Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
5E: Pick Your Poison
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 5914104" data-attributes="member: 50987"><p>I wanna kiss you but your lips are venomous. You're poison.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq4j1LtCdww&ob=av2n"]Poison, Alice Cooper - YouTube[/ame]</p><p></p><p></p><p>I think this is what they tried to do in the third edition, with the Initial and Secondary damage effects. And as much as I love that edition of the game, the poison mechanics have always been a bit too clunky and needlessly complicated.</p><p></p><p>Maybe I could get on board with this if poison didn't require multiple save throws. Something like "Poison (Ex): Bite, Fort DC 15 partial. Target takes 1d6 points of poison damage, and takes +1 point per hour on a failed save."</p><p></p><p>I like save-or-die poisons too, but I don't want them all the time. I imagine it would make an interesting plot hook for a character to be struck with a magical poison that will slay him unless he finds a cure before sunset. But this would be a plot element, not a game mechanic...if every poison behaved this way, it would quickly become more trouble than it was worth.</p><p></p><p>I never noticed a problem with the "envenomed weapon" thing, honestly. So the thief had a dagger that would add 1d6 points of poison damage to every single hit? Big deal, the fighter had a flaming sword that did the same thing. Poisoned weapons only become a problem when we start mixing them with other exotic effects, like paralysis or sudden death. But if poison just deals straight damage (like acid, fire, cold, sonic, force, and practically every other effect in the game), it's hardly a game-breaker. Some creatures are immune to fire, others are immune to poison, some can only be harmed by silver...</p><p></p><p>Agreed. Combat sequences already take too long to resolve. Multiple effects with multiple durations and save throws would be a step in the wrong direction, IMO.</p><p></p><p>Maybe the answer is to bring back the old Poison Type Table, with a couple dozen different types of poison in it.</p><p></p><p>Poison Type/Save DC/Effect</p><p></p><p>Type A / 10 / 1 point of damage</p><p>Type B / 11 / 2 points of damage</p><p>Type C / 12 / 1d4 points of damage</p><p>Type D / 14 / 1d6 points of damage</p><p>...</p><p>Type H / 12 / 1 point of damage per round until cured</p><p>Type I / 14 / 2 points of damage per round until cured</p><p>Type J / 16 / 3 points of damage per round until cured</p><p>...</p><p>Type P / 12 / Target is paralyzed for 1d3 rounds</p><p>Type Q / 12 / Target is stunned for 1d3 rounds</p><p>Type R / 12 / Target is dazed for 1d4 rounds</p><p>Type S / 12 / Target falls unconscious for 1d4 rounds</p><p>Type T / 16 / Target is petrified</p><p>...</p><p>Type V / 20 / Target dies in 1 hour unless cured</p><p>Type W / 22 / Target dies in 10 minutes unless cured</p><p>Type X / 22 / Target dies in 1 round unless cured</p><p></p><p>This would allow the DM to literally "pick his poison" when deciding how the poison mechanics should work in his campaign.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CleverNickName, post: 5914104, member: 50987"] I wanna kiss you but your lips are venomous. You're poison. [CENTER][ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq4j1LtCdww&ob=av2n"]Poison, Alice Cooper - YouTube[/ame][/CENTER] I think this is what they tried to do in the third edition, with the Initial and Secondary damage effects. And as much as I love that edition of the game, the poison mechanics have always been a bit too clunky and needlessly complicated. Maybe I could get on board with this if poison didn't require multiple save throws. Something like "Poison (Ex): Bite, Fort DC 15 partial. Target takes 1d6 points of poison damage, and takes +1 point per hour on a failed save." I like save-or-die poisons too, but I don't want them all the time. I imagine it would make an interesting plot hook for a character to be struck with a magical poison that will slay him unless he finds a cure before sunset. But this would be a plot element, not a game mechanic...if every poison behaved this way, it would quickly become more trouble than it was worth. I never noticed a problem with the "envenomed weapon" thing, honestly. So the thief had a dagger that would add 1d6 points of poison damage to every single hit? Big deal, the fighter had a flaming sword that did the same thing. Poisoned weapons only become a problem when we start mixing them with other exotic effects, like paralysis or sudden death. But if poison just deals straight damage (like acid, fire, cold, sonic, force, and practically every other effect in the game), it's hardly a game-breaker. Some creatures are immune to fire, others are immune to poison, some can only be harmed by silver... Agreed. Combat sequences already take too long to resolve. Multiple effects with multiple durations and save throws would be a step in the wrong direction, IMO. Maybe the answer is to bring back the old Poison Type Table, with a couple dozen different types of poison in it. Poison Type/Save DC/Effect Type A / 10 / 1 point of damage Type B / 11 / 2 points of damage Type C / 12 / 1d4 points of damage Type D / 14 / 1d6 points of damage ... Type H / 12 / 1 point of damage per round until cured Type I / 14 / 2 points of damage per round until cured Type J / 16 / 3 points of damage per round until cured ... Type P / 12 / Target is paralyzed for 1d3 rounds Type Q / 12 / Target is stunned for 1d3 rounds Type R / 12 / Target is dazed for 1d4 rounds Type S / 12 / Target falls unconscious for 1d4 rounds Type T / 16 / Target is petrified ... Type V / 20 / Target dies in 1 hour unless cured Type W / 22 / Target dies in 10 minutes unless cured Type X / 22 / Target dies in 1 round unless cured This would allow the DM to literally "pick his poison" when deciding how the poison mechanics should work in his campaign. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
5E: Pick Your Poison
Top