Poison resistance as dosage modification or sliding immunity, not roll bonus?

[vicky_molokh]

Greetings, all!

Since creatures that are adapted to more-toxic environments and diets are relevant to my campaigns, I keep thinking about Resistant to Metabolic Hazards (especially Poisons). And here's where it's been going all this time:

Could there perhaps be a way to make a Resistant variant that mostly doesn't provide a roll bonus, but rather makes an individual more resistant to bad stuff in a smoother, less random way. Perhaps there's a way to calculate a fair value by which effective doses could be reduced for the purpose of calculating harmful effects? E.g. a human after one dose of Strychnine suffers a cyclic affliction with HT rolls; but say a mutant would require 16 doses (4 doublings of dosage, which is enough to negate a +8 bonus) to even trigger the cycle, and then proceeds to takes normal unmodified HT rolls once it starts (treating 16 doses as 1 dose). The +3 bonus sounds like 2½ doublings, which would mean barely enough to triple the required dosage.

Another idea would be to just do something like 'Take 11', and say that toxins with an effective resistance roll after all modifiers that are milder than this are ineffective, but that seems like (a) it requires more of a rework of the way GURPS works and (b) risks producing weird results.

Thoughts?
Thanks in advance!

[McAllister]

My first thought is that there's already an Advantage that's milder Resistance with mitigation of the effects of a failed roll: Protected Sense. I'm not super familiar with poison rules off the top of my head, but would replacing the roll bonus with a smaller bonus and some mitigation be possible? Or does your question boil down to "what's the universal-ish way to mitigate poison?"

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by McAllister

My first thought is that there's already an Advantage that's milder Resistance with mitigation of the effects of a failed roll: Protected Sense. I'm not super familiar with poison rules off the top of my head, but would replacing the roll bonus with a smaller bonus and some mitigation be possible? Or does your question boil down to "what's the universal-ish way to mitigate poison?"

Mostly I'm looking for a fair way to model poison (and other bad stuff) resistance that isn't a case of "Upon eating a bad berry, you suffer the same 1d HP of damage, but 20% of the time instead of 80% of the time like normal humans".

[evileeyore]

Some form of DR vs Poisons?

[scc]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

Some form of DR vs Poisons?

Yep, this or a a chain of resistances, like used for enchanting in Sorcery

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

Some form of DR vs Poisons?

I think this is an applicable place for the Internal modifier from Biotech and Limitations, where an advantage that only applies to your insides costs 1/5th it's usual cost. Not -80%, 1/5th, like an advantage that costs CP.
Although looking at Toxic, there really isn't supposed to be toxic effects that aren't deployed internally.

Internal Only DR vs poisons would probably only cover ingested poisons.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Mostly I'm looking for a fair way to model poison (and other bad stuff) resistance that isn't a case of "Upon eating a bad berry, you suffer the same 1d HP of damage, but 20% of the time instead of 80% of the time like normal humans".

Most specific toxins are very rare all things considered.
Except in certain life forms, like cyanides in raw cassava, species of bamboo, millipede defensive sprays, etc.
Then again, humans have insane resistance to theobromine making it virtually impossible for us to overdose on it like cats, dogs, and bears have. But it isn't common in raw foods.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Mostly I'm looking for a fair way to model poison (and other bad stuff) resistance that isn't a case of "Upon eating a bad berry, you suffer the same 1d HP of damage, but 20% of the time instead of 80% of the time like normal humans".

Trash the concept of resistance rolls and just have it do damage with symptoms, and then give defenses? While all or nothing is appropriate for diseases and some specific effects of poisons, many poison effects are nowhere near as random as resistance rolls would make them.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Greetings, all!

Since creatures that are adapted to more-toxic environments and diets are relevant to my campaigns, I keep thinking about Resistant to Metabolic Hazards (especially Poisons). And here's where it's been going all this time:

Could there perhaps be a way to make a Resistant variant that mostly doesn't provide a roll bonus, but rather makes an individual more resistant to bad stuff in a smoother, less random way. Perhaps there's a way to calculate a fair value by which effective doses could be reduced for the purpose of calculating harmful effects? !

Damage reduction

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Trash the concept of resistance rolls and just have it do damage with symptoms, and then give defenses? While all or nothing is appropriate for diseases and some specific effects of poisons, many poison effects are nowhere near as random as resistance rolls would make them.

One could say the same about damage rolls in general. The roll usually reflects impossible to determine variables that nevertheless greatly affect ultimate level of injury.

As to disease, I'd have to disagree because how severe of a form one gets can be quite random. I contracted a super mild form of shingles despite being in reasonably good health and 41 at the time. What would that be, making my resistance roll exactly?
(It was induced and concurrent with my very first oral herpes outbreak... in my nose though. I mention that as obviously shingles itself is a reviving of a long past infection, but it can be set off by something else in the body region.)

But it's not about whether the rules work as it, or even how realistic they are. It's about GMs getting the results and methods they want.

It would be an odd idea to make disease and toxin cause generic HP damage and eyeball the appropriate symptoms like how one could get creative in describing weapon caused injuries.