Craft Poison? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Craft Poison? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
bertman4
06-15-07, 05:18 PM Would Craft Poison be a valid craft skill for an evil aligned PC?
Or should I just stick with Craft Alchemy?

Bertman
Istaran
06-26-07, 12:45 AM On a related note, does craft(poison) yield any benefit toward the acquisition of poison (other than the 10gp per rank added to EV)?
And does a player need to use expansion slots to unlock poisons from the DMG?
WolfStar76
06-28-07, 05:05 PM It's worth noting that the D&D FAQ (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/er/20030221a) (PDF) says the following about Poisons:

Nothing in the alignment information in the Player's Handbook or the poison entry in the Dungeon Master's Guide specifically describes the use of poison as an evil act.

It then explains that the PURPOSE of the poison may be evil (murder is still murder, regardless of the method), but the general message seems to be that poison, in and of itself, is no more evil than your sword (or wand of fireballs).

At the moment poison isn't locked or restricted in the campaign standards, so I can't see any reason why you can't currently use them. Things may be different in the XECS3.
Istaran
07-02-07, 09:51 PM Items in the PHB, ECS, and adamantine, darkwood, cold iron and alchemic silver items are unlimited. There are no other unlimited items at this time.

Most magic items and magical properties for weapons and armor specifically named in DMG chapeter 7 and ECS chapter 10 are limited. (The rest are on the restricted list.) Several specific potions, scrolls and wands are listed in the XECS directly. No other items are Limited at this time.

Rules items found in the campaign's expanded sources, and that don't appear on the restricted lists are locked items, until you unlock them by one of several means.

Poisons are in the DMG, but are neither magic items, nor found in chapter 7. They therefore do not, strictly speaking, get included as Limited items by the definition given in the XECS 2.0. Nor are they made of adamantine, darkwood, cold iron or alchemic silver, so they are not unlimited items. The term 'expanded sources' is never clearly defined, but can be surmised from the text on page 2. The PHB, DMG, MM, XECS, and (with some looseness) the ECS are listed as "Required Materials" while all other allowed source books are listed as "Optional Materials". From the text on expansion slots later in the XECS, it appears that these are the 'expanded sources'.

In short, poisons in the DMG seem to be non-entities as far as the XECS is concerned, much like items in the Book of Vile Darkness etc that are not explicitly granted by story objects and such. You have no way to get to them by default. Poisons in other allowed books, such as Complete Scoundrel, are clearly Locked by default. A more generous interpretation would be that the DMG can serve as an expanded source as well, in which case poisons listed therein are limited.

In no case, however, would craft (poison making) confer discounts on creating poisons based on the information presented in the XECS. You would certainly gain the EV bonus for ranks in craft, and it is certainly a reasonable choice for flavor purposes.

Hopefully, if I got anything wrong, someone will correct me.
Devarion
07-08-07, 01:34 AM Huh... Yes that is interesting considering the Assassin Prestige class is unlocked for all Cabal characters. (As the assassin of course gets "Poison Use" special ability at level 1.) You would think that they would have put poisons in the documentation! Very peculiar indeed. I doubt any characters have the assassin class at the current level kick, I hope we will see them more clearly outline in XECS 3.0.

-Devarion
Hand_OF_Mystra
07-16-07, 09:36 AM My son is playing a drow rogue going into assasin. On our Gms advice he took craft poison. We hope that his drow assasin will be able to get access to poison. In a recent mod, he took poison off several defeated foes, but they vanished at the end of the mod.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
bertman4 06-15-07, 05:18 PM	Would Craft Poison be a valid craft skill for an evil aligned PC? Or should I just stick with Craft Alchemy? Bertman
Istaran 06-26-07, 12:45 AM	On a related note, does craft(poison) yield any benefit toward the acquisition of poison (other than the 10gp per rank added to EV)? And does a player need to use expansion slots to unlock poisons from the DMG?
WolfStar76 06-28-07, 05:05 PM	It's worth noting that the D&D FAQ (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/er/20030221a) (PDF) says the following about Poisons: Nothing in the alignment information in the Player's Handbook or the poison entry in the Dungeon Master's Guide specifically describes the use of poison as an evil act. It then explains that the PURPOSE of the poison may be evil (murder is still murder, regardless of the method), but the general message seems to be that poison, in and of itself, is no more evil than your sword (or wand of fireballs). At the moment poison isn't locked or restricted in the campaign standards, so I can't see any reason why you can't currently use them. Things may be different in the XECS3.
Istaran 07-02-07, 09:51 PM	Items in the PHB, ECS, and adamantine, darkwood, cold iron and alchemic silver items are unlimited. There are no other unlimited items at this time. Most magic items and magical properties for weapons and armor specifically named in DMG chapeter 7 and ECS chapter 10 are limited. (The rest are on the restricted list.) Several specific potions, scrolls and wands are listed in the XECS directly. No other items are Limited at this time. Rules items found in the campaign's expanded sources, and that don't appear on the restricted lists are locked items, until you unlock them by one of several means. Poisons are in the DMG, but are neither magic items, nor found in chapter 7. They therefore do not, strictly speaking, get included as Limited items by the definition given in the XECS 2.0. Nor are they made of adamantine, darkwood, cold iron or alchemic silver, so they are not unlimited items. The term 'expanded sources' is never clearly defined, but can be surmised from the text on page 2. The PHB, DMG, MM, XECS, and (with some looseness) the ECS are listed as "Required Materials" while all other allowed source books are listed as "Optional Materials". From the text on expansion slots later in the XECS, it appears that these are the 'expanded sources'. In short, poisons in the DMG seem to be non-entities as far as the XECS is concerned, much like items in the Book of Vile Darkness etc that are not explicitly granted by story objects and such. You have no way to get to them by default. Poisons in other allowed books, such as Complete Scoundrel, are clearly Locked by default. A more generous interpretation would be that the DMG can serve as an expanded source as well, in which case poisons listed therein are limited. In no case, however, would craft (poison making) confer discounts on creating poisons based on the information presented in the XECS. You would certainly gain the EV bonus for ranks in craft, and it is certainly a reasonable choice for flavor purposes. Hopefully, if I got anything wrong, someone will correct me.
Devarion 07-08-07, 01:34 AM	Huh... Yes that is interesting considering the Assassin Prestige class is unlocked for all Cabal characters. (As the assassin of course gets "Poison Use" special ability at level 1.) You would think that they would have put poisons in the documentation! Very peculiar indeed. I doubt any characters have the assassin class at the current level kick, I hope we will see them more clearly outline in XECS 3.0. -Devarion
Hand_OF_Mystra 07-16-07, 09:36 AM	My son is playing a drow rogue going into assasin. On our Gms advice he took craft poison. We hope that his drow assasin will be able to get access to poison. In a recent mod, he took poison off several defeated foes, but they vanished at the end of the mod.