Here is a short version of these rules to get the basics.
Drugs are a common currency and common recreation in the city. Some people need it as a way to cope with the hell that is their everyday lives, and some use it as a performance-enhancer. But everything has a price, and there are so many that pay with their lives.
As common as the murderers, thieves, rapists, and pimps are the drug-dealers and the drug-makers. The Families have a large corner of the market, but private Meth labs and Buffout pushers are far too common to be rid of, like a bad plague on the streets.
Before making any drug, you need to first find out how to make it, and then perfect the process. It is even more complicated than college chemistry, because instead of just going for a grade, you are putting your life on the line if you try to sell bad drugs.
The first step is to attain the specific formula for the drug itself and finding out exactly how to make it, or in the case of marijuana or other plant-based drugs, grow it properly. Some drugs become very, very complex. This requires a one-time, set number of paragraphs of RP to be performed to determine exactly the compounds used, whether it be the scientific name, the common name, or anything else, and how to properly distill, combust, titrate, filter, or ferment the drug out of it. This number can be found in the chart below. This can be reduced by half (1/2) if you already have a sample of the drug, like a dose of Mentats, or access to the formula from another PC (which they can certainly charge for). The dose of the drug is used up in this process and removed from your character sheet. Logs of this must be sent to NewRenoRPG@gmail.com if a GM is not present to monitor it. After this, the GM will add the formula to your character sheet (e.g., Mentats formula). Now, you have the capability of reproducing that process to make more of it.
Making a dose of the drug itself is sometimes a long, complicated process. Getting a joint of weed requires patient cultivation of the plants, making sure you're getting the right parts of the plant, and hell, even finding the right soil can be a difficult process. Mentats involve some titration with whatever glassware you can find.
And Jet? Well, don't even think about getting ahold of Jet's formula. The Mordinos keep their formula a careful secret, and garnering it from doses of Jet itself just doesn't get the formula right. And those few who manage to figure it out? Well, all the drugs in the world won't help the amount of pain they were in before they died.
To make a single dose of the drug, you must roleplay out that specific process. After you roleplay out half of the minimum number of paragraphs for making one dose, you then must make an Int/Level/Luck roll. If you get a 15+ on this roll, you successfully make one dose of the substance. If you get a Nat 19-20, the process went exceedingly well and efficiently, and you don't have to complete the second half of the paragraph requirements. A Nat 1-3 will always fail, and a Nat 1 means you poisoned and drugged yourself, with a chance for addiction (see Addiction below). If you succeed, you must finish the requisite paragraphs to receive the drug dose. If you fail, you do not need to finish the paragraphs. Naturally, this requires a GM to be present for you to roll. You can instead RP out the number of paragraphs required, send in the logs, and then have a GM monitor the roll when he/she has the chance.
You can additionally make it easier for yourself to make a dose of the drug, through careful processes or quality products.
Double paragraph requirement: +1 to the roll (max 3; e.g., 30 paragraphs for Pentazemin for a +2 to the roll).
Pay 25% of the cost of one dose: 75% of the requisite number of paragraphs, rounded up.
If you own a Drug Lab, you have all the basics for making a number of different drugs. For every 10 paragraphs of requirement, you only need to 9 paragraphs. This combines with other discounts (i.e., if you have a Drug Lab and if you pay 25% of the cost of one dose, you only need to do 65% of the requisite number of paragraphs, rounded up.
| Drug Name |
Formula Paragraph Requirement |
Dose Paragraph Requirement |
Overdose Frequency |
| Pentazemin |
4 |
5 |
6 |
| Exlax |
2 |
3 |
5 |
| Sleep Rite |
4 |
2 |
4 |
| Stim-Pack |
4 |
5 |
--- |
| Super Stim |
7 |
5 |
--- |
| Rad-X |
4 |
5 |
5 |
| Rad-A-Way |
5 |
4 |
5 |
| Tranquilizer |
5 |
4 |
6 |
| Buffout |
7 |
5 |
3 |
| Mentats |
7 |
5 |
4 |
| Chemical Pheromones |
5 |
5 |
--- |
| Jet |
--- |
--- |
3 |
| Psycho |
5 |
8 |
3 |
| Antidote |
10 |
20 |
--- |
| Venom |
10 |
20 |
--- |
| Spider Bite |
15 |
15 |
--- |
| Psychotoxin |
50 |
35 |
--- |
| Death Sentence |
100 |
75 |
--- |
| Crack/Cocaine |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| Heroin |
4 |
3 |
2 |
| PCP |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| Crystal Meth |
4 |
4 |
4 |
| LSD/Acid |
3 |
4 |
8 |
| Marijuana |
3 |
2 |
8 |
| Opium |
2 |
3 |
3 |
| Steroids |
3 |
3 |
8 |
| Shrooms |
2 |
2 |
3 |
| Morphine |
3 |
3 |
4 |
| Ecstacy |
3 |
3 |
2 |
| Pain Killers |
2 |
4 |
7 |
| Alcohol |
2 |
3 |
8 |
All common drugs (cocaine, heroin, PCP, crystal meth, LSD, marijuana, etc.) have a value of $100 per dose (these are hefty doses) for the purposes of selling. However, they can be "purchased" freeformly and have no real effect on game statistics, and smaller doses can be actually purchased for smaller costs.
For descriptions of each drug and a general idea of the effects and how they are made, go here: Individual Drug Descriptions
Overdosing
As with almost any drug, you can certainly overdose. It puts a strain on your body, and your heart might give out, your brain might start melting, or your muscles might simply give out and collapse you to the ground. If you take a certain number of doses within one day, you might just wind up dead in the gutter. After taking that many doses in one day's time, you must make a Stamina/Level/Luck roll. If you fail, you die. You simply die. The Shi can find you, pump your stomach, and resurrect you, but a life will be taken off your sheet. If you do not fail, each additional dose will force another Stamina/Level/Luck roll for this same end, with a cumulative -2 to the roll.
Addiction
Every drug has both a behavioral and a physical addiction. Behavioral addictions are the craving from strong reinforcement/punishment and associative properties. Physical addictions are where your body, its organs, and its cells become so dependent on the drug that it needs it to operate and function normally. Nicotine, for example, is highly addictive, but almost exclusively from the behavioral addiction. Cocaine, on the other hand, has a very strong physical addiction.
After a certain number of times using a drug, there is a chance you become addicted. This number of times is listed below. If a week goes by without using a dose of the drug, previous uses of the drug do not count towards this number. When you take the number of doses needed for addiction, you must make a Stamina/Level/Luck roll modified by a few things. You add on the addiction rating to the roll. Also, if you have taken a second dose within the past hour (the fourth and fifth time taking Marijuana, both in the same hour), you get an additional -2 per dose within the past hour that you've taken. If you make this roll, the number resets (another 5 times for Marijuana).
If you fail your addiction roll, you now are hooked on the drug. You need to take the drug just to feel normal. Every day, you must take 1 dose of the drug or take the pentalty listed in "Withdrawal Effects". This will be deducted from your sheet.
To get over an addiction, you need to roleplay through the withdrawal symptoms and through rehabilitation. The number of paragraphs depends on the difficulty of getting the drug out of your system. After completing the paragraphs, you must make a Stamina/Level/Luck roll. If you make it, you are free and clear of the drug. If not... well, you are still hooked, and must try again if you want to go straight edge. And, if you take a dose of the drug while in rehabilitation, you are set back at square one.
| Drug Name |
Number of Uses to Addiction |
Addiction Rating |
Withdrawal Effects |
Withdrawal Recovery |
| Mentats |
4 |
0 |
-1 to all rolls, -10 to Intelligence |
10 |
| Buffout |
2 |
-1 |
-1 to all rolls, -10 to Strength |
20 |
| Jet |
1 |
Immediate |
-4 to all rolls, -10 to Perception |
Antidote only |
| Psycho |
3 |
0 |
-2 to all rolls, -10 to Stamina |
15 |
| Crack/Cocaine |
1 |
-2 |
-3 to all rolls, -10 to Stamina |
40 |
| Marijuana |
5 |
+3 |
-1 to all rolls |
10 |
| LSD/Acid |
6 |
+3 |
-1 to all rolls, -10 to Perception |
20 |
| Heroin |
1 |
-2 |
-2 to all rolls |
30 |
| PCP |
3 |
0 |
-1 to all rolls |
25 |
| Crystal Meth |
3 |
0 |
-1 to all rolls, -10 to Agility |
25 |
| Opium |
2 |
-1 |
-2 to all rolls |
35 |
| Steroids |
6 |
+4 |
-1 to all rolls |
10 |
| Shrooms |
5 |
+2 |
-1 to all rolls, -10 to Perception |
20 |
| Morphine |
1 |
-3 |
-5 to all rolls, -10 to all stats |
40 |
| Ecstacy |
4 |
0 |
-1 to all rolls |
10 |
| Pain Killers |
5 |
+2 |
-1 to all rolls |
15 |
| Alcohol |
10 |
+3 |
-1 to all rolls, -10 to Intelligence |
20 |
Healing Powder
You can make Healing Powder out of Xander Root and a Broc Flower. It requires a small step more than just throwing the two ingredients together, and thus requires this specialization. It takes 5 paragraphs and an Int/Level/Luck roll to make the item, in a quest or in regular roleplay. If you fail the roll, the Xander Root and the Broc Flower are still used up.
