Toxin Exposure

by Hal Mangold

Introduction

The Shadowrun rules handle toxins and poisons fairly well, but there are some gray areas when it comes to repeated or partial exposure. This article provides clarification and optional rules for handling these situations.

Types of Exposure

Toxins can be introduced into the body in several ways:

Contact: The toxin is absorbed through the skin. This is typically the slowest method of exposure but can affect large areas of the body at once.

Ingestion: The toxin is swallowed and absorbed through the digestive system. This is a common method for poisons mixed with food or drink.

Inhalation: The toxin is breathed in and absorbed through the lungs. This is one of the fastest methods of exposure and is difficult to defend against without proper protection.

Injection: The toxin is injected directly into the bloodstream. This is the fastest and most reliable method of exposure.

Partial Exposure

Sometimes a character may be exposed to a toxin but not receive a full dose. This can happen if:

• The character only touches a contaminated surface briefly
• The character takes a small bite of poisoned food
• The character holds their breath while passing through a toxic gas cloud
• The character receives a grazing wound from a poisoned weapon

In these cases, the GM may rule that the character is only exposed to a partial dose. Reduce the toxin’s Power by 2-4 points depending on the degree of exposure. The character still makes a resistance test as normal, but against this reduced Power.

Repeated Exposure

When a character is exposed to the same toxin multiple times in a short period, the effects can accumulate. There are two ways to handle this:

Option 1: Cumulative Resistance Tests

Each exposure requires a separate resistance test. The character resists each dose independently, and the effects stack. This method is more realistic but requires more dice rolling.

Example: A character is hit by two arrows coated with poison (Power 8). The character makes two separate resistance tests. On the first test, they get 2 successes, taking 6 boxes of damage. On the second test, they get 3 successes, taking 5 boxes of damage. The total damage is 11 boxes.

Option 2: Increased Power

All exposures within a short time frame (usually 1 minute) count as a single dose with increased Power. Add +2 to the toxin’s Power for each additional exposure beyond the first, to a maximum of +8.

Example: A character is hit by two arrows coated with poison (Power 8). Instead of making two tests, they make one test against Power 10 (8 + 2 for the second dose).

Continuous Exposure

Some situations involve continuous exposure to a toxin, such as:

• Working in a contaminated environment
• Being trapped in a room filled with toxic gas
• Swimming in polluted water

For continuous exposure, the character must make a resistance test each minute (or each Combat Turn in tactical situations). The toxin’s Power does not increase, but the character must keep resisting or continue taking damage.

A character may leave the contaminated area at any time (assuming they’re physically able to do so and there’s somewhere safe to go). Once they leave, they make one final resistance test against half the toxin’s Power (round down) to represent the residual toxin in their system.

Delayed Effects

Some toxins don’t take effect immediately. The time delay depends on the method of exposure and the specific toxin:

• Contact: 1D6 minutes
• Ingestion: 2D6 minutes
• Inhalation: 1D6 Combat Turns
• Injection: Immediate

During this delay period, the target may not realize they’ve been poisoned. Once the delay expires, the target makes their resistance test and suffers the effects.

Some toxins may have multiple stages of effects. For example, a poison might cause nausea after 10 minutes, unconsciousness after 30 minutes, and death after 1 hour. Each stage requires a separate resistance test.

Treatment and Antidotes

Characters suffering from toxin exposure can be treated in several ways:

First Aid: A successful First Aid test can reduce the damage from a toxin by 1 box per success, but only if performed within 1 minute of exposure. This represents flushing the toxin from the wound, inducing vomiting, etc.

Medicine: A successful Medicine test can reduce the damage from a toxin by 1 box per success if performed within 1 hour of exposure. This represents more advanced treatment like stomach pumping, chelation therapy, etc.

Antitoxin: A specific antitoxin, if available, can neutralize a toxin entirely if administered within the toxin’s delay period (see above). If administered after the delay, the antitoxin reduces the toxin’s Power by half (round down) for all future resistance tests. Generic antitoxins reduce Power by 2.

Magical Healing: Healing spells and powers can remove damage caused by toxins just like any other damage. However, they don’t remove the toxin itself - if the toxin has multiple stages or continuous effects, those will still occur.

Detox Spell: The Detox spell (Shadowrun core rules) can completely remove a toxin from a character’s system if the spell’s Force equals or exceeds the toxin’s Power.

Environmental Protection

Various types of protection can reduce or eliminate toxin exposure:

Clothing: Heavy clothing provides no protection against contact toxins unless specifically designed for that purpose (chemical suit, sealed armor, etc.).

Gas Mask: Provides complete protection against inhaled toxins, but only if properly sealed. A gas mask that’s been damaged or improperly fitted provides no protection.

Respirator: Reduces the Power of inhaled toxins by 2-4 depending on the quality of the respirator.

Chemical Suit: Provides complete protection against contact toxins and reduces the Power of inhaled toxins by 4 (when used with a respirator).

Sealed Armor: Any armor with environmental sealing provides complete protection against all toxins while the seal is intact.

Example Toxins

Here are some example toxins using these rules:

Chlorine Gas

Power: 6
Speed: Immediate
Effect: Damage
Penetration: 0
Type: Inhalation, Continuous

Chlorine gas is a common industrial toxin. Characters exposed to it must resist each Combat Turn or suffer damage. The gas causes respiratory distress and can be lethal in high concentrations.

Arsenic

Power: 8
Speed: 30 minutes (Ingestion)
Effect: Damage, then -2 to all actions
Penetration: 0
Type: Ingestion

Arsenic is a classic poison. After the delay period, the victim makes a resistance test. If they take any damage, they also suffer a -2 penalty to all actions for the next 24 hours due to nausea and weakness.

Neurotoxin (Injection)

Power: 10
Speed: Immediate (Injection)
Effect: Paralysis
Penetration: -2
Type: Injection

This synthetic neurotoxin causes rapid paralysis. The victim must resist immediately upon injection. For each box of damage taken, the victim suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to all physical actions. If damage exceeds the victim’s Body, they are completely paralyzed for (10 - successes) minutes.

Industrial Solvent

Power: 4
Speed: 1D6 minutes (Contact)
Effect: Damage
Penetration: 0
Type: Contact, Continuous

This represents various industrial chemicals that can burn skin. Initial contact requires a resistance test after the delay. Continued contact requires a new test each minute until the chemical is washed off.

Optional Rule: Toxin Resistance

Characters who are frequently exposed to toxins may develop a resistance over time. This is not the same as immunity - the character is still affected, just not as severely.

A character who has been exposed to a specific toxin at least 5 times in the past year gains +1 die to all resistance tests against that toxin. This bonus increases by +1 for every additional 5 exposures, to a maximum of +3 dice.

This rule is intended for characters who work in hazardous environments (chemical plant workers, environmental specialists, etc.) rather than runners who occasionally encounter toxins.

I used to work in a chemical plant before I got into running. After a few months, the safety gear started feeling optional - I’d been exposed so many times that small doses barely affected me. Of course, the doc said I probably took years off my life, but that’s the price you pay.
Industrial

There’s a difference between building up a tolerance and being stupid. I don’t care how many times you’ve been gassed, you still wear the fragging mask when you go into a hot zone.
Safety Officer

Some of the nastier toxins are specifically designed to overcome natural resistance. Military nerve agents, for example, are effective even against people who’ve been exposed to lesser toxins hundreds of times. Don’t get cocky.
Mil-Spec

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