Can we take drugs please

[Fatback]

So I personally love when I see the ability to drink and do drugs in RPGs. The ability to have a low resolve pally with a heart of gold but can't get away from the drug and drink gives me role play fun.

 

I would like to get temp buffs then come down debuffs. With the ability to become addicted which causes perm debuffs unless on said drug.

 

Questions, comments, concerns

[Tuckey]

Sounds all good to me. Now pass me the skoma pipe.

[BruceVC]

I like the fact that you can take substances to enhance your abilities but I also think that sustained use of drugs should lead to physiological addiction and some kind of negative impact for the character. I remember this was implemented in an RPG I played...was it Fallout: NV?

[milczyciel]

I believe every Fallout in the series had it implemented. <yup, just checked wikia and here's a buffout addiction for example>

I would be pleased to see it harder or longer to shake off. The insta-clean approach of NV was somehow uninspired (playing unmoded hardcore atm) - just give 100 caps to any doc and you're as good as new, even if you've got addicted to the JET, which is suggested to be one of the worst drugs out there.

Edited January 21, 2014 by milczyciel

[BruceVC]

I believe every Fallout in the series had it implemented. <yup, just checked wikia and here's a buffout addiction for example>

I would be pleased to see it harder or longer to shake off. The insta-clean approach of NV was somehow uninspired (playing unmoded hardcore atm) - just give 100 caps to any doc and you're as good as new, even if you've got addicted to the JET, which is suggested to be one of the worst drugs out there.

 

Yeah that's right about how you dealt with addiction in F:NV, it was a bit easy. I agree drug addiction should take you longer to recover from and be more complicated

[Frenetic Pony]

Yes we can, in fact I'm on some right now!

 

Oh... uhm. In the, game. Nothing to see here  

[FlintlockJazz]

Hey, has this forum been holding out on me?  Damn people, share some of that **** around and pass me the fairy dust and a Orlan girl to snort it off of!

[Karkarov]

I never got the concept here.  If you want have them in game sure, I even took a little buffout here and there in Fallout when I felt I needed an edge.  But getting addicted to a drug in a video game?  That always struck me as something a adventurer of the main character/world saving caliber would not be doing.  Most people get addicted because they are bored with nothing better to do, reliant on them and need them to cope with "something", or feel the constant need for them to keep their "edge".  When you consider that in Skyrim for example you are Mr. Badass of Prophecy it seems silly that you wouldn't have something better to do, would need them to "cope", or need them for an "edge" you already have unique magic powers and can eat dragon souls ;p.

 

That said sure put it in game, why not?  I just think it should be more of an NPC thing.

[OldRPG'sAreGood]

I myself would hope to see svef, the drug introduced in some update that was, if I remember correctly, allowing it's users to see souls. Would make for a nice add I think, even if it's use would only seen in some single quest or a few, for the player I mean. 

 

But addiction as well, to svef and possibly others, should in my opinion also be present. In Fallout 1&2 I always got a "aaawww ****" feeling when my character got addicted after taking some battle changing drugs. Wrestling out of the addiction was always fun, as the flaws could really cripple some abilities and make battles and all tougher. 

 

Also, on a wider perspective, I think that drugs should be discussed and well showed in the game, as the svef concept alone, at least in my opinion, is quite intriguing. And they give certain flavor to places, such as New Reno in Fallout 2, in the form of problems and such. 

[Keyrock]

Aren't potions essentially drugs?

[IndiraLightfoot]

Aren't potions essentially drugs?

Indeed. Wouldn't be cool if they had side effects, or at least that you run the risk of getting addicted? I mean, like BruceVC mentioned, it's too easy to shake the disease/addiction via one of them super meds lying around almost everywhere.

[Keyrock]

 

Aren't potions essentially drugs?

Indeed. Wouldn't be cool if they had side effects, or at least that you run the risk of getting addicted? I mean, like BruceVC mentioned, it's too easy to shake the disease/addiction via one of them super meds lying around almost everywhere.

 

The Witcher games have that to a small degree, where chugging down too many potions can put your toxicity levels into dangerous territory, though they don't really deal with potential addiction.  I'm all for drinking potions carrying with it a risk factor, one that should rise exponentially if you quaff large amounts in a short time.

Edited January 21, 2014 by Keyrock

[milczyciel]

@Karkarov Why not? If the lore of the game says, that the substance X or Y is so potent, that almost every one that used it ends up as a junkie, then giving it at least some side effects / withdrawal, serves as a consistency theme (in addition for obvious debuffing).

Myron said back then that JET has 100% addiction rate, so even if he was full of himself saying that, it made a lot of sense for Fallout 2 to make such a potent drug a strong theme in both story, and game mechanics, which I believe happened in F2.

In fact it was so convincing and hard to "cure" that I kept my char clean on almost 99% cases.

 

Don't get me wrong, there's no "hidden motivation" on my side as I simply lack experience and thus motivation. Being a terrible bore I can only speak about and criticize the alcohol debuffs from BG. I'd be never able to get out of the tavern on myself, not to mention fighting a bear or dire wolf after drinking as hard as I did, to learn some gossips back then in Beregost...

In fact, remembering a two particular hangovers of mine (happened to me years ago, when I didn't know much about my limits) I can safely assume that I'd be out of the "adventuring" for at least 24h.

I suppose it may be the reason why I liked the "hangower" sidequest in Witcher 2 - not because of it's humor or the pop-cultural reference.

 

Drugs on the other hand, especially those made up? I expect them to fit their in-game description (and thus eliciting player's expectations) no less

Edited January 21, 2014 by milczyciel

[IndiraLightfoot]

Imagine stumbling upon a spaced out potion-of-Perception junkie!

And potion-of-Resolve junkies probably will be found dabbling with souls and science.

[rjshae]

Sister Sarah's Surly Sauce and Magic Mushroom Mudpacks. It heals what's hurting and is quite trippy, but has the side effect of producing small vegetative growths on some parts the skin that are an absolute bugger to dig out. God-like creatures, beware.

[milczyciel]

Heh, but on the more serious note - I can't stop but fantasize about getting psychically addicted to svef and particullary it's "soul seeing" effect. Because I don't know - one's longing for his dead wife trope?

In fact wouldn't such a thing be an obvious work-risk at least among those studying, manipulating or harvesting souls (imagine a shelter for old cipher junkies and all that)?

Edited January 21, 2014 by milczyciel

[Kjaamor]

For all I loved Fallout, one of the things I think it did poorly was the addiction roll. I know we constantly debate save/reload spamming on these forums, but I just think that addiction should be something surreptious and not something you can just reload to avoid. Maybe make the roll at the time and keep it hidden, and then expose the result several game days later.

 

I'm not particularly arguing from the immersion standpoint (although that's obviously a bonus). I just think there's an opportunity for a good gameplay mechanic there, and if drugs are going to be in we should make the most of it, rather than the consequence-less bonus of Fallout.

 

 

I never got the concept here.  If you want have them in game sure, I even took a little buffout here and there in Fallout when I felt I needed an edge.  But getting addicted to a drug in a video game?  That always struck me as something a adventurer of the main character/world saving caliber would not be doing.

 

See, personally I always thought that given that adventurers predominantly seem to hang around in taverns, accrue vast sums of gold but have no property to store possession in, and have careers based almost exclusively around violence, that alcohol and other such things would've weighed in pretty heavily.

 

Again, to drag a gameplay event out of it, I would love a "[not particularly]hardcore" mode where at the end of each day you have to spend gold to feed your party, but the amount they spend/what they spend it on is automated based upon each member's personality. "Saving up for that mithril chainmail be damned, this dwarf wants his keg!" etc.

[Nonek]

Does Earl Grey count as a drug? If so I shall be a vicarious abuser.

[milczyciel]

Does Earl Grey count as a drug? If so I shall be a vicarious abuser.

My dear misguided Nonek, it's a common knowledge that green tea is superior in every way to the ovestated earl grey. And please, don't even start with it's being suitable for a refined gentleman - I heard that already and the fact I'm foreigner (thus supposedly accustomed to the bland tastes of green tea) doesn't make your unreasonable opinion any more valid

 

Diclamer for those unfortunate enough (as I bet Nonek understood the joke): GO PLAY ARCANUM :D

And I love earl grey. Coincidentally I'm sipping one at the very moment. Hmmm...

[Kjaamor]

My dear misguided Nonek, it's a common knowledge that green tea is superior in every way to the ovestated earl grey. And please, don't even start with it's being suitable for a refined gentleman - I heard that already and the fact I'm foreigner (thus supposedly accustomed to the bland tastes of green tea) doesn't make your unreasonable opinion any more valid

 

Diclamer for those unfortunate enough (as I bet Nonek understood the joke): GO PLAY ARCANUM :D

And I love earl grey. Coincidentally I'm sipping one at the very moment. Hmmm...

 

 

If memory serves correctly, when Orcs Troll.

[JayDGee]

Having an NPC who has issues with addiction if done correctly could be very interesting.

 

They start off as a high functioning addict, you wouldn't even know if you hadn't seen them take it. You even believe them when they say its purely recreational.

 

Then the brutality of the campaign sets in. You've all seen death maybe even lost someone close to along way.

There's no way its recreational now.

 

The characters health starts to deteriorate they're not as good as they were. Didn't you used to have more gold?

You confront them they refuse to admit they have a problem.

 

You only see them again when they've hit the bottom. What the hell happened to them on the way down?

[Gyges]

I like this idea just cause i feel its flipping the bird to publishers who would rather not have them for fear of offending people. Gods forbid established ideas are challenged.

Gambling in The Witcher and the Dragon Quest games were great.

Edited January 21, 2014 by Gyges

[Lephys]

Our main character in PoE apparently bears witness to some jarring, supernatural event. Maybe he/she needs to cope with it? *shrug*

[Sir Chaox]

I don't mind adding something like this if it makes sense. Just adds another layer to the game. But if it's just tacked on as some buffing and debuffing mechanic without mentioning any of the social issues these drugs produce in the world, then just leave it out. Adding some additional dialogue options for drug addicts would be cool as well, but that might be going too far (only saying that because of budget/time restraints).

[milczyciel]

I don't mind adding something like this if it makes sense. Just adds another layer to the game. But if it's just tacked on as some buffing and debuffing mechanic without mentioning any of the social issues these drugs produce in the world, then just leave it out. Adding some additional dialogue options for drug addicts would be cool as well, but that might be going too far (only saying that because of budget/time restraints).

<sigh> Just imagine few additional AAA millions thrown at writers <sigh>

Ah well, it's already a dream coming true so... who knows.