Tonics

Tonics are the injectors that can apply a variety of effects upon being used on the player or another creature.

In the game world, tonics that are applied via injector are artifacts in the sense that their design is a relic of another time and culture. Because of this, they are unidentified to new characters (unless a character starts with one of that tonic in their inventory). As well, they work differently on the physiology of True Kin and mutants, with mutants receiving weakened effects.

The Horticulturist caste starts with a selection of tonic injectors.

Tonic Colors
Injector-type tonics generate with random sprite colors and unidentified descriptions during each playthrough. The player must determine which injector is which during each new playthrough.

The possible unidentified injector sprites and descriptions are: a small milky tube a small smokey tube a small turquoise tube a small cobalt tube a small violet tube a small rosey tube a small mossy tube a small muddy tube a small gold-flecked tube a small platinum tube

Making tonics
The player character can learn to make the injector-type tonics in the same way as other artifacts. Each tonic injector requires some scrap and one special ingredient to build.

Simultaneous tonics
If a tonic is ingested while one or more other tonics are already active, the player can receive the message "The tonics you ingested react adversely to each other." The existing effects can be cancelled and a negative effect is applied. The Juicer skill increases the limit of active tonics by one.

Adverse reactions
Adverse reactions can happen if a creature tries to take another tonic while already at their limit of active tonics. The exact result depends on the type of tonic being applied, with the previously applied tonic having the overdose effect.

Mutant characters can receive adverse reactions just from taking a tonic. There is always a base chance of 5% for this to happen, with the message "Your mutant physiology reacts adversely to the tonic." For mutants with the Tonic Allergy defect, this chance is increased to 33%.

Cooking
Tonics can be preserved into ingredients with the cooking system. This allows their effects to be used in recipes and meals.

Applying Tonics to Creatures
Any tonic can be applied to other creatures by equipping it in the player’s primary hand and attacking, firing it from a booster gun or dart gun, or throwing it, assuming the attack hits and penetrates. Alternately, many creatures will use available tonics in combat, or any source of Domination can let the player apply it as them directly.