Paralyzing Tincture

From: Grimroot

Lore: Within the ancient tomes of forbidden alchemy and dark arts, whispers of the “Grimroot Paralyzing Tincture” echo through the ages. Grimroot, a plant notorious for its high arsenic content and toxic properties, forms the foundation of this concoction. Legends tell of alchemists who dared to experiment with the potent essence of Grimroot, discovering the secret to harnessing its paralyzing effects. The recipe for the Paralyzing Tincture has been carefully guarded, passed down among those willing to traverse the dangerous path of forbidden knowledge. In the shadows, those with nefarious intent seek this tincture to immobilize their foes swiftly and silently.

Use: The Paralyzing Tincture, created by combining Grimroot with other secret ingredients, is designed to induce temporary paralysis in the target upon ingestion or contact with the skin. This unique potion serves as a valuable tool for those who operate in stealth or wish to incapacitate enemies without causing immediate harm. Assassins, thieves, and spies find great utility in the Paralyzing Tincture, enabling them to neutralize adversaries swiftly and with minimal resistance.

Values (Tier One):

Stats:

• Duration: The effects of the Paralyzing Tincture last for a moderate duration, typically rendering the target immobile for several minutes to an hour, depending on their constitution and resistance.
• Paralysis: The tincture induces temporary paralysis in the target, rendering them unable to move or speak, but still conscious and aware of their surroundings.
• Skill Checks: While paralyzed, the target suffers significant penalties to physical skill checks and combat actions.

Skills gained:

• Alchemy: Characters skilled in alchemy have an advantage when preparing the Paralyzing Tincture, ensuring its potency and effectiveness.
• Stealth: Characters with proficiency in stealth can employ the tincture strategically, utilizing their stealth abilities to approach and administer it discreetly.

Preparation: Creating the Paralyzing Tincture requires expertise in alchemy and a deep understanding of Grimroot’s properties. The process involves combining Grimroot with other secret ingredients that enhance its paralyzing effects. The ingredients are carefully measured, crushed, and mixed in specific proportions to achieve the desired potency. The resulting mixture is then distilled or brewed to create the final Paralyzing Tincture.

Cost: The cost of the Paralyzing Tincture can vary depending on the availability and rarity of Grimroot and the additional ingredients. Considering the potency and specialized nature of the potion, its price for a level one character might range from 100 to 200 gold pieces, representing its exclusivity and the risks associated with its creation.

Process:

• Acquire Ingredients: Characters must obtain Grimroot and the additional secret ingredients, which might involve interacting with secretive suppliers, embarking on perilous quests, or trading with knowledgeable alchemists.
• Extraction and Preparation: Skilled alchemists carefully extract Grimroot’s essence and combine it with the other ingredients. The mixture is subjected to various alchemical processes such as distillation, brewing, or infusion to create the Paralyzing Tincture.
• Bottling and Storage: The finished tincture is stored in a vial or container designed to prevent leakage and preserve its potency. The container is usually sealed and labeled discreetly for safe transport and storage.

Tags:

• Paralyzing: The Paralyzing Tincture induces temporary paralysis in the target, rendering them immobile but conscious.
• Covert: The tincture is primarily utilized for discreet and covert operations, allowing characters to immobilize targets without causing immediate harm.
• Rare: Grimroot and the secret ingredients required for the tincture are rare, making the Paralyzing Tincture a sought-after and valuable resource.
• Additional: Immobilization, Stealth Application, Rare Alchemical Craft, Non-Lethal Neutralizer, Covert Tool, Paralysis Inducer, Underground Trade, Strategic Disablement, Forbidden Recipe, Tactical Sabotage

The sale of the Paralyzing Tincture, created from the combination of Grimroot and other secret ingredients, typically occurs in secretive and underground markets. These markets are often hidden within the depths of bustling cities or nestled within hidden corners of the black market. The sellers are individuals with connections to the clandestine world of alchemical trade, underground guilds, or secretive organizations specializing in specialized potions and elixirs.

The availability and timing of the Paralyzing Tincture can vary, as it depends on the availability of Grimroot and the secrecy surrounding its production. Characters interested in purchasing the tincture would need to navigate through the shadowy networks of informants, underworld contacts, or even secret societies to discover potential sellers. These sellers may operate discreetly, requiring a level of trust and discretion from their clients.

When acquiring the Paralyzing Tincture, characters gain a powerful tool with various applications:

• Covert Operations: The tincture can be used by spies, infiltrators, or assassins during covert operations. It allows them to incapacitate guards, targets, or individuals without causing immediate harm. This enables them to bypass obstacles, extract information, or execute missions with minimal resistance.
• Kidnappings: Characters seeking to abduct a target for interrogation or ransom may utilize the Paralyzing Tincture to temporarily immobilize the victim. This ensures a higher chance of success while minimizing the risk of injury or alerting others to their presence.
• Interrogations: The tincture can be used to induce temporary paralysis in subjects during interrogations. This restricts their ability to resist, flee, or communicate effectively, making them more susceptible to coercion or extracting valuable information.
• Non-Lethal Takedowns: The Paralyzing Tincture provides characters with a non-lethal means of neutralizing threats. By rendering opponents temporarily immobile, characters can disable potential adversaries without resorting to lethal force.

The usage of the Paralyzing Tincture requires careful planning and precise execution. Characters must ensure that the target consumes or comes into contact with the tincture discreetly and without suspicion. This may involve techniques such as lacing food or drink, applying it to the target’s skin through physical contact, or utilizing specialized delivery methods.

However, the possession, sale, and use of the Paralyzing Tincture are highly illegal in most jurisdictions. Characters engaging in the acquisition, trade, or employment of such a substance must be aware of the risks involved, including attracting the attention of law enforcement, rival factions, or powerful individuals who may seek to eliminate those involved in the distribution or use of restricted potions.

Stillness Draught

In the days when shadows stretched long and whispered secrets were carried by the wind, there was a hunter named Eravoth. Renowned for his cunning and stealth, he sought neither prey for sustenance nor beasts for glory. Instead, Eravoth hunted men—those who threatened his land and the peace he so cherished.

The tale begins in a season of unrest when invaders crept into Eravoth’s woods, seeking to claim what was not theirs. The hunter, outnumbered and alone, turned to the forbidden arts of alchemy. Grimroot, with its deadly reputation, grew in the deepest corners of his forest, its roots tangled like the schemes of those who sought to destroy him. From this plant, Eravoth brewed the Stillness Draught.

The tincture was no simple poison; it did not kill but froze its victim in place, leaving them helpless yet aware of their folly. With it, Eravoth became a silent guardian. He laced the invaders’ food and drink, coated his traps, and smeared it on the tips of his arrows. One by one, they fell, paralyzed and powerless, as Eravoth’s forest rejected their greed.

But the tale does not end in triumph. Over time, the hunter grew isolated, his reliance on the tincture deepening. His enemies turned to allies, yet he trusted no one. One night, Eravoth himself unknowingly consumed the draught, mistaking his own tainted provisions. Immobilized in his secluded home, he watched helplessly as his sanctuary, long unguarded, fell to ruin.

Moral: In seeking to control others through fear and force, one may forge chains that ultimately bind themselves.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Paralyzing Tincture

• Type: Alchemical Toxin.
• Skill Required: Art/Craft (Alchemy) (50%) or Medicine (40%).
• Effect: When applied to a wound or ingested, the victim must make a CON roll:
  • Success: Victim suffers -20 to all physical rolls for 1d6 minutes.
  • Failure: Victim is paralyzed for 1d6 minutes, unable to move but fully aware of surroundings.
• Crafting Cost: $250 in rare herbs and Grimroot.

Blades in the Dark

Paralyzing Tincture

• Type: Exotic Item (Single-use).
• Tier Requirement: 3.
• Effect: When applied or consumed, the victim must resist with Prowess:
  • On a success, the victim suffers the Weakened condition for the remainder of the scene.
  • On failure, the victim is paralyzed for a few minutes (enough to complete an escape or capture).
• Crafting Clock: 8-segment clock. Requires Grimroot and specialized alchemical tools.

Dungeons & Dragons (5e)

Paralyzing Tincture

• Wondrous Item, Rare (Consumable)
• Effect: When ingested or applied to an open wound, the victim must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw:
  • Success: The victim takes 3d6 poison damage and has their movement speed halved for 1 minute.
  • Failure: The victim is paralyzed for 1 minute. At the end of each of their turns, they can repeat the saving throw to end the effect.
• Crafting Requirements: Proficiency with Alchemist’s Supplies or Poisoner’s Kit, 150 gp in materials, and Grimroot essence.

Knave

Paralyzing Tincture

• Type: Alchemical Paralytic.
• Effect: When consumed or applied to a wound, the victim must make a WIL Save:
  • Success: Suffer 1d6 damage and lose 1 turn due to slowed movements.
  • Failure: The victim is fully paralyzed for 1d4 exploration turns (40 minutes total).
• Weight: 1 Slot.
• Crafting: Requires Grimroot, 30 coins worth of alchemical components, and 1 downtime action.

Fate Core

Paralyzing Tincture

• Type: Malicious Alchemical Item.
• Aspects:
  • The Elixir of Stillness
  • Silent Immobilization
• Effect: When applied or consumed, the victim gains the aspect Paralyzed by Tincture, which can be invoked against them to restrict physical actions and movement.
  • Overcome: Requires a Physique roll to shake off the effects, opposed by the alchemist’s roll if applicable.
  • Consequences: Prolonged exposure may result in lasting effects, such as Nerve Weakness.

Numenera & Cypher System

Paralyzing Tincture

• Level: 5.
• Effect: When applied or consumed, the victim must make a Speed defense roll (Difficulty 5):
  • Success: Suffer one step hindrance to physical actions for 1 hour.
  • Failure: Become paralyzed and unable to move for 10 minutes. Afterward, suffer hindered physical tasks for 1 hour.
• Crafting Requirements: Requires Grimroot essence, an Alchemy check (Difficulty 5), and 50 shins’ worth of rare materials.
• GM Intrusion: The tincture leaks or affects unintended targets.

Pathfinder (2e)

Paralyzing Tincture

• Type: Consumable (Alchemical, Debilitating).
• Level: 6.
• Price: 90 gp.
• Effect: When consumed or applied, the victim must make a DC 22 Fortitude save:
  • Success: The victim is Slowed 1 for 1 minute.
  • Failure: The victim becomes Paralyzed for 1d4 rounds and is Slowed 1 for 10 minutes after regaining mobility.
• Crafting Requirements: Requires Alchemical Crafting feat, Grimroot, and 45 gp worth of materials.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition – SWADE)

Paralyzing Tincture

• Type: Alchemical Paralytic (Single-use).
• Effect: When consumed or applied, the victim must make a Vigor roll:
  • Success: Suffer a -2 penalty to all physical actions for 1d6 minutes.
  • Failure: Become Shaken and fully paralyzed for 2d6 rounds. Afterward, all actions suffer a -2 penalty for the next hour.
• Crafting Requirements: Requires an Alchemy roll and Grimroot.
• Cost: 200 coins or equivalent per dose.

Shadowrun (6th Edition)

Paralyzing Tincture

• Type: Alchemical Paralytic.
• Availability: 12R (Restricted).
• Cost: 3,000¥ per dose.
• Effect: When applied to a weapon, food, or drink, the victim resists with Body + Willpower (3):
  • Success: Suffer -2 to all physical actions for 1 hour.
  • Failure: Become paralyzed and unable to act for 1d6 x 10 minutes.
• Crafting Requirements: Alchemy (5), Grimroot, and 2,500¥ in materials.

Starfinder

Paralyzing Tincture

• Item Level: 7.
• Price: 4,000 credits per dose.
• Effect: When ingested or applied to a wound, the victim must succeed on a DC 22 Fortitude save:
  • Success: Suffer the Entangled condition for 1 minute.
  • Failure: Become Paralyzed for 2d4 rounds and Slowed 1 for 1 hour afterward.
• Crafting Requirements: Life Science or Mysticism check (DC 25) with Grimroot and alchemical tools.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Paralyzing Tincture

• Tech Level: 10.
• Cost: Cr3,500 per dose.
• Effect: When applied to skin or ingested, the victim must make an Endurance check (Difficulty 10):
  • Success: Suffer -2 DM to all physical actions for 1d6 x 10 minutes.
  • Failure: Become entirely paralyzed for 1d6 x 10 minutes, aware but unable to act.
• Special Effect: If used in succession, subsequent saves suffer a cumulative -1 penalty.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

Paralyzing Tincture

• Type: Alchemical Paralytic (Single-use).
• Encumbrance: Negligible.
• Price: 50 Silver Shillings.
• Effect: When consumed or applied, the victim must make a Hard (-20) Endurance Test:
  • Success: Suffer -10 to all physical actions for 1d10 rounds.
  • Failure: The victim is Paralyzed for 1d10 rounds, unable to move or act but fully aware.
• Crafting Requirements: Trade (Alchemy) Test at Challenging (+0), requiring Grimroot and rare reagents.