fatal

Sapremia is a form of blood poisoning
caused by toxic products that result from the action
of putrefactive microorganisms on dead tissue.
Sapremia often accompanies gangrene. If a character
acquires sapremia, then they must pass a Health
sub-ability check at TH 16 to overcome it. Otherwise,
the infected character will feel weak and lose
1d100 points of Strength and Drive. In another
2d4 days, the character may attempt another Health
check in order to overcome sapremia. When making
Health checks, if the result is 9 or less, the character
instantly dies.
Serums against venoms can be obtained by
injecting animals (such as horses) with small amounts
of the venom and extracting the immune serum or
antivenin that the animal’s body produces in defense.
Snake venoms are broadly classified as either
hemotoxic (damaging blood vessels and causing
hemorrhage) or neurotoxic (paralyzing nerve
centers that control respiration and heart actions),
though sometimes are a combination of the 2 categories.
If affected by snake venom, a character
must make a Health sub-ability check at TH 17 to
avoid its effects. If the character is affected, then
the Aedile must determine the percentile chance that
death occurs. If the venom is hemotoxic, then the
character loses 1d100 points of Strength and Drive.
If the venom is neurotoxic, then symptoms include
local pain and swelling, nausea, and difficulty in
breathing.
Spider, black widow – only the female is
poisonous and she bites only defensively, not aggressively.
Her poison is neurotoxic (paralyzing
nerve centers that control respiration and heart actions)
and is followed by local pain and swelling,
nausea, difficulty in breathing, and is sometimes fatal
(Health sub-ability check at TH 17).
Spider, brown recluse – the bite of this
spider causes a long-lasting sore that involves tissue
death, and severe reactions to it may become lifethreatening
(Health sub-ability check at TH 17).
817
Spider venom – all spiders are venomous,
though many cannot break a character’s skin or lack
the potency in small doses to be dangerous to characters.
Spider (arachnid) venom is neurotoxic (paralyzing
nerve centers that control respiration and
heart actions). Symptoms include local pain and
swelling, nausea, and difficulty in breathing.
Tetanus is a poison that is destroyed by gastrointestinal
juices. The infection of the nervous
system causes muscle spasm. Also called lockjaw, it
is obtained from contact with rust in wounds. The
incubation period lasts from 2 weeks to several
months, but most often is 2 weeks (80% of the time,
otherwise roll 2d8 weeks). The first symptoms are
headache and depression, followed by difficulty in
swallowing and in opening the jaws. Stiffness of
the neck develops and gradually a spasm of the cheek
muscles sets the face in a peculiar, sardonic grin.
Eventually, the spasms spread to other muscles of
the body. About 2 in 3 cases are fatal (Health subability
check at TH 19).
Water Hemlock is a poisonous plant in
which the most poisonous part is the roots. Water
hemlock, when eaten, brings about convulsions. The
roots grow in clusters of tubes roughly 2 feet in
length. The amount of root that must be eaten to
cause death is very small; 1 or 2 bites of the root
may be fatal to a character. Only 8 ounces will kill a
horse. The root does 20 LP damage per bite to
characters. The plant grows in swamps, along
streams, and in other moist conditions. Once ingested,
signs will develop within an hour, though
often within 10-15 minutes [50% chance of developing
in (8 + 2d4) minutes, otherwise roll 1d6 and
1d10 for a result from 1-60 minutes]. The syndrome
is very violent. First, nervousness occurs and the
pupils become dilated. Later, muscle tremors occur,
the character has difficulty breathing, falls down
and goes into convulsions. Death from respiratory
paralysis and terminal convulsions is a typical outcome,
occurring within 3d10 minutes of the onset
of symptoms.
Chapter 17: Natural Substances