POISON
Poison can show up on weapons;
on darts, needles, or spikes in traps; in
food or drink offered by a treacherous
foe; and anywhere else you did not
expect it. Human foes are not the only
ones who can poison you. Snakes,
insects, and certain other creatures
have natural poison (usually blood
agents) – and eating the wrong plant
or animal may treat you to a dose of
digestive poison.
DESCRIBING
POISONS
A poison’s description includes its
name, means of delivery, delay, resist-
ance roll, effects (injury and symp-
toms), and cost per dose – and possi-
bly notes on what constitutes a
“dose,” how to use or conceal the poi-
son, and how to treat it (including any
antidotes).
A poison can have multiple sets of
effects. For example, tear gas is both a
respiratory agent (with one set of
effects) and a vision-based agent (with
other effects).
Delivery
A given poison might reach its vic-
tim in any of several ways:
Blood Agent: The poison must
reach a mucous membrane (eyes,
open mouth, nose, etc.) or an open
wound. If it is sprayed or spat, it must
actually strike one of these vulnerable
areas (so a spitting cobra must target
the face). If it is delivered as a gas or
wide-area spray, only those with the
Sealed advantage (p. 82) – or with one
of Doesn’t Breathe (p. 49) or Filter
Lungs (p. 55) and one of Nictitating
Membrane (p. 71) or Protected Vision
(p. 78) – are immune. These advan-
tages might be natural or provided by
equipment.
Contact Agent: The poison must be
inhaled or touch skin to take effect. If
it is use to poison a melee weapon, the
weapon must hit an unarmored and
unclad hit location for the poison to
affect the target. If it is delivered as a
gas or wide-area spray, it affects every-
one in the area who lacks the Sealed
advantage (whether natural or provid-
ed by a suit, vehicle, etc.).
Digestive Agent: The victim must
swallow the poison. This is typical of
poisonous plants and toxic substances
such as arsenic. If the poison has a
slight but distinctive taste (e.g.,
cyanide), the GM can allow the victim
a Taste roll or Perception-based
Poisons roll – at a basic -2, but +2 per
doubling of dosage – to notice it in
time. Poisons that are easier to detect
give a bonus; those that are harder to
detect, or whose taste is masked by
suitable food or drink, give a penalty.
To force someone to swallow a poison
rather than spit it out, you must grap-
ple him by the head or neck and main-
tain your hold for 10 seconds.
Follow-Up Poison: The poison must
be placed on a piercing or impaling
weapon, or injected using a hollow
projectile, hypodermic needle, etc. If
the weapon penetrates DR and does
any damage, it delivers the poison.
Most “follow-up” poisons are simply
blood or contact agents injected into
the body.
Respiratory Agent: The poison is a
gas that only affects those who inhale
it into their lungs. Delivery is usually
via an area or cone attack (e.g., gas
grenade, spray gun, or dragon’s
breath), but an entire atmosphere
could be poisonous! Only Doesn’t
Breathe and Filter Lungs protect com-
pletely against respiratory agents – but
a victim who makes a Sense roll to
notice the poison in time may hold his
breath (see Holding Your Breath,
p. 351). Unconscious or stunned vic-
tims inhale automatically. An impro-
vised mask, such as a wet towel over
the face, gives +1 to HT to resist.
Sense-Based Agent: The poison
affects the victim through a specific
sense. It has no effect on those who
lack that sense or have appropriate
protection. A smell-based agent is usu-
ally a foul stench that induces nausea;
suitable protection is nose plugs, a res-
pirator, or the Protected Sense (Smell)
advantage. A vision-based agent is
generally a cloud of gas that irritates
the eyes; appropriate protection is a
gas mask, goggles, or the Protected
Sense (Vision) advantage. See Sense-
Based (p. 109).
Delay
Most poisons require a few sec-
onds to several hours to take effect.
This is nearly always true for digestive
agents.
Delays given are for victims with
Size Modifier 0. The victim’s size mod-
ifies delay: each +1 to SM doubles the
delay; each -1 to SM halves the delay.
For example, if the delay is 1 hour,
someone with SM -2 is affected in only
15 minutes.
Resistance Roll
Some poisons give the victim a HT
roll to resist. Make this roll after the
delay, if any, has passed. There is often
a modifier: a mild poison might call
for a HT+2 roll, while one that is
almost impossible to resist might
require a HT-8 roll! HT to HT-4 is typ-
ical. DR never affects this roll.
If you’re in a poisonous environ-
ment (like a gas cloud or toxic atmos-
phere) and make your initial HT roll,
you must roll again once per second
until the poison affects you or you
leave the area. If the poison has a
delay, roll after each delay period
instead.
Some poisons are specific to cer-
tain species and do not affect others.
Others are easier or harder for partic-
ular species to resist. These effects are
up to the GM.
Effects of Poison
The most common effect of poison
is toxic or fatigue damage. Mild poi-
sons might only inflict 1 HP or FP;
more severe poisons might inflict 1d
or more. DR has no effect on this dam-
age. These HP and FP losses heal nor-
mally, but if the poison is cyclic (see
below), no healing is possible until
after the final cycle!
Damaging poisons sometimes
affect their victims gradually, causing
damage each time a specified interval
of time passes. The description of
such a poison specifies the length of
this interval and the total number of
cycles. The interval may vary from
one second (for a fast-acting agent)
to one day (for a slow poison). The
total number of cycles may be two to
several dozen.
If a resistible poison is cyclic, the
victim gets a new HT roll to resist
every cycle. On a success, he shakes
off the poison; on a failure, an addi-
tional cycle of damage occurs. Note
that even a poison that inflicts 1 HP of
injury per day can be lethal if it’s hard
to resist and lasts for two dozen cycles!
A poison always has some symp-
toms. The basic damage includes
symptoms such as swelling, headache,
and fever. Poisons that inflict toxic
damage may have more severe symp-
toms that occur automatically after
the poison causes enough injury (usu-
ally 1/3, 1/2, or 2/3 of the victim’s HP).
For example, a poison might result in
blindness once the victim loses 1/2 his
HP. Symptoms vanish when the vic-
tim’s HP rise above this threshold.
Some poisons cause effects other
than injury or fatigue, including
attribute penalties, irritating or inca-
pacitating conditions (see Afflictions,
p. 428), temporary disadvantages, or
even the removal of existing advan-
tages (e.g., an alchemical poison that
negates Magery). The victim usually
gets a resistance roll against these
effects, and the effects always have a
specific duration. The default dura-
tion is a number of minutes equal to
the margin of failure on the resistance
roll. In a poisonous environment, a
failed resistance roll means the effects
last for as long as you’re in the envi-
ronment plus the duration.
Cost Per Dose
It is up to the GM whether a par-
ticular poison is for sale – it might be
impossible to extract in a useful
form, or the authorities might want
to keep it off the market. If a poison
is available, its cost often reflects how
difficult it is to obtain, not its effec-
tiveness. In most game worlds, peo-
ple who sell poisons are criminals. All
of these factors make cost per dose
highly variable. See Poison Examples
(p. 439) for suggestions . . . but the
GM is free to use whatever prices he
feels are reasonable.
Dosage
The statistics given in a poison’s
description always assume one “dose”:
enough poison to produce the
described effects in one victim. Some
additional notes:
Contact Agents: One dose of a con-
tact agent coats or affects a single hit
location.
Gases and Sprays: One dose of a
respiratory agent, or a blood or con-
tact agent in gas or spray form, affects
one hit location on one victim. For a
respiratory agent, this must be the
face. Ten doses are enough to affect
everyone in a room (say, a 2-yard
radius).
Poisoned Weapons: One dose of a
follow-up poison envenoms the tip of
a piercing or impaling weapon, or fills
a hypo. Poisoning the edge of a
weapon, so that a cutting attack can
deliver it, requires three doses per
yard of reach. Most poisons on blades
only last for one successful strike or
three blocked or parried ones. Misses
and dodged attacks do not rub off the
poison.
Varying the Dosage: It is possible to
vary the dosage of a digestive agent or
a follow-up poison delivered by hypo-
dermic. Each doubling of dosage (and
cost!) halves the delay and interval,
doubles damage, gives -2 to HT rolls to
resist, and gives +2 to all rolls to detect
the poison (including the victim’s
Sense rolls, and any Diagnosis or
Forensics roll made to investigate the
victim’s symptoms or death). Using
less than one full dose may reverse
these modifiers or simply make the
poison ineffective, at the GM’s option.
Treatment
If the poison has a delay, there may
be time to treat the victim before he
suffers any ill effects. Since he will not
yet be showing symptoms, he must be
aware of his predicament in order to
seek help!
A poisonous animal bite is usually
obvious – but the GM may require a
Naturalist roll to realize that an ani-
mal is venomous. Sucking the poison
from the wound takes a minute,
requires a First Aid or Physician roll at
-2, and gives +2 on HT rolls to resist.
If the victim suspects a digestive
agent, he or a friend can induce vom-
iting to expel the poison. This takes 10
seconds, calls for a First Aid or
Physician roll, and gives +2 to resist
the poison. But for some poisons,
vomiting is a bad idea – it can increase
injury!
It might also be possible to take an
antidote. Antidotes exist for only a few
poisons. Where they do exist, they are
usually specific to the poison. The cor-
rect antidote gives the victim a bonus
to HT rolls to resist the poison, or even
completely halts the poison.
Medical procedures – chelation,
gastric lavage, intravenous fluids, oxy-
genation, etc. – can also give a HT
bonus, but only if the treatment suits
the poison. Such measures require a
Physician roll. The HT bonus never
exceeds TL/2 (round up, minimum
+1).
To learn whether it is safe to induce
vomiting, or which antidotes or proce-
dures to use, you must identify the
poison. This is tricky before symp-
toms appear! The GM may require
rolls against Poisons (to identify a
residue on a dart, in a glass, etc.),
Naturalist (to identify a venomous
animal), or even Intimidation (to force
the poisoner to reveal what he used).
Once the victim takes damage,
symptoms appear. At this point, a
Diagnosis or Poisons roll can identify
the poison. If the poison is cyclic, the
correct antidote or medical proce-
dures can help prevent further dam-
age, providing their bonus to future
HT rolls.
Special Delivery
Two qualifiers can apply to several of the standard means of delivery:
Cumulative: A poison may be mild in low concentrations but become
harmful with continued exposure. The GM must decide how much
exposure constitutes a “dose.” This might be time-based (e.g., a toxic
atmosphere that requires an hour of exposure) or based on the victim’s
bulk or body mass (ST/10 ounces of liquid, HP/5 pills, etc.). See Drinking
and Intoxication (p. 439) for a detailed example.
Persistent Gas: A respiratory agent or area-effect blood or contact
agent typically persists for 10 seconds or more, depending on wind.
Some contact agents leave a poisonous residue on exposed surfaces until
they’re washed away.
Poison Examples
Arsenic (TL1): A digestive agent with a one-hour
delay and a HT-2 roll to resist. Inflicts 1d toxic damage,
repeating at hourly intervals for eight cycles. $1/dose.
LC1.
Cobra Venom (TL0): A follow-up poison with a one-
minute delay and a HT-3 roll to resist. Inflicts 2d toxic
damage, repeating at hourly intervals for six cycles. A
victim who loses 1/3, 1/2, or 2/3 HP has -2, -4, or -6 DX,
respectively. $10/dose. LC1.
Cyanide (TL4): This fast-acting poison is deadly in
any form. As a follow-up poison or respiratory agent, it
has no delay. As a contact or digestive agent, it has a 15-
minute delay. In all cases, there is no HT roll to resist!
Inflicts 4d toxic damage. $2/dose. LC1.
Mustard Gas (TL6): An area-effect respiratory and
contact agent. As a contact agent, it has no delay and a
HT-4 roll to resist, and inflicts 1 point of toxic damage,
repeating at 8-hour intervals for 24 cycles. As a respira-
tory agent, it has a two-hour delay and a HT-1 roll to
resist, and inflicts 1d toxic damage, repeating at one-
hour intervals for six cycles. $10/dose. LC0.
Nerve Gas (TL6): An area-effect contact agent with
no delay and a HT-6 roll to resist. Inflicts 2d toxic dam-
age, repeating at one-minute intervals for six cycles. A
nerve gas usually causes agony, paralysis, retching, or
seizure as well; see Afflictions (p. 428) $20/dose. LC0.
Smoke: Ordinary smoke is an area-effect respiratory
agent with a 10-second delay and a HT roll to resist.
Causes coughing (see Afflictions, p. 428) for the time
spent in the smoke plus one minute times the margin
of failure. Dense smoke can cause actual damage. LC4.
Tear Gas (TL6): An area-effect respiratory and
vision-based agent. As a respiratory agent, it has no
delay and a HT-2 roll to resist, and causes coughing (see
Afflictions, p. 428). As a vision-based agent, it has no
delay and a HT-2 roll to resist, and causes blindness.
Both effects endure for the time spent in the gas plus
one minute times the margin of failure. Tear gas is
opaque: Vision rolls are at -1 to -3 per affected yard.
$10/dose. LC2.
Individuals unprepared for mustard, nerve, or tear
gas may have to make Fright Checks!
DRINKING AND
INTOXICATION
If you drink too much alcohol in a
short period of time, you may become
intoxicated. Keep track of how many
“drinks” you consume each hour. For
simplicity, one drink is a full mug or
can of beer (12 oz.), a full glass of wine
(4-5 oz.), or a shot of spirits (1.5 oz.).
At the end of any hour during
which you consume more than ST/4
drinks, roll against the higher of HT or
Carousing. If you continue to drink,
continue to roll once per hour.
Modifiers: -1 per drink over ST/4
that hour; -2 on an empty stomach, or
+1 if you have recently eaten; +2 for
the Alcohol Tolerance perk (p. 100), or
-2 for the Alcohol Intolerance quirk
(p. 165).
Each failure shifts you one level
from sober to tipsy to drunk to uncon-
scious (drunken stupor) to coma; see
Afflictions (p. 428) for details. A criti-
cal failure drops you two levels: sober
to drunk, tipsy to unconscious, or
drunk to coma. If penalties reduce
your roll to 2 or less, critical failure
means you drop three levels!
Remember that any roll 10 or more
above effective skill is a critical failure;
e.g., a roll of 11+ against a modified
HT of 1.
Pink Elephants: If you are drunk,
make one additional HT+4 roll. On a
failure, you are also hallucinating (see
Incapacitating Conditions, p. 428).
The Heaves: If you are drunk and
keep drinking, your body will try to
purge itself of the alcohol (which is a
toxin, after all!). When a failed HT roll
indicates that you would fall uncon-
scious or into a coma, make a second,
unmodified HT roll. On a success, you
vomit up the alcohol instead of pass-
ing out; treat this as retching (p. 429).
On a critical failure, however, you pass
out and then retch; treat this as chok-
ing (p. 428).
Sobering Up: To sober up, you must
first stop drinking. After half as many
hours as the total number of drinks
you consumed, roll vs. HT. Various
remedies may give a bonus. On a suc-
cess, you move one step toward sober.
Continue to roll each time this many
hours pass until you are sober.
Exception: To recover from a coma,
you need medical help!
Hangovers: If you are tipsy or
worse, you must roll vs. HT when you
stop drinking, at -2 if you’re drunk or
-4 if you’re unconscious. On a failure,
you will suffer a hangover. This kicks
in 1d hours after the end of the drink-
ing session – or on awakening, if you
pass out or fall asleep before this time
– and lasts hours equal to your margin
of failure. During this time, you will
suffer from moderate pain (see
Irritating Conditions, p. 428) and
acquire Low Pain Threshold (or lose
High Pain Threshold, if you have it).
The GM may decide that preventative
treatment (including drinking plenty
of water and possibly taking a mild
analgesic) gives you a bonus to this
roll.
ADDICTIVE
DRUGS
The habitual use of a mind-altering
substance can lead to dependency.
Abusers have the Addiction disadvan-
tage (p. 122), and may suffer with-
drawal (see box) if forced to go with-
out the drug.
Below are rules for three common
classes of addictive drugs. Note that
these are also poisons. If someone
takes a large dose, follow all the usual
rules for poison on pp. 437-439, except
where specified otherwise.
Stimulants
Stimulants elevate the user’s mood
and energy level . . . temporarily.
Potent ones – e.g., amphetamine –
restore 1d FP, and give Doesn’t Sleep
and Overconfidence (12). These
effects endure for (12 - HT) hours,
minimum one hour. After that time,
the user loses twice the FP he recov-
ered (e.g., if his FP jumped from 8 to
10, he drops to 6 FP), and gains the
disadvantages Bad Temper (12) and
Chronic Depression (9) for an equal
length of time.
If the user takes multiple doses in
24 hours, he must roll vs. HT after the
second and later doses, at a cumula-
tive -1 per dose after the first. On a
critical failure, he suffers a heart
attack (see Mortal Conditions, p. 429).
Stimulants are cheap and only
slightly addictive. If they are legal,
stimulant addiction is a Minor
Addiction (-1 point); if they are illegal,
it is a -5-point Addiction.
Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens – e.g., LSD and
mescaline – cause disorientation,
hallucinations, and fits of paranoia.
They may induce psychological
dependency, but not physiological
addiction.
Most of these drugs are taken oral-
ly and require about 20 minutes to
work. Make a HT-2 roll to resist. On a
failure, the user starts hallucinating
(see Incapacitating Conditions, p. 428).
This lasts for hours equal to the mar-
gin of failure. After that time, the user
may roll vs. HT-2 once per hour to
shake off the drug’s influence.
Addiction is typically worth -10
points if the drugs are legal, -15 points
otherwise.
Depressants
Depressants induce drowsiness,
lassitude, and (in large doses) insensi-
bility. All offer a HT roll to resist. As
with any poison, a large dose gives a
penalty – see Dosage (p. 438). Massive
doses may lead to overdose (see box).
Commonly abused depressants
include:
Sedatives: These include sleep aids,
anti-anxiety drugs, and many psychi-
atric drugs. A typical sedative is taken
orally and requires 20 minutes to take
effect. Make a HT-2 roll to resist. On a
failure, the user becomes drowsy (see
Irritating Conditions, p. 428) for hours
equal to the margin of failure.
Habitual users need larger and larger
doses to produce the same effect,
increasing the risk of overdose.
Sedatives are cheap and highly addic-
tive. If the user acquires them legally,
he has a -5-point Addiction; otherwise,
he has a -10-point Addiction.
Painkillers: Potent painkillers, such
as morphine, are used to treat chronic
or surgical pain. Abuse is often the
unintended result of legitimate use.
Taken orally, there is a delay of 20
minutes; injected, there is no delay.
Roll vs. HT-4 to resist. On a failure, the
user acquires the High Pain Threshold
(p. 59) and Unfazeable (p. 95) advan-
tages, and the Laziness disadvantage
(p. 142), and experiences euphoria
(see Irritating Conditions, p. 428). All
effects last for hours equal to the mar-
gin of failure. Painkillers powerful
enough to produce these effects are
expensive and totally addictive.
Addiction is worth -15 points if the
drugs are legal, -20 points otherwise.
Heroin: This opium derivative has
few legitimate uses. It is typically
injected, in which case there is no
delay. Roll vs. HT-4 to resist. Failure
incapacitates the user for hours equal
to the margin of failure – treat this as
ecstasy (see Incapacitating Conditions,
p. 428). In addition to the usual risk of
overdose, there is always the chance
the heroin was “cut” with toxic filler;
effects are up to the GM. Heroin is
very expensive, incapacitating, totally
addictive, and illegal; Addiction to
heroin is a -40-point disadvantage.
Drug Withdrawal
Use these rules when you try to give up an Addiction, either volun-
tarily or because you are broke, imprisoned, or in a place where your
drug just isn’t available.
Withdrawal is a painful process that requires a series of daily with-
drawal rolls. It normally takes 14 successful rolls to shake the habit
(thus, it always takes at least two weeks), but the GM is free to vary this.
Should you manage to withdraw, you must “buy off” your Addiction
disadvantage immediately.
The effects of withdrawal rolls depend on whether the drug is phys-
iologically or psychologically addictive.
Physiological Dependency: Your body has come to rely on the drug!
Make daily withdrawal rolls against HT (maximum 13). Each success
puts you a day closer to shaking off your Addiction. The results of fail-
ure depend on whether the drug is available. If it is, you give in and take
a dose; if you still want to try to withdraw, you must restart the process
from day one. If the drug is not available, you take 1 HP of injury and
may continue the process . . . but that day doesn’t count toward the 14
successful rolls needed to withdraw. You cannot naturally recover HP
lost to withdrawal until you either succeed or abandon the attempt.
Psychological Dependency: You’ve convinced yourself that you can-
not function without the drug. Make withdrawal rolls against Will
(maximum 13). Use the physiological dependency rules, except that if
you fail a roll and the drug is unavailable, you don’t take injury. Instead,
you gain -1 point of drug-related quirks, chosen by the GM. These van-
ish if you give in and take a dose of the drug (but then you must restart
the process). If you don’t give in, these quirks grow into progressively
more severe mental disadvantages. If you make 14 successful Will rolls,
you withdraw – but you must make one final Will roll. On a failure, you
keep any quirks or disadvantages incurred along the way!
Overdose
Anyone who takes two or more doses of depressants risks an “over-
dose.” This definitely includes taking a single dose of two or more
depressants! Any alcohol at all counts as an extra dose. Drug interac-
tions can kill . . .
Overdose occurs on a critical failure on any resistance roll for mul-
tiple doses. As with any poison, each doubling of dosage gives -2 to
resistance rolls – and as for all success rolls, a roll of 10 or more above
effective skill is a critical failure. For instance, heroin offers a HT-4 roll
to resist. If a HT 10 man takes a double dose, his effective HT is 10 - 4
- 2 = 4. He overdoses on a 14 or higher.
Overdose causes unconsciousness for hours equal to the margin of
failure. As well, the drug acts as a poison with a resistance roll equal to
its usual resistance roll (the most difficult roll, for two or more drugs);
e.g., HT-4, for heroin. It inflicts 1 point of toxic damage, repeating at 15-
minute intervals for 24 cycles. If the victim reaches -1¥HP, he slips into
a coma (see Mortal Conditions, p. 429).