The Black Art of Brewing Poisons

There are rumored to be thief trainers in the world that can teach you the black art of brewing poison. These trainers can be hard to find, but if you can find one the art of poison making can be very useful. Brewing poison is not only a good way of gaining experience, but it's also a great addition to any thief's arsenal.

Brew poison is a thief skill that allows a thief to mix different herbs or spell components together, in hopes of creating a mixture with a poisoning effect. Even the very act of brewing toxic mixtures is dangerous, and before attempting to use the skill you should ensure that you have a way to cure yourself from poisoning. Many poisons are strong enough that the handling process for the brew can leave you quite sick.

In many cases when you brew a poison, you will end up poisoning yourself, either when you brew it or use it. There are many ways to cure poisoning; a few are spells, potions, or antidote brews. Another common way is to find a cleric to rid you of the poisoning effects. Many thieves die poison related deaths when brewing, because they don't have antidotes ready beforehand. Antidotes will be explained on Page 2.

Any herb, spell component or food can be used in creating a poison brew. The level of the poison is determined by the level of the ingredients that are used. If you use level fifty ingredients you will create a higher level poison then using level twenty ingredients.

Also keep in mind that the higher the level of the poison, the more curing you may need should you poison yourself when brewing or applying it.

Poisons affect your enemy in the obvious way, by making them sick. Just as you can die if you if you don't cure yourself from the effects of poison, so in theory will an enemy. Poison will not only inflict damage on your enemy, it will also help to counter their ability to heal and regenerate. It may also have other disabling effects.

There are several different ways of poisoning an enemy:

• Use an enchanted weapon with a poisonous damage type.
  
  
• Use the 'poison weapon' skill to apply a poison brew to a weapon.
  
  
• Poison food (it can also be used on corpses.)
  
  
• Brew special poisons that create toxic clouds or gasses.
  
  
• Poison damage spells such as 'sickening touch'.
  
  

The special poisons that create toxic gases are for the most part rumors, but rumors typically have some basis in reality. One type is said to cause blindness and confusion in addition to choking and poisonous effects.

Also keep in mind that poison brews are only good for a limited amount of time before they lose their potency and effectiveness.

Next - Part 2 - Advanced Poisons and Antidotes