Poison and Sickness

Not every enemy has teeth. Some wait under a bright cap on the forest floor, and some in a bite you never felt.

Venom, toxin and illness: the weights you cannot see, and how they pass.

Some weights have no ring on your vitals panel. You know them by what they do to the rest of you. All of them pass in time.

Certain foods, certain creatures and other things in the world around you can poison you or make you sick. Learn which, and keep your distance.

Venom

Venom comes from a bite or a poisoned weapon. It rides in with the blow.

While it lasts, venom:

• tires you, up to four times faster;
• harms you every hour, worse the larger the dose.

Your body clears venom at a steady pace. A full dose takes most of a day to pass; a light one, a few hours. A second bite adds to the first, and takes longer to clear.

Toxin

Toxin comes from eating something poisonous. The meal still fills your belly; the poison comes with it.

While it lasts, toxin:

• harms you every hour, worse the larger the dose;
• makes you thirsty, up to three times faster;
• makes you reek, up to twice as fast;
• spoils your rest.

Eat enough and your stomach turns: you cannot eat again until some of it has passed. You can still bind a wound. Toxin clears at the same steady pace as venom, and a second dose adds to the first.

Illness

Illness is a sickness that lasts days, not hours. While it lasts, it:

• tires you, up to three times faster;
• makes you hungry, up to twice as fast;
• makes you thirsty, up to twice as fast;
• harms you every hour;
• spoils your rest.

Rest is the cure. Left alone, an illness takes about two days to pass. Sit or sleep and it breaks three times faster. Run, and it only grows worse.

A foul reek makes illness more likely. See Reek and Cleanliness.