Poison and Booze

[Dross]

I'd say that immunity to poison would include alcohol because it is a poison (and not all poisons kill, some debilitate) and mechanically there is no difference in the effects between the two sources of debilitation. It also allows for some RP oppotunities which should be encouraged.

Purify Food and Drink:
This spell should also work to change alcohol to pure water as well (unless you call it a drink of significance which a dwarf may well do).

I once threatened to purify a 1,000 year old elvish wine that was going to be a gift to an elvish Lady with this spell.

 

[Christian]

I so love finding my comments on zombie threads ...

My newest thought on seeing this idea is, monks planning to go with the Drunken Master PrC need to make sure to switch before they get Diamond Body.

 

[tzor]

If a character is immune to poison, are they also immune to the effects of booze (and other drugs)?

Offhand I would say yes. The one big difference between booze and other forms of poison is that alcochol metabolizes in the body turning into something non toxic in the process. It also has a vaporization point lower than the average body temperature and thus is also expired through sweat.

Personally I would hand wave total immunity. If I had the chance I would debate ad-nausem on whether or not the process of the kidneys working overtime to filter out alcochol is a part of the poison effect. Dehydration is another effect of booze, when combined with some common diseases in some people the results can be fatal.

One can, of course, take this to a high extreeme. Hot spices produce a chemical reaction on the tongue which produces happy endorphins as a result. Does immunity to poison mean you might consider most chilli cookouts bland? Hard to say.

One might limit the ability to stoppnig at the point where it would do any physical damage to the body. A bee sting might still give a rash, booze might give a buzz, and hot peppers might give a sensation and reaction, but nothing to the point of attribute damage. In this case you get the initial "buzz" but you don't start behaving like a drunken fool because your stats start gettnig impared.

Either way can work.

 

[Farganger]

I think you could go either way with this.

The "alchohol is a poison" approach seems reasonable, but can't be directly proved or disproved from the rules. Moreover, it depends on a specific and somewhat vexed definition of "poison".

There are plenty of substances, in concentration, that alter brain chemistry or might be defined as a poison in some sense. Caffeine and refined sugar springs to mind . . .

Does immunity to poison prevent a "sugar high" or caffeine rush? What about the drowsiness brought on by too much roasted turkey/tryptophan?