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Belgarion's World for Risus
Drugs and Poisons
There are a lot of drugs and poisons mentioned in the books, but little detail is given
for most of them. The following comments and descriptions use a "best guess" method. Many
also have a brief reference to the literary source.
Drugs are treated as Bonus Dice that wear off over time. Some give the Bonus Dice to
the drugger, others to the drugee. If there is no appropriate Cliché, the drug
provides one at the listed level.
For addictive substances, consider the chance for addiction to be a combat between the
drug and some physical or will-related Cliché. The "can't participate" rule applies.
If the character loses, he's addicted. If the character wins, the next time he takes the
drug (voluntarily or not), he's at -1 die to his Cliché for resisting addiction.
Poisons and sedatives are Clichés by themselves. They must be overcome to survive
or stay alert. Again, the "can't participate" rule applies. Any dice the character loses are
treated like physical injury, healing over time. For sedatives, they are all restored when
the sedative wears off normally.
A couple of notes. Polgara did say there can't be any such thing as a love potion. She
also said that a lot of the healing drugs can be dangerous in large quantities, and some of
the poisons can be useful in tightly controlled doses. She never gave specifics.
I also think Polgara lied a bit about medicines. She claimed that some of her remedies
are "quite delicious," but everyone else claimed they were universally foul-tasting.
- Adara's rose
- Also known as the "sovereign specific." This is the lopsided pale lavender flower (not
truly a rose) Garion created for Adara. When the perfume of the live flowers is breathed,
it adds six dice to whatever Cliché is being used to resist poison, and forces the
combat rounds to take place every eight hours, no matter what the speed of the poison
normally is. Acts as an antidote even to "no antidote" poisons.
- Amber liquid
- Mild sedative. Each drop taken acts as Relax(1), to a maximum of Relax(6).
If the drug is successful, it lasts one hour per drop.
- Aphrodisiacs
- Nyissans know of several aphrodisiacs. They add anywhere from one to six dice to
seduction attempts. If no one is trying to seduce the drugee, an aphrodisiac adds to any
lecherous Cliché, or provides one varying from Aroused(1) to Horny Old Goat(6). GM
determines duration based on type, dose and whim.
- Athal
- Physically addictive Nyissan drug that affects the blood. Becomes Virulent Poison(4)
after 8 hours if more is not ingested. No antidote. Salmissra gave this to Garion.
- Athsat
- Once ingested, has no effect until victim becomes agitated, then becomes Virulent
Poison(6). Convulsions accompany death. If not fatal, it flushes out of the body after 24
hours. Most Nyissan smugglers won't touch athsat, so it's seldom available in other
countries, and always at a premium price. This was one of the poisons used in the Tolnedran
political process.
- Bitter herbs
- When boiled into a tea and drunk, acts as Fall Asleep(3). If it wins, the
character will sleep at least until rested. Used by Ariana.
- Black leaf
- Contact with this leaf causes muscles to spasm excessively. Adds six dice to physician
Clichés in cardiac arrest situations. More than a second's contact will kill. No
Cliché, no dice. The smoke from burning it is likewise lethal. Must not be stored in
porous containers, and should only be handled with tongs or leather gloves. Burn both
afterward. Polgara brushed this on Belgarath's lips to save his life.
- Calming liquid
- Sadi kept some of this in a silver flask. A single swallow adds six dice to resist
discomfort of any sort, from headache to torture to Polgara's frightening illusions. It does
this without dulling the person's mental faculties. Effects last 1d6 hours.
- Gleaming red liquid
- A single drop of this will make someone want to talk for a very long time, about
anything. Adds four dice to interrogation by casual questioning. More direct methods are
likely to produce unhelpful babbling.
- Hallucinogens
- Nyissans have access to a number of hallucinogenic compounds. They come in both powder
and liquid form. None are mentioned by name. Some of the effects mentioned include unusual
bravery, "seeing butterflies" and trying to walk up walls. Treat each use as combat,
using anywhere from one to six dice depending on the drug. If the victim loses, the dose was
successful.
- Hangover cure
- Clear liquid that, when consumed an hour before or after any alcohol, causes vomiting
for several minutes. No damage is accrued, though dry heaves do happen after the stomach is
emptied. It also makes a drunk person skip straight to the hangover once the vomiting ends.
In game terms, this is Vomit(4), and the character loses his lunch every time he loses a die
until the drug wears off, or he collapses from the stress.
On the other hand, if consumed during a hangover, it adds three dice to attempts to
overcome it. Only a mild headache will be left, for 1d6 hours. Of course, consuming any
alcohol for an hour afterward turns it into Vomit(4).
- Issus' mixture
- Colorless, nearly odorless liquid. Quiet Poison(5). There is a faint taste of lemon
associated, which a trained person can recognize (target number 15). The antidote is Cancel
Poison(5). The antidote also leaves the person feeling weak and light-headed (-1 die to all
Clichés) until the damage from the poison heals.
- Kaldiss
- Physically addictive liquid. When ingested, increases physical lust and relaxes
inhibitions. Adds three dice to seduction attempts as an aphrodisiac.
- Karandese fungus
- Burned in Karandese religious rites, which also involve demons. The fumes affect the
senses, possibly with similar effects to LSD. Twist Senses(2) as a hallucinogen.
- Miseth
- An excellent painkiller that also acts as both aphrodisiac and inhibition releaser. (In
point of fact, Nyissans don't use it as a painkiller.) Each drop adds two dice to the
drugee's ability to resist pain, and two dice to anyone else's seduction attempts as an
aphrodisiac. Polgara used this to help heal Velvet's injured shoulder.
- Naladium
- Sedative(3) Sadi suggested to Polgara when Ce'Nedra had a hysterical fit brought on
by Zandramas' tampering.
- Nephara
- Thick green liquid that encourages truthfulness. Adds two dice to interrogation
attempts. The victim must also engage in combat against Will Sapping(2) to use any of the
supernatural arts. Leaves a foul taste.
- Odek
- Absorbed through the skin as Contact Poison(2). Combat rounds with this drug
effectively take zero time.
- Oret
- When a drop or two is consumed, causes the person to talk too much and encourages truth.
Adds three dice to interrogation attempts. It's hard on the heart, so it also acts as Rapid
Bleeding(1) and Heart Attack(1). In case of Heart Attack, beating the drug leaves the
subject with no persistent damage. This makes it truly dangerous only to those who already
have weak hearts.
A higher dose can also cause a hysterical person to relax. A three-drop dose will act as
Sedative(4), putting the person to sleep before any useful information can be extracted.
Described as a clear yellow liquid in King of the Murgos, but as a thick
blue liquid in Demon Lord of Karanda. Since there is another "thick blue
liquid" with different effects described elsewhere, I'm inclined to believe the yellow
color.
- Othlass
- Not really a drug, it's an alcoholic beverage brewed by Nadraks. They have something of
an immunity to it, probably because they drink it now and then. Other people tend to get
drunk after a single long swallow, and it doesn't wear off too quickly. Booze(5).
- Painkiller
- Stops pain almost instantly. Adds five dice to attempts to resist pain, and gives the
subject Sleepy Nattering(5). Causes the subject to fall asleep after several minutes if
combat against Sedative(5) is lost. During that time, the user feels compelled to talk but
is not suggestible as with oret. Polgara gave this to Adara after pulling the arrow out of
her. Ariana didn't use this, so it's possible that only Polgara keeps a supply on hand.
- Salmissra's poison
- Salmissra took this when the Alorns all but destroyed Nyissa. It tastes foul, but it's
completely painless. Quiet Poison(6). If there is an antidote, neither Belgarath nor Beldin
knew about it.
- Sedatives
- Ariana mentioned that she knew of a few, but they did not have a calming effect if the
patient was too agitated. In fact, they would then be dangerous. In game terms, assume that
most sedatives are Poison(2) to a highly emotional person.
Polgara knew of at least one that did not cause such damage, Relax(2). And Sadi had one
that would leave the person deliriously happy for several minutes, then put them to sleep
for days. Sleepy Goofball(6) puts the subject to sleep immediately, with combat rounds each
eight hours long. Victory allows the subject to wake up, instead of sleeping for another
day.
- Snake venom
- All snake venoms are lethal to one degree or another. In other words, a given species
may have anywhere from Venom(1) to Venom(6). No snake venom is known to cause other effects.
Nyissans have antidotes for several types, but even they haven't cataloged all the species
of snakes in the world. The known antidotes act the same as the antidote to Issus' mixture.
- Thalot
- Slow-acting Poison(6) with no known antidote. It infects every cell of the body, so not
even sorcery can draw it out. Causes hysteria, delirium and convulsions similar to epilepsy
after the first week, which increase in frequency as the poison continues its effects.
Combat round period is one week, which means six weeks minimum to die.
There is a foul smell associated with thalot, which anyone will notice on the victim
during and for about ten minutes after a convulsion. A successful roll against an
appropriate Cliché with a target number of 20 will correctly identify thalot in this
case.
- Thick blue liquid
- Gives a general feeling of euphoria without dulling the mental faculties.
Psychologically addictive. Adds three dice to attempts to stay happy.
- Throat sweller
- This is the substance Sadi put on Naradas' spoon. It causes the throat to swell shut,
preventing any air from getting to the lungs. Suffocation(4). There is a
Suffocation Antidote(5) that restores breathing. The victim still must deal with the effects
of nearly suffocating.
- Yellow powder
- When placed in boiling water, gives off fumes that act as a stimulant. (Gives off acrid
fumes anyway, but steam acts as a binding agent that gets more to the system.) Adds three
dice to attempts to wake someone. The powder is mildly caustic, Topical Irritant(1) if used
by itself.
- Introduction
- Character Creation
- Drugs and Poisons
- Monsters
Original material © Patrick
Clark 1999
Everything else is either © S. John Ross or © David & Leigh Eddings
Last updated 9 June 1999
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