Dwarven drunks.


Rules Questions


Hey guys so the dwarven hardy trait gives them a +2 on saves versus poison, spells and spell like abilities. Do you extend this bonus alcohol and drugs? Given the dwarven legendary prowess in the drinking arts I would say yes. Otherwise I would think most would have drunk themselves to death. Or is it just their Con bonus that saves them?

Grand Lodge

Alcohol and Drugs function as Poison.


Alcohol is a poison.

Not so sure about drugs in general, but maybe.

The +2 Con and +2 saves means +15% chance of not getting wasted, which is a pretty noticeable difference.

Grand Lodge

This is why Duergar can't get drunk. Immunity to poison.

No wonder they are so dour.

Shadow Lodge

The bonus to Alcohol Poisoning is some of what saves them. They probably inherited the Hardy racial trait because they drink so flipping much. The rest of what saves them is the bonus to con, which amounts to a +1 on fort saves even if they don't have special training. I'm not sure what the odds for a +3 bonus would be, but I'm betting ~+22.5%. This is why Dwarves are good drinkers.


Yes alcohol is a poison. So are drugs. In fact many drugs (even legal ones) are modified forms of natural poisons. Other times, the line between poison and food (or drug) is really just a matter of how much was ingested, and there is no difference.

Alcohol and drugs should count as poisons for all game mechanics. They are toxins that modify the body chemistry.


There are plenty of Literary references to Dwarven ales being very strong and the Dwarves being able to drink A LOT of the stuff rather happily without getting completely hammered. This sorta accounts for why there are alot of Dwarven drinkers, but not truly alot of Dwarven Drunks.

~ Lazlo ~


The GameMastery Guide details drugs, addiction, and drunkenness on pages 236 and 237.

An addiction is a disease. It specifically mentions the spell "remove disease," not "neutralize poison" for dealing with the negative effects of drugs/alcohol. Exposure to addictive substances results in a fort save to resist addiction. If a character is already addicted to a substance, fort saves are required to 'kick the habit.'

Dwarven Fire Ale is listed as an example addictive substance. [Note: this is not regular over-the-counter beer.]

There is mention in a sidebar about drunkenness that exotic or strong drinks could be treated as drugs, how much liquor a person can handle, and that those who regularly abuse alcohol can develop addiction.

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