Effects of alcohol

[guymc]

One of our fans who currently cannot access the forums here suggested adding to ITL a short paragraph or two about the effects of Alcohol on characters and their abilities. Since my own characters tend to spend a lot of time in taverns for some reason (*ahem*). I thought this was an excellent idea.

Effects on DX? MA? IQ? How much alcohol, how quickly will it affect you, and how long does the effect take to wear off? Does high ST affect how quickly the effects occur or how much alcohol you must drink to affect you?

What effect does alcohol have on spellcasting? Do wizards have spells/potions relating to lessening the effect of alcohol on someone? Are hangovers a factor later? Is there another factor involved, so that one person seems to be able to hold his liquor better than another, all other things being equal. (Carousing talent?)

Do dwarves hold their liquor better than humans? Halflings? Elves? Orcs? (Do not start me thinking about drunk prootwaddles. Yipes.) Do octupi drink alcohol? Do their all those arms get in each other's way when they do? :-)

Any rules for this ought to be very brief and easily implemented, I would say. But it seems like it would be so much USE to a GM that it would be a shame not to provide this somewhere. Sometimes a drunken brawl is just what you need to kick off a fine session of adventuring.

[tomc]

Divide your ST by 5. For every drink (mug of ale, shot of whiskey, etc) over that you lose 1ST and 1IQ for an hour.

[Rick_Smith]

Originally Posted by guymc

One of our fans who currently cannot access the forums here suggested adding to ITL a short paragraph or two about the effects of Alcohol on characters and their abilities. Since my own characters tend to spend a lot of time in taverns for some reason (*ahem*). I thought this was an excellent idea. ...

Hi Guy,
I was a play tester on GURPS: Callahan's Cross-time Saloon. I would suggest pulling out that product and looking over its rules for alcohol. Then SIMPLIFY them...

Warm regards, Rick.

[JLV]

Wow! I think tomc absolutely nailed that one (though you could probably argue about how much to divide ST by -- maybe Dwarves divide by 2 and everyone else by 3, or something).

I'd say that's the answer in one sweet little post! ;-)

[Chris Rice]

I don't recall alcohol ever affecting my strength in a negative way, if anything it was the opposite, however, it certainly affected my DX and probably my IQ.

Once you've drunk your fill of booze, roll 3d6 v ST subtracting 1 for every drink you've had. If you fail, you're "drunk".

I would suggest that once a character is "drunk" his DX and IQ are -3 but his toughness is +1 as he doesn't notice damage as easily. That's a fairly simple way to model it.

[Jim Kane]

Originally Posted by Chris Rice

I don't recall alcohol ever affecting my strength in a negative way, if anything it was the opposite...

"Beer Muscles" have little combat value outside the mind of the Beer Drinker ;-)

One thing your post made me think of was: Some drunks are happy drunks, and some drunks are angry drunks; should we have a modified reaction roll modifier for NPCs who are under the influence?

And also for sober folks encountering drunk PCs... again, some like this, others feel negatively opposed - thinking maybe there should be reaction roll modifiers in play on this.

JK

[JLV]

That's a good point, Chris. (Or maybe I should say; "Thash a good print...uh, point, there, Chrish..." ;-) )

So maybe just reduce DX and IQ under tomc's concept. I think that would be consistent without actually rolling for drunkeness. According to all the studies I've ever read, the individual tolerances for alcohol probably wouldn't be too significant in rules that are as large scale as TFT's, and the effects of alcohol seem to be pretty consistent in a statistical sense across the wide spectrum of individuals.

I also think Jim has a good point -- it should have some effect on reaction rolls too; both the drunk's and those of the people he interacts with... The other people could simply have their reaction rolls towards the drunk reduced on the same scale as the drunk's DX and IQ, while the drunk rolls a die; even he has a -1 reaction to everyone else, odd he has a +1 reaction to everyone else.

[Melichor]

Maybe this is too granular but if people are interested in characters having drinking contests or playing drinking games:

After consuming an alcoholic drink or similar mood/mind altering substance roll a 4 dice saving roll vs ST (for ST 20 or greater roll 5 dice, for ST 30 or greater roll 6 dice). Success means you stay at your current level of intoxication. Failure means you move into the next level of intoxication.

Levels of Intoxication and their effects:

Sober
No penalties

Euphoria (0.05 BAC)
-1 IQ (Difficulty concentrating)
-1 DX (Fine motor skills are lacking)
+1 Reaction / -1 Reaction in formal or serious settings (Talkative & Lowered inhibitions)

Excitement (0.10 BAC)
-2 IQ (Senses are dulled / Impaired judgment)
-2 DX (Poor coordination / Slow reaction time)
-1 Reaction (Beginnings of erratic behavior)
-1 to ALL Saving Throws

Confusion (0.20 BAC)
-3 IQ (Slurred speech / Impaired judgment)
-3 DX (Difficulty walking / Blurred vision)
-2 Reaction (Exaggerated emotions)
-1 Hit and Not affected by wounds (Pain is dulled)
-2 to ALL Saving Throws

Stupor (0.30 BAC)
Cannot stand or walk
-4 to ST, DX and IQ
6 dice saving roll vs ST to remain conscious

You move to a lower level of intoxication after every 4 hours without consuming an alcoholic drink or similar mood/mind altering substance.

[tomc]

Would it make sense to add a new category of "stuff" for GMs to put in their toolkit? Not quite "house rules" but suggestions for handling things when you want some extra granularity, but don't want an every-time rule?

Melichor's drinking contest is excellent, and I'm stealing it for occasional use. :)

[JLV]

That's really good, Melichor! I like the way you think! ;-)