Poisons and Venoms

New rules are being added to the bestiary on venomous creatures. Such creatures don't need to be able to cause stuns or wounds to be able to harm their target. The target of a venomous attack makes a soak roll of zero plus any bonuses for armour or thick skin - they do not get their basic soak. The 'damage' roll is generally a straight 1d20 - if it equals or exceeds the soak roll, then no damage is caused but the target suffers the venom effects.

Poisons, venoms and other toxins have the following statistics:

• Potency: Both the initial health difficult, and how quickly it drops.
• Duration: How long before each health check.
• Immediate: Yes or no. If yes, a check is made on initial delivery, otherwise the first check is made at the end of the first duration.
• Effects: List of effects each time a check is failed.
• Dosage: Size of a standard dose. Each multiple adds 10% to the potency. Each halving subtracts 20%.

Health checks against poison is made using Health x 4 + 1d20. In some cases, size of the target creature should factor into it. The original rules had Health x Size being the basis of the roll, but this isn't always valid (against disease for example), and it would be nice to keep difficulties consistent. Also, since Size is logarithmic, it means very large creatures don't get the sort of bonus that they should.

For large (or small) creatures, size can give a modifier.

Each extra point of Size above 5, reduce the potency by 20% of the base.

Each point of Size below 5, increase the potency by 20% of the base.

These modifiers stack with changing the dose. Add the modifiers together, then work out the potency. For example, a Size 10 creature reduces the potency by -100%, but increasing the dosage to 10 times adds +90% (that's +9 multiples, adding +10 multiples would give an 11x dose), so the final modifier is -10% to potency.

Listed as -X attr, e.g. -1 S or -2 AD. Each attribute listed drops by the designated number of points. If an attribute is reduced to zero, then the target cannot use that attribute. Results of a zero attribute are:

• Strength: Paralysis, cannot move.
• Health: Coma. Note that health loss is particularly serious since it means the chance of making further health checks is reduced.
• Agility: Paralysis.
• Dexterity: Severe trembling, cannot use hands or do anything requiring finesse.
• Perception: Over/under stimulated. Cannot react to outside stimuli. Effectively catatonic.
• Intelligence: Catatonic
• Empathy: Psycotic
• Will: Psycotic

Attributes generally return at 1 point per day after the effects of the poison have worn off, as long as you spend the day in rest. Attributes never drop below zero, so always return back to 1 one day after recovery begins.

Generally caused by severe pain. Initiative drops to zero. This is an immediate effect.

Causes immediate stuns, which are recovered as per normal. Normally caused by pain.

You slip into a coma. Each day after recovery begins, come out of coma on a 20+ health check.

Immediate death. No recovery roll.

Agility and Dexterity drop to zero. Recover them as per attribute loss.

Gain one level of fatigue.

Gain one level of exhaustion.

Feeling sick, vomiting. Penalties to actions whilst nauseous.

Where an effect is listed as '…', repeat the previous effect continuously.

Where a duration has a prefix of 'I/', the first check is immediate.