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Poisons for Werewolf
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This material was cut from the Magadon chapter of Subsidiaries for space reasons. Ethan (Skemp, Werewolf developer) and Ken (Cliffe, Director of Editing and Development) have granted permission for me to Web-release it, provided that I remind you that it is unedited, unapproved, and unofficial. Send them nice thank-you emails if you use this in your games. Poisons For game purposes, "poisons" are natural or artificial substances that directly interfere with the proper workings of the human body in a potentially fatal manner. It's a loose definition, but it works. Some of the substances here aren't specifically intended for use on people, but they still hit pretty hard.
Atropine Atropine is a naturally-derived toxin that's distilled from the nightshade plant. It acts as a potentially fatal muscle relaxant with various unpleasant side effects, including hyperventilation, inability to focus, hallucinations and disorientation, and fever caused by a temporary inability to sweat. It does have two important medicinal applications, which are the reasons it's common enough to be a well-known poison. First, it's used in eye surgery (in very low concentrations) to relax the optical muscles. Second, its neurological effects counter those of nerve agents (see below), so it's issued to military personnel when nerve gas attacks are a threat.
Effects: Atropine does 10 dice of [lethal] damage, soaked normally. Roll damage and soak when the victim is first injected, but apply the unsoaked damage at a rate of one health level per half hour. If used to counter the effects of a nerve agent, atropine does no damage; follow the rules presented below. Form: Injected liquid. Availability: Difficult, but possible, to find on the street. The easiest way to get some is through black market military sources who can get their hands on autoinjectors. Resist Toxin: No damage or secondary symptoms. Cyanide Cyanide is one of the fastest-acting of all inhaled poisons. It works by preventing oxygen exchange in red blood cells: victims suffocate through cellular asphyxiation. Oxidizing agents can be injected to counter this effect, but cyanide acts so quickly that unless the antidote is immediately at hand, the victim is dead anyway. Cyanide smells like bitter almonds. The initial symptoms of cyanide poisoning are a brief burning sensation in the mouth and spasmodic rapid breathing. Cyanide is the gas most commonly used for criminal executions. Effects: Cyanide does 14 dice of [lethal] damage, soaked normally. Roll damage and soak when the victim is first affected, but apply the unsoaked damage at a rate of one health level per turn. If the victim comes into contact with cyanide through injection of a liquid solution rather than inhalation of a gas, damage is delayed to one health level per minute. Form: Almost always gaseous, though it is possible to prepare liquid solutions for injection. Availability: Hard to find on the black market, but available if you know who to ask — or know how to make your own (Science 3 or higher and a good lab). Resist Toxin: No damage or secondary symptoms. Snake Venom Though it's not commonly used in deliberate poisoning attempts, snake venom is occasionally encountered by individuals who spend a lot of time in wilderness areas — such as werewolves. It's also a convenient substance for use in murders that are supposed to look like accidents, assuming the killer can leave the body in an appropriately non-suspicious area or has access to a snake to leave in the room as evidence. There are two main types of snake venom. Neurotoxins, commonly injected by the snakes of Australia, Africa, and Asia, cause seizures, muscle weakness, and loss of mental acuity and kill through respiratory paralysis. Hemotoxins are common to snakes in the Americas and consist of several digestive enzymes and associated compounds that cause breakdown of blood cells, leading to swelling and tissue damage in the bitten area. Additionally, some species, particularly certain cobras, have secondary components to their venom that cause rapid necrosis: tissue in the bitten area dies, blackens, and falls off in a matter of hours.
It should be noted that very few snakebite victims actually die unless they're in poor health or bitten multiple times. Snake venom is an evolutionary adaptation designed to bring down prey, and humans have far more body mass than the average rodent. Additionally, most hospitals stock antivenin for all poisonous snakes native to the region. Effects: Neurotoxins inflict seven dice of [lethal] damage, soaked normally. Roll damage and soak when the victim is first injected, but apply the unsoaked damage at a rate of one health level per (Stamina) minutes. Once the victim has taken three health levels of damage, reduce her Dexterity and Mental Attributes by one each. Hemotoxins inflict five dice of [lethal] damage, soaked normally. Roll damage and soak when the victim is first injected, but apply the unsoaked damage at a rate of one health level per (Stamina x 5) minutes. Once the victim has taken the first health level of damage, reduce her Dexterity and Stamina by one each — if this reduces her Stamina to zero, she suffers immediate heart failure. A bite containing necrotizing compounds inflicts an additional four
dice of aggravated damage, soaked normally and separately and applied
at the rate of one health level per hour. An antivenin injection stops all further damage from being applied. However, positive identification (a Perception + Animal Ken or Survival roll) is a good idea if this route is to be taken, as the wrong antivenin can cause as much damage as the poison it is intended to counter. Form: Injected liquid. Some cobra species are capable of spitting their venom into a victim's face, aiming for the eyes, nose and mouth; add one to three dice of damage to such an attack but delay its effect for a turn or two. Availability: Find a snake or a snake handler. Successfully "milking" one for its venom requires nerves of steel and a Dexterity + Animal Ken roll (difficulty 9). Don't botch. Resist Toxin: No damage or secondary symptoms. Strychnine Most commonly used in rat poison (Ratkin take note), strychnine is an organic toxin derived from various trees and bushes. In small doses, it has medical applications as a mild stimulant. However, in larger doses, it causes excitation of the nervous system leading to convulsions. It kills via paralysis of the brain's respiratory center. Effects: A human-sized dose of strychnine does 12 dice of [lethal] damage, soaked normally. Roll damage and soak when the victim is first affected, but apply the unsoaked damage at a rate of one health level per (Stamina) minutes. While the victim is taking damage, and for one hour afterward, his Dexterity is reduced by two. A human who somehow eats rat poison (mixed into his food, for instance) takes no more than three dice of damage — the taste of a larger dose would be too obvious, and even the most indiscriminate eater would gag. Continued ingestion of small doses can cause a buildup that eventually leads to death — the Storyteller should give player characters victimized in such a manner several chances to notice. Form: Strychnine is a white, bitter-tasting crystal. It's soluble in water and can be ground into a powder and mixed with food. Availability: Rat poison is available commercially. For strychnine in concentrations high enough to kill a human-sized victim, go to the black market. Resist Toxin: No damage or secondary symptoms. Curare This is the hardest to encounter of the poisons listed here. It's also the one most commonly used by Garou and other Bete, particularly Uktena, Balam Bastet, and Mokole. Curare is a paste derived from Strychnos toxifera, a vine native to the Amazon. When introduced into the circulatory system, usually through use of an arrow, dart, or spear dipped in it, curare paralyzes both voluntary and heart muscles. Effects: Curare has no effects if handled with unbroken skin, aside from a faint tingling or burning sensation. If swallowed or otherwise introduced into the body, however, it kills almost instantly. A typical dose (the amount found on an arrowhead or other edged weapon) does 18 dice of [lethal] damage, soaked normally. Roll damage and soak when the victim is first affected, but apply the unsoaked damage at a rate of one health level per turn. The victim also loses one point of Dexterity for every two health levels she takes; this returns at a rate of one point per day. Form: Strychnos toxifera is a vine found in the Amazon basin's rain forests. Curare is a whitish paste that dries to near-invisibility if smeared thinly over a surface. Availability: It's hard to find the appropriate vine outside South America, unless you're looking in a botanical laboratory. However, most natives of the Amazon can identify it (Survival 1; 3 for outsiders) and many can distill it into the typical paste form (Survival 3; 5 for outsiders). Resist Toxin: No damage or secondary symptoms. Arsenic Arsenic has a long and colorful history. It is one of the first known substances to be deliberately used as a poison. When ingested, it causes severe gastrointestinal trauma (including internal bleeding), kidney and liver failure, and throat constriction. Effects: A small dose of arsenic (a pinch or so: poison ring-sized) does 8 dice of [lethal] damage, soaked normally. Roll damage and soak when the victim is first affected, but apply the unsoaked damage at a rate of one health level per (Stamina) hours. A dose of this size kills through internal bleeding and buildup of toxins in the bloodstream from kidney failure. A larger dose (more than a thimbleful) does 12 dice of [lethal] damage, soaked normally. Roll damage and soak when the victim is first affected, but apply the unsoaked damage at a rate of one health level per (Stamina) minutes. A dose of this size kills through suffocation as the victim's throat swells shut. Form: Arsenic is a light gray metallic powder. Availability: As it has a variety of industrial uses, arsenic can be obtained through chemical supply stores with minimal difficulty. Resist Toxin: No damage or secondary symptoms. |
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Last modification to this page on 06-Sep-2002 23:18 . Be surprised if it's recent. |