| From: | "Ryan W. Bolduan" <emeottrw@***.MRS.UMN.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Chemical Weapons (was Grenade Questions) |
| Date: | Wed, 25 Mar 1998 08:07:29 -0600 |
> *snip some non-warfare chemicals is perfectly safe to handle with
> appropriate protection gear.*
> > I would think that
> > Neurostun would be put into this category because the text specifically
> > states that other than the stun effects there are no other side effects.
> >
> > Comments, rants, flames?
> Sounds reasonable. How would you handle 'real' chemical warfare
> agents? What would be their effects?
>
> I know the answer is potentially very bad news. If I was going to be
> hit by something I'd prefer a nuke to chemical/bio stuff from what I
> currently know.>
> --
> Fade
First I want to appologise for my blatent disregard for the rules of
grammer in my last post. All I can say is, "oops." How would real
warfare agents act? Really I don't think you want to know, it would only
make you worry too much. In all seriousness if you're really interested
in what chemical weapons do, just do a quick search on Yahoo for
chemical+weapons. There are plenty of sites out there.
For those less technically minded, feel free to ignore the rest of this
message.
Lets take a quick look at an of example of a chemical warefare agent. You
remember the movie "The Rock," with that VX gas and Sean Conery (no he's
not a chemical agent). Here's a quick description I found that any nerve
agent (such as VX would cause).
"Nerve agents are generally colorless, odorless, and are readily
absorbable through the lungs, eyes, skin, and intestinal tract without
producing any irritation. They are also extremely potent, so even a brief
exposure can be fatal. Death may occur in 1 to 10 minutes, or be delayed
for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the concentration to which a victim has
been exposed.
If you were to be exposed to realizable field concentrations,
inhalation would be essentially immediately incapacitating. Your gneral
order of symptoms would be as follows:
First, your nose would begin to run, then your chest would feel
constricted. Your vision would dim as your pupils contracted into
pinpoints. You'd begin to drool and sweat excessively. Then would come
nausea and vomiting, intestinal cramps and involuntary urination or
defication. You'd twitch, jerk, and stagger as you're overcome with
convulsions and possibly coma. Finally, you're breathing would stop as
your diaphragm and the muscles of your chest froze, causiing you to die of
suffocation."
Pretty nasty huh? The lethal dossage for that (reported in rabbits) is
0.0154 mg/kg. What that means in layman's terms is that for a 200 pound
man (91 kg) it will take 4.67 mg of the chemical to kill you, almost
guaranteed.
I have collected a large storehouse on this stuff in the hopes that I will
eventually translate it all to Shadowrun game terms. I would watch my
page over the next couple of weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if I get it up
there. I would, however, avoid using them, or ever letting my characters
get ahold of them.
