The body of lore on the preparation and use of poisons in
Thedastria is extensive. In most realms this knowledge is shrouded in secrecy, its ancient recipes passed from master to student through generations. Even where this knowhow is easier to come by its use is difficult and dangerous to learn. Many are those who perish learning the art of poisoning.
Thus, the preparation and use of poisons is usually—and wisely—left to specialists. Most noble houses of
Orzalair regularly employ one or several poisoners, to say nothing of
the Avian Crows, who have informal annual contests to recognize the most creative uses of poison in the previous year.
There are three facets to the utilization of poisons. First, the recipe for a poison must be learned. Second, the poison must be prepared from its raw materials. Finally, it must be used (and without harming the wrong target). Each facet requires skill, and is described in the following sections.
Learning Poisons
All ponies with the
Alchemy talent (D8) know how to make at least two poisons. However, unlike potions, you will need to learn more recipes to make more poisons. That’s because poisoning is NOT friendship.
To learn a new recipe, a poisoner must find a teacher, which is generally either a poisoner of greater talent or a written record such as a book or scroll. Most high-level poisoners guard their knowledge jealously, paranoid that it will be used against them or will undermine a monopoly they enjoy in their homeland. Books are hard to find. Those not destroyed by the zealous are often held under lock and key. Several sample books are described in the
Poison Texts section. Game Masters are encouraged to create their own. Where knowledge can be paid for—always and only at the GM’s discretion, and usually requiring an adventure on top of the cash price—grenade recipes can cost 1-10 gp or more.
Given an appropriate source, learning a recipe requires an advanced Difficulty 5
Keen Knowledge: Poison Lore test with a threshold of 6. Each test requires a day of study. Some sources of poison knowledge may be corrupted, partial, or dangerous as the GM sees fit. When learning a recipe from a source like this, the player must roll on the
Poison Research Mishaps table each time they fail a test.
Poison Research Mishaps
| D6 Roll |
Effect |
| 1–3 |
No additional danger. |
| 4–5 |
You suffer the regular effect and basic damage of the poison you’re trying to learn. |
| 6 |
You suffer the regular effect and double the basic damage of the poison you’re trying to learn. |
Preparing Poisons
To prepare one or more doses of a poison requires knowledge of the appropriate recipe, the right raw materials, and time to work. Or you could just roll 2d6 randomly on the Poison Table; the first number refers to the column; the second, the row. But you’re stuck with the poison that you roll.
The cost of the raw materials for each poison or grenade is listed in the
Poisons & Grenades Table (the number before the slash). These prices assume reasonable access to ready avenues of commerce, including black markets for the more dangerous poisons. The GM may always declare that certain poisons cannot be prepared in certain areas because the raw materials are simply not available there, and is free to require social tests for ponies who wish to acquire the ingredients for deadly poisons without attracting the attention of the local authorities.
Ponies can avoid paying (and attracting unwanted attention) by trying to harvest raw materials from the landscape. Harvesting one’s own ingredients requires an
Advanced Keen Knowledge: Natural Lore test with threshold 4 and Difficulty 10 for D12 poisons. Each test takes a day of traveling the landscape. The GM is always free to rule that the ingredients of certain poisons are not available in a given area. You can also obtain ingredients if you choose to use the
Loot Table when looting.
Once the raw materials are in hand, preparing a dose of poison requires an
Advanced Keen Knowledge: Poison Lore test with threshold 4 and Difficulty 8. Each test takes six hours with access to a private place and
appropriate tools of the trade—burners, tubing, vessels, and so forth—in each case. A decent working setup costs 1 gp at the very least and is difficult to transport without damage. Superior and masterwork lab apparatuses cost a great deal more.
On success, the test produces one dose.
The GM may rule that a pony working with substandard or improvised equipment, tainted raw materials, or under chaotic conditions must roll on the
Poison-Making Mishaps table each time they fail a production test. Given potentially fatal outcomes, the GM should provide advance warning in circumstances where failure will warrant use of the mishaps table.
Some creatures may be immune to the effects of certain poisons, or of all poisons. Because each poison differs from others and every creature is different, the GM is always the arbiter of these immunities. In general, the GM should consider potential immunities logically rather than biologically. For example, the incorporeal nature of
shades and
ash wraiths would logically render them immune to the effects of toxins. As another example, although
genlocks,
ghouls, and
blight wolves are all
Blight-tainted, nothing about their physical nature suggests that they should be immune to the effects of poisons.
Poison-Making Mishaps
| D8 Roll |
Effect |
| 1–3 |
No additional danger. |
| 4–5 |
You suffer the regular effect and basic damage of the poison you’re trying to prepare. |
| 6 |
You suffer the regular effect and double the basic damage of the poison you’re trying to prepare, and your tools are damaged or destroyed (GM’s option which one). |
| 7+ |
You die and your tools are destroyed. |
Using Poisons
Unless a given poison’s description says otherwise, poison can be inflicted on unfortunate victims either by ingestion or by coating a bladed weapon in the stuff and stabbing them with it. Grenades are used by throwing them with enough force to destroy the glass flasks in which they’re carried.
Those with the Alchemy talent are able to use poisons and grenades in combat without endangering themselves or their allies. They’ve been taught how to carry glass flasks with due care, how to avoid nicking themselves with toxic blades, and where best to stab and cut their enemies to ensure poisons do their work quickly and effectively. Those without that talent can try to use grenades and poisons, but run the risk of disaster when they do. See the
Armed and Very Dangerous sidebar later on.
You can coat a single melee weapon (from the
Dueling,
Light Blades Group, or
Spears Groups) or three
arrows/
bolts with an activate action. This uses up one dose of poison and both the poison and the weapon must be readied. This can be done prior to a scuffle. Once applied, a poison’s effectiveness on a weapon lasts for the duration of a
scuffle encounter only (whether because it drips off, is worn away by a scabbard, or sees its effectiveness degrade through exposure to the air or elements). A single weapon may only be coated with a single type of poison at a time, and only with a single dose of the stuff. That is, doses can’t be “doubled up.”
The poison is delivered by means of a
special stunt, Envenom, which can be used by any pony attacking with a poison-coated weapon. Note that a single enemy can only suffer the effects of a given type of poison once per encounter. “Concentrated” poisons are distinct from their non-concentrated counterparts for these (and other) purposes.
Using Grenades
Attacking with grenades works differently than poison or normal ranged combat. You don’t need to actually hit a target, just get close enough to catch them in the blast.
All grenades are missile weapons, and their attacks are handled as follows:
- To use a grenade you must first prepare it with a ready action. If you do not throw the grenade the same round you prepare it, you become susceptible to the kaboom! stunt (see Armed and Very Dangerous).
- You must pick a target point. It doesn’t need to be visible to you, but there must be a way for the grenade to get there. You can throw a grenade over a hedge, for example, but you can’t throw one through a stone wall.
- Once the grenade is prepared, you can lob it (a major action).
- When lobbing, make a Difficulty 4 Special Skill: Grenades test. The GM may modify the target number for difficult throws, such as tossing a grenade through a small window.
- If the test is a success, the grenade lands in the target area and explodes. If the test is failed, the grenade misses its target and goes 1d6 yards in a direction of the GM’s choosing (have fun with that, GMs!) before exploding.
- Everypony within 2 yards of the explosion—friend and foe alike—takes damage from an exploding grenade.
You can use the following
Stunts while attacking with a grenade: Defensive Stance, Knock Prone, Lethal Blow, Mighty Blow, Pierce Armor, Seize the Initiative, Skirmish, Stay Aware, Taunt, and Threaten. Each stunt can only affect one target, but if several targets are damaged by the grenade, not all stunts need to be be assigned to the same target. For example, if you catch two
darkspawn in the blast of a grenade and generate 4 stunt points, you could use Pierce Armor on one darkspawn and Knock Prone on the other.
Armed & Very Dangerous
When a pony without the Alchemy talent tries to coat a weapon with poison they must make a
Difficulty 5 Keen Knowledge: Poison Lore test. They suffer a double downgrade if battle has already begun. If the test is failed, the poison does not coat the weapon and the pony immediately suffers both its basic damage (
penetrating as always) and additional effects. Even if the test is passed, the pony (or anyone using their imperfectly coated weapon) must spend 4 stunt points rather than 2 to perform the envenom stunt.
Anypony carrying grenades is asking for trouble, whether they have the Alchemy talent or not. All enemies attacking such ponies can perform the Kaboom! stunt.
Poison & Grenade Details
The
Poisons & Grenades table summarizes Thedastria’s most common toxins and explosives. The following details are provided for each:
Damage
The basic damage the poison or grenade inflicts. Poison damage is always penetrating unless otherwise noted. (Grenade damage is affected normally by armor.)
Additional Effects
The subtle and unusual effects of the poison or grenade, described in greater detail in that poison’s extended description.
Cost
A typical price for the raw materials needed to make a batch of that poison or grenade, followed by a typical price to purchase a single pre-made dose or grenade. Availability is always subject to GM approval, as most of these compounds are very difficult to find on the open market given that few have common or legitimate uses.
Poisons & Grenades
Advanced Poisoning Rules
For groups that prefer their poisons a little less random you can, instead of rolling on the table below, use ingredients to make potions. For this method you will want to keep a track of what ingredients your PCs find (and make sure they get ingredients as loot, or have them available to buy in towns). When an alchemist makes a poison, they must pick two ingredients and mix them together.
If both ingredients are on the table, the poison is a success. Look at where the ingredients meet on the table to discover what potion you made!
If one of the ingredients is on the table, the poison is still a success. Look at where the ingredient is and roll a D6 for the other ingredient to discover what poison was made.
If neither of the ingredients are listed, the poison looks a bit funny and has no magical effect. The poisoner then rolls on the Poison-Making Mishap table.
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