tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post7356995351286044006..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: More Work on PoisonsAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-12954662477119691112016-11-05T22:33:42.641-06:002016-11-05T22:33:42.641-06:00Baron,
The reason the various poisons have names ...Baron,<br /><br />The reason the various poisons have names that are not names of poisons is because I don't want to get into the matter of deciding "what" the poison is: by using the names described on the wiki, I can be satisfied with what damage the poison causes, thus simplifying the game metric.<br /><br />Effectively, there are a hundred combinations of different substances that could produce a vex, a distress or a woe.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-22279800954785961902016-11-05T22:04:54.931-06:002016-11-05T22:04:54.931-06:00Alexis,
I like the variable damage over time. The...Alexis,<br /><br />I like the variable damage over time. The highs and lows coupled with knowledge that it will possibly extend through 3-8 rounds of damage gives good reason to have slow poison available. And, to find out if the local alchemist has any purgatives available.<br /><br />For added complexity, you could make the mineral / metallic poisons do most of their damage up front, and then have lingering sequela. The organics would have a slower onset, and then with ever increasing damage up to a maximum as organs fail.<br /><br />Is the damage simple dependent on agent? For large creatures you would logically need a larger dose. Divide the damage per die by the number of mass HD, maybe? That would give you a reason for otherwise unreasonably potent agents.<br /><br />Nasty business, it is.Baron Opalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07035904533197305820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-70199972117322769142016-11-05T19:37:42.224-06:002016-11-05T19:37:42.224-06:00Spazalicious,
I will get around to giving descrip...Spazalicious,<br /><br />I will get around to giving descriptions for non-lethal poisons; these will be part of the alchemy/poison sage abilities, when I'm ready to expand them. Just now it isn't crucial to my campaign, so I'm letting these details rest on the shelf until a player expresses an interest in making poisons. I only wrote down the poison rules above because I was also working on a means for physicians to reduce the effects of poison.<br /><br />Regarding dosage - the variable hit point damage per HD/Level described on the wiki link (I suspect you didn't hit the link just above the poison description) is based on weak dosages vs. strong dosages. Also, I'm basing the "dosage" as an approximate single swallow without easy detection or the amount that can be passed on by a poisoned blade. Obviously, if we can hold the victim down and keep pouring poison into them, everything is guaranteed to die.<br /><br />James,<br /><br />I hope it can be of great use to you!<br />Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-63614962281353894192016-11-05T09:06:09.849-06:002016-11-05T09:06:09.849-06:00I was about to introduce poisons into my game, but...I was about to introduce poisons into my game, but hated the rules. This has given me a great starting point, thank you.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861579076286024841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-77399070096674988022016-11-05T04:49:17.492-06:002016-11-05T04:49:17.492-06:00Two things:
First, how do you plan to deal with po...Two things:<br />First, how do you plan to deal with poisons that are not intended to kill? There are toxins that paralyze, force unconsciousness, cause hallucinations, etc. Personally, when I need to bring in something alive, poison is my first go-to.<br />Second, dosage is a factor. Taking your example from above, I would recommend that your party use a larger dose for an elephant than a human fighter. Part of the assassins poison skill could be estimation of correct poison dosage for a victim, with underestimation having mitigated or no effect, while overestimation causing sooner onset and fatality, which may not have been the goal for someone who needed to take prisoners rather than corpses.Spazalicious Chaoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18244425041829215280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-56436964851327414232016-11-05T02:18:24.012-06:002016-11-05T02:18:24.012-06:00Interesting, I've also got poison in games on ...Interesting, I've also got poison in games on the mind, although real world stuff will keep me from working on it for a month or two. <br /><br />The system you propose doesn't, as you say, look like it would be that complicated at the table. Once a character is poisoned, the DM needs to do a little math, but then from there it's pretty cut and dry how to have it affect the victim. <br /><br />I'll keep this in mind as I rework how I want poisons to work in Chanbara. I want players of Shinobi characters to have access to poisons, but I don't want them to be the go-to, ultimate option, either. <br /><br />I need to refresh myself on your damage system. If damage is over a certain amount for the round, it results in a 'stun' for the next round? That may be the thing I need to model the side-effects of poison (gagging, vomiting, diarrhea, crippling pain, etc.) in a simple way.<br /><br />Thanks!Dennis Laffeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03053699552003336733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-17001707414210614852016-11-04T23:49:18.221-06:002016-11-04T23:49:18.221-06:00Ozymandias,
Going forward, I will probably adjust...Ozymandias,<br /><br />Going forward, I will probably adjust and tweak the existing rules, to make other sorts of poisons and to include poisons with higher kill potential. I will probably also come up with alternate means of reducing their effectiveness other than greatly increasing the saving throw option. It is a work in progress. Thank you for the praise, it is much appreciated.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-4287235362098774302016-11-04T23:25:49.547-06:002016-11-04T23:25:49.547-06:00A side effect of this rule seems to be that you ha...A side effect of this rule seems to be that you have a relatively limited range for your poisons. In other words, given that PCs have, at most, 1d12 hit points per level, you basically have 12 levels of poisons to work with. Now, strictly speaking, that's not accurate: there can be poisons out there that deal 13+ damage per HD/level, but those would be considered (most likely) completely lethal. Arsenic, for example.<br /><br />Then again, reducing some 7,000+ poisons to a range of 1-13 seems much more manageable. In that respect, I applaud these rules. A little complicated, as you say, but probably worth the extra effort for the extra tension and options you've created.Ozymandiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065642299277380465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-9458493175242206402016-11-04T20:49:37.383-06:002016-11-04T20:49:37.383-06:00Sometimes, it is a lot harder to detail rules in p...Sometimes, it is a lot harder to detail rules in print than it is to actually play them.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-11147170466873481162016-11-04T20:41:23.915-06:002016-11-04T20:41:23.915-06:00Those are very interesting. I don't like the r...Those are very interesting. I don't like the rules as written but these seem pretty complicated. I'll have to give this some thought because I really like what you've done.AHunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08148857673973402238noreply@blogger.com