Poisons
Before you ask, yes I have more poisons than www.d20pfrsd.com, and yes some of these poisons are dangerous.
A very few poisons have different DCs than the Craft DC, that is because they are easier or harder to make.
The DC of Harvesting a poison is the Fort DC to survive it. If you fail to Harvest a poison by more than 5 then you are exposed to to the poison and must make a saving roll.
How much poison you harvest is determined by the DM, based on the size of the creature or the source.
Poison Use is a feat that can be taken by anyone. Poison use that does more than sicken the creature, put them to sleep or paralyzes the creature is considered an evil act. Most Paladins consider ANY poison use to be evil.
If you are using a poisoned weapon and you score a natural one on the attack roll then you accidentally expose yourself to the poison and must make a saving roll against it.
NOTES:
Poison: Name of the poison
Type: contact = exposed via touch
ingested = exposed while taking in food or drink
Inhaled = exposed via breathing in, saving roll accounts for attempts to hold ones breath
injury = exposed via cut or injection
Fort DC: Fortification saving roll DC
Onset Time: how long before its effects start (-- means immediate)
Frequency: the course of the poison, how long it acts and how frequently 1 save is made. If 2 consecutive saves are noted then each successful saving roll must be made immediately after
the other. Normal saves just have to be made over the course of the condition.
Effects: what happens while each increment of the frequency elapses, typically stat damage. If there is stat Drain that will be noted in the description. Sickened, Paralyzed, and Nauseated as
per the conditions. Confused as per the spell, rolling each round to see what the creature does.
Saves: the number of saves required to overcome the poison; most frequently 1 save is made. If 2 consecutive saves are noted (2 Con. saves) then each successful saving roll must be made
immediately after the other. Normal saves just have to be made over the course of the condition.
Cost: how much in gold pieces each poison dose costs. If – is noted the then the cost is typically 100 gp. x the DC of the poison, provided the poison is properly saved.
Antitoxin: Poisons can be changed into a specific antitoxin for that poison (using the Craft (Alchemy) Skill) at the same DC of the poison. Specific poison antitoxin grants a +10 Alchemical
bonus to the saving roll against that poison for up to 1 hour. General antitoxin provides a +5 Alchemical bonus to the saving roll of any poison (making General Antitoxin is a Craft
(Alchemy) Skill check DC 25). A patient infected with an ingested poison can be treated with a Sickness or Nausea inducing effect to induce them to throw up the poison. Either a spell
or spell-like power can be used, or an Herbal remedy made with a Heal check of DC 13 can be created to induce vomiting giving the affected creature another saving roll against the
poison. The spell delay poison simply halts the progression of the poison, it doesn’t restore any damage, and it doesn’t change the frequency, is suspends the frequency. After the delay
poison expires the poison continues to run its course as determined by its frequency, the recipient of the spell is simply delaying the effect of the poison. When the Heal skill is used to
treat a patient with poison the person using the Heal Skill must make a Skill check equal to the DC of the poison, then allowing the patient to make a Fort save against the poison with a
+4-competence bonus. If more than one saving roll is needed by the patient, the attending Healer must pass a Heal Check for each additional save required to give the patient a +4-
competence bonus. Treating the poison with the Heal Skill doesn’t give an extra saving roll it only creates a condition for a better saving roll on any future saving rolls needed. Using the
Heal Skill to treat a poison doesn’t restore ability damage or any other damage done by the poison.
Determining if a Poison is Present: typically poison is detected with a Perception Check. IF that person has knowledge about poison, if they are an Alchemist, an Assassin, or have the
Poison Use Feat, have a Craft (Alchemy) or Profession (Herbalism) Skill rating of 5 ranks or better. Then the Perception check would be the same as the DC of the poison;
meaning that more powerful poisons would be harder to detect. Someone with one of these skills or features can sue an Alchemy Lab to test for the presence of poison; they would get
a +5 chance to their Craft (Alchemy) or Profession (Herbalism) Skill Check. There is a flat 1% chance that a creature trying to detect for poison, with an Alchemy Lab, can poison
themselves. Rogues, Barbarians and any other class with the Trap Finding feature can detect for the presence of poison with a Perception Skill Check made at their normal chance.
However, while those who detect for the presence of poison are able to Determine the type of poison, using Trapsense simply tells you yes or no on the presence of poison.
Harvesting Poison: Poison can be harvested from poison using creatures; typically, this is a function of the Survival skill or the Craft (Alchemy) skill, the DC for this skill check is the save DC
of the poison. Poison can only be harvested from a poison using creature that is knocked out, disabled, or otherwise captured and “milked.” When a creature dies of combat wounds or
from an energy attack then harvesting the poison is more difficult adding +5 to the DC of the skill check to harvest it (a creature that is put to sleep or killed with a death attack does not
suffer body harm so it can be easily milked). If a creature is attempting to harvest poison from a poison using creature, and they are not an Alchemist or an Assassin, then if they fail the
chance to harvest the poison Skill Check by over 5; they must make a saving roll against the poison’s DC to avoid accidental exposure. Harvesting poison is not an evil act, but selling it
to someone who could use if for an evil act can be considered an evil act, so it is best to know your market.
Making Poisons: Alchemists, Witches, Druids and anyone with the Craft (Alchemy) or Profession (Herbalist) can poisons with a skill check; typically, the DC of the skill check is the
poison’s save DC. Witches and Druids can make a poison out of things they scrounge with a Survival Check; the DC of this Survival Check is the poison’s DC+5. Antipaladins and Slayers
don't have any special relationship to poison, though they would often be prone to utilize it. Any character that doesn't have the Poison Use Feat, or is not an Alchemist, or Assassin; if
they roll a 1 on the attack roll with a poisoned weapon they must make a save against the poison's DC (for the poison they are using) or they accidentally expose themselves to the
poison.
Poison Use is a feature of the Assassin Prestige Class. Alchemists eventually become immune to poison. Anyone who takes the Poison Use Feat can make use of poison without accidentally exposing themselves to it. When using poison in a trap, an item of food or some other use, that doesn't require an attack roll the chance of poisoning oneself is 10% minus the
creature's Dex. modifier (if the chance is reduced to less than zero, then it equals zero). Use of poisons that causes ability damage, ability drain, death, or hit point damage is an evil
act. Use of poison that causes sleep, reduces SR, causes Confusion, or other conditions can be a neutral act, however, all Paladins and most good creatures, would consider such
poison use to be an evil act. In this case what is "evil" is in the eye of the beholder.
Poison Use: If multiple doses of a poison are inflicted on a creature then it suffers a +2 to the DC for each additional dose and the Frequency is increased by 50% (if a weapon is effective for
1d4 uses then it is still considered one dose so even if a 4 is rolled it still acts like one dose; the creature would have to save for it for each successful attack at the poison’s normal DC.
Only if they are successfully exposed to the poison more than once and if they fail their saving roll, more than once, are they considered to be under the effect of multiple doses of the
same poison. If more than one dose is needed to coat the weapon, then it is considered one dose for exposure, if more than the required doses are used on a weapon then that extra poison is wasted). Death Poison typically runs its course when it kills the creature, bringing the creature back from the dead doesn't re-expose it to the poison that killed it causing it to
die again. The exceptions to that rule are; Shrieking Terror Salvia—which leave the creature returned to life unable to heal, until the saving rolls are made or a neutralize poison effect is
used. Zifferton's Death and Zotan's Oil, both remain in creature's bloodstream, which is why these three poisons are so expensive. If a neutralize poison is not cast upon the creature
before it is restored to life (through raise dead or resurrection), then it must make 2 consecutive saving rolls and if it fails the second save it dies again. Symptoms of distress would be \ clear enough for a DC 15 Heal check to determine than a neutralize poison is needed before the creature dies again (true resurrection, miracle, or wish are powerful enough spells to
remove the poison before restoring the creature to life).
Poison Use--On weapons: One dose is considered enough to coat a small weapon from the size of a dart, shuriken, crossbow bolt head, arrow head or dagger. Coating a one-handed weapon
takes two doses, while coating a two-handed weapon takes three doses. There are exceptions such as for the head of a spear; which would only take one dose. These exceptions
should be clear as per the type of weapon and as determined by the DM. If not, enough poison is used for the weapon then it will not affect the target. Typically, poison, on a weapon,
lasts for 1d4 attacks (a number rolled secretly by the DM; the user never knows how effective their poisoned weapon is unless they frequently recoat it).
Making Poisons More Virulent: For each poison a more virulent dose can be made; this requires two doses of the same type of poison and a Craft (Alchemy) or Craft (Herbalism) Skill Check
equal to that of the poison's DC +5; this would increase the Fort save DC by +2 and it would increase the poison's run time by 50% just like administering an additional dose of the base
poison, all in 1 does of the poison. If the Skill Check DC is exceeded by +10 then the Fort DC can be increased by +4 and the run time is increased by double the normal run time,
just as if the dose was the equal to 3 doses of poison. The cost of a +2 DC poison is 1.5 times the normal cost of the poison and the cost of +4 DC poison is twice the normal cost of the
poison.
Increasing the Onset Time of a Poison: The onset time of a poison can be increased by manufacturing the poison with a delay factor. Increasing the onset time by one unit for a +2 DC to
the Skill Check to create the poison. Poison with an immediate onset time would be increased by 1d4 rounds. Poisons with a normal onset time of rounds would have their onset time
increased by 1d6 rounds. Poisons with a normal onset of minutes would have that onset time increased by 1d6 minutes, poisons with a normal onset time of hours would have that time
increased by 1d4 hours and poisons with a normal onset time of days would have that onset time increased by 1 day.
