Concoction
Apothecaries, physicians, herbalists, and kitchen witches can all forge remarkable substances from household ingredients. Nature itself produces material with medical uses from the very ground. Even beasts carry within them compounds known to heal or harm.
Creatures who ingest, inject, inhale, or imbibe these concoctions may experience physiological reactions. A creature subjected to a harmful concoction must make a Vitality check. If the result meets or exceeds the associated DL, the creature evades the negative effects.
The following categories represent a few types of concoctions. Each of these delivers a different kind of effect in dosed targets.
Remedy
A remedy is a substance that treats the symptoms of an illness. Using ingredients from the natural world, you can craft remedies in many forms including salves, tablets, and herbal blends.
Antidote
Antidotes are solutions that neutralize poisons, toxins, or venoms. An antidote administered to a poisoned creature counteracts the harmful substance or removes it from the body — the associated Continual Damage ceases. Poisons are treated with chemical countering agents, so one antidote may apply to several poisons, whereas antitoxins or antivenoms are typically derived from the original toxin itself, so they combat toxins from a specific organism or category of organisms. Some antidotes have negative side effects. Worse still, some poisons have no antidote.
Medication
In this game, medications eradicate curable disease. Many compounds, from vegetables to mold, are known to fight infections, acting as all-natural antivirals, antibiotics, or antifungals. If a disease can be cured through medication, completing a course will rid a creature of the infection, whether that's a single dose or several administered regularly (depending on the disease).
Stimulant
A stimulant incites vigor, focus, and motivation. Depending on the dose, a stimulant user can ignore one or more stages of temporary Knockout Track penalties (i.e. those effects remedied by rest). Stimulants can also boost physical and mental performance, granting increased AP.
Sedative
A sedative reduces anxiety and encourages sleep. Sedated creatures move one or more stages down the Knockout Track and stay there as long as the dose is active. Sedatives are known to sap the body's energy, imposing decreased AP.
Paralytic
A paralytic agent attacks the nervous system and renders parts of the body inoperative. These compounds typically last minutes to hours, and can impose any of the following conditions: blinded, deafened, hampered, muted, prone, paralyzed, suffocating.
Psychoactive
A psychoactive substance affects the mind. The wilds are absolutely teeming with mind-altering fungus and plant life, but if foraging isn't for you, the right combination of chemicals can also do the trick. Psychoactive substances can impose any of the following conditions: confused, distracted, mindless, rattled, unfeeling.
