Poisons: H

HELLSHACKLES
1 Flesh Wound / 1 hour / 48 hours

Few poisons can top hellshackles (a derivative of a nocturnally-flowering berry bush) for its gruesome symptoms. A victim will begin to break out in blood red blisters about an hour after consuming the poison. Over the course of two days, these blisters will break open into bloody wounds that will not begin to heal until the poison runs its course (assuming the victim survives). So long as a victim suffers from the effects of this poison, his Flesh Wounds will not reset to zero after suffering a Dramatic Wound, whether due to this poison or some other source, and these Dramatic Wounds cannot be healed while the poison is in his system.

Notes: Whenever the victim suffers a Dramatic Wound, any Appearance Advantage he benefits from will degrade by one level. Blessed Beauty becomes Intimidating Appearance. Intimidating Appearance becomes Stunning Appearance, and so on. Above Average Appearance reverts to no Advantage. A victim with no Appearance Advantage will gain Below Average Countenance, and continue to degrade all the way to Hideous Countenance. If a victim survives the poison, Appearance Advantages will return to normal one level at a time as each Dramatic Wound is healed. Only time or some sort of magic can heal these Dramatic Wounds, not the use of the Surgery Knack or some similar means.

HEMLOCK
3k3 Flesh Wounds / 30 minutes / 6 hours

The hemlock plant is an accommodating thing to a poisoner. Its leaves can be turned into lethal (and tasty) salad, the toxic seeds can be roasted and applied to food, and the rest of the plant can be used to brew a spicy tea which is every bit as deadly. Symptoms of hemlock poisoning include painful muscle cramps and a tingling numbness which spreads throughout the body until it reaches the heart. Victims grow increasingly weary, then lapse into a deep sleep from which many never recover.

Notes: Every time a victim of hemlock poisoning fails a Wound Check caused by poison damage, his Brawn is reduced by one Rank until the poison runs its course. Some small game birds (e.g., quail) are immune to hemlock, and greatly favor the plant’s seeds, which renders the bird’s flesh mildly toxic; the poison inflicts the same damage and has the same duration, but the interval increases to 2 hours.

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