictive did they put for the equivalent to marijuana? If it's anything besides 0, they D&D writers really don't have any clue what they are writing about.

Or maybe they did, but decided to 'up the ante', so to speak? Presenting the use of illegal drugs as having no permanent/long-term side effects whatsoever isn't quite on the level of rampant devil-worship, but it's still something they probably want(ed) to avoid, regardless of how accurate it would be for its real-world analogue.

[lsfreak]

There's also the issue of psychological addiction versus physical/chemical addiction. I'm pretty sure that I wasn't physically addicted to WoW, but that didn't stop me from putting in 12 hours a day on some weekends.

[Milskidasith]

Weed's pretty much completely nonaddictive psychologically and physically. I guess they could "up the ante" but then it wouldn't make sense to call it an analogue.

[awa]

keep in mind most of these "drugs" are giving stat boosts or other concrete benefits so i imagine that means their pretty powerful and a poor analogue to real world recreational drugs

[RS14]

keep in mind most of these "drugs" are giving stat boosts or other concrete benefits so i imagine that means their pretty powerful and a poor analogue to real world recreational drugs

Indeed. The most accurate way to roleplay a character under the influence of any drug, be it legal or illegal, is probably for the player to consume that substance themselves. While this might be amusing, it is a very poor idea. :smallamused:

[LaraIrene]

thanks for sharing..

Drug Rehab (http://www.soberrecovery.com)

[The Glyphstone]

Thanks for necro-ing a nearly year-old thread?:smallconfused:

http://angelicvoices.net/Thread_Necromancy.jpg

[Hague]

Indeed, I'm sure they got a warning.

Anyway, you can't play DnD while high on marijuana. It's just not fun. Things get mixed up, no one puts in the right amount of effort. It ends up being a big waste of time. Now, getting liquored up and playing? Might be interesting. Never tried it though.

As for drugs in the game, the ones that give some direct stat bonus should very well be extremely addictive. Just roll saving throws for the addictions like poison: one immediately and one after the effects wear off. Physically addictive drugs roll Fort while mentally addictive ones roll Will saves. Physically and mentally addictive drugs (different DCs even) require two rolls, meaning that if you fail both, you take twice as long to recover.

Addiction is treated as a disease, meaning that the longer you go without taking the drug, you take stat damage until you succeed at kicking (with concurrent saving throws) You can only make 1 of each kind of saving throw per disease resistance opportunity so being mentally and physically addicted takes longer to overcome. Addiction should come with its own penalty, so being high on a drug can mitigate the effects of the addiction, but you still won't be as effectual as if you weren't addicted. That is to say, the damage that the addiction 'disease' itself deals never heals without magical aid or by overcoming the 'disease.' It's in the DM's hands as to whether or not you can use Cure Disease to eliminate addiction. At the very most, it could cure physical addiction. A telepath might be able to manifest Psychic Chiurgery to eliminate mental addiction. Mind Blank could temporarily help you ignore the effects of mental addiction. These are all my personal thoughts on this matter; nothing concrete from published rules. Take them as you will.

Presumably, in a world of magic, I have little doubt that there would be magically addictive drugs that might require a Break Enchantment or Remove Curse spell.

[Serpentine]

Also, did they not read the bit where this is in a game?
:confused:

[Mystic Muse]

Also, did they not read the bit where this is in a game?
:confused:

I'm thinking that they didn't.

[Ravens_cry]

Presumably, in a world of magic, I have little doubt that there would be magically addictive drugs that might require a Break Enchantment or Remove Curse spell.
Indeed. People throughout history have liked messing with their brains to pleasurable, if temporary, results. If magic were real, I am sure one of the first spells invented would be a way to get right blitzed.

[The Tygre]

<_<
>_>
...

So what's your fix, man? Snakeweed? Demon Dust? Angel Tears? Necrocaps? We got it all man. And booze. In fact, mostly booze.

(Appendix A of the Complete Guide to Alcohol (http://gnba.netdemons.com/books/olik/NetBooks_Guides.html))

[Beorn080]

Technically, you could minor create plant matter, ingest it, then dismiss it after a couple minutes to keep the addiction down.

[Ravens_cry]

Technically, you could minor create plant matter, ingest it, then dismiss it after a couple minutes to keep the addiction down.
Addiction, I believe, comes from the drug affecting your brains balance of neurotransmitters. Removing a drug after or even during a high would not change that, I would think.

[Raging Gene Ray]

Technically, you could minor create plant matter, ingest it, then dismiss it after a couple minutes to keep the addiction down.

If Minor Creation can create any kind of plant matter...does that include rare and expensive drugs/poisons/reagents? What would it take to get the DM to allow that?

[Beorn080]

Addiction, I believe, comes from the drug affecting your brains balance of neurotransmitters. Removing a drug after or even during a high would not change that, I would think.

Yes, but if say Cocaine only affected the brain for 5 minutes, it would have a lesser impact then say letting it run its course through the kidneys. Not zero, but not full either.

As for DM approval, by raw, Minor Creation can create any plant product, so long as you have a sample of the base. Black Lotus Extract, have a vial on hand and make 15 cubic feet of it. Cocaine, have a coca leave. Opiates, a poppy seed. The only limitation is that it must be plant based, and you have a sample.

[Froogleyboy]

Anyway, you can't play DnD while high on marijuana. It's just not fun. Things get mixed up, no one puts in the right amount of effort. It ends up being a big waste of time.

That is a lie. Quite the opposite, really. But you start to laugh at the BBEG some times

[Ravens_cry]

Yes, but if say Cocaine only affected the brain for 5 minutes, it would have a lesser impact then say letting it run its course through the kidneys. Not zero, but not full either.

I don't see how it will really affect the addictiveness though. The high is what addicts you, all your doing is preventing any fat soluble component of the drug from entering your lipid cells (which may prevent relapses, but not the initial addiction) and any damage it does on the way through your system. Your neurotransmitters are still out of wack.


As for DM approval, by raw, Minor Creation can create any plant product, so long as you have a sample of the base. Black Lotus Extract, have a vial on hand and make 15 cubic feet of it. Cocaine, have a coca leave. Opiates, a poppy seed. The only limitation is that it must be plant based, and you have a sample.
Pathfinder has some OGL optional rules for drugs and addiction. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering---final/afflictions---final#TOC-Drugs-and-Addiction)

[Froogleyboy]

Oh, this reminds me of the time we met a group of elvish bards, Illusionists, and druids who were basically stoners. the bard sang beatles songs, the illusionist treated illusions like hallucinations, and the druid . . . grew plants. It was awesome! Hm . . . I just remembered they owed us a favor. We should call that in when we invade the kingdom