Substances

Note: Some of the substances below are role-played and are not part of game play. Only substances listed under Alchemical are true game play substances with effects that must be dealt with according to rules. Other substances are strictly role-played, and therefore their effects and effectiveness are up to the discretion of the player.

Legality

There's no overarching law against drug usage, though social stigma often dictates the attitude towards them. Further, there are some substances that while legal, are not fully accepted in polite society. To the best of the common society of Oz, the list below will comment on the legality and acceptability of each item.

Naturally Occurring

Pin-Lobble Leaves

Naturally growing in Munchkinland, these leaves were originally used for easing the pain of labor and muscle cramps. Even today they are prescribed by doctors to relieve severe pain and anxiety. Many chewers have found it quite difficult to stop consuming the leaves, even after their pain has subsided. These leaves are still grown primarily in Munchkinland and their cultivation has become a booming economy for Munchkins. In certain cities it has grown more fashionable to smoke these leaves rather than chew. As such, chewing has become more of a sign of the lower class. One who cannot control their chewing is often uncomfortable to polite society.

Cripper Weed

Grown mostly in Quadling Country and the south of Winkie Country, cripper weed or "mufflethorn" only has an effect on Viewers. Purple cripper weed is used by Viewers to enhance their powers when put under a pillow or in tea. Tawny cripper weed is utilized by viewers to treat the horrible headaches that their powers can bring. It can be administered as a tea or a balm. Both forms of cripper weed can cause intoxication in Viewers in large quantities. Stormriders often mistakenly call purple cripper weed "lavender" and tawny cripper weed "flax". As these plants are not fully understood by Ozians outside of Viewers, there is hardly any prevailing public opinion on them.

Manufactured

Alchemical

Laudanum

An extract of poppies first isolated in Munchkinland, is often used in Alchemy, medicine, and recreation. Similar to pin-lobble leaves, it helps relieve anxiety and severe pain in those who use it, but to a far greater degree. Laudanum causes a great euphoria in those who ingest it, often followed by severe cravings for further dosage. In many cities, it is mixed with alcoholic drinks or tea for the treatment of ailments. Laudanum can also be used as a fuel for machines such as apparatus.

Smelling Salts

Smelling Salts are a common compound found across Oz. This versatile substance can be used as a fuel for apparatus and other machines, or to awaken and stabilize an individual who has been injured to the point of unconsciousness. Tinkers and inventors, doctors and healers, and those in positions within local law enforcement or a War Guild who might want to awaken someone just enough to interrogate them without making them a likely flight risk. Another use for Smelling Salts, while not recommended by many alchemists, is as a reliable way to keep oneself awake and aware.

Elixer

Elixir is an alchemy most well known as a broadly useful antidote for many of the dangerous or harmful chemicals and naturally occurring poisons found around Oz. However, as with many things marketed for a specific purpose, Elixir has recently gained popularity for a somewhat different use. Some canny Mephitic discovered that mixing a dose of Elixir into food or drink with a dose of another alchemy neutralizes any dangerous effects of the combined alchemy without completely negating the lesser results of consuming said brew. The exact reaction any given individual may have to imbibing one of these concoctions is not entirely consistent, in part because this is often done by people who are not themselves alchemists so the dosage is rarely exact. Some more well known reactions include:

• Beast - Most popular among Changelings, this chemical is sometimes used in combination with an Elixir to help an individual feel more in touch with their animal side without fully losing access to their human nature.
• Clouded Vision - Mixing the Clouded Vision fuel with an Elixir does not entirely negate the visual impairment, but for many Ozians it does cause a notable shift. This concoction has been noted to cause intense visions which some believe to be prophetic.
• Nightshade - On its own Nightshade is undeniably deadly. However, when mixed with an Elixir it can be brewed into a tea which some Immortals tout as a refined and acquired taste. The other peoples of Oz are overall, unconvinced.
• Rage - When combined with an Elixir, the violent reaction elicited by Rage becomes significantly easier for the imbiber to direct.
• Stench - It has become fashionable among some of the elite in the Emerald City to mix this fuel with Elixir to create a “cleanse” that supposedly clears one’s body of toxins. While the Mephetics Guild as a whole has not endorsed this claim in any way, there are certainly individual alchemists making a solid profit.

Non-Alchemical

 

Whiskey

Varied in taste and distillation process, whiskey is one of the most popular drinks in the whole of Oz. Inventors praise it for its ability to run certain inventions and alchemists enjoy the pretty penny they get from brewing large batches. However, it is always strong, and any ingestion of it will create a level of drunkenness in the imbiber.

Zosozo

Originally found in the isolated gated town of Herku in Winkie Country, this narcotic is one of the most powerful in Oz. Only one man, the solitary Czarover Vig, knows how to make it. Originally, it was created only to help the subjects of Herku control the giants they kept as slaves. However, as Herku is now open to travelers once or twice a year for metalwork trade, the Czarover's secret drug has been smuggled out to reach more of Oz. This powdery substance is taken by the teaspoon once a year by the citizenry of Herku. It is as close to pure energy as any manufactured drug has come. While granting any who partake a great deal of energy and strength, it also wastes the user's body, making it look skeletal and empty. The extended side effects are unknown, as no one in Herku has been studied. But, as the drug spreads, it is certain that its side effects will spread as well.

Mangaboo

Graced with the innate ability to bodily synthesize many natural and alchemical substances, the Mangaboo have found increased popularity in the Land of Oz. As relations with the Vegetable Kingdom improved, many Mangaboos immigrated to Oz. Soon it became the fashion of the higher classes and the cities to have Mangaboo servants and nurses, even more fashionable than constructs, mainly for their ability to serve their employers whatever was most necessary. Though there are a great deal of heated debates about the employment and utilization of Mangaboos in this way, the practice of Mangaboo servants is still healthy in Oz today. Additionally, due to repeated visits from politicians and charities from Oz, the Mangaboos now have several ambassadors and councilpersons in the Emerald City.