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BodyTech	Cybernetics	BioWare	PharmiTech	Biofeedback

PHARMITECH

SUBMIT A PHARMITECH BRAND

The oldest form of BodyTech by a large margin, PharmiTech is any sort of drug or chemical that can be taken to enhance performance. While much more limited than Cybernetics, PharmiTech is a cheaper alternative and thus continues to persist particularly among the less affluent such as Gangers, despite the unpleasant side effects associated with their use. PharmiTech is generally referred to as "Juice" or "Dope" on the street and in the media and those that use it heavily are often called "Juicers".

COSTS OF OWNERSHIP

Unlike other types of BodyTech, PharmiTech costs credits, not character points.

All forms of PharmiTech are designed using the Aid Power; the cost of a dose is determined by a combination of the Active Points and the Fade Rate of the Aid.

The adjoining table gives "rule of thumb" guidelines as to how much PharmiTech should cost in credits.

PHARMITECH CREDIT COST
Active Points of dose:
Type of PharmiTech:
FADE 5 Points per:
Advantage:
Cost Multiple:
Credit Cost:*
*NOTE: These are ballpark figures; a large variety of circumstances will dictate the exact costs involved, but on average the prices will hover in a range of around +/-10% of the amount indicated by the above calculator.

Simply enter the Active Point cost of the Aid write up and select the Fade Rate from the drop down list and the credit cost of the dose will automatically be calculated for you.

FADE RATES, GRADUAL EFFECT AND SIDE EFFECTS

Long term benefits from PharmiTech require long term doping and careful monitoring, and cutting corners can be dangerous.

DELAYED FADE RATE

Any level of Delayed Fade Rate may be used with PharmiTech Powers, but an equal Limitation value of Gradual Effect and / or Side Effects must be applied to the Power. A Fade Rate of 5 points per Millennia can be considered effectively permanent, baring the application of a counter agent.

GRADUAL EFFECT

Gradual Effect represents undergoing a constant program, and gaining progressively more enhancement over time.

SIDE EFFECTS

Side Effects represent the dangers inherent in unsafe doping; while it offers a faster pay off it is hard on the body.

Most PharmiTech related Side Effects involve equivalent Drains to other Characteristics than those boosted by the Juice they are on, Mental Transforms that apply Physical or Psychological Disadvantages to the character, damage done directly to the character, and similar unpleasantness.

PharmiTech Side Effects never harm the environment or other people; they are strictly internal. The GM has final approval of all Side Effects applied to a PharmiTech Power.

EXAMPLE: The following PharmiTech drug represents a long term testosterone doping process that makes the recipient potentially extremely strong. It takes a Month to fully kick in, but lasts pretty much for life from the perspective of people with a normal lifespan.

However, the testosterone boosts aren't good for the brain or skin as represented by the Side Effect Drains vs PRE, BODY, INT, and EGO. Some people take to the drug well with minimal side effects, but others can get very little boost while suffering acute side effects (based on the variability of the Aid and Drain rolls). Unfortunately there is no way to tell before hand if a person is predisposed one way or the other.

Note that the Delayed Return Rate is a +3 1/4 Advantage, while the Gradual Effect and Side Effect Limitations add up to -3 1/4, and thus comply with the restriction requiring an equivalent Limitation value between one or both of Gradual Effect and Side Effects.

METABOMIGHT BRAND:

Metabomight: Aid STR 3d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Century; +3 1/4) (127 Active Points); Gradual Effect (1 Month; -2 1/4), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (1d6+1 Drain vs. PRE, BODY, INT, and EGO simultaneously; FADE 5/Century; -1); ~2,080,768 credits

LONG TERM SIDE EFFECTS

All PharmiTech has the potential to cause long term problems for a character whether the individual Powers have the Side Effect Limitation or not.

Each time a character takes a dose of any form of PharmiTech the GM should use the following calculator to determine if the character suffers some randomly determined unpleasant effect.

The chance of long term side effects increases when multiple doses of PharmiTech are taken. A character must keep track of how many doses of PharmiTech they have ever used, and for each additional PharmiTech dose the chance of suffering a Long Term Side Effect is greater. This is factored into the calculator below; enter the number of doses of PharmiTech the character has taken (including the current dose) and click "Check for Long Term Side Effects".

PHARMITECH LONG TERM SIDE EFFECTS CALCULATOR

How Many Doses of PharmiTech, Ever?:
Reset Calculator Check for Long Term Side Effects

NOTE: Any Disadvantage or Characteristic loss is applied directly to the character, with no return of points. Points from Disadvantages can take a character over their Disadvantage maximum, and points lost from Characteristics can take a Characteristic below zero.

All losses are cumulative; in the case of multiple instances of the same Disadvantage, increase the severity of the Disadvantage by one step. If that is not possible (the Disadvantage is at its maximum severity) then there is no further effect from that particular Long Term Side Effect.

IMMUNITY TO POISONS

People that have LS: Immunity to Poison never gain long term side effects from PharmiTech, but they also gain no benefits from them either. Their body's superior immune system neutralizes the dosage for no net effect.

NOT EQUIPMENT

PharmiTech is not Equipment and cannot be taken as part of a character's Equipment Resource Pool. Each dose must be paid for or otherwise acquired separately, and be tracked individually.

PHARMITECH POWER DESIGN

As mentioned previously, all PharmiTech is defined by using the Aid Power.

ACTIVE POINT LIMITS

PharmiTech enhancements do not have Active Point caps, but can have no more than 5d6 or 30 points of effect. Further multiple applications of different enhancements that affect the same Characteristic cannot exceed 30 points of effect.

ONE NONRECOVERABLE CHARGE

When a person buys a hit of some PharmiTech they are buying one unit of dosage, whether its a barrel of pills they have to take over a period of time or a single syringe they shoot up all in one go. In effect each dose has 1 Non-Recoverable Charge, but since characters do not pay character points for PharmiTech and the Real Cost is not part of the calculation to determine monetary costs, the various writeups for PharmiTech forgo listing it to cut down on unnecessary bookkeeping.

CHARACTERISTICS

PharmiTech can boost any Primary or Secondary Characteristic, though some require more creative SFX than others.

PHARMITECH STRENGTH

PharmiTech can grant sizable boosts in Strength and usually the Strength gain is over the entire body. BodyTech Strength is explained in detail on the BodyTech page.

PUSHING

A character using PharmiTech to increase their Strength cannot also Push their Strength.

AUGER BRAND:

Auger-I: Aid STR 1d6; ~20 credits

Auger-II: Aid STR 2d6; ~40 credits

Auger-III: Aid STR 3d6; ~60 credits

Auger-IV: Aid STR 4d6; ~80 credits

Auger-V: Aid STR 5d6; ~100 credits

OTHER STRENGTH BOOSTING BRANDS:

REDZone: Aid STR 3d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Hour; +1) (60 Active Points); Gradual Effect (20 Minutes; -1); ~1,920 credits

Odinine: Aid STR 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Day; +1 1/2) (125 Active Points); Side Effects, Side Effect always occur whenever Power is used (Side Effect does a predefined amount of damage; Drain 5d6 STR with a 5 per Day Fade Rate when Aid Fades ; -1 1/2); ~16,000 credits

BIOWARE MOVEMENT

Bioware can greatly enhance a characters ability to Run, Swim, and Leap. However no more than 20 Active Points can be applied to improve Running, Swimming, or Leaping.

MARATHINE BRAND:

Marathine: Aid Running 3d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Hour; +1) (60 Active Points); Gradual Effect (20 Minutes; -1); ~1,920 credits

MISC JUICE

There are nigh-infinite variations of PharmiTech possible and dozens of pharmaceutical companies produce lines of similar competing products. Just about any construct a GM or player cooks up can be found on the market but some forms of Juice commonly available follow.

GENERICS:

Amphetamines: Aid DEX 5d6; ~100 credits

Painkillers: Aid CON 5d6; ~100 credits

Uppers: Aid EGO 5d6; ~100 credits

Downers: Aid PRE 5d6; ~100 credits

BRANDS:

Pheonoral: Aid BODY 5d6 (50 Active Points); Lost After All Normal Body (-1); ~80 credits

Vitamin-M: Aid STUN 5d6; ~100 credits

Veritas: Aid INT 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per 6 Hours; +1 1/4) (112 Active Points); Gradual Effect (1 Hour; -1 1/4); ~7,168 credits

Acceleron: Aid STR, DEX, CON, SPD simultaneously 5d6 (+1), Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 1 per Year; +2 3/4) (237 Active Points); Gradual Effect (1 Month; -2 1/4), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (1d6+1 Drain vs. PRE, BODY, INT, and EGO simultaneously; FADE 1/Year; -1/2); ~970,752 credits

Hermine: Aid SPEED 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Day; +1 1/2) (125 Active Points); Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Side Effect does a predefined amount of damage; Drain 5d6 SPD with 5 per Day Fade when Aid Fades; -1 1/2); ~16,000 credits

PHARMITECH AS MEDICATION / PSYCHOLOGICAL DISADVANTAGES

PharmiTech can also be used to overcome Psychological Limitations and some forms of Enraged based upon SFX, with the points of effect from the Aid being allocated to buy down the severity of the Disadvantage. Medication must be bought specifically for a particular type of Psychological Limitation, and there may not be drugs available for more unusual kinds of Psychological Limitations at the GM's discretion.

For the purposes of Long Term Side Effects a character counts PharmiTech of this nature, which can be referred to as Medication, as a single dose as it is more of a treatment over time than repeated single hits. Thus even if a character takes a dose of particular Medication every day it counts as one dose for purposes of Long Term Side Effects. However each different Medication a character takes counts as a seperate dose.

MEDICATIONS:

Tranq Medz: Aid to Enraged 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per 6 Hours; +1 1/4) (112 Active Points); Major Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Drain INT, EGO, PRE, DEX simultaneously 2d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per 20 Minutes), INT, EGO, PRE, DEX simultaneously;-1 1/4); ~7,168 credits

Daily Medz: Aid to Specific Psychological Limitation 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per 6 Hours; +1 1/4) (112 Active Points); Gradual Effect (1 Hour); -1 1/4); ~7,168 credits

Long Term Medz: Aid to Specific Psychological Limitation 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Month; +2) (150 Active Points); Gradual Effect (1 Week); -2); ~76,800 credits

JUICED EXISTENCE

The downsides of using PharmiTech are two-fold. The most obvious con is the chance of permanent unpleasant side effect, however a more insidious downside is that though professional sports are now completely juiced (its expected, even), those who use PharmiTech are often not trusted with responsibility or authority. Everyone has heard a story about a Juicer that couldn't hold it together doing something messed up.

Thus, those known to be using PharmiTech take the following Social Limitation. If taken during character creation it counts towards the character's Disadvantage total and the points for it are gained; if it is added after play starts the character does not get the points for it.

JUICER:

Social Limitation: Juicer (Occasionally, Major, Not Limiting In Some Cultures); -5 points

COMPLEX PHARMITECH

SUBMIT A COMPLEX PHARMITECH BRAND

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The above PharmiTech doses were fairly simple constructs based around a single Aid, using the Expanded Effect Advantage to boost multiple characteristics. However, more complicated builds are possible, as illustrated in this section. Some GM's may not want to deal with the extra complexity of this style of PharmiTech, so check with your GM before becoming attached to the idea.

An advantage to using complex PharmiTech of this sort is that though they combine several boosts together they count as a single dose for purposes of determining Long Term Side Effects. However the downside is they cost a lot more money, and they often have deleterious effects bundled into them. Use the Complex option in the cost calculator.

NOTE: Individual Aid's in Complex PharmiTech might have different Fade Rates; use the longest term Fade Rate when determining cost.

AUGMAX BRAND:

This form of PharmiTech increases adrenaline output, allowing a user to pull off physical feats that would normally be beyond them, and to even keep going despite taking serious injuries.

While the dose is active the GM should secretly track the STUN the character takes as if it were 1 1/2 times its actual value; the character takes the normal amount while the dose is active, but when the dose wears off the character immediately takes all of the extra STUN that got through their defenses.

The extra STUN damage is not affected by Recoveries taken while the dose is active; when the dose wears off all the excess STUN is applied as a lump sum. Due to this it is possible for a user to simply keel over after a dose of Augmax wears off if they have suffered significant injuries.

EXAMPLE: An Augmax user is hit with an attack that does 10 STUN; the GM treats this as 15 STUN. The user has 12 PD, so 3 STUN from the extra 5 STUN would get through their defenses. Rather than apply the damage from the extra STUN now the GM notes down +3 STUN in a running tally. When the Augmax dose wears off, the sum of all such excess STUN is applied directly to the character with no defenses (as they have already been factored in).

Aid STR 3d6

Aid BODY 3d6; Lost After All Normal Body (-1)

Aid STUN 3d6; Lost After All Normal Stun (-1)

Aid DEX 3d6

Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x STUN, Taken When Effect Wears Off (Very Common)

TOTAL COST: 2,500 credits

GRRILLA BRAND:

This form of PharmiTech deadens pain; while the dose lasts the user barely feels pain, and can push their bodies without feeling the damage they are doing to it.

The user can't feel pain accurately; the GM should keep track of their CON and STUN for the duration, including how much they gained from the dose. When the does wears off, the user feels fatigue similar to the effects of running a full marathon and takes 5d6 Long Term Endurance loss.

Aid STR 1d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Hour; +1) (20 Active Points); Gradual Effect (20 Minutes; -1)

Aid CON 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Hour; +1) (100 Active Points); Gradual Effect (20 Minutes; -1)

Aid STUN 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Hour; +1) (100 Active Points); Gradual Effect (20 Minutes; -1)

Physical Limitation: Numb (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)

Physical Limitation: Fatigue After Dose Ends: 5d6 Long Term Endurance (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)

TOTAL COST: 70,000 credits

KWKN BRAND:

This is a powerful but dangerous drug that puts a user into a state of terminal overdrive. While the dose remains in effect the user is faster, more alert, and can move like the wind. However when the dose wears off the user is left in a pathetic, weakened state and may not even be able to move due to the strain they've placed on their body.

Also, whenever the user exerts themselves for more than about thirty seconds (three TURNs, essentially) at the heightened rate of speed they must make a CON Roll; if the roll is failed the character suffers a heart attack immediately.

Aid SPEED 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Day; +1 1/2) (125 Active Points); Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Side Effect does a predefined amount of damage; Drain 5d6 SPD with 5 per Day Fade when Aid Fades; -1 1/2)

Aid DEX 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Day; +1 1/2) (125 Active Points); Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Side Effect does a predefined amount of damage; Drain 5d6 DEX with 5 per Day Fade when Aid Fades; -1 1/2)

Aid Running 5d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Day; +1 1/2) (125 Active Points); Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Side Effect does a predefined amount of damage; Drain 5d6 Running with 5 per Day Fade when Aid Fades; -1 1/2)

Physical Limitation: Risk of Heart Attack (Infrequently, Greatly Impairing)

TOTAL COST: 480,000 credits