Poisons

body . Activating a hidden blade requires a move action . Hidden blades can be made masterwork or magic just as normal weapons can be . Attacking with a hidden blade imposes a –2 penalty on the attack roll .

Discovering a hidden blade before it has been activated requires a DC 15 Search check .

Boot Blade: The most common hidden blade, a boot blade is concealed in the sole of a boot, usually under the toes . The wearer activates the blade by striking a certain part of the boot (usually the toe) against the ground, which flips the weapon it into position . Treat a boot blade as a dagger .

Elbow Blade: Hidden within bracers or the forearm piece of a suit of armor, elbow blades jut out backward and lie flat against the back of the bearer’s upper arm . Activating an elbow blade usually requires a flick or twist of the wrist . Treat an elbow blade as a punching dagger .

Knee Blade: Held within the greaves of a suit of armor, a knee blade extends with a quick upward thrust of the knee . The flat of the blade rests against the bearer’s thigh, allowing for full range of movement . Treat a knee blade as a short sword .

Sleeve Blade: Strapped to the forearm of its wearer, a sleeve blade lies hidden under a long-sleeved shirt or dress . Making a quick downward flick with the wrist triggers the mechanism, extending the blade beyond the top of the wearer’s hand . Treat a sleeve blade as a dagger .

Instrument Blade: Most stringed or wind instruments have a long, narrow section that can conceal a thin blade . Releasing a hidden catch allows the blade to spring forth . Such a blade functions as a dagger .

Any stringed instrument whose neck is designed to hide a blade includes reinforcing metal bars for added support .

alCheMICal ITeMs

Researchers continually conduct experiments in the field of alchemy, ranging from wildly inventive gnome thinktanks to individual wizards locked away in their towers . This constant work occasionally produces items useful to adventurers and scoundrels alike .

Costs and Craft (alchemy) check DCs for creating these items appear in Table 5–3 . All of these items have a negligible weight .

Clearwater Tablets: These small black pellets smell strongly of tar . Dropping a clearwater tablet into a gallon of water cleans the water of disease, poison, and other befouling toxins . Water so treated has a vaguely tarry smell and leaves a slimy black deposit on a surface it touches but is safe to drink . Magic liquids (such as potions, oils, and magic poisons) are immune to the effect of clearwater tablets . Liquids based on oil or alcohol are also not affected .

Daystrider Capsule: This bright blue gelatinous ovoid, when swallowed, allows a humanoid creature to walk for 10 hours in a day (instead of the normal 8 hours) before making a Constitution check to resist damage and fatigue . Walking longer than that entails making a forced march as normal (PH 164) . Consuming a second daystrider capsule before 24 hours have passed has no further effect .

Ferrous Aqua: A pellet of ferrous aqua is a halfinch-diameter sphere of glass containing a rusty red liquid with small black flakes floating in suspension . A ferrous aqua pellet can be thrown as a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 5 feet . Alternatively, it can be loaded into a sling and used as a sling bullet . When it strikes a firm surface, the pellet bursts and sprays out the suspension within . Any creature with damage reduction that is overcome by cold iron takes 1d6 points of damage and is sickened for 1 round if struck by a ferrous aqua pellet (a successful DC 12 Fortitude save negates the sickened condition, but not the damage) . Other creatures take no damage from a ferrous aqua pellet .

Forger’s Paper: This normal-looking sheet of paper is infused with an alchemical substance that makes the sheet nearly transparent for 1 hour when exposed to heat . The now-clear sheet can be overlaid on a document to be copied, granting a +2 alchemical bonus on Forgery checks made while using it . Once the alchemical substance within it loses potency, the page becomes indistinguishable from a normal piece of paper (and can’t be activated again by any means) .

Endurance Elixir: Imbibing this chalky-tasting green liquid instantly acclimates a creature to its surroundings . For the next 12 hours, the drinker gains a +4 alchemical bonus on all ability checks, skill checks, and saving throws made to resist natural environmental extremes, such as hot or cold weather (DMG 302) .

Liquid Sunlight: Shining with the light of a torch, a pellet of liquid sunlight is a half-inch-diameter sphere of glass that contains a gold-colored liquid . The pellet can be thrown as a ranged attack with a range increment of 5 feet . Alternatively, it can be loaded into a sling and used as a sling bullet . When it strikes a firm surface, it bursts and sprays out the liquid within . The liquid continues to glow with the light of a torch for 1 round after exposure to the air . Creatures with light sensitivity are dazzled for 1 round if struck by a liquid sunlight pellet . The pellet deals 1d6 points of damage to a vampire, vampire spawn, or any other creature similarly harmed by daylight .

Nerv: This is the street name for a substance also known as liquid courage, a gold-colored syrup in a clear glass bottle painted with interweaving blue and red swirls . Drinking a dose of nerv grants the drinker a +2 alchemical bonus on saves against fear effects for 1 hour .

Powdered Silver: This fine silvery dust sparkles when held in the light and is contained in a half-inch-diameter glass sphere . A powdered silver pellet can be thrown as

a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 5 feet . Alternatively, it can be loaded into a sling and used as a sling bullet . When it strikes a firm surface, the pellet bursts and sprays out the powder within . Any creature with damage reduction that is overcome by silvered weapons takes 1d6 points of damage and is sickened for 1 round if hit by a powdered silver pellet (a DC 12 Fortitude save negates the sickened condition, but not the damage) . Other creatures take no damage from a powdered silver pellet .

Rust Cube: Made of rusty iron, rust cubes are sometimes disguised as dice . A rust cube can be thrown as a ranged attack with a range increment of 5 feet . Alternatively, it can be loaded into a sling and used as a sling stone . When it strikes a hard surface, the cube shatters into a fine powder of rusted iron . An object or creature made of metal that is hit by the rust cube immediately takes 1d6 points of damage (ignoring hardness), plus an additional 1d6 points of damage each round for the next 2 rounds . A creature can wipe the dust off with a move action .

Toxic Tooth: Since the invention of alchemical capsules (Complete Adventurer 119), researchers have continued to develop ever smaller delivery devices . The current peak of achievement comes in the form of the toxic tooth . Made to look identical to its wearer’s actual teeth (including the addition of plaque, random filth, and gaping cavities if necessary), a toxic tooth can hold a single dose of a contact or inhaled poison .

To activate a toxic tooth, the wearer must bite down hard enough to crack it, then spit or exhale the poison at an adjacent creature . Doing so requires a standard action to make a ranged touch attack, but does not provoke attacks of opportunity . If the attack hits, the target is exposed to the poison and must save normally . Activating a toxic tooth also exposes its wearer to the poison .

Alchemical items provide a variety of benefits

Trail Bar: This tough, 4-inch-long bar of vegetable matter provides the equivalent of one day’s worth of food . A creature that has consumed a bar (which takes about 10 minutes) receives all the nutritional and stomach-filling value of a full day’s food—if none of the flavor . However, consuming a second trail bar before 24 hours have passed sickens the creature for 1 hour .

Rangers and bounty hunters carry trail bars only if going into the wilds for long periods of time, and even then only reluctantly .

Table 5–3: Alchemical Items

Substance Craft (alchemy) DC Cost

Clearwater tablet 30 1 gp Daystrider capsule 15 10 gp

Ferrous aqua 20 20 gp

Forger’s paper Endurance elixir Liquid light 20 20 30 10 gp 25 gp 20 gp

Nerv 25

Powdered silver Rust cube Trail bar 20 30 20

Toxic tooth

25 1 Plus the cost of the poison inside. 25 gp 20 gp 100 gp 1 gp 30 gp1

PoIsons

Not every scoundrel who uses poison is an unscrupulous murderer, and not every unscrupulous murderer is a scoundrel . Regardless of who uses it, poison is invaluable for its ability to kill, weaken, or otherwise incapacitate a person surreptitiously .

Each of the poisons presented below is unusual in some fashion, whether it has increased versatility or a special effect beyond mere ability damage . Such qualities make many of these toxins attractive choices for those who would never normally consider such methods, or for poisoners with specific agendas . Blasphemix: Said to be refined from the spilled ichor of a demon, devil, or other fiend, blasphemix corrupts not only the body but also the soul . Perpetually warm, greasy, and possessed of a vile blackness that seems to writhe of its own accord, blasphemix is further profaned by prayers and chants to dark, ancient, and wholly evil powers . This liquid foulness impedes the power of faith and hinders even the most devout cleric’s access to his deity . Despite its origin, this poison affects creatures of all alignments and faiths . If the subject of this poison fails the initial saving throw, its ability to cast divine spells is hindered . For the next 10 rounds, the subject must succeed

Illus. by F. Vohwinkel