Sola Dosis Facit Venenum

For my Obsidian Invictus campaign, I’m aiming to make every magic item unique. Potions was a bit of a head scratcher. I don’t want a lot of extra prep. In fact, I want the opposite.

But Roleplaying Tips GM Daniel saves the day with some cool ideas on making potions distinct. He sent me this email last fall:

Johnn,

Unrelated to your e-mail this morning, I was thinking about the potions. There is a Latin motto: Sola dosis facit venenum.

[Johnn: I had to look that one up. It means “only the dose makes the poison”.]

First, players gulp down potions (especially healing potions) as if they were water.

De tête, could they get addicted? Could too many cause harm?

Could players become acclimated (and need larger and larger doses for effective healing)?

Could the effects need a cleric to activate after a certain threshold?

And: Long-term use could be detrimental, like illness (even cancer…unrestrained regrowth)? Growing a new head? Madness?

Maybe the source of manufacturing matters. Potions from Wodvörta can lead to madness; those of the wizards of Mantsele are only good for a few weeks. The witches of Bog Ennasûs work wonderfully (112% better) and lead to nightmares and …haunting or even possession.

Anyway. Back to work.

Great ideas, Dan!

Potion Creator

I mined your thoughts and made us some spark tables. I used Zorgon (AI) to help with the name lists.

Roll 1d12 on each table below to get a unique potion:

d12 Places of Origin

  1. Wodvörta
  2. Mantsele
  3. Bog Ennasûs
  4. Ur-Guldur
  5. Skarn
  6. Hallaveldt
  7. Ulmspire
  8. Krev-Mortha
  9. Vargheim
  10. Ælverhame
  11. Gravenholt
  12. Frostmærk

d12 Creators/Sources

  1. Zathra the Ash-Seer
  2. The Moon-Milk Grotto
  3. Thul-Kor of the Black Stairs
  4. Saffron Hot Springs of Kuth
  5. The Black Lotus Pool
  6. High Curate Menkara
  7. Radiant Glass Desert
  8. Vessik “Red Vial”
  9. Weeping Idol of Akrath
  10. Sister Nyraya of the Bone Chapel
  11. Blood Quartz
  12. Othram the Stargazer

d12 Containers

  1. Chipped dark brown glass jar.
  2. Stoppered bone vial carved with runes.
  3. Green glass ampoule sealed in wax.
  4. Iron phial with a squeaky screw-cap.
  5. Gold, hinged cigar case with tiny lock.
  6. Hollow reed tube bound with copper wire.
  7. Serpent-skin bladder tied with sinew cord.
  8. Brittle obsidian carving with cork stopper.
  9. Hammered bronze gourd with fitting lid.
  10. Crystal teardrop bottle on gold chain.
  11. Pink and white sea-shell tied with silver thread.
  12. Tiny hinged reliquary box holding a powder.

d12 Flaws

  1. Addiction
  2. Harm
  3. Acclimated
  4. Cleric Intervention
  5. Illness
  6. Second Head
  7. Madness
  8. Nightmares
  9. Demonic Attention
  10. Haunted
  11. Possessed
  12. Spoils in 1d4+1 Weeks

d12 Unexpected Boons

(Effect lasts 3d12 minutes or your choice.)

  1. Short range fire breath.
  2. Speak a new language.
  3. New functional body part (1. Gills, 2. Nictitating Eyelids, 3. Webbed Feet, 4. Climbing Finger Pads).
  4. Gain a perfect memory.
  5. Heal as if you’d slept a full night.
  6. Your blood becomes an antivenom or antidote.
  7. You can smell (1. Silver, 2. Gold, 3. Gems, 4. Magic) within 30 feet.
  8. Your shadow can act independently (simple tasks).
  9. You gain a terrifying presence (intimidating or stat boost).
  10. You exhale smoke and nauseating air.
  11. Short-range telepathy and weak telekinesis.
  12. Roll Twice.

Example: Potion of Healing

Place of Origin: The murkmen of Bog Ennasûs.

Source: Infused with Blood Quartz.

Container: Stoppered bone vial carved with runes.

Flaw: Haunted by a spirit of Bog Ennasûs.

Unexpected Boon: You can smell gold within 30 feet (lasts 3d12 minutes).

Multiple Doses

Dan’s point was also about players facing consequences of imbibing.

So I would take the Flaw and make it interactive.

Each time they drink a potion, they roll 1d12. If the roll is equal to or less than the total number of potions they’ve had, the Flaw triggers. This is fast, tense, and requires zero math.

Rumours say that drinking anything brewed in Bog Ennasûs turns you mad.

Perhaps the second dose brings on whispers the player can try to puzzle out.

The third dose summons a spirit of Bog Ennasûs who makes demands and attempts to control the character for a brief time.

If the Dose Check fails, make the current flaw worse. The ghost’s voice changes from whispers to screams.

This makes potions a tricky player choice.

Note that I made mine to cover all potions from Bog Ennasûs, not just healing. So each dose I drop onto the table from that place has a growing story and additional flavour now.

A quick Campaign Logger tip: Use Labels to easily track doses. For example, give a character a Bog Ennasûs 1 Label. Increase the number with each dose.

Thanks Dan!

Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
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