Poisons for Battletech: Beyond Electrodrome
First off, the art for this post is by Jeremy Gardner and is called Rainbow. Find more of his kickass stuff HERE.
<I will be returning to refine these rules in the not-so-distant-to-the-very-distant future.>
POISON, EH??
The Five Deadly Venoms, according to Chinese folklore, are centipede, snake, scorpion, toad, and spider. This list occasionally contains lizard, and tiger, but there is a conspicuous absence of sea creatures. Any list of poisonous critters that excludes the blue-ring octopus, the cone shell snail, the box jellyfish, and the stonefish, is a landlubber's list indeed.
Why do I mention the Five Deadly Venoms?
Because poison is cool. Its always been cool. And it will always be cool.
Elephant in the room: in the context of the greater BattleTech universe, poisons in the 31st millennia would be instantly lethal. In the first decades of the 20th century, the Germans introduced the world to mustard gas. Joy. By 1938 we had sarin nerve gas, and by 1950 the limey bastards of Brittania gave us VX nerve gas. After Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery defeated it in Michael Bay’s 1996 magnum ovums "The Rock", the Russians, crafty tzarist devils that they are, developed the "novichok agents", which make mustard gas look like something you wake up with after an overly-expensive beer and sausage grind at the Old German Brathaus.
If modern nerve toxins, such as VX or "novichok agents", can kill with a few milligrams, the poisons of the 31st century would make them look positively medicinal by comparison. A single molecule of 3025 techno-barbarian poison, jumping in the corner on the other side of the world, would be enough to kill you, your pets, your family, and hopefully every Ewok on Endor. Letting players use these sorts of compounds to poison one another would be a great way to ruin the game. "Yeah, Steve’s character thought about poisoning you once and that's fifteen times the lethal dose of Rippertoxin, so...you’re dead now. What would you like to do? Ah. Yes. Of course. Make a new character."
Now. With that on the table, the administrators of the Circinus Federation’s Electrodrome, while anarcho-libertarian, are not so anarcho-libertarian that they'd abandon one of their only serious rules: "DON'T FUCK WITH THE MONEY".
So instead of realistic sci-fi poisons that would slough your epidermis after a single whiff, I have had the various drug-lords and chem-heads of the BattleTech world, and specifically the Electrodrome microcosm, concoct a few interesting poisons for players to use that won’t instantaneously fill a 'mech cockpit with red slush.
There are some poisons that are described as insanely lethal that I have nerfed to the point of usefulness. I have also mixed in a few other compounds that are extremely unbalanced but add color and depth to the wide world of futuristic dilitiriophilia (the love of toxins), most of which I do not recommend players use.
But, well, that’s not my call. Its your gaming experience. You’re your own adult. Be your own huckleberry.
Enjoy.
RULES
Administering Poison:
Administering poison during normal Mechwarrior: Destiny RPG gameplay is to be narrated by the players and the GM. This could involve a poisoned dart, a poisoned transdermal patch, or a tasty adult beverage laced with crystalline phobosarin. Your call.
Administering poison during BattleTech: Beyond Electrodrome or during normal BattleTech: Total Warfare play is a bit more technical and may be handled in one of three ways:
A player must play an appropriate BattleTech: Beyond Electrodrome wildcard. Poison cards can be played at any time and take effect immediately.
When a player rolls a 12 during initiative they may attempt to poison another player that has not rolled a 12. They must first have the poison in their inventory and must then roll 12+ with 2d6 + INT + MedTech.
Alternatively, players may agree upon a system by which poison is administered and managed in the current battle. This may be a tit-for-tat system, or a system that allows players that roll a total of three or more snake-eyes to poison an opponent to restore balance to the universe. As always, its your call. Have fun, be creative, get weird.
Primary Effects of Poison:
Poison behaves differently in a Total Warfare game compared to a MechWarrior: Destiny game. Obviously poison must be administered before a roll or action that it is to influence. A poison that increases the difficulty of gunnery or piloting rolls must be administered before a given roll (not during or after the fact). This makes sense.
Primary effects in BattleTech: Total Warfare are active only when the poison is first administered unless otherwise stated, and immediately lose some of their deleterious effects. These effects, whether primary, resisted, or persistent, are rerolled every turn.
Primary effects in MechWarrior: Destiny persist for the duration of the poison and are only diminished by rolling to resist the poison (resulting in a resisted effect) or by curing the poison with an antidote or a MedTech roll.
Resisting Poison:
In BattleTech: Total Warfare: Immediately upon being subjected to a poison, characters must first roll against the poison's strength with 2d6 + STR and add any pertinent modifiers such as perks, etc. that may add resistance to chemicals and poisons. If the player ties or beats the poison strength roll, they succeed and suffer only the effects listed under resisted effects for that poison.
In MechWarrior: Destiny: poison always inflicts its primary effect unless it is successfully resisted. Every time it is resisted, its strength drops by one point.
Persistent Effects:
In a BattleTech: Total Warfare game, poison does not strike once, but rather has a persistent effect that manifests every turn. Persistent effects must be resisted every turn, and if they are resisted, they produce no effect (unless otherwise stated). Persistent effects do not manifest until the second turn of the poisoning.
Resisting persistent effects takes place at the start of a turn, prior to any other rolls.
Resisting Persistent Effects: Pilot rolls 2d6 + STR against the poison's current strength which drops by 1 for every turn after the initial poisoning. Rolling a 2 is an automatic failure. If the initial poisoning took place during End Phase, the next initiative phase will see the poison’s strength already dropped by 1 point.
If a character successfully resists persistent effects, the poison has no effect unless otherwise noted.
Poisons grow weaker with every passing turn, losing 1 point of strength per turn. Once a poison reaches a strength of 0 it has no further effect.
In a Mechwarrior: Destiny setting, checking for the effects of the drug is done periodically as found in the poison’s description. Each time a character successfully resists a poison, its strength decreases by one point.
Poison Duration:
Poison duration is variable and is typically measured in hours or days. Keeping in mind that one turn in BattleTech: Total Warfare is 10 seconds, once a poison is triggered in a BattleTech: Total Warfare match, its effects last until the end of the bout or until its strength reaches 0.
OVERVIEW OF USING POISON
TOTAL WARFARE:
Turn 1: Poison is applied and targeted character rolls 2d6 + STR against the poison’s Strength to resist.
Success: Apply Resisted Effects
Failure: Apply Primary Effects
Turn 2 and Beyond: Reduce poison strength by 1 point and then roll 2d6 + STR against the poison’s current Strength.
Success: No effect.
Failure: Apply Persistent Effects
Once a poison’s Strength is reduced to 0, it becomes inert.
MECHWARRIOR: DESTINY:
Immediate: Poison is applied and targeted character rolls 2d6 + STR against the poison’s Strength to resist.
Success: Apply Resisted Effects
Failure: Apply Primary Effects
Subsequent Periodic Checks: Roll 2d6 + STR against the poison’s current Strength.
Success: Apply Resisted Effects
Failure: Apply Primary Effects
Every time a poison is successfully resisted its Strength is reduced by 1 point. Once it is reduced to 0, it becomes inert.
ON BEING A “POISONER”
Look, I hope I don’t need to say this, but it seems like, as of late, people have all the social grace of a chimpanzee on meth, so I’m gonna say it anyhow; using poison against another player is a dick move. The rarer poisons are very powerful and some of are broken as hell. Paxilene B will literally put an enemy pilot to sleep. Rippertoxin would give Clive Barker wet dreams . There is a direct correlation between how powerful the poison is and how big of a dickface you have to be to use them.
Sure. Some players will relish the challenge of killing you after you’ve poisoned them, cramming your stupid custom Clan-Tech Urbanmech down your pipe and making you smoke it. Maybe introducing poison to the mix will make for a better story that you and the other players will recount for days to come. Maybe.
But maybe poisoning another player, particularly when they’re down, will ruin their day. Maybe the treacherous poison will harm your friendship or your standing with your crew. Maybe poison really is a coward’s weapon and you’re going to end up staring into the mirror this evening, eyes glazed over by too much whisky and the hot, bitter tears of the lost and frightened little person that you see looking back at you.
Using poison to win might not be worth it, muchacho. Especially if it gets you disinvited to future jams at the futuristic death-machine disco party. Remember the words of my dead Australian grandmother, “nobody wants to play with a dodgy bastard” and know that using poison is super fucking dodgy.
Read the room. Know your audience. Behave accordingly.
NON-CANON POISONS
SMEECKE
Garbage, Trash, Toiletto, Scum, Swill, Budlatte
Injecting things that shouldn’t be injected is a great way to poison someone, and smeecke is literally that: toilet cleaner, disinfectant, bleach, spray deodorant, bong water…common chemicals mixed together in a bucket and then injected with the intention of ruining someone's day. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, organ failure, limb loss, and death. Bad times to be had by all.
Availability: Common
Cost: 5 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 7+
Duration: 5d6 hours
Treatment: Antidote negates smeecke per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Easy MedTech with medical supplies stops physical damage, stat penalties persist until drug runs course.
Primary CBT Effects: -2 to initiative. Roll d6: 6 results in 1 wound.
Resisted Effects: -1 to initiative
Persistent Effects: -1 to initiative
Primary Destiny Effects: All stats suffer -2 penalties. Target suffers 1 physical damage per hour. Check to resist every 2 hours.
Resisted Effects: All stats suffer -1 penalties, 1 physical damage every 2 hours
TARRAGAIL
Crude, Earthblood, Dayglow, Art
A potent “heirloom” neurotoxin, tarragail is a cocktail of many new and ancient Earth chemical weapons that causes serious impairments to fine motor skills and central nervous system processing.
Availability: Very Rare
Cost: 500 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 7+
Duration: 2d6 hours
Treatment: Antidote negates tarragail per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Easy MedTech with appropriate supplies negates tarragail, stat penalties persist for one hour.
Primary CBT Effects: +2 to gunnery and piloting to-hit numbers. -2 to initiative. Roll d6: 6 results in 1 wound.
Resisted Effects: +1 to gunnery and piloting to-hit numbers. -1 to initiative.
Persistent Effects: +1 to gunnery and piloting to-hit numbers. -1 to initiative.
Primary Destiny Effects: -2 REF, 2 physical damage every 30 minutes. Check to resist every 30 minutes.
Resisted Effects: -1 REF, 1 physical damage every 30 minutes
SPECTRUM VENOM
Spectre, Bifrost, Zoo, Long Island Iced Tea
Spectrum venom is a true, classic, poison, as seen in the olden days of old Terra. It integrates all the nasty chemical architecture of snake, frog, centipede, and jellyfish toxins, striking simultaneously at the cardiorespiratory system, the musculoskeletal system, and the nervous system. While only moderately lethal if treated promptly, this is nevertheless very dirty pool.
Availability: Very Rare
Cost: 750 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 7+
Duration: d6 hours
Treatment: Antidote negates spectrum venom per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Average MedTech with appropriate supplies negates spectrum venom immediately.
Primary CBT Effects: Target suffers 1 wound and must make a consciousness roll. +1 to piloting and gunnery to-hit numbers and -1 to initiative until next poison check.
Resisted Effects: +1 to piloting and gunnery to-hit numbers and -1 to initiative until next poison check. Roll d6: 5-6 results in 1 wound.
Persistent Effects: +1 to piloting and gunnery to-hit numbers and -1 to initiative until next poison check.
Primary Destiny Effects: -2 to all stats, 4 physical damage every 10 minutes. Check to resist every 10 minutes.
Resisted Effects: -1 to all stats, 2 physical damage every 10 minutes.
MOOGUN
Cow, Screamer, Dick, Tourette’s, Flamethrower, Sunday Roast
People under the effect of moogun feel the overwhelming urge to insult people and pick fights. While not directly lethal, it does have the tendency to draw the worst out of one’s surroundings, including knees to the groin, knives to the kidneys, and high-powered energy weapons to the entire frontal surface of the body. Pilots on moogun often spam their comms, spreading discord, insulting their lancemates, even broadcasting important tactical and strategic data, all in the name of roasting their allies in front of an all-too-eager audience.
Availability: Extremely Rare
Cost: 500 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 7+
Duration: 2d6 hours
Treatment: Antidote negates moogun per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Average MedTech with appropriate supplies negates moogun.
Primary CBT Effects: All friendly assets (including yourself) suffer -2 to initiative.
Resisted Effects: All friendly assets (including yourself) suffer -1 to initiative.
Persistent Effects: All friendly assets (including yourself) suffer -1 to initiative.
Primary Destiny Effects: -4 to all CHA and CHA-related rolls. Character becomes vulgar, volatile, and extremely unpleasant. They pick fights they cannot win and insult bloodthirsty warlords to their faces. Interactions with law enforcement go poorly. Check to resist every hour.
Resisted Effects: -2 to all CHA and CHA-related rolls. The character is still keen to insult and goad others, but with an average WIL roll, they are able to restrain themselves.
RIPPERTOXIN
Chopper, Bill, Dexter, Eel, Bloodbath, Totec
Rippertoxin is one of the crowning achievements of secret dilitiriophile labs across known space. A horrific distillation of necrotoxins and cytotoxins harvested from the most venomous creatures, those affected by rippertoxin seem to slowly become unzipped, as if set upon by invisible razorblades. At higher doses, rippertoxin can reduce a fully grown adult to a puddle of gore in a matter of minutes.
Availability: Extremely Rare
Cost: 1000 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 7+
Duration: 1d6 hours
Treatment: Antidote negates rippertoxin per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Average MedTech with appropriate supplies halts rippertoxin damage but penalties persist until the poison wears off.
Primary CBT Effects: Target suffers 2 wounds and must make a consciousness roll. +2 to piloting and gunnery to-hit numbers and -2 to initiative until next end phase.
Resisted Effects: Target suffers 1 wound and must make a consciousness roll. +1 to piloting and gunnery to-hit numbers and -1 to initiative until next end phase.
Persistent Effects: +1 to piloting and gunnery to-hit numbers and -1 to initiative until next end phase. Every turn the poisoned pilot must make a separate roll 2d6 + STR and meet/exceed a 5 or suffer 1 wound.
Primary Destiny Effects: -2 to all stats, 4 physical damage every minute. Check to resist every minute.
Resisted Effects: -1 to all stats, 2 physical damage every minute
CARBONADO
Trog, Burna, Crust, Scale Saint, Surimi
Once subjected to this poison a person's tissues become highly sensitive to elevated temperatures. Proteins denature at much lower temperatures, causing them to cook even in direct sunlight. The effect this may have on a 'mech pilot can be utterly devastating, particularly if their chosen vehicle mounts large numbers of heat-generating energy weapons.
Availability: Unique
Cost: 1000 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 8+
Duration: 1d6 days
Treatment: Antidote negates carbonado per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Average MedTech with appropriate supplies negates carbonado.
Primary CBT Effects: This poison causes no ill effects until the pilot's 'mech reaches/exceeds 6 heat, at which point they must roll to resist this poison. Failing that roll, they must then roll 2d6 + STR versus their current heat level. Failure inflicts 1 wound on the pilot and adds a +1 difficulty to all gunnery and piloting rolls on the following turn. Success results in no adverse effect. This poison reactivates every turn that a pilot's heat is an 6 or higher.
Resisted Effects: As above, but carbonado poison is triggered only once a ‘mech reaches 10 heat.
Persistent Effects: Persistent effects are determined by whether or not the pilot passed their first roll to resist the poison. If they failed, the persistent effects are identical to the full effects. If they succeeded, the persistent effects are identical to the resisted effects.
Primary Destiny Effects: This poison causes no ill effects until the pilot's 'mech reaches 2 heat tokens, at which point they must roll 2d6 + STR versus 2d6 + 2x their current number of heat tokens. Failure inflicts 2 physical damage and adds +2 to all difficulties on the following turn. This poison reactivates every turn that a pilot's 'mech has 2 heat tokens or more.
Resisted Effects: When this character’s 'mech reaches 3 heat tokens, they must roll 2d6 + STR versus 2d6 + 2x their current number of heat tokens. Failure inflicts 1 physical damage and adds +1 to all difficulties on the following turn. This poison reactivates every turn that a pilot's 'mech has 2 heat tokens or more.
PAXILENE B
Miranda, Pax, Soy, Cable 54
Paxilene B is an experimental, high-test, military-grade tactical sedative, intended to be deployed as an aerosolized urban pacification agent to enable the suppression and subsequent incarceration of mobs of unruly people, including rioters, militias, and soldiers. There is considerable controversy surrounding this chemical, however, as its side effects can be quite severe, including personality disruption, hypoxic brain injury, respiratory failure, and death. Despite a mere 25% of people exposed to this agent experiencing these symptoms, all but the most callous and brutal governments and military units have spurned this highly effective and extremely safe tool, leaving huge test batches of the substance to decay in long-forgotten bunkers. Loot for the taking.
Availability: Unique
Cost: 2000 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 7+
Duration: d3+2 hours
Treatment: Antidote negates Paxilene B per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Hard MedTech with appropriate supplies negates Paxilene.
Primary CBT Effects: Affected character can neither move nor attack this round and is considered immobile.
Resisted Effects: +2 to all gunnery and piloting target numbers, -2 to initiative.
Persistent Effects: Affected character can neither move nor attack this round and is considered immobile.
Primary Destiny Effects: Affected characters suffer d3+1 fatigue damage. Rolling a 2 to resist Paxilene B inflicts an additional d3+1 physical damage. Check to resist every minute.
Resisted Effects: 1 fatigue damage and -1 to all rolls.
MEPHISTOLENE
Hell, Helen, Hole, Devil Dust, Curse, Doom
Mephistolene may pass from the body, but the psychological scars remain, livid and likely to rip open again at the drop of a hat. When the venom takes hold its victim can do nothing but stare in despair as the world before them dissolves into a slaughterhouse. Every control stick or lever becomes a snapped and bloody bone, every button a bulging eyeball, every information readout a cryptic message torn into weeping flesh. Their machine pulsates beneath them like a murderous behemoth as their enemies, screaming, fire-spewing cacodemons, draw near.
Availability: Unique
Cost: 4500 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 7+
Duration: 2d6+1 hours
Treatment: Antidote negates mephistolene per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Hard MedTech with appropriate supplies negates mephistolene.
Primary CBT Effects: For each unit within 3 hexes, add +1 to gunnery and piloting difficulty numbers and -1 to initiative. The poisoned pilot will perform an alpha strike, ignoring heat, on the nearest unit, friendly or hostile. If a hostile unit is adjacent and visible in the frontal firing arc, roll d6: 5-6 = one wound.
Resisted Effects: For each unit within 2 hexes, add +1 to gunnery and piloting difficulty numbers and -1 to initiative. If a hostile unit is adjacent and visible in the frontal firing arc, roll d6: 6 = one wound.
Persistent Effects: For each hostile unit within 2 hexes, add +1 to gunnery and piloting difficulty numbers and -1 to initiative. If a hostile unit is adjacent and visible in the frontal firing arc, roll d6: 6 = one wound.
Primary Destiny Effects: Character becomes utterly terrified as the world before them rots and sloughs away, revealing a gory hellscape of demons and madness. They will do all they can to flee combat, running screaming. If backed into a corner they will fight, but feebly. For all rolls, the character rolls 3d6 and keeps the two lowest results. They will be nearly incoherent, and barely able to focus on anything other than babbling about demons and the dead. Any time they roll a 2 in the presence of other characters, roll d6: 5-6 = they suffer one physical damage and must reroll for another wound until they do not roll a 6. Check to resist every 10 minutes.
Resisted Effects: Same as above, but the character may make an average WIL + STR roll to simply have a -2 penalty for each roll (rather than rolling 3d6 and keeping the lowest results) as they battle for lucidity. Any time they roll a 2 in the presence of other characters, roll d6: 5-6 = they suffer one physical damage and must reroll for another wound until they do not roll a 6. Check to resist every 10 minutes.
PHOBOSARIN
Dibuyan, Braxxii, Scat, Pinocchio, Shad, Faust
Phobosarin is seemingly equal parts government chemical warfare experiment and interdimensional black magic. Comstar’s intent with this project was to develop a compound that produced consistent, predictable hallucinations in its subjects. The scientists working on the project grew ever more troubled as their analysis of these hallucinations came to suggest that they were not mere figments of the test subjects’ imaginations, but rather were glimpses into what they came to describe as the Blacklands. This strange dark realm was reported to be perpetually in the throes of a howling blizzard, and those that spent enough time under the influence of phobosarin came to report humanoid forms out in the darkness and eyes that seemed full of starfire and black smoke. Research was abandoned when the research staff began disappearing from the lab, at first one at a time, and then all at once. Rogues, scavengers, and illegal chemlabs took over from there, raided the hidden and sealed labs, and made a killing on the black market by selling their anomolous spoils.
Availability: Unique
Cost: 5000 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 8+
Duration: 1d3+1 hours
Treatment: Antidote negates phobosarin per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Hard MedTech with appropriate supplies negates phobosarin.
Primary CBT Effects: Affected pilots operate as if they are in the midst of a hellish nocturnal blizzard (Tactical Operations p.60): +1 to-hit for all weapon attacks, extra +2 to-hit to all missile weapon attacks, extra +1 to all direct-fire ballistic weapon attacks, +2 to all piloting target numbers. Rolling a 2 for any gunnery or piloting checks has a 50% chance of inflicting a wound.
Resisted Effects: +2 difficulty to all weapons fire (not melee attacks) and -2 to all Cluster Hits Table results. Rolling a 2 for any gunnery or piloting checks has a 50% chance of inflicting a wound on the pilot.
Persistent Effects: +2 difficulty to all weapons fire (not melee attacks) and -2 to all Cluster Hits Table results. Rolling a 2 for any gunnery or piloting checks has a 50% chance of inflicting a wound on the pilot.
Primary Destiny Effects: Affected characters find themselves suddenly surrounded by a nocturnal blizzard. All rolls suffer a -3 penalty, and visibility is limited to 10 yards. Whenever a player rolls a 2, they see something in the blizzard, something horrific. A humanoid shape, flashing eyes, fangs, something tattered and bleeding being dragged through the black snow. With each 2 rolled there is a 50% chance of inflicting 2 physical damage and d3+1 fatigue damage as the apparition grows closer. It feels more and more like this is no mere hallucination. Check to resist every 30 minutes.
Resisted Effects: All rolls suffer a -2 penalty and visibility is limited to 30 yards. Rolling a 2 for any check has a 50% chance of inflicting 1 physical damage and d3 fatigue damage.
TAMUKENE
Farewell, BS, Good Boy, Meatshield
Tamukene is a chemical compound, reportedly developed deep in the heart of a secret Draconis Combine lab that, when introduced to the human central nervous system, induces fierce protective, nurturing, and self-sacrificial behaviors. The initial hope was to “encourage” their pilots to perform a sort of “reverse kamikaze” maneuver, sacrificing themselves to protect more valuable assets. The project, though highly successful, was scrapped due to limited applications and budget cuts. The bureaucrats and scientists involved, not willing to let the years of work collect dust on a shelf in a forgotten storeroom, found many buyers, civilian and military alike.
When dispersed as a gas, tamukene’s effects on groups of civilians is…peculiar to say the least. Charming, even. When administered to an individual, a pilot for example, the effect is quite remarkable; they will charge across a field of battle, ignoring hazards and heavy fire, to use their body as a shield to spare their arbitrarily chosen ward a fusillade of death.
Availability: Unique
Cost: 4000 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 7+
Duration: 2d6+2 hours
Treatment: Antidote negates tamukene per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Hard MedTech with appropriate supplies negates tamukene.
Primary CBT Effects: +2 initiative. During movement phase, this pilot will steer their ‘mech to stand between the nearest ground target (friendly or hostile) and any unit, friendly or hostile, that may fire upon it. Any shots directed at the unit it is shielding that also pass through this pilot’s hex must roll to hit them first. Any shots that miss may be rolled normally against the intended target with a +2 to-hit modifier. The poisoned pilot will also return fire on the nearest unit attacking that which it defends, ignoring heat.
Resisted Effects: -2 to initiative rolls
Persistent Effects: Same as primary effects. Resisting the persistent effects results in resisted effects.
Primary Destiny Effects: Out of combat, the character seems to have an overwhelming protective instinct. They fixate on those they consort with or with people they believe are in need of protection. They may pick fights with strangers or may simply be overbearing, relentless in their desires to assist and protect seemingly random people. In combat, halve all condition monitor penalties, rounding down to a minimum of zero. The affected character will immediately place themselves between any nearby creatures and incoming fire. Whichever character they are nearest to, friendly or hostile, they leap into action to protect, using their body as a shield and immediately returning fire upon any who would dare attack their precious charge. Any attack that must pass through them must first be rolled to hit them, minus any REF defensive modifiers. Any attack that misses them must be rolled as normally to hit their intended target. Check to resist every 5 minutes.
Resisted Effects: The affected character resists the primary effects of the poison, and rather than committing to defending someone they believe in need of help, they may simply veer off, in the same way that a kamikaze pilot would waver at the last moment of a terminal flight. They may fling themselves to the ground in combat or may simply tackle their charge. In normal life, they may become distracted, may find someone in the distance in greater need of sacrificial protection, may simply forget what they were doing. This character will not take any voluntary hostile actions.
BULLEXOTOXIN
Daisy, 3D, Bubbs, Safari, Float, Corus, Daffy, Dipshit
The hallucinations induced by this drug are shockingly predictable: big, beautiful, shiny bubbles. Bubbles everywhere. Some with faces. Some with songs. Some containing tiny little pixies in the throes of passion. With these floating little bundles of joy, comes the overwhelming urge to pop them and release the magics they contain. Distraction and folly may sound benign but these bubbles spell certain death to a 'mech pilot with their hands on their rosy cheeks, giggling at imaginary will-o’-the-whisps while their enemy calmly prepares to send a 125mm APFSDS round straight through their cockpit.
Availability: Nigh Imaginary
Cost: 2000 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 6+
Duration: 1d6 hours
Treatment: Antidote negates bullexotoxin per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Hard MedTech with appropriate supplies negates bullexotoxin.
Primary CBT Effects: Pilots affected by bullexotoxin move their full walking speed, potentially changing facing with each hex moved (d6: 1-2 one hex to left, 3-4 straight ahead, 5-6 one hex to the right), potentially colliding with obstacles or entering water, and will not attack on their turn.
Resisted Effects: -4 initiative
Persistent Effects: Same as primary effects.
Primary Destiny Effects: The character becomes completely distracted and childish, wandering around, poking at imaginary bubbles and giggling. They become defenseless. Sitting ducks. They do not attack, and stumble drunkenly after imaginary baubles and fairies. They do not perform meaningful actions, and are as likely to wander through traffic as through a gunfight. When attacking a character on bullexotoxin they roll 2d6 + EDG for defense. Check to resist every 5 minutes.
Resisted Effects: This character, while dazed and confused, is still able to react to their environment, though in a somewhat delayed and incompetent manner. -4 to all rolls.
SIMIAX
Chimp, Fido, Blood, Super 28, Megalomonkey, Tectonic
Simiax is a prized and deadly venom, favored by political agents that wish to murder by proxy, chemically hijacking a target’s trusted friends and using them as murder weapons. Originally developed and used to great effect by Comstar’s ROM during Operation Holy Shroud, simiax was further refined by the Federated Suns Medical Corps, which drew from the ranks of doctors and scientists Comstar’s ROM, many of whom would sit on the board of directors of the New Avalon Institute of Science College of Biology and Medicine in later years.
How does simiax work? Simple. Adrenal rage. Uncontrollable, welling up inside like a volcano of hatred. Pressurized, unstoppable, planetary, incendiary. All must die. All must burn. When placed inside of a remote release micro-ampoule, this effect can be triggered at any time with butcherous effect.
Availability: Nigh Imaginary
Cost: 5000 C-Bills/Dose
Strength: 8+
Duration: d6 hours
Treatment: Antidote negates simiax per antidote rules, as found in combat drugs. Hard MedTech with appropriate supplies negates simiax.
Primary CBT Effects: Once this poison is activated, the affected character immediately moves to engage the nearest 'mech, vehicle, or infantry unit with an alpha-strike, whether friend or foe, regardless of current heat. If activated during movement, this unit will move to close within melee range. Attacks will be prioritized as follows: charge, punch/kick, alpha strike.
Resisted Effects: +1 to piloting and gunnery to-hit numbers. -1 to initiative.
Persistent Effects: The affected character immediately moves to engage the nearest 'mech, vehicle, or infantry unit with an alpha-strike, whether friend or foe, regardless of current heat. If activated during movement, this unit will move to close within melee range. Attacks will be prioritized as follows: charge, punch/kick, alpha strike.
NOTE: Unless an antidote is administered, once this poison runs its course (by repeated resistance rolls, its strength dropping to 2, or the bout ending) the victim suffers 1 wound.
Primary Destiny Effects: Simiax poisoned characters immediately gain and use 1 plot point to “shake it up”. This character will go first during the next turn and will behave in the most reckless, aggressive, and violent way possible. This behavior will always be directed at whatever character or characters are within reach and may include physical attacks, small arms attacks, and tossing grenades. For the duration of the poisoning this character gains an extra -2 damage to all damage types. Check to resist every 10 minutes.
Resisted Effects: The poisoned character behaves as above, but will act last in the round. Prior to their turn it will become clear that they are suddenly consumed with violent rage; blood vessels bulging, twitching, grunting, talking about how much they want to kill everyone around them. Use your imagination in describing this. Check to resist every 10 minutes.
NOTE: Unless an antidote is administered, once this poison runs its course (by repeated resistance rolls, its strength dropping to 2, or the bout ending) the victim suffers 1d3 physical damage.
CONCLUSION
When I showed this document to my brother he first asked me this: “What need are you serving with all of these poisons?”
Good question.
The answer?
Well, honestly, BattleTech fandom breaks my heart a little, man. As I write these pieces and generate these resources, I end up chewing through vast swaths of Sarna.net, and have come to love the depth of the BattleTech universe. There is such richness in the fiction, and sadly most people miss out on it because the ‘mech is all they know.
Ever hear of the accursed Black Marauder, a ‘mech found on a lonely asteroid in an uninhabited system, seemingly haunted by a deadly evil spirit? Did you know the Word of Blake encased limbless Manei Domini inside their early protomechs in a way that makes Robocop’s baby-food-eating interment seem dignified?
“But muh clantech!” “But muh Steiner Scout Lance is four Atlasses lol!”
No. Stop.
These things I’ve written, the poisons, the combat drugs, the medical devices, they all serve to remind players that there is a pilot in each ‘mech, and that pilot is only a tiny grain of sand in a wide and weird beach, covered in techno-feudal intrigues and the goddamned lizard-squid-fish-alien Toorima.
Me? Personally? I came for the ‘mechs (when I was TEN), but I’m stickin’ around for the universe. And with these posts, I’m hoping to add a little color, a little texture, and a little flare to the mix, to allow one more tiny point of contact between Total Warfare combat and the rich planet of fiction upon which it stands.
More to come.
But that’s it for now.
As always, Be Creative, Have Fun, Get Weird.
