Economy of healing potions in Runequest Glorantha

[Shiningbrow]

On 6/15/2021 at 4:57 PM, Darius West said:

one that doesn't see enough press in RQ for my liking is Phosphor bronze 

I think that's a bit too real-worldy. Gloranthan bronze isn't a 1:1 of earth bronze.

However, the general increase in quality would make a fine candidate for real God's bone bronze.

[Shiningbrow]

22 hours ago, Joerg said:

That chocolate is mentioned in the sambe breath as the genbenezeer, a "last of its kind" creature, in sauce. So where would this "food of the gods" (Greek: Theobroma) come from?
At a guess, from Godtime. Or perhaps from plantations on the moon - we don't know anything about the climate on the moon. (It might even have red snow, or red clouds.)

Cocoa trees are tropical and subtropical evergreens, which puts them into the care of Yellow Elves. That makes Teshnos or possibly Teleos or the East Isles the closest source in the surface world.

But going back into the early Golden Age, Yellow Elf forest was found all around the lower slopes of the Spike and its foothills.

Could Mernita or northern Peloria have been a place where cocoa was cultivated? The cold northwestern corner of the lozenge opposed to the hot southeastern corner appears to have been in place already in the early period of single mountains, with Mt. Enmal being cloaked in fire, and the Nargan Sea of Blue Flame.

Could cocoa have been cultivated on Veldara's Blue Moon, and then in Artmali territory? In that case, cocoa beans could be a heroquest reward. Forget the Kalikos quest, the annual cocoa quest is where true magical influence lies!

All of that overlooks the vital question of - what do cacao tree dryads taste like?

[David Scott]

23 hours ago, Joerg said:

So where would this "food of the gods" (Greek: Theobroma) come from?

Given it's Great Sister, I'd suggest generally her gardens in Graclodont, or specifically the gardens of the Sisterhood of New Consciousness, or for otherworldlyness, Mernita.

[Dragon]

11 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

All of that overlooks the vital question of - what do cacao tree dryads taste like?

In my Glorantha, when you kill a dryad, the temporary SIZ indicates the body dissolves into the spirit world upon death. So you would not be able to consume a dead dryad.

A live one could be taken into someone's mouth e.g. a sufficient Swallow spell, the Crimson Bat. Circumstances for that would be rare. In the case of Swallow, the dryad would 'die' and be forced back to the spirit world. In the case of the Crimson Bat, that would utterly destroy the dryad.

But you could lick a dryad while it is manifest. I recommend gaining consent in such a case. Licking an apple tree dryad could taste like either licking generic bark or licking the skin of an apple, depending on where you lick the dryad.

Since the cacao is not processed, I expect the lick to taste like unsweetened chocolate if you licked the bean part.

[Dragon]

Note 'temporary SIZ' was taken from RQ3. It is not mentioned that way, or contradicted, in RQ:G, but I expect the same idea for all nymphs.

[Darius West]

On 6/17/2021 at 6:55 PM, Shiningbrow said:

I think that's a bit too real-worldy. Gloranthan bronze isn't a 1:1 of earth bronze.

However, the general increase in quality would make a fine candidate for real God's bone bronze.

I must disagree.  Phosphor bronze is simply an example of how alchemy should be able to alter the world of Glorantha in tangible and meaningful ways.

[Squaredeal Sten]

15 hours ago, Dragon said:

.....But you could lick a dryad while it is manifest. I recommend gaining consent in such a case. Licking an apple tree dryad could taste like either licking generic bark or licking the skin of an apple, depending on where you lick the dryad.

Since the cacao is not processed, I expect the lick to taste like unsweetened chocolate if you licked the bean part.

This deserves its own thread, since it has gone away from potions and alchemy.  Relevant to GM's description of a scene or event -

What is the smell of an apple tree dryad like?

What is the taste of an apple tree dryad like?  Does this differ by body part?  Is this "adult" content?

New topic created:  https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/14360-gming-descriptiveness-smell-and-taste/

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by Squaredeal Sten