Chasing the Dragon – Toxicity and AddictionSE

Added toxic effects and addiction, and imposed a soft cap on potion consumption. A port of Ghenna's original model.

Introduction

Chasing the Dragon aims to add immersion to the alchemy system by increasing the drawbacks and risks of potion use. Alchemy in Skyrim simultaneously falls short. For one thing, the vanilla effects aren't very impressive. On the other hand, there's nothing stopping the dragons from hiding behind rocks and sucking up gallons of healing potions in battle. This mod attempts to fix the latter by increasing the consequences of potion abuse, but does nothing for the former.

This may sound similar to another model I ported, and Chasing the Dragon is the successor to BralorMarr's Toxicity, which was the original author's inspiration. Ghenna actually recommends Toxicity if you're looking for something a little lighter and less punishing. Arguably, this mod will make potions more dangerous to your character's health.

So what does it actually do? Chasing the Dragon adds two mechanics: toxicity and addiction. Specifics are discussed in the appropriate sections below, and the experience can be customized through the MCM menu.

toxicity

Toxicity is a measure of how dangerous it is to consume a potion. In Chasing the Dragon, toxicity is calculated from the potion's value to ensure maximum compatibility (BralorMarr's system is slightly more complex, with toxicity being a function of quantity, type, size, and duration). The higher the value, the more toxic it is. Several global modifiers can be adjusted in the MCM to customize your experience. Current toxicity can be viewed via the toxicity widget, visual cues, and MCM menu.

As you consume more potions and the toxicity increases, the following may happen:

Above 50%, your vision will gradually become more disrupted (i.e. less green and blurry)

Over 100% or higher toxicity, overdose, stops all passive regeneration to your main stat until your toxicity drops below 100%

Reduce and mitigate toxicity:

Poisons can directly mitigate toxicity, including increasing resistance through perks, magic, racial abilities, equipment, etc.

Anti-poison potions help fight poison, but are themselves poisonous.

Healing poisons will reduce your toxicity to 0 and are not toxic or addictive (which is somewhat pleasant since they are not considered potions in vanilla).

The toxicity gradually decreases over time, and the default half-life (i.e. the current toxicity is reduced by half) is 6 hours, which can be configured in the MCM.

addiction

Potency measures the likelihood that a user will form a dependency on a given potion. Potency is calculated in the same way as toxicity, so higher value potions are more likely to be addictive. The chance of addiction is half the toxicity value, so a potion with 30 toxicity has a 15% chance of addiction.

Addiction is considered a disease. When you retreat, they go through four stages of deterioration every 12 hours, and all effects stack. The four disease stages are as follows:

Euphoria - Increased toxicity by 5% due to your increased tolerance to alchemical ingredients.

Kidney Disease - Health, stamina and magic are not regenerated as your liver and kidneys help detoxify your body.

Catalepsy - 20 point penalty to all skills due to your inability to concentrate and uncontrollable shaking, 10% skill boost

Marasmus - Penalizes all skills by an additional 10 points, increases skills by 10%, reduces movement speed by 25%, and gains weight by 50 due to muscle degeneration and cramping pain.

Managing Addiction:

Any potion will increase satisfaction for a certain number of hours, thereby suspending the progression of the disease. This is calculated based on the potion's potency and a random number of hours. Satisfaction does not stack. If you drink a potion and are satisfied for 24 hours, drinking too much won't do anything. Potions can only increase satisfaction if their calculated effect is greater than your current level of satisfaction.

Using a potion b …