Immortality Drugs

[Spinward Scout]

An offshoot of Anagathic research, some researchers tried to create Immortality Drugs, with several degrees of success which was then suppressed by the Imperium. An underground market began with two leading "brands": Eterna, and Methuselex

Most Citizens don't know this exists.

Immortality Drug I - Methuselex
Increases life span of most beings.
Reproductive drugs could help keep population down, if used.
Add (d1000 - 3d10) to life span, before aging rolls start.
Street value Cr10,000 per dose

Immortality Drug II – Eterna
Extremely increases the life span of most beings.
Newer reproductive drugs could help keep the population down, if used.
Add d10000 (4d10) to life span, before aging rolls start.
Street value Cr1,000,000 per dose

(I really have to figure out some Mishaps for these.)

 

[vegascat]

Anagathics IMTU

Anagathics

Ambrosia, Anagathic drink for the Old Ones

Anyone found taking anagathics will take a permanent Social Standing loss of 1D6 plus a third of his Social Standing.
Ambrosia; Honey, Blood, Gold bottle-based alcohol drink used for life extension of the old ones. One pint equals one month for the old ones or 4 years for humans of any species, reversing aging fails. For humans, Roll Con save for each drink, minus one per drink. A fail causes an immediate effect of an aging fail and any more drinks of ambrosia will cause 1D6 more aging fails as it is now toxic to that person. Ambrosia poisonous for any other life form causing genetic damage. Droyne have a similar Ambrosia like drink called Ambliss.

Ambliss is an Ambrosia like drink for Droyne and Chirpers. Ingredients are Honey, Droyne blood, and other common items. It is poisonous for any other life form causing genetic damage leading to death. For Droyne and Chirpers. roll a Con save for each drink, minus one per drink. A fail causes an immediate effect of an aging fail, and any more drinks of ambrosia will cause 1D6 more aging fails as it is now toxic to that person, It reverses aging fails and can add to stats. On a roll of 5-6 it will add 1 to each stat on a 4-6 D6 roll. For chirpers the first drink only also adds to Int 1D6 points.

Thraller sap. An anagathics based on the Thraller plant grown on only a few garden worlds. When properly possessed will stop aging effects if taken once per month. It adds +6 to aging rolls, minus 1 per month missed within a year for every aging check after the first dose is taken. Each time a dose is taken, the person suffers horrible delusions for 6+4D6 hours.

 

[Spinward Scout]

I like those. Makes me think of the Smart Bars that are around with their Brain drinks and such. I like how you add a bonus to the Aging roll - that makes a lot of sense.

 

[Timerover51]

It saound like what is proposed is a means of stopping your body from aging for an extended period of time. However, an individual taking the drugs can still die from all sorts of other things besides their body getting older.

My question is how risk-adverse are such people going to be so as not to jeopardize their extended youth?

Second, how likely are such individuals apt to make friends with anyone who is not on the drugs, knowing that they will watch them grow older and die?

Third, how do these individuals deal with the envy of all of those who cannot afford the drugs?

 

[McPerth]

(I really have to figure out some Mishaps for these.)

Some suggestions (not mutually exclusive):

• Instead of subtracting 3d10/4d10, multiply those by 10. If they roll higher than the d1000/d10000, this may be a major mishap (even leading to instant death)...
• Make an END based task roll (modified by the Doctor administring it). If failed, lifespan is so increased, but aging continues, so making the user an ageing long lived person (a side effect known as Tithonus¹ síndrome, after the Solomani Greek mithos)

See that the second one is quite cruel, probably the reason why those drugs are not that much sought for...

Note 1: link to Wikipedia​

 

[Condottiere]

Some people might want eternal youth, in order that their bodies can and are likely to survive risky activities.

 

[kilemall]

One thing I would do is adhere strictly to an INT+EDU skill limit, 'forgetting' disused skills while learning new ones, at best retaining a skill-0 and eventually atrophying away.



"Fly a helicopter? Why yes I have done that. 2000 years ago. No 3000, that was my 14th wife and the Rule of Man was still going. She was nice. Bit rusty on the flying, sort of like an air/raft, takeoff won't be a problem but I can't guarantee the landing."

 

[McPerth]

Some people might want eternal youth, in order that their bodies can and are likely to survive risky activities.

That's why the second suggested mishap is so cruel and would justify those drugs not being popular...

 

[Spinward Scout]

So how about these for Mishap Tables? I think I got everyone's ideas.

Immortality Drug Mishaps (1d6)
1.) Physical Mishaps
2/) Mental Mishap
3.) Major Mishap
4.) Mental Mishap
5.) Physical Mishaps
6.) Mental Mishap

Major Mishaps (1d6)
(Odd) Imstantaneous Death
- an adverse reaction shutting down all major organs
(Even) Catatonia
- the body still functions but the Mind is destroyed

Physical Mishaps (1d4)
1.) Normal Aging (Tithonus síndrome)
- the Body ages normally, bit the Mind doesn't age
2.) Permenant Gradual Lloss of Voluntary Motor Functions
- causing a minus 1 to STR or DEX once per Century
3.) Permenant Disfigurement
- Causing an immediate Loss of 1d6 to STR or DEX or SOC
4.) Permenant Genetic Damage
- causing Infertility

Mental Mishaps (1d6)
1.) Endangerment Anxiety
- resulting in irrational reactions similar to Post-traumatic Stress
2.) Isolationism
- due to others not having their life entended and watching them die
3.) Target of Envy
- having to deal with the Jealousy of those without the Life Extension
4.) Invulnerability Delusion
- has a growing idea of being "bulletproof"
5.) Memory Loss
- causing a minus 1 to EDU once per Century
6.) Loss of Reason
- causing a minus 1 to INT once per Century

 

[McPerth]

2.) Isolationism
- due to others not having their life entended and watching them die

About this, I'd suggest people to watch the TV serial Forever

3.) Target of Envy
- having to deal with the Jealousy of those without the Life Extensión

IMHO, this would be more a social than mental effect. I'd suggest to change it to Paranoia, by believing this envy exists, even while no one may have it, or even know (s)he is so old...

 

[Timerover51]

The one drug has a price tag of 1,000,000 Credits. You now have the money for the drug. You are also now 69, have already gone through several aging rolls, and are no longer youthful. The drugs do not appear to reverse the again process.

Do you take the drug?

 

[AtlanticFriend]

The one drug has a price tag of 1,000,000 Credits. You now have the money for the drug. You are also now 69, have already gone through several aging rolls, and are no longer youthful. The drugs do not appear to reverse the again process.

Do you take the drug?

Ah, yes, you touch a core question there. That's I used to tell my friends about the stupid shticks one could do within the Highlander franchise (or Anne Rice's), with immortal 3-year olds forever talking with a lisp and crapping their pants or immortal 87-year old Mr Krankenschmidts forever complaining about kids these days and how come they don't make cinnamon-flavored root beer like they used to. So many great opportunities lost there...

In the end, well, who could say? The fear of Death is deeply ingrained in us, and at 69 you're not decrepit (particularly in a TL14 society I suppose), so probably yes, better a ho-hum eternal life than no life at all.

 

[Timerover51]

. . . . . .

In the end, well, who could say? The fear of Death is deeply ingrained in us, and at 69 you're not decrepit (particularly in a TL14 society I suppose), so probably yes, better a ho-hum eternal life than no life at all.

Why do you fear death?

 

[Condottiere]

I would think at that point, not everyone would be convinced uploading their personality to the internet would ensure that the essential human essence would be included.

 

[AtlanticFriend]

Why do you fear death?

Because I enjoy life, mostly. Because the people I love are still mostly alive, and I am therefore in no hurry to leave them. Because accompanying friends during their last agonizing weeks left me with precious little impression that death was a dramatic yet glorious entry into any kind of afterlife. Because I kinda noticed everyone wants his PC to live through the random encounter table - they might be onto something there, I suspect.

Aaaaaaand finally because I suspect they don't serve chicken byryani or saucisse-aligot in any available Great Thereafter. Hell, they probably don't even have a decent cold ale.

 

[McPerth]

[m;]Beware not entering into religious discussion[/m;]

 

[AtlanticFriend]

[m;]Beware not entering into religious discussion[/m;]

No worries there. I'll stay at the agnostic, gastro-philosophical level and anyway that's not the issue at hand.

 

[aramis]

The one drug has a price tag of 1,000,000 Credits. You now have the money for the drug. You are also now 69, have already gone through several aging rolls, and are no longer youthful. The drugs do not appear to reverse the again process.

Do you take the drug?

If I could afford it, yes, I would take an anagathic.
Life is too short.

 

[Werner]

Who wants to live forever?

Who plays their character long enough that they have to worry about aging? People trade time for power levels in their prior careers.

 

[AtlanticFriend]

Who wants to live forever?

Who plays their character long enough that they have to worry about aging? People trade time for power levels in their prior careers.

Which is a form of aging in Traveller, whether as part of the creation process or in-game, with training.