High Functioning Alcoholic (3.5e Other)
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Your character spends a lot of time and money drinking their life away. Yet, this character has a high rate of functionality. When adventuring, exploring ruins, or preparing for battle, they are able to abstain from temptation to get the job done (They don't go willingly into battle drunk).
High Functioning Alcoholics come in several variants, but each variant shares common attributes:
If they go 24 hours without at least 2 shots to drink, they become Shaken, until they can. If this continues for three days or more, they gain Fatigued. if greater then 5, they are Exhausted. After 7 days they also gain Sickened in addition to Exhausted. After 10 days without drinking they start taking a single point of ability damage to their highest ability score. The character cannot take more then half of his original ability score in damage this way. Each day of drinking reverses the conditions on them by one tier, or repairs one point of ability damage.
For example, if a fighter with this feature is already at Exhausted, and finds enough drink to get him through a day, will drop back down to Fatigued after that day is over.
High Functioning Alcoholics spend a minimum of 2d6 + 2 gold every week on drinks when in a town. This expenditure can be made all at once, or over the course of the week. They need not make any fortitude checks as they drink responsibly, if only not for their large quantities. If they cannot afford to spend this much, they will sell off items until this condition can be met.
Any time this character is in the wilds for enough time for their expenditures in drinking cannot be met, they will spend the next week in which it can spending max accumulation of previous weeks as well this current weeks worth immediately. During this 'Catching up' week the character will be unable to do anything other then drinking.
For example, a fighter with this feature was trapped in a dungeon crawl for three weeks. When he arrives in town he will spend 2d6 + 44g on drinks (2d6 = 12 + 2 = 14g a week, * 3 weeks= 42g. Current week is 2d6 + [2+44]g)
Any character aware they are going to be outside the bounds of civilization long enough for this effect to occur, can store enough drink by paying for this effect in advance. Each week this is done so, the character adds 10 lbs of weight in strong drink, that is treated like oil if set aflame.
A high functioning alcoholic must in addition to the above effects select a variant effect for this feature.
Quiet Drunk[edit]
The only company a quiet drunk needs is a full glass. Every week they must also have at least a period of 2 hours alone time, preferably when drinking, or they suffer ability damage to their highest ability score at a rate of 1 per week. This ability damage can only be reclaimed when the condition is finally met, at a rate of 1 for 1. This includes being away from party members, in at least a distance of 100 feet, he cannot meet this criteria while actively assisting the party (such as being on watch).
For example, A High Functioning Quiet Alcoholic Fighter is unable to get away from others for two weeks,and has lost 2 points in ability damage to his strength, but has still able to drink. He takes four hours to himself and has his ability damage healed.
Happy Drunk[edit]
Needs a drinking buddy. The calculation per week changes to 1d6 + 8g instead. In addition, this character has to have someone spend at least an hour drinking with them, or they begin suffering ability damage to their highest ability score at a rate of 1 per week. This ability damage can only be reclaimed when this condition can be met. Lastly, a Happy drunk will buy rounds for others when binging, so add an additional 5g per week spent unable to drink, when 'Catching up'.
Tranquil drunk[edit]
Show no outward signs that they have spent the last few hours drinking. This character is able to mask exceedingly well the fact that they are an alcoholic. In exchange, they spend longer times actually being in a buzzed state. They add a 1d6 to their expenditures a week. In addition, they add an extra week spent 'Catching up', but are capable of gathering information, or other similar skills that don't take them out of the bar or tavern.
Going Clean[edit]
It is possible to beat addiction, and get your life turned around. This requires a year of time. At the end of the year, this character is considered cured, but is "on the wagon".
On The Wagon[edit]
Anytime this character is offered a drink or drink is near him he must make a Will save of DC 25 or regain the High Functioning Alcoholic feature. Should this occur, the character immediately spends 100g binging over the course of the week, (or two weeks if a Tranquil Drunk), in addition, they take ability damage in this week of 20 (less 1 every year they were clean) to their highest ranking ability score. This effect can cause the character to drink themselves to death, if their ability score lowers to 0. If the character survives, they only recover this ability damage over the course of every week drinking, at a rate of 1. Finally, the character cannot attempt to clean up again unless they have regained all of their ability damage taken in this way.
This character may just have a love of drinking, or perhaps has a family history of addiction. They could be drinking to forget friends lost, or family dead. They could be self destructive, or simply think that life is meant to be filled with dangerous adventuring and drinking.
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