Wasters
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Wasters are a xenotype perfectly suited for post-apocalyptic pollution worlds. Their adaptation comes with several drawbacks, and their aggression and ugliness makes it hard for them to coexist with other xenotypes.
Lore
Wasters are gaunt-faced, grey-skinned, aggressive, immune to toxic pollution, almost impervious to disease, and can ingest as much psychite and wake-up drugs as they wish with no ill effects. Their toxin-adapted metabolism means they must consume some form of psychite to survive - usually flake or yayo.
Originally engineered to prevent resettlement of post-apocalyptic deathworlds, wasters are living area-denial weapons. Waster pirates armed with toxic weapons are the bane of many frontier peoples, both on the rimworlds and in the depths of the urbworld hyperstructures.
The faction of waster pirates are a diverse collection of violent xenohumans. They are mostly wasters, with a smattering of hussars, neanderthals, genies, dirtmoles, genies, yttakins, and pigskins. They have little interest in building, or farming, preferring to take their sustenance from others using violence. Their technology level depends mostly on who they've managed to steal from recently. Mostly they carry gunpowder weapons, though some prefer to stab victims at close range. They’ll always be a threat. - In Game Description
Summary
Wasters can thrive in polluted areas but sacrifice talents in other areas to do so. They are genetically dependent on psychite, with major consequences if their need is not met: they will start feeling mood effects after 5 days without it, will fall into a coma after 30 days without, and will die after 60 days of deprivation. Wasters are very noticeable, with gasmask-like gaunt gray faces. Their genetic complexity is 13, and metabolic efficiency is 0, so it has no effect on their hunger rates.
Genes
Waster genes are germline, so all of their genes are inheritable:
Name | Description | ![]() |
![]() |
Exclude |
---|---|---|---|---|
Super immunity![]() |
Carriers of this gene gain immunity to diseases considerably faster than normal.
|
−2 | 2 | Immunity |
Total antitoxic lungs![]() |
Carriers of this gene are immune to environmental toxins, but not from direct toxic attacks. They get no toxic buildup from tox gas, polluted terrain, or toxic fallout, and they are not bothered by acidic smog. They are still vulnerable to direct attacks like venom and injected poison. Additionally, they are immune to rot stink exposure.
|
−3 | 2 | ToxicEnvironmentResistance |
Aggressive![]() |
Carriers of this gene are quick to anger. They are twice as likely to start social fights. When they have mental breaks, they are twice as likely to choose an aggressive kind of break.
|
+2 | 1 | Aggression Aggressive |
Unattractive![]() |
Carriers of this gene have exaggerated facial features and poor skin that are generally considered ugly.
|
+1 | 1 | Beauty |
Pollution stimulus![]() |
Carriers of this gene get a chemical rush from being exposed to pollution. This makes them move faster and helps them think clearer. A similar gene is found in combat-engineered mega-insects.
|
−1 | 1 | |
Psychite dependency![]() |
Carriers of this gene need to ingest psychite on a regular basis to survive. After 5 days without Psychite, carriers will suffer from psychite deficiency. After 30 days, they will fall into a coma. After 60 days, they will die.
?
|
+4 | 1 | |
Wake-up impervious![]() |
Carriers of this gene never get addicted to Wake-up.
|
−5 | 2 | |
Gaunt head![]() |
Carriers of this gene have a pinched, gaunt appearance in their face and head. | 0 | 0 | |
Gray hair![]() |
Carriers of this gene have a particular hair color. With multiple hair color genes, one is randomly selected.
|
0 | 0 | HairColor |
Slate gray skin![]() |
Carriers of this gene produce a pigment that turns their skin slate gray.
|
0 | 0 | SkinColorOverride |
Poor Cooking![]() |
The carrier's aptitude in Cooking is reduced by 4. Aptitude acts like an offset on skill level.
|
+1 | 1 | |
Poor Artistic![]() |
The carrier's aptitude in Artistic is reduced by 4. Aptitude acts like an offset on skill level.
|
+1 | 1 | |
Awful Animals![]() |
The carrier's aptitude in Animals is reduced by 8. Aptitude acts like an offset on skill level. Additionally, all passion is removed from Animals.
|
+2 | 1 |
Origins
Many wasters found homes in the Waster pirate bands of the Rim. If you have this band of pirates enabled you will be attacked by wasters sooner or later. There is also a slight chance for them to show up with other pirate gangs, or with scattered groups as parts of quests.
Analysis
Besides their immunity to toxicity and need for psychite, wasters are relatively plain. They don't get along with others, due to the combination of Unattractive and Aggressive. They work well in polluted environments, and decent outside of one.
Psychite dependency is easily manageable, and can even be a positive, as covered below. For the gene extractor, it's well worth to take Psychite Dependency for +4 metabolic efficiency and its own positives. Other noteworthy genes to extract are the negative Cooking / Animals / Artistic genes, which are free metabolic efficiency for colonists who don't use those skills.
Psychite
A waster's psychite dependency is very affordable. Even in Losing is Fun, just 10 psychoid plants as flake are enough to sustain a waster without deficiency for an entire year. In a year-round growing season, this is a field of 3 psychoid plants. If you have a grower with the required Plants 6 skill and the Psychite refining research, this is trivial. In exchange, you can (almost) freely ingest yayo, flake, and wake-up. (See "Health effects with drug genes")
Flake in particular is a superior version of psychite tea. It restores more Rest and gives a higher mood for the same amount of leaves. You can take flake once every 2.7 days without a net tolerance increase. And, if necessary, you can take yayo, flake, and psychite tea at the same time for +82 mood.
If you have other colonists with the chemical interest or chemical fascination traits, you should keep them away from any hard drugs produced. To counter these traits, set an allowed area to not include areas where drugs are produced or stored. With a gene extractor and assembler, you can give chemically interested pawns psychite dependency yourself, allowing them to indulge in chemical need all they want.
- Health effects with drug genes
Psychite dependency and wake-up impervious prevent addiction and random, major overdoses upon taking the drug. There are some health effects they do not protect from.
- Taking 2 hard drugs - flake, yayo, wake-up, or go-juice - in quick succession has a chance to give a minor overdose. Minor overdoses do not cause permanent damage, but lower Consciousness, making your pawn less effective.
- Too high of a psychite tolerance can cause chemical damage to the kidneys. However, an adult can take up to 11 doses of flake/yayo in a row without reaching the tolerance threshold. If a pawn takes a drug every 5 days, they shouldn't ever have chemical damage, even with a few emergency doses every once in a while. Plus, kidneys can be replaced.
- Wake-up has a rare chance to cause a heart attack during the high. A prosthetic heart or bionic heart prevents this entirely.