United Kingdoms

Toxic Adept.

Added 42 minutes ago

I really want to play a build focused on poisons, but no matter how much I look into it, it doesn't seem very viable. What do you think, Ples?

I also find it appealing, especially if you're an archer. There are several points to consider:
1) Most poisons last for up to four hits. In the case of melee weapons, I assume there won't be any problems with misses. But with archers and crossbowmen, they don't apply poison to the bow/crossbow itself, but to the arrows. And if you miss with an arrow, I assume one of the charges is considered spent? If that's the case, ranged weapons (and as I understand, you're still planning to level up a crossbow) don't combine very well with poison. But I could be wrong about the arrow thing, so it's best if Revan clarifies this point.
2) Poisons are, for obvious reasons, very unpleasant for players, but I'm not sure about how unpleasant they are for NPCs. Because you still need to hit them to poison them. And if you do hit, there's a good chance that the enemy only has one or two hit points left. Of course, there are also various monsters with high resistance to poison, but you can simply buy a vial from someone else for such encounters.
3) Producing poison requires money and time, and the end result may be something with a strength of 1 or 2.
4) Creating effective poisons requires high intelligence, which is not an easy stat to prioritize unless you're playing a priest or have a second crafting profession. Initiative is, of course, useful, but not as useful as health, accuracy, or evasion, which you will probably have to sacrifice.
5) Yes, the Poison Master profession adds the possibility of non-combat income, but it can also be obtained through other, more useful professions for the character. For example, a crossbowman with the craftsman skill can not only earn extra money in a workshop but also save money on crossbow bolts. And I won't even mention apothecaries.
6) The third level of the profession is useless. It only adds one, and a very weak (in the player's hands), recipe.

Of course, poisons can also be useful for a social character, but there are no guarantees that the opportunities to use them will be frequent. And again, you can simply buy a couple of vials from NPCs for such cases.