Coffee and GURPS

[Xplo]

Originally Posted by Lupo

I think we are over-dramatizing the power of coffee, at least in GURPS terms.

I was overdramatizing at the extreme, yes. Call it "cinematic coffee" if you like. :) But it all goes to illustrate "stat the effect": when your character has a trait that's merely descriptive, the best way to find its correct point value is to assign existing mechanical effects with known point values.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by jacobmuller

I coulda swore it was in the books somewhere as a quirk.
As for mitigator, might as easily be cause but Bad Temper (Mit - morning coffee, 10%)... sounds fun.

Mitigator is not -10%. You're at the wrong end of the -5% to -80% Limitation range.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by malloyd

The mild to moderate headaches are definitely physical withdrawal symptoms. This is why many over the counter pain relievers include caffeine as an ingredient listed in the fine print; it makes your pill noticeably better than the generic asprin by quickly curing one of the most common causes of headaches.

Yup. The withdrawal headaches I get from cola/cocoa are real. They're not "killer", though, just very unpleasant. I've also had some experience using glucose to mitigate the headaches... so it's a bit of an open question, to what extent I'm addicted to the caffeine/theobromine (which is supposed to have some kind of effect on blood sugar), or to the sugar content, whereas it is clear that coffee, or very dark chocolate, has no sugar addiction component.

I've heard one report (Danish TV) about a cola addict who to some extent physically crashed, at one point during a slow stepping down process. I don't think that could happen to me. Not even if I quit cold turkey. I'd feel like ****, but nearly losing consciousness... No.

A case can be made for making it a -5 CP addiction, but that's pushing it, unless the person is likely to have some sort of crash and the problem can't be mitigated by going to the nearest 7-11 and spending a dollar. -1 or -2 is more reasonable.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

I get mild-to-moderate headaches when I happen to quit drinking tea. Downer can count himself fortunate that he has no such side effects -- but that's not the same as them being psychosomatic or mythical. Just individual variation in the severity.

I do not get drowsy when withdrawing. On the contrary, I have trouble falling asleep and tend to stay away for 20-22 hours the first day. This from someone who normally sleeps 7-8 hours a night.

That said, when I am well and truly off the addiction, I can make good use of a single bottle of cola to help me stay awake and alert, on occasion.