A poison was a substance that damaged or affected the abilities of a creature, either instantly or over time. A poison could be administered by contact, inhalation, ingestion, or through a wound.[2][3] Poisoned creatures had a chance to avoid or resist the effects of a poison. The effects of poisons varied widely but some common effects included paralysis, sleep, loss of ability, injury, or death.[4]
The ability to use poison effectively was a skill that must be learned and a person using a poison had a small chance of poisoning himself or herself.[2][5]
Crafting a poison from natural ingredients, or harvesting poisonous substances and venoms from creatures was also a risky endeavor that usually required knowledge of nature and some specialized equipment.[5]
A poisoned creature could be cured quickly either through an antidote, a magic potion, or by clerical[6] or druidic magic.[7][8] Some poisons wore off after a period of time and had little or no lasting effect, but without help, it could take days to recover.[9] Some creatures had natural resistance or immunity to poisons.[4]
Poisons were often rare, expensive, and illegal to purchase.[2][5] Typical poisons included:
| Name | Type | Damage type | Base cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adder's root[10] | Injury | Death | ? |
| Arsenic | Ingested | Constitution drain | 120 gp |
| Belarris | Ingested | Fatigue/unconsciousness | ? |
| Benightbite | Ingested | Numbing/fatigue/sleep/death | ? |
| Black adder venom[11] | Injury | Constitution drain | 75[11]-120 gp[12] |
| Black lotus extract | Contact | Constitution drain | 4,500 gp |
| Bloodroot | Injury | Constitution drain | 100 gp |
| Bittermint | Ingested | Dexterity drain | ? |
| Calad | Ingested | Confused hearing/vision internal damage |
? |
| Carrion crawler brain juice[13] | Contact | Paralysis | 200 gp[14] |
| Cave terror[15] | Ingested | Confusion/Intelligence damage | 200 gp |
| Dark naga poison[16] | Injury | Sleep | ? |
| Darfly-sting essence | Injury | Sleep | ? |
| Dragonbane | Contact/Ingested/Injury | Suffocation | ? |
| Drow knockout poison[15] | Injury | Unconsciousness | 75 gp |
| Fang dragon venom | Injury | Constitution drain | 300 gp |
| Giant wasp poison | Injury | Dexterity drain | 210 gp |
| Giant snow adder venom[17] | Injury/Injected | Paralysis/constitution drain and effects similar to the freezing touch spell | ? |
| Imvris | Contact/Ingested/Injury | Paralysis | ? |
| Jesseret | Ingested | Death | ? |
| Lorbralinth | Ingested or injury | Chills and fever | ? |
| Medium spider venom | Injury | Strength drain | 150 gp |
| Nightviper venom | Ingested or injury | Wisdom drain | 600 gp |
| Numbfish jelly venom | Ingested or contact | Dexterity/Wisdom drain | 300 gp |
| Pauper's poison | Ingested | Subdual | 40 gp |
| Peranox | Contact | Death | ? |
| Saldruth's viper venom | Ingested or injury | Constitution drain | 300 gp |
| Sassone leaf residue | Contact | Constitution drain | 300 gp |
| Sickstone unguent[15] | Injury | Constitution damage/drain | 1500 gp |
| Slarkfish venom | Ingested | Dexterity drain | 100 gp |
| Sleep-smoke | Inhalation | Sleep | 25 gp |
| Srindym | Contact/Ingested/Injury | Disorientation and dexterity drain/unconsciousness | 120 gp |
| Striped toadstool | Ingested | Wisdom drain | 180 gp |
| Stun gas[15] | Inhaled | Stunning | 40 gp |
| Swiftsleep | Injury | Sleep | ? |
| Terinav root | Contact | Dexterity drain | 750 gp |
| Thardynyn | Contact | Debilitating shakes | ? |
| Tulade | Ingested | Pain/unconsciousness | ? |
| Udderfish venom | Ingested | Subdual | 400 gp |
| Virile madness[15] | Ingested | Intelligence/Wisdom damage | 1200 gp |
| Wyvern poison | Injury | Constitution drain | 3,000 gp |
| Yarberry | Ingested | Death | ? |
| Yellow urchin extract | Inhaled | Dexterity and wisdom drain | 800 gp |
| Yethgrel | Ingested | System shock but damage protection | ? |
Appendix
Gallery
References
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 150. ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Monte Cook, Jonathan Tweet, Skip Williams (July 2003). Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 296. ISBN 0-7869-2889-1.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins, James Wyatt (2014). Dungeon Master's Guide 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 257. ISBN 978-0786965622.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Monte Cook, Jonathan Tweet, Skip Williams (July 2003). Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 297. ISBN 0-7869-2889-1.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins, James Wyatt (2014). Dungeon Master's Guide 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 258. ISBN 978-0786965622.
- ↑ Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams (July 2003). Player's Handbook v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 184. ISBN 0-7869-2886-7.
- ↑ Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams (July 2003). Player's Handbook v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 190. ISBN 0-7869-2886-7.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 270. ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 187. ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
- ↑ Keith Francis Strohm (October 2004). “Penitential Rites”. In Philip Athans ed. Realms of the Dragons (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 255–290. ISBN 978-0-7869-3394-5.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sean K. Reynolds, Steve Miller (2000). Into the Dragon's Lair. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 91. ISBN 0-7869-1634-6.
- ↑ Jesse Decker (January 2005). Complete Adventurer. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 98. ISBN ISBN 0-7869-3651-7.
- ↑ Stormfront Studios (2001). Designed by Mark Buchignani, Ken Eklund, Sarah W. Stocker. Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor. Ubisoft Entertainment.
- ↑ Monte Cook, Jonathan Tweet, Skip Williams (July 2003). Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 297. ISBN 0-7869-2889-1.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Bruce R. Cordell, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, Jeff Quick (October 2003). Underdark. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 67–68. ISBN 0-7869-3053-5.
- ↑ Carrie Bebris (2001). Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 72. ISBN 0-7869-1387-8.
- ↑ Jeff Crook, Wil Upchurch, Eric L. Boyd (May 2005). Champions of Ruin. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 108. ISBN 0-7869-3692-4.