Inebriation
Inebriation occurs in 12 levels. The effects vary with the temperament of the individual, but can be divided into three broad classes: Merry drunks become partiers as they lose their inhibitions, Maudlin drunks tend to become sad and sing sad songs, and Belligerent drunks usually end up in a fight.
To track the progressive intoxication of a drinking character, assume normal metabolism of 1 drink per hour for a person of average STA and size. For each drink above the normal rate in one hour, increase the inebriation level by one. It is possible to increase the level by more than one in an hour. The effects are visible at the start of the next hour.

Typical Hârnic consumption is 2-3 drinks per hour – less than this is noticeable as reduced consumption, more than this is noticeable as heavy drinking. The latter is generally the more socially acceptable. Many people drink one or even two extra drinks in the first hour to approach the desired 4th through 6th levels.

Characters start at Inebriation Level 1 (Sober), modified as below:

Modifiers:
STA>13, Heavy frame - Subtract one level
Massive Frame, Obesity, STA>16 – subtract two levels
Alcoholic – Subtract one level
Light Frame, female, STA <8, Immediately following heavy exertion, no recent meal – add one level
Scant Frame, STA<5 – add two levels

One drink = 1 pint ale, 1 glass wine, or 1 small glass brandy. Shandy is a half-drink. A yard of ale is 3 drinks.

Example
A Hârnic peasant starts to drink after a long day in the fields at IL2 (1 + 1 for heavy exertion). He starts out thirsty, and adds three levels in the first hour, but subtracts 1, so after an hour he is at IL4, friendly to all his fellows. Assuming two drinks per hour for the evening, his IL goes up by 1 at the end of each hour. If he makes it through 5 hours of drinking, he will become drunk. At 1 farthing per pint of ale, he would have spent almost 3d to get drunk. If he had cut his consumption to 1 drink per hour after the first, he would have been pleasantly inebriated for the whole time, at a cost of 7 farthings.

Drinking to get drunk
If he were drinking heavily (3 drinks per hour) he would be quiet and withdrawn in just three hours. He could continue (against his better judgement) for another hour and drink himself to sleep, but if he overdid it that last hour by another drink he would become sick.

Drunkenness
Drinking is socially acceptable, but drunkenness is not. Those who routinely reach IL8 are considered drunks, and may face severe punishments from the lord and face the social approbation of the vilagers.

Alcohol poisoning
It is hard to reach actual alcohol toxicity, since the body tends to purge itself by becoming sick, or to shut itself down by blacking out. Those who continue to drink very heavily through the warning stages can however become poisoned. Alcohol poisoning requires an immediate 5d6 roll vs. STA. Those who fail lapse into a coma for 1d6 hours, at the end of which they must survive a 6d6 roll vs STA or die. Passing the roll with a MS result means survival with a permanent loss of 1d3 points of STA. Passing with a CS result means survival with no lasting physical effects (the character’s reputation is another matter).
Hangovers and Recovery
Drinking more alcohol than the body can metabolize results in temporary damage to the body. The body will completely recover from inebriation in its own time. Two hours of uninterrupted sleep per IL is enough to completely metabolize all alcohol and any trace of a hangover. For each hour less than that required, the character feels the effects with a Special Penalty of 5% per hour. The penalty lasts for as many waking hours as the number of hours of missed sleep. There are as many hangover remedies as there are villages on Hârn, some of which may actually work.

Example
Merry Murray got Drunk last night (Level 8) and is up working in the fields again a mere 6 hours later. His body needed 16 hours of sleep to metabolize all the alcohol, so it is now 10 hours short. He will feel the effects for 10 hours. All of his skills are at –50% for the first hour, -45% for the second hour, etc. The misery of the hangover may pale before the excessive attentions of the village Reeve if Murray does not work as well as he is expected to.