this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2023
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More info for those interested,
The main symptom of CO poisoning is sleepiness. By the time you realise it you're just thinking to yourself I'm tired and I'm going to take a quick nap, then you never wake up.
CO2 poisoning is easy to spot because you're suddenly very breathless and hyperventilating for air.
This is because our respiration is controlled by the percentage of CO2 in our blood. Not by the amount of oxygen. So we actually don't react to most gases, we just KO and thats it. If no one removes you from that area, you're a goner.
I think you'd know something is off here a bit faster - evil sorcerer is filling the crypt with CO. You immediately will be unable to draw breath, there will be no oxygen in the air. Carbon Monoxide poisoning occurs when there's still oxygen to breathe, it's just got lots of CO.... unlike Nitrogen when you can resperate and attempt to breath until you fall over dead, your lungs don't want to take in CO. It won't be gradual, there's literally nothing to breathe.
While I appreciate we're discussing hypothetical DND scenarios, I'd just like to take a moment to highlight the dangers as it's an actual risk we deal with in reality. (Cars and heating systems)
CO is a very dangerous gas for a reason. Its known as a silent killer because while there are symptoms, it's mild and easily mistaken for other medical issues. Its not uncommon to be wrongly diagnosed by medical professionals. CO works by binding to hemoglobin 200% stronger than oxygen and stays bound for hours. So unlike nitrogen hypoxia, where once you brought back to a high oxygen environment, you will start recovering, CO poisoning remains. Even a 100% Oxygen environment will not in itself save you from severe poisoning because the CO is so strongly bound to your blood that oxygen cannot displace it.
Anyways in a (near 100%) flooded environment, the players are already dead when they feel the symptoms. Once CO is bound to their blood stream the only treatment is hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Good to know information:
0-9 ppm CO: no health risk; normal CO levels in air. 10-29 ppm CO: problems over long-term exposure; chronic problems such as headaches, nausea 30-35 ppm CO: flu-like symptoms begin to develop, especially among the young and the elderly. 36-99 ppm CO: flu-like symptoms among all; nausea, headaches, fatigue or drowsiness, vomiting.
100+ ppm CO: severe symptoms; confusion, intense headaches; ultimately brain damage, coma, and/or death, especially at levels 300-400+ ppm
Ok, now what's the result for CO 1,000,000ppm?
That's what the Lich has done. It has filled the space with CO.
I’d say you’re dead once you take a breath of that. It’s probably going to feel like you’re breathing 100% nitrogen because your body will think it’s breathing out CO2 like normal. You’ll get weak really fast since you’re deprived of oxygen and then you just die because your blood cells are ruined.