[swaghauler]

Below is a table you can use to determine HOW a food source may be contaminated.

Food Contamination Tables:

25+........... Radiological AND Chemical Contamination (roll on BOTH tables)
23 to 24..... Radiological Contamination
21 to 22..... Chemical Contamination
18 to 20..... Viral Contamination
15 to 17..... Parasitic Contamination
10 to 14..... Bacterial Contamination
05 to 09..... Mold/Surface Spoilage (10% to 60% of food)
01 to 04..... Rancid Food (see below)

Modifiers to the Contamination Tables:

+1 20km from a crater
+1 Devastated/Anarchy
+2 10km from a crater
+5 5km from a crater
+10 1km from a crater
+1 for freshwater fish (versus saltwater fish which are MORE resistant to bacteria and parasites)

Radiological Contamination: Add the modifiers above to the roll.
20+........... Heavy Contamination of 1D10 X 10 Rads.
15 to 19..... Moderate Contamination of 1D20 Rads.
09 to 14..... Light Contamination of 1D10 Rads.
01 to 08..... Trace Contamination of 1D6 Rads.

Anyone exposed to Radiological contamination can "bind" RAD ingested food and reduce exposure by 1D6 Rads by taking a dose of Potassium Iodine.

Chemical Contamination: add the modifiers above to the roll.
21+.......... Contamination resembling Blood Agent (1-3) or Blister Agent (4-6).
16 to 20.... Very Dangerous Chemicals/Heavy Metals (see below).
11 to 15.... Dangerous Chemicals/Heavy Metals (see below).
06 to 10.... Fairly Dangerous Chemicals (see below).
01 to 05.... Toxic Chemicals (see below).

There are a number of treatments to bind or treat chemical poisoning, from Atropine to Lithium Dioxide injections (for certain heavy metal poisonings). Finding an appropriate treatment requires an average of Chemistry and Medical skills.

Viral Contamination: Nothing is added to this roll.
18 to 20.... Hepatitis-C
13 to 17.... Hepatitis-A
07 to 12.... Norovirus (minor flu-like virus)
01 to 06.... Rotavirus (minor flu-like virus)

Parasitic Infestation: Nothing is added to this roll
20............ Tapeworm (see below)
15 to 19.... Amoebic Dysentery
10 to 14.... Cryptosporidium (as a minor illness)
01 to 09.... Giardia (as a minor illness)

Bacterial Infection:
20............. Botulism Toxin or Campylobacter (in seafood), (see below)
15 to 19..... Typhoid Fever
10 to 14..... Cholera
01 to 09..... Minor Food Poisoning (Listeria, Salmonella, etc...) (see below).

Explanation of Table Results:

Heavy Radiological Contamination: In addition to inducing Radiation sickness based on the character's current exposure level, the ingestion of this much radiation will force the character to roll against his STR, CON, and AGL as though he had hit an aging point during character creation. Rolling his characteristic score or less on 1D10 will result in the loss of a characteristic point.

Very Dangerous Chemical Contamination: This contamination will resemble a Flu with severe disorientation (Serious fatigue for 1D6 days) and a Chance of Fatality of 5 (see Diseases in Twilight2000). In addition, the character will have to make rolls against his CON, STR, AGL, and INT Characteristics due to the poisoning. the player must roll above his current stat on 1D10, or lose one point just like the aging roll in character generation does. If he is treated by someone (or a team) with BOTH Medical AND Chemistry skills and they succeed at a DIFFICULT roll of the combined skills, he may add 1 to the 1D10 roll.

Dangerous Chemical Contamination: This is the same as Very Dangerous contamination above EXCEPT that there is NO roll against INT because there is no "cognitive/neurological damage" from the exposure.

Fairly Dangerous Chemical Contamination This poisoning has a 1 Chance of Fatality (see Diseases in Twilight2000), and results in a Light level of Fatigue (1d6 days) if treated successfully (an Average chance using Chem & Medical). Unsuccessful treatment results in a Moderate Level of Fatigue (1D6 days) and a roll against STR, CON, and AGL or lose a point of characteristic.

Toxic Chemical Poisoning: This poisoning has a 1 Chance of Fatality (see diseases in Twilight2000) IF treatment fails (treatment is the same as Fairly Dangerous Chemical Poisoning). There is a Light level of Fatigue (1D6 days) if successful, and a Moderate Level of Fatigue (1D6 days) if unsuccessful. There is NO characteristic loss for this poisoning.

Parasitic Infestations: All of these can be destroyed by cooking the food (be careful of those post-apocalyptic salads boys and girls), but only the Tapeworm poses a true LONG-TERM threat. 1D6 months after infection, a Tapeworm will inflict a CONSTANT Light level of Fatigue. Additionally, the player will have to consume 2X the normal amount of rations or gain fatigue. Finally, the character must roll against STR, CON, and AGL every YEAR until the tapeworm is surgically removed or they die.

Botulism Toxin/Campylobacter: These food poisonings are very dangerous and the 5 Fatality Rating in the Twilight2000 Disease rules refers to these toxins. They both can cause long-term neurological issues so a Characteristic Loss roll like those for Chemical Poisoning above is mandated ON A FAILED TREATMENT ROLL. Successful treatment results in NO characteristic losses.

Minor Food Poisoning: The more common types of Food Poisoning have only a 1 Chance of Fatality (instead of Twilight2000's 5) and will result in no complications for the sufferer.

Mold Contamination: This contamination can be easily removed and from 10% to 60% of the food will be lost. There is a small chance of a more serious event, though. On a natural roll of 20 (on 1D20), There is Staph present in the contaminated food. The character will contract an infection from consuming UNCOOKED food (Vegans beware) based on their current condition: Healthy= 2 in 20, Lightly Wounded=4 in 20, Moderately Wounded= 6 in 20, Seriously Wounded= 8 in 20, Critically Wounded= 10 in 20, Deadly Wounded= 12 in 20. This is just the same as the infections described in the rules.

Rancid Food: Rancid food is the cousin to "Skunk Water" (see the Water Purification thread). The food is not contaminated but has begun to spoil. The characters CAN eat the food IF they can get past the horrible taste. The Character must roll under their CON or vomit up the "unpalatable food." If the roll fails by more than 5, the character becomes sick for 1d3 days (as a minor illness).

I hope this adds some depth to your gaming experience. As always, use what you want and ignore the rest.

Swag.