These bad boys hit like an EpiPen to the soul—injecting a surge of pure, pants-wetting panic that sends foes' hearts into overdrive, triggering the Fear condition for 1 minute (or until they pass a CON save, the wimps). Flavor text: The dart plunges deep, and suddenly their pulse thunders like a war drum in a goblin rave. “Oh gods, the shadows are ALIVE!”
Practically perfect for some sort of evil rogue with a scribe background. Has a ton of medicals knowledge from study but doesn't quite like the whole…ethical boundaries around medical experimentation. Took to the streets to practice and expand on their theories and curiosities. Makes money for their studies via back alley organ trading. Most humanoids only need one kidney after all.1)
Ammunition (dart), uncommon (alchemical poison) Tiny syringe-like darts filled with a hyper-concentrated epinephrine analog distilled from stirge hearts and giant badger rage glands. These bad boys turn your foe's ticker into a goblin drum solo, flooding their veins with pants-sh*tting panic. Cost: 150 gp per dart (or 400 gp for a quiver of 3; black market haggling might drop it to 120 gp each).
Damage: 1d4 piercing Weight: ¼ lb. Properties: Ammunition (range 20/60 ft.), finesse, thrown Special: Panic Injection. A creature hit by the dart must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or become frightened of you for 1 minute (as the frightened condition). It can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Creatures immune to being frightened are immune to this effect.
Not your grandma's herb shop—these are sold by shady alchemists in back-alley apothecaries (think dimly lit stalls reeking of sulfur and regret in the thieves' quarter), black-market fences via Thieves' Guild contacts, or looted from yuan-ti hiss-mongers/drow spider-freaks who love fear-toys. Legality? Poisons are banned in most civilized spots, so expect bribes, Intimidation checks (DC 15+), or a “discreet inquiry” downtime activity to score some.
(for crafty rogues/assassins) Tools: Poisoner's kit (proficiency required) Time: 8 hours brewing + 1 hour prep Cost: 75 gp in materials (exotic “panic essence” from monsters like stirges or frightened kobolds) Check: Intelligence (Poisoner's Kit) DC 15