Combat drugs

Combat drugs, or the use of non-medicinal chemical substances for an advantage in warfare, have a long history. The Order of the Red Stars earned the name “assassins” for a corruption of “Hashashin” (eaters of hasish). Use of drugs in some Elementalist magical traditions gave a heightened state of awareness and was sometimes used to increase spellcasting ability and potency.

In more modern times, the Dark Wrath pursued combat drugs with vigor, developing substances to make their soldiers regenerate wounds quickly and feel immune to fear and harm.

The Celpo, naturally, is reputed to have a wide variety of combat drugs, with several focused on psionics. Reputedly, they also have drugs to manipulate memory and emotions for use in brainwashing and interrogation, although these would not be combat drugs strictly speaking.

Grand Army research has focused on drugs intended to maintain focus in a long and difficult deployment. The most-used is Long Haul, a drug intended to keep someone awake for days at a time. The first dose keeps someone awake for 72 hours; an additional dose adds another 24 hours. Afterwards, the person will crash and sleep for at least 20 hours. Additional doses beyond the second are prohibited under GA regulations due to its unpredictable effects on brain and body chemistry. Long Haul is not an addictive substance in of itself, but certain "A-type" personalities become addicted to the feeling of long periods of productivity. The GA also has drugs to suppress libido, and, in extreme cases, to obviate hunger. To assist with the GA's bottom line, Long Haul has been licensed for domestic production in several countries.

The Tasnican Republic Marine Corps, which needs to operate in multiple environments, did work on Gravonol, a drug acclimating humans to both heavy (“Gravonol Plus”) and light (“Gravonol Minus”)gravity environments.

Various law enforcement agencies have considered using combat drugs as a way to give 'street cops' a fighting chance against magical or otherwise 'enhanced' opponents, though no one has gone so far as to attempt large scale deployment.

Ticonderan Usage

Ticondera has perhaps the most extensive program of combat drugs, partly inherited from the Dark Wrath. In addition to short-term boosters (“Caidin’s Candy”, a powerful mix of adrenaline, endorphins, and enhancers), Ticonderan soldiers undergo drug therapy as part of a larger gene therapy. Key to this therapy are the gene-activating drugs Melanophen and Adrenophyll, which act upon certain properties of Ticonderan DNA to make Ticonderan soldiers much tougher and give them amazing endurance.

On the Black Market

Many of these drugs are available for various prices on the black market. Caidin's Candy is available - the ongoing Ticonderan Civil War makes securing supplies difficult. This is a steady income stream for various Ticonderan crime bosses such as Allan Seabairne, "the King of Whalebone Avenue."

Other crime syndicates have developed (or stolen) their own combat drugs for sale -- the Yakuza's version, called Kamikaze, provides temporarily boosted strength and a pain suppression. Short-term side effects include euphoria and pupil dilation; long term side effects include muscle tremors and hallucinations. Not surprisingly, Kamikaze users are crazed, deranged, filled with a feeling of invincibility.