Drug Quality Chart for Cyberpunk 2020

Author: Gary Astleford (ocelot@connectnet.com)
This chart is intended to reflect the uncertainty of acquiring an illegal drug on the street. When you’re stealing your fix directly from the corporation which created it, you don’t worry about quality, but when you’re doing a deal with a guy named “Ripperjack” in the alley behind Jesse James’ Non-Kosher Deli, you might not be getting what you paid for.

Depending on how you play Cyberpunk, you may use either Streetdeal or Streetwise to attempt an illegal drug purchase. The difficulty depends on the drug and circumstances of the deal, and is up to the GM to determine. Check the amount the player made the roll by against the following chart:

Modifiers to the Drug Quality Chart

+10 or more over required difficulty : -50 to the roll.
+5 or more over required difficulty : -30 to the roll.
+2 or more over required difficulty : -10 to the roll.
+1 over or required difficulty exactly : No modifiers.Take your results and roll on the following table:

• 01-35 The drug is normal in all respects. You lucked out.
• 36-41 The drug is stronger than expected. Double all drug effects, including duration.
• 41-50 The drug is slow to act. Take the Duration of the drug and multiply it by two; this is the amount of time the drug is delayed in its action.
• 51-55 The drug is weaker than expected, having been cut so far as to reduce its effects. Quarter all drug effects.
• 56-60 The drug contains an irritant, which makes the user mildly sick. Normal drug effects apply, but the user must make a BOD roll or suffer various ill effects for the duration of its effects (GMs call). Suggested effects are shakes (-2 REF), confusion (reduce INT by -2), sleepiness (BOD – Strength of drug to save vs. Sleep), and so forth.
• 61-70 The drug is a weaker analog of the one desired, but has the same essential effect. Halve all drug effects.
• 71-80 The drug is not a drug at all, having either been cut so far as to lose its effect, or entirely substituted with something else. When the user takes the drug, nothing happens. Make an INT roll; on a fumble, the user has not realized that the drug is a fake and a placebo effect occurs. In this case, “normal” drug effects apply; tell the player that his character is affected, but the GM should secretly modify all rolls made as though the character was normal.
• 81-85 The drug is contaminated with a foreign substance. It might be cut with something toxic, or it might have been accidentally dipped (or sprayed) with something. The user must make a BOD save or become nauseous; -4 REF and COOL for 1D10+1 hours. Normal drug effects are halved.
• 86-00 The drug is poisonous! The user must make a BOD save or take 8D6 damage; success cuts the damage to 4D6. Normal drug effects are lost.