Alcohol and Effects

EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL
"Drink hardy me 'lads for tomorrow we die!"
--- Reid Bluebaugh
In wine's intoxication lays the truth!
--- Anon

After consuming a serving of alcohol, a character must make a constitution check with the following penalties:
Beer -1 Ale -2 Wine -3 Mead -4 Liquor -5
The penalties accumulate with each check per state of intoxication. For example, after Rath drinks his third ale he must make his constitution check with a -6 penalty. If Rath moves into a state of slight intoxication (see below) due to a failed constitution check, his ale penalty is reset back to -2. Of course, the penalty will continue to get worse as he drinks in this state and reset to -2 when he goes into a moderate state of intoxication. NOTE: Serving sizes vary depending on type. For example, a typical serving size of liquor is around 2 fluid ounces. Beer, ale, and mead have a serving size around 16 to 20 fluid ounces. While a serving size for wine is around 10 to 14 ounces. The serving size is decided by the DM. If a character fails his/her constitution check, his/her state of intoxication moves up. There are three states: slight, moderate, great. The state an intoxicated person is in will have the following effects: Intoxication Table:
Effect State of Intoxication on Slight Moderate Great Morale +1 +2 +3 Intelligence -1 -3 -6 Wisdom -1 -4 -7 Dexterity 0 -2 -5 Charisma 0 -1 -4 Attack Dice 0 -1 -5 Hit Points 0 +1 +3 % of Spell Failure 25 50 100

NOTES ON INTOXICATION TABLE
Morale pertains only to non-player characters. Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, and Charisma indicate the number of points the various characteristics are lowered temporarily due to intoxication. Remember to check the PHB to see the effects of attribute lose. Attack dice refers to adjustments to THAC0 and saving throws. An opponents saving throws vs. magical attacks made by an intoxicated character is raised by the same number. Hit points are increased due to the effects of the alcohol on the intoxicate person. He/she can physically withstand more punishment. OPTIONAL RULE: Make the hit point adjustments +10% and +30%, rather than +1 and +3. % of Spell Failure refers to the chance that a spell that is cast will fail. A mage or cleric has difficulty with somatic and verbal components due to his/her inebriation. When in a great state of intoxication, the mage/cleric has complete memory loss of the spell and must relearn the spell upon recuperation. Being in a state of great intoxication is dangerous. When a character is in this state, he/she no longer continues to make a constitution check. Instead he/she must make a saving throw vs. poison. A cumulative penalty of -1 goes into effect as the character continues to drink. If a character fails his/her saving throw, he/she passes out. With each saving throw a character has a cumulative 5% of permanently lowering his/her constitution by 1 point.
Example
For example, Rath has just missed his constitution check from his last glass of ale and is now in a state of great intoxication. He orders another glass and drinks it. He makes his save vs. poison and has a 5% chance of lowering his constitution, which doesn't happen. He orders another glass and gulps it down. He makes his save vs. poison and now has a 10% chance of lowering his constitution, which doesn't happen. He orders yet another glass and gulps it down. This time he misses his save and passes out. Now he has 15% chance of lowering his constitution, which unfortunately happens. Rath is now passed out and has a permanent deduction of 1 from his constitution. Another victim of drunkenness.


Optional Wisdom Rule
As a person continues to drink, he/she tends to consume more and more alcohol without really noticing it. Thus, the consumer must begin making a Wisdom check after each drink once he/she reaches a state of slight intoxication. A successful check allows the consumer to quit drinking if he/she desires. A failed check indicates that a person will attempt to have another drink if possible (i.e. has money, alcohol is available, etc.). A friendly, non-hostile person around the drinker who wants to prevent him/her from continuing to drink can attempt to by making a successful Charisma check. Success indicates that the person talked the drinker into stopping. However, a failed check makes the drinker angry and no further attempts can be made by the less that charismatic person.
Optional Weight Rule
A person that weighs more tends to handle alcohol better than one who weighs less. Since most creatures' weights aren't known, the best indication of weight would be size. Thus, the penalties/bonuses are relative to size. The following penalties/bonuses can be assigned to the constitution check that is made after consuming a serving of alcohol:
Tiny -4 Small -2 Man 0 Large +2 Huge +4 Gargantuan +6

Optional Drunk Disposition Rule
Once a person enters a state of great intoxication, his/her disposition has a tendency to change. The DM has a few options in how to handle this. Option one, the player chooses from the table which disposition he/she wishes the character to have. Option two, the player rolls once on the table for the character and makes this the disposition the character will always have when drunk. Option three, the player rolls on the table each time the character is drunk. The effects to disposition are optional. Some DMs may not wish to use the effects because it may cause game imbalance.
TABLE: Disposition
Roll Disposition Effect 1 animated, excited, alert +1d4 to save vs. passing out 2 sleepy, "Zzzzzz" -1d4 to save vs. passing out 3 show-off, foolhardy, challenging +1d4 morale 4 melancholy, annoying -1d4 morale 5 chatty, know-it-all +1d4 intelligence 6 quiet, content, stupefied -1d4 intelligence 7 happy, everything seems good +1d4 wisdom 8 mean, cranky, annoyed -1d4 wisdom 9 humorous, amusing, comical +1d4 charisma 10 egotistical, cocky, bragging -1d4 charisma 11 clumsy, clutz, "Oops" -1d4 dexterity 12 horny, aroused see boo-hag effect

Optional Boo-Hag Effect
The effect of being drunk (i.e. in a state of great intoxication) makes the character more susceptible to seduction. This effect is better known as the "boo-hag" effect. In other words, the appearance and charisma of a person of the opposite sex no longer matters. This is represented by a-1d4+1 to any seduction rolls made by the character when a person is trying to seduce him/her. Note that the character is also 50% more likely to attempt seduction of other people.
Optional/Alternative Intelligence Loss Rule
A DM may opt to make a character lose a point of intelligence rather than constitution when a save vs. poison is failed. A more vindictive DM may opt to make the character lose the constitution point and then make him/her roll another constitution check. Failure indicates that the character loses a point of intelligence. The main reason for this is because prolonged use of alcohol kills brain cells.
Alternative Percentage Loss
Some feel that the percent chance of losing a point of intelligence or constitution is to drastic. A night of hard drinking shouldn't do a person in. Rather, extended periods of serious boozing should do such severe damage to the character. Therefore, when a character is in a state of great intoxication, he/she no longer continues to make a constitution check. Instead he/she must make a saving throw vs. poison. A cumulative penalty of -1 goes into effect as the character continues to drink. If a character fails his/her saving throw, he/she passes out. With each saving throw a character has a cumulative .1% of permanently lowering his/her constitution by 1 point. This cumulative percent is cumulative throughout the character's life.
Alternative Alcohol Penalties
Some campaigns may consider the penalties for the various alcoholic drinks to be incorrect. An alternative is provided for those who wish it. Thus, after consuming a serving of alcohol, a character must make a constitution check with the following penalties: Beer -1 Ale -2 Liquor -2 Wine -3 Mead -3
Alcohol And Races
People have suggested that certain races like dwarves and elves should have bonuses or penalties when drinking alcohol because they would naturally have more or less of a tolerance. Well, technically this could be and is true. Table 8 on page 20 of the Player's Handbook lists racial ability adjustments during character creation. Dwarves receive a +1 to constitution and elves receive a -1 to constitution. Furthermore, demihumans like dwarves have bonuses to poison saves and poison saves play an important role in these rules. Therefore, since alcohol checks are based on constitution and adjustments to constitution are made during character creation and certain races get bonuses to poison saves, there is no need for any additional adjustments. However, DMs may still give bonuses and penalties to races if he/she wishes. Paladins
Nice DMs may allow a paladin to have +1 bonus to constitution when consuming alcohol because they have a great immunity to such "evil" like alcohol. On the other hand, the DM may induce a -1 penalty to constitution because such poisonous toxins like alcohol are dangerous to the purity of a paladin. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

RECOVERY FROM INTOXICATION

Wine, a turn-coat; first a friend, and then an enemy.
--- Thomas Fuller
Wine prepares the heart for love, Unless you take too much.
--- Ovid

Time is the only cure for intoxication, although certain stimulants might shorten the recovery time. Note that a person may only be affected by stimulants once.
Recovery From Intoxication:
Intoxication Recovery Stimulant Multiplier Level Time Mild Medium Strong
Slight 1-4 hours x .80 x .65 x .50 Moderate 4-8 hours x .85 x .70 x .55 Great 8-14 hours x .90 x .75 x .55 Comatose 14-20 hours x .95 x .80 x .60
As a person recovers, his/her statistics that are affected begin to go back to normal. For example, a comatose person's recovery time is 19 hours and his/her stats are based on this. Five hours later, he/she moves into a state of great intoxication and his/her stats are relative to this state, and so on.
Having A Hangover
Although the victim's statistics will slowly return to normal, he will suffer unpleasant after-effects that are known in the drunks' world as a hangover. After a person finally gets down to a state of slight intoxication, he/she rolls on Table 1 (1d100) and receives a hangover effect.
TABLE 1: Hangover Effects Table Die Roll Effect 01 blinding headache, vomiting, -3 to DEX and CON for 1d4 hrs 02 blinding headache, vomiting, -3 to WIS and INT for 1d4 hrs 03 blinding headache, vomiting, -2 to DEX and CON for 1d6 hrs 04 blinding headache, vomiting, -2 to WIS and INT for 1d6 hrs 05 blinding headache, vomiting, -1 to DEX and CON for 1d8 hrs 06 blinding headache, vomiting, -1 to WIS and INT for 1d8 hrs 07 blinding headache, the squats, -3 to DEX and CON for 1d4 hrs 08 blinding headache, the squats, -3 to WIS and INT for 1d4 hrs 09 blinding headache, the squats, -2 to DEX and CON for 1d6 hrs 10 blinding headache, the squats, -2 to WIS and INT for 1d6 hrs 11 blinding headache, the squats, -1 to DEX and CON for 1d8 hrs 12 blinding headache, the squats, -1 to WIS and INT for 1d8 hrs 13 blinding headache, nausea, -3 to DEX and CON for 1d4 hrs 14 blinding headache, nausea, -3 to WIS and INT for 1d4 hrs 15 blinding headache, nausea, -2 to DEX and CON for 1d6 hrs 16 blinding headache, nausea, -2 to WIS and INT for 1d6 hrs 17 blinding headache, nausea, -1 to DEX and CON for 1d8 hrs 18 blinding headache, nausea, -1 to WIS and INT for 1d8 hrs 19 blinding headache, the squats, trembling 20 blinding headache, vomiting, trembling 21 blinding headache, nausea, trembling 22 blinding headache, the squats 23 blinding headache, vomiting 24 blinding headache, nausea 25 blinding headache, trembling 26 blinding headache 27 headache, vomiting, -3 to DEX and CON for 1d4 hrs 28 headache, vomiting, -3 to WIS and INT for 1d4 hrs 29 headache, vomiting, -2 to DEX and CON for 1d6 hrs 30 headache, vomiting, -2 to WIS and INT for 1d6 hrs 31 headache, vomiting, -1 to DEX and CON for 1d8 hrs 32 headache, vomiting, -1 to WIS and INT for 1d8 hrs 33 headache, the squats, -3 to DEX and CON for 1d4 hrs 34 headache, the squats, -3 to WIS and INT for 1d4 hrs 35 headache, the squats, -2 to DEX and CON for 1d6 hrs 36 headache, the squats, -2 to WIS and INT for 1d6 hrs 37 headache, the squats, -1 to DEX and CON for 1d8 hrs 38 headache, the squats, -1 to WIS and INT for 1d8 hrs 39 headache, nausea, -3 to DEX and CON for 1d4 hrs 40 headache, nausea, -3 to WIS and INT for 1d4 hrs 41 headache, nausea, -2 to DEX and CON for 1d6 hrs 42 headache, nausea, -2 to WIS and INT for 1d6 hrs 43 headache, nausea, -1 to DEX and CON for 1d8 hrs 44 headache, nausea, -1 to WIS and INT for 1d8 hrs 45 headache, the squats, trembling 46 headache, vomiting, trembling 47 headache, nausea, trembling 48 headache, the squats 49 headache, vomiting 50 headache, trembling 51 headache, nausea 52 headache 53 vomiting, trembling 54 nausea, trembling 55 the squats, trembling 56 vomiting 57 nausea 58 the squats 59 trembling 60 vomiting, the squats, trembling 61 vomiting, the squats 62 nausea, the squats, trembling 63 nausea, the squats 64 -4 to DEX and CON for 1d10 hrs 65 -4 to WIS and INT for 1d10 hrs 66 trembling, loss of appetite for 2d6 hrs 67 loss of appetite for 5d4 hrs 68 disgusting taste in mouth for 24 hrs 69 cheerful energy 70 DM SHOULD COME UP WITH A DASTARDLY EFFECT 71 NO BAD EFFECTS (This time!) 72-00 REROLL NOTES ON HANGOVER TABLE
Blinding Headache: For 1d4+1 hours. -4 to hit, -3 to armor class, +25% chance of spell failure for mages and clerics, -25% to all thieves skills. Headache: For 1d4+1 hours. -2 to hit, -1 to armor class, +10% chance of spell failure for mages and clerics, -10% to all thieves skills. Vomiting: Roll percentile dice (01-50: 1d12 hours, 51-00: 1d6 hours). Constitution check every turn. Failure means PC vomits which takes 1d4+1 rounds. Strenuous activity (includes combat and spellcasting) will also require a constitution check to avoid being ill. Nausea: Roll percentile dice (01-50: 1d12 hours, 51-00: 1d6 hours). The PC feels like vomiting. The PC has difficulty concentrating and therefore has a +05% chance of spell failure for every hour of nausea. Furthermore, he/she suffers a -1 to dexterity and strength for the duration of nausea. "The Squats": Roll percentile dice (01-50: 1d20 hours, 51-00: 1d10 hours). Constitution check at -2 every turn. Failure means PC will defecate within 1d4 rounds. The PC must find a suitable place and remove armor, clothing, etc. within that time or soil themselves (YECH!). Trembling: For 1d4-1 hours. -1 to hit, -2 to dexterity. Loss Of Appetite: Character will not eat. Also, character has dry mouth thus being very thirsty. Example For example, our hero Rath has found himself in a state of great intoxication partying until four in the morning in his favorite establishment, The Golden Griffon Inn. Unfortunately, he is suppose to go adventuring at sunrise (6:00 AM), so he takes a strong stimulant in hopes to recovery. Recovery time was 14 hours for Rath, but now it is 7.70 hours (14 x .55), and his stats go from the great intoxication state to the moderate intoxication state. Well, Rath can't even move out of bed until 1:00 PM. But since he got little sleep and feels quite sick, Rath sleeps until 5:00 PM. When he awakens, he finds that he has a headache (which will last 3 hours). Also, he starts vomiting (which will last until at least 10:00 PM). He will suffer -2 to dexterity and constitution for the next 4 hours. And to top it off, Rath finds out that his adventuring party has left town without him and he is left with nothing to do but go party again tonight. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

STIMULANTS FOR RECOVERING FROM INTOXICATION

Mild
Cure Light Wounds - 1st level clerical spell Slow Poison - 2nd level clerical spell Potion of Healing Scroll of Protection from Poison Healing Proficiency Herbalism Proficiency

Medium
Cure Disease - 3rd level clerical spell Cure Serious Wounds - 4th level clerical spell Potion of Sweet Water Periapt of Proof Against Poison

Strong
Neutralize Poison - 4th level clerical spell Cure Critical Wounds - 5th level clerical spell Potion of Extra-Healing Potion of Vitality
Special
Heal - 6th level clerical spell Restoration - 7th level clerical spell Regenerate - 7th level clerical spell Elixir of Health

Notes
1. Special stimulants cure the intoxicated character, no recovery time is required.
2. Multiple spells or potions (use the rule of mixing potions) applied on intoxicated characters lower the stimulant multiplier by 5% per dose (spell).
3. If more than one type of stimulant is used, the strongest one is considered.
4. Healing and herbalism proficiencies can be used once a day, but if both are used in the same character then treat as medium stimulant.
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A MORE SINISTER SIDE OF DRINKING: ALCOHOL ADDICTION

Wine has drowned more men than the sea.
--- Anon
Nothing is better to fight alcoholism than a moderate use of wine.
--- Jean Louis Faure

The nervous system in the body has an inhibitory effect when the body is in a state of extreme emotion. It's part of the human body's ability to stay in a normal state: "homeostasis". This is what makes cliff-divers like cliff diving: the nervous system inhibits the abnormal state of fear, essentially by simulating the reaction opposite to fear: ecstasy. A classical example of this is a slightly depressed person who takes stimulant drugs. His nervous system increases his depression to counteract the abnormal stimulation, so that he needs to take stimulants even to feel how people normally feel. Now, when he's off drugs, he will be very depressed. This explains some withdrawal symptoms. Under the effect of any strong drug (e.g. alcohol), the nervous system naturally tries to counter that effect. When the drug wears off, the "downer" that is experienced occurs because the nervous system is still producing that opposite emotion. If a human uses drugs too much, then his/her nervous system gets into the habit of countering that drug's effect, so he/she starts to need to take the drug all the time to avoid the awful downers. Eventually, drug addicts need more and more of their drug of choice in order to have the effect they had the first time they tried it. A person may enjoy having a drink of alcohol, but he/she may unfortunately become a victim of it. To represent the progression and regression of alcohol addiction; two levels, amount level and drinking level are used. Each time a person drinks and goes into a state of intoxication (slight, moderate, great), he/she must make a save vs. poison (with modifiers; see below) or go up one amount level (Table 1). Each time a person reaches a state of great intoxication he/she must make a save vs. poison (with modifiers; see below) or go up one drinking level (Table 2). To make drinking even more dangerous, the DM can make a character that has an 8 for an amount level and/or a 5 for drinking level roll on the Hangover Table. The effects rolled will last until the levels are lowered.
Table 1: Amount Level
Level Effect 0 never drinks 1 needs to drink one time every week 2 needs to drink two times every week 3 needs to drink three times every week 4 needs to drink four times every week 5 needs to drink five times every week 6 needs to drink six times every week 7 needs to drink seven times every week 8 needs to drink eight times every week

Table 2: Drinking Level
Level Effect 0 never drinks 1 will always take at least one drink 2 will drink until at least slightly intoxicated 3 will drink until at least moderately intoxicated 4 will drink until greatly intoxicated 5 will drink until passed out

Humans, elves, gnomes, and half-elves gain their normal bonus to poison save due to Constitution (PHB, page 15). Dwarves and halflings use the same bonuses that they get against magical attacks due to their race (PHB, pages 20-23). Additional modifiers to the poison save for all races are based on Wisdom (Table 3). Also, the DM may wish to add modifiers based on circumstances and situations, some examples are given in Table 4.




Table 3: Wisdom Modifier
A. Score Modifier 01-03 +4 04-06 +2 07-12 0 13-15 -2 16-18 -4

Table 4: DM Modifiers
Mod. Circumstance +8 friend, family member, or comrade died +5 lost beloved item (e.g. family heirloom, magical item) +3 gambling debts, considerable misfortune +1 unlucky times

A person can reduce his/her or her addiction in a number of ways. A Neutralize Poison spell will rid the need to drink, thus the amount level becomes 0. For every week a person is restrained from drinking (i.e. clinic, forceful friends, etc.), both the amount level and drinking level are reduced by 1. Some DMs may allow the character to make a Wisdom check once a week. Success indicates that the character has enough willpower to lower his/her amount level and drink level by 1. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
ALCOHOLIC DISEASES

This system does not attempt a specific treatment of a subject which is beyond its scope and purpose. What is done, however, is to give general categories of disease and maladies and their game effects. In some cases, the disease can't convert into game effects, so role- playing must substitute. There are many ways a DM may go about giving a character a disease: - When a character's Amount Level is 8 and Drinking Level is 5, he must make a save vs. poison or contract a disease. - When a character's Amount Level is 8 or Drinking Level is 5, he must make a save vs. poison or contract a disease. - When a character becomes comatose due to alcohol use, he must save vs. poison or contract a disease.
TABLE A: Diseases (1d12)
Roll Disease 1 Acne Rosacea 2 Alcohol Amblyopia 3 Alcoholic Hepatitis 4 Alcoholic Myopathy 5 Alcoholic Polyneuropathy 6 Central Pontine Myelinolysis 7 Cirrhosis 8 Delirium Tremens 9 Marchiafava-Bignami Disease 10 Rhinophyma 11 Korsakoff's Psychosis 12 Wernicke's Encephalopathy

Acne Rosacea - A facial skin condition usually characterized by a flushed appearance and often accompanied by puffiness and a "spider- web" effect of broken capillaries. Alcohol Amblyopia - A rare disorder of the eye, alcohol ambloyopia is typically due to long-term alcohol use. The disease begins slowly with a slight vision impairment (-1 penalty to THAC0) that becomes progressively worse (additional -1 per week until -4 is reached). The typical complaint is a painless blurring of vision over a period of several weeks (2d4) with reduced sharpness for both near and distant objects. Generally, changes are symmetrical in both eyes and, if not treated adequately, may be followed by optic nerve degeneration. Treatment consists of vitamins and minerals or cure disease magics. Alcoholic Hepatitis - A disease of the liver characterized by inflammation and necrosis, alcoholic hepatitis is accompanied by jaundice (which causes the character's skin to turn a reddish-yellow color), fever, and abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. Alcoholic hyaline, a clear glassy substance, is often found in livers of patients with alcoholic hepatitis. Alcoholic Myopathy - Alcoholic Myopathy is an alcoholic muscle disease. A character with this disease suffers from severe muscle cramps that vary in frequency or by muscle pain and swelling. This results in a lose of 1d4 to Strength and movement is two-thirds normal. Alcoholic Polyneuropathy - A disease of the nervous system. It develops slowly over months and years affecting first and most severely the lower legs, where numbness and pain may develop. Other problems are muscle wasting (-1d4 to Strength), tenderness of the calves of the legs, and signs of impaired motor function (-1d4 to Dexterity). Central Pontine Myelinolysis - A rare disease of unknown origin that occurs in a group of brain nerve fibers known as the pons. The principal symptoms are a progressive weakness in the muscles extending from the lowest part of the brain to the spinal cord (a successful called shot to the back causes triple damage), an inability to swallow, and the absence of the gag reflex. After 2d4 weeks, the character becomes drowsy (unable to adventure). After another 1d4 weeks, the character becomes comatose. Cirrhosis - From an ancient word kirrhos orange-colored - the color of a cirrhosis liver. Cirrhosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the liver in which functioning liver cells are replaced by scar tissue. The main cause of cirrhosis is long-term alcohol use. The onset of cirrhosis is associated with such nonspecific complaints as weakness and fatigue. As the disease progresses, some of the associated effects may include: - Jaundice which causes the character's skin to turn a reddish- yellow color. - Swelling of the character's legs. - Uncontrolled bleeding due to a decrease in clotting factors in the blood. If the character receives an open wound that cause bleeding, he/she will loses -1 hit points per round for 3d4 rounds. - Increased sensitivity to drugs which results in a -1 modifier to any Constitution checks made for drug or alcohol use. Delirium Tremens - The D.T.'s. One of the most dramatic and serious conditions associated with alcoholism, delirium tremens' symptoms include: - Vivid and frequently terrifying auditory, visual, and tactical hallucinations (25% per day of having one). - Profound confusion (-1d4 to intelligence). - Disorientation. - Severe agitation. - Restlessness and insomnia which can be bad for mages. - Fever. - Abnormally rapid heartbeat. Marchiafava-Bignami Disease - The disease causes agitation, confusion (-1d4 to intelligence), hallucinations (25% per day of having one), memory disturbances, and disorientation. Rhinophyma - A skin condition of the nose characterized by swelling, redness and, often, broken capillaries. Rhinophyma is considered by religious organizations as their deity's punishment to drunks. Korsakoff's Psychosis - Korsakoff's psychosis is primarily a mental disorder characterized by confusion, memory failure and a tendency to recite imaginary occurrences. Other symptoms include disorientation in time, emotional apathy and loss of insight, which prevents the character from becoming aware of the disability. Characters are often moderately cheerful and non-comprehending. Wernicke's Encephalopathy - This disease is characterized by an acute confusion state (-1d4 to Intelligence), loss of balance (-1d4 to Dexterity, disorders of the eye nerves (extreme blinking), and high risk of heart failure (10% chance of death to do heart failure). There is a cumulative +3% per day of Wernicke's encephalopathy developing into Korsakoff's psychosis.