Bioweapons

[Legbreaker]

Doesn't matter what anyone thinks may have or may not happened, the actual evidence (see links previously posted for some of it) shows that bioweapons existed. In the case of the USSR they had absolute MOUNTAINS of the stuff, as well as the ability and will to use them (at least the military did, the politicians were kept in the dark for the most part with regard to just what the capability was).

All I'm after, and as stated several times already, is has anyone attempted to stat them out?

[Olefin]

They existed yes - but except for one missile payload they are never mentioned in the entire T2K canon as being used - not in V1 or V2.2 or any module outside of Bears Den. Which shows that even though they had the stockpiles they werent used at least not in any appreciative amount. Keep in mind that the Germans and Allies had huge stocks of chemical weapons in WW2 - and except for the accidental discharge at Bari from the ship being sunk bringing them to Italy to stock pile them there was no chemical warfare use of any of that stockpile.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

So, bioweapons.
Has anyone created stats for them?

[Olefin]

Originally Posted by StainlessSteelCynic

So, bioweapons.
Has anyone created stats for them?

The only stats I ever saw were for that one bio agent in Bear's Den and that was a non-lethal bio agent - not sure I have ever seen anything else even in Challenge or elsewhere

This was the writeup from there complete with effect on characters

The Virus: It takes approximately two hours from initial contact with the virus for the victim to enter the first stage of infection. This first stage of the virus can easily be mistaken for any number of things, including the common cold or the flu.

The effects of the virus are a slight rise in temperature accompanied
by very mild stomach cramps. In less than four hours the victim will enter the second stage where these symptoms will become greatly aggravated, causing the victim to dehydrate, become extremely chilled, and sweat profusely.

Perhaps the most dangerous effect of this virus, from a military standpoint, is that it causes a drastic loss of equilibrium. People affected by the virus will appear to be extremely drunk—they will be uncoordinated, at best, and immobile, at worst. This stage can last 12-18 hours. The third stage is a period of general weakness typical of flu-type illnesses lasting up to 24 hours

In game terms, anyone not in chemical warfare gear within a two-kilometer radius of the missile's detonation will have all his skills reduced to 10 percent and will receive 40 points of Stun Damage as the virus takes full effect.

[Olefin]

I know that Raellus included a possible bio weapon as an adventure idea in his Korean Sourcebook

It was called PROJECT RED LOTUS.

And if I remember right he had stats there - but not sure if its what you are looking for.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Olefin

I know that Raellus included a possible bio weapon as an adventure idea in his Korean Sourcebook

It was called PROJECT RED LOTUS.

And if I remember right he had stats there - but not sure if its what you are looking for.

Thanks, Olefin! I'd forgotten all about V1260. "Red Plague" begins on p.31.

I didn't include rules for the virus per se, but provided descriptions of the symptoms and an incubation timeline. Nearly 100% of those exposed to the virus, which is transmitted through bodily fluids, become infected. All infected develop the symptoms described. There is no vaccine or antidote (although retrieving materials which could lead to the development of one is one related adventure hook).

My sourcebook is rules-lite (except for vehicle and weapon stats, based on Paul M.'s amazing work- used with permission, of course), however, based on the given infection rate, I'd just roll a d100 and add the PC's CON score to the result. Any total over 95 means the PC did not become infected. Anything under, they did.

The virus escaped from a damaged lab bunker (see North Korean Tunnel Systems starting on p.38), so I didn't include anything on delivery methods (the KPA was still working on that when the war began). v1260 was basically my device for giving ref's the option of including a zombie ("Ragers") scenario in a Korea-based campaign. Said zombies are of the fast variety, a la 28 Days Later.

More broadly speaking, in A Brief History of The Second Korean War, I included the following:

"During its long retreat, the KPA implemented a merciless and ultimately self-destructive scorched earth policy, laying waste to anything considered to be of value to the encroaching Allies. Come winter, the consequences of this self-immolation would prove devastation for North Korea's long-suffering civilian population. Adding to the devastation, the panicked DPRK regime, desperate to halt the rapid Allied advance, reauthorized the use of chemical weapons, and ordered the deployment of biological weapons. Soon, weaponized anthrax and smallpox were adding to the skyrocketing death toll. Most Allied troops were adequately immunized against such contagions, but the civilian population of both Koreas was decimated by the unnatural pandemics that ensued." (KPSB p. 5).

It is assumed that these BW pandemics have run their course by 2000- the population density of the DPRK was so thinned out that the spread of BW epidemcis essentially stopped- although PCs might still encounter pockets of contagion in North Korean territory (or in refugee camps near the pre-war DMZ).

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Soon, weaponized anthrax and smallpox were adding to the skyrocketing death toll. Most Allied troops were adequately immunized against such contagions, but the civilian population of both Koreas was decimated by the unnatural pandemics that ensued." (KPSB p. 5).

It is assumed that these BW pandemics have run their course by 2000- the population density of the DPRK was so thinned out that the spread of BW epidemcis essentially stopped- although PCs might still encounter pockets of contagion in North Korean territory (or in refugee camps near the pre-war DMZ).

Note Anthrax is NASTY stuff. It sticks around in the soil for 40+ years regularly reinfecting livestock and the people around them - There's areas of Zimbabwe which are still infected from the 1970's.