Addiction

Many things may cause addiction, from alcohol to chemical substances to magical items and esoteric effects (collectively called “drugs”). Addiction manifests in three different degrees of severity: minor, moderate, and severe. Each drug notes what type of addiction failing a save against it results in. Each addiction causes a persistent penalty to ability scores, lasting for as long as the character has the disease. In the case of moderate and severe addictions, the character also cannot naturally heal ability damage dealt by the drug that caused the addiction.

Becoming Addicted

Anytime a character takes a drug he must make a saving throw, noted in the drug’s description, to resist becoming addicted. If a character makes the save, he is not addicted and the effects of the drug persist as normal. If he fails the save, he contracts the noted form of addiction (see below).

Drugs that cause ability damage as part of their effect remain in a character’s system until the ability damage is healed. Drugs that do not cause ability damage note a duration which is remains in a character’s system. Should a character take another dose of the drug while the drug remains in his system, the DC of a drug’s saving throw increases by +2 for each time he has taken the drug while it remains in his system. If the drug is cleared from his system, this increase to the save DC is removed for future doses.

Each form of addiction encourages sufferers to continue making use of the drug they are addicted to. While a character is benefiting from the effects of a drug he is addicted to, he does not suffer the penalties of his addiction disease. While he still receives the benefits of the drug and may still take ability damage from it as normal, the disease’s effects are mitigated. As soon as the drug’s benefits expire, the disease’s effects return.

Curing Addiction

As addiction is a disease, it can be cured as such, through the use of spells like remove disease or by succeeding at Fortitude saves over time. Unlike with other diseases, an addicted character can only make a Fortitude save to overcome his addiction after a day of not taking the drug he is addicted to. The DC of this Fortitude save is equal to the highest addiction DC his drug use has reached (not necessarily the DC that addicted him if he has continued to make use of the drug while addicted). This DC decreases by -2 for every day the character does not make use of the drug, to a minimum of the drug’s base addiction DC.

Depending on the severity of the character’s addiction, it might take two or three consecutive successful Fortitude saves to overcome the disease. Should a character take a dose of the drug he’s addicted to, he immediately relapses, causing the addiction DC to instantly return to its highest DC and negating any successful past saves.

Mild Addiction

Moderate Addiction

Severe Addiction