The Cure For
What Ales You
Welcome back to the Magic Market, your best resource for exotic and unique magic items from across the planes. Today, we’re taking a step away from armor and weapons and rings and amulets, and will instead be looking at a variety of mystical beverages with potent magical properties.
The rules for brewing magical beverages have changed slightly from their first iteration. Below are the updated rules.
While magic beer, cider, and wine are sold in glasses or tankards (the minimum amount required to have their effect), they are typically created in barrels. A barrel contains 100 doses of the beverage, and requires a number of hours of preparation equal to the beverage’s effective caster level. After this period, the beverage must be allowed to ferment for one day per 1,000 gp of the cost to create the barrel. The cost to create a barrel of a magical alcoholic beverage is equal to 75 times the cost to create a single glass or tankard (that is, 1/2 the market price of the item times 75), the substantial discount being the reason why such substances are so often brewed by the barrel. Even if smaller amounts are brewed at a time, it takes the same amount of time for the drink to ferment.
If you don’t care about ruining the flavor and drinkability of the beverage, you can just infuse an existing beer, cider, or wine with the distilled magic and exotic ingredients. This only requires one hour per 1,000 gp in the market price of a glass or tankard of the beverage (minimum 1 hour). Those who drink a magical beverage created in this fashion must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 12 + 1/2 the beverage’s effective caster level, rounded down) or be sickened for 1d4+1 rounds.
Even though magical beverages have an effective caster level, no spells are required to cast them. Instead, special exotic ingredients must be acquired. If these ingredients are readily available for purchase, they can be used without increasing the cost required to brew the beverage. Otherwise, they must be obtained through adventure.
A bottle of magical beverage can be purchased (market price) for 5 times the market price of a glass or tankard. It contains 6 doses of the beverage. A barrel can be purchased for 75 times the market price of a glass or tankard, and contains 100 doses of the beverage.
Beer of Bitter Disillusion
This potent brew sends all who drink it into a bitter and cynical stupor, and even those who are usually considered “happy drunks” become surly and short-tempered after a drink of beer of bitter disillusion. The beer itself has an incredibly pungent taste, and the drinker must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 16) or be staggered for one round. After that, though, the drink immediately takes effect, rendering the drinker immune to all charm and compulsion spells and effects, and granting a +4 circumstance bonus on saves made to disbelieve illusions. If the drinker is already under the effects of a charm or compulsion spell, he is allowed a new saving throw at a +4 bonus. If he succeeds, the effect immediately ends as though he had resisted his initial save. If he fails, the beer has no effect on that particular spell.
This protection comes at a cost to the drinker’s morale, however, and he loses any morale bonuses he might have as long as he is under the effects of the beer of bitter disillusion. These effects last for one hour after drinking.
Confessional Wine
When consumed, this wine causes the drinker to become overwhelmed with guilt and a desire to confess all his misdeeds, as well as share any secrets he has been keeping, whether his own or those of others. The drinker must succeed on a Will save (DC 15) or volunteer all of his secrets to the nearest person who will listen to him. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect. The drinker reveals his most important secrets first, but keeps going for 1d4 hours or until stopped (for example, someone who secretly murdered his wife, or is an international cat-burglar, would reveal this information before revealing that his middle name is Ernest and he finds it embarrassing, or that he lied when he said his wife looked good in that dress). Even if the drinker fails his save, he will not reveal secrets to anyone he dislikes (attitude unfriendly or hostile if the drinker is an NPC).
It takes one hour after drinking for the wine to have its effect. If more than one glass of confessional wine is consumed, each glass increases the DC by +1.
Meditation Wine
This wine is favored by mystics, cultists, and others who seek to commune with higher powers. The wine is strongly spiced, though each drinker claims it tastes like something different. It has a strong effect on the mind, and can cause highly intense and spiritual visions. It takes 1d20 minutes after drinking the wine for it to have its effects, at which point the drinker is affected as though he had cast the spell contact other plane. Alternatively, if the drinker consumes the meditation wine as part of casting contact other plane, he does not need to make an Intelligence check to avoid a decrease to his Intelligence and Charisma: he is treated as though he automatically succeeded on this check. This extra protection only applies to those who both drink the meditation wine and cast contact other plane. Simply drinking two doses of meditation wine does not have the same effect.
Wine of Sweet Dreams
This particularly sweet and mellow red wine is favored by those who have difficulty sleeping, or are plagued by nightmares. Within an hour of drinking the wine, the drinker must succeed on a Will save (DC 14) or fall asleep. This is a mind-affecting compulsion and sleep effect. The drinker sleeps for 8 hours or until awakened, whichever comes first. While sleeping in this way, the drinker receives a +8 bonus on Will saves made to resist the effects of bad dreams (such as those caused by the nightmare spell).
Winter Cheer Beer
This sweet and festive ale is a favorite holiday tradition in many villages. Those who drink it are affected as though by the spell endure elements, except it protects the drinker from temperatures of -100 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, the drinker can walk on top of snow, rather than trudging through it. Treat this as the spell water walk, except it only works on snow, ice, and freezing water. Finally, the beer makes the drinker exceptionally affable. Any Bluff or Diplomacy checks made against the drinker gain a +5 bonus, and the drinker suffers a -4 penalty on Will saves to resist charm effects.
Once consumed, the effects of winter cheer beer begin after 1d10 minutes, and last for 1 hour.