Is there a rule somewhere for antidotes to poisons? What do they cost? I hope I've just overlooked it somehow, but I can't seem to find anything about it. :(
Is there a rule somewhere for antidotes to poisons? What do they cost? I hope I've just overlooked it somehow, but I can't seem to find anything about it. :(
The closest thing to a poison antidote I've seen is antitoxin (50gp), pg. 158 and 160 of the Core Rulebook. It gives a =5 alchemical bonus to Fort saves vs.poison for 1 hour.
Also, perhaps a potion of Neutralize Poison (3rd level Druid spell): 750gp.
The closest thing to a poison antidote I've seen is antitoxin (50gp), pg. 158 and 160 of the Core Rulebook. It gives a +5 alchemical bonus to Fort saves vs.poison for 1 hour.
Hmm. Not quite what I had in mind (I thought there might be specific antidotes to specific poisons), but better than nothing. I guess they felt a potion of Neutralize Poison would cover every eventuality. Thanks for your help!
No prob. You know, specific antidotes to specific poisons wouldn't be a bad thing to develop, perhaps using Craft(alchemy) and poison prices (pg. 559) as a baseline. It might be cheaper tojust go with the potion, though ;)
Less time consuming, certainly! I think I'll leave the heavy lifting to someone else and stick with the core rules. Maybe someone will work something out here on the boards that I can gank later. ;)
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Brainstorming: I can think of two reasons to have specific antidotes for specific poisons.
It's likely that people will want the ability to neutralize a poison for less than the cost of a potion of neutralize poison or the cost of hiring a cleric (min. 280 gp) or druid (min. 150 gp) to cast the spell. I think Rhys Grey's suggestion to base pricing and crafting requirements on the poisons themselves is a pretty good one.
Additionally, antidotes would be helpful where magic is unavailable or the cost of magic would be prohibitve. Since hiring spellcasters and buying potions may not be an option for everyone (for reasons similar to why clerics can't just eradicate all the world's diseases). See the article in Pathfinder #8 for a good discussion of plagues in fantasy. I think similar logic could be applied to poisons and would result in the creation of herbal and "home" remedies that might be significantly less expensive than a 750-gp potion.
Brainstorming: I can think of two reasons to have specific antidotes for specific poisons.
It's likely that people will want the ability to neutralize a poison for less than the cost of a potion of neutralize poison or the cost of hiring a cleric (min. 280 gp) or druid (min. 150 gp) to cast the spell. I think Rhys Grey's suggestion to base pricing and crafting requirements on the poisons themselves is a pretty good one.
Additionally, antidotes would be helpful where magic is unavailable or the cost of magic would be prohibitve. Since hiring spellcasters and buying potions may not be an option for everyone (for reasons similar to why clerics can't just eradicate all the world's diseases). See the article in Pathfinder #8 for a good discussion of plagues in fantasy. I think similar logic could be applied to poisons and would result in the creation of herbal and "home" remedies that might be significantly less expensive than a 750-gp potion.
I'll see what I can come up with . . . wasn't planning on having a project today, but this sounds fun . . .
Perhaps: Price of antidotes = price of poison (kinda like needing a bit of the disease when developing vaccines in the realworld, maybe you'd needa bit of the poison for the antidote, plus other alchemical ingredients to complete the process).
DC to create said antidote could be poison's Fort DC+5. What do you think for these hard-and-fast ideas?
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I'm not a poison expert, but here are some of my thoughts...
I think needing some of the poison to craft the antidote makes sense, especially for biological toxins. As far as I know, nearly every anti-venom is based on the collection of actual venom. I'd say the same idea could be applied to plant-based poisons.
Some poisons simply won't have antidotes...heavy metal poisoning, in particular, is tough to treat. Your body either flushes it out or it stays in your system for good.
For the Craft DC, I suppose DC+5 is a good rule of thumb.
As for price, unfortunately, antidotes are going to be more expensive than the poisons they are designed to counteract. In 2004, a bottle of rattlesnake antivenom cost $2,000 to $3,000 per vial and a full course of treatment could cost between $40,000 and $60,000 (Source).
Given the fact that you can collect a vial of venom by simply catching a snake and collecting it, the difference between poison cost and antidote cost can be incredible.
Of course we're talking about fantasy, and gold pieces don't translate directly to dollars. I'd say a decent place to start for price would be 150% of the poison's cost.
This means that most antidotes are going to be more expensive than hiring a cleric (I think hiring a druid would be harder to do, especially in a city), but it does mean that people who don't have access to a divine healer can still get treatment.
You know, a bit later I was also thinking that antidote price=poison price might've been too low! You're right; not everyone has access to magic, and some antidotes (drow poison, oil of taggit, and small centipede poison, to name a few) would be cheaper than the cost of hiring a spellcaster or purchasing a potion of neutralize poison.
Thanksfor the source, and for the brainstorming! Funny thing: I may have gotten more out of our exchange than the OP!
A substance that binds to toxic substances and makes the body expel them would trade poisoned for sickened for about 10 minutes. Special iodized salts laced with potassium may have this effect on non magical poisons. I'm going to call it detox tablets or injectable.