celts used poisened spears.

**scorepio** · 07-14-2008, 00:22

Today I have read an article about the Celts using poisened spearpoints. They used the poison from the taxus tree . ( word toxic is derived from taxus )
Strange this isn't used in any total war mod having the Celts as a faction. (not that I know of at least )
It's just an idea . (maybe for EB2 )

**Shylence** · 07-14-2008, 00:30

Well its all Theorectical isint it? Without further proof it wont be included. and the EB team have work bollock breakingly hard to get is as true to the past as possible give or take a few errors and mythic units

**MarcusAureliusAntoninus** · 07-14-2008, 04:53

As far as RTW dynamics go, I don't think there would really be a stat difference between a regular spear and one that might be poisoned. Besides, it was probably not fast acting poison and wouldn't make a difference on the battlefield itself.

**kingsword** · 07-14-2008, 08:14

What difference would it make anyway? All units have got 1HP and all missiles kill provided that they hit.

**keravnos** · 07-14-2008, 08:16

Pahlavan were also mentioned to use poisoned arrows.
They would be called "Parthian arrows" and often it was recovered to be used against them as well.
When the expression was used in literature it meant that once you have let loose a poisoned arrow, you ought to take into consideration that it could very well be used against you.

**Justinian II** · 07-14-2008, 09:05

Originally Posted by keravnos

Pahlavan were also mentioned to use poisoned arrows.
They would be called "Parthian arrows" and often it was recovered to be used against them as well.
When the expression was used in literature it meant that once you have let loose a poisoned arrow, you ought to take into consideration that it could very well be used against you.

The Scythians were pretty famous for that, too...and even had a poison named after them, if I recall correctly, it was mostly to keep wounds from healing up, so even if you didn't get killed,it would put you out of commission for a while,if not permanently.

It would be interesting, but again, not sure how to portray this in the RTW engine

**Khazar_Dahvos** · 07-14-2008, 10:16

yes I believe the scythians did!! They used to make a nasty cocktail by taking a steppe adder or vipers and kill it put it in a crock or container mixed with human blood and feces to enhance and speed up neurotoxins. Bury it for a week and apply it to their arrows. Nasty biological warfare shite. I was just reading it a couple of weeks ago in a Bronze, Brains & Blood magazine

**Elmetiacos** · 07-17-2008, 14:02

I have a suspicion this idea may have been started by Robert Graves' The White Goddess... where was the article?

**The Persian Cataphract** · 07-17-2008, 15:42

The whole idea of horse-archers making use of poison-tipped arrows was popularized by the quirks of Pontic sovereign, Mithridates VI Eupator, who had Scythian medicine-men (The so-called Agari) who would prepare for him all sorts of prescriptions in his famed consumption of poison.

**Danest** · 07-17-2008, 16:37

It seems to me that if this poison wasn't fast acting, then it must have simply been used for morale purposes, to cause a "frighten infantry" effect. ;) I wonder if a frighten-infantry effect could potentially be applied to the non-flaming arrows in such a case (if it existed and was going to be included, of course.)