Inebriation (v0.93)

by OneOfHam

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Inebriation

Here lies yet another system for tabulating the effects of alcohol in 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. A system that is simple enough, yet simultaneously robust enough that it will not fall short of it's goal, to make drinking in D&D 5e more entertaining.

Other rules systems for alcohol usually fail to deliver because most of them don't have any mechanical reason that makes it beneficial to keep drinking past a certain point, as the hindrances almost always outweigh the bonuses. In this system, the more inebriated you become, you unlock tiered benefits. The drunker you get, the greater the bonus. But be careful, if you get too drunk the alcohol will start to catch up with you, and you could wind up failing an action, puking, passing out, or even committing random and compulsive drunken acts of, well... drunkenness.

Basic Mechanics

  • One shot of liquor or hard alcohol, one pint of beer or mead, and a glass of wine are all equal to a single drink.

  • Single drinks take 1 hour to fully metabolize and wear off from the time they are consumed, and characters must keep a running tally of single drinks consumed.

  • A small sized creature can drink as many single drinks as their constitution modifier divided by 2 +1 (round up if necessary) in one hour without any effects.

  • A medium sized creature can drink as many single drinks as their constitution modifier +1 in one hour without any effects.

  • A large sized creature can drink as many single drinks as their constitution modifier multiplied by 2 in one hour without any effects. Treat Dwarves as large creatures when tabulating alcohol's effects.

  • For any amount of alcohol consumed beyond this, characters must make a constitution saving throw of 10 plus the number of drinks they consumed minus their constitution modifier, or advance 1 level of inebriation. This is called a sobriety check.

  • Conditions gained by advancing inebriation levels are lost if the character drops below the prerequisite inebriation level for that condition.

  • Treat all levels of exhaustion gained as a result of inebriation as alcohol poisoning for narrative purposes, but it still functions and stacks the exact same.

Levels of Inebriation

1 | Buzzed

  • Advantage on all charisma checks, and gets +1 when rolling these as opposing checks against another inebriated character.

  • +1 to Strength.

  • -1 on all Intelligence checks.

  • Gains Drunken Wit.

2 | Drunk

  • Advantage on all charisma checks, and gets +1 when rolling these as an opposing check against another inebriated character.

  • -1 on all intelligence and wisdom checks.

  • +1 to Strength.

  • Gains Drunken Numbness.

  • Gains Drunken Luck.

  • Gains Light Hangover when Inebriation wears off.

  • If a critical hit is made against the character, it must make a constitution saving throw equal to 10 plus the number of drinks it has consumed or else it becomes sick and has to Puke.

3 | Hammered

  • Advantage on Intimidation and all Strength checks. +1 on opposing checks against other inebriated characters.

  • Disadvantage on all other checks, and gets -1 when rolling these as an opposing check against another inebriated character.

  • +2 to Strength.

  • Gains Drunken Surge.

  • Gains Moderate Hangover when Inebriation wears off.

  • Every 30 minutes or once every 5 rounds of combat, the character must make a constitution saving throw equal to 10 plus the number of drinks they have consumed. If they succeed, nothing happens, if they fail they Puke, if they fail by 10 or more they advance to Blackout and Puke. If they roll a natural 1 they Puke, gain a level of exhaustion, and then blackout.

4 | Blackout

  • Advantage and +1 on Intimidation checks. +2 on opposing checks against other inebriated characters.

  • +2 to strength and advantage on all strength checks.

  • Disadvantage and -1 on all other checks. -2 on opposing checks against other inebriated characters.

  • Gains Drunken Legend.

  • Becomes Blackout.

5 | Unconscious

  • The character is unconscious (See Unconscious, Page #292 of the PHB). It stays this way for a number of hours equal to the number of drinks consumed divided by its constitution modifier. Other characters can attempt to wake it by making a charisma check equal to 10 plus the number of drinks the incapacitated creature consumed. Multiple characters can take this check as a group, reducing the DC by 2 for every additional character attempting to do so.

  • The character must make a constitution saving throw upon waking equal to 15 plus the number of drinks consumed, or they get a Severe Hangover. If they pass they get a Moderate Hangover. If the character rolls a natural 20, they get a Light Hangover. If the character rolls a natural 1, not only do they get a Severe Hangover, but get -1 on all checks for the next 18 hours.

'Tavern' - Anna Helme

Conditions and Effects

Drunken Numbness

For the duration of Inebreation until Blackout, any physical damage dealt to the inebriated creature is reduced by 1 for every hit or blow made. This effect is nullified by Drunken Legend.

Drunken Luck

For the duration of Inebriation until Blackout, the character gains 2 luck points. Whenever the character makes a roll and fails, it may choose to spend a luck point and roll again.

Drunken Wit

Characters that have an Intelligence and/or Wisdom score of 8 or more have advantage on proficient Intelligence and/or Wisdom skill shecks, and gains a pool of 4 D4 which they can spend on any Intelligence and/or Wisdom roll. Drunken Wit is lost when a character advances to Blackout, but is regained if they drop back to Hammered.

Drunken Surge

Characters may choose to use all of their actions on any turn to increase the effectiveness of their next action. If the character attacked or cast a damaging spell, it has +2 to hit and final damage is multiplied by 2. If interacting with an object, the character temporarily has the strength of the next largest size of creature. If helping another character, an additional advantage is gained. When dodging, a character has +3 AC. During their next turn they can only dodge or disengage, and their movement speed is temporarily halved.

When applied to all other non-combat checks, characters have advantage and +2, but must make a constitution saving throw equal to 10 plus the number of drinks consumed, or they will Puke. If this save is critically failed, they also advance a level of Inebriation.

Drunken Legend

The character gains resistance to poison, piercing, bludgeoning, and cold damage, and is automatically made suspicious of any attempts to assassinate them. The character also gains an extra d4 on all attack rolls.

Blackout

Every 20 minutes or once every 5 rounds of combat, the character must make a constitution saving throw of 10 plus the number of drinks they have consumed. If they fail they roll a D100 and consult the Blackout Table to choose their next action. If they critically fail, they also Puke after completing the blackout action, gain a level of Exhaustion, and advance to 'Unconscious'.

Hangover

If a character begins consuming alcohol, their hangover will subsequently end. However, if it was a Severe hangover, the character takes a level of exhaustion.

 

Light Hangover

  • Character has -1 on Intelligence and Dexterity checks for 12 hours, or until a short rest.

 

Moderate Hangover

  • Character has -2 on Intelligence and Dexterity checks for 12 hours, or until a long rest.

 

Severe Hangover

  • Character has -2 on all checks for 24 hours, regardless of rest.

Puke - Action

Takes up all action slots. Character stops all movement and vomits into the square in front of them, removing 1/4 rations from their stomach (if any were consumed that day). That character then makes a constitution saving throw, and if they succeed, they reduce their inebriation level by one. The character can't move after puking for either 1 minute outside of combat or one whole round of combat.

Alcoholism - Disease

Alcoholism is only gained by seasoned drinkers. Alcoholism can be instantly cured with Cure Disease, a Greater Restoration Potion, or other similar potions and magic.

Characters with alcoholism can drink twice as many drinks as normal before the effects of inebriation begin, and gain advantage while making sobriety checks. Divide the drink modifier by 2 for all constitution saving throws made due to alcoholic effects.

A character who becomes inebriated within 3 days of previously becoming inebriated, or stays inebriated for over one day, must make a constitution saving throw of 5 or they gain Alcoholism. If they become inebriated again within the next 2 days, or are still inebriated for another 1 day, they must make a constitution saving throw of 6. Continue to add 1 every proceeding check until Alcoholism is gained, or until the character stops drinking for more than 48 hours.

Alcoholism will also throw a character into withdrawal if they went more than 24 hours without becoming inebriated.

Withdrawal Effects

  • If 48 hours have passed, the creature has disadvantage and -1 on all checks.

  • If 72 hours have passed, the creatures movement speed is reduced by half, as well as having disadvantage and -1 on all checks.

  • If 4 days have passed, the creature makes a constitution saving throw. If 15 or higher, they no longer have alcoholism. If not, their movement speed remains halved and they continue to have disadvantage and -1 on all checks. Repeat this check every 24 hours, reducing it by 1, until the creature is either cured or becomes inebriated again.

 

 

 

 

'Skinned Mole Tavern' - Laszlo Pinter

Blackout Table

 

 

D100 Action
0 If any action on this table is excessively difficult or impossible to take (alignment is a consideration), the character should re-roll unless the DM decides otherwise.
1-51 Character tries to take or steal something immediately nearby.
2-52 Character tries to spar an inanimate object or plant nearby.
3-53 Character begins shouting random lewd comments at no one in particular.
4-54 Character just runs away and leaves the immediate area and becomes distracted elsewhere.
5-55 Character trips and falls.
6-56 Character Pukes.
7-57 Character makes rude comments to another character that understands it.
8-58 Character picks up something close by and throws it, action can be indiscriminate or targeted.
9-59 Character finds and obsessively attempts to befriend a nearby animal or insect, even if it is not friendly.
10-60 Character starts singing loudly and doesn't stop until attacked, or it finishes the song.
11-61 Character starts crawling around on the ground for several minutes.
12-62 Character tries to convince another creature that can understand to fight it.
13-63 Character begins recanting very personal stories.
14-64 Character starts slurring its words, making it more difficult to communicate properly.
15-65 Character can no longer walk in a straight line.
16-66 Character urinates itself.
17-67 Character fumbles and drops whatever it was holding.
18-68 Character begins removing some of its clothes, reasons for this could be that they are hot, or they suddenly find the clothing to be constricting or hard to walk in.
19-69 Character begins trying on random surrounding objects as hats.
20-70 Character wanders off and just takes a nap somewhere in the surrounding area.
21-71 Character begins relentlessly flirting with someone nearby within their sexual preference.
22-72 Character begins feverishly searching for an item still in their possesion that they think they lost.
23-73 Character knocks on the door of a random house or other building claiming it needs to use the restroom. Depending on the setting, this might not make much sense to the occupants.
24-74 Character knocks on the door of a random house or other building and requests food.
25-75 Character begins exercising.
26-76 Character hides something important to them and will not remember where they put it after they become sober.
27-77 Character touches another person and yells "Your it!" Then runs away.
28-78 Character gives one tenth (1/10) of their currency to a nearby street urchin, charity, or temple.
29-79 Character starts a brawl with another friendly character.
30-80 Character impersonates a velociraptor in addition to whatever else it is doing for too long.
D100 Action
31-81 Character attempts to converse about the weather with any nearby creature that can hear it, whether or not it understands.
32-82 Character decides it must find food as it is suddenly famished, and doesn't stop until some is located. If bought from a vendor, character accidentally pays double. Character will use its helmet as a vessel for said food if it has one.
33-83 Character starts to flirt with someone outside of their sexual preference.
34-84 Character starts finding and arranging stones or other small, nearby objects in a trail behind them and continues doing so for a while. If questioned, they say its because they "don't want to get lost."
35-85 Character suddenly sets out to get a tattoo relating to an obscure detail from earlier in the day that they are now obsessed about. They don't stop searching or asking until someone agrees to do it (stick and poke is an option), or when it becomes clear that no one can help.
36-86 Character starts erratically uprooting random and not necessarily useful plants and stuffing them into their pack or pockets.
37-87 Character starts bathing in or with any water or body of water available nearby unless it is obviously boiling.
38-88 Character starts a haphazard fire, reasons for this could include being cold or wet, or simply wishing to watch it burn.
39-89 Character starts poking the nearest PC or NPC and doesn't stop until successfully threatened or attacked. Afterwords, the character relentlessly whines about the other being a bully.
40-90 Character becomes convinced that they are being followed, and nothing will persuade them otherwise. The DM should consider rolling for paranoia (constitution) checks to determine how erratically the character behaves.
41-91 Character thinks it has a pebble in its foot-ware and takes it all off (boots, socks, etc...) in search of this pebble.
42-92 Character decides it is sobering up and doesn't want too, and consumes another drink.
43-93 Character hatches and follows through with a plan to defile a local statue or monument with lewd graffiti.
44-94 Character becomes obsessed with repeating the same joke over and over, finding it funnier every time.
45-95 Character goes to the nearest person who resembles them even slightly and is convinced that that person is their brother/sister, and tries to convince them of this fact.
46-96 Character begins trying to juggle the nearest 3 objects that weigh between 1/2 pound and 1 pound that are not currently being held by another person.
47-97 Character attempts to compete against nearby people at arm wrestling, betting up to 1/10 of the wealth they are currently carrying on their person.
48-98 Character starts trying to eat random nearby plants or fungus.
49-99 Character starts emptying its pack everywhere in search of something that they never actually had to begin with, but are now convinced they lost.
50-100 Character begins playing a solo game of 'the floor is lava'.

For those who want to have a drinking contest but noticed that other drinking contest rules do not seem to integrate very well with the alcohol system outlined herein, you're in luck!

Drinking Contest

Characters who wish to engage in a drinking contest will each simultaneously consume one drink at a time until a character either pukes or passes out.

For every drink a character consumes during the contest, they must tally the total, then roll a D12. If they roll a number on the D12 equal to or less than the total number of drinks consumed during the contest, they fail the check. After 3 failures the character pukes. If the character fails 3 times in a row, they puke then pass out.

If you wish for the drinking contest to last longer, use a D20. If you want it to be shorter, use a D10 or even a D8. Also consider lowering the amount of failures needed to lose if more than 2 characters are engaged in the contest.

'Tavern Meeting' - Hifarry