A faintly-glowing, blue-silver fluid, Lyrium is a component of Arcadia's Essence restoration treatment as well as some of their other magical procedures, although how precisely it is used is unknown. Regardless some groups of mages and mundanes discovered that ingestion in its raw form can aid spellcasting and allow mundanes to perceive the astral world. Arcadia has made no moves to increase production despite high demand, yet neither have they increased prices. Arcadia will sell relatively small amounts of Lyrium to registered mages deemed able to use it responsibly after evaluating their suitability. In this case the mages need not worry about availability or street index. Arcadia has proven unwilling to sell large amounts or high potencies of Lyrium even in the face of inflated price offers, one of many behaviors that people find utterly baffling. Arcadia emphasizes the responsible use of Lyrium and is currently attempting to root out production of its synthetic variant.
Lyrium, drug -
Availability: 5+(2x Rating)/ 2 days
Price: Rating x ¥1000, street index 2.5
Mages registered with Arcadia, and who do not have substantial ethical deficiencies may purchase up to 3 doses of Lyrium per week, of a rating not exceeding half of their magic attribute.
Effects:
Lyrium grants a number of spell pool dice equal to it's rating and reduces the target numbers of drain resistance tests by 1/3 it's rating for 2*Rating hours. Characters experience Astral perception at all times, and suffer a penalty to quickness equal to 1/2*Rating, though this cannot reduce quickness to less than 1.
Availability: 5+(2x Rating)/ 2 days
Price: Rating x ¥1000, street index 2.5
Mages registered with Arcadia, and who do not have substantial ethical deficiencies may purchase up to 3 doses of Lyrium per week, of a rating not exceeding half of their magic attribute.
Effects:
Lyrium grants a number of spell pool dice equal to it's rating and reduces the target numbers of drain resistance tests by 1/3 it's rating for 2*Rating hours. Characters experience Astral perception at all times, and suffer a penalty to quickness equal to 1/2*Rating, though this cannot reduce quickness to less than 1.
Comedown: headaches and feelings of inferiority. +1 to general TNs and +(rating/3) to all magical TNs (including drain); these stack with the general TN penalties. Characters also suffer a -1 penalty to magic score for rating*3 hours or until their next dose.
Addiction: Characters make a Magic test vs Rating; 2 successes needed to avoid magic loss only able to be offset by a "high on lyrium" Geas.
Mundanes and Lyrium: Mundane characters who take lyrium experience astral perception as normal. Afterward however, they must make an Essence test vs the rating of the Lyrium or acquire a randomly determined mental flaw as the lyrium drives them mad. These acquired defects have a 50% chance to be suppressed while on lyrium (roll individually if multiple are present).
Synthetic Lyrium: Some underground interests have apparently developed means of producing Synthetic Lyrium. Synthetic Lyrium is available on the streets at 1/2 the price of True Lyrium and its availability is only 1.5*rating, rather than 5+(2x Rating) its price is always ¥500x Rating. It has significant side effects and pernicious issues with adulteration however. The TN penalties that would normally only apply to magical TNs instead apply to all TNs, and the addiction check can be harsher with more severe consequences.
The character rolls a d6. On a 2, the TN for the magic/essence check is doubled; on a 1, the TN is doubled and the character must succeed to avoid acquiring a mental flaw (for mundanes this can result in two flaws).
The manufacture of Synthetic Lyrium is not widespread; Arcadia has been working to root out and eradicate it. Their agents offer a ¥20,000 bounty on any seller, ¥50,000 on any distributor, and ¥200,000 on any manufacturer.
Psycho
The defining drug of Raiders, Psycho has been a scourge since its introduction in 2065. A potent combat enhancer developed by Aztechnology, it helped that corporation begin to re-assert itself. Its severe side effects and involvement in many high-profile crime sprees saw it quickly fall into disrepute, though it is still commonplace in the hands of Raiders and other desperate criminals. Psycho is currently the most widely demonized drug on the streets, and it is a common folk belief that Raiders are Raiders because they use psycho, and perhaps for no other reason.
Psycho, Drug-
Price: Rating*250, street index 1.5
Availability: Rating*2/ 24 hours
Effects:
Users ignore wound penalties and add the drugs Rating to their reaction and +1d6 to their initiative each turn. The drug adds its rating to strength and body, as well as it's rating to ballistic and impact armor scores. Users receive extra dice equal to the drug's rating to perception checks and to resist fear or intimidation effects.
Users receive a penalty to intelligence and charisma equal to 1/2 the drug's rating (minimum penalty 1, cannot reduce score below 1), as well as the following flaws:
Combat Monster, Impulsive, Compulsion: Solve problems with violence, Vindictive, Braggart, and Uncouth
The bonuses last for Rating x 10 minutes, the penalties last for Rating x 1 hours. At the end of this period users must make a willpower test against a TN of 5+Rating to avoid permanently picking up a random one of the flaws, if the user already has all of the flaws, then either a point of intelligence or charisma is drained.
Psycho is commonly manufactured by Raiders in the barrens, although many sources suggest that Aztrechnology may be keeping a supply on the streets. Its actual mechanism of action is little understood.
(GM's note: PCs should likely make sparing, if any, use of Psycho.)
Mundanes and Lyrium: Mundane characters who take lyrium experience astral perception as normal. Afterward however, they must make an Essence test vs the rating of the Lyrium or acquire a randomly determined mental flaw as the lyrium drives them mad. These acquired defects have a 50% chance to be suppressed while on lyrium (roll individually if multiple are present).
Synthetic Lyrium: Some underground interests have apparently developed means of producing Synthetic Lyrium. Synthetic Lyrium is available on the streets at 1/2 the price of True Lyrium and its availability is only 1.5*rating, rather than 5+(2x Rating) its price is always ¥500x Rating. It has significant side effects and pernicious issues with adulteration however. The TN penalties that would normally only apply to magical TNs instead apply to all TNs, and the addiction check can be harsher with more severe consequences.
The character rolls a d6. On a 2, the TN for the magic/essence check is doubled; on a 1, the TN is doubled and the character must succeed to avoid acquiring a mental flaw (for mundanes this can result in two flaws).
The manufacture of Synthetic Lyrium is not widespread; Arcadia has been working to root out and eradicate it. Their agents offer a ¥20,000 bounty on any seller, ¥50,000 on any distributor, and ¥200,000 on any manufacturer.
Psycho
The defining drug of Raiders, Psycho has been a scourge since its introduction in 2065. A potent combat enhancer developed by Aztechnology, it helped that corporation begin to re-assert itself. Its severe side effects and involvement in many high-profile crime sprees saw it quickly fall into disrepute, though it is still commonplace in the hands of Raiders and other desperate criminals. Psycho is currently the most widely demonized drug on the streets, and it is a common folk belief that Raiders are Raiders because they use psycho, and perhaps for no other reason.
Psycho, Drug-
Price: Rating*250, street index 1.5
Availability: Rating*2/ 24 hours
Effects:
Users ignore wound penalties and add the drugs Rating to their reaction and +1d6 to their initiative each turn. The drug adds its rating to strength and body, as well as it's rating to ballistic and impact armor scores. Users receive extra dice equal to the drug's rating to perception checks and to resist fear or intimidation effects.
Users receive a penalty to intelligence and charisma equal to 1/2 the drug's rating (minimum penalty 1, cannot reduce score below 1), as well as the following flaws:
Combat Monster, Impulsive, Compulsion: Solve problems with violence, Vindictive, Braggart, and Uncouth
The bonuses last for Rating x 10 minutes, the penalties last for Rating x 1 hours. At the end of this period users must make a willpower test against a TN of 5+Rating to avoid permanently picking up a random one of the flaws, if the user already has all of the flaws, then either a point of intelligence or charisma is drained.
Psycho is commonly manufactured by Raiders in the barrens, although many sources suggest that Aztrechnology may be keeping a supply on the streets. Its actual mechanism of action is little understood.
(GM's note: PCs should likely make sparing, if any, use of Psycho.)
Does psycho's bonus stack with spells/cyberware/edges?
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