[mtfeeney = Baron]

Has anyone found a use for this?  Is there any official ruling about whether you can have one that produces a combat drug or something?  I realize you can have one that produces any natural chemical, but who would spend .3 essence and 30kny on a thing that releases a constant dose of helium or whatever.  There has to be something actually useful, right?

[Novocrane]

It's about as useful as a chemical gland, which is quite useful. It's also a bit easier to avoid lawyering against the 'one constant dose' with the sac.

[mtfeeney = Baron]

Yeah, I want to know the useful chemicals the chemical gland can produce, too.  I said the sac, because it's internal only, and this is the only application I'm interested in.

[Reiper]

Its usefulness is highly dependent on the character utilizing it.

I'd say the best purpose of it is to reload a weapon (combined with the other items to either poison your cyber weapons, or as an aerosol weapon). I think Augmentation goes into detail about this ware, or might have been Running Wild but pretty sure its Aug.

If your character has a dibilitating condition that requires a medicine or cure, it would actually be a decent item to keep a constant flow in your blood stream, or if you are an addict then you can have it creating the drug.

Potentially, when combined with something to extract the drug, you could be your own in-house drug lab, creating seven-7 for the black market to sell.

But I'd say the most common use would be in combination with the 'ware to poison your weapons.

[Mad Hamish]

I realize you can have one that produces any natural chemical, but who would spend .3 essence and 30kny on a thing that releases a constant dose of helium

Somebody who works kids' parties?

[Padawan]

I realize you can have one that produces any natural chemical, but who would spend .3 essence and 30kny on a thing that releases a constant dose of helium

Somebody who works kids' parties?

You sir...  Are now my hero

[Pyromaster13]

The only useful thing I've seen it regularly used for was for a non augmented team member to have it loaded with cram or jazz, so when and wherever combat started they would have at least 2 IP's.

I personally have a inclination towards the exhalation chemical gland loaded with combat drugs.  One of the plot devices I've used before was a female ganger with an exhalation gland loaded with K-10. When the Pc's tried to grab her she buffed up three regular gangers into combatants as effective as wired up street sams as she ran away.

[Aryeonos]

Use it to make narcoject, and have it constantly lace your climbing claws or hand razors, it only takes a scratch at that point.

[mtfeeney = Baron]

Are you sure it's able to make combat drugs?  If you have a combat drug released into your system constantly, would you ever actually suffer the withdraw symptoms?  You would never come down, so... no penalty?  Just a constant high for the rest of your life?

It definitely wouldn't be useful to have a symbiont putting narcoject in my system constantly.  That's why I specified the sac instead of the chemical gland at the beginning.  We're talking about internal release. 

[Novocrane]

It doesn't do synthesized drugs, with the exception of the False Front's Mimic Signal Drug. Cram is explicitly synthetic by Arsenal's list of complex home cooking chemistry examples, while most of the core book offerings straight out say it.

Drugs I'd consider using constantly:

Betel - limited to mild addiction, and the only downside is the fact you're only getting +1 Perception.
G3 - good for returning from retirement, but not much else.
Red Mescaline - ok ... I wouldn't, but it is apparently natural.
Snuff - the long term effects suck, but in the short term you'll be faster and tougher.
Trance - only if awakened drugs are acceptable and I'm playing a hacker with that paralysis-friendly lifestyle.

It's worth pointing out that even if you do roll well enough to constantly avoid increasing addiction ratings (and increasing dosage requirements), the mechanics explicitly provide your GM with the option of saying, "24/7 bender-man is on his way to burnout status, and going downhill from there". Which makes Betel the only safe choice for addictive substances.

[KarmaInferno]

I realize you can have one that produces any natural chemical, but who would spend .3 essence and 30kny on a thing that releases a constant dose of helium

Somebody who works kids' parties?

I have sudden flashbacks to Dr. Rockso and his balloons.



-k

[CanRay]

I realize you can have one that produces any natural chemical, but who would spend .3 essence and 30kny on a thing that releases a constant dose of helium

Somebody who works kids' parties?

I have sudden flashbacks to Dr. Rockso and his balloons.

-k

"I TOOK COCAINE!!!"

[Aryeonos]

oh right, I was thinking the weapon reservoir version. Yeah, there isn't really a whole lot you could use it for other than roleplay purposes, like, you're a diabetic so you got one of these nifty glands to synthesize insulin for you to regulate it. I suppose you could use one to naturally secrete or allow your body to, make mucous films if you're trying to bioware yourself up to operate underwater constantly.

I think we should come up with an exhaustive list and examples as a good ol' jackpoint project.