Poison

POISON TYPES

The poison of monsters, regardless of its pluses or minuses to the victim’s saving throw, is an all-or-nothing affair. That is, either they do no damage, or they kill the victim within a minute or so. 

Poison potions generally do the same, although you [the DM] may optionally elect to have any given one be slow-acting, so that the victim will notice nothing for 1-10 hours after quaffing it. Poison potions must be ingested. 

Monster poisons are all effective by either ingestion or insinuation into the body and blood stream of the victim. 

If you allow poison use by characters in your campaign, users can purchase ingestive or insinuative poisons only, having to obtain dual-use poisons from monsters.

Purchased poisons are classified and priced as follows:

Poison Type A: Saving throw at +4, chance of tasting/smelling/seeing poison 80%.

Poison Type B: Saving throw at +3, chance of tasting/smelling/seeing poison 65%.

Poison Type C: Saving throw at +2, chance of tasting/smelling/seeing poison 40%.

Poison Type D: Saving throw at +1, chance of tasting/smelling/seeing poison 15%.

[Poison Type E: No adjustment.]

PLAYER CHARACTER CONSIDERATIONS

It is not generally possible to envenom a weapon. This is because the poison will not readily adhere to the blade or head of the weapon (and for purposes of the game widespread use of poison is highly undesirable in any event). However, let us suppose that your Dungeon Master will allow poisons as follows:

1. Poison potions discovered in an adventure can be used as missiles to be hurled into the maws of monsters or can be offered as “gift” potions to intelligent captors.

2. Missiles - arrows, bolts, darts, javelins, and spears - can be envenomed with a toxin sufficient to cause any creature hit by such a missile to make a saving throw versus poisoning or die. (Suppose that this poison is such that saving throws are made at +2 on the victim’s die roll.)

3. Blades can likewise be coated with a toxic resin or similarly viscous fluid so as to make sword or axe strokes cause a poison saving throw to be made by the first creature initially struck by such a weapon.

With respect to the first case, the resolution of the matter is simply a checking of the appropriate tables to find if the potion hit the mouth, if the reaction caused the captor to taste the potion, etc.

The second and third cases, however, make it too easy for interesting play.

Imagine: Party sees red dragon, party discharges a volley of poisoned missiles, monster dies, and party seizes dragon hoard. Therefore, the DM will typically make every character employing poisoned weapons check to see if they nick themselves handling their weapons, to determine what happens to missiles which fail to strike the opponent, etc. It is also likely that the DM will establish sanctions regarding the use of poisons on a continuing basis, i.e. characters of good alignment cannot use such toxic substances as it constitutes foul and unfair practice; or characters found with poisoned weapons will be immediately slain and their corpses burned and ashes scattered.

In a similar vein, most communities view poisoning and poisons as highly undesirable due to the difficulty of protecting against ingestion of such fatal substances. Any individual (or group) making indiscriminate use of poison will have social pressure and/or legal action brought against him or her. For example:

The Thieves Guild is an accepted part of communal society, and so long as they contain their activities to cutting purses, picking pockets, burglarizing homes, waylaying late-night revelers, all is well. Then the guild decides to poison a whole establishment, a large gold smithing and jewelry making firm, in order to loot the entire place. Such activity would arouse the ire of the citizens, tradesmen, and city officials. Furthermore, the Assassins Guild will probably view the action as a threat to their existence and an infringement on their prerogatives as well. The socially unsanctioned use of poison would call to mind the use, usually accepted if not liked, of toxins by assassins. Premeditated murder, particularly on a grand scale, is likewise the exclusive precinct of the Assassins Guild. 

Taken in a lesser context, an individual employing an envenomed sword is calling unfavorable attention to the use of poisons, possibly confusing his or her role with that of a guild member, and so trespassing.

The upshot of this is to consult your DM with respect to the permissible usage of poisons. Keep in mind the principal reason for restriction of the use of poison—the game must offer challenge. If poison is limited or specially treated, you will understand and co-operate.