BELLADONA
3k3 Flesh Wounds / 6 hours / 3 days

The dark purple berries of the belladonna plant (known in some circles as deadly nightshade) are harvested to produce this ingested neurotoxin. It has rapidly become one of the most popular products of the Apothecary’s Guild, purchased openly by many Vendel women for its cosmetic applications. A single drop of the clear liquid in each eye lends them an unnatural sparkle, while a drop or two of the musky serum placed on the tongue causes the cheeks to redden with a vibrant blush.

However, if the entire contents of a bottle (about a dram) are dumped into a glass of wine, this poison can also be used to remove a troublesome spouse. The flavor will stand out in most ordinary beverages, but can be easily masked with mulled wine or spiced cider. As the poison works its way through a victim’s system, he experiences a high fever, chest pains, and blurred vision leading to mild hallucinations. It is not unknown for victims to become violent, so women taking advantage of this “remedy” generally make themselves scarce while the poison runs its course.

Notes: If used as a cosmetic enhancement, belladonna provides a free Raise on all Charm attempts for thirty minutes. The flesh of a rabbit who ingests nightshade leaves is as toxic as the plant itself (a fact cagey poisoners use to their advantage).

BLACKFINGER SALT
12 Flesh Wounds / 10 minutes / 60 minutes

Blackfinger salt can easily be hidden in all foods and beverages, as it lacks odor and (despite the name) flavor, and its dark color can easily be passed off as black pepper. Soon after consuming this poison, a creature develops painful, bleeding ulcers throughout its stomach and esophagus. Blackfinger salt is a useful tool for assassins, as it mimics a medical emergency and thus avoids the possibility of detection as a poison.

BLOODSTING
5 Flesh Wounds / 1 Round / 15 Rounds

Bloodsting is distilled from the venom of the bloodstinger scorpion: a small, aggressive creature with a jet black carapace, commonly found making a home in rotted logs or similar environments. It can easily be thickened into a blade venom, and whether delivered via poisoned needle or envenomed blade, the wounds inflicted burn agonizingly for the poison’s entire duration.

Bloodsting is one of the poisons found in The Power of Death, a tome of ancient lore dedicated to the art of killing in spectacular and/or grisly manner. The formula for refining bloodsting is found in the fragment of the tome held by the Order of Ancients.

BLUE BEETLE POISON
1k1 Flesh Wounds + special / 1 Phase / 10 Phases

This poison must be harvested from a set of glands on the milkweed beetle, which must be killed or rendered completely docile somehow in order to extract the poison. A dose sufficient to affect one person requires the secretions of four beetles. The poison can be administered through food or, more commonly, through injection via a poison needle ring or a blowgun needle. It causes prickling flashes of pain, with muscle stiffness and slowed reflexes which can restrict movement.

Every time a victim sustains a Dramatic Wound from the damage inflicted by this poison, his next Action Die is discarded. If two Dramatic Wounds would be inflicted as a result of the failed Wound Check, the victim must discard his next two Action Dice, and so on. If the victim must discard more Action Dice than he has remaining in the Round, the Action Die deficit does not carry over to the following Round.

Damage from this poison is always inflicted at the end of a Phase, after everyone with legal Actions has used (or decided to Hold) them.

BOOMSLANG TINCTURE
3k2 Flesh Wounds / 1 day / 7 days

The boomslang (pictured above) is a highly venomous snake found in the southern regions of Tar-Netjer. Extremely rare in mainland Théah, this viscous purple poison was developed to mimic the snake’s deadly venom. It is much less lethal than the actual venom, and is designed more to incapacitate than to kill (though it can be deadly if a victim is weak enough).

The first signs of exposure to this poison, which can be added to thick, highly seasoned sauces or administered via injection. occur an hour after it is introduced into the victim’s system. Thinning blood causes the victim’s heart rate and pulse to soar, and he will begin to leak thin, watery blood from his tear ducts, ears, nose, and even the beds of his toenails and fingernails. The first damage is not inflicted until twenty-four full hours have passed, accompanied by overall weakness and a severe headache. It takes one full week after exposure for the poison to run its course, and as usual, damage inflicted by the poison cannot be healed until that time has lapsed (or until an antidote is administered).

BROWN KING MUSHROOM
2 Dramatic Wounds / 8 hours / 24 hours

Poultry farmers call this fungus “chick rot” due to its effect on hens. Just a few pecks at its numerous “flowers” and a hen will stop laying eggs for a period of two to three years, assuming they don’t perish after consumption.

The brown king, so named for its trumpet-like brown caps which closely resemble flowers and for its majestic height at maturity of two to three feet, grows near chicken coops and thrives on both rotting wooden fence posts and chicken manure. Assassins favor this mushroom for its sweet flavor, very similar to cane sugar, and for the slow death it causes (and its long onset time). It is easily masked in sweet baked goods and teas, but telltale dark spots in the poisoned item may give a hint as to its presence.

The first sign of poisoning is excessive yawning, followed by a deep slumber: one in which the victim barely breathes, What appears to be nothing more than the need for a nap is abruptly interrupted by shaking, confusion, and labored breathing, eventually giving way to violent convulsions and death, all within twenty-four hours of consumption of just two mushroom caps.