First off let me just say that I really like how poisons work here, and always have. Now on to the ideas:

1. Add an Impatient poison and Anorexia poison. It really wouldn't cause any balance issues because there's only a 25% chance you could afflict paralysis and impatience in the same round, and less than a 10% chance for you to give 3 afflictions in 4 hits.

2. Make the creature that secrets Chansu. (I'm assuming there isn't one, since I've been searching for it since closed beta and I'm no slouch when it comes to exploring. Ooo, now that I've said that, I'll look quite the fool if it is out there). Also, instead of just a new creature magically appearing, you could make it into a small, short mini-event for poisonists (the most ignored trade skill ever) that has us searching across the basin for a new creature or something like that, come on, it'll be fun and easy, I'll even offer any assistance I can to it.

3. A poisonist artifact: Increases the use count for each vial, lets say doubles it for simplicity's sake.

You other poisonists leave some suggestions too.

EDIT: Ritcher's post reminded me: 4. Give us cartels please... please? you could make us bring corpses to 'extraction stations' to extract poisons, that would make a cartel very viable, though I have no idea what new 'designs' we could sumbit.... bleh this idea stinks... nevermind

Not to hijack the post, but I've been looking for people trans poisons since the game started. There are three empty spots in the Merchant's Guild for them, contact me if you wish.

Poisonists should be able to do price fixing of some sort. Meh.

More poisons would be nice but I don't know if we really need an artifact. If we do get one I think something that would let us make powdered poisons to store in the rift for later use(the artifact would turn it back to a liquid when you need it) would be much nicer than doubling the applications.

What Merchant's Guild?

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Also the prob with having a Cartel with poisoners is that it means they start designing. This is the same with Alchemist and Enchanters. Can you imagine the type of designs that could happen?

It's not actually a guild, it's a clan, he just calls it that. Black Market, I think is its name.

I have a feeling that on this game they dont want Knights to end up being able to afflict a "venom lock"...

How ever some more combos for venoms would be nice as at the moment all they do is hinder, and they're not extremely effective..

I 'spose they can have the Gaudiguch meeting like the Enchanters.

Yes, because that really worked, and everyone is selling enchantments at 50 gold per charge.

Yeah but what changed was Powerstones. With Mastercut and the little Jewelist hammer, everybody can afford to sell cheaper now.

I really like the new poison ideas. But the main problem I see is that venoms so rarely come off our weapons that very few venoms are effective, so giving knights the option to use more venoms might not be that great. I'd like to there be a generic message when someone is hit with a venom so at least the knight knows that his venom actually got through. Nothing fancy, just something like:

-Bob's face pales and blackens as the vicious venom courses through his bloodstream.-

That would actually be really cool if every venom had a visible effect on the recipient for bystanders to see.

Pales and blackens? Heh, that's some neat venom!

I've suggested in IDEAs a few artifacts that do some of the things discussed here. Tailors and poisonists are the only trades that have no artifact to aid their work available, after all. I suggested four things that'd make Poisons more viable as a skill:

1) The double-extraction Aajen mentions. I described it as a press that grinds and squeezes the venom glands more thoroughly. (Which is a fair deal more justification than a "magic spatula" that doubles sandwiches. )

The other three would be bought by our customers and make them want to buy our wares, addressing the problem that less than 1/3 of the realm even can use poisons, let alone do.

2) A hollow stiletto. Quick, accurate, almost no damage, but if you envenom it, the venom always hits if you hit. (Might have to make it work off full balance, not arm balance, though.)

3) A new Great Rune for knightly weapons. Level I increases the odds of a venom applying from 50% to 65%, level II to 80%, level III to 95%.

4) A magic crucible. Put a poison into it, with a small equilibrium loss, and it is converted into a powder. Your next basic magical attack (nature curse, abjure cosmicfire, et al. -- every non-knight guild has one and only one skill that would be affected thus) has a 25% chance of bringing along the poison as well (if not, the poison is lost, but you can try again next time you have balance and equilibrium).

Naturally all these ideas need to be tweaked for balance -- the exact costs, percentages, etc. may need adjustment and that'll happen at implementation time. I just hope the overall ideas are worthwhile.

I like ideas 1,2,3 but not 4.

Maybe a skill in poisons that raises the chance for a poison to hit. Since you work with poisons all the time and know so much about them, it makes sense you would know the best way to apply venoms to give the best chance to afflict others. Then you could even charge others to let you pre-envenom their sword.

"Then you could even charge others to let you pre-envenom their sword."

I like it a lot! Like forging runes, but for poisons. And I really like the ideas that give more than just knights a reason to buy poisons.

As far as a rune that increases poisons frequency, we'd have to be careful about this, as raise it too high and you'll have some already very powerful people, getting -alot- more powerful. But I agree there should be some way to raise it some, at 50% there is no strategy involved with selecting poisons *envenom mace with charybdon x60* (If I had 95% venom release, I could kill a god *runs and hides from the smite*) So it would have to raise it like 10-30%.

Aajen brings up a good point. If cherry's hitting you every time (95%, we can say all the time) then you're screwed unless you're diagnosing constantly. Especailly if you were quick as Flow.

I'd like to see anatine finally implemented. I've been so curious as to what it does!

Also, as far as I am aware, Mactans does not work. At least, I've hit 20-30 mactans off of my mace just pounding someone, and not one affliction.

I don't think giving Knights a chance to venom lock is at all overpowering. For one, the poisons give a message, and two, they only have a <50% chance of hitting. There's certainly nothing overpowered about that.

Yeah, there's a number of venoms that don't work. I'd list them, but it's my shrub who has them. I got a complete set from a gnomie.