Nemysa

[Phaelen Bleux]

I took this idea from L. E. Modesitt's Natural Ordermage novel from the Saga of Recluse. In my fantasy campaigns, PCs and NPCs alike are always looking for a sure-fire way to neutralize a mage. Previously, I have always let a Rada-Han (borrowed from The Sword of Truth series) fall into the hands of the party. I sort of like the idea of an alchemical elixir better; there ought not be dozens of artifact-level magic items lying around for binding mages.

Suggestions? Critiques? Have I missed an item that already exists?

Nemysa
This is an oral poison used to drug mages. It is very toxic, with many serious side-effects, including amnesia and death. However, a mage under its effect is stripped of his Magery, and is thus unable to cast spells.
A mage dosed with Nemysa rolls vs. (HT+Magery)-5 for each dose administered. Each additional dose adds an additional -2 to the penalty (but a +2 to the chance to detect the poison, see p. CO73). For each point the character fails the roll, he suffers 1d Fatigue damage (vs. ST-based Fatigue only; spell-casting Fatigue does not help). If this reduces Fatigue to 0, the PC falls unconscious; remaining damage becomes HT damage; thus, large doses may actually kill the mage rather than just render him unconscious.
While the mage regains consciousness normally, his Magery is much slower to return. Once per week, he may roll against HT+Magery, again at an additional -2 for every extra dose. A failure means no change; a Critical Failure means the next check is in 1 month, a success returns 1 level of Magery, and a critical Success returns 2 levels of Magery. If these gains do not return the mage to his previous levels of Magery, he rolls again to recover further the following week.
On a Critical Failure of the initial resistance roll, the mage acquires Total Amnesia. The mage may regain his memories slowly over time. Each day, the Mage may make an IQ roll, at a penalty equal to that by which he failed the initial HT+Magery roll. If he succeeds, he gains 1 point back against the Amnesia disadvantage. Therefore, after 25 successes, he memory has been fully restored. It is left to the GM and the player to roleplay the PC in the midst of regaining his memories.
Nemysa is a digestive poison with a Moderate taste (+0 to detect). Holdout rolls are at +4, Sleight of Hand rolls are at +2. $10,000 per dose.