Increasing Save DC's for Poisons

[thorian]

The web enhancement for the Epic Level Handbook has some interesting poisons: Epic Insights - Book of Vile Darkness
While the DCs are not too high, the poisons are intermixed with antimagic, so victims won't get most of their bonuses against them.

 

[concerro]

Dude, this is a hypothetical supernatural feat: it doesn't need to make sense. Any more than bat guano turns into a fireball.

Unless, you can explain how that works.

You can be against having to use a supernatural feat, but the fact that it is supe4rnatural makes sense wth respect to its effect.

It should make sense to an extent. Suspension of belief only goes so far. There should at least be some time of fluff that explains how you can change the save it affects. Even the fireball makes sense because it is being transformed by the caster's ability to control elemental forces. How quick you can move has nothing to do with how tough you are. If it were to affect will I might buy the person's force of will to push his body to the point where the poison had no affect.

 

[Jack Simth]

Well, to replace ingested poisons, you could use "potions" of hostile spells. E.g., a Potion of Extended Acid Arrow (at a high caster level, so it continues for a long time) would do very mean things to anyone drinking it. As would a caster level 11 potion of Scorching Ray.

Also... there's a feat specifically for adding the users primary casting modifier to the save DC for magic items...

A little harder to apply that to weapon-based poisons, but when it comes down to it, that's a GOOD thing. You don't really want the ranger spitting out six Save-Or-Lose arrows per round that work on 75% of targets - especially not if the save DC is high enough to make it chancy for the target.

 

[Kask]

the poisons are intermixed with antimagic, so victims won't get most of their bonuses against them.

Like what? Fort save, racial bonuses, con bonus. None are effected by antimagic.

 

[irdeggman]

Like what? Fort save, racial bonuses, con bonus. None are effected by antimagic.

Any spell or item that boosts Con and thus the fort save would be negated.

I believe that is what he is referring to.

Magical enhancement bonuses would be negated.

Any spell that would give a reroll of a saving throw would likewise not work, well I would think it wouldn't but I haven't read the anti-magic description of the epic poison reference.

 

[Kask]

Any spell or item that boosts Con and thus the fort save would be negated.

I believe that is what he is referring to.

Oh, a tiny % of total for a Fort save. Not very scary.

 

[Starbuck_II]

Oh, a tiny % of total for a Fort save. Not very scary.

Dude, for PCs Cloaks of Resistance make up 1/4 of your save bonus usually.
This is why they are one of the big 5 magic items: Magic items it is bad idea to not get upgrades versions.

 

[Runestar]

Dude, for PCs Cloaks of Resistance make up 1/4 of your save bonus usually.
This is why they are one of the big 5 magic items: Magic items it is bad idea to not get upgrades versions.

It would be useless on monsters, who already get very high fort saves by virtue of having tons of racial HD and obscene con scores, without relying on magic gear/spells. So if you are a PC looking to get more use out of poisons, that is of limited use.

 

[Kask]

Dude, for PCs Cloaks of Resistance make up 1/4 of your save bonus usually.

Really? I didn't know cloaks grew on trees. I've never seen a party where more than one PC had a cloak of resistance...

 

[Jack Simth]

Really? I didn't know cloaks grew on trees. I've never seen a party where more than one PC had a cloak of resistance...

So ... do you generally play low-wealth campaigns, does nobody take any Crafting feats (Resistance is on most casters' spell lists - and it's a cantrip), do your groups generally end up with no time to craft, or do people in your play groups usually have better things to do with that item slot?