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Ok, this is the only design thread that I can see, so I guess I'll just have to put this here. I hope that I'm not too early, I just wanted to post this while it was on my mind.
Anyways, does anyone else feel like poisons work poorly in 3e and PFRPG? Now, I'm not for extreme realism in my games, but poison is just so weak in D&D. It is nigh impossible to kill someone with arsenic, unless you have around 5 doses and your victim is no higher than level 4. This just does not seem right to me. I'm not entirely sure how to fix it, but I think I may have a start. When you are poisoned, if you make your save, instead of it having no effect, the poison's effect is delayed by a number of "frequencies" equal to 1 plus the amount you beat the save by. If you beat the save by more than 10 or 15 (haven't decided), the poison has no effect. After each effect, you can make another save to delay the other effects.
For example, if you are poisoned by Arsenic, and get a 15 on your saving throw, the poison's primary effect is delayed by 3 rounds (1+2). After you suffer the primary effect, you make another save for delaying the secondary effects.
This makes poisons deadly to all, but the time delay means that PCs have a distinct advantage. Antivenin isn't particularly expensive, and it gives them more incentive to invest in Heal. By delaying the poison, you have time to stop it before you take the effects, but the effects are still deadly.
What do you think?
ka-bump.
Please, a little input? Anybody?
Ok, you asked for it: Sounds a little complicated. ^_^
There's a variant rule on sean's homepage. Check it out.
What do you think?
Actually, a while back I came up with the idea to treat poisons essentially like fast-acting diseases, with different frequencies and onset times, as well as number-of-saves requirements. I was pretty psyched when I saw that they'd implimented basically the same idea for pathfinder. Definately a big fan of the revisions.
-Steve