How does Delay Poison work?

[rrealm]

How does Delay Poison work? Here is the spell's description from the SRD.

Delay Poison
Conjuration (Healing)
Level: Brd 2, Clr 2, Drd 2, Pal 2, Rgr 1
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: 1 hour/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

The subject becomes temporarily immune to poison. Any poison in its system or any poison to which it is exposed during the spell’s duration does not affect the subject until the spell’s duration has expired. Delay poison does not cure any damage that poison may have already done.​

Suppose a character is protected with delay poison for seven hours. Shortly after having the spell cast on him, he is attacked by lots of spiders. He gets bitten a few times. Well say, four times from medium spiders which requires him to make a fortitude save DC 12 or take 1d4 strength damage and then one minute later, make another Fort. check DC 12 or take another 1d4 strength damage.

When this character's spell wears off, does he immediatly make 4 fort saves, and if still alive, make another 4 fort saves one minute later even though the attacks were hours earlier and the secondary damage for this poison is only 1 minute? That is my impression I get from the spell. Would this character even know if he needs to worry about finding a person to cast Neutralize Poison on him? The poison hasn't affected him after all. Would you say that delay poison has absolutly no bearing on being able to affect the poison except for it's onset time? I.E. Only gives you the option of having the time to find antitoxin potions or a character willing to cast neutralize poison. And if you didn't have either of these resources, you simply wouldn't die during the battle, just afterwords once the poison kicks in.

 

[Darklone]

As written, you'd need to make the saves after the spell wears off. Since that makes this spell nearly useless... I use only the first sentence.

 

[MerakSpielman]

I've never found this spell useful. At low levels, it doesn't delay the poison long enough to get to a city and be cured. At higher levels, you have neutralize poison or (lesser) restoration anyway.

 

[rrealm]

From the SRD

Neutralize Poison
Conjuration (Healing)
Level: Brd 4, Clr 4, Drd 3, Pal 4, Rgr 3
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature or object of up to 1 cu. ft./level touched
Duration: 10 min./level
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless, object)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless, object)

You detoxify any sort of venom in the creature or object touched. A poisoned creature suffers no additional effects from the poison, and any temporary effects are ended, but the spell does not reverse instantaneous effects, such as hit point damage, temporary ability damage, or effects that don’t go away on their own.

The creature is immune to any poison it is exposed to during the duration of the spell. Unlike with delay poison, such effects aren’t postponed until after the duration —the creature need not make any saves against poison effects applied to it during the length of the spell.

This spell can instead neutralize the poison in a poisonous creature or object for the duration of the spell, at the caster’s option.

Arcane Material Component: A bit of charcoal.​

After looking up this spell in the SRD, it answered my own question.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Not at all. What it enables you to do is find some antitoxin and make the heal checks to treat the poison all before it does ANY damage. Ordinarily, you'd take initial damage before being able to take the antitoxin. Ordinarily, you'd be rushed with the heal check and wouldn't necessarily be able to get out the healer's kit, consult some books (perhaps another circumstance bonus), get the bard to inspire competence, cast guidance, and then take ten to cure the poison.

Done right, Delay Poison is nearly is good as Neutralize Poison...and it lasts a lot longer.

As written, you'd need to make the saves after the spell wears off. Since that makes this spell nearly useless... I use only the first sentence.

 

[hong]

Not at all. What it enables you to do is find some antitoxin and make the heal checks to treat the poison all before it does ANY damage. Ordinarily, you'd take initial damage before being able to take the antitoxin. Ordinarily, you'd be rushed with the heal check and wouldn't necessarily be able to get out the healer's kit, consult some books (perhaps another circumstance bonus), get the bard to inspire competence, cast guidance, and then take ten to cure the poison.

Done right, Delay Poison is nearly is good as Neutralize Poison...and it lasts a lot longer.

That's assuming you cast delay poison before actually getting into the fight, though. Which, AFAIK, never happens.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

That rather depends upon the situation. If my character is hunting wyverns, I'm going to cast it in the morning, possibly use a rod of extension to make it last 12-18 hours and quit hunting when the duration wears out. If I have reason to suspect that we may face poison during the day (from a divination or something similar), I will take similar precautions.

For mid-level battle clerics, Delay Poison 24/7 is a very good use of a 2nd level spell slot or two and a lesser metamagic rod of extend spell. Keep it up all day--it's not as if you were going to use those second level slots in combat anyway so having it help you once per six to eight fights is still a worthwhile investment.

Once you get access to Hero's Feast, it's less of an issue but can keep you immune to poison during the 12 hours that Hero's Feast isn't active.

That's assuming you cast delay poison before actually getting into the fight, though. Which, AFAIK, never happens.