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View Full Version : Player-friendly Poisons (PEACH)



LOTRfan
2010-12-28, 11:25 AM
Here are four fictional poisons (two inspired by Supernatural, two inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Three of them are safe to use by players (as in they won't die even if they mess up applying them, not that they are necessarily supposed to be used by good-aligned creatures), and one new method for vampires to spawn others of their kind. Mainly, I'd like them to be PEACHed and have an estimate on an appropriate price.

{table=head]Poison | Type | Initial Damage | Secondary Damage | Price
Dead Man's Blood | Injury* DC 20 | 3d6 Str | 3d6 Dex | ?
Killer of the Dead | Injury DC 25 | 3d6 Str** | 1d6 Wis | ?
Sacred Wood | Inhaled DC 15 | 2d6 Str | 3d6 Con | ?
Vampire's Blood | Ingested DC *** | 2d6 Con | 3d6 Con + 2 Con** | ?
[/table]
*See description.
** This is ability drain instead of ability damage.
*** DC for Vampire’s Blood is equal to 10 + ½ creature’s overall HD

Dead Man’s Blood: This is not exactly a poison, but it works similarly to one when used against vampires. A vampire who comes into contact with Dead Man’s Blood (usually via injury, but ingesting it works, too) are weakened considerably. As is common knowledge, vampires gain a supernatural need to drink the blood of the living, but the blood of the dead has a terrible affect on them. Their body weakens, and the muscles begin to break down. Ability damage caused by this poison does not heal at the usual rate unless the vampire consumes some blood (at least 1 point of Con) each day of the healing process. While it is easy enough to gather this poison (all that is necessary is a dead body whose blood hasn’t had enough time to congeal), purchasing it is hard, as that requires the seller to desecrate bodies to get their ware.

Killer of the Dead: This special “positoxin” is often used against all types of undead. Specially prepared belladonna is merged with positively charged energy, and then usually placed inside a ranged weapon (an arrowhead, crossbow bolt, or similar). When entering the undead’s body, it first attacks the negative reanimating force that keeps the body bound together. This permanently weakens it, as the negative and positive energy cancel each other out. The undead’s consciousness is then thrust between the Material Plane and the plane it was meant to go in the afterlife. While for the most part, it is still on this plane, the undead gets visions of the outer plane that distracts it and tears its senses away from the world around it. Negatively charged versions for use against deathless also exist.

Sacred Wood: Sacred Wood is made from Bulnesia trees grown on consecrated ground. When fully grown, strips of bark may be removed and burned as incense. Even though most use Sacred Wood as nothing more than incense during prayers, some people (like the clerics of St. Cuthbert) use it as a potent poison. This poison only works against evil outsiders and mortals possessed by fiends. By inhaling the smoke created by a burning strip of holy wood, fiends weaken and die. One of its more special properties is that it kills the possessing fiend as well if the host dies from the poison.

Vampire’s Blood: There are many ways for a vampire to turn mortals into vampires. One of the more underused ways is to force a mortal to drink the blood of a vampire. After ingesting the blood, the creature begins to turn into a vampire (or vampire spawn, if it does not have enough HD). A creature whose constitution score is not reduced to 0 is spared from turning into a vampire. Those who do drop to 0, however, do not die. They instead instantly transform, with their soul still in their body. They retain their alignment, and are not immediately driven towards murder. However, whenever coming within 10 ft. of a living creature, the vampire must make a will save (DC 20 + number of days without feeding), or attack the creature with the intent of draining blood. The very second they drain blood (doing at least 1 damage to Con), their soul departs for the outer planes, leaving behind a common, evil-aligned vampire.

Keinnicht
2010-12-28, 11:38 AM
It might sound insane, but I think Killer of the Dead should deal more damage.

I mean, 3D6 strength drained is nasty if you're a vampire. But it's almost certainly not fatal. The average vampire probably has between 18 and 24 strength. Meaning that the average amount of damage dealt by that poison would just knock them into a human level of strength (9-14, ish)

Maybe 3D6 str/2D6 str + 1D6 wis?

LOTRfan
2010-12-28, 11:47 AM
Well, my reasoning was that not all undead have the vampire's strength. It is supposed to kill generic undead while still giving them a fighting chance. If that means that vampire's have the ability to shrug off the worst of it, than that just shows why they are to be feared.

EDIT: SHould I do that for Dead Man's Blood?

LOTRfan
2011-02-22, 08:36 PM
Any opinions on pricing?