History Main / PoisonedWeapons

*** In the same fashion, Don Krieg's most powerful weapon is a cannon ball filled with (oddly) white coloured poison Gas, and Wanze from the CP7 wields a huge poisonous kitchen knife as his last resolve.

Poisoned weapons are typically [[GoodWeaponEvilWeapon used by villains]], since they allows either an easy victory or a spiteful revenge despite losing, especially in a duel. TheHero is usually too [[HonorBeforeReason honorable]] or [[LawfulStupid stupid]] to use it himself. Heros down the the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism and {{Combat Pragmatist}}s sometimes use poison..

* A rather ingenious example in Rita Mae Brown's ''The Tail of the Tip Off''. When H. H. Donaldson drops dead after going to a basketball game, an autopsy shows he was poisoned through an injection in the neck, but the poison would have had to have been administered during the game for it to kill him when it did. No one saw anything despite the bleachers being packed, and Donaldson didn't react in any way as he would have had someone jabbed him in the neck with a needle. [[spoiler: It turns out the killer froze the poison into an ice dart, and was able to kill Donaldson by shooting it our of a noise maker into his neck. No weapon was found because the ice melted, releasing the poison.]]

* Players in ''{{RuneScape}}'' can create poisons to use on daggers, arrows, spears and a few throwing weapons using the Herblore skill. There are three poisons, each stronger than the previous, and they're made from a herb and a dragon scale, a cactus spine and spider eggs, and poison ivy berries and belladonna respectively, from weakest to strongest. Belladonna is potent enough to strongly damage the player just when it's touched with bare hands. Additionally, a small octopus caught on a tropical island, and when somewhat heated it becomes as poisonous as the strongest poison - then it can be ground into a paste that can be applied to spears only, though. The reason of such a limitation? [[ObviousRulePatch There is no real one.]] Only the mentioned select few above weapons can be poisoned, too - many other bladed weapons can't be.
* Poisoned weapons are featured frequently in ''FireEmblem''. There's usually no way for you to get one though, making them UnusableEnemyEquipment (or rather, Unobtainable Enemy Equipment).
** In games that allow you to steal or otherwise obtain an enemy unit's equipment, the poisoned weapons are converted into [[GoodWeaponEvilWeapon plain old iron weapons]] when in your possession.
*** Maybe in earlier games, but in the 10th game you can disarm an opponent and steal them and they'll still be poisonous. Not really worth it, since they do less damage than iron weapons, but it is still possible should one want to use them.

* ''BattleForWesnoth'' has a Poison weapon special, used (in mainline) on Orcish Assassins' throwing knives, and Ghouls' claws.
** This ability turns both, especially Orcish assassins into DemonicSpiders
* The Dart Gun from ''{{Fallout}} 3'' contains Rad-Scorpion poison, and will instantly cripple the victim's legs as well as causing damage over time. Interestingly enough, a sting from an actual Rad-Scorpion does not cause either of these effects to you or [=NPCs=], it just deals damage. They did poison you in the prequels, though.

* Poisoned weapons do exist in the ''MonsterHunter'' series, but they behave a little differently from the norm. First, each monster has its own tolerance to poison - Bnahabra die instantly from poison smoke, while bigger monsters tend to resist it more readily. Also, each monster takes a given amount of damage maximum from the poison, and no weapon can inflict more or less. That said, a weapon's Poison attribute is in fact its virulence - a higher attribte means that the poison starts doing damage with fewer blows. Neurotoxins (paralysis) and sleeping agents (sleep) behave in the same way.

Poisoned weapons are typically [[GoodWeaponEvilWeapon used by villains]], since they allows either an easy victory or a spiteful revenge despite losing, especially in a duel. TheHero is usually too [[HonorBeforeReason honorable]] or [[LawfulStupid stupid]] to use it himself. Heros down the the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism and {{Combat Pragmatist}}s sometimes use poison..

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* In ''{{Hamlet}}'', the titular character is fatally poisoned by a sharpened rapier, which he then uses to (unknowingly) poison Laertes and (knowingly) poison Claudius.
* ''[[{{Belgariad}} Mallorean]]'': Sadi, one of the heroic party members carries a variety of poisons, and his major weapon in battle is a poisoned dagger. When Belgarion asks the group to minimize casualties during a fight with {{Mooks}}, he's responsible for two of the three deaths at its close - "It's a little hard to unpoison a knife." (The third was Silk taking out an ambusher.)

* In EdgarRiceBurroughs's orginal ''{{Tarzan}}'' books, Tarzan uses poison arrows that he steals from the natives, at least until he scares them into leaving a bundle out with some food every so often as 'tribute' to the forest spirit they think they've angered.

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* In ''SuikodenV'' [[spoiler:Lyon]] is stabbed and near-killed with a poisoned dagger.
* Some weapons in the ''FinalFantasy'' series inflict the "Poisoned" [[StandardStatusEffects status effect]] on enemies when they hit.

* ''DeusEx'' features poisoned crossbow bolts, which serve as tranquilizer darts (though they kill ''you''). In the sequel there is a similar dart gun, but also a hidden, poisoned dagger. Striking your enemies with it makes them cough from the poison in addition to extra damage. This is especially useful as continuous strikes will have your opponent hacking so much he won't have the chance to fight back.

* ''BattleForWesnoth'' has a Poison weapon special, used (in mainline) on Orcish Assassins' throwing knives, and Ghouls' claws.

* In the second {{Assassins Creed}} game, Ezio can get a poison upgrade for his hidden blade. It's the quietest weapon in the game, and because it has a delayed effect, you can poison a target and then get long gone before the target finally dies.

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* Poisoned bladed weapons in real life have always been uncommon and not very effective because successful strikes make almost all the poison bleed out almost as soon as the wound is made. Blowdarts, throwing spikes and the like are exceptions because they cause very little bleeding, and do manage to inject useful amounts of poison into the body.

Worst still are higher end bullets made of tungsten carbide and depleted uranium. Tungsten carbide is rather toxic, but has excellent ballistic properties due to its high density. However, most military forces prefer the much cheaper depleted uranium (a left over from nuclear programs thats of no use for bombs or in reactors, and unlike tungsten doesn't need to be heated to 3000 degrees Celsius to melt into shape), which is almost as dense, slightly radioactive, self sharpens upon breaking (leading to better armor penetration), makes for a fairly good incendiary weapon, and on top of all that is still very toxic in the conventional chemical way.

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* ''SurvivalOfTheFittest'': Blood Boy's assigned weapons are an Ida (an African sword) and a vial of poison meant to be applied to the blade.
* Phase (Ayla Goodkind) of the ''WhateleyUniverse'' is now carrying some poisoned throwing darts. When chided for it by an instructor, she shows she also carries a syringe of antidote.

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* In one episode of ''TheSimpsons'' with Homer's brother, Herb, Bart is given a membership card to the NRA as a present from Herb so Bart can buy a machinegun when he's older. He asks if he can get armour piercing cyanide-tipped bullets to go with it. Herb replies, "It's in the constitution, son."

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ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: When a weapon (frequently a dagger, but often an arrow, dart, or even a sword) is poisoned for added lethality. [[GoodWeaponEvilWeapon Usually a Villain trope]], especially in a duel, since it allows either an easy victory or a petty revenge despite losing; TheHero is usually (depending on where the show falls on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism) either too [[HonorBeforeReason honorable]] or [[LawfulStupid stupid]] to use it himself. Sometimes, though, poison may be used by a CombatPragmatist.

A literary device as old as time is to have a confrontation involving a poisoned weapon which [[DramaticIrony the audience knows is poisoned, but the characters involved do not]]. Generally, the poison either acts instantly, or (more often) takes long enough for a FinalSpeech.

'''Examples:'''

- LastWords of the EvilChancellor '''Otho''', ''StargateAtlantis'', after [[HoistByHisOwnPetard getting nicked with his own knife]] while battling [[TheHero Sheppard]].

* Poisoned blowdarts feature twice in ''IndianaJones''.

* In ''From Russia With Love'' Rosa Klebb has a poisoned dagger in the toe of her shoe. At the end, she has a kicking fight with James Bond who pushes her against the wall with a chair until Tatiana Romanova shoots her. (Compare with the novel)

* Poisoned weapons featured in a number of Shakespeare's plays, perhaps most prominently in Hamlet.
* ''{{Dune}}'' '''loves''' this one:

* Employed by villains in ''{{Redwall}}'': Cluny the Scourge has a poisoned barb on the end of his tail, which kills the Abbot slowly enough for him to deliver his FinalSpeech, and the minor character Farran the Poisoner possesses an instant-death poisoned dagger.
* The Goblins in {{Mercedes Lackey}}'s ''TheObsidianTrilogy'' have deadly poison on their claws and teeth (the Shadowed Elves often use them on weapons). Only the timely intervention of a unicorn can save someone from even a slight or incidental dose.

** One of the stories also has the Rat put a deadly virus on his sharpened fingernail and scratch someone with it.
*** [[spoiler: He ''claimed'' it was a deadly virus. James Bolivar [=DiGriz=] places the preservation of life, even those of his enemies, above success or his own safety.]]
* AntiHero (well, possibly) example: Oberyn Martell (aka The Red Viper) in ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' is infamous for using poisoned weapons, and it allows him to deliver a quasi-fatal wound to the [[TheBrute Brutish]] CompleteMonster Gregor Clegane.

** In RealLife politicians often get their hands scratched up by fingernails when shaking a lot of people's hands at rallies. So far, no deaths have been recorded due to this.

* The villain in the SherlockHolmes story ''The Adventure of the Dying Detective'' is a doctor who has killed his nephew by surreptitiously injecting him with a deadly illness. He later on tries to do Holmes in the same way by sending him a package with secret spring-loaded, virus-tipped needles, but Holmes is able to see through his scheme. (Having a lot of enemies tends to make the detective overly cautious of the mail he receives.) Holmes pretends to be infected, and he soon manages to lure the evil doctor over to his apartment and trick him into a confession in front of witnesses.

* Sadi, one of the heroic party members in the ''[[{{Belgariad}} Mallorean]]'', carries a variety of poisons, and his major weapon in battle is a poisoned dagger. When Belgarion asks the group to minimize casualties during a fight with {{Mooks}}, he's responsible for two of the three deaths at its close - "It's a little hard to unpoison a knife." (The third was Silk taking out an ambusher.)
* Menion Leah, a heroic protagonist from ''[[{{Shannara}} The Sword of Shannara]]'' poisons some arrows when the opportunity arises, just in case. He uses them in the very next scene.
* A prequel to ''TheDeptfordMice'' series has enemies who wear golden claws with an impossibly nasty poison that causes you to pretty much dissolve into goo. When one character finds an unconscious one of them, HoistByHisOwnPetard is subverted by WhatAnIdiot when the guy decides to put on the claw and kill him with it, but accidentally scratches himself. He then runs away from the incurable poison already in his veins, and dies very quickly as opposed to using his remaining time to say, ''kill the one he poisoned himself getting ready to kill''.

* Hercules had arrows poisoned with hydra blood, making this one OlderThanDirt.
** Similarly, a poisoned arrow was used to finally kill the otherwise BoringInvincibleHero Achilles towards the end of the Trojan War.

* TheSaint discovered a poison-dart launcher built into a doorbell once. He avoided getting shot, kept the dart, and later used it in a booby-trapped parcel to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard prick the finger of the villain]].

* In EdgarRiceBurroughs's orginal {{Tarzan}} books, Tarzan uses poison arrows that he steals from the natives, at least until he scares them into leaving a bundle out with some food every so often as 'tribute' to the forest spirit they think they've angered.
* In RobertEHoward's ConanTheBarbarian story "Black Colossus", Shevatas poisoned his blade to deal with the snake.
* In ''From Russia With Love'', Rosa Klebb had a poisoned dagger at the toe of her shoe. She nicks James Bond with it and he passes out from the poison in seconds. The novel ends at that point. (Compare with the film)

* ''{{Diablo}} 2'' allows low-level Necromancers to enchant daggers with poison. Poison enchantments on weapons was also quite common, even though these enchantments were generally far from lethal in any way.

* ''TheElderScrolls IV: Oblivion'' lets you poison your weapons. Any potion you make (or find) which only has negative effects will be treated as a poison and be applied to your weapon (delivering its effects to the next enemy you strike with a melee weapon or applying them to the next arrow you fire).

* The Dart Gun from ''{{Fallout}} 3'' contains Rad-Scorpion poison, and will instantly cripple the victim's legs as well as causing damage over time. Interestingly enough, a sting from an actual Rad-Scorpion does not cause either of these effects to you or [=NPCs=], it just deals damage.
** They did poison you in the prequels, though.
* According to Achenar's journal in the fourth {{Myst}} game, he used poisoned spears to kill the two large sea monsters (known as Cerpatees) in Haven.

* {{Exile}} and {{Avernum}} give players the ability to poison melee weapons or arrows. Handy for taking out that nasty spellcaster hanging out in the back, as multiple hits from poisonned weapons makes the poison worse. There's also the Alien Blade, which constantly drips poison.

* [[GreenThumb Wood Aspected]] Dragon-Blooded in ''{{Exalted}}'' are capable of producing a magical plant toxin from their [[BattleAura anima]]. They can poison you with a simple touch or unarmed attack, or with a very basic Charm can also channel this toxin through a weapon.

* The example that provides the page quote: StargateAtlantis episode "The Tower". Sheppard ends up with the EvilChancellor trying to kill him in the climax. When Sheppard disarms him, Otho is cut with his own poisoned dagger and dies in moments, after providing the quote up above.

* In ''{{Naruto}}'', Sasori tips every weapon he has with poison. And he has many weapons.
** Hell, he's just the only one who puts it on all of his weapons (which is probably because he can't be harmed by poison). Shizune and one of Kankuro's puppets also have poison needles, the Demon Brothers that Team 7 run into on the way to the Land of Waves used poison claws, and Sakura is once stated to have put poison on a kunai (and that she apparently learned to make it from Shizune).

* OrderOfTheStick has Daimyo Kubota utilizing a poisoned ring to kill [[spoiler: Therkla after she decides to act in a way that is not in his best interests]]. Con damage is a bitch, isn't it? He's even DangerouslyGenreSavvy enough to avoid [[HoistByHisOwnPetard the typical downside of this trope]]: instead of carrying the antidote when the time comes to use the poison, he drinks the antidote in advance, so he'll be immune to the poison just in case he gets scratched, but his intended victim won't be able to obtain a cure in time.
** And just to not be beaten in GenreSavvy, [[CrazyPrepared Elan learns Neutralize Poison afterwards]].

** And that's why they're called poison DART frogs.
* Back in the day, Chicago gangsters were known to use poisoned bullets. Can be useful if you miss the enemy's vitals.
** A school superintendent was murdered in the 70s. He was shot eight times, and the coroner found traces of cyanide on the bullets. Somewhat unsurprisingly, though, the official cause of death was ''being shot eight times''.

* Early bullets usually consisted entirely of lead, and sometimes copper (if it was more widely available in the region). Both are toxic metals, and often cause secondary poisoning in the man they shot, assuming he lived long enough for that to be an issue. Modern bullets often utilize both. Its not that they're intended to be toxic, its just that they're cheap and have good ballistic properties (due to high density); their toxicity is more of a beneficial side effect.
** Worst still are higher end bullets made of tungsten carbide and depleted uranium. Tungsten carbide is rather toxic, but has excellent ballistic properties due to its high density. However, most military forces prefer the much cheaper depleted uranium (a left over from nuclear programs thats of no use for bombs or in reactors, and unlike tungsten doesn't need to be heated to 3000 degrees Celsius to melt into shape), which is almost as dense, slightly radioactive, self sharpens upon breaking (leading to better armor penetration), makes for a fairly good incendiary weapon, and on top of all that is still very toxic in the conventional chemical way.

* Blood Boy's assigned weapons in SurvivalOfTheFittest are an Ida (an African sword) and a vial of poison meant to be applied to the blade.
* Phase (Ayla Goodkind) of the WhateleyUniverse is now carrying some poisoned throwing darts. When chided for it by an instructor, she shows she also carries a syringe of antidote.

* Players in ''{{RuneScape}}'' can create poisons to use on daggers, arrows, spears and a few throwing weapons using the Herblore skill. There are three poisons, each stronger than the previous, and they're made from a herb and a dragon scale, a cactus spine and spider eggs, and poison ivy berries and belladonna respectively, from weakest to strongest. Belladonna is potent enough to strongly damage the player just when it's touched with bare hands. Additionally, a small octopus caught on a tropical island, and when somewhat heated it becomes as poisonous as the strongest poison - then it can be ground into a paste that can be applied to spears only, though. The reason of such a limitation? [[ObviousRunePatch There is no real one.]] Only the mentioned select few above weapons can be poisoned, too - many other bladed weapons can't be.

* Players in ''{{RuneScape}}'' can create poisons to use on daggers, arrows and other weapons using the Herblore skill. There is also an stronger type of poison that can only be applied to spears.

** In a non canon example, Wapol's brother Musshul ate the Noko Noko fruit (stands for kinoko, mushroom) and can manipulate poisonous spores. This includes bullets, a [[ThisIsADrill drill like fungus on his arm) and poison clouds.

* The Dart Gun from ''{{Fallout}} 3'' contains Rad-Scorpion poison, and will instantly cripple the victim's legs as well as causing damage over time. Interestingly enough, a sting from an actual Rad-Scorpion does not cause either of these effects to you or NPCs, it just deals damage.

A literary device as old as time is to have a confrontation involving a poisoned weapon which the audience knows is poisoned, but the characters involved do not. Generally, the poison either acts instantly, or (more often) takes long enough for a FinalSpeech.

* In the orginal Tarzan books, Tarzan uses poison arrows that he steals from the natives, at least until he scares them into leaving a bundle out with some food every so often as 'tribute' to the forest spirit they think they've angered.

** In Final Fantasy V, Sword Mages/Mystics can enchant their swords with the poisonous Bio spell, adding magical poison to their attacks.
** In Final Fantasy VII, any weapon with two linked materia slots could be associated with an element or status effect, including poison.
** In ''FinalFantasy IX'', the Rune Tooth and the Poison Knuckles can both inflict poison, while the Scissor Fangs can inflict the more dangerous venom.
** In ''FinalFantasy X'', you can give any weapon this ability.

* ''Oblivion'' lets you poison your weapons. Any potion you make (or find) which only has negative effects will be treated as a poison and be applied to your weapon (delivering its effects to the next enemy you strike with a melee weapon or applying them to the next arrow you fire).

* Georgi Markov, assassinated by the KGB with a poison dart filled wirth ricin.

* ''OurManFlint''. Gila uses a poisoned dart propelled by a harp to try to assassinate Flint.

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* In ''FanFic/AeonEntelechyEvangelion'' a human working for the Migou used tiny carbon-fibre syringes hidden in her knuckles to assassinate the Marshal.

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* Poisoned blowdarts feature twice in ''IndianaJones''.
* The Na'vi of ''{{Film/Avatar}}'' dip their arrows in a toxin that will stop a human's heart in a minute. That doesn't really matter, though, because the arrows are the size of broomsticks and the Na'vi are crack shots.