(Spoilers) Poison In The Wine

[kanjitai]

I have seen this in countless stories before and have never really questioned it before. But is it really possible for some one to fall over dead a few seconds after drinking something with poison in it? It's a good story writing device but might be bad if it's not really feasible.

[AlphaFox]

It would depend on the poison really, much like venom can kill in seconds upon injection. However I have very minimal information on poisons.

[Cirgellon]

I wouldn't know but I'm sure there's something out there that can take you down quick. If anything, maybe a high dose of adrenaline that makes your heart stop. That isn't really poison but could be administered in the same way.

[Sylentmana]

Concentrated doses of certain kinds of poisons could, though throughout history, arsenic was the most common poison used on people and was often placed in their drinks or food. However, it didn't have the dramatic effect often depicted and the victim would become violently ill, sometimes for hours before death.

The unusual thing about Nanamo's poisoning was that it was a sleep poison and I don't understand why she had such a violent reaction to it rather than just becoming really tired and passing out.

[CrystalRainbow]

Saxitoxin, Phenol, conotoxins, propofol, Sodium Thiopental.

Have a nice death.
All act within 1-3 mins and your dead.

[Eye_Gore]

The thing is though we are not dealing with real life here. Substances can and do exist in a Fantasy world. Also, further spoiler:

She didn't die, it was just an extreme sedative to give the illusion of death, again Fantasy world so anything is possible.

[Enkidoh]

Exactly -

and as the resulting questline in Heavensward that resolved the whole situation mentioned, everything happened so fast we didn't even get the chance to even confirm she really was dead - given the fact we had barely risen from our seat when Teledji and the Brass Blades burst into the room and promptly arrested us before we could check Nanamo for any sign of life (this was also why Ilberd bared Raubahn from seeing Nanamo's body - that would have blown the whole scam). The substance used on Nanamo merely needed to put her into a deep long-term slumber that could be mistaken for death on a cursory examination - the ALC Guild was clearly invloved so it would have been relatively easy for them to come up with such a potion.

And remember, the staged assassination was really all just a means to an end - an extended Batman Gambit designed by Lolorito to eliminate Teledji without having any suspicion falling back on him - having our reputation destroyed and the Scions scattered was 'collateral damage' to him

Hence why I hate Lolorito even more now.

[Sapphic]

It would depend on the poison really, much like venom can kill in seconds upon injection. However I have very minimal information on poisons.

Well injecting puts it directly into the blood stream, hence the extrememly fast reaction due to how fast blood travels in the body. Orally ingested poisons, the time of effect can vary depending on things like the contents of your stomach. Full and it would take longer to be absorbed.

Bu as another poster put below me, it is a fantasy world with magic. So anything within the writers imagination and the laws of the fantasy world are possible. Even fantasy worlds have their own version of "laws of nature/science" otherwise they turn into a mess XD

[Takfloyd]

Reminder that things like cyanide suicide pills exist in real life and kill extremely fast. I don't think the poison in the wine scenario is unrealistic.

Also Nanamo's dramatic reaction is totally understandable - it's not like she knew it was a sedative. I know I would panic the hell out if I drank something and immediately felt my body stop working.

[Sylve]

There also poisons that constrict the throat rather rapidly, so sometimes its not poison in your bloodstream that kills you, it just causes you to suffocate. Hell, even anaphylactic shock can hit ridiculously quickly after even a nibble/sip of an allergen.