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Crasical
2011-05-14, 05:59 PM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PoisonousPerson
A character that carries a disease, emits radiation, or is suffused with a deadly poison, but is immune to it's effects, meaning that they deal damage or kill with just a touch.

I've heard it suggested that this character type is unsuitable for a player character, and that it's not -really- a curse for any PC, who will just use their powers to kill things without really suffering from any drawbacks. On the other hand, I've also heard that it's a crippling disadvantage, and there's no reason anyone would WANT to play a character set up like this.

So, I wanted to ask: What do you playgrounders think of this? Would you allow someone with this sort of power into your games? How would you mechanically represent it, in any system you care to mention? Do you think this could be an interesting source of drama, or is the trope overplayed?

RndmNumGen
2011-05-14, 06:05 PM
If the effects are minor(1d3 Dex or something similar?), I would probably allow it, because while it would help in combat but not overpower other options.

If the effects are powerful, I wouldn't allow it because such a build does not work with group play. Maybe on a solo adventure.

ScionoftheVoid
2011-05-14, 06:45 PM
I'd probably allow a character with that as their schtick. If they can find a way to do it without me needing to homebrew anything that's great, but I'm still going to try my hand at it anyway.:smallbiggrin:

Personally, I think it's interesting. It requires melee combat so it shouldn't necessarily be overpowered, and there are lots of roleplaying oppotunities if it can't be turned off. Unfortunately not many systems have support for such a character (the system I'm making can't really handle one as a PC without significant homebrew or inherent imbalance, for example, you either need to make something new for everyone or accept that character X is slightly to largely more powerful than the rest of the party).

DukeofDellot
2011-05-14, 06:55 PM
If I was running a GURPS Supers game...

Brown Spider, Eternal Rot, or whatever you would like to call this Poison-Man, could have not only a poisonous sting, but the ability to control the effects or alter the properties of the poison he can inject, including but not limited to...

Gateway Poison--Causing a stackable HT penalty making the rest of his poisons harder to resist.
Sleep Powder--Causing the a victim to fall into a deep sleep.
Truth Serum--Causes the effects of Severe Honesty.
Hallucinogenic Sting--Causing the target to experience illusionary effects (maybe Poison-Man can control what his victim experiences).
Community Rot--A Frightful chemical that causes not only the victim, but everyone he touches (other than Poison-Man who is immune) to slowly rot away.
Premature Obituary--Which has a long incubation time during which time the poison is all but undetectable, Poison-Man's choice from one month up to three years, when the subject will surely die unless he has the antidote, which only Poison-Man can provide.

Surely, this appears to be a villian, but such powers could be used heroically, if carefully administered, though the horror that his foes would experience would leaven him viewed as an Antihero at best. His super weakness, could be that his poisons are easy to trace, if he did go rogue, everyone would know immediately (unless he's making liberal use of that Premature Obituary to create minions who have no choice but to obey him).

In this example, he's still not much of a team player, but that Gateway poison alone could lead to some frighting combos with any other Affliction dependent character (or spellcaster) and the ability to subdue his opponents could help Mr. Muscles get in the final blow or to carry them off for interrogation (another of his specialties).

I think it would be a fun character, though reserved for a high point game (which most Supers Games tend to be). The thing is, a lot of supers have resistance or immunity to metabolic hazards, which would totally wreck this guy, so he'd have to have some backup abilities.

Maybe stealthy stuff... and have him be a computer hacker... or an acrobat... or something. Either way, if you're not a GURPSer, each of these abilities are fairly easy to handle...

In a low point game I was building a character for, I used this archetype for the "Blind Boxer" who had a stinger on his fist that injected a poison that rendered the opponent temporarily blind... He was also a wilderness survival expert.

TheCountAlucard
2011-05-15, 04:08 AM
Once again, this is all dependent on system. For instance, Abyssals make for excellent plague-carriers, by dint of being immune to the Great Contagion (and, with the appropriate Medicine Charms, any other disease they care to spread), while still carrying the infection.

Another decent example are the Green Sun Princes, who can afflict others with lethal demonic radiation poisoning, without worry of suffering the effects of it themselves...

Berenger
2011-05-15, 06:09 AM
1) Be chaotic evil.
2) Stab yourself for 1d6 damage.
3) Lie down on the road to the next paladin temple.
4) ???
5) Profit!


Sounds like fun.:smalltongue:

TheCountAlucard
2011-05-15, 06:36 AM
Sounds like fun.Assuming 3.5e D&D, paladins are immune to disease. :smalltongue:

Berenger
2011-05-15, 06:50 AM
Ummm... clerics, then?

The Dark Fiddler
2011-05-15, 08:19 AM
Cancer Mage from the Book of Vile Darkness for D&D 3.x is pretty much this concept, and I think it's be pretty interesting to play.

I can see it working in a more serious Mutants and Masterminds game too.

Bobby Archer
2011-05-15, 10:47 AM
This type of character could definitely have a serious downside depending on the type of game that's being played. It's one thing to think of infecting people in combat, but a character like this would infect (or at least potentially infect) anyone they came in contact with. Any kind of social interaction becomes a kind of dance with the infected character trying to keep enough of a distance to not accidentally cause a pandemic every time they go to town. Even the other PCs will have to keep they're distance.

Depending on the game and setting, local authorities may deem that the character is too dangerous to live, even if they're a hero who's saved the town ten times over. This could be a severe curse for a PC if the DM really tries to let it play out.

This is one of those PC qualities that could really wind up defining the game. There are a lot of campaigns it won't fit in, but it could be fun to play with.

Traab
2011-05-15, 12:19 PM
Being a walking plague carrier would mean not only would YOU be barred from entering any cities or towns, but likely your entire party just by association with you. Meaning it would be really hard to buy supplies, sell loot, get upgrades, etc. You may find yourself and your party chased by mobs of angry villagers who dont want to be poisoned by your presence. Then when you consider the combat aspects. Not only do you have to worry about your position around the mobs, but your allies as well. That sword sage cant get too close to the guy you are attacking or else he will start taking whatever damage the disease does as well.

All that being said, it sounds to me like an interesting, if complicated wrinkle to add to a game. It has some definite upsides and downsides to it, and depending on the strength of the poison, it could be balanced, though the exact specifics should be left to the DM. *EDIT* Another downside is stealth. If the plague you carry does harm to the environment as well, your party will suck at hiding due to the path of death following you wherever you go.

Set
2011-05-15, 04:38 PM
In a 2e Realms game, the PCs ran into an NPC priestess (of Sune) who had been cursed by Talona to have poisonous skin, sweat, tears, etc. If she just touched someone, they felt mild numbness. If she grabbed someone and held on for a full round, they had to make a saving throw with a bonus. The more contact, and the more fluid transfer was involved (kissing, biting, etc.) the harsher the saving throw was. (Back then, poison was pretty much save or die, these days, I'd have her poison do minor damage.) She had a few curing spells, but had to be very careful casting them, so that she didn't end up doing more harm than good...

To use it in combat, she'd have to spit (or bleed, if wounded) on a blade (with the blood being a tad more poisonous than the spit), and then attack normally, so it wasn't a huge boon, since it wasn't a very strong poison, and it made her pretty much untouchable.

I ruled that the poison didn't remain potent outside of her body for more than a round, so she couldn't sell it, or envenom allies weapons reliably, since it was intended to be a curse, not a cool super-power.

But gosh, she was hell on wheels to monsters that used bite attacks, and when the party was travelling through a marsh, they envied her ability to kill any mosquito or leech that landed on her flesh. (They were less thrilled with the little swamp fish that would go belly up in her wake when she walked through water...)

Ason
2011-05-16, 12:55 AM
The Antipaladin class from Pathfinder's srd has a class feature (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/antipaladin#TOC-Plague-Bringer-Ex-) that's somewhat related. Essentially, you are immune to diseases but can still contract and spread them to others. It's fairly mild (but only a 3rd level ability), but if you acquired enough diseases, that'd get the job done in a fashion.

Crasical
2011-05-17, 04:43 AM
Is there any way you could do this in 4e dnd? I'm curious now. I've been thinking about making a kunoichi with demonic heritage from a Frog henge, who has poisonous or medicinal touches, but I haven't been able to decide what system she'd be best under.

Eldan
2011-05-17, 05:02 AM
Yeah, I can't really see it working.

"We have an audience with the king! Not you though, you have to stand in the yard outside, 20 feet away from everyone!"
"We'll go research in the library. You should probably wait outside, in the courtyard."
"Okay, everyone, let's go have a drink. We'll hand you yours with a ten foot pole, you can drink it on the roof."
"We go talk to the informant. He can go... I don't know. Wait somewhere."
"Oh, combat! Let's get the disease guy here!"

Yeah. You'd basically be standing at the sidelines for 80% of any given campaign, in my games, unless the game is very much catered towards the character. E.g. it features substantial amounts of necropolitan or warforged communities (which makes the power kinda useless).

TheCountAlucard
2011-05-17, 05:08 AM
Yeah. You'd basically be standing at the sidelines for 80% of any given campaign, in my games, unless the game is very much catered towards the character. E.g. it features substantial amounts of necropolitan or warforged communities (which makes the power kinda useless).Err, that's assuming you're playing the variety where you can't turn it off...

And from an apparently-D&D-centric perspective, as well. :smalltongue:

For instance, let's say I'm playing Exalted, and for some reason, my Abyssal can't turn off his plague-powers. Chances are, said character will be indifferent, at best. After all, if he's a loyalist, he's already trying to destroy the world, and doesn't need the help of anyone living to do so, and if he's a renegade, then he's probably avoiding people anyway, so as not to inadverdently afflict them with his Resonance, and has appropriate Medicine Charms to keep everyone he does have to interact with perfectly hale.

Crasical
2011-05-17, 05:10 AM
Also if you're the plague-bearer type. If it's merely your sweat/saliva/blood being a contact poison, then everyone giving you a wide berth would be enough. Though, in a cramped dungeon...

Eldan
2011-05-17, 06:28 AM
Err, that's assuming you're playing the variety where you can't turn it off...

And from an apparently-D&D-centric perspective, as well. :smalltongue:

For instance, let's say I'm playing Exalted, and for some reason, my Abyssal can't turn off his plague-powers. Chances are, said character will be indifferent, at best. After all, if he's a loyalist, he's already trying to destroy the world, and doesn't need the help of anyone living to do so, and if he's a renegade, then he's probably avoiding people anyway, so as not to inadverdently afflict them with his Resonance, and has appropriate Medicine Charms to keep everyone he does have to interact with perfectly hale.

True, but in pretty much any game I start, no mater the system, there will be a lot of talking. Having an aura that kills or infects things that come near to you (and yes, I'm assuming that it can't be switched off, otherwise, it's not much of a question) would bar you tons of social opportunities.

Yes, if you play someone omnicidal, it's perfect.

TheCountAlucard
2011-05-17, 07:53 AM
Having an aura that kills or infects things that come near to you would bar you tons of social opportunities.Ah, okay, so not just the assumption that you can't turn it off, but that it's some sort of aura... okay, makes it a little easier to see why, then.

If it's just a touch-or-fluid-based, such a character would likely be more viable, even in a more social-based game.

Hell, now that I'm thinking about it, said hypothetical Abyssal could probably enjoy the hell out of some social scenarios; with the powers of an Exalt, it's easy to socially-manipulate an entire society such that there are no compunctions to be had against diseases or those who carry them. :smalltongue:

But yeah, point made. :smallsmile:

Greymane
2011-05-17, 09:31 AM
Alternatively, play a Good person and take the Touch of Golden Ice feat out of the Book of Exalted Deeds. You touch is poisonous- but only to evil creatures.

I built a Bard with it. My dream is to have a wild make-out session with a Succubus and see if he can stave off level-draining long enough to paralyze her.

Jay R
2011-05-17, 11:02 AM
A touch spell that deals damage is perfectly acceptable in D&D. A character with an infinite number of spells is not.

(Having said that, I don't play 4E, because of all the weird stuff, so maybe a character with an infinite number of attack spells can work, but it won't be allowed in my game.)

Eldan
2011-05-17, 12:43 PM
A touch spell that deals damage is perfectly acceptable in D&D. A character with an infinite number of spells is not.


In 3.5, it's called the warlock, or a reserve feat. GEnerally, I don't think either of them is overpowered.

Wizard_Tom
2011-05-18, 03:10 PM
How I would make such a curse in 4e.

Poisoned Skin
Immediate Reaction At-Will
Trigger: skin or bodily fluid contact with another living being.
Attack: 3+level vs. Fortitude
Hit: The target loses a healing surge. If the target has no healing surges remaining it must make an immediate death saving throw as if it was at negative hit points.
Special: This power can be used as a standard action to attack an enemy within your touch range.

It is actually a curse since it hinders players more than enemies. Even used offensively, it would take a minimum of 4 hits at heroic tier to kill an enemy (and since most enemies only fight the players once a day it isn't a long term hindrance). Your allies risk exposure when they need to touch you (heal checks, etc.) but there are ways to minimize it. Throw in some social stigma and it could be an interesting RP. I wouldn't even force a player to "pay" for this "ability" by spending a feat or some such. Worst case I'd make it a background trait.

Cerlis
2011-05-18, 05:57 PM
I think the best way to do it would be a basic tough ability that does damage (if it where a fast acting poison or disease it would cause immediate damage). I think the idea of giving someone the ability to cause latent diseases would be to complicated unless you made them put some effort into it. representative of them staying close and infusing the enemy with their contagion . Best used secretively during a false diplomatic mission or something.

I think the best way to make it combative is to simulate the ability of the latino girl from heroes. Whenever shed get upset or scared she'd start manifesting the plague, and she could literally suck it back into herself it the enemy wasnt already dead thus neutralizing it.

I imagine there is some sort of class or prestige class out there with a malevolent aura.

Perhaps something that is 10 foot range, (allowing her friends to easily outmaneuver it) that had an increasing penalty. Such as first round it gives a negative effect on the enemy (such as a paladin of slaughter's aura) then subdual damage, the damage increasing by one die every turn.

Crasical
2011-05-19, 05:57 AM
What is 'venomed soul' Paragon Path?