Re: [HOE] Browsers & such

["Kai Tave" <kaitave@harborside.com>]

As requested, one of my homebrew Junker powers.  This is a long one, just so
you know.  Copyright 2001-2002 me.



Chem

Associated Spirits: Tool
TN: 9
Required Components:
     Chemical: 50%
     Electronic: None
     Mechanical: None
     Structural: None
Drain: None

     From high-carbon steel to ultra-lightweight polymers to WD-40,
chemistry is as important to technology as any other science.  Chem allows
your junker to whip up all manner of chemical compounds, from simple
household cleaners to tailored drugs.  All it takes is a few simple steps,
and your waster can begin enjoying a better life through chemistry.

Puttin’ Things Together

     Before you get started, be aware that chem works slightly differently
than most other junker powers.  When putting a chemical formula together,
the total slot size you get is the cost for one helping of the chemical.
Note that this slot size doesn’t represent physical size, but the complexity
of the formula.  Chemicals can be made in batches like bullets; just
multiply the slot cost by the desired amount of doses, then find the minimum
Frame size that the batch’s slot size fits in.  This is the batch’s Frame
size.  Add this to the chem TN to determine the Target Number for that batch
of chemicals.  The structural components required for each Frame are used to
construct a distillery.  These distilleries can be reused to make additional
batches of chemicals as long as they aren’t any larger than the original
batch.  Note that Instability applies to the entire batch of chemicals
created.  If one dose of the chemical becomes unstable, so does the entire
batch.

Basic Chemistry

     The first thing chem can be used for is creating basic household
chemical products.  These include cleaning products, dyes, adhesives,
lubricants, insecticides, and so on.  These are fairly simple to create, and
have a slot cost of 4 slots per four ounces of product created.

The Good Stuff

     Chem can also be used to create a variety of performance-enhancing drug
s.  These drugs can pump up a brainer’s mind and body, but they can also
have dangerous side effects.  Some less-than-scrupulous junkers make a
living out of creating and selling these concoctions.
     To create a drug, you have to choose that drug’s characteristics from
the lists below.  Each characteristic can be taken multiple times, up to a
maximum of three times per characteristic.

Strength, Quickness, Deftness:
      +2 Bonus:     0.3 slots/level
      +1 Step:     0.5 slots/level

Cognition, Knowledge, Smarts:
      +2 Bonus:     0.5 slots/level
      +1 Step:     0.7 slots/level

Wound penalties:
      Ignore one level of wound penalties:  0.3 slots/level

    Next, you need to determine the delivery method, onset time, and
duration of the drug.  Onset time is linked to the delivery method; taking
the drug in an ingested form increases the onset time as the chemical has to
make its way through your body, while injecting the drug directly into your
bloodstream works much faster.  Injectors that hold a single dose of any
drug can be made for one structural and one mechanical component.  Larger
auto-injector systems can also be built into other devices.  These cost one
slot and one structural component for each dose of the drug to be stored,
plus two slots and two mechanical components for the delivery system and
switch.  The duration is simply how long the drug’s effects last in minutes.
All drugs must have a duration of at least one minute.

Delivery method:
      Ingestion (2d6 minutes):    0.1 slots
      Ingestion (1d6 minutes):    0.5 slots
      Injection: (2 rounds):    1 slot
      Injection: (1 round):    3 slots

Duration:
      Per minute:     0.5 slots

    Now that you’ve got all that stuff figured out, you have to see how
addictive your formula is.  All performance-enhancing drugs made with chem
are addictive to some degree, either physiologically or psychologically.
Corners can be cut, and drugs can be made cheaply and quickly, but such
creations tend to be highly addictive.  The side effects of such drugs can
be lessened, but doing so requires extra refining and attention.
    Each drug has an Addiction code comprised of two parts: a Target Number
and a severity.  Each time a waster takes a dose of the drug in question he
has to make a Spirit check against the Addiction TN of the drug.  If he
fails, he develops a hankerin’ for the drug.  The severity of the Addiction
indicates just how bad the hankerin’ is.  This acts just like a normal
hindrance, and can be bought off with Bounty Points just like normal.

Target Number:
      Foolproof (3):     1.5 slots
      Fair (5):     1 slot
      Onerous (7):     0.7 slots
      Hard (9):     0.5 slots
      Incredible (11):     0.3 slots

Severity:
      Mild:      1 slot
      Severe:      0.5 slots

     Take all the slot costs for each part of the drug, add them together,
and you have the slot cost for one complete dose of the drug.

The Silent Killer

     Now that we’ve made chemicals that help folks, let’s talk about
chemicals that harm folks instead.  Chem can be used to create various kinds
of poisons, from slow, lingering toxins to instant killers.  To create a
poison, you need to first determine how deadly it is.  Use the tables for
the ammo power to determine the potency of your formula, then use the slot
cost for that damage level as the base slot cost for the poison.  From
there, simply determine the delivery method, onset time, and duration.
Poisons do their damage at the beginning of each minute of their duration.
The victim must roll a Vigor roll against the poison’s damage level.  If he
fails, he takes the difference in damage to his guts.
     The junker can also create paralytic toxins that incapacitate rather
than kill.  These poisons have a maximum damage type of d6, and only do Wind
damage.  If the target is reduced to 0 Wind, then he is completely
paralyzed, except for simple things like blinking and breathing.  Even if
the target isn’t completely paralyzed, he suffers a -2 penalty to his
Nimbleness, Quickness, and Pace until the effects wear off.  Wind lost in
this manner returns at a rate of one point every 10 minutes.
     If your junker also knows the ammo power, he can manufacture injector
rounds that can be fitted into most firearms.  To do this, he has to choose
what size round he’s making, then add an extra 10% structural and 20%
mechanical components when making the ammo.  Regardless of size, injector
rounds only have damage levels of d4.  Each injector round holds a single
dose of any chemical.

"Stan the Junkman wants to make some injector rounds for his trusty 10mm
pistol.  A normal 10mm round does 3d6 damage, so Stan figures each round’s
size to be 0.6 slots.  However, each round only does 3d4 damage.  Stan makes
a batch of 20 10mm rounds, which costs him 2 chemical components, 3
mechanical components, and 3 structural components."

     In order for the chemical to be injected, an injector round must cause
at least one wound to the target.  Injector rounds are stopped cold by
anything heavier than light armor.  Injector rounds may not be made
armor-piercing or anti-personnel.

Take two of these, and call me in the morning

     If your junker knows the healing power, he can use chem to create
chemicals that bolster the body’s defenses against toxins or disease.
     These drugs boost the Vigor of the patient in an attempt to combat the
affliction.  First, choose how powerful the medicine is.  A +2 bonus costs 3
slots a level, while a +1 Step bonus costs 5 slots a level.  Then, choose a
delivery method and onset time, but not a duration.  The duration depends on
what kind of medicine it is.
     Antitoxins immediately cause a contest between the poison and the
boosted Vigor of the patient.  If the patient wins, the toxin is
neutralized.  If the poison overpowers the antitoxin, the antitoxin was
ineffective and the patient takes the difference in damage to his guts.
     Antibiotics last 24 hours per dose.  They help the patient fight of
diseases and infections, and add to his Vigor for those ailments only.
However, the same drugs that strengthen your immune system can ravage the
rest of your body.  Every 24 hours someone is on antibiotics, they need to
roll an unmodified Vigor roll against a TN of 5.  If they fail, they suffer
a -2 to all their physical attributes for the next 24 hours.

*                    *                    *

I may go back and tweak this some later.  I've been thinking of having
paralytic toxins force a massive Stun check rather than deplete wind.
That's something I may get around to sometime soon, assuming I can find the
time.

--Kai Tave