Can a creature tell if something poisons it?

[Yqatuba]

I imagine they could feel the poison getting injected into them, though not sure what that would feel like. I imagine it would depend on the monster (some would probably just make you feel numb. others would probably feel like having molten lead injected into your veins)

[Adjoint]

You're right, it would depend on a monster, but generally I'd say that they would feel the sting or bite, not necessarily that it was venomous. Just like when you get an injection for vaccinated or whatever, you don't feel anything special except the sting itself. The moment the poison starts taking effect though, they should be able to figure that out. And an appropriate Knowledge check would let them know that a creature is venomous.

[Kayerloth]

Or Heal check or some plain ole fashioned commmon sense that something is waaaaay off.

Character 'A' "Hey my arm has swollen to twice normal size, turned all red and hot, and I'm not feeling at all good all after that creature bite/stung/licked me right there, do you think I'm poisoned?

Character 'B' while catching them as they collapse: Ya think! Anyone have antidote or a spell or something?

[David knott 242]

I would think that most creatures would notice when they are subjected to harmful effects unless the description of the poison says otherwise.

[marcryser]

Hemotoxins will frequently feel like 'burning' at the site of the injection or as it spreads through the circulatory system.

Neurotoxins don't usually burn but will cause an area to become numb or paralyzed. They might interfere with breathing or muscle actions.

Any poison is detectable if it acts quickly enough and in a manner that causes a loss of bodily function (any type of game penalty).

[Garretmander]

I would typically say they notice as soon as they take damage or the effect of the poison.

If they drink the poisoned wine they don't notice they've been poisoned until their throat starts swelling and they can't breathe.

[David knott 242]

If the effect of a poison is delayed by more than a round, a character would quickly figure out that he has been poisoned but might be clueless as to how it was done.

[blahpers]

I've adjudicated this so far as a creature noticing once the poison actually causes an effect or forces a saving throw to avoid said effect, barring language to the contrary. The initial saving throw to avoid contracting a poison wouldn't count unless failing it immediately caused damage or whatever.

[Kayerloth]

What blahpers said

[Yqatuba]

Am I correct in thinking hemotoxins do physical (STR DEX CON) damage and neurotoxins do mental (INT WIS CHA) damage?

[Adjoint]

Neurotoxins damage nerve tissue, while hemotoxins damage blood and other tissues. But it's not as simple as to say that neurotoxins damage only mental abilities, and hemotoxins damage physical abilities. By damaging the peripheral nervous system neurotoxins can cause the loss of coordination and stiffness, the paralysis of respirotary muscles and other effects. On the other hand, hemotoxins, in addition to physical damage, can sometimes cause nausea, disorientation and headache.

[Long John]

What about say... drinking the poison?

[gatherer818]

Most ingested poisons have an onset period before they start dealing damage, so you probably wouldn't immediately be aware you'd drank a poison (unless it was noticeable with a Perception check - cyanide, for instance, has a distinctive flavor like almonds that would be hard to hide in a drink that wasn't either very strong or expected to have a almond taste). When the ability damage started setting in you'd realize something was wrong, but you wouldn't necessarily know it was your drink.

[gatherer818]

Going to be honest, I was really hoping this thread was started by the same guy who started the "My party is eating a Neolithid why are adventurers like this?" thread over in Advice...