Drugs

[Powers128]

Feels like the appropriate day to post this. Drugs(in p2e) are something I always forget about. Do they fit an actual niche in game or are they just something to be avoided or just have a narrative purpose? I don't know how I feel about the addiction mechanics too. Thoughts?

[Finoan]

Of the options listed - I would lean towards this one:

Powers128 wrote:

have a narrative purpose

The mechanics are there as an option for players, tables, and campaigns that may want them. Much like Assistive Items.

But their use isn't mandated. Feel free to continue to always forget about them if desired.

[Squark]

My local playgroup uses "Drugs" as slang for mutagens, so I was very confused for a second. As for actual drugs.. I presume their absence from current content because they don't figure into the stories Paizo wants to tell, but they've left mechanics in for those who do want to tell stories with drugs in them.

[Perpdepog]

Drugs and addiction are both tricky subjects to navigate well. I'm glad they're there, but also unsurprised Paizo's not done much with them in their own products.

My group tends to treat them as another class of item they sometimes have to juggle. Granted, I don't believe anyone in my groups has experience with very hard drugs, and their characters don't use anything more potent than Golarion's versions of super-coffee and marijuana, so they've become more of a background element that sometimes comes up if I need them to roll a check to see if they're feeling fatigued that day from cramming and they want to try and circumvent the fatigue. We are playing Strength of Thousands, for reference.

[CougarShadow Press LLC]

I homebrewed a Pilot class of professional vehicle operators that had a teetotaller society that avoided all intoxicants, a casual abuser society that used in social settings, and a Freak society of addicts that abuse drugs at the controls. It fit with the Red Baron/Mad Max vibes I wanted with the class, so it definitely had a narrative purpose. But I put up a ton of disclaimers that you could drop the whole idea and should not bring it up if you didn't know the table.

It could be very triggering for some people and I don't think it belongs at a table of strangers, and they write the rulebooks to be played by tables of strangers, so...

[RaptorJesues]

They are a bit of a drag. The rules for addiction and even the substances in general are quite punitive so do not rely on them. They can be fun in certain circumstances but it gets more narrative than anything.

[GM Fair Wage]

As always, read one's table.

If someone has had addiction issues in the past (whether personally or someone they cared about), they may not feel comfortable bringing it up and/or do not desire special treatment/consideration of that.

In addition, glamorizing addictive substances too much may give casual players the wrong impression of one's GM style and/or RL substance issues.