Is there any logic to the cost of poisons? For 75 gp, you can get a dose of Drow poison, which knocks the target unconscious for at least a minute (i.e., the rest of the combat) and possibly for several hours. For an 90 gp (20% more cost), you can get small centipede poison, which has a DC that is 2 lower and does all of 1 Dex damage. The only advantage seems to be that it has a higher frequency.
Going from deathblade to wyvern poison almost doubles the cost (1800 to 3000), drops the DC by 3 and increase the effect from 1d3 Con to 1d4 Con. Given the drop in DC, I'd expect the cheaper one to inflict more damage in general.
Aside from the apparent lack of logic in the price, does the price generally seem high? A one shot item the duplicates the effect of Ray of Sickening would have a cost of 50 gp (less than any injury poison), but would act like -4 to all of the physical stats for most purposes. (Sickened is -2 to most rolls.)
If I don't object to the PC's using poison, would it be reasonable to lower the cost of poison? If so, how far?
Short answer: Not really.
Long answer: Stuff that's supposed to be exclusively available to bad guys (like drow poison) has traditionally been better than stuff that's available to everyone. Sad, but true.
I agree. And, I think it's relevant considering that there is a base class (alchemist) that "gets" poison use as a class skill. It really is pretty much worthless at the costs in the book. Magic is far less expensive, making the poison use class ability almost useless.
I think that the whole poison list needs major re-working.
I agree. And, I think it's relevant considering that there is a base class (alchemist) that "gets" poison use as a class skill. It really is pretty much worthless at the costs in the book.
Well, except for drow poison, but I've had GMs say "no, you can't make drow poison, only drows know the formula".
:-P
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The whole poison system is whacky, and Paizo has introduced class features and archetypes that make it even more so.
The base cost of poison is prohibitive, so most are unlikely to use it. Those who craft poison have it easier. The Master Alchemist feat makes crafting more viable by reducing the time drastically.
Also, Alchemists get the sticky poison class feature, which lets them use a single dose multiple times. This really makes constant poison use viable for some character concepts.
As for there being special poisons that are cheap but supposedly restricted to bad guys, I think this is just an overlooked relic. Poisons should have roughly comparable effects for similar prices, regardless of intended rarity or obtainability - those can vary wildly between campaign worlds.
So to answer your questions, (1) any logic in pricing has been eclipsed by evolutions in the game system; (2) The price is generally high, and instead of adjusting prices, the designers have granted deep discounts to certain character concepts and playstyles, making poison use less attractive to most; (3) If none of the party has decent poison crafting ability, it would be reasonable for the GM to lower the prices in some way.
I've been working on a revamped poison system that addresses some of these issues. No idea when/how I'll put it out there.
Edit: removed misinterpretation of Master Alchemist feat.
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The poison and disease system has always peeved me something fierce. Since when does an untreated dose of poison cease to work due to time. Having seen the effects of a single snake bite on the body, it does not stop inflicting its damage on the body unless treated. Drugs work slightly differently, they are not in concentrations high enough to last indefinitely and pass through the system in a more timely fashion.
The DC's and frequency in no way correspond to how chemical agents actually work on a body. A good system doesn't have to be a direct mirror of the real world but, it should be at least loosely based on it in function.
In my games, poisons don't have a set number of rounds it works, the frequency can go on indefinitely if the saves are not made. Of course, this forces a couple of other changes as well, such as the effects of each poison, the DC's associated with them, and of course the costs.