becoming addicted?

[onetrikpony]

Are there any rules that determine the chance of becoming addicted to a drug, i.e. you roll vs. some number when you use the substance to see if you become addicted?

I can't see it on B122 the Addiction disavantage or B440 where drug class effects are described.

Thanks.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by onetrikpony

Are there any rules that determine the chance of becoming addicted to a drug, i.e. you roll vs. some number when you use the substance to see if you become addicted?

Believe it or not, neither GURPS 3E or 4E has rules for getting addicted.

Realistically, the GM might require regular HT or Will rolls from characters who regularly use or abuse potentially addictive substances, possibly with penalties for using highly addictive substances or using substances to deal with extreme stress, pain, or emotional damage. Penalties might apply if someone is deliberately manipulating you into becoming an addict (e.g., Brainwashing using Psychology skill or perverted use of Physician or Pharmacy skills).

You might get bonuses to rolls if you are using the drug in circumstances which are otherwise adversive (e.g., given to you against your will or consumed in situations very different from your normal life). Bonuses also apply if someone with medical training is monitoring your drug use with an eye towards avoiding addiction.

Assume that any Critical Failure results in a physiological (failed HT roll) or psychological (failed Will roll) addiction.

Roll monthly for occasional use or use of relatively non-addictive substances, weekly for regular use and/or normally addictive substances, or daily for intense use or extremely addictive substances.

It's also worth noting that some people react differently towards certain potentially addictive drugs, experiencing a euphoria that others don't or lacking natural "shut off" mechanisms to avoid overindulging. "Potential Addict" is a vicious Quirk which gives a -4 to HT or Will rolls to avoid becoming addicted to certain classes of drugs.

[onetrikpony]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not sure how to judge or adjudicate the addictive...ness(?) of a drug.

Seems like HT, WILL roll each use with critical fail indicating addiction is in the Highly Addictive category.

Which other existing traits should mofify the roll?

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by onetrikpony

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not sure how to judge or adjudicate the addictive...ness(?) of a drug.

Seems like HT, WILL roll each use with critical fail indicating addiction is in the Highly Addictive category.

Which other existing traits should mofify the roll?

Realistically speaking, addiction exists inside the brain of the user, not in the drug. Disadvantages such as Chronic Depression, On The Edge, Flashbacks, Nightmares, some Compulsive Behaviors, some Delusions, and related Mental Disadvantages are likely to be strong predictors of addiction if the sufferer has access to drugs. Note particularly that physical disadvantages such as Chronic Pain are not on that list; there strong drugs are a Mitigator, possibly with accompanying temporary disadvantages. If you're determined to game it out mechanically, I'd assess a Self-Control roll against the relevant disadvantage at a bonus or penalty depending on the drug every time they take it, with say 3-4 consecutive failures meaning aquiring the Addiction Disadvantage.

[edk926]

You can develop an addiction to pain killers though. Opioid addiction is a pretty big problem. Chronic pain will lead to higher use, and therefore more potential to get addicted.

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by edk926

You can develop an addiction to pain killers though. Opioid addiction is a pretty big problem. Chronic pain will lead to higher use, and therefore more potential to get addicted.

There's a whole lot of propaganda to unpack relating to pain and addiction, but the short of it is that the people who become addicted in a meaningful sense have problems that go beyond chronic pain, and there's presently a big moral panic about it, leading to public demonization of people who need pain medication.

[hal]

Originally Posted by onetrikpony

Are there any rules that determine the chance of becoming addicted to a drug, i.e. you roll vs. some number when you use the substance to see if you become addicted?

I can't see it on B122 the Addiction disavantage or B440 where drug class effects are described.

Thanks.

Hello onetrikpony,
This question has come up before in the FORUMS, so don't feel bad. Any time you want to search the forums for threads or specific search words, I would advise you to use the following trick:

Using Google, in your search window, type in the following:
Site: forums.sjgames.com <search terms> where you enter your search items you really want to search for. It does a nicer job of searching than does the search function with SJGgames forums.

That having been said - there ARE rules for how to adjudicate additions, just not where you would expect to find them. For example, pg 40 of GURPS ULTRA-TECH for 4e has rules for Electronic addiction in the form of electronic stimulation. The roll is a will roll per week of using the low power stimulation that inflicts euphoria affliction, and a Will-3 after one day of use for something that inflicts incapacitation.

As others have noted in past threads elsewhere (Kromm has even weighed in on it elsewhere), addiction is sort of a genetic lottery for some where they don't have a predilection towards addiction, while others are only TOO likely to become addicted. Some people can handle alcohol - while others become alcoholic. Is it genetic to be weak willed where addictions are concerned? Who knows.

Since this is going to enter the realm of "house rules" anyhow, what follows may be useful (or not) for coming up with your own house rules.

Before I go to much further, I'm going to lay some groundwork out in the next post.

[hal]

Let's look at the addiction disadvantage first: It spells out what kinds of drugs there are, and what their effects are. Page 440 is the go to page for the effects of the drugs. But what you have to do is really go to pg 428 to see the effects of what the drugs are in order to be able to describe what drugs do in game play.

To that end, you may want to go the route of having Mild Affliction versions of a given effect in addition to the actual affliction. For example, something that is mildly euphoric, might only inflict a -1 penalty instead of -2. If it is more potent than mild, then inflict a -2 instead.

So, what causes a person to abuse drugs? Because they like it, or they like avoiding that which causes them distress? If you note, the compulsive Behaviors talks about "Vices" - for which drug use is one. Compulsive carousing talks about people who like to party, and if you're accepted as one of them, you gain a +1 reaction bonus. I largely suspect that this compulsive recreational drug use would come under that heading.

Now, why might someone take pain killers? Again, I had to venture into house rule territory and inflict what I call the pain penalty.

Pain is equal to 1/2 the wound taken. Max pain penalty is equal to -4.
Wounds that are potentially crippling can take MONTHS to recover from per normal crippling rules - same applies to the torso. Instead of being crippled per se, characters can lose HT, DX, or ST as a result of the crippling wound to the torso.

NOW there are reasons for player characters to seek out pain killers that will cancel out the pain penalty in game play, just as real life people look to escape constant pain...

Now - moving onwards.

Any recreational use of a drug would be essentially "Carousing" - where people who like using recreational drugs will respond with a +1 reaction, or a -1 reaction if you hang around without joining them. After spending time in such an environment where you use recreational drugs for a week - make a will saving roll. If you fail the roll under those circumstances (as per Ultratech rules for Euphoric electronic stimulants), you become addicted. If you succeed, any subsequent roll per week is more about the "VICE" of compulsive behavior than it is about actual addiction. Treat each Will saving roll that is failed, as an experience point modification to the character equal to -1 point per point the player character fails their will saving roll. Thus, a failure by 3 after the character passed two weeks of prolonged use of the drug, now nets the player a -3 point disadvantage. Not enough to have a Compulsive Drug use normally worth -10 points (due to legality of drugs, etc), but getting close to the -5 points for a Self-Control 15 version of said compulsive behavior (partying with illicite drugs). Once the player character reaches the point where they have hit the self-control rating of 6 or less on 3d5, the next failed roll becomes an actual addiction.

As always, a CRITICAL FAILURE should indicate the worst possible result - addiciton, from that point onwards.

Next post, an example.

[hal]

Mark Smith (apologies to anyone who in real life has such a name, it is entirely conincidental!) is a clean cut American boy who likes to hang with his friends. As luck would have it, he parties with his friends and notices them passing some tablets and giving furtive looks about to insure they're not caught. Mark asks his best friend "Whatcha taking?". His friend replies "Some synthetic stuff that is milder most drugs, non-addicting, and gives you a pleasant buzz for a few hours."

In game terms, the GM has decided that the drug is mildly euphoric, and effectively lowers IQ by 1, Self-control rolls by 1, and is also a mild pain reliever (removes -1 pain levels). The GM also rules that should anyone become addicted to the drug, All rolls to break the habit are at HT+1.

Mark finds that now that he knows about the pill, and it isn't even on the list of proscribed drugs (it is that new), he trusts his buddies that they wouldn't feed him poison and joins in it as a social inclusion behavior. After one week, the GM rolls vs a Will of 11, and finds that Mark isn't addicted to the drug. After three weeks of partying with the new drug - Mark finds it perfect for after sessions of heavy weight lifting to improve his muscles. No Pain indeed! Sadly, having failed his Will saving roll for the next two weeks in a row, Mark's point value dropped from 125 points to 120 (Failed one will saving roll by 3, and the next by 2). GM rules that a 10 point disadvantage with a self-control roll of 15 or less is worth 5 points, and tells the player "You now have compulsive behavior: Party with drugs with a Self-control roll of 15 or less". With more failed saving rolls, the point value eventually reaches -20 (where the -10 disadvantage has a self-control roll of 6 or less). This is when the GM informs the player "you now have an addiction to this mild euphoric/pain killer."

[onetrikpony]

Originally Posted by Dalillama

Realistically speaking, addiction exists inside the brain of the user, not in the drug.

Thanks for the reply. Agreed; not all people are disposed to addiction to alcohol regardless of how much/often they drink. However; Realistically the % of humans who are not genetically disposed to addiction to; Methamphetamine, heroin, and such with habitual use is small enough to be ignored in adjudication of a game. (based on my research and experience)

Since it's going to be a house rule; probably based on the siting of Ultratech p.40 (Thank you Hal) it could be that each addictive substance has a modifier to a HT/Will roll.

Originally Posted by Hal

Next post, an example.

Thank you very much. You've left me a lot to unpack/analyze. I'll be use these posts to build an 'inworld' example and post later tonight.

Originally Posted by Hal

Using Google, in your search window, type in the following

Normally I'd keep my politics out of the conversation but this is my thread so--to all who read this-- Please don't patronize Google. It makes life more difficult in the short run but you're contributing to the downfall of western civilization. Being a responsible consumer has never been so important.