Resistant to Posions (+8): Poisons for casual consumption and/or showing off

[vicky_molokh]

Greetings, all!

The +8 level of Resistant to Poisons or to Metabolic Hazards is a pretty high-end trait, just one step below total immunity. Logically, such characters should be able to safely consume substances that would be harful to normal humans in the same amounts. However, there's this pesky fact some poisons have effects that ignore resistances, and/or that after all modifiers will still leave 2-10% chance of suffering a harmful effect. But hey, a 'mere' +8 to rolls is what the trait gives for its cost.

However, I'm looking for the sorts of substances that such a character can still consume and stay totally safe as a way for me as a GM (or a player, if I ever play one character with such a trait) to underscore the robust metabolism. The sort of things that humans wouldn't run the risk of trying in the same quantities. I suppose the Drinking and Intoxication near-immunity can be of use, but that's kinda lame and not exactly appropriate personality-wise.

So what other options are there? Something like tea made of eucalyptus? Spices and peppers of the extra-nasty sort? It's best if I can weave such substances into the character's culture, which doesn't consider them harmful as a result.

Thanks in advance!

[PK]

I don't have specific examples, but per p. B345, a roll at +10 or better should be considered "automatic" in most cases. Thus, a hero with Resistant to Poison (+8) would treat any poison resisted with HT+2 (or better) as automatic resistance, without any balance issues. So go buy a few vials of sufficiently weak poison and show off!

[WaterAndWindSpirit]

My idea is awfully mundane, but with +8 Poison resistance, wouldn't you be able to smoke 20 packs of cigarettes a day without ever getting sick?

[CeeDub]

Spoiled food and large amounts of high-proof spirits come to mind.

[Dalillama]

Recipes might call for horse chestnut, hemlock, jimson weed, mistletoe berries or the like.

[Ashtagon]

Many cultures have foods that are essentially "spoiled" something (at least to the eyes of non-natives). This includes Faroese fermented sheep meat, Chinese century eggs, Korean kimchi, Japanese natto, Mexican huitlacoche, and on a more familiar level, cheese. It only takes a small step for these to go from "exotic foodstuff" to "normal people who like this sort of thing won't eat it".

Additionally, some foods contain natural poisons (e.g., properly prepared fugu, raw red kidney beans). Your character might purposely eat improperly prepared samples.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Dalillama

Recipes might call for horse chestnut, hemlock, jimson weed, mistletoe berries or the like.

I think all of those are horrifically bitter. The character may hurl just out of taste revulsion if not technical poison. Until a few years ago the mere idea of raw celery would make me gag. Forcing me to eat it despite its normal food safety would have made me vomit.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by CeeDub

Spoiled food and large amounts of high-proof spirits come to mind.

Spoiled food isn't necessarily "poison"; there is still the risk of bacterial infection, among other things. But you could probably drink not only high-proof spirits but alcohols other than ethanol.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by CeeDub

Spoiled food and large amounts of high-proof spirits come to mind.

I'm oblivious and used to eat before looking back when I was a young pig. I know the colors of mold by taste. The whiter the stuff, the milder tasting and dryer the mold. Wet and black is the worst tasting by far, I've found.

The only time I hurled was from mayo where I misread the expiration year. I thought the 6 was an 8 and figured only a little off at the time. I had recently gone back to normal foods after a medically necessary super strict diet, so everything tasted weird.

[Dingle]

They might use something more dangerous than vinegar for their equivalent of pickling.

Regarding the bitterness: we dislike the taste because of the danger.
This proposed character will taste these as regular nuts, herbs, and berries.