Saturday, 21 December 2024

Freebie: Sipping Sojourn, or Beverages of Outer World Part 2 (Crafting)

Continuing this month's theme, here's some materials and additives Outer World inhabitants might use to make potions and other arcane consumables...

Materials

Dark Coffee Beans (Magic Consumable, Solid/Liquid)

Aromatic coffee beans that are unique to the Wistful Dark, due to needing to be grown under the light of a Star Shard in soil saturated with dark mana. While usually used to make particularly rich potions, they are sometimes employed for flavoring in baked goods and other dishes as well.

Dark Coffee Beans must be roasted and ground up to be used properly, which can be easily done in a workshop or with access to a hand grinder (a common urban good per the BREAK!! rulebook) and some sort of fire or other means to roast them. Already ground beans can even be used to make potions outside of a workshop if the crafter has access to some sort of percolating device (another common urban good). Any potion made with these lovely beans is always comfortably warm.

  • Cost: 50 Coins Per unit


Whiskey Dour (Magic Consumable, Liquid)

A strong liquor that is distilled from a variety of things found in the Buried Kingdoms over a long period of time with a taste compared to a kick from a particularly mean-spirited Rokko-do. It's so named for the tendency for one to feel particularly obstinate after drinking enough of it. Some scholars theorize it absorbs the energy of strife from the land, but others point out its probably just strong enough to make one drunk rather quickly.

While expensive, potions made with Whiskey Dour are very potent, only requiring a sip or shot to gain its effects. Effectively, 1 Unit of a potion made with this consumable may be imbibed twice, though you gain no additional effects for drinking it all at once beyond getting a little tipsy.

  • Cost: 1 Gem Per Unit

 

Additives

Chrono Creamer

Whenever someone goes "where has the time gone?" they often don't realize that sometimes the answer is "in that bumpo milk you left out too long". Sometimes a lost moment or two gets absorbed by this delicious substance, a phenomenon that sages the world over have been attempting to figure out for centuries to no avail.

Imbuable Abilities

  • Eldritch: Anyone ingesting a consumable made with Chrono Creamer may take a single additional Turn at any point in the next 24 hours. This Turn may follow their normal actions or even allow for them to interrupt the actions of another. 
    • Note: Attempts to gain use of this Ability more than once in a 24 hour cycle (by consuming more than one potion imbued with it, for example) simply results in the imbiber magically aging a year without any additional benefits.
  • Glamor: Anyone ingesting this consumable may shift their appearance to look 10 years older for 24 hours. This is useful for disguises and may also cause the temporary loss of the Young quirk.
  • Cost: 25 Coins

Scholar's Syrup

This delicious sap is drawn from trees which have heard many stories, lectures, and other enlightening oration over a long period of time. Just a small bit of it can provide a bit of clarity or inspiration to even the most befuddled of minds if properly prepared. Treats and warm drinks flavored with this substance are much coveted by students during important exams.

Imbuable Abilities

  • Empowering: If a companion ingests a consumable flavored by Scholar's Syrup while they participate in a Training your companions downtime action, their teacher gains an Edge on their Aura Roll for the contest that takes place during it.
  • Eldritch: If you ingest a consumable flavored by Scholar's Syrup, an answer for something you've been thinking about suddenly comes to you. This can come in the form of a fact you need at moment of consumption (at GM's discretion) or an Adventure Hook resembling the one you would get from a Research your next adventure downtime action.
  • Cost: 25 Coins


 

Friday, 6 December 2024

Setting: Sipping Sojourn, or Beverages of Outer World

 Fortunately for its inhabitants, Outer World is not short of things to drink. Even plain water is said to taste different depending on region: In the Wistful Dark it's said to be a bit sweet, refreshing and clear in the Blazing Garden, a little tart in the Twilight Meridian and a bit spicy in the Buried Kingdoms. Of course, this sort of thing can't really be proven no matter how many folks swear by it.

Those seeking something beyond simple water have a bevy of options, assuming they have access or the coin for it. Many high end establishments in Aeon will offer somewhat diluted bright water with crushed fruit in it for flavor. The authorities in Old Iron occasionally imbibe grime goo as a luxury. Even in the Shadowed Lands, nomads will occasionally make spirits from meltshrooms and other magical toadstools they can find.

Elevated beyond normal beverages are potions. Even the most basic of these are charged with a bit of magic and sold for a fair amount of coin. Potion making techniques and recipes come in many forms, each a unique expression of both the tradition surrounding them and their individual crafters:

  • The most common sorts are delightfully fizzy soft drinks that tickle the tongue all while energizing you. While Merona Pop is spreading throughout Outer World thanks to its owner's deal with the Guild of Shard, smaller, local efforts are becoming more and more common - especially as 3rd Aeon facilities related to their creation are uncovered and reactivated.
  • Each of the surface regions of Outer World has its own sort of tea leaves that can be steeped for a long time and create understated but very distinct potions that tend towards deep colors and strong flavors. From the crimson teas of the Blazing Garden that taste of fruit, to the darker teas of the Wistful Dark that patricians like to drink with a bit of warm spice sprinkled on top.
  • Coffee is mostly found in the parts of the world bathed in the Sun Machine's light and is very popular among travelers. Certain potent beans can be used to make particularly rich potions, though there is much contention on what additives should be used when making such concoctions. It is whispered that Emperor Regulus prefers his black.
  • Certain rituals and materials can produce liquors that make for fine potions, though given the time needed for such things these tend to be created by long-lived crafters or organizations. This does make them quite coveted and valued however, if only due to their relative rarities and unique taste.