Would immunity to poison protect you from unbreathable air?

[Plane Sailing]

I think I'd say that technically poison protection wouldn't protect them (because of the suffocation argument), but in practice I'd rule that immunity to poison would be enough and leave suffocation for situations where I've specifically arranged for suffocation to be the threat.

Of course, if there was an anti-magic zone I'd allow that to nullify the heroes feast poison immunity, but I'm just that kinda guy, y'know.

Cheers

 

[FrankTrollman]

If you give someone 25 liters of oxygen via a non-rebreather mask, that's close to 100% oxygen.

Unfortunately, the body reacts to those levels, and begins shutting down portions of the lung. Keeping someone on 100% Oxygen can exacerbate peoples' emphysema by deteriorating the body's absorbtion rate, and thus its ability to handle normal air.

But it's not specifically "poisonous" in the sense of causing immediate irreversable harm.

-Frank

 

[TuDogz]

Presuming your example is not arbitrary...

(and FT basically said this already.)

It depends on the DM's perseption of what makes the atmosphere inhospitable.

If it were MY volcanic atmosphere the immunity from poison would help with the noncorrosive toxins in the air. But I would also require the PCs to have some form of protection from elements (acid) or they would take corrosion damage every round.

Per the discussion above this presumes that oxygen is available, otherwise they'll need a necklace of adaptation or equivalent.

 

[Saeviomagy]

If you give someone 25 liters of oxygen via a non-rebreather mask, that's close to 100% oxygen.

Unfortunately, the body reacts to those levels, and begins shutting down portions of the lung. Keeping someone on 100% Oxygen can exacerbate peoples' emphysema by deteriorating the body's absorbtion rate, and thus its ability to handle normal air.

But it's not specifically "poisonous" in the sense of causing immediate irreversable harm.

-Frank

If that's the case, then the question becomes "does immunity to poison protect you from the effects (including physical addiction) of drugs".

I think that the answer to that would have to be yes.

It's easy to see the parallels between too much oxygen removing your ability to breathe normal air due to the adjustment of your body, and the functioning of a drug which replaces a vital chemical, causing your body to stop producing it, which is the mechanism through which physical addiction typically occurs.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Picture an atmosphere full of poison gas; let's say the bottom on a volcano. Normally, it will kill a PC licketty-split who doesn't have a spell like Filter up.

But what if that PC ate a Heroes Feast that morning, and is thus immune to poison? Would that count? I'm honestly not sure. It isn't a typical injected poison, but...

I'm gonna go against the norm here on this thread and say no. Fumes within and underneath a volcano are likely to be from impurities released from the nearby rocks by extreme heat. This could include such things as sulfur and nitrogen, which will likely undergo reactions with released water to form nitrous and sulfuric acid.

That said, IIRC volcanoes don't often have a bottom - they usually link directly to underground lava flows.

I could ask a geology friend of mine what she thinks. In fact, I think I will, I'm kind of curious.

On a tangent - http://http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/ice/ - Ice Volcanos.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Some links, since my geology friend isn't online...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/volcano/anatomy.html - Cool picture of the anatomy. Very in depth.

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/nature/0003/volcano.noshake/frameset.exclude.html - Funny little animation, shows the basics. Notable is that the pressure from released gasses is enough to push the magma, and likely people, up.

http://www.islandscene.com/natural/1999/990407/gases/ - Interesting, if short and not in depth, mentions sulfur dioxide (I'll look up properties). Also mentions acid rain resulting from volcanic eruptions. Another site confirms the main three gases to be carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and water.

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Projects/Emissions/vgas_fsheet.html - more gases, looks more official, and adds hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid to the mix.

http://chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com/result.asp - general info on sulfur dioxide.

So in general, no, Heroes Feast would not protect you.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Two more points -

One, my geology friend also agrees on carbon and sulfur dioxides, and water vapor. Not any surprise.

Two, from the MSDS for sulfur dioxide... it's interesting

"Sulfur Dioxide is a colorless, non-flammable toxic gas with a distinct odor similar to burning sulfur.... Sulfur Dioxide is irritating to the respiratory system and to contaminated skin and eyes. Exposure to high concentrations of this gas may be fatal. Contact with rapidly expanding gases or contact with the liquid may cause frostbite. The gas reacts with water or moisture to generate sulfurous acid, which can also be corrosive to contaminated tissue."

It also mentions that the presence of high amounts of SO2, and logically CO2, generally create an oxygen-poor area, not suitable for breathing.

You're gonna need something a LOT stronger than Heroes' Feast to protect you if you're actually in the volcano, or near the major lava vents.

 

[Halivar]

Thankfully, all our characters live in a fantasy realm where this "oxygen" nonsense doesn't exit.

Everybody knows air is made from ether and you only need to breathe to exhale the bad humors.

 

[youspoonybard]

I think, in DnD terms, SO2 is considered a sort of poison.

It's really down to the 2 concepts -

1) Is the air a poison (That is, will breathing it have a negative effect on me?)

2) Is the air capable of sustaining life (That is, am I not suffocating?)

Poison Immunity would cover the first, but not the second.

 

[paulewaug]

Well I don't have an extensive knowledge of atmospheres and all the physics involved although fortunately there are a few here that do

But my DM opinion is (because it's hard to mesh "realism" with playability)
That you have to really decide how you want it to go as the DM.
I am inclined to agree with the ideas that it would be harder to survive in that environment than just using some kind of protection from the poison since the intense areas of a volcano should be just about the most extreme condition characters could ever find themselves exposed too.

The combined effects of heat, poison, and acid are all great considerations and requiring protection from all of those things is a great idea as it will really get the characters on their toes!


Also...even if all those things are dealt with so as to not actually be taking any damage, the amount of "usable atmosphere" could still be pretty weak and to make things rough but do-able for the characters you could treat the usable air as being "thin" and making it Very Easy to become fatigued.