D&D 5E Characters using elite warrior drow poison

[Crimson Longinus]

How do I handle it?

''Sadly, the poison is expended / has lost potency/ is a blessing from Lolth, and No.''

Sounds boring and unnecessarily gamey to me. Couple of one use poison doses won't break anything, and they give the players an interesting choice to when to use that non-replenishable resource.

 

[Charlaquin]

it is likely that the Drow warriors only have a couple of doses of poison. - possibly kept in sealed scabbards/bolt cases. - when confronting anything as threatening as a PC party, they break the seal, draw the weapon, and the poison on it lasts for every attack for the next minute.

I like this one a lot. It both explains why the drow don’t have to use an action to reapply the poison every round (it lasts for a minute) and prevents their enemies from stealing it.

 

[Flamestrike]

Sounds boring and unnecessarily gamey to me.

It is gamey. As per Crawford, that's the intent. The poison damage is only there to increase the Drow Elite Warrior to an appropriate DPR based on its CR. It's not intended for PC use any more than the Necrotic damage dealt by a Death Knight is.

You can just fluff it as a gift of Lolth for her favoured champions that ceases when the monster is killed or Lolth withdraws her favour.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

It is gamey. As per Crawford, that's the intent. The poison damage is only there to increase the Drow Elite Warrior to an appropriate DPR based on its CR. It's not intended for PC use any more than the Necrotic damage dealt by a Death Knight is.

You can just fluff it as a gift of Lolth for her favoured champions that ceases when the monster is killed or Lolth withdraws her favour.

As I said, boring. Letting the PCs get couple of doses will make the players feel good, offer them an interesting tactical choice in future and make the world seem more real.

 

[aco175]

You could have the poison as part of their weapon. Now the PCs could drop their weapon, most likely magical at this level, to gain a drow weapon. This leaves you to determine how much poison is left and how to refill it and if drow weapons fall apart in sunlight. It makes it less appealing, but still an option for a while. I agree that it is mostly a game mechanic, but some games deal with this and things like gathering dragon teeth for special potions or hides for magical armors and such. There can be room for both types of gaming.

 

[werecorpse]

I find taking this stuff tends to be a specific player thing, some see the monster more as a stat block and don’t bother trying to take their weapons etc, this makes it easy but they may be a bit less invested in exploring the world. So while I don’t want to screw with balance I like to encourage the ones who like to poke and pry. I like the “being an elite drow means certain magic that enhances the specific poison potency“ as well as the trapped weapons idea. That makes the getting use out of their weapons a fun side issue. Maybe their weapons are also “blessed“ or they have a technique along with their dancing lights ability where a single dose of poison lasts for all attacks for a minute rather than a single attack lessening the number they would likely carry.

just remembered the NPC assassin who seems to carry Wyvern poison - probably knows the “lasts lots of attacks” trick as well.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions, the players will likely be coming across some elite drow soon and being forewarned about how to deal with this stuff allows me to give the Explorer player a small benefit for being prepared to dig but saves me having to undo some GM balance error that results in either the whole party doing +3d6 poison damage for several of the subsequent encounters.

 

[Bayushi_seikuro]

I like the concept of the scabbard being the mechanism of applying the poison. Maybe the scabbard has 1d4 'doses' in it when the party recovers it. Takes your bonus action to 'apply' the poison by hitting a button while you draw the weapon.

Using this also means they're not adding the extra damage on top of a favored item - if you want to use the poison, you're going to be stuck with this rapier

 

[BacchusNL]

I also think it's no problem at all to make stuff like this available to your players. I've always found it weird that there are poisoner kit proffeciencies in the game and a list of different poisons, their effects and cost in the DMG (although the mechanics are kind of clunky and the DC's terrible) but nothing is ever done with it.

I'm not saying setting up poisoned weapons should be part of every fight (although for some character concepts I can see how it could be) but if you put a Wyvern or Purple Wurm in your game and you know your rogue has a poisoner kit proffeciency then you are doing him a disservice if you don't atleast consider the question "can I harvest it's stinger for poison?", I think. As long as it's a limited recource (and in the case of drow poison one they can't take above ground, for example) it should be no problem. Just be wary when players start asking things like "So have there been any sightings of Giant Snakes or Carrion Crawlers lately?" if you want to keep the supply in your own hands ;P

 

[SkidAce]

Having a magical component is fine. But if it is something that could theoretically be replicated, that just sounds like a potential campaign arc.

Let's see, first you have to... SNIPPED ... Just in a slightly less direct way.

I agree with all of this, except maybe the years part.

 

[SkidAce]

It is gamey. As per Crawford, that's the intent. The poison damage is only there to increase the Drow Elite Warrior to an appropriate DPR based on its CR. It's not intended for PC use any more than the Necrotic damage dealt by a Death Knight is.

You can just fluff it as a gift of Lolth for her favoured champions that ceases when the monster is killed or Lolth withdraws her favour.

If the necrotic damage from a Death Knight is part of its sword, then the players can aquire it. If its part of the death knights nature (enveloping the sword so to speak) then they cant.

Things like the drow poison seem "obviously" items to me, but expectations may vary.