Drow Sleep Poison
Drow knockout poison, also called drow sleep poison, is a poison often used by the drow.
The drow sleep poison is a black, gummy, and heavy substance like molasses. It is delivered by injury and is used by smearing it on ranged weapons like crossbow bolts, darts, or javelins, on other weapons, or—in extreme cases— on the bare hand. It is a potent poison but reacts to air and sunlight. Exposure to air causes it to lose potency in 60 days, while keeping it in a sealed packet keeps it potent for years. Exposure to sunlight has an extreme effect, causing it to lose its potency in an instant.
A weapon can deliver the poison twice with the same dose smeared on it, but the potency lessens on the second strike. Drow on assassination missions apply this poison on garrotes or fingernail polish.
Slave-holding areas or drow camps outside of civilized Underdark environments are secured with tripwire traps that are poisoned with this.
When the drow poison is delivered into a creature's system, the creature feels weakness and lassitude before falling unconscious for two to eight hours. Sturdy people can wake up after one minute. Even when one does not fall unconscious from it, the victim often has problems coping with subsequent detrimental effects. Once that happenes, dispel magic or physical attempts to awaken the victim do not work. An application of neutralize poison, a potion of sweet water works perfectly.
One safe way to wash off a poisoned weapon is to apply alcohol on it.
Manufacturing process
It takes four days to create the drow knockout poison when the creator has access to a functional laboratory. It is extracted from a black fungus that glows like oil.
Significance
The production of this poison is a closely held secret among the drow. Therefore, it is hard to find a source of it on the surface and in the Underdark where the drow are not in power.
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