tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post4694034084391446604..comments2024-02-27T01:17:39.925-08:00Comments on The Nine and Thirty Kingdoms: Players Using PoisonsTalysmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-81530181938828819992012-11-18T07:07:46.314-08:002012-11-18T07:07:46.314-08:00Thanks for the link, Talysman.
You're right a...Thanks for the link, Talysman.<br /><br />You're right about the limitations (and I posted <a href="http://dungeonfantastic.blogspot.com/2012/11/limiting-poisons.html" rel="nofollow">a whole writeup of limitations</a>). You can't just let people use poison without any costs, difficulty, and/or with automatic success.<br /><br />I do think some of the objections are overblown, though, and often assume a carelessness and lack of competence to the PCs. Nicking yourself with a poisoned weapon (but it doesn't happen with your flaming sword, your sword of wounding, or your dagger of venom), hitting yourself on a fumble (but it doesn't happen otherwise), potentially poisoning yourself (but you never splash acid or flaming oil on yourself), potentially misapplying the dose (when you otherwise never check dosage on anything else when using it) . . . I just find that a bit weak, myself. It could be class restricted in D&D, and often is, but then I don't play D&D.<br /><br />Otherwise just make it expensive, make it of variable effectiveness, and make save-or-die stuff less available (save-or-sleep and save-or-paralyze, same thing), and make some things flat-out immune (dragons, say). If it costs you 1000 gp to force a save-or-die roll once and it is used up in the process, how much of a game breaker is that?<br /><br />Lucky for me, GURPS already has some "hits self" critical failure table results, so it organically handles the chance of an accidental self-whacking. It also has a Poisons skill, for whatever rolls I need to figure out if the PC is capable of doing what the player wants to do. But for D&D, I'd probably go with rolling a 1 and then confirming it in some fashion (a Saving Throw is fine - a Reflex save to avoid it using 3e mechanics, Poison in AD&D to shrug off the effects), at most. Just jacking up the cost is pretty effective!Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-30155288397319082172012-11-18T04:24:38.039-08:002012-11-18T04:24:38.039-08:00An entirely different point here and a different r...An entirely different point here and a different reply. <br /><br />I got rid of save or die poisons a while back and replaced them with save or die slowly poisons. Players get to decide how heroic they are while sufferring 1d6/round/turn or hour. There's more drama and posioning a baddie might indeed finish off a foe but not before that foes dismembers the poisoner.JDJarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691101939920824546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-90115219420115343322012-11-18T04:20:14.578-08:002012-11-18T04:20:14.578-08:00I think they are worth tacking on if posion use be...I think they are worth tacking on if posion use become frequent.Forget knocking your pals left arm off by accident with your dagger, scratching yourslef or a friend with a poison weapon seems like a lot more to worry about and a balancing factor.<br /><br />I have folks make a saving throw to apply poison to weapons, weapons made for it alchemists and assassins get a bonus to the roll, miss that save and you have in fact poisoned yourslef.<br />A 1 in melee...oops save vs poison.<br /><br />Cultures that used poisoned arms repeatedly are very careful about it and don't run about flailing tocix weapons in the dark.<br />JDJarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691101939920824546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-11401114895136901942012-11-17T23:37:10.200-08:002012-11-17T23:37:10.200-08:00I just limit the types of poisons that players can...I just limit the types of poisons that players can make or get, unless they take them off super deadly poison monsters.<br /><br />I let assassins brew poison enough to envenom 1 weapon (for one use) per level with a poison that does 1D6/level and they have to roll a check to see if they brewed it right (and don't know until it doesn't work). Poisons taken off dead monsters aren't trouble as the players get only a few doses.<br /><br />Other option is that the poisons only effect creatures up to a few HD. Either way I don't really have much trouble with them.Gus Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872819206286105195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-26874463438016708852012-11-17T15:48:06.258-08:002012-11-17T15:48:06.258-08:00But that assumes you are using fumbles, or that yo...But that assumes you are using fumbles, or that you like fumble mechanics. An entirely different debate...Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-26751597663677595412012-11-17T12:04:06.771-08:002012-11-17T12:04:06.771-08:00Fumbles are a great way to limit the use of poison...Fumbles are a great way to limit the use of poisoned weapons in a normal fight. Also, who wants poisoned arrows that miss littering the battlefield?<br />JDJarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691101939920824546noreply@blogger.com