Shadowrun

Shadowrun General => Gear => Topic started by: Rockopolis on <05-09-11/1915:51>

Title: Pharmaceuticals
Post by: Rockopolis on <05-09-11/1915:51>
Do you think it's possible to get a Psyche Chemical Gland bioware?
There's though whole naturally occurring substances limitation, but they also list examples like cyanide or nitrous oxide.

Also, it may be a silly question, but what do you picture Shadowrun drugs looking like?
The mentat character I've been doodling around with has a Psyche habit, and I'm wondering how they take it.  Sounds like a designer drug pill, but I've always thought there aren't enough inhaler drugs in fiction.
Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: Chrona on <05-09-11/2001:50>
There are one use inhalers called Poppers for some drugs
Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: Mäx on <05-10-11/0339:33>
Do you think it's possible to get a Psyche Chemical Gland bioware?
No, i think it's pretty save to say that designer drugs aren't naturally occurring substances, nor are they in the least likely to be simple compounds made of elements found
naturally in the body.
Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: Rockopolis on <05-10-11/0618:39>
Yeah, you're probably right.  I was just hoping that someone could come up with a good arguement for having it.  Looks like I'll have to take my drugs the old fashioned way. :P
Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: Tsuzua on <05-11-11/1447:23>
Remember that in Shadowrun you can take drugs in any vector you want.  Psyche can be pills, slappatches, inhaler, cigarettes, or needles.

As for the chemical gland argument, I'll try my best.  So a designer drug is a drug that is made to mimic the effects of another drug typically for legal reasons.  Typically this is done by slightly altering the chemical formula or using a completely different formula that nonetheless has the same effect.  Since Psyche is a designer drug, that means that there is an "original" drug that Psyche is mimicking.  That drug might be natural. 

Another is Psyche is likely some relative of Ritalin and that's an organic chemical (C14H19N02).  I could see a genetically engineered bacteria being able to make it and thus you can create cells that can make it.  I could be totally wrong and you need high temperatures or something to create it, but odds are the GM won't know either.

Basically it boils down to the GM's call since the description in Augmentation is way too ambiguous for all but the most clear cut cases (no Plutonium glands). 
Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: Mäx on <05-11-11/1725:44>
As for the chemical gland argument, I'll try my best.  So a designer drug is a drug that is made to mimic the effects of another drug typically for legal reasons.  Typically this is done by slightly altering the chemical formula or using a completely different formula that nonetheless has the same effect.  Since Psyche is a designer drug, that means that there is an "original" drug that Psyche is mimicking.  That drug might be natural. 
I wouldn't really agree with your definition of what a designer drug is, so this would never fly with me atleast.
Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: Rockopolis on <05-11-11/1741:16>
Man, now I want a plutonium gland.
Title: Re: Pharmaceuticals
Post by: Rockopolis on <05-12-11/0650:25>
How does Slab stack up against Narcoject?  Can you use Slab in place of Narcoject?
Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: Tsuzua on <05-12-11/0732:55>
I wouldn't really agree with your definition of what a designer drug is, so this would never fly with me atleast.

While the argument is weak overall, the definition of designer drug I used is the definition of a designer drug (source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/designer+drug). 
Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: Charybdis on <05-12-11/0739:10>
I wouldn't really agree with your definition of what a designer drug is, so this would never fly with me atleast.

While the argument is weak overall, the definition of designer drug I used is the definition of a designer drug (source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/designer+drug).
Ow. Zing. +1 to you sir!
Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: Mäx on <05-12-11/0742:01>
I wouldn't really agree with your definition of what a designer drug is, so this would never fly with me atleast.

While the argument is weak overall, the definition of designer drug I used is the definition of a designer drug (source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/designer+drug).
Doing an dictionary attack on your GM is very likely to make you a target of an orbital bovine bombardment ;)

And while that may be the dictionary definition, it's not really how it's used in the contex.
Title: Re: Pharmaceuticals
Post by: Sid on <05-12-11/0915:40>
How does this work when you take the false front signal drug into account?
Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: Tsuzua on <05-12-11/0943:34>
I wouldn't really agree with your definition of what a designer drug is, so this would never fly with me atleast.

While the argument is weak overall, the definition of designer drug I used is the definition of a designer drug (source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/designer+drug).
Doing an dictionary attack on your GM is very likely to make you a target of an orbital bovine bombardment ;)

And while that may be the dictionary definition, it's not really how it's used in the contex.

I'm sorry I didn't actually mean my response to be such a harsh zing as it came out to be. 

However I do suspect that's the definition used in context for Psyche.  It's an altered version of another stimulant most likely to get around some sort of patent or legal issue.  I'm not sure why it's "allegedly created by MCT" though since Psyche is a perfectly legal over the counter drug in the SR universe.  MCT could just say that they made it and things would be cool.

Now, designer drugs do have the connotation of being synthetic which is why my argument for the Psyche chemical gland is weak.  But I thought I'll give it a shot.
Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: Mäx on <05-14-11/1315:01>
I'm sorry I didn't actually mean my response to be such a harsh zing as it came out to be. 
No harm done, that was just mostly a tongue in cheek reminder that you should never make that move when discussing the rules with you GM, as it might have nasty repercussions to your character  8)
Title: Re: Pharmaceuticals
Post by: Sid on <05-14-11/1556:54>
No one looked at the mimic signal drug and wondered how that stuff is natural bar me? :'(
Title: Re: Pharmaceuticals
Post by: Rockopolis on <05-14-11/1724:55>
The false front description actually says it can be synthesized by a chemical gland, actually.
Title: Re: Pharmaceuticals
Post by: Denver Doc on <06-08-11/1338:17>
The restriction against manufactured drugs vs. naturally occurring substances only exists for game balance purposes.  There are plenty of natural substances that take us so many thousands of times the resources to create in a lab where some synthesis of other compounds are simple but do not occur in nature... for a number of reasons; no evolved need, toxic (but not useful), etc. .  And before someone argues that this proves their point about only natural products, we still don't understand how many natural products are actually created because we don't understand how the natural organisms put it all together.  With the right kind of technology you could rearrange damn near any organic compound into a target compound.  Now this could lead to some bizarre deficiencies in your body if the gland was aggressive enough, it needs to get its resources from somewhere it doesn't just show up miraculously.  Of course BADs are an entirely different subject as even in 2072 they don't fully understand how they work, what with the magical component.  Additionally I can't speak for combat drugs of the future but I can tell you that modern amphetamines would be fairly simple for these glands to create... IF it wasn't simply a matter of game balance.




Title: Re: Psyche (and Other Fine Pharmaceuticals)
Post by: JoeNapalm on <06-08-11/1404:14>
I wouldn't really agree with your definition of what a designer drug is, so this would never fly with me atleast.

While the argument is weak overall, the definition of designer drug I used is the definition of a designer drug (source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/designer+drug).
Doing an dictionary attack on your GM is very likely to make you a target of an orbital bovine bombardment ;)

And while that may be the dictionary definition, it's not really how it's used in the contex.


Orbital bovine bombardment! Feche la vashe!

I never used cows, when I was GMing, but one of my teams did witness what happens when you piss off a very powerful rogue AI when there's a suborbital cargo plane hauling home appliances flying over.

Even a hardened combat vet will pause for reflection on their life choice when their team leader gets flattened by a Whirlpool.


-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist
Title: Re: Pharmaceuticals
Post by: CanRay on <06-08-11/1838:53>
I used a cow in a session once.

It was the most pain in the hoop game my group ever went through.
Title: Re: Pharmaceuticals
Post by: Yorick on <06-10-11/1901:18>
i could see a shadowrun for the extraction of a cow. IRL they are already doing genetic engineering to animals so that the milk would have drugs in it, as a cheaper way to produce the chemicals.
Title: Re: Pharmaceuticals
Post by: CanRay on <06-10-11/2001:37>
i could see a shadowrun for the extraction of a cow. IRL they are already doing genetic engineering to animals so that the milk would have drugs in it, as a cheaper way to produce the chemicals.
And you guessed why they had to extract the cow.

Now, what drug?   ;D  (Hint:  It was the group's Mob Connection that was demanding the extraction "*RIGHT FRAGGIN' NOW!*" because they influenced things that caused the company to go belly up, and it was being audited.