Role-playing drug addiction and drug use

[thomas gock]

I have a question about using drugs in PF. Every drug does a form of ability damage, which takes 1 day to heal 1 point.

My question is, how to addicts live, like at all?

Addicts use drugs everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. If a drug does more than 1 point of ability damage, wouldn't the drug addict die after a few days 'cause their ability score would eventually drop below zero.

Is there a cap for ability damage taken from drug use, or is my addict character just going to die shortly after I make him?

[Risharc Moonblood]

thomas gock wrote:

I have a question about using drugs in PF. Every drug does a form of ability damage, which takes 1 day to heal 1 point.

My question is, how to addicts live, like at all?

Addicts use drugs everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. If a drug does more than 1 point of ability damage, wouldn't the drug addict die after a few days 'cause their ability score would eventually drop below zero.

Is there a cap for ability damage taken from drug use, or is my addict character just going to die shortly after I make him?

That depends whether you're going by fantasy or realism with your character. I am no expert by any means, but addicts in the real world live with doing drugs every day of their lives (and some, if they decide to go clean, have to been weaned off the drugs or they will die; I would call for a Fort save in that instance), so you might have to house rule it.

[alexd1976]

Unless it damages CON, they don't die.

So they have a bad day, then recover, and keep going.