Faking a death in fantasy???

Since it's a fantasy world, you can make up any kind of poison effect you like, from whatever source. Much easier than finding a real-world herb that matches.

JessQ said:

I need to fake a death by Atropa Belladonna (deadly nightshade) in a fantasy novel, using herbs, animal venoms, etc. Between lowering body temp, slowing the heart rate, and relaxing muscles, is there anything I'm missing? Going through an herbalist's guide is time-consuming (and often distracting), so I'm hoping someone has some experience with writing something along these lines. Please and thank you, to any and all!

~Jess

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If you want a real-world-rooted method, then going through that herbalist's guide would probably be invaluable research, time-consuming though it may be.

The quick way, since you stated this is fantasy, is to invent your own herb/animal/recipe. You needn't even be specific - a special potion from a shady alchemist, ingredients unspecified, would work if the point is to get the character to a state of fake-death.

Agreed on what BD and CJ said above, but further tips: If you're going to invent a potion/spell/etc. to put someone into a coma-like state to fake their death, make sure it's mentioned/introduced/etc. earlier in the story, otherwise it'll come out from completely left field and turn into a McGuffin and no one likes this XD But yeah, fantasy basically means you can do whatever the heck you want, as long as it's part of your established world and has some presence in the story before its "main event" so to speak.

Voodoo. Zombie. Google.

Jeff