My wife is a chemist, her father is a chemist, and I've recruited both of them to help me with converting the rules on chemistry from Arsenal to 5th edition. Mostly they're not changing much. Costs are about the same, but I'm adding some versatility with how one acquires the recipes and ingredients. I've also done away with the 200,000¥ Microfacility, as it's way outside the realities of most runners and it doesn't seem to be all that fantastic for day-to-day use unless your game is completely focused on chemistry.
I am attempting to compile all of the materials that can be created by chemical means, even the Awakened drugs. Gaining the ingredients is a key part that I want to be difficult, as the hunt for ingredients can easily become plot hooks and every GM needs more of those.
One of the hardest things I'm dealing with is determining whether the creation process for these items is Simple, Complex, Intricate, or Exotic. Generally I think I've got things right. For real-world chemistry, my wife and father-in-law help a lot. For the fictional chemicals, I'm generally taking a similar real-world chemical and bumping it up a level.
Additionally, the availability on a lot of these items is way off. For example, Betameth is listed as 3R availability, which implies that it's easy to get and can be carried with a license. There's no medical or combat benefit to betameth (beyond losing your mind and running into bullets) so I've rated it 4F.
I'm hoping to have this document done by the end of the week, so by then you'll have at least a framework to work from for creating or acquiring DMSO in 5th edition.
