And before anyone makes a cheeky “what do you need this for 🤨” comment, I’m a writer. I’m not going to murder anyone I promise, I just want to write a scene where one guy gets poisoned.

I need something that doesn’t require modern technology to extract/produce, and would make sense to be avaible in a place with a temperate to mediterranean climate. The slower, the better. Does a plant or something like that exist or do I need to make one up?

Update: I looked into death cap mushrooms and they might be just what I’m looking for! Long reaction time, and being dried doesn’t make them less toxic! (the scene takes place in midwinter so no fresh ones would be avaible) If anyone has more info on them, please do share.

  • Hobo@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    In almost every case in fictional writing it’s better to make up a poison then use a real one. That way you don’t have someone picking it apart later. Also you can give it whatever properties you want/need. Now excuse me while I continue to work on my immunity to iocane powder.

    • SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org
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      13 days ago

      They’re gonna pick it apart anyway. A reader criticized the historical accuracy of a fantasy novel my sister wrote.

        • Gloomy@mander.xyz
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          13 days ago

          Mental illnesses are very clearly defined, for example in the ICD-10 puplished by the WHO. Pedantry is defnetly not listed in there.

          And yes, this was an attempt of humour.

          • zqps@sh.itjust.works
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            12 days ago

            defnetly

            That’s a new one.

            And the commonly accepted authority on the definition of mental illnesses is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The current edition is referred to as DSM-5.

      • HubertManne@piefed.social
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        13 days ago

        I knew a guy I was working summers with in college. Said he did not like roger rabbit because it was unrealistic.

        • monarch@lemm.ee
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          I have read some novels where their history straight up breaks if you think about it for too long. Not saying this happened in this case but I read a fantasy novel that had a history that implied that people existed in the wrong times. Like this person was said to have died in X year yet someone met someone who was born in X+100 years.

        • SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org
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          12 days ago

          Not even that, (in a medieval-fantsy setting) one criticized the use of archer for defense, another wanted for her to write the exact years the events happened… Another one asked why one nation had an italian-sounding name, while the bordering countries had foreign-like names, and different languages! (hello, ever been to Europe?) @[email protected] (is this how I mention someone?)

          • monarch@lemm.ee
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            12 days ago

            that is indeed how you mention someone. Yeah being pedantic for the sale of it isn’t something I understand. Unless it impacts my ability to enjoy the story I couldn’t care less.

      • scarabic@lemmy.world
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        12 days ago

        I’ve never seen anyone even think twice about the Tears of Lys or The Strangler. And after Milk of the Poppy, it’s established that we may expect some similarity to reality in this world.

  • yesman@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    Alcohol. Sometimes it takes 30 or 40 years to be effective. Not very good for murder, but wildly popular for suicide.

    • scarabic@lemmy.world
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      12 days ago

      Yeah OP needs to define what “slow” means to them. You could say that a one-week delayed effect is slow. Or you could say that it’s only slow if it takes months of exposure.

  • sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    12 days ago

    I’ve heard something about writers writing about guns – if you describe a specific gun they’ll come at you for being wrong, but if you say something like “a modified Kalashnikov” you’re conveying the image you want, and the nerds will do the work for you in figuring out how it could have been modified.

  • sga@lemmings.world
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    13 days ago

    well you can try to look it up - slow acting poisons in minecraft.

    on a more serious note, as others have noted heavy metal poisoning like mercury or lead.

    I have another one - sulphur. Readiy available throughout ancient times, and non-toxic by itself (S8 form that is). But many of it’s compounds are toxic in varying degree. You can look its wiki page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur) for some commonly available toxic salts, but I also have some ideas to incorporate in story - burning of sulfur (in incomplete form producing SO2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_dioxide). You can incorporate it very easily (someone tampered someone elses fireplace or incense sticks if we also want to hide any wierdities with flame). By itself it iis not very toxic, almost odorless, and not a strong color. It has existed even in food stored for long time due to degradation of sulfur containg organic compounds, wiki page also lists that wine this (another potential vector to supply this). When in body, it can produce H2SO3 (sulphurous acid) and by inhaling/ingesting small amounts for long time - it will gradually destroy alveoli/stomach inner lining and liver. Sulfur by itself is very cheap (you can find ores in a lot of places around the world, relatively easy to mine, also found near volcanic places), humans have used it in trying to make medicine out of it, and it has huge amount of history in alchemy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemical_symbol, https://www.thoughtco.com/tria-prima-three-primes-of-alchemy-603699). In fact, since it is present in humans naturally, and msot organic matter for that matter - small amount of sulfur being present in someones’ reports will not raise a special eye, and they would just be recommended to not eat food that is traditionally know to have much sulfur (for example garlics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allyl_isothiocyanate). Garlic extract can also be used to deliver large amount of isothiocynate, but this would be a seperate method of poisoning all together - it is much more lethal, so not very slow acting, but one can keep giving a dose of this below lethal dose to keep damaging liver, and a final blow sometime.

    I hope you find this helpful, and I hope no villagers in minecraft are killed by this.

      • neidu3@sh.itjust.works
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        13 days ago

        That’s why those of us who poison people for fun and profit have started appending “in roblox”. The spooks will never catch us.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    Mushroom poisons usually are slow actors. They take a few days while they kill your liver, and then you’ll follow suit.

  • MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown@fedia.io
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    What do you mean by slow? Time till symptoms? time till death? Hours? Days? Weeks?

    Raw castor beans contain ricin its a cool looking plant that gets big. My neighbor grew on once accidentally.

    symptoms commonly begin within two to four hours, but may be delayed by up to 36 hours.

    Unless treated, death can be expected to occur within 3–5 days; however, in most cases a full recovery can be made.

    Actually a lot of beans are toxic when raw, but not deadly. Raw lima beans are special though; they contain something that the human body breaks down into cyanide. No clue how long that takes or how many it would take to cause harm.

    Heavy metals (mercury, arsenic, cadmium, lead) are known for building up over time with many exposures. Think mad hatter syndrome, etc. but exposures can also be acute if high enough. IIRC acute arsenic poisoning makes you vomit and diarrhea until you die of dehydration after days or weeks.

  • kerrigan778@lemmy.world
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    Thallium was pretty famous for this until its mechanism of toxicity and antidotes were better understood. Slow acting, tasteless, odorless, colorless, symptoms weird and mimic other things. Used to be used for rat poison but the risk of accidental exposure was too high. Requires late 1800s technology.

  • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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    At work I learned that cyanide is actually very dangerous because it accumulates its effects. Like you have a little now and a little later, then suddenly you can’t get up from bed so you call in sick. Its dangerous stuff.

    • SanguinePar@lemmy.world
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      Pretty sure there’s at least one Agatha Christie novel that uses that idea. A little here, a little there…

      Although, actually, maybe it was the other way round, like someone was deliberately dosing themselves gradually to build up a tolerance. Something like that.

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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    Yeah, in a historic setting, use something readers will recognize, as well. Arsenic, Mercury, that kind of thing. They’ve been used as a poison, and have accidentally poisoned, for so long that they’re tropes of their own. Both of those in specific were available in the region you’re using.

    Plus, they’re going to be really easy to describe the actions of, and don’t require medical knowledge to understand the effects of. Well, the stuff that’s going to be useful to show on page anyway, the stuff that happens inside organs might take a little.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    Dimethylmercury.

    Two drops will kill you in a few months and nothing can be done. It penetrates clothing, regular latex gloves, and skin very easily and unnoticed.

    Pretty terrifying stuff. Not sure you’d be able to figure out availability or production in your plot, but as far as poisons go you’d be set for time between dose and death.

  • bluGill@fedia.io
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    As a writter you should get enough details wrong that someone trying to follow your recipie fails. Ideally they are also caught.

      • neidu3@sh.itjust.works
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        Yes, but not as much as many other metals. We’retalking large amounts over a long period of time.

        On sidenote, everything is poisonous, it’s just a matter of dosage.

      • orthocanna@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        13 days ago

        Over time most metals can build up in your body if they’re not in a compound your body can process.

        Copper, lead, cadmium etc - it’s difficult for your body to expell them so they build up in your tissues