Tiberium

The Command & Conquer series has traditionally had two playable factions GDI and Nod. However, there has always been a third side present in the conflict: The alien mineral called Tiberium.

Tiberium drives the conflict, and is a set of contradictions. It drove humanity into a new golden age of technological progress, but the changes it brought made humankind nearly irrelevant. It leeches valuable minerals from the ground, eliminating the need for expensive mining operations, but destroys the land it grows on. Humans want more Tiberium so they can make more money, but the more it spreads, the more damage it does to the planet. It is both intoxicating and toxic.

The strange green crystal arrived via meteor in 1995 to the Tiber river in Italy. At first it was hailed as a godsend, as it was a concentration of valuable minerals that literally grew from the earth. Nod, using a variety of shell companies, was quick to monopolize the manufacturing and processing patents of Tiberium, which provided substantial income to the organization. The developed world was quick to pounce on the mineral, and it spurred economic and technological growth across the globe.

As time went on, people began to realize that Tiberium was a two edged sword. Valuable it was, yes, but also extremely toxic. While it had been known from the beginning that direct exposure through physical contact to or ingestion of Tiberium was hazardous to humans, what was not fully realized was the scale or nature of the threat. Populations living near Tiberium concentrations showed a marked increase in respiratory and immune system ailments, and birth defect rates skyrocketed. Even more unsettling, plant life near Tiberium deposits started showing signs of mutations tailored to spreading Tiberium. The most famous of these being “Blossom trees.”

By the time it was evident that Tiberium could change the planet’s ecosystem permanently and drastically, it was too late. The world’s economy was built around the mineral, and people were blind to the dangers, distracted by the unprecedented profits it provided. Brush wars were fought over it, and the First Tiberium War between GDI and an emerging Nod forced all participants to rely on it to fund their war machines. This lack of foresight meant that funding for methods to control or destroy Tiberium was almost non-existent until the first Ion storm in 2015.

By the time of the Second Tiberium War, GDI and what remained of the developed world was dedicated to fighting Tiberium, even as they used it to fuel their struggle for survival. By this time, Tiberium had significantly changed the ecology, bringing about new flora and fauna, rendering the world’s waterways impassible to ships, and becoming more and more toxic by the day. The savior had turned out to be the harbinger of the end days.

In the game, Tiberium serves as the main resource. Most of the game revolves around claiming and defending patches of Tiberium so that your harvesters can work in peace.

It also kills your infantry and can turn your men into mutants.

In game this was represented by a draining health bar. However, this does not lend itself well to the THW system or the C&C fluff. Tiberium poisoning is not something that goes away – it lasts long after the exposure.

In my background, Tiberium toxicity works as follows. Tiberium is a toxic element. There are three main forms that people can be exposed to: crystals, gasses, and spores.

Tiberium crystals are the familiar structures that grow out of the ground containing valuable minerals. They are not much of a threat as long as they do not come into continuos contact with exposed skin, at which point they cause painful burns, lesions, and potentially tissue necrosis. Once contact with the crystal is stopped, the body only has to deal with the secondary effects, which can be treated effectively with modern medicine. The biggest danger from Tiberium crystals is if they are absorbed into the bloodstream through an open wound. If this happens, many critical conditions such as anemia (from the Tiberium destroying individual blood cells on a massive scale), immune system failure, and severe internal hemorrhaging can occur. If the particles become trapped in an organ, they will continue to cause damage until surgically removed or until the particle has been eroded away. However, waiting is usually a disastrous approach for all but the smallest of particles. Crystals rarely cause large-scale mutations.

Tiberium gas is given off by crystal formations and certain flora (and fauna.) It is lethal in concentrated amounts, but even very dilute quantities can cause serious medical issues. The most common side effect of exposure to tiberium gas is respiratory failure, though genetic and birth defects are also common. Tiberium gas exposure has the highest link to stable (and unstable) mutations. Continuous exposure to low concentrations can result in organ failure, immunosuppression, and hemophilia. Tiberium gas is also highly corrosive in concentrated amounts.

Tiberium spores are the product of blossom trees, and are the most deadly form to be exposed to. Spores are microscopic crystals which are capable of growing into a full Tiberium plant. If inhaled, they can cause all of the potential effects of gas and crystal Tiberium, plus they cause Tiberium Toxima, where Tiberium crystals grow on or in the body. This is usually fatal.

Instead of having the consequences of Tiberium exposure being guaranteed loss of small amounts of health, I’m going to use the following house rules:

TIBERIUM EXPOSURE

Anytime a unit moves through a tiberium patch or comes close to a blossom tree, they must roll on the Tiberium Exposure Table.

Tiberium Exposure table: Vs Rep. Units without protection take test at Rep -2. Full Hazard suits +1 to Rep. Vehicles immune.

Pass 2d6: No Exposure
Pass 1d6: Minimal Exposure. Roll on the “Minimal Tiberium Poisoning” table after the battle.
Pass 0d6: Critical Exposure. Roll on the “Critical Tiberium Poisoning” table immediately.

Minor Tiberium Poisoning: Vs Rep.

Pass 2d6: Lucky Break! The unit suffers no ill effects.
Pass 1d6: Minor poisoning. The unit is at -1 Rep for the next game, then is restored to its original Rep.
Pass 0d6: Major sickness. The unit is out of action for any future games until it can pass 2d6 twice on the “Recover from Tiberium Poisoning” table.

Critical Tiberium Poisoning: Vs Rep.

Pass 2d6: Roll on the Minor Tiberium Poisoning table at -2 Rep after the battle.
Pass 1d6: Critical Sickness! After this battle the unit suffers a permanent – 1 to Rep and is out of action until it passes 2d6 twice on the “Recover from Tiberium Poisoning”
Pass 0d6: Tiberium Toxima. Roll a d6 for each model in the unit: 1-5, roll on Tiberium Toxima table after the battle. 6 – Uncontrolled mutation! The model is removed and immediately replaced by a Visceroid.

Recover from Tiberium Poisoning: Vs modified Rep -1. -1 for no medical infrastructure, +1 for advanced medical care.

Pass 2d6: Progress! The next time this unit rolls on this table, it rolls at modified Rep. If it has already rolled this result once before, the unit is back to normal.
Pass 1d6: Stable. The unit does not improve, but does not deteriorate either.
Pass 0d6: Deteriorating! Roll a d6: 1-3, roll on Tiberium Toxima table. 4-6, unit is killed.

Tiberium Toxima: Vs modified Rep.

Pass 2d6: Critical Sickness! Treat this unit as if it just passed 1d6 on the Critical Tiberium Poisoning table.
Pass 1d6: Re-roll on this table with -1 to Rep. This is cumulative.
Pass 0d6: Death.

I’ll need to playtest this in a campaign, of course. Basically, moving infantry through Tiberium is a terrible idea.

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