Chemicals from the weapons and massive industry of the Ancients are still a curse felt by the survivors of the Crash. In some regions, chemical by-products and leftovers from the lost civilization are very much still in evidence. Threats include leaking chemical storage facilities at the heart of old cities, industrial wastes ringing urban centers, or intact containers of dangerous chemicals abandoned during the Crash. The legacy of these chemicals is still a potent danger to survival.
Characters will likely come into contact with chemical contaminants as the result of accidents or foolish exploration; for example, falling into a bubbling pool of chemical treatment fluids during a pitched combat, or unknowingly swimming from one side of a poisoned reservoir to escape a powerful predator.
Chemical contamination functions almost exactly like exposure to poison, following all the normal rules. The actual chemicals that pose a threat can vary. GMs can either use existing poison (such as cyanide and arsenic, both of which were commonly used industrial chemicals), or use the more generic pollutants suggested below.
Depending on the type of contaminant, the poison level can vary from mild to low, moderate, high, severe, to lethal. In addition to immediate effects, characters exposed to toxic chemicals are likely to suffer long-term effects in the form of Creep contamination. The required Fortitude save, the initial and secondary damage, and the amount of Creep for varying degrees of chemical poisons are summarized on the following table:
| Poison | Fort Save DC | Initial Damage | Secondary Damage | Creep Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mild: | 12 | None | 1 Con | 0 |
| Low: | 15 | 1d4-2* Con | 1d2 Con + 1 Wis | 0 |
| Moderate: | 18 | 1d6-2* Con | 1d4 Con + 1d2 Wis | 1 |
| High: | 21 | 1d6-1* Con | 1d6 Con + 1d4 Wis | 1d2 |
| Severe: | 24 | 1d6 Con | 2d6 Con + 1d6 Wis | 1d4 |
| Lethal: | 27 | 2d6 Con | 3d6 Con + 2d6 Wis | 1d6 |
* Minimum damage 0 Con.
On a failed saving throw, 1 point is permanently drained.
In addition, many of these chemicals often cause damage as acids do. Like normal acid, the strength of the chemical's acidity ranges from mild to potent to concentrated, with appropriate degrees of damage.
Although the character must save vs. attribute damage for each instance of chemical exposure, multiple encounters with chemical contaminants in a short period of time do not lead to massive amounts of Creep. If a character is exposed to more than one chemical poison in a day, only count the highest degree of contamination for determining Creep count.