Given my recent experiences with fatherhood and sleep, I was inspired to create the following items. Not that I’ve had dangerous sleepwalking, but I some nights I feel that the first two have been slipped to me….
Poison of Rest Forgone
Full Item Description
A clear, reddish cinnamon scented oil.
This toxin mimics the effects of severe sleep deprivation.
The larger the dosage, the greater the effect. Generally a dose acts as a single missed night’s sleep. Onset time of the toxin is 10-15 minutes after being taken. Actual effects will depend upon the game system in use.
Victims of the toxin can sleep to clear the effects, but they still need to have their normal allotment of sleep as well.
This toxin is generally used as a means to incapacitate or otherwise impede prisoners. It is also used to assist in interrogations, and has been used to sabotage participants in contests, etc. The strong smell of the toxin generally prevents massive doses from being taken by accident and large doses need to be force-fed.
The toxin can be used by the desperate as a sleep-aid, but it only increases tiredness and does nothing to clear any causes of insomnia. When combined with the next toxin, the effects are quite incapacitating.
This toxin is made from the bark of a jungle tree closely related to cinnamon and is collected the same way. The foliage is quite different and the bark’s texture is different enough to easily distinguish it from normal cinnamon, preventing accidental harvesting.
Poison of Rest Denied
Full Item Description
A clear, brownish oil with a scent similar to roasted meat. If allowed to go rancid, the oil smells very much like rotted meat.
This poison interferes with the normal sleep processes, preventing the victim from falling asleep from non-magical causes, and will even provide some resistance to magically induced sleep. It has a very unpredictable duration of effect making it’s use as a means to counter magical sleep a dangerous proposition. A normal dose generally prevents sleep for 24 hours, but can range from between 8 hours to a full week. The poison does nothing to prevent tiredness, only the ability to fall asleep.
It is commonly used to assist in interrogations, especially by groups pledged not to draw blood or engage in physical torture. The effects can be accelerated through use of both this toxin and Poison of Rest Forgone.
This oil is the product of a large, hard-shelled nut found in tropical regions.
Poison of Precarious Sleepwalking
Full Item Description
A clear, faintly pink liquid. Slightly viscous and having a slight floral scent.
This poison interferes with the normal paralysis which stops people from injuring themselves during dreams, and also decreases the likelihood of waking. Under the effects of this substance, the victim will attempt to physically enact aspects of their dreams - attacking people, attempting to fly, running around, etc. Minor injury is unlikely to wake the victim - generally severe pain or magical intercession is required to wake the subject.
The toxin will last for 1 hour, and during that time the victim will perform random actions appropriate to their personality and recent events. A small table is provided as a suggestion, with a roll every 10 minutes.
d10 Roll Effect
1 Simple dreamwalk. Victim moves 2d10 feet in random direction.
2 Nightmare! Victim lashes out at current location at anyone or anything within reach.
3 Fantasy. Victim will attempt to fly or walk on water if either opportunity provides itself (Heights, body of liquid)
4 Panicked run. Victim runs 1d10 minutes in random direction, bouncing off walls and taking minor bruising damage.
5 Flood! Victim will attempt to climb anything nearby to escape rising floodwaters.
6 Fire! Victim will attempt to put out flames enveloping them, beating at it or rolling on the ground. Also liable to dive into nearest ‘water’.
7 Calm. No negative effect.
8 Performance. Victim believes they are in front of an audience and will attempt to use any performance skill they may have, or feats of dexterity or strength if they have none.
9 Infestation! Similar to Fire, but they imagine that they are covered in insects.
10 Falling! Victim is convinced that they are falling to their death. They will shriek and attempt to grab ahold of nearby objects/persons with an adrenalin powered grip.
This toxin can be used as a subtle form of assassination, especially if the victim resides in a dangerous locale.
This poison is difficult to make, being created from the pollens of a half-dozen rare flower types, all native to dangerous, disease ridden jungles.
These poisons have obvious uses for interrogation, weakening ones foes, or assassinations, with the advantages of being basically non-magic and fairly subtle. One can have a ‘bad night’ before a tourney without raising too much alarm - perhaps they imbibed too much liquor! Or if the local guildmaster happened to sleepwalk off a balcony, who would suspect foul play there?
As in many things, these need to be used in small doses and be fairly rare, or they lose their effectiveness.
Adventures are also to be had in obtaining the ingredients for these substances, as they are sourced from places far and exotic. I know a certain Alchemist who is willing to pay for the components! :)
Additional Ideas (1)
This orange colored lichen will when mixed with water and drunk put the user into a deep slumber for several hours and it also enables their body to resist cold damage from anything short of a full polar icestorm or the breath of an ice dragon.
It has several disadvantages howerver. It is very hard to wake up from under the influence of this, and also the user can wake up from it and then fall asleep again at random times for up to three days after taking it.
And if taken in a warm or hot climate the effects are deadly as the body rapidly heats up to the point that the victim rapidly dies if an antidote is not given.