Prior to researching for this article, I would have told you that poison was bad in DnD 5e. I believed it was just one of those mechanics that was never really worth your time, other than extremely narrow edge cases. The mechanics seemed like an underthought mess, and the problem of every creature seeming to have immunity presented too much of a barrier to entry. But, then I started really digging.
When WotC makes a mechanic of the game too vague, it can create a lot of possible interpretations. This article covers all those interpretations, and how you can make poison work for you, both as a player and a DM. We break down the upsides of the Poisoner feat, rank all the sample poisons, and take a deep dive into the little-known mechanic of harvesting poison from monsters. There’s a lot to love about poisons in 5th edition, and even more ground to cover.
And just to avoid any accusations of poisoning your campaign, we’ve also included a few house rules and tips for the DMs out there to keep players from going overboard. Think of them as an antidote.
Minor typo: In the FQ section you list “How often can a poison be harvested from an incapacitated creature?” two separate times, with different answers. I think the first one is a mistake, or should refer to something else?
Thanks for spotting that! I’ll make corrections.