Mod «Allergies» for Rimworld (v1.5)

This mod adds a new health module - Allergies!

Allergies come in many shapes and forms, with different effects and gameplay implications. Be aware that this mod doesn't just add a new disease, it adds a whole new system of allergy types, triggers, exposure mechanics, allergic reactions, and treatment options.

My main goal when designing the new systems, was to create them so they integrate well with vanilla, don't feel out of place and don't add any unnecessary clutter to the game.

Here's a short summary of what this mod adds:

• A new mechanic where pawns can develop allergies, impacting their health and behaviour
• 100s of possible allergies
• 18 allergy types, each with their own exposure mechanics
• 4 allergy severities
• 7 new health conditions related to allergic reactions
• 1 new research project
• 1 new drug that helps to deal with and - over time - cures allergies
• 1 new usable item for emergency situations
• 2 new backstories
• 2 new traits
• 1 new stat that affects how pawns develop and react to allergies
• Several patches that integrate vanilla items with the new allergy mechanics
• Some story pieces that can appear on art pieces

Allergies act as a kind of chronic disease that can affect pawns at any age. They can be present from the start or develop, improve, worsen or go away naturally during the life of pawns.

An allergy in itself isn't harmful - you might not even know about your colonists allergies until they have their first allergic reaction from it.

There are many different allergy types that each have their own exposure mechanics. Being exposed to an allergy leads to increasing allergic reactions, with more severe exposure meaning a faster increase.

Allergic reactions are mildly unpleasant at first, but can lead to permanent and severe damage in later stages. On a base level allergic reactions cause general issues such as increased pain and rest fall rate, and reduced mood, breathing and working speed. But the higher the stage of allergic reactions, the higher chance of developing additional health conditions:

• Sneezing fits that interrupt any work someone is doing
• Skin rashes that are ugly, painful, and might get infected if left untended
• Pink eye, a temporary condition in the eye that is mildly painful and reduces vision
• Throat tightness, a temporary, but serious condition that further reduces breathing
• Nausea and vomiting (from vanilla Rimworld)
• Asthma, a chronic condition affecting the lungs (from vanilla Rimworld)
• Chroncic sinusitis, a chronic condition affecting the nose that will also reduce the pawns cooking skill
• Anaphylactic shock, an extremely serious allergic reaction that can be fatal if left untreated

Allergies come in varying severities, from mild to extreme. Mild allergies will increase allergic reactions way slower and never lead to extreme health conditions, but more severe allergies can lead to severe problems very quick if pawns are exposed to them.

The exposure rate is also further modified by the allergic sensitivity of a pawn, a new stat that can be affected by immunity-affecting traits, genes, implants, and temporarily by drugs.



Option 1 - Avoidance
The easiest way to deal with allergies is to just avoid triggering them - and pawns will generally do exactly that. Once they know about their allergy, they will avoid doing work, eating food or wearing apparel that would leave them exposed to their allergies. So for example a pawn with a cotton plant allergy will never go harvest cotton plants by themselves, even if they are assigned to do harvest work. You can still force them to do it anyway if necessary.

Just as a heads-up: This avoidance isn't perfect. The cotton-allergic pawn might still walk through a cotton field when doing another job, so if you have someone in your colony with a severe x allergy, it might be best to avoid doing anything with x completely, whatever x might be here.

Option 2 - Treatment
Fortunately, there is also a way to treat allergies in a more permanent way. The mod introduces a new research project - allergy treatments - which allows you to produce a new drug and a new usable item:

• Allercure: A specialized drug used to temporarily suppress allergic sensitivity and to reduce allergen reactions. If consumed regularly over a long period of time, it may reduce allergy severity or even heal allergies completely.
• Antishock Injector: A potent emergency treatment that forcefully and violently regulates someones bodily functions. The injection will instantly heal the user from an anaphylactic shock, temporary allergic reactions, toxic buildup, food poisoning, heatstroke and hypothermia. It's unpleasant and induces a boosting but painful state for a while.

Existing treatment options that work for other chronic diseases also work for allergies. These include luciferium, the scarless gene, healer mech serum, and the biosculptor pod regeneration cycle.

The same way that allergies can develop and worsen over time, they can also improve or even go away completely with time.