Venom Ring

In a campaign I'm playing in, a warband bought a Venom Ring saying it wound make Poison Wind Globes not work against the character as the description of Venom ring states that it renders the wearer immune to the effects of all poisons. We are all fairly new and are looking for a more experienced opinion as the group is divided about it.

Hmm, that's a tricky one -- what Poison Wind Globe rules are you using? There might be clues in there...

Lore-wise, Poison Wind Globes use Warpstone (which is basically magic) to create Poison gas (which is definitely poison) so it could make sense for the Venom Ring to neutralise the poison OR be powerless against the magic. Is there anything in the Poison Wind Globe rules about how it affects Undead (who are immune to poison already)? That could help make things clear.

Otherwise, it might be worth House Ruling to create a fair system, based on how powerful Poison Globes are already. If they're super-deadly, then it could be fair having an item make one hero immune to them -- but that could also make a weapon too weak. Imagine an item that made your hero immune to bows, for example!

As a compromise option, the Venom Ring might provide a 4+ save against Poison Wind Globes, or halve the strength of the attack.

Hope that helps! As I say, knowing which Poison Wind Globe rules you're using could help me (& others in the forum) make a better judgement -- there's no official rules for them, but plenty of unofficial... Good luck with your campaign!

Rhydderch wrote:

Hmm, that's a tricky one -- what Poison Wind Globe rules are you using? There might be clues in there...

Lore-wise, Poison Wind Globes use Warpstone (which is basically magic) to create Poison gas (which is definitely poison) so it could make sense for the Venom Ring to neutralise the poison OR be powerless against the magic. Is there anything in the Poison Wind Globe rules about how it affects Undead (who are immune to poison already)? That could help make things clear.

Otherwise, it might be worth House Ruling to create a fair system, based on how powerful Poison Globes are already. If they're super-deadly, then it could be fair having an item make one hero immune to them -- but that could also make a weapon too weak. Imagine an item that made your hero immune to bows, for example!

As a compromise option, the Venom Ring might provide a 4+ save against Poison Wind Globes, or halve the strength of the attack.

Hope that helps! As I say, knowing which Poison Wind Globe rules you're using could help me (& others in the forum) make a better judgement -- there's no official rules for them, but plenty of unofficial... Good luck with your campaign!

Thanks for the reply, this is the rule that is used when it comes to the Poison wind globe.

Poison Wind: Obstacles do not affect the deadly gas
inside the globes. Ignore penalties to cover when
rolling to hit. This also means that the globes ignore
armour saves. A globe deals D3 wounds to the
target on a 3+ and a single wound to anyone else
within 2” on a 4+. The warpstone poison is magical
so it also affects undead.

Hopefully this helps clarify what we're dealing with, any input is appreciated.

Oh yes, the fun vagarities of Mordheim rules. jarvezz69, it looks like you're using Clan Skryre rules different from the oldest I could find waaaay back when from Accursed Knowledge (http://www.accursedknowledge.0catch.com/mordheim.htm), which sadly no longer exists. That one did not have the last sentence specifying warpstone poison as magical and affecting undead. In my ancient WHFB books, that was not listed either.

A quick internet search and some reading was conflicting, however seems to be more on the side of Poisoned Wind Globes being a misnomer; they really should be "Warpstone Gas Globes", and are not poison. A discussion about this and other similar stuff is at https://forums.totalwar.com/discussion/246503/traits-that-may-be-missing-on-listed-units.

However, I don't find other interpretations saying that they're fully "magical" either, in the sense that they would harm Ethereal creatures (see Cry of the Banshee in Town Cryer 18 for an example). I suggest that they are neither magical nor poison, but instead "warpstone gas".

Given the rules as written, & what it says about affecting the undead -- that addresses the undead being immune to poison, so I would say the Venom Ring does not protect against Poison Wind Globes (at least in the form that exists here). The Venom Ring gives the advantage of that one special rule (immune to poison); the Wind Globes are written to over-rule that effect.

BUT if that makes for bad gameplay in your campaign, change it. The compromises I suggested before should still work, if you need a mid-point, or adopt one that suits your group. Even in the Mordheim Rulebook you can see evidence of them changing things as they went along, so you shouldn't feel afraid of doing the same thing.

Wyldhunt: it doesn't surprise me that you struggled to find conflicting information about Skaven weapons. After all, we all know Skaven are just a myth, based on mis-identified Beastman sightings, right? Calling 'warpstone gas' its own thing, neither fully poison nor magic, seems a sensible solution -- but there might be issues with some spells that should be able to protect against it. Honestly, it's likely to be such a tricky issue, with so many potential rules queries, anyone will just need to make a decision on the fly. If you can't agree, flip a coin & move on.