Poison rules?

[Ridley's Cohort]

I really don't see how someone can argue that poisons are worth the money in 3E, in most cases.

True. But that does not necessarily mean the prices should be lowered.

The nominal values of poison are principally a guide for the DM when putting together an NPC. The DMG has recommended wealth guidelines for NPCs and poison is purchased like any other item.

In the context of what is probably a one-shot Assassin/Rogue character, one-shot items like poison being a bit pricey is a good starting point. Otherwise it is easy to put NPCs that look superficially fair, but leave the PCs wheezing and under the weather for a week.

One could argue that the same is true about potions. The difference is that potions are very easily countered and generally do not have lingering effects. One shot offensive items are generally more open to abuse than permenant items.