| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| EltonJ |
Posted - 23 Apr 2012 : 06:20:18
Thanks for giving me good answers on Coffee. I thought I might attract trolls. But this is on Cannabis, ginger, and Aloe Vera. This time its a serious question.
Okay, Cannabis first. Where in the Realms would they grow Cannabis? Would it be exclusive to one race? And how much would you price it.
Second, Ginger. If you could grow ginger in Faerun, where would they grow it? I thought about the Vilhon Reach and Tashalar. Lastly, how would you price Ginger rhizome?
Thirdly, Aloe Vera. I think this would be grown in the Sharr along with parts of Unther and Mulhorand. It could also be possible that the Mulan (re: Earthlings) brought it with them. Where is it grown and how would you price it. |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 29 May 2012 : 22:46:29
Maybe he just likes it as a spice. I know there's some baked goods I make that I'd hate to give up that require ginger, and of course it's throughout eastern cooking. Which would be another place to get it: Kara Tur. Though if you can get it from Durpar or places closer, then there's no reason to go so far afield for it.
But remember that one of the major trade goods during the Middle Ages were spices from the east. Crusaders got a taste for them when they were wandering about the middle east, and merchants started importing them. So figuring out where some of the major spices could be grown in the Realms would be perfectly valid from a flow-of-trade perspective. |
| rjfras |
Posted - 29 May 2012 : 06:10:27
You can find ginger a few times in Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue.
Ginger is also mentioned in Lords of Darkness, sold in a Thayan Enclave in Proskur by a Rashemi herbalist.
Ed mentions ginger being used in coffee in Calimshan and the Tashalar. Ginger is also used for sauteing in Calimshan.
Ginger beer is made in Lapaliiya, the Tashalar and the southern Vilhon shores and is shipped into the Heartlands and Amn and all important ports up and down the Sword Coast. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 04 May 2012 : 20:30:36
My question is this. I understand the interest in cannabis (as a construction material and aphrodisiac) and Aloe Vera (healing, skin care). What exactly is the interest in ginger? Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know what exactly its used for other than ginger ale and for some reason I see it when I eat sushi. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 04 May 2012 : 16:20:53
@Nilus Reynard - I think they'd favor Casheesh, myself (which would be the FR equivalent of Hashish).
This is something they would have brought with them when the Dgen first came to Faerūn. Most folk of the Realms hear rumors of Zakharans smoking 'camel droppings', but its really just hashish (HB lore).
I am reading (slowly) tRotA trilogy, and it touched-upon the addictive nature of smoking, which I find amusing (since Elminster doesn't 'get high', AFAIK). I wonder if Troy Denning is anti-tobacco (not that it matters... I just find it curious he even bothered to touch upon the subject). |
| EltonJ |
Posted - 04 May 2012 : 16:05:11
Assuming of course, that there are controlled substances. Another instance of placing our sensibilities on another planet (which is unavoidable, I understand).
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| Nilus Reynard |
Posted - 04 May 2012 : 07:17:19
quote:
Originally posted by EltonJ
Okay, Cannabis first. Where in the Realms would they grow Cannabis?
Personally, I would go with Calimshan. The climate seems right, as does the lack of nation wide law. Not to mention that the Pashas seem to throughly enjoy excess of any kind.
Yeah, If I was to ever use Cannabis in one of my games I think that Calimshan would be the place where it came from. |
| Icelander |
Posted - 24 Apr 2012 : 15:07:39
I forgot to give answers relating to the other two plants.
Firstly, ginger. It likes heat and humidity, but is fairly tolerant of neglect and sub-optimal conditions. You can't very well grow it outside in temperate conditions, but if you have a heated home, you could grow it inside in a pot or something.
The Vilhon Reach, along with all the rest of the southern shore of the Inner Sea, ought to provide good conditions for it. If it were not for the unusually hard winters noted in canon, even Cormyr and Sembia might be warm enough. If you took the pots indoors over the winter, where they would be warmed by the body heat of the people and a couple of animals, maybe, you could absolutely keep ginger in your herb gardens there.
Aloe Vera likes heat, but can tolerate anything down to 10°F. It grows in dry and rocky soil and doesn't like heavy snow or too much precipation. Growing them in herb gardens today is fairly easy and should be practical for the knowledgable herbologist in Faerun, but large scale cultivation would require a lot of sun.
In the real world, coffee growing countries also tend to have conditions for aloe vera cultivation, though I suspect they are not grown in the same locations. That being said, Durpar and the rest of the Shining Lands ought to have perfect conditions. Same goes for a lot of the Shining South and places south of it.
As for pricing, it largely depends on whether these are already popular plants or if they are just now becoming known. Ginger, particularly, can be grown in such a wide range of locations that if there is a market for it, it will soon become widespread. All the same, you can't easily grow it anywhere, so I guess there is the cost of transporting it to those benighted spots on Toril where it's not warm enough.
Anywhere in the world ginger will grow naturally, it will cost 15 sp or so per ounce of the finished spice in a big city or market. Less if you buy the roots from a farmer, of course. The cost of transport for something this light will accumulate fairly slowly, with it reaching a maximum of 3 gp per ounce in the extreme north of Waterdeep, maybe. Unless enough people grow it locally, making use of the warmth of the packed city and perhaps using a little magic to help.
Aloe vera, assuming that it is still somewhat exotic and not cultivated everywhere it could be, might not have an established price. Close to where it grows, a plant might be only a few silvers, but if there is little demand for them, you might find it hard to obtain one farther away. Of course, if you determine that in the Realms, the plant has genuine medicinal uses, there could be a thriving market in them. If so, determine whether plants are sold dried, pulped into jelly or in some other form.
I'd say that a price per ounce of 4-5 gp is not unlikely, given the trouble amassing an ounce of finished product could be. Depending on how useful it is, though, it could be grown in a lot of places and a price of one fifth that is not impossible. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 23 Apr 2012 : 15:47:41
There's Daleland bud, Sticky Maztican, and delicious Chultan gold,
there's Malatra stick, Zakharan Red, and the rare Icewind Cold.
There's Luiren-bang, Halruaan hemp, and Calishite fleurs,
and Undermountain silver, that grows down in the sewers...
With apologies to "The Great American Smoke-Off".  |
| Icelander |
Posted - 23 Apr 2012 : 07:30:38
Given the extreme unlikelihood that many governments in the Realms could* or would regulate what people smoke or grow, cannabis is likely to be grown in many locations and be fairly cheap.
It's not especially difficult to cultivate and is fairly tolerant of different climates. Anywhere that you could grow herbs, you can grow it, more or less.
Expect to see it in fairly typical herb gardens throughout the Heartlands.
*The kind of centralised power and authority that modern governments have is very rare in the Realms. This is not philosophical, but economical. It's expensive to run a government bureaucracy and even if the Realms are rich, they are not as rich as the technologically sophisticated world of the 20th century, which saw the rapid rise of the ability of government (the desire is pretty much a constant) to enforce its will on the populace. A medieval economy cannot support enough law enforcement for any potential legislators to even know what people may happen to be growing, let alone try to interfere with it. Not even Early Modern economies, which is what Realms economies functionally are, can approach that level of omnipresent authority.
In general, if a substance is 'illegal' somewhere that does not have a modern economy and government, that law is symbolic and could never be actually enforced with any success. It is simply an expression of the disapproval a ruler or other legislative authority has for something. |
| Eladrinstar |
Posted - 23 Apr 2012 : 07:19:39
You'll never find canonical mentions of Cannabis (though any botany experts can probably pinpoint good locations for it to be grown), so I suggest asking Ed himself. Frankly, he seems the type to not have any moral objections on discussing this subject, and I mean that as a compliment.
Maybe in your Realms, that pipeweed the halflings are growing in Tethyr isn't a tobacco-analogue, but something else... |
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