I personally think the standard D&D poison system is really, really broken: astronomic cost for very light benefits (low ability damage and not so high DC saves), and mostly unrepresentive of reality anyways.
So, any homebrew systems on those, or good suggestions for systems from d20 books?
I'd really need it to make up my mind about bards and poison (and the thri-kreen's too)
Thanks
Poison Initial Dam: 3d6 = 2000gp (cp)
Poison Secondary: 1d6 = 150 gp
Dexterity Damage: +25% of total cost
Delivery Method: Inhaled +100%
Save Type: Will Save +50%
Save DC: 22 = +150%
Spot DC: 25 = +100%
Total Cost 40,312 GP
Craft(poisonmaking) DC 50
Now this particular one might not help with the high cost of the poisons from the DMG, but keep in mind that this would be one of the most expensive poisons to make. Also it is an inhaled, will save of 22, thats sure to drop just about anyone but a high level mage, cleric or psion, and those are always more fun to hit from behind.
I never found an alternative poison system, but I found something that mixed two fun things together: poison and magic.
I use for one of my DS characters, an assassin/chasseur, the feat Manufacture Magic Poisons and rules from The Complete Book of Eldritch Might (Malhavoc Press).
The mix is imaginative and mostly unappropriate to DS, until you take the angle of the chasseur, perhaps by adding personnaly trained by a SK.
Check-it out for fun!
Poisons have primary damage, then secondary damage. Then secondary damage, the secondary damage, then secondary damage, then...
Point is: You get no antidotes, your pretty much done for. Some might take longer than other to do the job, but poisons are lethal, and in the long run, they'll get you, it might just take longer if your more resistant.
However, onset time (the time before initial damage and between initial and secondary damage) is now variable. The onset times are 1 round, 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day.
There is only one rare way to beat a poison naturally:
For a poison of minor potency (those of small poisonous animals, for exemple) which have a longer onset time for damage (1 day or 1 hour), you may succeed at your saves against the poison long enough for you to recover ability damage naturally while poisoned. If you cure all of your damaged ability points naturally while poisoned, you are no longer poisoned.
For example, lets say you get bitten by a tiny viper, and miss you first save, taking 2 points of ability damage. The onset time of that poison is 1 day. That night, you rest an recover 1 point of ability damage. The next day, you make a new save against secondary damage and succeed. You rest the same night and recover your last famaged ability point. You are then cured and no longer poisoned.
Now, this might also succeed with saves every hour, given some luck, and the proper healing checks by someone doing long term care. It becomes less and less likely with poisons of lesser onset times though.
Other means of curing poison are:
- Spells and powers, their effects are not changed.
- Antidotes. Antidotes are now keyed to each poison, meaning an antidote against a spider's venom has no effect over that of a certain type of snake. However, antidotes have the same effect as a neutralise poison spell on the poison its keyed to. Of course, the spell, or the potion, is more potent because it affects all poisons.
- Antivenoms might be used, granting the original benefits of the antidotes (+4 on saves against poison for some time).
That's it. It just doesn't make any sense to me that poisons are so nonlethal in D&D, and worse, that most of them can be resisted completely fairly easy. Think about putting arsenic into someone's meal, and the guy isn't affected at all! In D&D, that's a daily occurence!
Oh, and the cost would have to be reworked, but I have a good idea where to look for that...