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I'm in the process of preparing a future game for our current campaign. It's a seafaring campaign in which the PCs are, for the first time, exploring the unknown south of my homebrew setting.
They now set sails toward a harbour city that has the seedy reputation of a haven for cutthroats, pirates and slavers. The city is run by several drug lords and on its markets you can find almost everything, that's illegal in most other nations. I think you get the idea...
To add flavour to this, I'd like to come up with several drugs, that can be bought there and so I wondered, if any of you ever created exotic or unusual drugs that I could use for inspiration. I'm gathering ideas for unusual drugs with interesting and/or terrible effects or side-effects. I don't want to use the standard stuff that just affects abilities, but substances, that have a weird and/or fantastic feel to them. For example, I'm toying with the idea to create a drug that lets people actually float, but has the side-effect, that it turns them ethereal when used in higher doses. Stuff like this...
Things posted in this threat might also be useful for the adventures of the upcoming LoF AP, wherein the players will visit the markets of Katapesh, which hopefully will live up to the surname Bazaar of the Bizarre.
I'd be happy if you could share already created drugs or ideas and I'll post the stuff I create when I'll sit down to do so this weekend.
A useful place to start is Book of Vile Darkness, which has some basic rules for drugs, drug addiction, and a few examples. The first of the Sehan adventures in Dungeon (# 145, "Vile Addiction") is a decent example of breaking up a drug operation involving a dangerous magical substance.
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Thank you for your reply, Dragonchess Player!
I already looked at the BovD and it really is a nice scource for examples and inspiration regardings this topic. Sadly, nearly everything out of the BovD is an old hat for my players. We are using this book since it came out and they already know the drugs (some of their PCs even have been addicted to some!) in there from previous campaigns.
I'll definitly look at the Seeds of Sehan adventure you mentioned.
I'm mainly looking for fan-created drugs and don't need advice on using addictions, examples for drug-rings and so on. But if anybody took a new approach to this subject or created houserules or similar stuff, I'd be interested as well! The addiction rules in BovD are a little bit clunky to me...
Here's couple I have just fluffed for a game I am running:
Pearl: An iridescent liquid that is gathered from a tropical tree via shunts (like Maple Syrup). In small quantities it is put into alcoholic beverages and has a euphoric effect. It is addictive, and some take to drinking it 'uncut' which intensifies Pearl's effects, often causing hallucinations and blackouts.
Flame Gecko Skin: Also known as 'Ometo' after a god of drunkeness, the skins of these bright orange-red geckos are dried and then powdered. The chemicals in the skin produce a strong LSD-like effect.
Happy Berries: A rare parasitic tree vine that has resisted all attempts to grow as a domestic plant, Happy Berries are prized for their euphoric effect which simulates drunkeness, but without the hangover effects the next day. Overindulgence usually leads to a deep sleep. About as addictive as alcohol, berry heads (as the addicts are known) often run out into the jungle hunting the vines, and can often come to grief.
Just a couple of thoughts.