Poisons     The poisonous plants of Lur-Asko had no need of genetic engineering - most predate the Alacris and have been used to gain an edge on animals and enemies since time immemorial. Lur-Asko is full of specialized guilds that still breed the plants and produce their poisons, as well as many hedgedoctors who harvest them from the wild during the course of adventuring.

    Poisons arriving in a character's body are quantified as poison points. A separate pool of points is tracked for each poison type - Type A, Type B, or Type C. Attacks that inflict poison are often listed elsewhere in the rules in a shorthand like "poison A40/B20," which would indicate an attack that inflicts 40 Type A poison points and 20 Type B points. When poison is a component of attacks that also inflict normal damage, they are inflicted only if damage is taken from that attack. Poison points are halved whenever the normal damage points would be halved by armor range, but are otherwise unaffected by weaknesses and resistances to damage. Anything else that modifies or multiplies damage points does not do so with attached poison points, and vice versa. Poison points not attached to a weapon (such as from gas grenades) are unaffected by armor. Critical hits and injury rolls have no extra effect for poison.

Poison Resistances and Weaknesses    Non-organic characters are immune to poison of all types.

    Some characters are resistant or weak against certain types of poison, or against all poison, in a way similar to damage resistance/weakness rules. For example, anthrosaurs and dryads take 50% points from all poison types, and certain elixirs and Abilities provide other resistances. Whenever a weakness or vulnerability comes into play, apply it after defenses and drive. If the same character gains resistance or weakness from multiple sources, apply each one sequentially. For example, dryads that take 50% poison who also take an elixir that reduces poison to 50% will take a total of 25% poison.

    Unless otherwise stated, venomous creatures take 50% poison points from their own species' attacks (but not from the same poison type from other species).

    Larger and tougher creatures are harder to poison. Just as damage is compared to injury factor to determine degrees of injury, each type of poison points is compared to injury factor to determine degrees of poison for that type. Whenever you gain or lose poison points of a certain type, see how many multiples of injury factor it has met or passed below, and adjust the effects accordingly. Each degree's effects replaces the effects of all lesser degrees of that type. In combat, all effects "update" at the end of your turn, even if you were poisoned on another character's turn, potentially giving you a chance to treat a poisoning before the effects begin. The maximum amount of poison points for any type is equal to 10 times injury factor; this is much higher than the amount required for the highest listed degree, so extra points beyond that degree have no additional effects, besides taking longer to remove.

Type A    These poisons are aggressive neurotoxins that interfere with the body's signals. They are quick to act and their effects are debilitating and combat-useful, but they are also the shortest-lived and easiest to treat, even with minor elixirs.

    1st-degree: Adds 1 Hindrance to any roll on DEX or INT. This Hindrance does not stack with any Hindrance from the stunned status.
    2nd-degree: You are stunned.
    3rd-degree: You are stunned and paralyzed.
    4th-degree: You are stunned and paralyzed, but also unable to breathe. Consult Holding Breath rules. If you die of lack of air while still at this degree, you cannot be revived.

    These are blood poisons which directly damage and exhaust the body. While less immediately impactful than Type A, they can potentially provide minor mid-combat assistance, and their later effects can doom a retreating foe quickly enough for them to be tracked.
    Animals that die with at least 3 degrees of Type B poison are treated as if they had the "edible with difficulty" tag; if they already have the tag, they are treated as inedible instead.

    These poisons slowly erode the body's cells over long periods. They are certainly the least useful mid-fight, but also extremely dangerous in the long term due to their rarer treatments.
    Animals that die with at least 1 degree of Type C poison are treated as if they had the "edible with difficulty" tag; if they already have the tag, they are treated as inedible instead.

    If artificial means of removing poison points are not available, they can only be reduced by waiting out the body's natural processes. Each poison type has a half-life: 1 minute (12 rounds) for Type A, 30 minutes for Type B, and 24 hours for Type C. This clock begins whenever you gain poison points of that type, and is reset if you take more. When the half-life runs out, your poison points of that type are reduced to 50%, and the countdown begins again. Because all math in Legends is rounded down, this will eventually reduce your poison points to 0.

    Poisons are purchased in 1-pound containers (0 carry slots), each one costing 50 coins per pound, regardless of type. Whether or not a poison is actually used up by an attempt to apply it to a weapon depends on your skill in doing so. Applying a poison to a melee weapon requires a roll of d20 on INT, while applying it to a round of ranged weapon ammunition requires a d12 on INT. Poisoned Weapon Proficiency (Nature) adds a significant +TN to this roll, and also allows different types to be mixed. If you succeed, you apply the poison; if you succeed by 5 or more, the poison container is not used up. It is always used up by a failure. If you fail by 10 or more and do not have Poisoned Weapon Proficiency, you accidentally poison yourself, taking 10 points of the relevant poison type. Poisoning a weapon mid-combat is a slowing major action.

    You must be competent in a weapon in order to poison it or its ammunition. You cannot poison weapons that have the Blunt tag. Amongst ranged weapons, only arrows, bolts, and non-blunt thrown weapons can be poisoned. Thrown weapons follow the rules for poisoning melee weapons.

    Upon successfully poisoning a weapon or round of ammunition, you add 10 poison points of the chosen type to it. This amount can be increased by Poisoned Weapon Proficiency's progression. It may also be voluntarily reduced when applied, though this does not adjust the roll. You cannot re-apply poison to increase the poison points. Poisoned items will deliver their poison only on a damaging hit (halved whenever damage is halved by armor, as discussed above). Weapons are no longer poisoned upon delivering their poison, and cannot poison partially. Unused poison will remain on a weapon or projectile for 12 hours before wearing off. It can be cleaned off as a minor action; this does not recover the poison.