Better Poison Implementation (3.5e Variant Rule)

Author: Leziad (talk) Date Created: September 02, 2012 Status: Finished Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Better Poison Implementation

Poisons suck, so I made new rules.

Delivering Poison

When a creature is delivered poison, it must make a Fortitude save against the initial effect. Regardless of the failure or success of the save, this is the initial delivery, and the duration of the poison starts. The secondary effect starts at the initial delivery and usually grants no save, but never stacks with itself if many doses are injected.

Many Deliveries

If the poisoned creature succeeds against the initial effect, she must make another save or suffer from the initial effect. The additional saves are made at a −1 penalty for each dose injected beyond the first until the duration of the poison elapses. If the save is failed, the duration restarts; otherwise, the duration remains the same.

If the poisoned creature failed its save against the initial effect, all doses of the same poison injected until the duration elapses will trigger the heightened effect instead. The heightened effect can be triggered many times, with the same effect (unless stated otherwise in the particular poison description), and always stacks with itself.

Keywords

Delivery: Ingested, contact, injury, inhalation. Same horseshit as SRD, really. As soon as a poison enters the body, it's administered.

Duration: How long the poison will last. Effects with no listed duration will end at the end of the poison's duration. The duration starts with the initial delivery. When the duration ends, the creature will be affected by the delayed effect.

Base and Creature DC: Base DC is the DC for all saves granted by a poison when bought off the market. You can increase the base DC by 2 by paying an extra price listed in the poison entry (can be done multiple times, but a poison enhanced this way cannot go over the poison's maximum DC). Creature DC is the DC when used by a creature, usually 10 + ½ HD + that creature's Constitution modifier.

Initial Effect: Most poisons have a base effect, basically an effect that kicks in just after the poison is injected/drank/absorbed. That effect usually grants a save.

Heightened Effects: Most poisons get worse if multiple doses are absorbed; a creature already poisoned will not get another base effect, but will rather suffer the poison's heightened effect. Note that the initial effect never stacks together; always refer to the heightened effect for multiple doses.

Secondary Effect: A flavorsome effect, which has a minimal mechanical (if any) effect and usually grants no saves. Secondary effects always happen if a dose of the poison is delivered unless you are immune to the poison in question (or all poison).

Delayed Effect: A delayed effect comes into play a few rounds after the initial injection, or perhaps hours after; basically, it occurs at the moment the poison's duration expires. For each Fortitude save failed against the initial or heightened effect, the DC of the delayed effect increases by +1. If the lethality threshold was crossed, the creature takes the delayed effect with no save and must make a Fortitude save or die.

Lethality Threshold

All poisons can kill. A poison's lethality threshold is the number of times a creature can safely fail a Fortitude save against the poison's initial and heightened effects. When the threshold is passed, the creature is in grave danger and may die. Size changes how much of a poison is lethal. For each size category a creature is above medium, increase the lethality threshold by 1. For each size category a creature is under medium, decrease the lethality threshold by 1.

Particular Immunity/Resistance/Vulnerability

Some creatures/classes/races are resistant to a particular type of poison. There are three types of resistance: minor, major, and immunity. Minor resistance grants a +2 Fortitude save bonus against the poison in question. Major increases that bonus to +4 and increases the lethality threshold by 1. Immunity obviously makes that creature immune.

There are only 2 types of vulnerability, minor and major. Minor vulnerability gives a −2 penalty to Fortitude saves against the poison in question. Major vulnerability increases that penalty to −4 and decreases the lethality threshold by 1.

Poisons

Arsenic

A nasty poison used to kill vermin and sometimes people, it kills slowly and thus is not recommended in combat. It is a cheap assassin poison, if rather ineffective at its job.

• Duration: 10 minutes
• Base DC: 13 (Max ?)
• Creature DC: 10 + ½ HD + creature's Constitution modifier
• Lethality Threshold: 3
• Delivery: Ingested

Initial Effect: The arsenic will make the creature immediately sick; that creature must make a Fortitude save or be sickened.

Heightened Effect: Make the creature nauseated on a failed Fortitude save. Each subsequent delivery deals 3 damage to the poisoned creature, and allows a Fortitude save for no damage.

Secondary Effect: None

Delayed Effect: The creature proceeds to vomit profusely as her organs are damaged; she takes 2d10 damage and is staggered for 4 rounds.

A single dose of impure arsenic powder costs 20 gold pieces. Arsenic's upgrade cost is 40 gp.

Dragon Bile

• Duration: 3 rounds (15 seconds)/2 Hours (initial and heightened effect only)
• Base DC: 26 (Max 32)
• Creature DC: 10 + ½ HD + creature's Constitution modifier
• Lethality Threshold: 2
• Delivery: Contact

Initial Effect: The dragon bile's victim must make a Fortitude save or take a −4 penalty to Strength for 2 hours.

Heightened Effect: The dragon bile's victim must make a Fortitude save or increase the penalty to Strength inflicted by dragon bile by 2.

Secondary Effect: The creature is shaken.

Delayed Effect: The creature bursts into energy, most likely fire. She takes 10d6 energy damage (based on the dragon who the bile originally belonged to) with a Fortitude save allowed to halve the damage.

A single dose of dragon bile costs 1000 gp with an upgrade cost of 400 gp.

Golden Dart Frog Poison

• Duration: 5 rounds (25 seconds)
• Base DC: 23 (Max 33)
• Creature DC: 20 + ½ HD + creature's Constitution modifier
• Lethality Threshold: 1
• Delivery: Contact

Initial Effect: The creature must succeed on a Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round.

Heightened Effect: The creature must succeed on a Fortitude save or be stunned.

Secondary Effect: None

Delayed Effect: The creature must succeed on a Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 10 minutes.

Particular Immunity: Dart Frogs

Notes: This is a very high poison. Not to be used in high game or lower.

A single dose of golden dart frog poison costs 200 gp and can be enhanced for 400 gp.

Mort aux rats

An anticoagulant used to kill rats, piss poor but piss cheap. Also useful for taking down dire rats.

• Duration: 5 Minutes
• Base DC: 10 (Max 16)
• Creature DC: 10 + ½ HD + creature's Constitution modifier
• Lethality Threshold: 4
• Delivery: Ingested

Initial Effect: As an anticoagulant, mort aux rats inflicts DS (2/slashing and piercing) to any creature that fails its fortitude save.

Heightened Effect: The poisoned creature must succeed on a fort save or increase the DS afflicted by mort aux rats by 1 point (to a maximum of 5).

Secondary Effect: If the poisoned creature is under half hit points and took at least 1 damage from a slashing or piercing weapon in the last minute, she starts bleeding intensely, taking 1 damage each round for 1 minute.

Delayed Effect: None, unless you crossed the lethality threshold anyway.

Major Vulnerability: rat and dire rat

Mort aux rats costs 5 gp per dose. Its upgrade cost is 15 gp.

Witch Bog Toadstool

Not all mushrooms are yummy; these are poisonous toadstools.

• Duration: 20 minutes
• Base DC: 16 (Max 24)
• Creature DC: 10 + ½ HD + creature's Constitution modifier
• Lethality Threshold: 2
• Delivery: Ingested

Initial Effect: The creature must make a Fortitude save or be confused.

Heightened Effect: The creature is assailed by intense stomach pain and becomes staggered for 1d4 rounds unless she succeeds on a Fortitude save. Sadly, she must make a Will save or be under the effect of a suggestion with the order of 'eat more toadstools'.

Secondary Effect: The creature is hallucinating badly, and thus she is unable to recognize real and unreal until it is too late. She cannot take attacks of opportunity.

Delayed Effect: The creature becomes very dazed and must make a Fortitude save or fall unconscious for 1d4 minutes.

Particular Immunity: Hags

Special Use: Witch bog toadstool can be used in small doses as a mental ward against hags. If a dose of witch bog toadstool is prepared with a DC 20 craft (alchemy) check and 6 hours of work, it becomes a single dose of witchbane oil.

Witch Bog Toadstools cost 100 gp. The upgrade cost is 400 gp, as finding better mushrooms is difficult.

Yellow Gas

• Duration: 3 Minutes
• Base DC: 14 (Max 20)
• Creature DC: 10 + ½ HD + creature's Constitution modifier
• Lethality Threshold: 2
• Delivery: Inhaled

Initial Effect: The creature has trouble breathing and speaking as its tongue starts to inflame and bleed profusely. Whenever the creature tries to use an ability or spell with a vocal component, there is a 50% chance that the spell or ability fails.

Heightened Effect: The chance to fail vocal abilities increases by 1% unless the poisoned creature succeeds on a Fortitude save.

Secondary Effect: The poisoned creature is sickened.

Delayed Effect: The poisoned creature's lungs fill with blood, and it starts to drown for 1 minute unless it succeeds on a Fortitude save.

A canister of yellow gas creates a 60' square area of gas that lasts for 1 round per dose. Anytime a creature starts or finishes its turn in the gas cloud, it counts as having been delivered the poison; a creature that does not need to breathe may simply not breathe the poison and be unaffected.

A dose of yellow gas costs 50 gp; its upgrade cost is 50 gp.

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