Noxious Fog Bomb

From: Shadowvine

Lore: The Noxious Fog Bomb is a creation born out of the clandestine experiments conducted by alchemists and rogue chemists seeking to harness the volatile properties of the Shadowvine plant. The Shadowvine, with its potent and toxic essence, serves as the core ingredient for this deadly weapon. Legends speak of an enigmatic alchemist known as Seraphus the Tenebrous, who discovered the recipe while delving into forbidden alchemical arts. Seraphus, driven by a desire to create chaos and confusion, devised the Noxious Fog Bomb to disorient and incapacitate unsuspecting foes. Over time, the recipe spread through secret networks, finding its place among assassins, thieves, and those who thrive on stealth and deception.

Use: The Noxious Fog Bomb is a highly effective tool for creating chaos and gaining a tactical advantage. When ignited, the bomb releases a dense cloud of toxic gas composed of the volatile mixture of crushed Shadowvine leaves and sulfur powder. The gas causes respiratory distress and disorientation to anyone caught within the fog, making it difficult for them to navigate or defend themselves. The Noxious Fog Bomb is primarily employed in the following ways:

Ambush and Escape: Assassins and rogue characters utilize the Noxious Fog Bomb to create a smokescreen that engulfs their target or a specific area. The disorienting effects of the toxic gas provide a brief window of opportunity for the user to strike, escape, or vanish into the chaos. It allows the user to exploit the confusion and impaired senses of their opponents to gain the upper hand.
Diversionary Tactics: In covert operations or heists, the Noxious Fog Bomb can be used as a diversionary tool. By deploying the bomb in a strategic location, the ensuing fog disorients guards or obstructs their vision, allowing the characters to bypass or distract them. It creates a temporary veil of confusion that can be exploited to carry out a planned sequence of actions without attracting undue attention.
Area Denial: The Noxious Fog Bomb can be strategically employed to deny access to specific areas or chokepoints. By deploying the bomb in a confined space, characters can create a hazardous zone that discourages pursuers or forces them to seek alternate routes. The toxic gas hinders visibility and impairs breathing, making it difficult for adversaries to proceed without exposing themselves to its effects.

Stats:

Level Requirement: Tier 1

Skills gained:

Alchemy: Characters proficient in Alchemy gain an advantage in preparing the Noxious Fog Bomb, ensuring its potency and stability.
Stealth: Characters skilled in Stealth can effectively utilize the Noxious Fog Bomb for ambushes, escapes, or diversionary tactics, maximizing its impact.

Preparation:

Skill Requirement: Alchemy (DC 15)
Time Required: 1 hour
Resources: Shadowvine leaves (5), sulfur powder (1 tablespoon), glass vial, fuse

Cost:

Shadowvine Leaves: 20 gold pieces (GP) per five leaves (due to their rarity and toxicity)
Sulfur Powder: 5 GP per tablespoon (commonly available)
Glass Vial: 2 GP per vial
Fuse: 1 GP per fuse

Process:

Crush the Shadowvine leaves into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle.
Mix the powdered Shadowvine leaves with sulfur powder, ensuring thorough blending.
Carefully transfer the mixture into a glass vial, ensuring it is tightly sealed.
Attach a fuse to the vial securely, allowing for ignition.

Tags:

Area Control: The Noxious Fog Bomb enables characters to exert control over an area by creating a toxic fog that hampers visibility and causes respiratory distress.
Tactical Advantage: Characters utilizing the Noxious Fog Bomb gain a tactical advantage by disorienting opponents and exploiting their impaired senses.
Restricted Item: Due to the dangerous and disruptive nature of the bomb, its possession and usage may be highly regulated or illegal in certain jurisdictions.
Additional: Disorienting, Escape, Stealth Weapon, Toxic, Concealment,, Hazardous, Smoke Screen, Illegal

The recipe for the Noxious Fog Bomb is typically not openly sold or available in legal markets due to its dangerous nature and potential for misuse. Instead, it is traded discreetly among individuals who operate in the shadowy realms of the black market, such as underground alchemical networks, criminal organizations, or specialized black market vendors.

Underground Alchemical Networks:
- Within the clandestine world of alchemy, there exist secret networks of chemists, alchemists, and potion-makers who traffic in illicit substances and dangerous creations. These individuals, often operating from hidden laboratories or secluded safehouses, may possess the knowledge and resources to create Noxious Fog Bombs. Contacts within these networks can provide access to the recipe, along with the necessary ingredients and guidance for its preparation. However, gaining the trust of these secretive individuals or proving one’s worth may be a challenging task.
Black Market Arms Dealers:
- In the criminal underworld, specialized arms dealers who deal in illegal and restricted items, including weapons, poisons, and explosives, may occasionally have the Noxious Fog Bomb available for sale. These individuals thrive on catering to the needs of assassins, thieves, and those involved in covert operations. Establishing connections with such arms dealers, typically through trusted intermediaries or criminal contacts, can lead to acquiring the recipe or the actual Noxious Fog Bombs themselves.

Use: The Noxious Fog Bomb serves as a versatile tool for characters who rely on stealth, deception, or chaos to achieve their objectives. The end results of utilizing the Noxious Fog Bomb can vary depending on the specific situation and the character’s intentions. Here are a few examples of its usage:

Stealthy Ambush: Characters can employ the Noxious Fog Bomb to initiate a surprise attack or ambush. By creating a dense cloud of toxic gas, they obscure their movements and disorient their enemies, allowing for swift and decisive strikes. The confusion caused by the fog provides an opportunity to neutralize opponents efficiently and escape before reinforcements arrive.
Diversion and Distraction: The Noxious Fog Bomb can be used as a diversionary tactic to create chaos and draw attention away from a primary objective. By deploying the bomb in a strategic location, characters can cause panic, confusion, and disarray among their adversaries. This diversion can be utilized to slip past guards, infiltrate secure areas, or facilitate the completion of a mission objective without direct confrontation.
Area Denial and Escape: Characters can strategically deploy the Noxious Fog Bomb to block pursuers, deny access to specific areas, or create barriers that impede pursuit. The toxic fog serves as a deterrent, forcing pursuers to either find alternative routes or risk exposure to its debilitating effects. This tactic allows characters to escape, buy time, or create advantageous situations during a chase or retreat.

It is essential to note that the use of the Noxious Fog Bomb can have severe consequences, both legally and morally. Characters must exercise caution and consider the potential collateral damage or harm caused by the toxic gas. Furthermore, the possession and utilization of such a dangerous tool can attract the attention of law enforcement, rival factions, or individuals seeking to exploit its capabilities for their own ends.

Shadowvine’s Mist Bomb

In the oldest of scrolls, there is tale, whispered among the night’s shadows, of a device most foul, called the Bomb of Noxious Mists from the Shadowvine. In times forgotten, when the stars aligned with darkness, an alchemist, known as Seraphus of Shadows, did decipher a formula of great chaos from the forbidden writings.

This Seraphus, with heart as dark as the ink of his scrolls, sought to weave confusion and despair. He harnessed the essence of the Shadowvine, a plant whose very name whispered of death and confusion. With leaves of poison and the breath of sulfur, he crafted this bomb, a vessel of chaos that, once lit, would release a fog so dense and toxic, it would blind the eyes and choke the lungs of all within its reach.

The bomb was not for the light of day but for the cloak of night, used by those who walked paths unseen. Assassins would throw it to ensnare their prey in a veil of confusion, thieves would use it to vanish into the chaos they created, and warriors of stealth would deploy it to turn the tide of battle in their favor.

Yet, the tale also speaks of a curse that followed this creation. Seraphus, in his folly, became lost within his own fog, never to return from the shadows he conjured. His name became a warning, a whisper in the dark halls of alchemy.

Moral of the Story: Beware the tools of chaos you create, for they may well ensnare you in their own darkness.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)