How many doses of poison can be smeared on a weapon?

[magnusmalkus]

How many doses of poison can be smeared on a weapon at a time?

The SRD says: "One dose of poison smeared on a weapon or some other object affects just a single target. A poisoned weapon or object retains its venom until the weapon scores a hit or the object is touched (unless the poison is wiped off before a target comes in contact with it). Any poison smeared on an object or exposed to the elements in any way remains potent until it is touched or used."

Nowhere under Special Abilities/poison does it say how many doses may be applied. Are we to assume only one dose then? If so, can two doses be applied to a double edged weapon?

 

[ppz]

Considering you would have to handle the already poisoned edge to apply another poison, I'd say no. (The first poison would either get you, or be rubbed off as the second was being applied.)

Or, I guess you could always do something like the 1e potion mixing rules...

 

[Delta]

Just one. (Or perhaps if you want a more technical answer -- all venom applied is wiped off from one single hit.)

This belongs in the Rules Forum, I'll ask a mod to move it.

 

[Xath]

Moved to the appropriate forum.

 

[domino]

Maybe you can apply a dagger's worth of poison to a longsword 6 times. Each "dose" being 1/6th the length of the blade.

And then when you drag the blade against someone, they get 6x the poison.

 

[mvincent]

Maybe you can apply a dagger's worth of poison to a longsword 6 times. Each "dose" being 1/6th the length of the blade.

And then when you drag the blade against someone, they get 6x the poison.

I'm fairly certain that this not the writer's intent (nor would it likely benefit the game).

 

[Slaved]

Some poisons mitigate the effects of other poisons sometimes even to the point of countering completely.

Dungeons and Dragons is too abstract to worry about that though so perhaps to simulate that in an abstract way a weapon could hold multiple doses of different poisons with each poisons save difficulty decreasing by 2 points. Multiple doses of the same poison on a weapon would do nothing special by assuming an abstract threshold amount for poisons from any single administration.

With an appropriate craft (poisonmaking) check it might be possible to reduce this penalty or even spend some time crafting two poisons which are already mixed together to produce a new poison.

 

[magnusmalkus]

I just wondered if I put 4 doses of poison on blade, if it would be good for 4 strikes. Or at the very least, if I had a sword (where both sides were bladed) if I could coat both sides and hit once with one side, and a second (maybe on a different opponent) a second time.

/shrug

 

[domino]

Probably not to the first, definitely to the second.

 

[Jhaelen]

It doesn't matter how many doses of poison are applied to a blade. After a single hit all of it will be wiped off without any additional benefit from dose 2 to n.

In Complete Adventurer (IIRC) there's an item that may help you to do what you'd like to achieve:
It's a scabbard with a poison reservoir that will coat the blade in a dose of poison after sheathing it until the reservoir is empty. You won't be able to use this to get a full attack of poisoned attacks, though.