World Building Part Seven: Poisonous Plants
It's time for poisonous plants. Poisonous plants can fill an important function in a story; if you have a villain or antagonist that attempts an assassination or murder, you may need a poison. If you have a character that's been poisoned and needs an antidote, they'll need to know what poisoned them in order to save their lives. They can also be used to add conflict. While traveling, a character or group of characters may be unable to find food because the local plants are toxic.
Step one: Where is this plant is located, and how widespread is it? This can be important if you need your characters to know how to cure poisoning. If the plant is widespread and well-known, antidotes are likely to be as well. There's a reason villains like to use little-known or rare poisons; they're harder to cure. There's also the possibility of using a common plant that's generally nontoxic, but becomes poisonous when prepared correctly. This will also make the poison more difficult for your characters to cure, as they're unlikely to suspect a common, safe plant to be the cause.
Step two: Does it have anything that distinguishes it from a safe plant? Poisonous frogs and butterflies are brightly colored to alert predators that they're toxic. Do your plants have something similar? Are they brightly colored, or do they have a distinctive smell? Plants and animals that are poisonous or toxic have usually developed that as a way to protect themselves. That protection is unlikely to do them any good if none of the usual predators recognize it. That said, there are plants that are toxic that are almost identical to non-toxic ones. Either way, you'll need something that makes it possible to tell them apart. Sea anemones form a symbiotic relationship with clown fish. The clown fish is safe inside the anemone, but the anemone is dangerous to other fish. Could you use a symbiotic relationship to differentiate it?
Step three: Which part of the plant is dangerous? The leaves might be toxic, but the roots might be edible, or vice versa. Maybe the entire plant is poisonous, except for the berries. You'll need to decide which part is dangerous, and which is not, or if it's all toxic. This could come into play if you have characters that do any traveling in the wild. If they need to forage, they may need to know what they can safely eat; they may even need knowledge of poisons to hunt or set traps for animals.
Step four: How is it prepared and used? This can go for how it's prepared to make a poison, or how it's prepared to nullify the toxins. It could be juiced into a liquid; you know the usual glass bottles used to put poison in goblets or similar. It could also be dried and powdered, to be hidden in cooking. If it can be cooked or prepared in such a way that it's no longer poisonous, this could be useful, again, for a character traveling in the wild. A safe plant that can be prepared to make it toxic can be useful for hunting or setting traps.
Step five: How does it work? Does it need to be eaten? Injected? Breathed? And once it's been introduced to a living system, what does it do? A poison can manifest in different ways; stomach pain, vomiting, difficulty breathing, all sorts of things. And since you're inventing this one yourself, you can choose pretty much anything you'd like. You could even make it a poison that only affects people who use magic, or only a certain race of people. But if there are going to be any poisons used in your story, you'll need to know what they do, how fast they act, and if they're lethal or just dangerous. Maybe they're lethal, but only if left untreated for several days. Maybe it only causes mild discomfort, and maybe it will kill you in a matter of minutes or seconds. But you'll need to know, especially if you plan on using it.
Step six: What can counteract this poison? If there is an antidote, you'll need to know this, too. Especially if you have a character that you're planning on poisoning and you don't want them to die. You are going to need to know how to keep them alive for that to work. Some poisons have antidotes, some don't. Some poisons, the only thing you can do is wait for the toxins to flush out of the system, and some of them there are things you can do to fight the toxicity itself. Sometimes all you can do is fight to keep a body alive until the poisons have run their course. What is the best, or most well-known, treatment for this poison?
Step seven: Repeat steps 1-6 as often as needed or desired.
Step one: Where is this plant is located, and how widespread is it? This can be important if you need your characters to know how to cure poisoning. If the plant is widespread and well-known, antidotes are likely to be as well. There's a reason villains like to use little-known or rare poisons; they're harder to cure. There's also the possibility of using a common plant that's generally nontoxic, but becomes poisonous when prepared correctly. This will also make the poison more difficult for your characters to cure, as they're unlikely to suspect a common, safe plant to be the cause.
Step two: Does it have anything that distinguishes it from a safe plant? Poisonous frogs and butterflies are brightly colored to alert predators that they're toxic. Do your plants have something similar? Are they brightly colored, or do they have a distinctive smell? Plants and animals that are poisonous or toxic have usually developed that as a way to protect themselves. That protection is unlikely to do them any good if none of the usual predators recognize it. That said, there are plants that are toxic that are almost identical to non-toxic ones. Either way, you'll need something that makes it possible to tell them apart. Sea anemones form a symbiotic relationship with clown fish. The clown fish is safe inside the anemone, but the anemone is dangerous to other fish. Could you use a symbiotic relationship to differentiate it?
Step three: Which part of the plant is dangerous? The leaves might be toxic, but the roots might be edible, or vice versa. Maybe the entire plant is poisonous, except for the berries. You'll need to decide which part is dangerous, and which is not, or if it's all toxic. This could come into play if you have characters that do any traveling in the wild. If they need to forage, they may need to know what they can safely eat; they may even need knowledge of poisons to hunt or set traps for animals.
Step four: How is it prepared and used? This can go for how it's prepared to make a poison, or how it's prepared to nullify the toxins. It could be juiced into a liquid; you know the usual glass bottles used to put poison in goblets or similar. It could also be dried and powdered, to be hidden in cooking. If it can be cooked or prepared in such a way that it's no longer poisonous, this could be useful, again, for a character traveling in the wild. A safe plant that can be prepared to make it toxic can be useful for hunting or setting traps.
Step five: How does it work? Does it need to be eaten? Injected? Breathed? And once it's been introduced to a living system, what does it do? A poison can manifest in different ways; stomach pain, vomiting, difficulty breathing, all sorts of things. And since you're inventing this one yourself, you can choose pretty much anything you'd like. You could even make it a poison that only affects people who use magic, or only a certain race of people. But if there are going to be any poisons used in your story, you'll need to know what they do, how fast they act, and if they're lethal or just dangerous. Maybe they're lethal, but only if left untreated for several days. Maybe it only causes mild discomfort, and maybe it will kill you in a matter of minutes or seconds. But you'll need to know, especially if you plan on using it.
Step six: What can counteract this poison? If there is an antidote, you'll need to know this, too. Especially if you have a character that you're planning on poisoning and you don't want them to die. You are going to need to know how to keep them alive for that to work. Some poisons have antidotes, some don't. Some poisons, the only thing you can do is wait for the toxins to flush out of the system, and some of them there are things you can do to fight the toxicity itself. Sometimes all you can do is fight to keep a body alive until the poisons have run their course. What is the best, or most well-known, treatment for this poison?
Step seven: Repeat steps 1-6 as often as needed or desired.
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