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I find myself stopped up short in my efforts to create a major...well, not antagonist, but let us call him a very shady ally, for my PCs. The individual in question, Mykael the Grinner, is the master of a tribe of elves that favor incredibly toxic poisons, venoms, and chemical compounds. The trouble is that all the rules I can find for these substances (and spells that mimic them!) in 3.5 is highly underwhelming. Thus, I have two questions: are there any published resources that can help improve his lethal concoctions, and if not/in addition to those, does anyone have homebrew resources that they might suggest for such venoms?

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Currently available resources for venoms, toxins, and more exotic compounds include the BoVD, the DMG/SRD, and a few Assassin spells that increase the effects of poisons. Unfortunately the DCs/deliveries tend to be underwhelming, and venoms of all varieties are hideously expensive – Lord_Gareth Jan 16 at 17:17
DC 56 poison is underwhelming? You're better off not using poisons at all, then. As for the cost, minor creation solves the problem. – Jeor Mattan Jan 16 at 19:48
A DC 56 poison is an on-off switch - either it works, or the victim is immune to poison in the first place. I'd rather seek homebrew than use such clumsy and ill-designed rules. – Lord_Gareth Jan 16 at 21:13
I'm not sure I follow you here. Are you calling a system where poison immunity is possible ill-designed? – Jeor Mattan Jan 16 at 22:44
No, but relying solely on venoms that non-immune characters are incapable of resisting is sloppy. I'm looking to create a challenge, not an impossibility; if I wanted unstoppable effects I'd optimize a spell's save DC, not look into using/abusing/changing the poison rules. – Lord_Gareth Jan 16 at 22:51

3 Answers

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To add some homebrew poison support, here are a few:

And to toot my own horn: I have performed an overhaul of the 3.5 poison system myself. It's not so much an addition to as it is a replacement of the old mechanics, but it does make them significantly more usable, and less reliant on being expanded in the first place (but I would think that, of course).

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I hadn't seen your Poison brew before, that's awesome. Also, probably worth noting: while the picture for the Poisoner PrC doesn't really reveal anything, it's probably NSFW (she's nude, facing away from the viewer, with a tail that covers her behind). – KRyan Jan 17 at 5:24
I'll review these the very moment I have some free time (I work twelve hours today!) but on first blush this is looking like something I'd want to use. – Lord_Gareth Jan 17 at 15:45
+1 for Custom link – CatLord Jan 18 at 4:17
up vote 5 down vote

The best resource available for 3.5 poisons is the Arsenic and Old Lace handbook, but like so many other things, it’s hosted on MinMax which is currently down. For right now, you can use the Google cached version, but it’s ugly.

Anyway, Master of Poisons from Drow of the Underdark is a must. For one feat, get Poison Use and the ability to apply poisons as a Swift Action. Levels in Shaper to manifest psionic minor creation is also a tried-and-true way to get poisons en masse very cheaply. Wild Cohort for a viper of some sort is also good for cheap poisons.

The variant Bard found in Athas.org’s Dark Sun has some nifty poison-related features. They’re not amazing, though.

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Book of Vile Darkness is your best friend here, for it features poisons with really high DC. Unfortunately, the most potent ones are injury poisons.

The only caveat is the cost of the top poisons; it can be circumvented by liberal application of minor creation or by crafting cost mitigation.

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Complete Adventurer has slightly modified rules for poison creation -- you get them at 1/6 the price instead of 1/3 when crafting. I think it might also have a few additional poisons listed? Haven't looked at it in a while. – starwed Jan 16 at 17:17

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