Where would we be without the joys of a rampaging drug use and abuse?

Probably a lot better off.

Just look at what they do to people, Clan Frothers for example. Generations of humans, taking hardcore SLA, Darknight and Street Drugs that grow up, fight, f*ck and slop out a semi-retarded, inbred nightmare into the world that’s bigger, stronger, dumber and more or less born addicted. And why not, most Frothers end up in SLA in some capacity where they get on the RUSH, the UV and sign a little form that says, “This shit might kill you in seven years.” Considering the average lifetime of an op on the street is about a year, maybe three for a good one, five for someone exceptional and seven if you're really, really damn lucky.

It’s like saying to someone else in the normal world.

“Hey, heres a drug that might kill you when you're 60. But in the meantime it’ll make you a well hard bastard.”

Well damn, sign me up for some of that and serve me up some McUV and McFlush.

Assuming they live that long, some manage to spawn a few more little frothers with whatever they manage to impregnate along the way and a new generation of demented tartan wearing loonies, or worse, a clan-less one and they can be more dangerous than eating at a downtown noodle shop.

But we’re not here to really lecture you on drugs and how they can turn your kids into squalling brats screaming at the top of their lungs for a hit before they even know what a tit is.

No, you’d be mad without walking into a firefight, brawl or heck, in some parts of the neighbourhood without a few doses of Knitters on you and maybe a hit of something else to make you move quicker. Besides, in a world this messed up maybe you're better off looking at it through a haze of red or hallucinogens, because the real world is pretty ugly, scary and lonely.

So you didn’t make op, maybe even SLA isn’t desperate enough to pick up a born to loser like you, or you simply don’t go in for the whole lifestyle. But you need a hit of something.

Uppers, downers, knitters, frothers, round-about deluders and maybe a little something to take away the pain.

Think of it as a big happy garden, full of bountiful trees laden with salvation.
Because the reality is a bit too harsh for most to ever comprehend.

I mean, this shit is made by the guys even SLA won’t employ!

Darknight

By far and away the largest supplier of hardcore drugs next to SLA, what they lack in shitty tactics, lame armour, cheapo guns and pointless ideals, they make up for with some of the hardest combat drugs and relaxation stuff in the universe for dirt cheap prices. Of course, none of it is cheap once you're addicted, none of it will do you any good if you take it for too long and they're always happy to sell you some more.

Shatter
There’s probably more myths about this baby than there are stars in the sky. SLA will tell you it will mutate your body over time, Thresher thinks it’s the closest thing to hell on earth and to be honest, neither are lying either. Shatter is full of things that no one else has manage to synthesise in a lab, suspecting many to believe its got some kind of rare organic or ebb manufactured component in it that they’ll never tell. You’ve got a better chance of finding out Mr Slayer's favourite colour of undies than you’ll find out what’s in it. What you will find out the hard way is that this shit will make you a god in combat.

Like SLA mostly makes use of Kickstart for most of its drugs, Darknight use Strain 0 as the basis for most of theirs.

Shatter Strain 0
Almost never sold on the street as a pure combat drug, when it is, it’s only to be watered down with something else so they can sell more of it. Should you be ‘lucky’ enough to lay your hands on this gear it will probably kill you after the first hit, because no one else is likely to do it short of running you over with a tank. While they are very rare, some regular users are also known as ‘Zero Assassins’ and are quite capable in some cases of killing entire squads of SHIVER and lightly armed ops with little more than a 10mm pistol or knife and no armour.

Effects: Bio regeneration 1 Hit or 1 Wound per 2 phases, No PHYS or COOL rolls,
-50% damage taken, +2 Actions per round, +5 STR, Ignore wound penalties
+4 ranks Sociopathic
Addiction: Immediate.
Duration: 48 hours
Detox: Death in 24hours
Cost: 25,000u / dose

Shatter Strain M0
M0 is far more common as Shatter combat drug, it is essentially a watered down version of Strain 0 which mimics UV or Rush in some respects. Usually administered to DN troops prior to combat enough of it filters down to the streets to be quite readily available to users.

Effects: No PHYS or COOL rolls, -50% damage taken, +3STR.
Addiction: -2 PHYS per dose, 4 doses per day, kills user 1year after becoming addicted
Duration: 8 hours
Detox: -5 DIA, -2 all physical STATS
Cost: 500u / dose

Shatter Strain 12
‘One-Two’ as it is more commonly known is a very dangerous combat drug that is more often than not, used in conjunction with one of the others to produce some truly vicious effects on the user as it combines well with other drugs. Not the least of which is the physical toll on the body after as it is a hyper-metabolic enhancement, it’s easy to spot a user, they are rake thin after a few months of use.

Effects: +3 actions a round, +2 DIA, +2 DEX
Addiction: -2 PHYS per 12 doses, 4 doses per day, kills user 6months after becoming addicted.
Duration: 4 hours, User loses two actions and moves at half speed for 2hours due to extreme fatigue. Unless they take another dose.
Detox: -5 DIA, -2 all physical STATS
Cost: 300u / dose

Shatter Strain 9
‘Nine-er’ is a frightening cocktail of cut down Strain 0, a number of very potent anaesthetics, some hyper-metabolic enhancers and probably the most common form of ‘high powered’ Shatter on the streets next to M0. SLA fears ‘Nine-er’ users probably more than the others combined, mostly because of they're immense ability to soak up a horrendous amount of punishment and feel absolutely no pain. Eventually after prolonged use an addict will lose all their physical feelings in their hands, feet and face.

Effects: No PHYS or COOL rolls, -50% damage taken.
-2 to hit with melee or firearms due to lack of feeling in limbs. Ignore wound penalties.
Addiction: -4 PHYS per 2 doses, Constant.
Duration: 12 hours
Detox: -5 DIA, -4 all physical STATS
Cost: 400u / dose

Shatter Strain 8
Called by some the best combat healing drug around, Strain 8 or ‘Blackball’ as it is more commonly called is a mixed blessing. It will heal a phenomenal amount of damage very quickly upon injection and its mix of anticoagulants, anaesthetics and ability to keep healing for some time after it is injected make it standard kit for most Darknight soldiers and agents. Cut with a powerful amount of anti-depressants it also functions to leave the user in a euphoric state for some time, many users are reluctant to go without it.

Effects: Takes effect 2 phases after injection, No Cool rolls, heals 4 wounds/4hits (Wounds first) and continues to heal 5wounds/5hits at the end of every combat round for one hour.
-2 to hit with melee or firearms due to lack of feeling in limbs. Ignore wound penalties
Addiction: -4 PHYS per 10 doses, 4 doses per day.
Duration: 1 hour
Detox: -5 DIA, -4 all physical STATS
Cost: 100u / dose

Shatter Strain 7
The cheapest and possibly the most nasty of the Shatter strains, ‘Seven’ is also the most common form of street combat drug available. Used to dose up large amounts of ‘trash troops’, penal legions and other expendables it serves this function quite well. Being very heavily cut means that it is also highly addictive due to the massive amounts of ‘filler’ in its final production, consisting mostly of an anaesthetic and euphoric chemicals. Darknight ships millions of doses annually of this drug, seeming to care little for the destruction it wreaks on the societies that buy it.

Effects: No PHYS rolls, -25% damage taken. -2 to hit with melee or firearms due to lack of feeling in limbs. Ignore wound penalties
Addiction: -4 PHYS per 12 doses, Constant, kills users within 5years of addiction.
Duration: 4 hours
Detox: -5 DIA, -4 all physical STATS
Cost: 50u / dose

GM’s notes

Nice and cheap little things aren’t they?

The things that go into Shatter are rather ‘truthy’ so I won’t go into too much detail, but let’s just say, Darknight has a few allies that produce the main component of Shatter that we’ll leave a sleeping dog lie.

(When they wake up and there will be a big chunk taken out of the WOP’s arse anyway.)

After about 3months of constant Shatter use and abuse the user is going to notice changes, just little ones at first, like they're a bit dumber than they used to be (-1DIA and -1CONC) which is ok, because they're generally not real bright anyway and one more dumb-shit in the WOP isn’t going to really be noticed. Six months down the track and there’s going to be a bit more noticeable effect, extra 3hits in each location, another -1 DIA due to tougher bones, stronger organs and skin. Add an extra 10kg to the body mass and two to three centimetres of height.

Nine months though and there’s big changes, the pupils stay open and the user is more adverse to bright light (-2 Detect) and the skin becomes rubbery, pale and mottled slightly grey around the abdomen, thighs and upper arms. Most are dead within a year from the heavier doses but a couple will struggle on, stronger, tougher and more aggressive +2 ranks Psychosis, +4STR, +4PHYS and continue that way until they die, either of natural causes or the drug eats their brain and they are reduced to a vegetative state.

Some individuals however manage to adapt to the drug, humans become the mutated vessels for a genetic sequence, much like their Frother cousins in chemistry.

Darknight really likes these guys, they're called ‘Trancers’ and they're not happy little ravers in nightclubs that wave glow-sticks around…

Oh no baby...

Thresher

Lack of resources, lack of materials, draconian laws inside the company and a general lack of interest on their behalf maybe. Thresher never really conned onto the whole ‘better life through chemicals’ ethos that SLA, Darknight and the rest of the universe seemed to ingrain into itself. They don’t even sell very many of them and some of the ones they do, aren’t even addictive! Hows that for some whacky shit?

Nanotech this to fix that, nanotech that to fix this, eugenics so we’re all so much better than the rest of you dick eaters, have a big suit of armour that actually stops bullets and a number of big fuck off guns that never seem to miss and they don’t sell them either. What small trickle of chemical fun that runs out the crack of this damn tight-arse of a company is impressive, a lot of it gets bought by dealers who cut it for resale as almost all strains of these drugs are in their pure form.

VRI-IL
A hybrid of Nanotechnology and chemical engineering, this devastating combat drug is rarely used and even more rarely sold to company agents and soldiers due to the destructive effects on the nervous system if the dosage is stopped. It was originally manufactured as a way of treating battlefield trauma that required immediate attention, but the effects of the drug where too slow so it was hesitantly tested as a combat drug. They still do sell it on the open market to anyone stupid enough to use it.

It is administered by pill and takes 5 minutes to come to full effect.

Effects: Bio regeneration 1 Hit or 1 Wound per 5 phases, No PHYS or COOL rolls
Addiction: -5 PHYS per dose, continuous
Duration: 12 hours
Detox: -1 All STATS plus effects of Cerebral Palsy
Cost: 2000u /dose

JC-TH0
Constructed chemically like the original Rush it has a similar effect to its predecessor but has had an added calmative added to the mix. Nicknamed 'Joe Cool' by soldiers and addicts it hasn’t found a huge market outside Thresher with most of the hardcore combat drug fans preferring the SLA and DN products.
It is administered by injection and takes 6 phases to come into effect

Effects: +1 Action/round, no PHYS rolls, damage cut by 25%, +1cool
Duration: 3hours
Addiction: -5 to Phys per 5 doses, Continuous
Detox: -1 STR, -1 PHYS, -1 COOL
Cost: 600u / dose

VA-RL9
'Cloud nine' as it is more commonly known is a strong medical anaesthetic used in surgery and triage to knock a patient out. -9 to Phys to avoid the effects, cumulative with additional doses. The drug is a well-manufactured chemical, which has little chance of causing death by overdose; this has made it popular with Skin Traders. There is also a secondary strain of the drug, VA-RL90 that is the same but can be used on people who may be allergic to the original drug.
It is administered by injection and takes 3 phases to come into effect

Effects: No pain, unconsciousness
Duration: 1 hour
Addiction: -2 to Phys per 15 doses
Detox: -1STR, -1 PHYS, Rank 1 Bad Sleeper
Cost: 120u / dose

Ex-AB10-A
Used in the treatment of diseases, this drug will not counter some of the more horrific bio weapons but it has saved the lives of many a civilian to cure some of the more generic life threatening, debilitating diseases and infections.
It is administered in pill or injection

Effects: Antibiotic / Antiviral
Duration: Length of disease being treated
Addiction: Non addictive
Cost: 25u / dose

Ex-Punge
A detoxing user on this program is warned that other medical drugs like Kickstart won’t work while they are on a cycle of this drug. This is a popular choice for medics to carry in their kit as the drug removes poisons and can assist in the treatment of blood infections. It is administered by injection

Effects: Prevents other drugs effects and stops Detox
Duration: 30-day cycle
Dosage: 2 per day
Addiction: Non addictive
Cost: 70u / dose

TH-DC
Thresher don’t have a lot in the way of technology for healing drugs, Kickstart has been around in the company for quite some time so they refined it back to its pure form. The export quality product is the same for all intents and purposes but is slightly less pure. TH-DC is the standard trauma drug found in Thresher Agents Medical Kits.
It is administered by injection

Effects: 2 Hits regained, closes 2 Wounds 3 phases after injection, continues to heal 2hits and close 2 wounds for four additional phases.
Addiction: -1PHYS every 30doses
Duration: 5phases
Cost: 300u / dose

TH-XPAN
Comes in it own 1-shot injector, which resembles an oversize metal syringe with a 10cm long titanium needle. Containing 5cc of pure adrenaline, 3cc’s of highly refined TH-DC and a number of unidentified hyper-metabolic chemicals and nanites. It is well known that Thresher have stolen large amounts of LAD facilities and the chemical drugs used in them, this is a by-product of that medical technology which they have adapted seeing as they couldn’t get LAD to work properly.
Used by field surgeons, medics and corps men as a ‘last resort’ it is injected into the jugular or brain of a dead or dying patient. If someone at 0 or -10 total hits with an intact head is injected with XPAN within 60seconds of going down it will give the medic another 5minutes to try and repair the major injuries that ‘killed’ them. While it isn’t exactly a second chance and very rare on the street markets, XPAN is proving to have some use in the hands of someone with first aid or surgical skills in getting the victim to ‘1hit’ and stabilised.
No head, it doesn't work.
Effects: 1 Hits regained from 0 to –total hits. Allowing time for Paramedic skill to stabilise patient and repair wounds. (See Paramedic in last chapter)
Addiction: Non-Addictive
Duration: 5 minutes
Cost: 4000u / dose

Street Drugs

While many small soft companies out there spend their time dodging the ‘big 3’ from walking in and taking their own research, most spend their time synthesising knock-offs of either SLA, Darknight or Thresher drugs. These alternatives are sometimes good, something excellent and mostly just plain bad. Backyard chemistry, while it is fun has the joy taken out of it when you whip up a batch of gear and kill the people you're trying to sell too. Many thousands of soft companies disappear like this overnight, another will take up the flag, usually within hours and continue the march, until they blow it, blow themselves up or someone comes in and blows them up.

Soft company drugs is like betting, for hardcore punters that don’t mind taking the odd fall into brain damage, heart-lung failure and psychosis if they think it will get them off.

You’d be truly amazed at what people will stick inside themselves.

Ask any medical person working in an emergency ward.

Spin that Wheel bitch : Variables for street drugs and ‘copies’ of existing market drugs.

Effects: Add a 5 to 10% chance it causes immediate overdose. User reduced to 0 hits and will require someone with First aid skill to get them breathing again within 5minutes.

Duration: Increase or Decrease this by 10-50%

Dosage: Variable by Duration

Detox: Get creative here and twist the numbers a bit to be cruel.

Addiction: Add +0 to +3 to PHYS rolls here. We like customers…

Cost: Subjective, work out when the local labs been done over and how good supply is.

Crank
Origins: New Amsterdam
A very addictive and potent Methamphetamine which has usually been cut with some neutral chemicals to assist in transportation and injection, in its purest form it is highly toxic to most anything drawing breath and will cause a heart attack within seconds of injection. Made from a combination of other highly toxic chemicals which are capable of killing a healthy person from their merest touch or inhalation.

Administered: Injected
Effects: +1 Action Phase per Round, complete lack of sleep for duration, -3CONC
Duration: 2hours
Detox: Acute Fatigue, -3CONC permanent, +2 ranks Paranoia. +1 Rank Bad Sleeper
Addiction: -1PHYS per 10 doses
Cost: 15u / dose

Manufacture: Requires a recipe, Chemistry Skill 5, Chem Lab and 10,000u of chemicals to make 1000 doses.

Bloo
Origins: New Amsterdam
Popular Party drug that induces a feeling of happiness, euphoria and lack of sleep, often cut with some traces of Crank which makes for a more aggressive party.

Administered: Eaten
Effects: Removes Depression, complete lack of sleep, -2 DIA
Duration: 6hours
Detox: -2DIA, +1 rank of Psychosis
Addiction: -1PHYS per 20 doses
Cost: 10u / dose

Manufacture: Requires a recipe, Chemistry Skill 7, Chem Lab and 2,000u of chemicals to make 1000 doses

Pentafine
Origins: Orienta
Highly addictive neural suppressant that induces feelings of euphoria, happiness and sleep, there are at least a hundred different variations on Pentafine that all do much that same and made by a few hundred manufacturers. Made from a number of highly concentrated plant extracts (which can be rare at times) and common chemicals it is a relatively simple process to make.

Administered: Smoked
Effects: Removes Depression, Euphoria, sleep, -5 DIA, +4 CONC
Duration: 6hours
Detox: -2DIA
Addiction: -1PHYS per 10 doses
Cost: 10u / dose

Manufacture: Requires a recipe, Chemistry Skill 3, Chem Lab and 4,000u of chemicals to make 1000 doses

Char
Origins: Orienta
A more refined version of Pentafine that lasts longer and has a powerful hallucinogenic effect on the mind, it also makes users liable to act out their wildest fantasies. Most of which are truly disturbing and probably best left in the subconscious.

Administered: Injected
Effects: +5CONC -5DIA, extreme hallucinogen.
Duration: 12hours
Detox: -2DIA -2 CONC +4 ranks Psychosis
Addiction: -1PHYS per 5 doses
Cost: 15u / dose

Manufacture: Requires a recipe, Chemistry Skill 7, Chem Lab and 6,000u of chemicals to make 1000 doses

Gammamphentine (aka Gamma)
Origins: Mort
A potent and highly destructive amphetamine substance made from some truly dangerous chemicals, it makes users highly aggressive, fast and not particularly smart. Probably responsible for more homicides and has filled more lunatic asylums than many other street drugs combined. It’s also common as dirt, as are its users.

Administered: Injected
Effects: +2 phases per round, No Cool Rolls. -3CONC
Duration: 4hours
Detox: -3CONC +5 ranks Psychosis, +4 Ranks bad sleeper
Addiction: -1PHYS per 5 doses, +1 rank Psychosis
Cost: 20u / dose

Manufacture: Requires a recipe, Chemistry Skill 8, Chem Lab and 6,000u of chemicals to make 1000 doses

Lucy
Origins: Mort
Probably more commonly used on people by skin traders to sedate units, it still has its aficionado’s in the population of most worlds as a mild aphrodisiac and sedative which induces feelings of euphoria.

Administered: Injection/Ingestion
Effects: Euphoria, -5 DIA, +5 COOL
Duration: 12hours
Detox: -2DIA, +5 ranks Bad Sleeper
Addiction: -1PHYS per 20 doses
Cost: 5u / dose

Manufacture: Requires a recipe, Chemistry Skill 5, Chem Lab and 2,000u of chemicals to make 1000 doses

White Ice (aka Sugar)
Origins: Mort
If someone on Mort asks you if you want some sugar, say no. Probably closer to a poison than a pleasure drug, it does deck people quite well by lowering their blood pressure and blocking neurotransmitters. Abductions, murder, date rape, organ legging, this stuff is used for them all and probably some others which you don’t want to know about. Doses are cumulative, if a second dose is given it doubles duration and PHYS roll to resist the effects. Three doses usually kills damn near anything.

Administered: Injection/Injestion
Effects: Paralysis, unconsciousness. (PHYS roll -12 to resist), no pain.
Duration: 12hours
Detox: -1 PHYS
Addiction: -1PHYS per 10 doses
Cost: 5u / dose

Manufacture: Requires a recipe, Chemistry Skill 5, Chem Lab and 2,000u of chemicals to make 1000 doses.