Neutralize Poison

[Zulgyan]

I haven't reached higher than 5th level in OD&D yet. But today I was reading the higher level spells, and was supriced by the Neutralize Poison spell:

Neutralize Poison: A spell to counter the harmful effects of poison. Note that it
will not aid a character killed by poison, however. It will affect only one object.
Duration: 1 turn.

I highlight the duration in red, because it's different from all other editions of D&D.

But many things in OD&D are different from the later ones, so I wonder if there would be a good "OD&D interpretation" for this spell, that would make it different from later D&D.

Duration 1 turn... what can that mean? what does it mean to you?

I see various possibilities.


1. After one turn poison takes effect again (could be... AD&D says N.P is "permanent").

2. The spell can be held for 1 turn before finally discharging it.

3. The spell can be used any times you want on persons, but once on an object, as long as the spell duration does not expire (the words of the description could be taken into this way).


Ok, so what say you?

[Zulgyan]

One more:

4. The spell makes one subject immune to poison for 1 turn. (Could be, since poison in OD&D is save or die, and it won't aid a dead character)

[Falconer]

Hm... Maybe:

ROUND 1: Fighter gets poisoned. Fails save, falls down dead.
ROUND 2: Cleric casts neutralize poision.
ROUND 3: Fighter is “actually not quite dead...feeling much better” and can perform an action.

Or would it be Round 12? I’m not sure if in Chainmail/OD&D 10 rounds = 1 turn as is true in AD&D, or if round and turn are synonymous. Regards.

[Zulgyan]

According to TU&WA, p. 8:

"Melee is fast and furious. There are ten rounds of combat per turn".

[Falconer]

Alright, so, the Fighter won’t revive until Round 12, by my interpretation.

[Zulgyan]

It's a valid interpretation.

But I think that sounds much more like "Delay" instead of "Duration".

But it's totally OK your way. It kinda looks cool to me. Makes poison more dangeours, which has an appeal to me. Poison will still be strong at levels 7 and beyond.

[Arminath]

We have always used it as option 5:

5) The recipient is cured of all poisons and revived if cast within 1 round of 'death' and remains immune to further poisoning for 1 turn.

[Falconer]

Ah, yeah, that’s a good interpretation, too.

[Zulgyan]

Certainly makes the spell MUCH stronger.

[Deleted]

zulgyan said:

Melee is fast and furious. There are ten rounds of combat per turn

And (1) round of combat = (1) minute (if by "Round" we mean the complete combat round on either the attacker's side or the defender's side (movement, missile, etc.). If that's the case, then, yes, (1) turn = (10) minutes, at least IMO.

10 minutes doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

[Zulgyan]

It is not clear in the rules how much does a TURN last.

Also, reading through M&M it seems that Gary used turn and round interchangeably as if the where the same thing, and then the small aclaration in TU&WA messed up the whole thing ;D

[Deleted]

zulgyan said:

It is not clear in the rules how much does a TURN last.

Also, reading through M&M it seems that Gary used turn and round interchangeably as if the where the same thing, and then the small aclaration in TU&WA messed up the whole thing ;D

You know, I've always thought that myself (& in regards to multiple editions as well). Sounds like when it came time to codify it, they weren't really sure what standard to use.

FWIW, I stick by the structure I previously outlined above; it's what I'm used to, & it keeps it pretty simple.

[foster1941]

zulgyan said:

It is not clear in the rules how much does a TURN last.

Sure it is. 2nd paragraph under "The Move/Turn in the Underworld" (vol. III, p. 8):

Movement (distances given in Vol. 1) is in segments of approximately ten minutes. Thus is takes ten minutes to move about two moves - 120 feet for a fully armored character. Two moves constitute a turn...

Yeah it's awkwardly worded and the "approximately" and "about" introduce a bit of ambiguity, but the intention is clearly that 1 turn = 10 minutes, more or less.

[Zulgyan]

Doh, missed that

Thanks Foster!

[foster1941]

Oh, and FWIW on the original question I'd go with interpretation #1: the poison on an object/creature is neutralized for 1 turn (10 minutes) but returns after that. This makes the spell preventative rather than reactive (as it is in AD&D): if you think an object or creature is poisoned, you cast neutralize poison on it before dealing with it. By inference, to cast this spell on a creature (such as a giant spider, snake, or scorpion) would require a successful roll to hit, and the creature would get a saving throw, but if the spell succeeds the creature's poison is ineffective for the next 10 combat rounds.

[Zulgyan]

Very, very interesting interpretation that goes into the "unlearn what has been learned" philosophy to interpret OD&D. Brilliant.

But what about...

Note that it will not aid a character killed by poison, however.

This can give us a hint of the "reactive" use of the spell. You can deduce that the spell is cast on characters, but not dead ones.