Jolly Giant
First Post
...does anyone have any suggestion for how digitalis (real world poison made from the fox glove flower) could work in a D&D/D20 game? Maybe even a DC for making the stuff?
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I don't want to poison anybody, but...
- Thread starter Jolly Giant
- Start date
Kemrain
First Post
What sort of physiological effects dows it have on the body? You can generally tell what ability poison damages by looking at this. Toxins that attack the nerves generally deal Dexterity damage, though enough of it deals Con. Venoms that attack proteins dissolve muscle mass and deal Strength damage, though enough will probably damagethe heart beyond it's capacity to pump, dealing Con. If it makes you hallucinate it probably deals om damage. Poisons that restrict the flow of oxygen to the brain probably deal Intelligence damage, though enough would certanly lead to Intelligence Drain and Con damage. Most poisons won't damage your sense of self, but some toxins cause delusions and paranoia, and such things could be construed as Charisma damage.
I'm not familiar with Foxglove, and I don't know how virulent is is, but given that toxins physiological effects map fairly nicely to ability damage, I'm confident you can dicide for yourself. As for a DC, well, look at other poison DC's. 20 is exceptionally high, and either has very little effect (a poison that is difficult to resist but mild in effect) or nearly kills outright. The DC should refpect real-world information while still preserving game balance, and I'm sure that's easily accomplishable.
Sorry for not giving you any useful information. I'd love to see what a toxicologist would say about this topic. I hope you get more replies, but I don't believe you'd need them to make a decent enough approximaton of what you need.
- Kemrain the Poisonous.
I'm not familiar with Foxglove, and I don't know how virulent is is, but given that toxins physiological effects map fairly nicely to ability damage, I'm confident you can dicide for yourself. As for a DC, well, look at other poison DC's. 20 is exceptionally high, and either has very little effect (a poison that is difficult to resist but mild in effect) or nearly kills outright. The DC should refpect real-world information while still preserving game balance, and I'm sure that's easily accomplishable.
Sorry for not giving you any useful information. I'd love to see what a toxicologist would say about this topic. I hope you get more replies, but I don't believe you'd need them to make a decent enough approximaton of what you need.
- Kemrain the Poisonous.
DSC-EricPrice
First Post
Digitalis symptoms appropriate to gaming are generally
yellow tint to the vision
tiredness (general weakness - CON)
weakness (decrease in muscle strength - STR)
confusion (trouble understanding the environment - INT or WIS)
dizziness (spinning and unsteady - clearly DEX)
abnormal dreams or nightmares
nausea and vomiting
cramping
loss of appetite (erm, generally from the nausea and cramping? lol)
Long term severe cases can cause death. In modern day terms there is generally a heart medication that is usually the culprit, and dosages are merely changed and monitored to alleviate the symptoms.
Why not do something different with this poison and take some temporary damage against all these stats - maybe a point each? Thats something you generally dont see. While modern day times dont generally see dosages on the level necessary to cause this level of reaction a direct poisoning effort might I suppose. A failed secondary could be the continued progression of lowering stats (perhaps a new save allowed each day to delay progression?)until one or more reach 0, when of course we all know what happens...
I cant begin to imagine what the DC to MAKE it would be, but I would put it AND the price high if it has such drastic results...
yellow tint to the vision
tiredness (general weakness - CON)
weakness (decrease in muscle strength - STR)
confusion (trouble understanding the environment - INT or WIS)
dizziness (spinning and unsteady - clearly DEX)
abnormal dreams or nightmares
nausea and vomiting
cramping
loss of appetite (erm, generally from the nausea and cramping? lol)
Long term severe cases can cause death. In modern day terms there is generally a heart medication that is usually the culprit, and dosages are merely changed and monitored to alleviate the symptoms.
Why not do something different with this poison and take some temporary damage against all these stats - maybe a point each? Thats something you generally dont see. While modern day times dont generally see dosages on the level necessary to cause this level of reaction a direct poisoning effort might I suppose. A failed secondary could be the continued progression of lowering stats (perhaps a new save allowed each day to delay progression?)until one or more reach 0, when of course we all know what happens...
I cant begin to imagine what the DC to MAKE it would be, but I would put it AND the price high if it has such drastic results...
Jesus_marley
First Post
Given that it is a naturally occuring substance found in Foxglove, I would make it fairly easy to prepare. The problem arises in the dosage. A fatal dosage is fairly large (comparatively speaking) and digitalis is not very fast acting. in infants alone, an acutely toxic dosage has a half life of 11 hours. not only that, but it can take up to several hours after administration for symptoms to even appear.
It would be an effective poison if the intention was for a fictional character to administer chronic dosages over time or one large dose with a delayed reaction for dramatic purposes. Perhaps as a plot point or hook.
As a poison that could be used in a combat situation, It would be a good idea to steer away from digitalis and try some other more toxic (and fast acting) natural poisons.
It would be an effective poison if the intention was for a fictional character to administer chronic dosages over time or one large dose with a delayed reaction for dramatic purposes. Perhaps as a plot point or hook.
As a poison that could be used in a combat situation, It would be a good idea to steer away from digitalis and try some other more toxic (and fast acting) natural poisons.
DSC-EricPrice
First Post
Exactly. I'd think of using it in a situation where perhaps a "misguided" druid set about ridding the nearby area of that pesky human infestation. Sneaking into town at night as a rodent, mixing the poison in the town's food supplies, and then slithering back out again, night after night, until the job was done.... hmmm, Im going to have to use that now you know...
Jolly Giant
First Post
Thanks for your replies, everyone, and a special thank you to Eric Price; for his detailed description of how the toxin works. Just what I needed!
Sorry I was so slow to respond myself, but I've been away for a couple of days.
Sorry I was so slow to respond myself, but I've been away for a couple of days.
