Allergies and Addictions Options

[Marduc]

Which allergies have you used/seen used/can think of for use in Shadowrun.

I'm compiling a table of them for in a character generator

[Kerenshara]

Which allergies have you used/seen used/can think of for use in Shadowrun.

I'm compiling a table of them for in a character generator

Silver
Gold
Iron (cold, not steel)
Plastics - could include a lot of petroleum based makeup, for the ladies
Polutants
Sea (salt) Water
Sunlight
Wood

Those are just off the top of my head.

As for the (unasked) question about addictions, any single drug listed in the book(s).

[HappyDaze]

Using the Allergy rules to represent 'non-Allergies' can have interesting effects. Consider Allergies to Crowds, Loud Noise, Air Travel, or other souch things can be attempted. Obviously only some - such as Loud Noise - should be able to go to the Moderate or higher levels - Crowds might be distracting enough to count as a Mild Allergy, but having them actually cause damage is just a bit silly.

[MK Ultra]

Well, for 'non-Allergies' I think the Phobia Qualitie from Augmentation (Cutting Edge Chapter) works better most of the time. Still there may be some psychosomatic Allergies to any kind of stuff and they might even cause damage - maybe the character scratches his skin bleeding or just stops breathing and turns blue, whatever.

I usually use the Quality that fits best into my character concept, i.e. either taking Addiction: Alcohol or Mania: Alcohol or Poor Selfcontroll: Alcohol or any combination thereoff. Sometimes adepting one of the more specialised Addictions like Implant-Addiction or Mediajunky and just changing the focus to something else. Same with Allergies and Phobias.

Off the top of my head...
Allergies Seen:
Alcohol, Animal-Proteins, Meat, Religious Symbols, Soy-Food, Any kind of resonably common Metal (i.e. Lead or Nickel)

For Addictions I also alow Substances/Behaviour that´s usually excluded from the Quality for not being unhealthy enough, but sometimes for less BP.

[Doc Byte]

I gave my character a morphine allergy. No stimpatches for him.

[Traul]

Gunpowder ? Or whatever has replaced it in 2070 ammunition.

[Kerenshara]

Gunpowder ? Or whatever has replaced it in 2070 ammunition.

Ok, I'll give: why? And I don't mean "why did you choose this thing?" I mean "How do you rationalize this choice?" Most of the allergies have a simple basis in fact such as severe anaphylactic reactions to peanuts, latex, shellfish, beestings and so on. While each of these items is itself complex, it's usually a single complex organic compound found in the item that produces the severe reaction with as little as simple contact. The second category comes from psycho-somatic reactions, things like vampires of some awakened people who believe so totally and inately that God seeks to punish them for their condition that their bodies actually begin to react to things like holy symbols AS IF they really were allergic, and thus the end effect - especially in game terms - is identical. The third category would represent a systemic weakness of some kind, like a general weakness to all "pollutants" (presumably excluding things like CO₂) due to overexposure or ... well, there are a lot of potential explanations for that one, and a soy allergy would operate along the same lines as another example of overexposure. The last major category is based on magic (read: real life folklore) and includes things like pure metals (gold, silver, lead and colr iron being good examples), natural wood (to a vampire for example), and various herbs or animal products, again all based in folklore, which was (in the 6^th World) actually based on cultural memories of magic from earlier ages. Does that make sense? So I am wondering what about gunpowder (if you mean the black powder variety, is it actually the Potasium Nitrate, Sulphur or the Carbon?) or do you mean cordite (nitroglycerin, guncotton - itself cotton, nitric and sulphuric acids, and petroleum jelly) or something similar but even newer? There is no folklore basis for an allergy to gunpowder, I can't see a single component in the real versions that would be likely to cause an allergic reaction on its own, and I can't see where overexposure could reasonably be taken to occur. Do you see my problem with the idea? Now, it's no illegitimate, and I can see all kinds of complications, so it's not game breaking in any sense. In fact, I can see it being pretty crippling, especially since most modern firearms are caseless by 2070 which means to load a clip you need to touch the actual solid propellant. But I am just unhappy from a "fluff" perspective, that's all. It's a neat idea, and it's unique in my experience, so kudos there, and it's clear you're not trying to "cheeze" it by taking a meaningless allergy.

Well, for 'non-Allergies' I think the Phobia Qualitie from Augmentation (Cutting Edge Chapter) works better most of the time. Still there may be some psychosomatic Allergies to any kind of stuff and they might even cause damage - maybe the character scratches his skin bleeding or just stops breathing and turns blue, whatever.

I usually use the Quality that fits best into my character concept, i.e. either taking Addiction: Alcohol or Mania: Alcohol or Poor Selfcontroll: Alcohol or any combination thereoff. Sometimes adepting one of the more specialised Addictions like Implant-Addiction or Mediajunky and just changing the focus to something else. Same with Allergies and Phobias.

Off the top of my head...
Allergies Seen:
Alcohol, Animal-Proteins, Meat, Religious Symbols, Soy-Food, Any kind of resonably common Metal (i.e. Lead or Nickel)

For Addictions I also alow Substances/Behaviour that´s usually excluded from the Quality for not being unhealthy enough, but sometimes for less BP.

See, I can agree with the rules that caffiene isn't a legal addition, in game terms, because it's cheap, available, and the process of indulging the habbit can be done in such a way that it does not in any way fundamentally interfere with life or the performance of a mission as a character.

Nicotine, on the other hand, is another mattter. The addicton is part chemical, but another part of it is pure physical habbit. A nicotine patch can get you past a single craving, let's say, during a mission. But what if your habbit is to chew tobacco like Backy in the story I posted? People who incessantly chew (read: moderate addiction) tobacco get antsy when they don't have a wad in. Moving the chew back and forth, looking for something to spit in or having a cup in hand are themselves just as much a part of the addiction as the chemical. The ritual of packing the chew, pinching a wad and then tucking it in the cheek is as intensely satisfying for some users I have observed as a light orgasm, and I'm not being sarcastic. There is a sigh of completion, pleasure and satisfaction. Tell me that's not a light orgasm. If the person smokes cigarettes, it's just as bad. Tapping the pack, drawing out the cigarette, shielding from the weather with one han and striking the lighter with the other and inhaling to start the smoke... I have watched serious smokers who are "niccing" but they stop the moment they get the thing lit, their mind getting the initial relese from having successfully satisfied the ritual as much as the first trace dose of chemical hitting the body. Both habbits can be a problem on a run: spit, wad and butt left behind can contain traceDNA evidence, and may serve as a distinctive signature. Cigarette smoke is easily detected at surprisingly long distances in the right circumstances, and the glowing ember is surprisingly bright on a dark night. That can be a genuine hindrance on a run if the addict needs their hit, and the player is actually playing it right.

In order to get apropriate use of the negative qualities, however, it's going to be a very cheap and easily available item, even with heavy use, so the BP component would need to drop slightly, and I would require tests for needing a hit every hour at moderate and every three to six hours at light: if you can go more than six hours without WANTING your hit, you're not addicted to nicotine, it's just a habbit. Nicotine is one of the nastier drugs around once it has you. With that kind of frequency, at moderate levels, a character is going to be needing to check a couple times during the run. They may be able to just have the team wait two minutes while they smoke a quick one in the van, but what if they can't? Many heavy smokers light up immediately after any hrmone-stimulating activeity, from mortal combat to sex to a really wild ride in the back of a helicopter that you survive. Others do it when bored. If you got points for it, it should be so everpresent that it virtually constitutes a running gag that you're acting out pulling out a pac and lighting up, or that you always seem to have an empty mug in your hand. There's a guy in our party who's always chewing gum (Betel), and it's kind of a thing. There the expense makes the points, but the habbit of chewing can be a problem on a run as well, if you're supposed to be still or inconspicuous for example.

ANYTHING that is a severe enough habbit that it could disrupt your ability to perform on a 'run could be qualified as an "addiction" but the "cost" aspect would have to be reduced to nil to keep things balanced, unless the behavior is so obvious and over-the-top that it's impossible to miss. But then we're getting closer to mental issues, but in the end, it's a "Negative Quality" you want to play and your GM has to approve in order to grant you points. I have no problems with playing fast and loose with the RAW here as long as the player is willing to really play the addction. If I have a friend who isn't a gamer sit in on a session, when we leave I want my friend to ask "Hey, that guy, with the [insert behavior/addiction] here, what's up with that?" because even THEY couldn't miss it.

[DamienKnight]

Food allergies are too uncommon, unless they specify something prevalent in most 6th world food, such as Soy. Cant even drink coffee in the 2070's without ingesting soy.

Phobias are fun. Fear of immersion, fear of closed in spaces, fear of cats, fear of holy symbols etc.

[Orcus Blackweath...]

If the GM is paying attention, even the most pointless allergy can be brought up periodically as a plot device (addictions and phobias even more so)

Allergy to peanuts, most of the time will have little effect, but you are at a meet with the Johnson, and suddenly one of the characters starts going into anaphylaxis. Hmmm did someone poison the food, magical attack? Nope bob the mage is allergic to the plastic cups, oh well!

[Neraph]

I've seen Sex addiction; two of my players have had it (at the same time). Both were female characters, and heterosexual.

I've done a Soy allergy.

Cram addict.
Crank addict.
Nutrition addict.

[Backgammon]

Addictions have to be to substances that are highly detrimental to one's health, as per the rules. Additions to Sex, unless roleplayed to the extent that the person is a self-destructive slut, is not a valid addiction.

Nutrition addict is definately NOT a legitimate choice.

[Ravor]

I think I'd allow an addiction to a spell provided that the spell had to be sustained. That way either the Mage is taking -2 Dicepool or is rolling addiction tests against foci. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/vegm.gif)

[vladski]

In my 4th ED Lonstar campaign, one of the detectives (a troll) had an addiction to gambling.  I called it moderate and he had to wager a bet of at least 250 nuyen each day.  It was fun.  And, I didn't penalyze him monetarily..  Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost.  If he couldn't place a bet within 24 hours of hte last one, he suffered a -4 to his intuition and logic rolls because he was massively distracted, always trying to get on his com to his bookie, trying to find the latest odds on the big game that night, etc. If he could make a minor bet (less than 250Y) with someone around him (the other PCs), I would allow him to drop the penalty to -2.



I enjoyed the flavor it added the campaign and always hoped that it would lead to him getting under the thumb of some mobster NPC's because he owed them big. Unfortunately (for me) he actually won more often than he lost and never got in the hole.  But, eventually, that luck would break.  I also planned on giving him some big tip that would inspire him to bet it all and then not have that tip pay off.  Just never got to a good point for that.



Vlad

[HappyDaze]

Additions to Sex, unless roleplayed to the extent that the person is a self-destructive slut, is not a valid addiction.

This could be better represented as Poor Self-Control (Cumpulsive) with the drive of the compulsion obviously being sexual behaviors.

[Backgammon]

With Addiction being supposed to be specifically for substance abuse, I agree.

[Neraph]

I think I'd allow an addiction to a spell provided that the spell had to be sustained. That way either the Mage is taking -2 Dicepool or is rolling addiction tests against foci. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/vegm.gif)

Crank and Nutrition specifically state that they are highly addictive spells.

Addictions have to be to substances that are highly detrimental to one's health, as per the rules. Additions to Sex, unless roleplayed to the extent that the person is a self-destructive slut, is not a valid addiction.

What if they indulge when they're supposted to be doing recon, or they are backup waiting outside? That's pretty detrimental.

I also had someone addicted to gambling, and while on a Metaplanar quest to Hell (looked like Act 4 from Diablo II), he was offered to sit in on a game for his life: if he won, power - if he lost, his soul. Made him do a test for it (he passed (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleepy.gif) )

[siel]

 

I also had someone addicted to gambling, and while on a Metaplanar quest to Hell (looked like Act 4 from Diablo II), he was offered to sit in on a game for his life: if he won, power - if he lost, his soul. Made him do a test for it (he passed (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleepy.gif) )

What, not he won? How disappointing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Neraph]

 
What, not he won? How disappointing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

No, he passed the test to resist the urge. Should have been more clear, sorry.

[vladski]

No, he passed the test to resist the urge. Should have been more clear, sorry.

Exactly.  How dissapointing.  (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)




Vlad

[Space Ghost]

I was in a high powered campaign playing a chrome-boy (x4 cyberlimbs, torso and skull). We cooked up an "allergy" to electricity. Something about his cyberparts caused extra adverse reactions to electricity, and the allergy quality was a good fit. He was deathly afraid of getting tazed.

[Rotbart van Dain...]

Hm... having both an Allergy and an Addiction to the very same substance sounds like a pretty twisted idea.

[Medicineman]

Dragonsperm

HeyaHeyaHeyaHey
Medicineman

[Summerstorm]

Hm... having both an Allergy and an Addiction to the very same substance sounds like a pretty twisted idea.

I...I can't stop... but it hurts so much. (crying)

Ah well... for the topic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergen

Hm, i nearly got a tough streetsamurai with his allergy to citrus-fruits. Yeah what the Troll with the LMG couldn't do, the cake nearly finished...

[Rotbart van Dain...]

Mild Allergy & Addiction (Betel).

"It just keeps me on the edge... especially the constant itching. No, I'm not addicted - I can stop anytime!"