654. Thunderbrew- This extremely weak, sweet-ish alcohol is made from the roots of certain sasparilla-adjacent plants that have been exposed to run-off from magical experiments(in Golarion, it is VERY common in the Mana Wastes). It tastes quite good and is quite popular amongst youthful, first-time drinkers, primarily because it causes imbibers to belch incredibly loudly- well under what would happen with respect to sound burst or shout, but stealth is next to impossible after as little as two rounds. Thunderbrew is known in a wide variety of lands under a number of names(almost all of which are variations of the name presented here), and being a regular enjoyer of it above a certain age will certainly make one the subject of good natured(usually) ribbing. In the adventuring world, calling someone a Thunderbrew or being a fan of the stuff is essentially calling someone an amateur- but rogues, rangers, and others who rely heavily upon stealth often drink it to test their skill in friendly competition. In game terms, a character who enjoyed Thunderbrew in the last hour suffers a -2 penalty to Stealth.
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Maybe a summoned monster or something, drunk out of their minds. Send them in the front while you sneak in the back.
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655. Driftblooms
Scattered throughout the elemental plane of air, and the base of a unique ecosystem, driftblooms are an airborne algal bloom that feeds primarily on the diffuse light of the plane, and sends streaks of brilliant, and occasionally toxic, color across the sky. This airborne algae is fed upon by countless small winged insects and birds, with the insects themselves, in turn, being fed upon by yet other birds, and the smaller birds often serving as prey for raptors and similar more predatory birds.
The driftblooms themselves often sprout and flourish in the bodies of those insects and birds who die from drifting into the less common toxic blooms, and a flavorful and nourishing bloom can change with unusual speed to a toxic bloom at some predictable trigger that the tiny brains of the insects and birds that serve as their ‘fertilizer’ cannot always reliably anticipate or escape.
Clumps of such decaying organic matter eventually reach such size that they become host to small gardens, as seeds and spores from distant earth-islands sprout in the fertile 'soil' of the bodies of those that brought them to this streak of color in the endless sky. At other times, strong winds break such clumps up, and provide a rich substrate for the bloom to expand in new directions, such that algal blooms frequently move across the sky, in accordance to the whims of the wind.
Drinking so much of the sweet thunderbrew that you puke is called a thunderspew.
Or so I've heard.
"Thunderdrunk" is a socially acceptable and almost endearing way to call someone an alcoholic, ironically it is also a way to refer to someone as a lightweight with respect to alcohol. Finally, there are a few who use the term to refer to a mild hangover, but this is rare.
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656. Banditsbloom-This white and red-speckled flower grows along the countryside and favors generous shade and very iron rich soil- to the point that, yes, it can subsist on blood. Patches of the stuff are seen as ill omen by outriders and scouts, as they are seen as signs of a place where blood was spilt via skulkery and betrayal- not through "honest" war. In the language of flowers, Banditsbloom is a declaration that one should "watch their back", as the saying goes.
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656. Beardmoss-This green, stringy growth is reminiscent of a combination of dried thyme and clover, and is actually a fungus, not a plant. It can magically and miraculously subsist on humanoid sweat and keratin, and as a result is used in a variety of hairpiece, but primarily and famously for hairpiece for a masculine face, i.e. a beard. Growing in intricate whorls and patterns, it is a great- if literally green- way for young men of all persuasions with patchy beards to add fullness and definition, especially if they are in a rural society. City folk see this as the pubescent fashion version of Barbarian Bark above, but there are a good number who have taken to it as a sign of living in harmony with nature and so Beardmoss enters more than occasional vogues in metropoli. Calling someone a greenbeard is a great insult, it implies they cannot grow facial hair naturally, and calling someone this even if their beard consists almost entirely of Beardmoss is an invitation to a usually-immature-but-potentially-serious fistfight. For rangers and druids, calling someone a mossbeard is a cheeky, but respectful way of saying someone is either one of the aforementioned tree loving city dwellers(with no small amount of well hidden exasperation), or that someone is an apprentice in the green ways. Calling a dwarf of any gender beardmoss or greenbeard is to verbally forfeit ones life.
There are several pirate captains that claim to be the original Greenbeard.
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657. Signalnut- This nut possesses a small naturally occurring hole in its center and has a mild, woody taste that goes well with salt, sugar, or any other flavoring. It can be roasted to perfection over a very hot flame in a pan with a neutral or finishing oil for about a half an hour or active embers in about 3 hours. This legume can grow in any wet, warm and mostly shady environment, and can be a godsend to those lost in the middle of nowhere overnight- a double handful can serve as a spare but nourishing meal- not great for breaking ones fast, but starvation would be held off for another day so long as one has enough water to process it. It gets its name from the distinctive low vibrato created by putting it between ones lips and blowing- variations in size and shape alter the pitch, but the note is the same for the most part. It is used for all manner of hails and messages, and some lands have a morse code attached to it. There are countless tales of beleaguered armies using it to summon reinforcements, spies and courtiers using it to send secret messages, and most famously of all, nascent bards being surprised by blowing through this edible child's toy and causing a magical effect to come into being. Calling someone a signalnut is to say they have great potential in their field. Many teachers ban consumption of signalnut in the classroom, and so some students call teachers a signalnut to note their ill humor and serious disposition. Nowadays, calling an older person a signalnut is something of an insult (and determining what defines "older" is a long, heated debate).
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658. Firefruit. a species of mangrove only found in swampy southern shores, most commonly in the Sodden Lands, is notable for plum sized dull orange fruit, with the consistency of persimmons, that are filled with hydrogen extracted from the water standing at the trees base. These fruit swell throughout their growing season, and yet also lighten, as more of their hollow central cavities are filled with the lighter-than-air gas. Eventually, the wind tugs them free of their parent tree and carries the surprisingly light fruit far from where they would have fallen on their own.
These fruit could, in theory, seem like a gift from above, settling gently into one's hand or being snatched from the air as they waft lazily to the ground, but they taste like unripe persimmons as well, and the bulk of their mass is chambers filled with hydrogen, not edible flesh.
Much more notable is the once-every-few years occurrence when a bolt of lightning strikes down in the mangrove swamps, and a series of popping explosions occurs, a sudden firestorm that usually only lasts for a few moments, due to the small quantities of hydrogen in an individual fruit, the swampy environment, and that it usually happens during a raging downpour. As a result, these particular mangroves are avoided by local birds, for nesting purposes, as any who had not learned of their danger, ended up barbecued...
These irregular events, which would seem to be terrible for the trees, seem to perversely help them, discouraging the growths of parasitic mosses and burrowing beetles alike, and burning away dead growth to make room for healthier branches. Local superstition claims that the spirits of the trees can call down the lightning, 'when it's time,' and that a particularly unhealthy looking tree with multiple dead branches, or one draped with hanging moss, is 'nearing it's time' and not safe to be around.
Concentrated hydrogen! That would explain the alien fusion powered spaceships both harvesting the fruit and planting more trees.
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659. Superb Owl- These owls look almost exactly like normal owls, save for their significantly larger eyes, which glitter like a star-filled night. Anything that looks into their eyes needs to make a DC 11 Will save or be fascinated as per the bardic ability. While this is usually used by the owl for hunting, whenever an intelligent creature(Int 3 or higher) looks into its eyes and fails its save, said creature becomes not just fascinated but adored by the owl(who keeps a respectful, vertical based distance from their admirers). Even after the effect passes(1d4 rounds), people find they cannot help but speak highly of the owl, sometimes attributing runs of good fortune, gatherings of hearty fellowship and victory in sporting events or gambling to it. Some areas have festival days attributed to the superb owl, which are usually held towards the end of winter, where revelers stare blissfully at the owl's eyes for hours before taking a break to prepare a particularly decadent meal and enjoy some sort of musical performance, and then go back to watching the owl again. Those who do not partake in this superb owl viewing are usually seen as boring, spoilsports, or somehow overly reserved or intellectual.
(...How did we miss this one?)
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Being an enchanter qualifies a character to attract a Superb Owl as a familiar. Spells such as charm and charisma based skills are +3 DCs.
661. Pastetooth- The petals of this extremely thirsty flowering plant(it only grows in very humid areas that are cool to warm in temperature) along with its roots(the stem, paradoxically, is often dried and turned into an oral pick) can be ground into a very thick light yellowish paste that can be applied over ones teeth and subtly shaped to take on any appearance the sculptor desires. Most often used to fill in cracks and chips by dentists, morbid teenagers and those with an obsession for the supernatural often sculpt fangs for themselves, clad themselves in garish black lace and leather attire, and claim to be tragically fashionable vampires and their spawn. As these "teeth" grow more brittle the more of the substance is used in their creation, this effect lasts for about a night or two before painlessly breaking away- it is a mainstay in theater makeup as a result, but terrible for true, long term disguises. Half Orcs find the use of pastetooth to pretend to claim some kinship/allyship with them to be simultaneously incredibly offensive and hilarious to the point that the term pastetooth, already a source of derision due to the Gothic folks mentioned above (as well as a term used to describe neophyte would-be Ed Woods who are perhaps taking themselves and their "art" little too seriously in the theatre community, rogues also use it to refer to a particularly green confidence artist who thrives on luck as opposed to skill), has begun to be associated with what we would know on this plane of reality as a "sellout" in half orc communities.
There are several pirate captains that claim to be the original Greenbeard.
Indeed, this is one of the only times and cultures in which calling someone a greenbeard is not an insult- many ship captains who wish to remain anonymous for reasons both foul and fair go by this pseudonym. It is also a "polite" way to refer to someone that we would see in this world as a "snotty".
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662. Darkcandle
These wispy fungal strands glimmer with candlelight intensity, due to a concentration of luciferase in their hair-thin hollow strands. Even smaller brittle branches fork off from them along their length and break off at the slightest touch, so that any insect attracted by their light ends up surrounded by a cloud of these tiny 'hairs,' which clog their respiratory tracts and cause them to suffocate and die, their minute bodies serving to nourish the fungus that drew them in and killed them.
Darkcandle is relatively common in the Darklands, and can be found there in several colors, having been bred selectively over countless generations by various Darklands races. The light they shed is often inadequate to effectively light an area, but at least provides guidance to where the walls are, to those passing through an unlit area.
Darkcandle can also be found nearer the surface, but cannot thrive in the presence of direct sunlight, so will most often be found growing under someone's porch, or in a culvert, or deep within an animal burrow, anywhere where insects might be drawn to its light, and become it's next meal. It is, in turn, inedible to humanoid life, and toxic enough to make one nauseous and give one cramps, but not cause any lasting harm. It is, somewhat ironically, quite edible to many insects, if they could survive the encounter without themselves becoming the meal...
663. Zapwing- Said to be created by an evil druid who wasnt a fan of city folk and their drippy-nosed, puling, obnoxious children clumsily traipsing about the forest and wanted to give them good cause them to step lightly in the woods, zapwings look no different from- and some elven scholars believe can mate with- common lightning bugs/fireflies, but they can actually provide a painful electric shock when agitated, akin to touching a metal surface after building a hefty static charge. Understanably unpopular with all but the most acerbic of nature-lovers, zapwings are beautiful to behold, and to call someone a zapwing is to call them a particularly attractive shrew.
664. Wanderdoodle- These inoffensive, ladybug-sized beetles have a unique magical ability to project the image of a birds eye view of their current location to a radius of 1 mile upon their shell. It takes a sharp eye to make out the map-like pattern(DC 25 Perception check), but it is accurate. Someone with eyes of minute seeing can make out the very, very tiny black dots of human-sized beings as they make their way throughout the world in miniature. Wanderdoodles are beloved by children, cartographers, and assassins, in ascending order. To call someone a wanderdoodle is the same thing as calling them a bookworm, albeit in a more cartography-specific direction.
665. Snotblocker- This rudely named, bright yellow flower is also inaccurate named for it causes the exact opposite effect: upon inhaling even a trace amount of its pollen causes one to emit a powerful sneeze, full of phlegm within 1d4 minutes. Unless one has a particularly hearty handkerchief on hand to intercept, the phlegm will end up everywhere, providing a-one-time equal penalty to the sneezer's next social roll(diplomacy, intimidation, etc). Legend has it this flower got its name by being weaponized by a jealous rival who sought to stop a couple from...well, coupling. Some humans believe the name of the flower has somehow been altered over the years, but cannot quite put their finger(or other body parts) on exactly how.
666. Slasher Beetle- Also known as Slaughterbugs. Another beetle, this one white with black dots on the back, it is the size of a dwarfs thumb joint, and eats all manner of carrion and rotting leaves. Normally seen as a gross, but vital part of the world, they are avoided out of superstitious fear on a specific day of the year, but also due to their distinctive pinch of a bite(used only as a last resort, these shy insects will run rather than fight most of the time).
654. Thunderbrew- This extremely weak, sweet-ish alcohol is made from the roots of certain sasparilla-adjacent plants that have been exposed to run-off from magical experiments(in Golarion, it is VERY common in the Mana Wastes). It tastes quite good and is quite popular amongst youthful, first-time drinkers, primarily because it causes imbibers to belch incredibly loudly- well under what would happen with respect to sound burst or shout, but stealth is next to impossible after as little as two rounds. Thunderbrew is known in a wide variety of lands under a number of names(almost all of which are variations of the name presented here), and being a regular enjoyer of it above a certain age will certainly make one the subject of good natured(usually) ribbing. In the adventuring world, calling someone a Thunderbrew or being a fan of the stuff is essentially calling someone an amateur- but rogues, rangers, and others who rely heavily upon stealth often drink it to test their skill in friendly competition. In game terms, a character who enjoyed Thunderbrew in the last hour suffers a -2 penalty to Stealth.
Someone asked, so it is about 3.9% ABV. Other names include Belchbelly, Windbrew, Burpbutter, and Underale.
Slasher beetles have a talent for smelling dead and corporeal undead making them ideal familiars for necromancers and undead hunters.
667. Redgrip Ivy: This type of climbing ivy have an is dark green with orange-red leaves in-between, looking pretty plain from the outside, yet it has a unique property - it can 'consume' rust off metals, looking for oxidized metals and absorbing the rust as both nutrition and poison against creatures that would consume it. It tends to grow over old bridges, the corpses of dead knights in armor, and from time to time - over constructs and automatons of ages lost.
This ivy was created by the Jistika Imperium to help maintain their standing armies, the plant is still found at the north of the Mwangi Expense and at Rahadoum, and used to be much more common before the desertification of Rahadoum. Treasure hunters know to spot those plants that many times hide treasures under them. Automatons that awake after many years tend to have redgrip ivy growing all over their bodies, and some even grow it over them intentionally as a fashion choice.
668. Pestleaf- The leaves of this non-flowering plant- more like a bush, actually- are like honey to insects. They seem to "sweat" a resin that attracts them in the height of spring into early summer, and are prized by those who wish to go unbitten by everything from chiggers to mosquitos, usually borne on tall staves at an altitude to keep them away from people. Unfortunately, once picked, the resin quickly loses its potency, lasting no more than an hour or two at most. All know this, but few seem to care, as sachets of pestleaf are common enough from one corner of the realms they grow in to the next, oft selling for a copper, or more in humid times. It is rumored that a fistful of dried pestleaf when thrown into a fire, will keep insects away too, but since it smells as pleasant as burning spiced dung, it naturally keeps away just about anyone. To call someone pestleaf is to call them "stinky", and is a common nickname for younger siblings, lazy pets, and all manner of beloved irritants. Some adventures, druids, rangers and other outdoorsy have come to find the scent of pestleaf reminiscent of distant horizons, nights afield, and good fellowship and bawdy tales shared around a reeking flame.
664. Wanderdoodle- These inoffensive, ladybug-sized beetles have a unique magical ability to project the image of a birds eye view of their current location to a radius of 1 mile upon their shell. It takes a sharp eye to make out the map-like pattern(DC 25 Perception check), but it is accurate. Someone with eyes of minute seeing can make out the very, very tiny black dots of human-sized beings as they make their way throughout the world in miniature. Wanderdoodles are beloved by children, cartographers, and assassins, in ascending order. To call someone a wanderdoodle is the same thing as calling them a bookworm, albeit in a more cartography-specific direction.
Hmm.
669(nice). War-beetle- These carrion beetles are quite normal save for three factors- their size(even a small specimen is the size of a young man's palm), their shape(they are the shape of crude triangle, with many chintous irregularities that make them seem like a particularly brutal reverse spear-point), and their appetite for rotting flesh,along with their digestive system- war-beetles possess a unique head, jawline and appetite that means they do not bite and gnaw so much as chomp and hold on with considerable strength(equal to a Str score of 12 for grapple purposes) to a meaty section of bone and offal, relying upon their digestive juices to melt their food into a liquid they can swallow. Some "primitive" people's have found that they can turn a rotting femur or similar bone into a makeshift shortspear by brandishing it at a war-beetle hive, this sort of improvised weapon does 1d4 damage for about half a day(after which the war-beetle is considered to have eaten its fill and walks off to digest), but has a hardness and HP equal to a third of a regular shortspear, if sundered, the war-beetle is dead, the bone is smashed, and the shortspear is irretrievably destroyed. Should a critical hit land(20, x3[special]), the war-beetle becomes stuck in its target and realizes it has a much larger(though unfortunately alive) meal, and wiggles into the wound, spitting its saliva-stomach everywhere. This leaves the host sickened for 1d3 rounds, after which the war-beetle realizes it has literally bitten off more than it can chew and leaves its host, inflicting 1 bleed in frustration. Use of war beetles in this way is considered about as distasteful as anything regarding carrion beetles in "civilized" lands, although learning how to weaponize war-beetles is a quite welcome and elementary training practice for druids, rangers, and some fighters and even clerics of nature gods. War-beetles can be found anywhere carrion beetles can be and they are, ironically, incredibly shy and peaceable insects.
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668. Pestleaf-
670. Sweetleaf The leaves of this bush start out as thin tubes and unfurl into a leaf. At the point where the leaf meets the branch, a single drop of a gummy sweet smelling (and tasting) nectar forms, and all around it is the plants pollen, serving as a sort of stamen, despite the lack of flower. Insects attracted to the sweet blob of nectar track pollen from other sweetleaf bushes they have visited all over this area, and pick up it's own pollen to bring to other bushes, perpetuating the species in the same manner of a flowering bush. The leaves of sweetleaf are themselves bitter and alkaline, and few animals apart from hardy goats can stomach them, which is the primary reason sweetleaf is relatively rare. The tiny nubs of nectar are a primary source of natural sugar in the relatively arid highlands where they are usually found, where other sources of sugar, like cane, beets or bees, are rare to nonexistant. Highlands communities safeguard the bushes from their own herds of goats, as they find the tiny globs of nectar to be the perfect sweetener to the strong and bitter coffee that they love.
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671. Orcthumb- This starchy, thin potato really does look like the thumb of a five fingered humanoid, and possesses a mild, sweet flavor that often extends into the water used to boil it, which is saved and drank as a vegetable broth, sometimes with preserved fruit and a dash of cinnamon stirred in. Popular breakfast during late autumn mornings, it is notoriously difficult to mess up preparation- as soon as the orcthumbs float, the dish is ready to serve. It is rumored that it gets is name from being so easy to prepare that even a clumsy orc could prepare it- an insult for anyone of orc descent, to be sure, except...well, it isn't. Orcs famously love the dish, although many find it too sweet to eat as anything other than a dessert, and some have gone so far as to preserve orcthumb broth with any fruits that are close to hand and serve it as a alcoholic apertif. Orcs who approach settlements interested in trading as opposed to raiding usually keep their thumbs extended and aloft to display peaceful intentions.
668. Pestleaf-670. Sweetleaf
671. Nightleaf- The floppy leaves of this flowering plant are extremely pliable, naturally hydrophobic, take well to dyes, and are strong enough to stand up to rough handling, although they cut easily. As a result, nightlife is a natural material penurious footpads and freedom fighters alike turn to to hide their identity, readily turning them into domino masks. More paranoid police forces view people who grow nightleaf in their home to be a sign of nefarious intent, in some truly repressive regimes, it, or more likely it's flower, is grown as a quiet sign of rebellion. All that said, when out in the middle of nowhere or even in cities with limited resources, nightleaf is mainly used for... necessary purposes. Those who would accuse someone with nightleaf on them, or are growing a small private supply of it of untoward activities are often mocked in all but the most aforementioned oppressive regimes.
671. Nightleaf- The floppy leaves of this flowering plant are extremely pliable, naturally hydrophobic, take well to dyes, and are strong enough to stand up to rough handling, although they cut easily. As a result, nightlife is a natural material penurious footpads and freedom fighters alike turn to to hide their identity, readily turning them into domino masks. More paranoid police forces view people who grow nightleaf in their home to be a sign of nefarious intent, in some truly repressive regimes, it, or more likely it's flower, is grown as a quiet sign of rebellion. All that said, when out in the middle of nowhere or even in cities with limited resources, nightleaf is mainly used for... necessary purposes. Those who would accuse someone with nightleaf on them, or are growing a small private supply of it of untoward activities are often mocked in all but the most aforementioned oppressive regimes.668. Pestleaf-670. Sweetleaf
On Golarion, the flower of Nightleaf is quite popular with followers of Milani, especially in areas where Cheliax has a questionable reputation.
674. [Insert rough part of town here]-wist- The seed pods of this uncommon plant are huge, roughly the size of a woman's fist, and quite unpleasantly bristly to the touch. In late spring they become quite brittle and can, with the application of force equivalent to someone from this world crushing a soda can, be made to explode into a pollenesque brown haze, providing a +1 bonus to stealth for all within a 5' radius of the user as well as doing 1d2+1 subdual damage(including the user)- the filaments wreak havoc on the nasal passages of all, but do not encourage sneezing- quite the opposite in fact as they settle in the nose, mouth, and throat and make breathing difficult if not impossible for 1d3 rounds, dealing damage each round. This isn't deadly so much as it is annoying, as one afflicted must spend a considerable amount of time deliberately coughing up lungfuls of the fletchettes, which are naturally and painfully rejected by the body. [Insert rough part of town here]-wist is a bit pricey but invaluable to all manner of messengers, merchants, and travellers going through a questionable area and want to discourage cut purses and the like without bearing steel or obvious magical protection. Some people actually turn it into a fashion statement of sorts, dyeing it rakish colors and keeping them close to hand as a large bauble on a bracelet, necklace, or waistbead. Few mundane dazzlers target people wearing such charms, but the low damage output means more dedicated toughs may decide that dealing with a bit of retching is an equivalent exchange for whatever valuables a target has on them.
671. Nightleaf- The floppy leaves of this flowering plant are extremely pliable, naturally hydrophobic, take well to dyes, and are strong enough to stand up to rough handling, although they cut easily. As a result, nightleaf is a natural material penurious footpads and freedom fighters alike turn to to hide their identity, readily turning them into domino masks. More paranoid police forces view people who grow nightleaf in their home to be a sign of nefarious intent, in some truly repressive regimes, it, or more likely it's flower, is grown as a quiet sign of rebellion. All that said, when out in the middle of nowhere or even in cities with limited resources, nightleaf is mainly used for... necessary purposes. Those who would accuse someone with nightleaf on them, or are growing a small private supply of it of untoward activities are often mocked in all but the most aforementioned oppressive regimes.668. Pestleaf-670. Sweetleaf
I corrected spellchecks mistake.
675: Nightlife is a tree that grows more extensive masks in bright colors in the fall. Drow have even begun propagating vendetta style ones that glow in the dark.
676. Mourning Daisies- These pristine flowers are physically little different from regular daisies, though their stems are either a darker green, green-blue, or in the rarest and most prized, orange-red. These flowers have a rare defense mechanism where the pollen they release doesnt irritate breathing passages, but eyes, causing them to over produce tears. These tears are truly profuse, a literal river flowing from the eyes. As a result these flowers are useful in social and a few medical situations. They are used to help actors cry on stage for extra pathos, overly macho, yet emotional teenagers blame bursts of emotions upon it, people with eye problems use it to wash irritants from their eyes naturally. Ironically, in the language of flowers, Mourning Daisies are a sign that someone is someone is insincere.
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677. Silverbark This grey moss grows in vertical streaks on the bark of trees, favoring the northern and western exposures, where it does not receive as much direct light, and being even more common in well-shaded areas of thick temperate rain forests or jungles with a heavy canopy. It has a strong musty odor that repels some forms of bark-devouring beetles, making it an acceptable burden to bear for trees susceptible to beetle-depredation. It is harvested by locals for the same reasons, to use as a natural insect repellant, although the odor is not particularly pleasant to people, either, and tends to make dogs and cats sneeze, or otherwise react dramatically (some dogs bark at it, some cats hiss at it).
The odor only remains potent until the moss dries out, which it does quickly if exposed to sunlight, or taken into a more arid environment, rarely lasting more than 24 hours once removed from the tree, although some alchemical treatments have been found to preserve it's effects in a powder that be kept for months in a sealed container and this is often spread on the ground near doorways and on the sills of windows, to keep insects out of homes and businesses in Mwangi communities near the deep jungles where it grows best.
678. Knucklebuster- A viscious liquid that sees use most often with dockworkers, construction crews, longshoremen, porters, and others who not just work with their hands but face the possibility of their hands being caught/pinched in large items they are responsible for handling/operating, knucklebuster, once applied and dried, acts as a very malleable glove that makes a famously distinctive and loud cracking sound when it sacrifices itself to whatever is squeezing the extremity it is protecting. In game terms, it provides a +1 bonus to any Fortitude or Reflex save directly related to manipulating or handling something that provides a save before doing damage- a rope that is starting to slide out of one's hands and thereby cause a serious rope burn, a fumbled Strength or Athletics check to carry a large amount of cargo that is starting to fall onto the handler, etc. A double dipping of Knucklebuster does not provide this defense, but instead provides a DR 1/bludgeoning to the body part it envelops- usually the hands or feet- but also causes a -1 penalty to these same checks due to lack of feeling in the appendage as well as lack of maneuverability. Further layers of Knucklebuster have no effect. Outside of manual labor, a great many street toughs- primarily those who operate through intimidation after displaying brutality and violence to someone other than their target- use the secondary version to get the attention of the poor soul as they crack their knuckles with a hellaciously loud pop and make their way over to them with the shell-like remnants of that particular application falling to the ground off of their large, meaty fists.
678. Knucklebuster- A viscious liquid that sees use most often with dockworkers, construction crews, longshoremen, porters, and others who not just work with their hands but face the possibility of their hands being caught/pinched in large items they are responsible for handling/operating, knucklebuster, once applied and dried, acts as a very malleable glove that makes a famously distinctive and loud cracking sound when it sacrifices itself to whatever is squeezing the extremity it is protecting. In game terms, it provides a +1 bonus to any Fortitude or Reflex save directly related to manipulating or handling something that provides a save before doing damage- a rope that is starting to slide out of one's hands and thereby cause a serious rope burn, a fumbled Strength or Athletics check to carry a large amount of cargo that is starting to fall onto the handler, etc. A double dipping of Knucklebuster does not provide this defense, but instead provides a DR 1/bludgeoning to the body part it envelops- usually the hands or feet- but also causes a -1 penalty to these same checks due to lack of feeling in the appendage as well as lack of maneuverability. Further layers of Knucklebuster have no effect. Outside of manual labor, a great many street toughs- primarily those who operate through intimidation after displaying brutality and violence to someone other than their target- use the secondary version to get the attention of the poor soul as they crack their knuckles with a hellaciously loud pop and make their way over to them with the shell-like remnants of that particular application falling to the ground off of their large, meaty fists.
In game terms, using knucklebuster to intimidate provides a +1 bonus to intimidation attempts for the single layer and a +2 bonus to all intimidation attempts for the double layer.
Is knuckleduster a sap derived from a plant, or something? That's how I'm picturing it, in my head
Yes, it is a resin derived from a few different tree saps.
Hm.
679. Dire Oil- A mainstay of bodybuilders, sun worshippers who want to keep gawkers at a distance, and just about anyone who wants to look tough, this oil darkens the skin slightly and settles into the crevices of one's face and along muscular planes to make one look a little bit angrier, a little bit more in shape/fit, and a lot bit more ready to actually DO something about it than they may actually truly be. It regularly enters vogue and gauche periods socially, as there will be times where superficial, stereotypical toughness will be desired and detested. This oil must be applied all over flesh that is to be observed, so in the adventuring world it is often seen in use by young monks, bare knuckle/unarmed fighters, some clerics, and barbarians. Emphasis on the word "young", as this provides a +2 bonus to all intimidation attempts, but the effect is lost if the oiled up flesh is covered up, and simply wearing it on one's face is not enough to provide the bonus. As a result it is often seen in use at the start of careers, and almost never at the end outside of perhaps ceremonial combat or something similar, unless one is truly skilled. If one is bold /crazy enough to go completely naked in combat or just in general, the bonus increases to +5, but this, obviously, has its challenges, especially in the eyes of the watch and in area of cold weather.
680. Squishtongue- Several of the plum-sized, savory fruits must be eaten to "enjoy" its effects- turning a humanoid tongue into a soliquid state that is still under the control of the imbiber for about an hour or so. Gross in the extreme to look upon(imagine if YOUR tongue turned into a particularly viscous mass of pesto bishop Pepto Bismol that one could not spit out), it allows for absolutely miraculous control over the sounds that come out of ones mouth, including some sounds that do not exist in nature. It is prized by bards, actors, spies, and just about anyone with a love affair with language and song. It provides a +4 bonus to all disguise attempts that are sound based, and a +2 bonus to perform checks as it allows one to make noises well outside ones register but it takes time to learn how to use this to the best of ones ability(and although it is miraculous, it doesnt turn an alto into a bass or vice versa- just a wider range of possibilities within their regular range).
So squish tongue makes your tongue look gross but function like a doppelganger's tongue.
The main ingredient in dire oil is oil from the dire olive tree. Frightening but mostly harmless.
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681. Firegrass A hearty fast-growing plains grass found in the Cinderlands of northern Varisia, firegrass sprouts up with almost supernatural swiftness after a fresh ash-fall from the various smoking calderas in the region. The long ashfall 'shadows' to the east and west of volcanic vents can stretch for miles to either side of a 'smoker' and depending on which way the seasonal winds are blowing, one side or the other will surge into a fresh carpet of hardy-brown stalks, enriched to a sudden spurt of growth by the fresh deposit of nutrient rich chemicals in the fresh fallen volcanic ash.
Deep beneath the ground, tuberous roots store quantities of water, to help fuel this growth, and the Shoanti in the area know how to dig these tubers up and treat the alkaline sulfur-tasting water within to be potable. (Magical purification is the easiest solution, for non-locals, without this experience.) The grasses are quickly devoured by the local herds of auroch that wander the Cinderlands, and the Shoanti have grown accustomed to travelling *towards* fresh volcanic eruptions seen in the distance, as their will be a brief surge of growth, and flood of prey, in the bloom to follow.
The grains that grow atop a stalk of firegrass can be removed and used as fodder for bread, or left to ferment and made into beer, but in either case, the high mineral content tends to result in a strong taste of sulfur, which the local Shoanti barely even notice, after a lifetime growing up with this taste, but visitors may find anywhere from unpleasant to actually sickening. (DC 10 Fortitude save or sickened for 1 hour after consuming a meal made from firegrass grains.)
As some smokers and caldera have been venting either predictably, or even constantly, in some cases, for generations, there are regions of the Cinderlands, highly prized, where firegrass is 'in bloom' almost constantly, and herds of aurochs (and other local wildlife, like the cinderpelts that prey on them) have remained in one place for decades, unlike the more typical life for a Cinderlands herbivore, wandering in search of fresh blooms, ever travelling to the next pillar of black volcanic smoke on the horizon, in search of new growths. Once they've stripped away the green growths, these nomadic herds move on to the next sign in the sky, and bring seeds from their current feast in their droppings to their next destination, keeping the separate pockets of firegrass diverse and strong.
682: FireWeedGrass: This cross of fireweed and firegrass has the flavorful nectar of fireweed but otherwise conforms to the description of 681.
683. FireWaterGrass- This weed, a recent discovery, appearing only 30 years ago, has been a charm favored by children of all ages and no few adults for its ability to make a unique sound when blown on, similar to how one may make a grass harmonica. Some grow truly obsessed in their mission to "catch them all", which is a truly herculean effort, as there seem to be new generations of FireWaterGrass every few years. As this is a weed, it can be found growing in just about any environment- in deep caves, underwater, even at the lips of volcanoes. No few up and coming wizards, rangers, warriors, and adventurers came into the field due to their youthful excursions for FireWaterGrass.
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684. Hellbats Despite their name, appearance and reputation, these Varisian bats are harmless mundane omnivores most common in the Cinderlands, but seen in numbers as far south as Korvosa, where they are prized as familiars. Due to the higher than average sulfur content in the home environment, they often smell slightly sulfurous, and have black skin with ruffs of black, brown, or, most prized of all, reddish fur on their bodies and faces. Their sinister look (and smell) makes them popular choices for Korvosan conjurers who either cannot yet take an Imp familiar, or simply don't want one (although there is a fair amount of peer pressure from the Imp-having contingent to 'trade up' and 'accidents' have been known to happen where hellbat familiars 'went missing' or 'just died').
There is nothing remotely supernatural about 'hellbats,' but they have a somewhat sinister reputation among Varisians in the area of Korvosa, if only because of their association with the Academae. Further north, they are seen as no different than any other bat, and their nickname of 'hellbats' is more a label of convenience than any sort of warning.
At the edge of Korvosa, a single animal breeder raises dozens of hellbats, breeding exclusively for the pricier red-furred ones that apprentices from the Academae will pay good coin for to take as familiars. This 'crazy bat-lady' provides a bit of a public service, as her bat-brood takes its nightly toll on the nocturnal insect life around her 'mews.'
Rumors of fiendish bats led to a bit of a row in the district when there was a bumper-crop of fireflies, one summer, and her bats could sometimes be seen after gorging themselves on these creatures with 'glowing fangs' from the abundance of luciferase in their diets. But this was several years ago, and most of the locals have accepted that there was no 'outbreak' of fiendish bats, and those that haven't are dismissed and directed on to the next outbreak of hysterical conspiratorial nonsense, as the 'crazy bat lady' has proven quite adept at stirring up her more gullible neighbors into railing about dire (made up) circumstances that do not threaten her own livelihood, like magical corruption of the water supply, or an otyugh mastermind who whispers instructions to town guards on his payroll from a certain sewer grate.
She can't afford to go to the theater, so she has to make her own fun.
684. Hellbats Despite their name, appearance and reputation, these Varisian bats are harmless mundane omnivores most common in the Cinderlands, but seen in numbers as far south as Korvosa, where they are prized as familiars. Due to the higher than average sulfur content in the home environment, they often smell slightly sulfurous, and have black skin with ruffs of black, brown, or, most prized of all, reddish fur on their bodies and faces. Their sinister look (and smell) makes them popular choices for Korvosan conjurers who either cannot yet take an Imp familiar, or simply don't want one (although there is a fair amount of peer pressure from the Imp-having contingent to 'trade up' and 'accidents' have been known to happen where hellbat familiars 'went missing' or 'just died').
There is nothing remotely supernatural about 'hellbats,' but they have a somewhat sinister reputation among Varisians in the area of Korvosa, if only because of their association with the Academae. Further north, they are seen as no different than any other bat, and their nickname of 'hellbats' is more a label of convenience than any sort of warning.
At the edge of Korvosa, a single animal breeder raises dozens of hellbats, breeding exclusively for the pricier red-furred ones that apprentices from the Academae will pay good coin for to take as familiars. This 'crazy bat-lady' provides a bit of a public service, as her bat-brood takes its nightly toll on the nocturnal insect life around her 'mews.'
Rumors of fiendish bats led to a bit of a row in the district when there was a bumper-crop of fireflies, one summer, and her bats could sometimes be seen after gorging themselves on these creatures with 'glowing fangs' from the abundance of luciferase in their diets. But this was several years ago, and most of the locals have accepted that there was no 'outbreak' of fiendish bats, and those that haven't are dismissed and directed on to the next outbreak of hysterical conspiratorial nonsense, as the 'crazy bat lady' has...
Maybe Hellbats have had a few run-ins with Zapwings.
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685. Spiny-tailed Catfish
A unique strain of catfish found primarily in Lake Encarthan, the spiny-tailed catfish has the same venomous whiskers of most catfish, but also a matching set of spines protruding along the vanes of their tail fin, usually four to six in number. A separate gland near the tail fuels these barbs, so that it retains venom in it's tail, or face, depending on which gland it has used most recently (taking about a day to replenish a charge of venom). The meat of the spiny-tailed catfish is a popular meal to the working classes of Druma, and other lands surrounding the lake, but is not regarded as a 'pure' food by the Kalistocrats of that land, and is shunned, some suspect as much because it is nearby and 'common,' as much for the creatures bottom-feeding habits.
In recent months, two different low-status Kalistocrats of Kerse have been found murdered by a fatal dose of spiny-tailed catfish venom, which is regarded as a deliberate insult, to not just murder them, but to do so with something regarded as 'impure.' As the creature's venom is not typically life-threatening, being more painful and paralytic by nature, multiple doses had to be applied, in both cases wound patterns suggesting that the victim was bludgeoned by one or more fish, wielded like clubs, so that multiple venomous wounds occurred.
Concerned Kalistocrats have lit a fire under local Blackjackets to find and deal with this 'Fish-Slapper Killer.'