How do you guys do with poisonous animals like snakes and frogs?
The rules I find is much to go on...(AB 144 and LB 75)

I was thinking of an Opposed action where you use your HEART Attribute vs the Poison (you need to make a chart from minor to deadly poison).

Your thougts.


/Khamul

ToR seems to deal with such special abilities with called shots, or Hate points expenditure.

Normally, creatures attempt a called shot when the opposing player gets an "eye" result on the Feat die. Spending a Hate point usually triggers the ability regardless of degree of success.

Poisoned is a state that is equivalent to Wounded. (Adventurer's book - pg. 144). Some of the enemies cause poisoning on a called shot. I'd deal with it like that.

Could be a Hazard during a Journey, in which an unlucky company Look-out Man must roll Awareness to avoid getting Poisoned (as per the rules).

Otherwise, I think I'd simply require the player to roll a test of Awareness, Athletics or somesuch vs a TN of your choosing based on the strength of the venom or stealth of the animal. Failing it means the character is Poisoned.

Talking of poisoned as called shots: How does a piercing called shot work?

You get called shot, you get an eye or whatever is required, the char fails the protection roll:

They instantly take 2 wounds - one for the wound and one for the poison? Down and dying.....

But if they make the protection roll they still take the "poison wound" but not the "weapon wound" ?

It doesn't really seem to make much sense for me....

A called shot that doesn't wound but hits is a successful poison - take one wound even though the sting/poisoned dagger doesn't get through the armour...is this "it scratches your arm - not a serious wound but then you feel the poison coursing through your veins?

That I can just about see but.....

A normal sting/strike piercing blow penetrates arounr - the knife/sting cuts through your leather and into your belly. A terrible blow leaves you wounded with your entrails hanging out - but you didn't get poisoned?????

Doesn't make sense to me - am I reading the rules wrong here?

Also where does it say Hate points mean called shots are automatically successful? I can't find that (not surprise my one and only gripe about this system is the difficulty of finding anything when you need it. Thank heaven for improved appendices and cheat sheets)...I though called shots were same as chars - roll but need a hit AND a success rune.

Yeah, I think I will make a list with a TN to beat or they will get a Wound and an Effect that will result in something nasty during a period of time. But need to find a way to find herbs to neutralize the venom.

I think if a Called Shot fails the attack misses, regardless of whether an Edge is achieved, so there's no 'stabbed but not poisoned' scenario. I think :S

I haven't given this much consideration, but I think I would just handle things as a normal attack. Perhaps modifying the poisonous creature's TN to succeed if I felt they had a situational modifier (particularly well stealthed, etc).

One thing to keep in mind: Tolkien seems to reserve poison to Servants of Evil in Hobbit/LotR and the first half of Silmarillion (2nd half I cannot remember clearly, nor can I speak for all the books of HoMe which I haven't read). So poisonous snakes and frogs would be an anachronism, I think, as they're normal animals - not embodiments of Evil.

I meant a non-called shot.

A normal attack with poisoned blade/sting succeeds, gets eye. Gets piercing. Armour fails. Char torn half open - but the poison doesn't affect you because not a called shot just a normal hit/sting with a poisoned weapon? That's weird....

Ah, sorry, I misunderstood you. In that case I guess I'd take it to assume the enemy puts the poison on the blade when making a called shot?

A spider? How can a spider sting with a wounding attack - but no poison as only piercing wound not called - then the next round called shot poison but no actual wound? A scratch poisons you but biting off half your arm doesn't?

I think things are (intentionally) more vague on purpose. This allows and encourages more in the way of creativity and descriptiveness from the Loremaster and the players.

The game doesn't seem to be as simulational as some other games are, so you're not necessarily getting a blow-by-blow description of exactly how a sword stroke is tearing into the left shoulder of one's enemy, or getting a detailed definition of how exactly the spider's venom is affecting the target.

Be creative and make something up (as the Loremaster), based on the rolls and what results! It might take a little getting used to by some, but it seems more and more RPGs are leaning this way. The Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Game (by Margaret Weiss Productions) and the new Star Wars RPG (by Fantasy Flight Games) both seem more "abstract" like this as well. It's not as "crunchy" as many of the older games, but this more abstract and narrative style can be just as fun (even more fun), once you get the hang of it!