Poison (substance)

Poisons are substances that cause death, injury or harm to organs when a creature absorbs a sufficient quantity. Poisons derive from substances that are made and in the venom of numerous animals and monsters. It's presence in D&D is a potential game breaking concern; too much poison in the hands of players or NPCs can drastically alter the structure of a campaign, which is one reason why rules for accessibility have been overlooked by game designers. Additionally, there are thousands of poison forms, so that any definitive work on the subject would be immense and unworkable as a design. Therefore, specific poisons in these rules should be seen general types, the sources of which are variable — but as a vast number of things can be distilled into a poison, the actual source for any poison can be disregarded for game purposes. If needed, however, examine this list of plants, this list of fungi and this list of animals.

It should be noted that the list of poisons included on this page have been invented for game use and are in no way intended to accurately depict poisons as they exist in the real world. In some cases, real world names have been co-opted for flavor and verisimilitude; in no way should this be seen as an attempt to simulate these real poisons. It should be understood that the words and laws surrounding poisons reflect the characteristics of Alexis' fictional game setting, and were never meant as a simulation of real poisons and their application.

Effects of Poison

These rules do not make use of the traditional saving throw against death for poisons. Specific poisons do cause effects such as sleep, coma, paralysis, nausea and death — but this is done through manipulation of the character's ability stats and hit points, not through a blanket succeed/fail roll. Poison effects are felt over time, with even the deadliest poisons requiring several rounds to kill unless the victim is exceptionally unfit or below zero in hit points.

Commonly, an animal venom has the potential to cause 2-8 h.p. of poison damage per hit die of the creature, depending upon the specific venom's toxicity. A giant centipede's venom is weak; a black mamba's venom is very strong. Again, depending on the venom, the speed with which this damage occurs differs. The giant centipede causes 1 damage every 1-4 rounds, whereas the black mamba will cause 2-8 damage every round.

[these characteristics need to be defined and collected on a single table, a work that hasn't been done yet]

Ingestive Poisons are concoctions that must be drunk. Some, intending to kill, will cause a lot of damage; others will cause moderate damage over long periods in order to promote nausea; still others will cause just enough damage to produce paralysis, sleep or coma. More sophisticated poisons that produce these some of these effects won't cause any damage at all, as damage undermines the stealthiness of their use. Some poisons will take effect immediately; many more sophisticated poisons won't take effect until minutes or hours after the poison has been imbibed.

Insinuative Poisons are substances that are applied to weapons for use in combat. They are generally intended to cause additional hit points above weapon damage, but some have been created to cause paralysis, sleep and coma. All insinuative poisons are designed to take effect within a few minutes.

Creation of Poisons

The preparation of poisons are related to sage abilities that specifically allow characters the knowledge to create poisons as amateurs, authorities, experts and sages. Some abilities can be found related to the study of alchemy; more sophisticated knowledge is available to assassins who study poisoning. The categorization of poisons is, therefore, based on these abilities that knowledgeable characters are able to create. Poison forms exist according to the imagination; if a specific poison can be conceived of, then it follows that with sufficient knowledge, the player character (or the DM) should be able to create it and add it to the list found below.

Amateur Ingestive Poison

Available through the sage ability, Prepare Ingestive Poisons. These are exceptionally clumsy poisons, which are easily detected (60% chance, minus the knowledge points of the preparer). Once consumed, the imbiber will know that something is wrong immediately. It will be clear that a poisoning has occurred, as the first effects take place. In each case below, roll 1d3 to determine the number of rounds that pass (12-36 seconds) before the first effects occur.

Vexation

This mushroom-derived poison attempts to kill the imbiber. Once consumed, the first effect is a strong blow to the digestive tract, causing 3-6 damage. This is followed two rounds later by another effect, causing 2-5 damage. If this doesn't kill, the imbiber makes a saving throw; a success will mean that the poison has run its course; no more damage will occur and within 6-8 hours, the imbiber will actually feel better, with 1-4 hit points being restored.

If a saving throw fails, then a third effect will be felt after 5-20 additional rounds, causing 1-3 damage. The imbiber will then suffer 1 h.p. of damage about 20 minutes later, and 1 h.p. of damage an hour after taking the poison. This is all the suffering that vexation is able to bestow. It is rarely sufficient enough to kill a strong, fit levelled person, but it is effective against common folk and as a means to kill vermin.

Biliosus

This herb-derived poison attempts to promote nausea in the imbiber. Once consumed, the first effect is an intense noxious response, at which time the imbiber makes a saving throw. A success will mean the imbiber vomits and suffers 1-3 damage. The imbiber will feel sick for 2-8 rounds, reducing their action points by 1 during that time. No other effects will be experienced.

If the saving throw fails, the imbiber will feel an intense wave of revulsion while vomiting for two rounds and suffering 2-5 damage; the imbiber cannot take any other action at this time. On the third round, the imbiber's strength ability will fall by 1 point. The imbiber will then lose up to 1-4 additional points of strength each minute (every 5 rounds). This weakness will be complimented by nausea, which will lower the imbiber's armour class and rolls to hit by -2. The nausea will pass within 5-20 rounds after the last strength point is lost; the imbiber's strength will be restored by 1-3 hours rest following the subsidence of nausea.

Ictus

This fruitseed-derived poison attempts to produce a partial paralysis in the imbiber. Once consumed, the first effect brings a conscious stiffening of the right arm, at which time the imbiber makes a saving throw. If successful, the stiffness will pass in 3-12 rounds, during which time the imbiber will experience some difficulty and have a modifier of -2 for any action performed with the right hand.

If the saving throw fails, the whole right arm and hand will become immobilized completely for 1-4 hours, during which time the imbiber will be unable to perform any actions with it. After the time indicated, the effect will diminish, so that the imbiber will be able to regain partial use of the arm and hand (-4 modifier to all actions) within an hour; with each half hour thereafter, the negative modifier will improve for the imbiber by 1 point.

Somnikus

This herb-derived poison attempts to cause the imbiber to sleep. Once consumed, the first effect is a sudden awareness of being overtaken by sleep, at which time the imbiber makes a saving throw. On success, the imbiber will collapse, will feel groggy for 1-4 rounds but will be completely aware of their surroundings and of what might be said. If wishing to, the imbiber may choose to feign sleep at this point. The imbiber will not be helpless, however; if they wish, they will be able to defend themselves, though they will suffer a -4 penalty to their armour class and rolls to hit for the time they are groggy. Once the grogginess has passed, this penalty is reduced by 50% for 1 round, and then evaporate the round thereafter.

If the saving throw fails, the imbiber will collapse completely for 3-12 rounds and will be helpless during that time. If the imbiber has a constitution ability of less than 8, they must make a constitution check. If this fails, the imbiber will collapse into a coma for one full day, thereafter requiring a full day of rest before any action can be taken. Otherwise, the sleeping person will wake up normally once the somnikus poison has worn off.