The Apothecary · Chapter 9
The Industrial Pharmacy
From 1800 chemists learn to pull the active part out of a plant and put it in a bottle. Poisons become purer and cheaper, and are sold in any high street for killing rats. Medicine gets its first real painkiller and its first real anaesthetic.
For most of this period nothing here needs a prescription. The laws arrive between 1868 and 1920. Before them, treat Restricted entries in this chapter as Common to anyone willing to sign a chemist's poison book.
War gases of this period are in Chapter 13.
Strychnine
Nux vomica, vermin killer, the dog button
4 10 minutes 10 minutes 5
Ingested, Injury 20 Common Industrial Lethal
Effect 3 Wounds, and Staggered on the next turn
Special A sudden noise or touch during the Course forces an extra resist check at once
Antidote None; a sedative given by a successful Medicine check counts as treatment, and a dark quiet room adds 1 Boon Die
A bitter white powder sold over the counter for rats. It causes violent spasms that arch the back, and it cannot be mistaken for illness. The victim is awake throughout.
Prussic Acid
Cyanide, bitter almond, the jeweller's salt
4 1 round Round 5
Ingested, Inhaled 60 Restricted Industrial Lethal, Subtle 1
Effect 3 Wounds and 2 Strain
Antidote A specific antidote from the Modern period on; before that, treat and support
A salt used by photographers, platers, and collectors of insects. It smells faintly of almonds to those who can smell it. It is the fastest thing in this chapter and it still takes several rounds.
Mercury Salts
Corrosive sublimate, calomel, hatter's shakes
3 1 hour Day 4
Ingested, Contact 15 Common Industrial Subtle 2
Effect 2 Wounds, and Disoriented with a tremor until the next check
After Add 1 Bane Die to Agility checks for a week
Antidote None in this period; stop the exposure
Sold as a disinfectant and a medicine. A large dose burns the gut. Small doses over weeks loosen teeth and wits, and the victim's own doctor may be the one prescribing them.
Chloroform
Ether, the sweet vapour, the pad
2 None Round 5
Inhaled (held pad) 15 Common Industrial None
Effect 3 Strain
Sleep 10 minutes
Special The pad must be held over the face. The target must be Restrained, Immobilized, asleep, or unaware, and stays exposed only while it is held. A struggling target ends the exposure by breaking free
A sweet-smelling liquid on a folded cloth. In stories it works in a second. Here it takes several rounds of holding someone who does not want to be held.
Knockout Drops
Chloral, the bartender's friend, the doctored drink
3 10 minutes Minute 5
Ingested 25 Restricted Industrial Subtle 2
Effect 4 Strain
Sleep 2 hours
Antidote None needed; Smelling Salts do not wake this sleeper for the first hour
A few drops in a glass of beer. Crimps used it to fill ships' crews and thieves to empty wallets. With strong drink already taken, raise the Potency by 1.
Sleeping Powder
Barbital, the doctor's powders, bromide
2 30 minutes 8 hours 1
Ingested 10 Restricted Industrial Habit 2
Benefit The patient sleeps through pain, noise, and fear, and gains the full benefit of a night's rest
Side effect Cannot be roused for the first 4 hours
Overdose 4 Strain each 10 minutes for 6 checks, Lethal; the standard country-house poisoning
Prescribed to the anxious and the bereaved from 1903. A week's supply taken at once is the overdose, and whether the patient took it or was given it is the mystery.
Morphine
Syrette, the needle, soldier's joy
3 1 round 4 hours 2
Injected 25 Restricted Industrial Habit 3
Benefit Recover 4 Strain, and ignore the ongoing penalties of Critical Injuries up to Severe for the duration
Side effect Disoriented
Overdose 4 Strain each 10 minutes for 4 checks, Lethal; sleep 6 hours
The first drug that takes away the pain of a real wound, carried by every army from the 1860s. A wounded character on morphine can be moved, can talk, and should not be handed anything important.
Nerve Tonic
Coca wine, pick-me-up, the dentist's powder
2 1 minute 1 hour 2
Ingested, Inhaled 5 Common Industrial Habit 3
Benefit Recover 3 Strain, and add 1 Boon Die to Readiness and Charm checks
Crash 3 Strain, and add 1 Bane Die to social checks for an hour
Overdose 3 Wounds and Disoriented for an hour
Sold without a prescription until the 1910s, in wine, in lozenges, and in a famous soft drink. Restricted or Illicit afterwards.
Patent Medicine
Snake oil, the celebrated elixir, liver pills
1 — — —
Ingested 1 Common Industrial None
Benefit None. A patient who believes in it recovers 1 Strain
Special When someone drinks a bottle, the GM may spend a Story Point to declare that this brand contains Poppy Tincture, Nerve Tonic, or Strong Drink, and apply one dose of it
A brown bottle with a long label, sold from the back of a wagon. Most are coloured water and alcohol. Some are strong medicine with no warning on them.
Antiseptic
Carbolic, iodine, sulfa powder
— — — —
Applied 5 Common Industrial None
Benefit Add 1 Boon Die to Medicine checks made to heal Wounds or to remove a Critical Injury
Clean hands and a clean wound, from the 1860s. It is the difference between a field hospital of this period and one of the last.
