How long does it take to poison a blade?

[welby]

Should be an easy one, but for some reason my group couldn't find it last night. How long does it take to poison a blade. Where is this rule located?

*editted - what kind of a title was that, anyway

 

[Fester]

Should be an easy one, but for some reason my group couldn't find it last night. How long does it take to poison a blade. Where is this rule located?

I don't know of any such rule. The rules on poison can be found in the dmg (3.5, p 296), which highlight the perils of using poison when applying and using it (some PrCs, such as Assassins, are specially trained to use poison).

Since I assume you're talking about applying it in combat, you could run with something like:

It takes a full round action, provoking an AoO to any that threaten, with the usual chance of making an error with the poison. If they get hit while they're applying it, have them make a concentration check (DC10 + damage) or... oops, time for a Fort save

I guess you could also let them rush it (standard action) with a greater chance of making a mistake.

 

[MichaelH]

I did not find a specific rule, either, but applying an oil requires a standard action so I would say applying poison to a blade would be a standard action. Of course, unless you have the poison ready, you also have to retrieve the poison from your pouch or backpack and this requires a move action, so it would take the entire round to get the poison on the blade.

 

[welby]

Thanks for checking. We found the same info in the dmg and were shocked to find that it didnt say how long it took to apply poison. We ruled that it was a full round action just to apply it, because it was not something that seemed to be able to be rushed.

 

[Sejs]

I'd say a standard action, going off the same reasoning MichaelH mentioned (std action to rub on an oil), assuming you have the poison on hand and ready to go. For retrieving it, I'd just run that the same as retrieving a potion.