Biological Warfare
By Jim Hunsinger
Biological warfare is the use of germs, viruses, and bacteria in order to incapacitate or kill the enemy. The Bio-agents can be delivered through the use of artillery, bombs, missiles, sprayed by aircraft, put in water supplies, food supplies etc. The inherent danger of biological weapons however is the fact that they are completely uncontrollable. Spread by humans, animals or even insects. Their spread and duration cannot be controlled in any way and has been known to backfire on the users.
• Bioagents take effect when a character is exposed to the vector. The vector is how the bioagent is spread. Such as through contaminated water or contaminated air in the case of an airborne vector etc. i.e. if a vector of a bioagent is airborne then just breathing the surrounding area can cause contraction of the disease. If the vector were contaminated food or water and the character did not eat or drink it then there would be no chance of contracting the bioagent.
• If a character is in a sealed environment then not even airborne vectored bioagents can get to the character.
• Once a character is exposed to a bioagents vector they must roll less than or equal to the "chance to avoid contraction" to keep from contracting it. If the character fails then the incubation time is rolled to see how long it will be before the agents symptoms and game effects appear. After that the "Run time" is rolled to determine how long the agent will remain active in the character. If the character survives the game effects for the duration of the run time then the characters own system will have warded off the agent.
• With the use of pan-spectrum antibiotics and a successful roll versus the treatment number then the runtime can be reduced by half. If just the pan-spectrum antibiotic is used without the benefit of medical treatment then the run time can be reduced by one fourth.
Example: An 8 day run time period would be reduced to a 6 day run time with just the pan-spectrum antibiotic. If the pan-spectrum antibiotic is used with a successful medical skill roll against the treatment number then the run time will be reduced to 4 days. If there is no treatment number listed for the agent then there is no treatment for it. Pan-spectrum antibiotic will not work on it either. The agent must run its course.
NOTE: Healing may not occur during the run time of a disease or bioagent.
Listed below are descriptions of diseases and biological agents along with their game effects. I encourage other game masters to come up with some of their own bioagents. If you would like to have any bioagents you design shown here, let me know.
FV-5 (Bioagent)
Treatment number: 16
Vector: airborne
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -4
Incubation period: 1-3 days
Run time: 1-6 weeks
Symptoms: fever, nausea, exhaustion, cough, chills, aches, congestion, headache.
Game effects: all characters statistics at 1/2 for the duration of the sickness.ZF-7 (Bioagent)
Treatment number: 17
Vector: contaminated water
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -3
Incubation period: 1-6 days
Run time: 1-3 months
Symptoms: incapacitating sores in nose and throat.
Game effects: all character statistics at 1/4, 2-3 hits to the head and torso per month of runtime.EV-8 (Bioagent)
Treatment number: none
Vector: airborne
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -6
Incubation period: 3 weeks
Run time: 1-10 days
Symptoms: severe headache, aches, severe fever, open sores all over body, bleeding from nose mouth and eyes.
Game effects: 1 hit per body location per day of run time, character statistics reduced to 1.Typhus (Disease)
Treatment number: 14
Vector: body lice
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -4
Incubation period:1 day
Run time: 2-20 days
Symptoms: fever, headache, rash.
Game effects: body, movement allowance, and reflexes all reduced to 1/2.Typhoid fever (Disease)
Treatment number: 14
Vector: contact, contaminated food/water
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -4
Incubation period: 1-3 days
Run time: 2-3 weeks
Symptoms: severe fever, aches, cough, apathy.
Game effects: reflexes, movement allowance, body at 1/2, 1-2 hits per week to head and torso.Pneumonia (Disease)
Treatment number: 15
Vector: contact, airborne
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -4
Incubation period: 1-6 days
Run time: 1-3 weeks
Symptoms: cough, fluid filled lungs, fever, chest pain, general discomfort.
Game effects: reflexes, body, movement allowance at 1/2, 2 hits to head and torso per week.Plague, Pneumonic (Disease)
Treatment number: 16
Vector: contact, airborne
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -6
Incubation period: 1-6 days
Run time: 6-15 days
Symptoms: swollen lymph nodes, severe abdominal pain, severe cough, chills.
Game effects: all character statistics at 1/4, 1-2 hits to torso per day.Plague, Bubonic (Disease)
Treatment number: 15
Vector: fleas, rats
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -4
Incubation period: 1-6 days
Run time: 6-15 days
Symptoms: swollen lymph nodes, severe abdominal pain.
Game effects: all character statistics at 1/4, 1-2 hits to all locations per day.Hepatitis-A (Disease)
Treatment number: 14
Vector: contact, contaminated food/water
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -4
Incubation period: 1-6 weeks
Run time: 1-10 days
Symptoms: body pain, fever, malaise.
Game effects: all character statistics at 1/4.Cholera (Disease)
Treatment number: 15
Vector: contaminated food/water
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -5
Incubation period: 1 day
Run time: 3-8 days
Symptoms: abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever.
Game effects: all character statistics at 1/2, 1 hit to head and torso for every 3 days.Dysentery (Disease)
Treatment number: 13
Vector: contact, airborne
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -3
Incubation period: 1-3 days
Run time: 4-14 days
Symptoms: abdominal pain, diarrhea
Game effects: all character statistics at 3/4.DPV-42 (Bioagent)
Treatment number: 15
Vector: contact, airborne
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -2
Incubation period: 1-3 days
Run time: 2-12 days
Symptoms: severe fever, aches, nausea, exhaustion, coughing, dizziness.
Game effects: all character statistics at -2, 1 hit to torso per day.AX-12 (Bioagent)
Treatment number: 20
Vector: contact
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -4
Incubation period: 2-12 days
Run time: 1-3 weeks
Symptoms: headache, severe fever, dizziness, bloody vomit.
Game effects: all character statistics at -3, 1-6 hits to all locations per week.BD-4 (Bioagent)
Treatment number: none
Vector: airborne
Chance to avoid contraction: body type -3
Incubation period: 1-3 days
Run time: 1-3 weeks
Symptoms: massive black bruises over entire body, coughing up blood, bloody diarrhea, bloody nose, severe pain.
Game effects: all character statistics at 1/4, 1-6 hits to all locations per week.• Cost modifier for a projectile round or missile to be made a biological agent delivery system is x10.
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