Combat Drug

A stable of the World of Twig is the easy availability of drugs to enhance function. A major example is Combat Drugs.

Their discovery was a major breakthrough for the Crown.<ref>Combat drugs were something else. I knew something about the things, having grown up around the Academies. They weren’t that hard to develop, but in terms of developing them well, it was a different story. Only a narrow set of them saw use in the Crown’s armed forces. On the other hand, those forces were massive, and the drugs that were used were used a great deal, skyrocketing the doctor who devised them into untold heights of fame and power.

The rejected drugs ended up getting discarded, unless they were given to warbeasts, either in anticipation of a fight or as something injected into a special gland. Discarded drugs sometimes saw use as something for gang leaders to use, to spice up underground fighting rings, or as something recreational, for those who wanted to cut loose. I knew that men that lacked confidence with women and women that lacked confidence with men sometimes took low doses to give themselves courage and to rouse feelings that might otherwise be dead. - Excerpt from Dyed in the Wool 12.11</ref>

Those that do not see wide spread use or are deemed to dangerous are discarded. Some of these find their way into the underworld and surface as Street drugs.

Individual Examples

Whatever cynthia and her Spears used.<ref>“The situation?” Mauer asked.

“Cynthia’s group took drugs,” the man said. “They started grinning, mad smiles, wide-eyed, veins sticking out on their faces. No combat drug like I’ve ever seen before.”

“I know the one,” Fray said. “Rictus grins, a full body rush. Enhanced strength, reflexes, adrenaline. It also demolishes the mind’s ability to manage inhibitions. The Academy discontinued it, and it saw use in the black market for a time. People liked how confident and invincible it made them feel.”

“It shaves off years of your life with every use,” Lillian said. “It isn’t very sustainable to sell on the streets when four or five uses can ruin a thirty year old’s organs so badly he looks ninety inside. Even the Academy can’t fix the kind of damage it causes.”
[...]
“The cost in lifespan isn’t something Cynthia cares about,” Fray said, looking at our group’s medic. “Nor was it the reason the Academy stopped using it. They didn’t like the fact that less disciplined soldiers fired at friendlies, and how bad the crime rate became. Cynthia is liable to shoot at us if we cross paths.” - Excerpt from Tooth and Nail 7.15</ref>
The combat drugs Cicuta and a modified version of Temero have a similar chemical formula to the Mental stimulant Wyvern.<ref name="13.2 e1">Lillian turned to Lacey, who immediately recited, “Ifosfamide, carmustine, felotane, venenum A through G, I, N through P, and T.”

“That’s familiar enough. Depending on other ingredients and ratios, could include the combat drug Cicuta?” the headmaster asked. “Or C-G Temero?”

“Wyvern,” Lacey said. “Modified, and in high P-concentration, for Sylvester’s project.”

“Ah. I’ve used that regularly enough, often with other drugs to dull the pain after injection,” the man said. “Should I have my people look for any stolen pain medications? I’d imagine he’d have some dependencies.”

“None,” Lillian said. “The P-concentration is too high. He took doses high enough that nothing would put a dent in it, from the beginning to the present.” - Excerpt from Black Sheep 13.2</ref>
The West Corinth Devil was a known user and abuser of a variety of combat drugs.

Trivia

During the first and Second World War soldiers were issued variations on methamphetamine to keep soldiers awake and able to respond to their surroundings. They were discontinued after ethics concerns were raised and they were deemed to hazardous to health.<ref>Ohler, Norman. 2017. Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany. London: Penguin Books.</ref>

References