I don't know too much about using poisons, and I found a way to raise the DC of poisons this character can use by +7 for two poisons of my choice.
Potent Concoctions trait is +1 DC for two poisons, and the Opportunist Fighter's Cunning Edge called Alchemical Refinement allows the DC of any Alchemical item he creates to be raised by +1 for every 3 levels in the class, for a total of +6 @ level 20.
The party should all have ~10+ Fort save bonuses by the time they encounter this guy, but I'm looking for fun/challenging, not necessarily save or die...
Do I use some relatively weak poisons, with amped up DC's, or go all out on some heavy hitters and raise their DC's to the low 30's?
Looking at the scary stuff:
Dragon's Bile 1D3 STR damage for 6 rounds, DC 26 (or 33)
Purple Worm Poison 1D3 STR damage for 6 rounds, DC 24 (or 31)
Tears of Death 1D6 CON damage for 6 rounds, DC 22 (or 29)
Widow's Kiss 1D3 CON damage for 1D4 days, DC 24 (or 31)
And he has the Concentrate Poison discovery, possibly raising any DC by +2, increasing the frequency by 50%. This is a grand and glorious +9 to the DC of two poisons!
Nobody is hitting a 35 DC Fort save against amped up Dragon Bile.
But I don't want to just straight kill anyone who gets hit. How do I still keep it high stakes, high intensity without being too crazy OP?
Before people jump on me about the trait specifying CRB poisons, I just used the first/most convenient list I found online. Even if CRB poisons max at DC 20, I can still raise it to 29. With a +12 Fort save bonus, that still only passes on a 17+...
The obvious answer is to choose poisons with lower saves, but I still want it to be scary... Just not impossible.
Ideas for which poisons to use?
Anything more silly/fun instead of totally terrifying?
He's a mad scientist who will be encountered in his lab/lair, so it's quite expected he will strike first. And probably land the hit, as he is full BAB.
Sticky Poison makes it last a couple hits, but I doubt he will get a chance to apply a second dose once the party gets him in their sights.
I did just discover Greater Spring Attack, which allows him to poison several people the first attack.
Although poisons do use Craft(Alchemy) for creation, I do not believe they are an alchemical item. That is a different category of things, so I don't think poisons work with alchemical refinement.
That being said, with the capabilities of a high level party I wouldn't expect any poison to be scary.
Widow's Kiss makes a swarm of spiders erupt from your body as the eat you from the inside out. That is always scary.
PS. In my searching, someone on this forum has asked this before and apparently it has been FAQ'ed that Poisons ARE Alchemical items, yay!
Widow's Kiss makes a swarm of spiders erupt from your body as the eat you from the inside out. That is always scary.
Not for 1d4 days. And before that happens, it will be fixed.
For sure. There's a Paladin in the party, so it's not the end of the world if someone gets poisoned. I just need it to be scary during the fight, as not many things will be using poison up to this point.
I'm still probably going to avoid CON damage and paralysis, though.