Poisons and Drugs

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Introduction: As undead, vampires have little fear of conventional poisons. However, they may succumb to poisons or drugs contained within the bloodstream of their victims. Indeed, certain vampires actively seek out victims under the influence of alcohol or drugs to receive a vicarious buzz.

Following are some examples of what might happen if a vampire were to drink the blood of a poisoned or drugged victim. A vampire with low Willpower (4 or less) and/or an appropriate Nature (Bon Vivant, Child) might risk addiction to a certain substance, but this is unlikely. In general, the effects of most drugs on vampires are far less than their effects on humans.

• Alcohol: The vampire subtracts one from Dexterity and Intelligence dice pools for every two drinks’ worth of alcohol in his victims’ blood. This effect fades at the rate of one die per hour, as the alcohol purges itself from the bloodstream.

• Bloodroot: (Sanguinaria)The rare and deadly bloodroot is one of the few poisons directly harmful to Cainites. Consuming it (for example, mixed with blood) causes three health levels of aggravated damage, while using it as a contact poison (such as on the blade) inflicts two health levels of aggravated damage in addition to any injury caused by the new weapon. The poison attacks vampiric vitae, turning it into an ash-like black dust.

    Mors Sanguinaria: The flowers and buds of this plant can be reduced to a injectable paralytic poison of this family. The buds and flowers can only be gathered once every few years as the plant doesn't flower every year.  It can be injected into the skin of a vampire to induce instant paralysis that lasts 5 to 10 scenes. Injecting it into a mortal results in seizures and death. It leaves the body aching for 20 hours, reducing physical attributes by 1 dice for that time. 

• Cocaine/meth/speed: Vampires with the Celerity Discipline gain an extra level of the Discipline for (10 minus Stamina) minutes after drinking. Difficulties to resist or control frenzy are increased by one.

• Hallucinogens: The vampire lowers all dice pools by one to three (inability to concentrate). He suffers effects similar to the Level Two Dementation power The Haunting. Depending on the precise nature of the “trip,” he may gain extra dice in one particular Ability (such as Awareness) or find his Auspex Discipline raised by a dot or more. The effects last for (8 minus Stamina) hours.

• Heroin/morphine/barbiturates: The vampire subtracts two from Dexterity and all Ability dice pools for (10 minus Stamina) minutes, and experiences a dreamlike state for (12 minus Stamina) hours. Difficulties of frenzy rolls are decreased by one.

• Marijuana (Hashish): The vampire experiences a slightly altered perception of time, as well as a one-die reduction to Perception dice pools. Difficulties of frenzy rolls are decreased by one, due to the calming effect of the drug. The effects last for about half an hour.

• Poison: Larger doses of hallucinogens or painkillers, or extracts such as arsenic, strychnine or cyanide, can prove fatal to mortals and harmful to Cainites. While a mortal may suffer an agonizing death, a Cainite subtracts one from all dice pools and takes between one and three health levels of lethal damage, depending on the strength of the poison and the amount of tainted blood drunk. Poisons cannot kill Cainites or drive them into torpor, but they can temporarily incapacitate them until the bad blood can be purged and the effects healed.The vampire subtracts one from all dice pools and takes from one to three levels of lethal damage per scene or even turn, depending on the intensity of the poison. Few poisons have any real effect on the undead, and most inflict a fixed maximum amount of damage before wearing off. The vampire may purge the blood at his normal expenditure rate, and the effects heal automatically within minutes to hours after purging the blood.

• Food Poisoning (Salmonella): The vampire who consumes blood tainted by salmonella becomes nauseated and suffers a level of bashing damage. Additionally, she has difficulty drinking blood until purged of the bad blood, but she may force herself to drink (a Stamina roll against a difficulty 6). The effects of food poisoning wear off after about a day.