Chems

Chem (a truncation of "chemical") is post-apocalyptic slang for "drug". A chem is any chemical, medicinal or otherwise, used to affect changes in a person's behavior or biological systems.

Types of Chems
Various chems exist in the wasteland, some more beneficial than others. Each chem has an individual profile, allowing players to "stack" chems to provide a larger bonus than either does individually. Chems may have 4 or 5 simultaneous effects, usually with some kind of balance -- it might lower one stat while raising another. Abusing chems results in addiction. Addiction to a chem will cause withdrawal symptoms when the chem wears off, resulting in lowered stats unless you continue to take the drug, or seek cure.

Chems are divided into two groups: Addictive, and non-Addictive.

Addictive Chems

 * After Burner Gum
 * Ant Nectar
 * Berry Mentats
 * Buffout
 * Cherry Nuka-Cola
 * Classic Nuka-Cola
 * Fusion Nuka-Cola
 * Grape Mentats
 * Jet
 * Med-X
 * Mentats
 * Nuka Cola (in Fallout and Fallout 2)
 * Nuka-Cola Quantum
 * Orange Mentats
 * Psycho
 * Rad Away (in Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics)
 * Ultrajet
 * Voodoo
 * Any type of alcoholic beverage (Beer, Booze, Gamma Gulp Beer, Moonshine, Ol' Flakey, Roentgen Rum, Rot Gut, Scotch, Vodka, Whiskey, Wine and XXXXXBeer).

Non-Addictive Chems

 * Adapted Biogel
 * Alcohol-Z
 * Alien Biogel
 * Antidote
 * Ant Queen Pheromones
 * Bawls
 * Cookie
 * Elixir of Life
 * Fire Ant Nectar
 * Healing Powder
 * Ice Cold Nuka-Cola
 * Jet Antidote
 * Hypo
 * Mississippi Quantum Pie
 * Monument Chunk
 * Mutated Toe
 * Mutie
 * NukaLurk Meat
 * Nuka Cola (in Fallout 3)
 * Rad Away (in Fallout 3)
 * Rad-X
 * Refined Punga Fruit
 * Stimpak
 * Super Stimpak
 * Trauma Pack
 * Ultra Stimpak
 * Wild Punga Fruit
 * Yao Guai Meat

Chems can be found laying about individually or inside containers. They can also be purchased from Wasteland vendors. While nearly every vendor will have at least a few Stimpacks for sale, some chems will need to purchased from one of the vendors who specializes in chems.

Resisting addiction
There are several ways to resist addiction.


 * 1) Don't take chems. You can't get addicted if you never take them, right?
 * 2) Select the Chem Resistant perk or trait. This perk confers a 50% resistance to the addictive effect of individual chems. Chems which normally have a 10% addiction rate will be reduced to a 5% rate. If the trait is taken however, chems will only last half as long.
 * 3) Chug down a chem antidote. Only the dangerous Jet has an antidote, though.

Curing an addiction
Once addicted to a chem, the player has to either continue taking the chem or suffer withdrawl effects specific to the addiction. It is eventually desirable (if not necessary) to cure the addiction. To cure an addiction, the player has several choices.


 * 1) Wait it out. Quitting cold turkey will eventually purge your system of the chem. However, Jet Addiction cannot be shaken this way.
 * 2) Seek out a Wasteland doctor and pay them a fee to alleviate the addiction.
 * 3) Use the My First Laboratory, after being purchased by the player for either their Megaton Home or their Tenpenny Tower Suite.

Behind the scenes
In the release of Fallout 3 in Australia, the game was banned for including references to real drugs. A report was released by the OFLC on why it banned the game. The following is a part of report that was released:

"The game contains the option to take a variety of "chems" using a device which is connected to the character's arm. Upon selection of the device a menu selection screen is displayed. Upon this screen is a list of "chems" that the player can take, by means of selection. These "chems" have positive effects and some negative effects (lowering of intelligence, or the character may become addicted to the "chem"). The positive effects include increase in strength, stamina, resistance to damage, agility and hit points.

''Corresponding with the list of various "chems" are small visual representation of the drugs, these include syringes, tablets, pill bottles, a crack-type pipe and blister packs. In the Board's view these realistic visual representations of drugs and their delivery method bring the "science-fiction" drugs in line with "real-world" drugs."''

One of the reasons for the ban was of the opiate painkiller, morphine being one of the chems that would have been available to use by the player. As a result of the ban Bethesda decided to have morphine renamed to Med-X. Evidence of this last minute change is the fact Med-X's editor ID is still "Morphine" and Med-X addiction's editor ID is "WithdrawalMorphine".