Drugs and Medicines (5e Variant Rule)

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Drugs and Medicines

Unless noted otherwise, taking a single dose of drugs or medicines takes an action.

Drug Overdose

An appropriate dose of drugs can heal you, but taking excessive amounts of drugs can kill you.

Some items categorized as drug or medicine may have the overdose property. When a creature takes more than one amount of the same item over the course of short period, often within days or weeks, the creature suffers the effects described in the overdose property.

Addiction

Wherever you are, drugs can and will take you.

Some items categorized as drugs or medicine may have the addiction property. Such items may also have the overdose property as well, but there are always exceptions. When a creature consumes an item with the addiction property, it must make a Constitution saving throw to overcome the addictive property of the item. The DC for this saving throw is described in the addiction property. On a failed save, the creature is now addicted to the item.

• Addiction progress. A creature that is newly addicted to an item starts with one level of addiction. Whenever the creature takes another dose of the same item, its addiction level increases by 1.

• Withdrawl. The horrible aspect of the drug is not itself, but its absence. When a creature addicted to an item does not take another dose of the same item within over the course of short period, often within days or weeks, it suffers the effect described in the addiction property.

• Overcoming Addiction. Overcoming addiction is a painful progress, but it saves life. Each time a creature addicted to an item suffers the withdrawl from not taking another dose, it can make a Constitution saving throw to overcome the addiction. The DC for this saving throw equals the DC for the saving throw the creature failed in the first one. If the creature has more than two levels of addiction when making this saving throw, the DC for the saving throw is increased by each addiction level above the first. On a successful save, the creature's addiction level for that item is decreased by 1. When a creature has no addiction level remaining, it is completely freed from addiction.

Sample Drugs and Medicine

Note: The following drugs and medicines are currently under progress. The purpose of having these are to test and demonstrate the rules regarding drugs and medicines. Feel free to modify them as the rule develops.

Feel-No-Pain

A flask of transparent serum that has a faint scent of sand, rock, and gravel. Because of its powerful pain-killing effects, Feel-No-Pain is popular among gladiators and pit fighters.

Drinking a flask of Feel-No-Pain takes an action. When taken, the creature gains resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage for 1 minute.

Cost. 15 gp.

Addiction. The save DC for Feel-No-Pain's addiction is 18. Creature addicted to Feel-No-Pain suffers from a constant pain as the suppressed senses stimulated the nerves across the body. When a creature does not take Feel-No-Pain after the last one within 1 hour, it gains vulnerability to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage until it takes another dose of Feel-No-Pain. This overrides all resistance and immunity it originally has.

Bloody Eye

Also known as the Red Eye, this potion comes in a vial specifically designed to spray the contents. When sprayed in the eye, Bloody Eye enhances the taker's sense and reflex in supernatural degrees, allowing it to perform uncanny movements.

Spraying Bloody Eye in the eye takes an action. When taken, the creature gains advantage on all melee attack rolls, Strength and Dexterity checks and saving throws, and can take reactions on each of its turn, provided that it has not taken a reaction this turn. The effect lasts for 1 minute.

Cost. 7 gp.

Overdose. Common side effects include eye strain and fatigue. When a creature takes Bloody Eye more than once within 24 hours, the creature has disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight for 1 minute.

Addiction. The save DC for Bloody Eye's addiction is 15. Creatures addicted to Bloody Eye develop perpetual bloodshot in eyes, hence the name of the drug. When a creature does not take Bloody Eye after the last one within 24 hours, it suffers a serious case of hostility toward all creatures. Until the creature takes another dose, the creature cannot talk coherently, cannot cast a spell or concentrate on a spell, and behaves as if under the effects of the confusion spell during initiative.

Klatchian Coffee

While a Gargle Blaster will get you insanely drunk, Klatchian Coffee has the opposite effect. Rather than slowing down your brain, Klatchian Coffee speeds it up tremendously. In some cases, the results can be Nightmare Fuel in a cup, or just really scary to think about. Can generate Caffeine Bullet Time. May be used to demonstrate the level of a person's Must Have Caffeine addiction if Klatchian Coffee is their regular morning brew.

Drinking a Klatchian Coffee takes an action to do. When taken, the creature gains a +2 Dexterity and makes Dexterity attacks, saves, or checks with advantage and takes 2 reactions for up to 2 minutes.

Cost. 7 gp.

Overdose. Common side effects include confusion and vulnerabilities. When a creature takes more than 2 cups of klatchian coffee within 24 hours, they must roll 1d20. On a 10 or lower, the creature can not differentiate friend from foe and may attack allies, the creature also has disadvantage on attack rolls, and becomes vulnerable to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

Addiction. The save DC for Klatchian Coffee is 16. Creatures addicted to Klatchian Coffee develop twitching and muscle spasms. When a creature does not take Klatchian Coffee within 12 hours of the last time they had it, they gain 1 level of exhaustion that can only be removed while under the effects of Klatchian Coffee.

Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster

H2G2, the most awesome cocktail in the universe, heaven knows what it actually does

Upon drinking a Gargle Blaster as an action, you make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. On failure you are now drunk passing the states tipsy and buzzed automatically, oh my. While drunk you don't feel pain, granting you resistance to all damages, and you behave as if under the effects of the confusion spell during initiative.

Cost. 5 gp.

Overdose Common side effects include, of course, confusion. When a creature drinks more than 3 gargle blasters within 8 hours of each other, the creature must succeed a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or suffer from alcohol poisoning for 4 hours until they end a long rest or have greater restoration cast on the, granting you disadvantage when in light if you rely eyesight, you take 1d4 necrotic damage every 10 minutes, and they can not regain hit points.

Addiction. The save DC for Gargle Blaster is 19. Creatures addicted to Gargle blaster is extremely irritable. Those who are addicted to Gargle Blasters and do not have another within 8 hours of a single Gargle blaster becomes unfriendly towards allies and will do anything to obtain more.

A Deadman's Drink

Usually drank in either flask or bottle form. Most addicts get addicted by having it during funerals as is many customs. It gives the feeling of warmth that spreads from the Trachea (throat) to the rest of the body ending with the head. With the warming feeling they get and the situation in which it is consumed leads to grieving families to be hit the hardest.

Consuming a Deadman's Drink takes a bonus action in which your character will drink the entire container. Upon drinking it, you gain advantage on rolls against being frightened, Constitution saves except to avoid addiction, and you gain 1d12 temporary hit point increasing by 1d12 at 5th, 8th, 10th, 17th and 20th level.

Cost. 3 gp.

Overdose: Common side effects of Deadman's Drink include slight to mild hallucinations, tiredness, loss of aggression, sweating, and coughing. Upon consuming more than one drink within 8 hours, they must succeed a DC 17 Constitution saving throw, becoming frightened of all creatures and areas of bright light for 1 minute on a failure.

Addiction. The save DC for Deadman's Drink is 19. Creatures addicted to Deadman's Drink become extremely claustrophobic. Those who are addicted to Deadman's Drink and do not have another dose within 8 hours must make an attack against any creature that comes within 5 ft., and must succeed a DC 17 Charisma saving throw when squeezing or become frightened of tight spaces and take 2d4 bludgeoning damage in your panic.

Aldurnan Fine Wine (Or "Elves Piss")

A crystal bottle with a pink liquid that smells sickly sweet. It is a horribly sweet drink, that many find horribly repulsive. However, 1% of people that drink the wine taste an amazing drink, which is horribly addictive.

To drink from the bottle requires a bonus action. You can drink from the bottle 4 times. Roll a 1d100 when first drank. If they roll a 100, they taste a wonderful drink and then must roll for addiction. Otherwise, they spit out the drink. Any further sips requires a DC 15 saving throw, or spit it out again. Elves can drink normally without any problems, and can't get addicted. Each time a player drinks the wine without spitting it out, they gain 2d4 temporary hit points for 1 minute and are under the affect of the haste spell until the beginning of their next turn.

Cost. 15 gp.

Overdose: If you drink from the bottle twice within 1 minute, you must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of exhaustion and gain no effects from the bottle.

Addiction: The save DC for Aldurnan Fine Wine is 20. Addiction symptoms include mild to severe headaches, hallucinations of laughter, dizziness, confusion, deafness, lack of reasoning, unexplained happiness, and the chance for Wild Magic. At the end of every hour you are addicted to Aldurnan Fine Wine, you must roll 1d20. On a 1, you must roll from the Wild Magic table. Every time Wild Magic occurs in this manner, the minimum roll for it to occur increases by 1.

Mind Flayer

A small syringe of viscous purple liquid glints on the table, the light occasionally catching small particles of crystal shards. Favored by wizards and other madly dedicated scholars, the specifics of this drug's composure are a mystery, with rumors of dragon's blood, illithid remains, and puréed oozes not being entirely out of the question. Each syringe contains 1 dose.

Taking a dose of Mind Flayer takes a bonus action. When you do so, your Intelligence score increases to 24 if its not already higher, and you have advantage on all Intelligence saving throws for 8 hours.

Cost. 20 gp.

Overdose: Consuming a dose of Mind Flayer within 24 hours of the end of the original dose forces the creature to make a DC 16 Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, astral projection is cast on them and they can not end it voluntarily.

Addiction: The save DC for Mind Flayer is 18. Mind Flayer addicts are easily recognizable by their violent mood swings from near-catatonic to hyper-active as their weakened brain tries to make sense of the greater knowledge their drugged state granted them. Every hour, you must roll 1d20. On a 1-7, you must succeed a DC 16 Intelligence saving throw at the beginning of each of your turns or fall unconscious until the beginning of your next turn. On an 8-14, you cannot talk coherently and behave as if under the effects of the confusion spell during initiative. On a 15-20, nothing happens. Mind Flayer only lasts for 1 hour, and removed the effects of addiction.

Cigarettes

A rolled up piece of paper with a yellow tip and white on the rest of the paper, only being sold in packs of 20 and when smoked it smells like a warm, complex mix of woody, spicy, and smoky acorns.

Taking a dose takes a bonus action to light it and takes a additional 30 seconds to smoke the whole thing, once you finish your cigarette you feel a burst of energy making you have advantage on Dexterity saves and checks also having a +2 to Dexterity and along with the burst of energy you feel a burst of pleasure too restoring your mental energy if you have Exhaustion points they are now removed and you are also resistance against sleep and fear spells for 8 hours.

Cost. 20 gp (per pack)

Overdose:Smoking another cigarette within 24 hours after you had already smoked one forces you to make a DC 17 Charisma saving throw. on a failure, makes you cough uncontrollably for a minute. Making you barely being able to breath, soon coughing out blood, then fainting for 1d4 hours and upon waking up you will have a point of Exhaustion and will be venerable to all damage types for 2 hours.

Addiction: you become very shaken and taking a -2 penalty to checks, saves, and attack rolls without a cigarette along with that you can't think straight and the user will do everything to get one cigarette even if that means killing a party member. To end these effects you must smoke 8 hours a day.

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