Greetings, all.

I apologize in advance if this topic has been covered elsewhere in the forums. I was, however, unable to find it.

The topic in question is whether or not illicit substances would interfere with one's ability to use the force. One of my players has been taking booster blue every time he hops behind the controls of the ship. Before he became force sensitive, it was hilarious. Still is, to some degree.

But something in my mind asks whether or not he should be able to maintain his sense abilities whilst being high as a kite. His argument is that booster blue helps you maintain mental focus, so it shouldn't be a problem. My argument is that it's like trying to meditate while on meth.

I'm just wondering if drugs would disrupt your force abilities somehow.

I'm interested to hear everyone's thoughts on this and how I might approach the issue.

Seems to me if someone ingests spice for the quick and easy path to better stats they are a poster child for the dark side.

Death Sticks in particular are known for deadening connections to the Force. Applying negative effects could range from applying setbacks or upgrading difficulties to any check that is using the Force or maybe even temporarily lowering a character's force rating under heavy or prolonged use of the drug.

On the other hand, there's things like Glitterstim that seemingly enhance connection to the force temporarily in regards to telekinesis/force move, and you could consider giving somebody a temporary force rating 1 and temporary access to the basic version of Move. Unless the person is already a force user with move, then perhaps you could give them an automatic white force pip, let them roll an additional force die when using Force Move, and if you're generous, hand them temporary access to a few upgrades as well. But since they're hallucinating, doing anything that requires more focus (using Move as a weapon or trying to do something more complicated with the "fine manipulation" upgrade) could add setbacks or upgraded difficulties.

For Booster Blue in particular, it probably depends on how he's using the Force. Booster Blue improves concentration only for a single skill check in the encounter, and only for Cunning, Intellect, or Agility. It doesn't necessarily deaden the connection to the force like Death Sticks, but it only helps with concentrating with certain things. I'd say give him a boost die on top of whatever checks he's using both the Force under the influence of Booster Blue, see if you can't trick him into doing it more often, then tossing some Addiction obligation at him (or increasing it if the case may be), or even just making him overdose and pass out for the encounter under the right circumstances.

I'd say no. Drugs don't alter a user's connection to the force, unless explicitly stated (like Death Sticks). If you got Luke drunk and asked him to move a rock, he'd probably be able to do it, except sluggishly and not in a straight line. There's no reason to make an exception for force users when it comes to drugs, because drugs are already bad in their own way.

Does the drug impair judgement?

Do users of the drug suffer from lethargy or reduced motivation?

Is the drug a disinhibitor?

If yes to any of the above, the character should be suffering a varying number of Setback dice to Discipline (depending on the strength of the drug and saturation of the user (their size vs. how much they've taken)).

Not to mention excessive use/abuse is plenty reason to start handing out obligation:addiction....

You also might want to consider a mechanic. Start requiring a hard Resilience check when he uses. Failure/threat can star to effect him in any number of ways.

...

Normally it wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't such a power gamer. But this has been useful. I've been forgetting about addiction, which he should be having trouble with.
Also, I just now realized we have been doing booster blue wrong. We thought it was for a single type of check in the encounter.

Thank you, everyone, for the input.