Saturday, January 25, 2020

Teas, Opiums, Poisons and Kojos: use in play and a few examples.

Someone on Discord wanted to expand their use of opium in a Yoon-Suin game.  I thought about sending them my notes, but then I realized I could clean said notes up and make a post out of them instead!  Two birds in one stone etc.

I have to admit something though - these were not a big hit with my players.  But I think it's not because of the "flavor" of the items (although some players distrust drugs, probably for good reason).  Rather, most of my players will be thrilled to get a consumable item and... never use them. Potions of strenght, heroism etc remain unused.  Interesting, items that are more  utility than combat oriented see more usage, but even then many items get on a character sheet and are promptly forgotten.  Some bloggers have suggested that there is a "too good to be used" phenomenon going on.  Basically, players feel "sure I could use this potion now to help me fight the ogre, but there could be a giant next week!"   And when they meet the giant, it's "but there could be a dragon tomorrow!" etc.

So you know your group - do they use consumables or not?  If they don't, don't put too much effort into these.  (EDIT:  Wombat from the OSR Discord server suggested that these should have a shelf life - use it or lose it in other words.  I never implemented this, but it seems like a good idea...)

So with that cheerful intro, here is what I've used in my Yoon-Suin Campaign so far (I've tried to exclude the examples from the book, but I might have missed some?)

TEAS
Tea of the Third quality:   day to day black tea that almost everyone drinks
Tear of the Second quality:  Green tea, quite nice
Tea of the first quality: there are usually almost never any of this tea as a "generic", everything is "special"

- Emerald Green:  1 rupee per *cup*.  Brilliant green tea, excellent.
- Fighter's brew:  Deep brown tea.  Caused lethargy and the drinker to sleep almost a full day. However, healing dice have advantage and double amount gained.  2 gp per pot
 - Mountain's delight:  Pale orange tea.  Intriguing flavor with a mineral tint.   1 Paisa a cup
 - Amethyst Jasmin, a deep purple brew with aphrodisiac properties.  Cost a staggering 80 rupee a pot as it is grown in a single farm and contains amethyst powder.
- The Yellow Tea.
- The Unseen Brew.


KOJO STICKS
- The Kojo of inner fire:  This reddish tobacco increased energy, removing up to two levels of exhaustion.  Not recommended before bedtime (and eating a solid meal is a good idea too).
- The kojo of beneficial health:  This pale grey tobacco speeds up natural healing.  All hit dice healing rolls get rolled twice and keep the highest (eating also recommended).  This effect last one day.
- The kojo of bliss:  This dark green tobacco makes you blissful for 2d6 hours.
- The Kojo of Yoon:  This dark purple kojo stick reeks of Yoon, the common purple spice used by almost everyone.  Smoking this kojo makes the smoker immune to hunger for a *week*.
- The kojo of the moon.  This brilliant white kojo stick is almost without odor and burns with an invisible flame.  Gain advantage on perception for 1 hour.
- Black Kojo:  a particularly strong kojo, no magical effect
- Pale Kojo:  a very smooth one.  No magical effect. 
- Orange Kojo:  Flavored with orange rind
- Riverweed Kojo: everyday kojo, a bit uneven in quality.
- Kojo of Endless Air.  The smoke of this Kojo is almost flavorless but tingly.  It loads the body with oxygen, allowing one to go without air for 1d3 hours (great for water exploration, also for high altitude sickness)

No prices were set for these, as they were obtained and traded with Lamarakhi clans (small rewards, favors etc)... and yet never used :(

OPIUMS:
- The Brown Imp:  A brown opium, smoked in a pipe.  Acts as relaxant tea. Save vs poison DC 12 or see demons cavorting at the periphery of vision (this save can be failed on purpose, as many users find the cavorting entertaining).  Addictiveness:  14%, DC save 10 to half the % .  Costs 7 rupees a dose.  Produced in large quantities, but expensive due to its popularity, frequently on the menu at slugmen parties and social functions.
- Jasper Judge, a black poppy:  Eaten in the left mouth.   Cause lack of sleep and keen judge of moral character.   Potency 6 (16%), save DC 11.  Costs 5 rupees a dose.  Often used by negotiators.
- Fierce Heart: A red poppy, which is smoked into a pipe.  An aphrodisiac and a stimulant, it boost energy (+1 damage for 1d6 hours).  Potency 19, save DC 14.  Costs 9 sp per dose. 
- The Rainbow Storm:  A purple opium, crushed and then mixed with boiling tea.  Hallucinogen, colors are super bright and chaotic (disadvantage to many checks) for 1d4+1 hours.  Addictiveness:  Potency 6.  DC save 10 to half the %.  Costs 4 rupees a dose

(the rules for potency and addiction can be found in the Yoon Suin book).

POISONS
- Sea's blight: onset 1d6 minutes, debilitation 1d3 days/1d3 hours, a squid that hunts sea snakes (local product), uncommon (IN 5e, debilitation is 3 levels of exhaustion... there is a 5e "poisoned" effect with is sufficient for most poisons though) . DC save is 13
- Alchemical Jug Basic poison. Skin contact onset 1d4 minutes, DC 10. Injury onset immediate, DC 12. 2D6 dmg, poisoned, check every 4 hours until pass.
- Foe-stopper: A somewhat weak poison obtained from the boxfish toxin. Save DC 12, Poisoned 1d4 rounds. A weapon-applied poison, immediate onset. Weakens muscle for a short period of time
- Black Centipede poison: Injury immediate onset, DC 13. Damage 1d10. Poisoned (save every round)

The main use for these were not by the PCs, but by the *foes*.  Brigands using poison on their arrows can really spice up a fight!

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