[Rq-rules] Re: Poison/Funny chaotic critters

[Simon Phipp]

Nikk Effingham:

> Genius. That's one for the next game, that'll also make me laugh - laugh
> more
> than poison (always great to watch thme kill the beastie and then get
> floored
> by the poison that's worked it's way into their  body).
> 
> On that note, do you guys let the Heal spell heal poison damage?

No, definitely not. I play that poison does general hit point damage (as
RQ3), so you need specific magic to heal it. Heal Body works, as do poison
antiodotes, Treat Poison and whatever poison-specific spells you want to
invent.

I don't even use Blade Venom, as I think it is far too powerful (and this is
from someone who doesn't even blink at Crush 20 being used). You can put
Blade Venom 10 on an arrow, Speedart it, fire it at someone's head and pretty
much ensure that the person will be incapacitated, as long as it gets
through.

Peter Johansson uses exploding toads in his campaign, but PCs would become
wary of them after several exploded, then they'd pump them full of arrows and
they wouldn't be any fun at all.

One of my favourite tactics, when the PCs were attacking a Thed Great Temple
or something, would be to put two or three exploders together in a squad.
Then, if one dies he explodes, having a good chance of killing another one
and he explodes, probably setting off the third. So, you get three explosions
in the same round, probably affecting the PCs and only losing a few NPCs in
the process. If one of them is Highly Inflammable, it is even better as you
can cast Ignite at them or set them off with a Firearrow.

Of course, this relies on the Thed Priests knowing what Chaotic Features
their congregation has and on them being willing to sacrifice their fellow
cultists. Since I played that Thed could tell what a broo's chaos features
were via Divination, the first was true, and the second was very probably
true in all cases.

David Smart:
> I used to game with a group of guys who would have _loved_ these. They'd
> use the toads as the equivalent of homing Limpit mines.

During the Seige of Stalingrad, the Germans trained dogs to walk under tanks,
with mines strapped to their backs, then set them off by jumping up beneath
the tank. All well and good, until they were actually used and went and sat
beneath the Panzers they had been trained in.

Homing Limpit mines don't always work as planned.

Stephen Perrin:
> The local (in Southern California - I was still in Northern Califironia so 
> this is hearsay) RQ campaign many years ago had a cult that could induce a 
> chaotic feature under the complete control of the caster. It became a 
> standard operation procedure for the bad guys to infect a horde of Rubble 
> Runners with the exploding feature, then send them after the PCs.
> 
> It got so that no one ever wanted to see a Rubble Runner again.

That's quite a nice idea.

One thing I always liked was to put something with Hypnotic Skin (INTx5% or
stand drooling like an idiot staring at the pretty patterns) into some alcove
that is hard to Spot (-50% Spot Hidden, or whatever), then make the PCs try a
Spot Hidden roll at -50%, some of them would be really pleased they made it,
then would have to make an INTx5% roll or be hypnotised. 

But, my all-time favourite has to be Acid - the burning type, not the pretty
patterns type. It doesn't matter what form it takes, this has the potential
to hurt, really annoy and perhaps kill the PCs. It hurts low level characters
and destroys expensive equipment. It hurts high level characters a bit, but
destroys their nice enchanted iron armour. It can be used in many ways:

1. Spit acid chaos feature (let them spit in a bucket over a few days and
throw the bucket at PCs)

2. Hydras with acidic blood and poison - these are nice because even if the
PCs are brave enough to attacke the hydra, every blow that does damage also
burns their weapons away. Two for the price of one. And their heads grow
back. And they get multiple attacks. And they have poison. And they get more
attacks the longer the combat goes on. They are even better with Healing or
Regeneration abilities. 

3. Gorps, who are always funny, but especially against Yelmalians who can't
cast Fireblade to damage them (one of the abiding memories of a ancient
campaign was someone running from Bigclub in Snakepipe Hollow and deciding to
jump into a pile of ashes to hide, only to jump out again minus ALL his
armour and a nice all-over burn)

4. Krarsht assassin-hookers are good for a one-off attack on a PC - they come
along, all smiles and hormones, get swept off their feet by the dashing young
male PC, retire to a comfortable nook, remove all their clothes, start
embracing and then cast a meaty Sweat Acid. You get the triple joy of a
cunning plan working, a PC getting burnt all over by acid and a coitus
interruptus of epic proprtions.

5. Cacodemon grants the spell Vomit Acid, which must be my all-time favourite
spell. I play that Fiends get this as an automatic ability and when they cast
it they get their full POW in acid. And, boy, do they use it.

6. My Dorastor Campaign had Acid Rain, from Urain or Ragnaglar. No, this
wasn't the ecologically-sensitive polluted rain that turns leaves brown in
summer, this was the POT 1D6 acid that fell on the PCs from a great height,
stripping their armour from them. Even better if they have the "Never Shelter
>From Storm" geas. Of course, they soon realised that Protection or Shield
countered the acid effect, so they cast those spells whenever it started
raining. It used their spells up quicker, though.

7. I had a hydra that spat her acid/poison with double potency, she was
called Heidi. That was funny. The players didn't think so, though, I can't
imagine why.

Anyway, I've got to go and at least try to do some work.

See Ya

Simon