Poison
When a character is wounded with a poisoned weapon, breathes in a poisonous gas, eats a poisoned piece of food, or touches a poisoned wall, she must make a fortitude saving throw. Failure indicates that she has been poisoned.
After the failure, the poison waits for a certain period (though some are immediate) before coming into effect. After this period, the character takes the effects of the poison at intervals determined by the poison until they make their fortitude save, have a successful Heal check made on them (with a proper medical kit, otherwise it takes a -6), or die/become comatose, depending on the poison.
Certain poisons have a maximum amount of damage that they can deal, and that is noted in their descriptions.
Delivery
There are four methods of getting poisoned.
Contact Merely touching this type of poison necessitates a saving throw. It can be actively delivered via a weapon. Even if a creature has sufficient damage reduction to avoid taking any damage from the attack, the poison can still affect it. A chest or other object can be smeared with contact poison as part of a trap. Many like to smear a glove with this type of poison to make touch attacks with it.
Ingested If you eat or drink it, you are poisoned. They are generally designed to become invisible and tasteless after being applied to food or drink. One of these can easily be given to a Unconscious or Helpless character.
Inhaled One dose, held in a vial or eggshell, spreads to fill the volume of a 10-foot cube. Each creature within the area must make a saving throw. (Holding one’s breath is ineffective against inhaled poisons; they affect the nasal membranes, tear ducts, and other parts of the body.)
Injury This poison must be delivered through a wound. If a creature has sufficient damage reduction to avoid taking any damage from the attack, the poison does not affect it. If the damage is converted in any way by armor, then the poison is not effective. Though bludgeoning weapons do not create open wounds, they do enough for the purpose of this type of poison.
Table: Poisons
| Name | Type | DC | Wait | Effects | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gretroot | Ingested | 30 | Immediate | 1 point con | Every round |
Applying Poison
When applying a Contact or Injury poison, there is always a 5% chance that the character will accidentally poison themselves. Poison Use negates this.
