Poisonings at High Reaches

[Fel]

All over High Reaches, people have been falling mysteriously ill--or worse. There's no obvious connection in station, meals, or other activities. However, some of the afflicted have had identifiable symptoms of poisoning. The conclusion to be drawn is obvious: someone has poisoned the Weyr. But what is the source? What is and isn't safe to eat?

Poisoning Event

Somebody's poisoned the water hole High Reaches. The Weyr is going to band together to have to figure out who is behind it and why... and exactly how it's happening. In the meantime, people, dragons, and whers alike are falling ill, either because they partook of the Weyr's bounty before the contamination was discovered or because the Weyr is too crowded to survive on hunting and gathering alone. They have to choose between eating potentially unsafe food and starving.

And it may not even be solely food that's the problem.

Investigation

These threads will be tagged [Investigation], and are scattered throughout the High Reaches board. Staff will update these threads with any material information discovered or with confirmation of non-discovery as appropriate as the threads develop.

Any High Reaches-based character may participate in any investigation threads unless a specific character category is tagged (Healers, Candidates, etc.). However, it is requested that only one character per person be used in any given thread. The same character may participate in more than one thread.

Victims

Each player may specify up to four characters to be victims of the attack. Dragons and whers are treated as distinct characters from their bonded human for the purposes of this count. For example, a player could choose to submit four dragons, or two dragons and their riders, or two dragons, a wher, and an unrelated human, or any other combination of discrete characters.

Results will be obtained by posting in this thread using the form below, and staff will update the posts with the outcome for each submitted character, same as during gacha events.

No character, PC or NPC, may be stated to have been poisoned if they are not submitted here or mentioned by staff in an event thread.

A table of outcomes has been compiled by staff and results will be drawn randomly. For those familiar with how TPA handles Threadfall, this differs in that the results are not being tailored to the individual character; however, certain similarities are still present.

Severity has been divided into three categories: Minor, Moderate, and Major. Minor includes mostly less-severe gastrointestinal distress and other symptoms of only small impact. No reasonable person would assume that a character with a minor severity was in any danger of dying. Moderate includes more persistent gastrointestinal issues and neurological or musculoskeletal impacts. A reasonable person would assume that a character in this category could be in some danger, but that's not guaranteed. Major includes obvious and at least temporarily debilitating impacts. It is likely that a reasonable person would conclude that a character in this category might die.

When filling out the form, a maximum severity may optionally be specified. Additionally, for one character you want to have a bad time for the sake of their plot, another character having a heart attack, or just plain old karma, a minimum severity may be specified.

Also unlike Threadfall, lasting (permanent) effects can occur at any severity level, though they are more likely at moderate and major. However, the impact these effects have on one's life vary commensurate with the severity rolled. Most effects are unlikely to affect a character's profession, though some can at the major level. It is possible to opt out of these when filling out the form; for the sake of simplicity on staff's end, only a binary yes or no is allowed here.

A note on character death: no NPCs save for those mentioned in event/rumor threads will die. No PCs will die unless it is specifically requested. If you have a character you want killed off, please DM staff separately; this will not count against your four victims.

Code: Select all

[b]Character Name:[/b]
[b]Maximum Severity:[/b] (Optional)
[b]Minimum Severity:[/b] (Optional, one character only)
[b]Lasting Effects Permitted:[/b] Yes/No

---

A note on similarities to real-world poisons:
While all poisons that come up in this event are based on real-world poisons, changes have been made in many, many cases due to the fact that Pern simply does not have the medical infrastructure to deal with liver/kidney complications. Additionally, some effects have been added for the sake of making the different poisons more distinct. Not all of the plants are likely to have been brought over to Pern as many have no known medical or culinary use, but it can be assumed that something similar does exist.

On request, staff can tell you what the real-world inspiration was; however, the symptoms mentioned in the actual post are the only ones that will be present regardless of the original Earth plant's effects.

The exact nature of what causes the poisonings in dragonkin will be explained throughout the course of the event.

[Fel]

Character Name: Renemont
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: No

Character Name: Hazeth
Maximum Severity: Major
Minimum Severity: Moderate
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Nisk
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: No

Character Name: Ealar
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

Renemont - Major - 3 days after consuming a meal that included fish, experiences paralysis from the chest down at the toes and slowly moves upward over the course of a few days, difficulty recalling information, and confusion. Symptoms resolve after two weeks.

Hazeth - Moderate - 2 hours after eating, experiences burning of the mouth and throat, vomiting, muscle weakness, and wheezing. Most symptoms resolve after 24 hours. Lasting occasional bouts of asthma, especially in extreme heat and cold.

Nisk - Minor - 44 minutes after eating, experiences notable drowsiness and mild nausea, as well as a loss of fine motor coordination. Symptoms resolve within 24 hours.

Ealar - Major - Before finishing a meal that includes a mushroom tart, experiences a seizure. Upon recovery, experiences nausea, significantly blurred vision, breathing difficulties, and a tremor in the hands. Occasional seizures occur during the next 48 hours, after which most symptoms resolve. Lasting blurred vision (equivalent to -5 diopter prescription in this simulator) and a minor tremor in the hands.

[nineofswords]

Character Name: Dusk
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Elross
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: Major
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Hisahith
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Maritza
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

Dusk - Moderate - An hour after drinking some tea, experiences significant gastrointestinal distress accompanied by a severe headache and whole body itchiness despite no skin irritation present. When able to sleep despite the itchiness, experiences severe nightmares. Symptoms resolve within a week.

Elross - Major - 2 days after eating bread, experiences full-body muscle spasms and significant hallucinations, as well as a loss of sensation in fingers and toes and poor circulation in extremities. Some symptoms resolve within four days, but the loss of sensation persists in the fingers, and poor circulation persists in both hands and feet.

Hisahith - Major - An hour and a half after eating, experiences uncontrollable salivation, followed quickly by nausea, vomiting, and vertigo. This is followed several hours later by intermittent seizures. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours.

Maritza - Minor - 5 hours after a meal that included mushrooms in a stew, Maritza experiences loose bowels that last for several hours unabated. Dehydration results.

[MothyCake]

Character Name: Leon
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Graham
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: White Ateth
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Ironwood
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

Leon - Minor - Before finishing a meal that includes mashed tubers, experiences nausea and stomach cramps, followed by weakness in the facial muscles. All symptoms resolve within 12 hours.

Graham - Moderate - 4 days after eating a meat pie, experiences sudden severe vertigo followed by total blindness. Vertigo resolves within 24 hours of onset, and within a week vision has mostly recovered save for a slight reduction in visual field on the outer side of the right eye; results in loss of peripheral vision on that side, but central vision is unaffected.

Ateth - Minor - 45 minutes after eating, experiences extreme drowsiness and nausea. Sleeps off all effects in 36 hours.

Ironwood - Major - 9 hours after eating a meal that included a mushroom gravy, experiences severe gastrointestinal distress, vertigo, loss of balance, and intermittent seizures. This is accompanied by a fever, causing some to believe it's an infection rather than poison. Most symptoms resolve within three days; however, difficulty balancing on sloped ground or in poor footing such as snow persists.

[Windra]

Character Name: Sasha
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Saori
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Orisk
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Edwyth
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

Sasha - Minor - An hour after eating a honey cake, experiences tingling in the extremities, dizziness, and giddiness. All symptoms resolve within 8 hours.

Saori - Minor - Before finishing a cup of tea, experiences nausea and dizziness accompanied by slurred speech. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours.

Orisk - Major - An hour after eating, experiences severe gastrointestinal distress, numbness of the whole body, and fainting. Over the course of the next day, develops weakness on the left side and is unable to walk. Most symptoms resolve, but weakness of all left limbs persists, causing a severe limp.

Edwyth - Moderate - 8 hours after eating, experiences labored breathing and difficulty swallowing due to swelling in the throat, accompanied by a loss of appetite. The swelling recedes within 48 hours, and all symptoms resolve within two weeks.

[Dragon]

Character Name: Amaata
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Minimum Severity: --
Lasting Effects Permitted: No

Character Name: Kuroth
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Minimum Severity: --
Lasting Effects Permitted: No

Character Name: Melosa
Maximum Severity: Major
Minimum Severity: --
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Merrin (NPC, Melosa's son, age 5)
Maximum Severity: Major
Minimum Severity: Major
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

Amaata - Minor - 12 hours after drinking a cup of tea, experiences minor gastrointestinal issues, dizziness, and an itchy, tight-feeling scalp despite no rash. All symptoms resolve within 48 hours.

Kuroth - Minor - An hour after eating, experiences nausea, dizziness, a lack of coordination, and a depressed mental state. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours.

Melosa - Major - An hour and a half after eating a meal that included sauteed tubers, experiences slurred speech, muscle convulsions, photosensitivity, and a loss of balance accompanied by disturbing hallucinations. Most symptoms resolve within 24 hours; however, a mild speech impediment remains, and vision is blurred in bright lighting.

Merrin - Major - 3 days after eating a bubbly pie, experiences severe vertigo followed by seizures and total blindness. Most symptoms resolve within 48 hours, and vision partially recovers within a week, albeit with a severe reduction in visual field, leaving only a small portion of peripheral vision usable.

[Agenothree]

Character Name: M'da
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: No

Character Name: Lance
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Lancesk
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Ollyver
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: Moderate
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

M'da - Minor - An hour and a half after eating a bubbly pie, experiences nausea and abdominal pain accompanied by shortness of breath. All symptoms resolve within 12 hours.

Lance - Minor - Almost immediately after eating a salad with leafy greens, experiences a burning sensation in the mouth followed by numbness and temporary paralysis of the forward section of the tongue, leading to speech difficulties. Symptoms resolve within three days.

Lancesk - Major - 6 hours after eating, experiences nausea, temporary loss of coordination, loss of the ability to speak, and hallucinations of figures standing around him. Symptoms resolve within 48 hours, however occasional bouts of difficulty recalling words (aphasia) persist.

Ollyver - Moderate - 7 hours after eating a meat stew, experiences hot flashes and difficulty breathing along with a staggering gait and weakness in the hands. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours.

[Wolfkitt]

Character Name: Alisa
Maximum Severity: None
Minimum Severity: None
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Merakath
Maximum Severity: None
Minimum Severity: None
Lasting Effects Permitted: No

Character Name: T'kuro
Maximum Severity: None
Minimum Severity: None
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

Alisa - Minor - 3 hours after eating a bean soup, experiences nausea and vomiting accompanied by a nosebleed that doesn't want to stop. All symptoms resolve within 12 hours.

Merakath - Major - 30 minutes after eating, experiences drowsiness followed by progressive paralysis of the voluntary muscles. Within a few hours, this leads to unconsciousness. Symptoms begin to resolve within 48 hours, but total recovery of movement ability takes a week.

T'kuro - Major - An hour after drinking a honey-sweetened tea, experiences hallucinations of people talking to him, blurred vision, fainting upon standing up too quickly, and the sensation of being cold. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours.

[GalaxyMir]

Character Name: Yipyth
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: No

Character Name:Colask
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: Major
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Duncan
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: No

---

Yipyth - Minor - 4 hours after eating, experiences nausea and headache accompanied by weakness in all six limbs leading to an unsteady gait. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours.

Colask - Major - 2 hours after eating, experiences abnormal thirst, an inability to speak coherently, hallucinations, and unprovoked violent behavior. Upon recovery from these symptoms in about 12 hours, it becomes clear that complete amnesia has occurred, though memories prior to the poisoning are recovered over the course of the next 30 days. However, an inability to form new long-term memories remains, giving a recall ability similar to a dragon's.

Duncan - Moderate - 13 hours after eating a meal that contains a sauce with mushrooms in it, experiences severe gastrointestinal distress. These symptoms resolve within 3 days and it appears recovery is complete, but are followed a day later by lightheadedness when standing, fatigue, and cold extremities. All symptoms resolve within 3 weeks.

[Mal]

Character Name: Hana
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Oryth
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: Moderate
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: M'ando
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: No

Character Name: Clarineth
Maximum Severity: N/A
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: No

---

Hana - Major - 40 minutes after eating a cookie, experiences severe gastrointestinal distress, numbness of the whole body, and fainting. Over the course of the next day, develops weakness on the right side and is unable to walk or lift heavy objects. Most symptoms resolve within 48 hours, but weakness of the right limbs persists, causing a severe limp and difficulty with some tasks that require strength in both arms, though fine motor control is unaffected.

Oryth - Major - Almost a day after eating, experiences vomiting absent of nausea, tremors, and an extremely elevated heart rate leading to fainting spells. All symptoms resolve within 48 hours.

M'ando - Moderate - An hour after drinking klah with extra spices, experiences tinnitus, sweating, nausea, and photosensitivity leading to blurred vision. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours.

Clarineth - Moderate - 3 days after eating, experiences sudden lethargy and a lack of strength in the hind legs. Sleeps off all symptoms within 48 hours, but is difficult to rouse in this period.

[Calingaladha]

Character Name: Mahi
Maximum Severity: Major
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Kubith
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Lark
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Lasting Effects Permitted: No

Character Name: Nellie
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Minimum Severity: Minor
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

Mahi - Major - Immediately after eating a bean soup, experiences a headache, chest pains, and extreme dizziness, followed by seizure and a loss of consciousness. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours save for the dizziness, which resolves within 3 days.

Kubith - Minor - 40 minutes after eating, experiences nausea and agitation. All symptoms resolve within 12 hours.

Lark - Minor - 7 hours after drinking tea, experiences uncontrollable salivation and watery eyes, as well as a loss of appetite. The first two resolve within 24 hours, and appetite returns within a week.

Nellie - Moderate - 2 days after eating a sandwich, experiences headache, a pins and needles feeling in extremities, and auditory hallucinations. All symptoms resolve within 48 hours.

[Arcane]

Character Name: F'nir
Maximum Severity: Any
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Elsbeth
Maximum Severity: Any
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Strouth
Maximum Severity: Any
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Sha'm
Maximum Severity: Any
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

F'nir - Minor - An hour after eating a scone with berries, experiences dilated pupils and subsequent photosensitivity, extremely bad breath, and diarrhea. All symptoms resolve within 12 hours.

Elsbeth - Moderate - 6 hours after eating, experiences nausea, a rapid pulse, an unsteady gait, muscle spasms, and difficulty breathing. All symptoms resolve within 48 hours.

Strouth - Moderate - 70 minutes after eating, experiences extreme photosensitivity, a loss of balance, auditory hallucinations, and blurred vision. All symptoms resolve within 48 hours.

Sha'm - Major - 2 hours after eating a spiced cake, experiences photosensitivity and subsequent blurred vision, nausea, vertigo, and high-frequency hearing loss. Most symptoms resolve, but high-frequency hearing loss persists. Speech is just audible, but anything above that range is not.

[Ezra]

Character Name: Malleus
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Paiyo
Maximum Severity: Major
Minimum Severity: Minor
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Kerakeiath
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Reliosk
Maximum Severity: Major
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

Malleus - Moderate - 11 hours after eating a fruit and seed cake, experiences severe nausea and vomiting, shortness of breath, and a notable dimming of vision. All symptoms resolve within 36 hours.

Paiyo - Minor - After having eaten a soup that contained mushrooms, experiences facial reddening, nausea, vomiting, tingling in limbs, and palpitations upon the next occasion of consuming alcohol. All symptoms recur indefinitely whenever alcohol is consumed.

Kerakeiath - Minor - 5 hours after eating, experiences numbness in the mouth, excessive salivation, and nausea. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours.

Reliosk - Moderate - At least 3 days after numbweed was applied to a small cut on the left hind leg, experiences severe itching and blistering when the contacted area is exposed to the sun. The blisters initially heal as normal, but result in a scar that is particularly tender and sensitive to the sun. This resolves within 2 Turns.

[FirebrandPhlox]

Character Name: Raev
Maximum Severity: Any
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: T'rios
Maximum Severity: Any
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Donketh
Maximum Severity: Any
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Shr'k
Maximum Severity: Any
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

Raev - Moderate - 18 minutes after drinking a cup of tea, experiences delirium, muscle spasms, and difficulty breathing. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours, at which point muscle weakness appears. This resolves fully within a week.

T'rios - Minor - 15 minutes after eating a bubbly pie containing berries, experiences nausea, severe abdominal cramps, and an itchy burning sensation in the mouth. All symptoms resolve within 12 hours.

Donketh - Moderate - 3 days after a meal, experiences frothing of the mouth, shortness of breath, and respiratory congestion. All symptoms resolve within a week.

Shr'k - Moderate - 2 hours after eating a pastry, experiences a burning sensation in the hands that touched it, as well as in the mouth, throat, and stomach. This is accompanied by nausea, dizziness and extreme lethargy. All symptoms resolve within 48 hours, but ever after, Shr'k seems to be more prone to getting ill with every passing cold.

[Ignys]

Character Name: Gabriel
Maximum Severity: Major
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Morriseth
Maximum Severity: Moderate
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

Character Name: Tess
Maximum Severity: Major
Minimum Severity: N/A
Lasting Effects Permitted: Yes

---

Gabriel - Minor - 12 minutes after eating some mashed tubers, experiences nausea, vomiting, and intense thirst, the latter of which absolutely does not help the situation with the first two. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours.

Morriseth - Moderate - 12 hours after eating, experiences severe nausea, difficulty breathing, and visual aura. All symptoms resolve within 24 hours.

Tess - Moderate - 3 hours after drinking a cup of tea, experiences nausea, a sense of jittery nervousness and impending doom, and weakness in all muscles leading to difficulty with moving and breathing. All symptoms resolve within 48 hours.