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Beldar Roaringhorn
Acolyte
Italy
3 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Jul 2006 : 17:43:15
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In BGII a guard lets a thief escape Athkatla because the thief gives him "black lotus". What is Black Lotus and what does it do, where does it come from and so on?
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jul 2006 : 21:17:47
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| I only remember Conan and his buddy getting stoned on black lotus, but that don't help much. |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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Aquanova
Seeker
USA
63 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2006 : 01:05:57
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| Well, I'm not so sure if Faerun has its own type of black lotus, but in core D&D black lotus is a poison, and a very powerful and expensive one at that. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2006 : 02:59:43
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Isn't that a rare and powerful Magic: The Gathering card? The guard was obviously a player of that game, then!  |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2006 : 04:34:56
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| It's obvious to me that Black Lotus is a type of drug (that doesn't mean it's can't also be a poison, of course), although I'm not too sure about the details. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
Edited by - Rinonalyrna Fathomlin on 02 Jul 2006 04:35:10 |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2006 : 05:33:45
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| I only remember Black Lotus form Howards stories; I seem to remember that Black lotus was used to extract a deadly poison, whereas red, purple and (I am not sure) white lotus were used for medical and recreational drugs. |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2006 : 08:02:45
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Some information I found when doing a search for Lotus Flowers.
quote:
http://www.coreymondello.com/Symbols.html
The holiest of flowers for Hindus, the beautiful lotus is symbolic of the true soul of an individual. It represents the being, which lives in turbid waters yet rises up and blossoms to the point of enlightenment.
The lotus is one of Buddhism's most significant symbols. It is a symbol of enlightenment and mental purity. The lotus has its roots in mud but blossoms into a beautiful flower. Similarly, though an individual may be impure, there is the potential to gain enlightenment and the perfect state.
The Lotus flower is held sacred in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Egyptian religions. The Lotus is a type of water lily, which rises from muddy waters to blossom, making it a symbol of purity and resurrection.
quote:
Another site http://www.kingtutshop.com/freeinfo/Lotus-Flower.htm with information on Lotus Flowers, apparently they can be used as a sedative.
Provides a relaxing, euphoric sensation. May help relieve muscle spasms. For some, it may act as an aphrodisiac. Egyptian Blue Lotus is a sedative, antispasmodic, and ethnogen.
Near as I can tell, a Black Lotus is an entirely fictional flower. |
News of the Weird
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Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
729 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2006 : 08:07:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Aquanova
Well, I'm not so sure if Faerun has its own type of black lotus, but in core D&D black lotus is a poison, and a very powerful and expensive one at that.
Dragon Magazine #121 contained an article by John P. Brown "The Deadliest Perfume - The properties of lotus blossoms and dust in Oriental Adventures", which detailed the properties of various lotus types under 1st edition rules:
Black Lotus: deadly poison, which cannot be neutralized through magical means.
Brown Lotus: causes insanity and feeblemindedness
Green Lotus: causes paralysis
Purple Lotus: causes debilitating sickness
Red Lotus: causes hallucinations, possible insanity
Yellow Lotus: causes physical lethargy
Gray Lotus: causes a state of catalepsy (similar to feign death spell.
Blue Lotus: enhances wizards' powers (and sorcerers' too, I imagine) for a day, but kills like the black lotus if used more than once per week.
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Kaladorm
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1176 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2006 : 09:45:15
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It's a poison
Black lotus extract Contact DC 20 3d6 Con 3d6 Con 4,500 gp
(Initial damage, secondary damage, market price) |
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Evro
Acolyte
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 00:31:04
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Black Lotus was referenced several times in the Baldur's Gate series of games, with the apparent effects of a powerful opiate.
Other than the one mentioned in the original post, I remember a tent in the fairground area in Baldur's Gate 1 filled with drugged out BL users, and a hidden room in the Copper Coronet in BG2 with the same.
I've never found any references to Black Lotus as the opiate in any other FR sources. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 01:51:22
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| I'd also like to point out, for the sake of the discussion, that there is often a fine line between what is a poison and what can in fact be used as a cure. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 05:12:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
I'd also like to point out, for the sake of the discussion, that there is often a fine line between what is a poison and what can in fact be used as a cure.
Yep.
Narcotics are great if used in a controlled manner to treat pain, but if used incorrectly... well they can be fun, or at least that is what I'm told, since I have never gotten a "high" off any that I have had. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 06:03:06
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quote:
Originally posted by warlockco
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
I'd also like to point out, for the sake of the discussion, that there is often a fine line between what is a poison and what can in fact be used as a cure.
Yep.
Narcotics are great if used in a controlled manner to treat pain, but if used incorrectly... well they can be fun, or at least that is what I'm told, since I have never gotten a "high" off any that I have had.
It's quite interesting. I should know. I got a little to much morphine a few times in the hospital and it does some interesting things to you. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 06:06:57
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| Are there any "happy-drugs" (aside from alcohol) in the Realms? |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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GothicDan
Master of Realmslore
USA
1103 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 07:14:07
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| It depends on what you consider happy... |
Planescape Fanatic
"Fiends and Undead are the peanut butter and jelly of evil." - Me
"That attitude should be stomped on, whenever and wherever it's encountered, because it makes people holding such views bad citizens, not just bad roleplayers (considering D&D was structured as a 'forced cooperation' game, and although successive editions are pointing it more and more towards a me-first, min-max game, the drift away from 'we all need each other to succeed' will at some point make it 'no longer' D&D)." - ED GREENWOOD |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 12:23:06
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There is a list of drugs in Faerun in Lords of Darkness, starting on page 182.
Black Louts extract is a poison, which would indicate that Black Lotus itself has different usues. The Baldur's Gate series implies that Black Lotus works kind of like how it appears in the Conan stories.
Unfortunately there isn't really a discription of Black Lotus extract, beyond noting how expensive it is and its properties as a poison. |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 14:00:27
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There's certainly a person called Black Lotus (VGATM p. 115) and seemingly an apothecary (City of Ravens Bluff p. 132).
I expect the Realms has a bunch of benign psychotropic substances that we don't hear about for Code of Ethics/Standards for Content reasons. |
Edited by - Faraer on 04 Jul 2006 14:01:01 |
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Kaladorm
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1176 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 15:30:29
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I believe the poison extract is the main use for the Black Lotus (and how it has it's reputation). I think of it much the same way as the real world drug magic mushrooms, which don't tend to have their full potency until dried. Some countries have made only the dried version illegal, but having the live version is fine (was such the case in England up until some months ago, now both are illegal).
In the same way it seems in Baldurs Gate the Black Lotus is illegal because of it's potential for harm.
As for drugs, they can be seen in the book of vile darkness. Many of them provide pleasure, though in what form depends on what you're looking for i.e. some produce pleasure as a side effect, some have it as their main effect, and nearly all them have have some downside (either initial pain or some ill effect, a side effect, or an addiction level). There are now happy drugs without side effects as I understand it, but you might want to look up these ones
Agony (Liquid Pain), Mordayn Vapour (Dreammist), Sannish, and Vodare
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Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore
Germany
1720 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 16:31:23
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Due to my avatar's history () I have to make a stand against this thread:
DON'T DO DRUGS!
Ergdusch |
"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht." |
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Black lotus?
