The Rocky State of Your Campaign
This article is about those rocks and a reasonable attempt to offer generic levels of harm for any game.
Kinda like that poisonous plants article that went so well in the previous column.
As previously mentioned, this is not hust fun and games; this is real information that can kill you and your friends… probably more so since rocks tend to poison more randomly than plants. Thankfully, you're only gaming.
Many types of stones containing toxic substances. These substances are often what give a stone its characteristic coloring or shape. Although poisoning from a rock picked off the ground is rare, it can happen, especially in older times before people knew about toxic substances and were grinding them up to use as pigments, medicines, or magic spells.
Healing Spells: In some cases, healing spells may be used but it is the GM's discretion as to how many will be required. Doing a healing spell right off the bat may reduce the damage of the poison, but not remove all the poison from the character's body, allowing further damage. If you tend to believe the magic removes the poison, there is a chance that the poison caused long-term damage, such as hemorrhaging or kidney failure, that the healer must heal later on (or soon!). Consider that the healer also has to recognize that the character has been poisoned-many poisons have a period of time between ingestion and the onset of symptoms, by which point damage has already occurred. Some GMs may feel the healer may need to know what poison was ingested. The quicker the character is attended to, the less damage likely to occur. In cases of intentional poisoning, however, it may take a miracle.
Antidotes: Just because there're very few miracle real antidotes out there doesn't mean you can't make up your own in your realm. Maybe only certain groups have the antidote; maybe the antidote has to be found. This will help you drive your campaign even further and that's always helpful.
For Ease of Poisoning: If you are just looking for a fast list of poisons in case the characters were wandering and picked up something nasty, estimate that most rocks out there will not need intervention: they are only poisonous when consumed, handled for lengthy periods, or the dust is inhaled. Out of the 10% of poisons that require some sort of intervention, half will be survivable with mundane treatment of symptoms, and a quarter will require some sort of long-term treatment.
Below are examples of the worst types of rocks that are used in intentional poisonings. Murder is really the likeliest way a character will come into contact with them. These are not recommended for PC consumption, as it will suck mightily. However, they are useful as plot points for the various NPCs that the characters may across and need to help.
Those with medicinal uses can be found in urban locales and accidental poisonings by apothecaries and intentional poisonings by disgruntled murderers. Those without medical uses will more likely be found inadvertently in booby traps or premeditated assassinations.
Radiation: A completely different animal. See Part Two.
Toxic Metals
Lead: Humans have been mining and using this heavy metal for thousands of years, poisoning themselves in the process. Although lead poisoning is one of the oldest known work and environmental hazards, the modern understanding of the small amount of lead necessary to cause harm did not come about until the latter half of the 20th century. No level of lead below which harm does not occur has been discovered.
Symptoms. In acute poisoning, typical neurological signs are pain, muscle weakness, paraesthesia, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. Lead's effects on the mouth include astringency and a metallic taste. Gastrointestinal problems, such as constipation, diarrhea, poor appetite, or weight loss, are common in acute poisoning. Absorption of large amounts of lead over a short time can cause shock due to loss of water from the gastrointestinal tract. Hemolysis (the rupture of red blood cells) due to acute poisoning can cause anemia and hemoglobin in the urine. Damage to kidneys can cause changes in urination such as decreased urine output. People who survive acute poisoning often then display symptoms of chronic poisoning. Signs of chronic exposure include loss of short-term memory or concentration, depression, nausea, abdominal pain, loss of coordination, and numbness and tingling in the extremities, fatigue, problems with sleep, headaches, stupor, slurred speech, and anemia. A "lead hue" of the skin with pallor is another feature. A blue line along the gum, with bluish black edging to the teeth is another indication. Children with chronic poisoning may refuse to play or may have hyperkinetic or aggressive behavior disorders.
Treatment. Treatment of organic lead poisoning involves removing the lead compound, preventing further exposure, treating seizures, and possibly chelation therapy for people with high blood lead concentrations. May need to treat iron, calcium, and zinc deficiencies. When lead-containing materials are present in the gastrointestinal tract, whole bowel irrigation, cathartics, or even surgical removal may be used. Lead-containing bullets and shrapnel may need to be surgically removed if they are in or near fluid-filled or synovial spaces. Game Terms: Lead poisoning can be pretty common in any setting on earth, since it's been used by humans for thousands of years.
Lethality. Fair. More fatal in older times, the treatment would not be difficult so long as the practitioner knew what was causing the symptoms. Thankfully, lead poisoning has been around so long that it's fairly identifiable. The effects on the nervous system are generally permanent. Those that develop brain swelling are likely to die or at least be permanently disabled.
Rocks containing lead. Angelite, Galena/Galenite, Rhodocrosite (Rhodochrosite), Stibnite, Vanadanite, Wulfenite
Mercury: Quicksilver has been fascinating to alchemists and scientists for thousands of years.
Symptoms. Symptoms typically include sensory impairment (vision, hearing, speech), disturbed sensation, and a lack of coordination. Peripheral neuropathy (presenting as numbness or itching, burning or pain), skin discoloration (pink cheeks, fingertips and toes), edema (swelling), and desquamation (dead skin peels off in layers) are also seen. Affected children may show red cheeks, lips, and nose, loss of hair, teeth, and nails, transient rashes, muscle weakness, and photophobia. Other symptoms may include kidney dysfunction or neuropsychiatric symptoms (memory impairment, insomnia). The type and degree of symptoms exhibited depend upon the individual toxin, the dose, and the method and duration of exposure.
Treatment. Identifying and removing the source of the mercury is crucial. Decontamination requires removal of clothes, washing skin with soap and water, and flushing the eyes with saline solution as needed. Inorganic ingestion such as mercuric chloride should be approached as the ingestion of any other serious caustic. Immediate chelation therapy is the standard of care for a patient showing symptoms of severe mercury poisoning.
Game Terms. Mercury was once considered a life preserver and killed the first emperor of China. It was used in medical procedures for many years. Mercury poisoning has been documented since the 1920s.
Lethality. Most symptoms are reversible except in extreme cases or cases involving young children, babies, or fetuses.
Rocks containing Mercury. Cinnabar
Cadmium: In the 1950s and 1960s industrial exposure to cadmium was high. Buildup of cadmium levels in the water, air, and soil has been occurring particularly in industrial areas. Environmental exposure to cadmium has been particularly problematic in Japan where many people have consumed rice that was grown in cadmium-contaminated irrigation water.
Symptoms. Acute exposure to cadmium fumes may cause flu-like symptoms including chills, fever, and muscle ache. More severe exposures can cause tracheo-bronchitis, pneumonitis, and pulmonary edema. Symptoms of inflammation may start hours after the exposure and include cough, dryness and irritation of the nose and throat, headache, dizziness, weakness, fever, chills, and chest pain. Inhaling cadmium-laden dust quickly leads to respiratory tract and kidney problems that can be fatal. Ingestion of any significant amount of cadmium causes immediate poisoning and damage to the liver and the kidneys. Compounds containing cadmium are also carcinogenic. The bones become soft and weaker. This causes the pain in the joints and the back, and also increases the risk of fractures. In extreme cases of cadmium poisoning, mere body weight causes a fracture. The kidney damage inflicted by cadmium poisoning is irreversible and does not heal over time, causing muscle weakness and sometimes coma. The dysfunction also causes gout. Other patients lose their sense of smell (anosmia).
Treatment. Symptoms may resolve after a week if there is no respiratory or kidney damage.
Game Terms. A safer poison for GMs to use is they want a likelihood of the victim surviving.
Lethality. Inhalation bad. Ingestion survivable.
Silver: Since at least the early part of the 20th century, doctors have known that silver or silver compounds can cause some areas of the skin and other body tissues to turn gray or blue-gray.
Symptoms. Argyria occurs in people who eat or breathe in silver over a long period (several months to many years). A single exposure to a silver compound may also cause silver to be deposited in the skin and in other parts of the body; however, this is not known to be harmful. It is likely that many exposures to silver are necessary to develop argyria. Once argyria develops, it is generally believed to be permanent. People who work in factories that manufacture silver can also breathe in silver or its compounds. In the past, some of these workers have become argyric. It is also not known what level of silver causes breathing problems, lung and throat irritation, or stomach pain in people.
Treatment. None
Game Terms. It would be interesting to introduce a race of blue-skinned people and have a reason for it.
Lethality. It probably isn't healthy.
Thallium: Thallium and its compounds are very toxic and should be handled with great care. Contact with skin is dangerous, and adequate ventilation should be provided when melting this metal. Thallium compounds have a high aqueous solubility and are readily absorbed through the skin. Exposure to them should not exceed 0.1 mg per m_ of skin in an 8-hour time-weighted average (40-hour work week). Thallium is a suspected human carcinogen. Thallium was once an effective murder weapon before its effects became understood, and an antidote (Prussian blue) discovered.
Symptoms. Usually within the first 3 to 4 hours the most common symptom is severe, paroxysmal abdominal pain, mild diarrhea, and then constipation. Vomitus and stools are often bloody. After two to five days victim has severe neuropathies, specifically pain and paresthesias of the hands and the lower extremities, especially the soles of the feet. Distal motor weakness occurs, with lower limbs more affected. Also scaling of the palms and soles and eruptions of the face. During second week, a sudden onset of hair loss quickly progresses to diffuse alopecia. The hair loss primarily affects the scalp, temporal parts of the eyebrows, the eyelashes, and the limbs. Hair discoloration may also occur. Some patients can experience chest pain or tightness upon exposure. Victim may exhibit anxiety, confusion, delirium, hallucinations, and psychosis. Double vision or abnormal color vision may develop. Ataxia, tremor, cranial nerve palsies, headache, seizures, insomnia, coma, and death may also occur.
Treatment. One of the main methods of removing thallium (both radioactive and normal) from humans is to use Prussian blue. Up to 20 g per day of Prussian blue is fed by mouth to the person, and it passes through their digestive system and comes out in the stool. Hemodialysis and hemoperfusion are used to remove thallium from the blood serum. At later stage of the treatment, additional potassium is used to mobilize thallium from the tissue.
Game Terms. Prior to the discovery of how thallium works, it is lethal, and a horrible death. Even in more modern times, thallium poisoning can have devastating effects until diagnosed and treated.
Lethality. Pretty high when left untreated for any length of time.
Tin: Tin itself is not toxic but most tin salts are. The corrosion of tin plated food cans by acidic food and beverages has caused several intoxications with soluble tin compounds.
Symptoms. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea have been reported after ingesting canned food containing 200 mg/kg of tin.
Treatment. Symptomatic as needed.
Game Terms. This would make a good side plot even in ancient times, due to the mining of tin throughout world. In more modern times, it is an interesting inadvertant poison to throw out there in places where old tin cans are the only source of food. Likely players will suspect a bacteria rather than the tin salts.
Lethality. Low, unless misdiagnosed for a long period of time.
Beryllium: Found naturally only combined with other elements, found in beryls and chrysoberyls (cats-eye). Commercial use of beryllium metal presents technical challenges due to the toxicity (especially by inhalation) of beryllium-containing dusts. Beryllium produces a direct corrosive effect to tissue, and can cause a chronic life-threatening allergic disease in susceptible persons.
Symptoms. Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) can occur within a few months or many years after exposure to higher-than-normal levels of beryllium (greater than 0.2 µg/m_), causing fatigue, weakness, night sweats, difficulty breathing, and a persistent dry cough. It can result in anorexia, weight loss, and right-side heart enlargement and heart disease in advanced cases. CBD is treatable, but not curable with traditional drugs and medicine. CBD occurs when the body's immune system recognizes beryllium particles as foreign material and mounts an immune system attack against the particles. Beryllium contact with skin that has been scraped or cut may cause rashes, ulcers, or bumps under the skin called granulomas.
Treatment. Removal from source of beryllium, and symptomatic treatment for life in cases of CBD.
Game Terms. Booby traps of the dust ground from precious stones can make for an interesting attack on would-be grave robbers, causing a large amount of damage before recognized as the source of trouble.
Lethality. Fair in the long-term. Conventional treatments won't cure but healing spells and potions might.
Cobalt: Cobalt naturally occurs in animals in minute amounts and forms part of the structure of Vitamin B12, which plays an important role in cell metabolism. Cobalt can enter the body by ingestion, inhalation, or through the skin. Exposure to cobalt metal dust is most common in the tungsten carbide industry but exposure to cobalt-containing compounds is also a risk
Symptoms. Ataxia and palpitations. It also shows mutagenic and carcinogenic effects similar to nickel. In 1966, the addition of cobalt compounds to stabilize beer foam led to hundreds of cases of cardiomyopathy. Powdered cobalt in metal form is a fire hazard. After nickel and chromium, cobalt is a major cause of contact dermatitis.
Treatment. Immediate symptoms pass after removal of source of toxin. Cardiomyopathy treatable but permanent. Game Terms: Poisonings would more likely be seen in later years when pure cobalt is more readily available.
Lethality. Long-term high.
Rocks containing Cobalt. Cobaltocalcite (Pink Cobalt Calcite)
Non-Metal Toxic Rocks
Arsenic: Arsenic became a favorite murder weapon in history particularly among ruling classes in Italy, notably the Borgias. Because the symptoms are similar to those of cholera, which was common at the time, arsenic poisoning often went undetected. By the 1800s, it acquired the nickname "inheritance powder." Emerald Green, a pigment frequently used by Impressionist painters, is based on arsenic. The acute minimal lethal dose of arsenic in adults is estimated to be 70 to 200 mg or 1 mg/kg/day. Most reported arsenic poisonings are not caused by elemental arsenic, but by one of arsenics compounds, especially arsenic trioxide, which is approximately 500 times more toxic than pure arsenic
Symptoms. Symptoms include violent stomach pains; tenderness and pressure; retching; excessive saliva production; vomiting; sense of dryness and tightness in the throat; thirst; hoarseness and difficulty of speech; vomitus greenish or yellowish, sometimes streaked with blood; diarrhea; convulsions and cramps; clammy sweats; eyes red and sparkling; delirium; death. Some of these symptoms may be absent where the poisoning results from inhalation. Symptoms of arsenic poisoning start with mild headaches progressing to lightheadedness.
Treatment. Chemical and synthetic methods are now used to treat arsenic poisoning. Chelating agents that sequester the arsenic away from blood proteins and used. The most important side-effect to treat is hypertension. Recently scientists found garlic extracts causes rats to pass more arsenic out in their urine. The presentation concludes that people in areas at risk of arsenic contamination in the water supply should eat one to three cloves of garlic per day as a preventative.
Game Terms. This is such a famous poison that it is likely the characters will see its effects sooner or later in a setting based on history.
Lethality. Survivable nowadays. In older times this is a highly lethal poison.
Rocks Containing Arsenic. Mohawkite
Nutritional Supplements
Several minerals are used in moderation or in different forms as ingestible nutrients to help the body. Excess, however, can lead to poisoning. What's great about using dietary supplements in a plot setting is that they are accessible right through to the 21st century.Copper: Excess copper in the body can be caused by eating acidic food from copper utensils, exposure to copper in water, or from mining copper. Symptoms. Include palsy, convulsions, and insensitivity. It can also lead to kidney and brain damage. Lethal doses are measure in grams when consumed.
Treatment. Egg whites or milk, absolutely no vinegar. Inflammatory symptoms and symptoms of nervous system can be treated as needed.
Game Terms. Although not often used in cases of murder, it should be noted that in places where copper is a key metal used in manufacturing, symptoms of copper poisoning could be used as a plot hook. In many New Age treatments of illness, copper is considered a cure-all and worn or placed on the skin.
Lethality. Medium, an initial high dose can be fatal, over a period of time more survivable. Treatment works quickly, not too difficult.
Rocks containing Copper. Adamite, Amazonite, Atacamite, Auricalcite, Azurite, Bronchantite, Chalcantite, Chalcopyrite (Peacock Stone, Peacock Ore), Chrysacolla (Chrysocolla), Conicalcite, Copper, Cuprite, Diopside, Dioptase, Eliat Stone, Gem Silica, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Mohawkite, Turquoise
Manganese. A dietary supplement and metal used in manufacturing, manganese poisoning is common among certain workers. Used in arc-welding supplies and found in the illegal cocaine-based street drug “Bazooka,” as well as in the poor manufacture of the amphetamine methcathinone.
Symptoms. Neurological symptoms consist of reduced response speed, irritability, mood changes, and compulsive behaviors. In long-term exposure cases, symptoms are similar to Parkinson's, Cerebral Palsy, or Lou Gehrig's disease.
Treatment. includes replenishing L-dopa levels and chelation to remove excess manganese, Treatment is slow, as low as two to three years and sometimes symptoms worsen again after ten.
Game Terms. Not only a dietary supplement, its use in illegal drug manufacture can be a critical CSI-like plot hook. Its use in arc-welding can be another avenue for the GM to use. Lethality: Low, but risk of long-term damage high. Treatment takes years and very difficult.
Iron: Poisoning commonly seen in young children that consume large amounts of the candy-looking iron pills used by pregnant women. Three grams is lethal to a two-year old. Symptoms: The first indication of iron poisoning by ingestion is a pain in the stomach, as the stomach lining becomes ulcerated. This is accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The pain then abates for 24 hours as the iron passes deeper into the body and damages internal organs, particularly the brain and the liver, and metabolic acidosis develops. The body goes into shock and death from liver failure.
Treatment. Later-stage treatment consists of cleaning the iron from the blood, using a chelating agent such as deferoxamine. If this fails then dialysis is the next step. Game Terms: Poisoning a man is easier than poisoning a woman; men need less iron. Initial treatment may be successful but damage significant enough to lower suvivability.
Lethality. Medium to high, depending on dose. Treatment is long-term and can be fairly difficult.
Rocks Containing Iron. Magnetite (Lodestone)
Chromium: The acute oral toxicity for chromium ranges between 50 and 150 µg/kg.
Symptoms. In the body, the acute toxicity of chromium is due to its strong oxidational properties. After it reaches the blood stream, it damages the kidneys, the liver and blood cells through oxidation reactions. Hemolysis. renal and liver failure are the results of these damages. Chromium salts (chromates) are also the cause of allergic reactions in some people. Chromates are often used to manufacture, amongst other things, leather products, paints, cement, mortar, and anti-corrosives. Contact with products containing chromates can lead to allergic contact dermatitis and irritant dermatitis, resulting in ulceration of the skin, sometimes referred to as "chrome.”
Treatment. Aggressive dialysis can improve the situation.
Game Terms. Topical toxicity is non-fatal, but can be a significant plot point when trying to provide clues to point the characters to a group. Killing a victim with chromium shouldn't take long.
Lethality. Oral toxicity highly lethal, topical toxicity much less so. Treatment of oral; toxicity very difficult.
Zinc: Zinc is vital, especially to men, but too much is lethal.
Symptoms. Hemolytic anemia, also liver or kidney damage; vomiting and diarrhea are possible symptoms. Stomach acid contains hydrochloric acid, in which metallic zinc dissolves readily to give corrosive zinc chloride. Swallowing a post-1982 American penny (97.5% zinc) can cause damage to the stomach lining due to the high solubility of the zinc ion in the acidic stomach. There is also a condition called the zinc shakes or "zinc chills" that can be induced by the inhalation of freshly formed zinc oxide formed during the welding of galvanized materials.
Treatment. Symptomatic treatment as needed, dialysis or transplant may be necessary.
Game Terms. Getting someone to consume a lethal amount of pennies may be difficult, but not impossible. Otherwise, introducing enough zinc to kill a human shouldn't be difficult, as zinc is relatively available as a dietary supplement and in manufacturing.
Lethality. Caught early enough and the body will heal relatively easily. Long-term chronic poisonings are far more difficult to repair.
Rocks containing Zinc. Smithsonite (Galmei, Zinc spar), Spinel
Selenium: Due to its capability of being absorbed by plants growing in selenium-rich soil, selenium can readily poison whole groups of people. A dose of selenium as small as 5 mg per day can be lethal for many humans, and there are soils where the concentration of selenium in the soil is high enough to kill. Selenium is what killed 21 polo ponies in 2009-an alteration in the dose of vitamins injected into the horses had way too much selenium.
Symptoms. Symptoms of selenosis include a garlic odor on the breath, gastrointestinal disorders, hair loss, sloughing of nails, fatigue, irritability, and neurological damage. Extreme cases of selenosis can result in cirrhosis of the liver, pulmonary edema, and death.
Treatment. The symptoms of chronic poisoning are a long time in coming so treatment is reducing the selenium intake and symptomatic treatment except in extreme cases. In extreme cases the reaction time may be too abrupt for conventional treatment and require drastic solutions.
Game Terms. Whereas chronic poisoning is usually seen in places where the selenium in the soil or water is high, an injection with a high selenium content or inadvertent consumption of 5 or more grams of selenium is lethal and an effective means of murder.
Lethality. There's a high rate of fatality, especially when not caught early enough. Treatment later in poisoning will be more difficult.
Coming up next: Death by Rock, Part Two
