I have a party of 5 level 11 characters in my campaign, one of them is playing a Dwarf fighter. His character is intrigued by magic, it's a mystery to him but he wants to learn about it and use it where possible. Any time he reaches a library or visits a new city he speaks to anyone selling magic items to find out more and see if he can get some scrolls.
In one dungeon, they defeated a boss and he searched the library where he found a book on brewing containing recipes that were unfamiliar to him. He took the recipes to a brewer in Elterell, who working with a mage friend of his, said he would charge 800 gold for the brew that would "be something special". I had no idea what the magical properties of this brew would be, but I made the NPCs suggest it would be worth the wait to find out.
What ideas do you guys have for what this could do? The brew is now ready and I have no idea when he's going to want to pick it up. The magical properties can only be balanced around the value of 800gold, and it's a kegs worth. It can't be too powerful as it's a full keg, so would get used often (he can sometimes power game), but has also waited a while for it so it can't be too underwhelming. The player loves RP aspects, so if it does have a stat effect like +1 to constitution saves, then there should be a negative like -2 to intelligence saves, or give the character a beard whilst it's still effective or something.
I'm just looking for some ideas that can be practical, but with some silly RP opportunities!
every drink causes something different, duration maybe 10 minutes? probably should roll a die although it would be fun if some of the powers he could be more likely to draw if he adds or encounters something in the environment during a sip...
0 - "how they feel, said out loud" - the actual effects they can learn to associate with it by observation - (material they can add/sprinkle/chew in lieu of random roll) 1 - "strength, warmth, and inner fire" - Str checks +3, resistance to cold, enemies grappled or grappling take 1 fire damage on their turn - (pepper, match stick, cinnamon candy) 2 - "wispy, faint, hollow" - advantage to hide while lightly (or better) obscured, +1 psychic damage to attacks - (ghostweed, pipe smoke, marshmallow) 3 - "stolid, flinty, rooted" - adv vs any attempt to force player to move, +1 to AC and Cons save, +10 damage to attacking objects - (dirt, sugar, tree bark) 4 - "desiccated, dry, gritty" - bonus to disengage and +5ft movement (dry), -5ft (wet), successful melee attack grants +2temp hp (up to 10hp, till long rest) - (salt, sand, ashes) 5 - electricity... 6 - poison... 7 - horse whispering... 8 - gift of gab... 9 - charming deodorant... 10 - swimming lessons... 11 - mr hyde... 12 - darkvision + detect magic: evo & abj / det.m: conj & trans / det.m: illusion, div, and ench 13 - trap & treasure sense + drunk/blind fighting (manifested as a feeling of extreme luck ala harry potter's 'felix felicis' potion) 14 - advantage to tracking via smell... 15 - become magnetic... 16 - split into three smaller versions of self (sitting on own shoulders, bonus points for trenchcoat)... 17 - parry or intercept as reaction (with adv) any melee or missile attacks within 5ft, gain 2 reactions... 18 - reverse 'comprehend languages:' everyone can understand you... 19 - glow. 20 - hair and clothing become living, grasping plants... 21 - hair becomes snakes, chance (very low) to petrify creatures (party members?) that meet your gaze... 22 - become barrel mimic... 23 - detect lies but also unable to speak falsely... 24 - levitate as if become a tenser's floating disk, enemies struck in combat also float uncontrollably (12 seconds)... 25 - frozen in giant block of ice, unable to move, instantly thawed after 10min, benefits of a short rest... 26 - swing of sword becomes ranged attack as a copy of the blade flies out (accurate to 20ft)... 27 - (limited) trolls' blood regeneration, might grow back missing limb...
etc etc
...by the way, maybe consider asking ChatGBT to make you a list. unless you give it an example it'll probably be even more 'elemental' than what i just suggested but worth a try.
Maybe look at existing magic items or spells your party doesn't have access to, and consider making the brews into limited versions of those. Not every campaign uses every magic item or spell, but there's still a lot of stuff out there you could use.
I would personally go down the road of utilising the Enchantment school of magics. Maybe dip into the transmutation if you really want to. The following are spells I'd probably infuse a brew or potion with if it were me...though what works for my tables might not work for yours:
Low Level Brew - 1st Level
Modified Animal Friendship - Instead of choosing a beast, all beasts encountered have the chance of being charmed unless they beat a WIS save of 10. Modified Bless - Only works on the person who drank the brew. Modified Heroism - Only works on the person who drinks the brew. Modified Sleep - The person who drinks the brew is the only possible target. Message - Imbiber gets the ability to Message at will for 1d4 hours. Modified Thaumaturgy - Pick an aspect of the cantrip, the drinker gets to use that for 1d4 hours. Jump - Drinker gets the benefits of the spell for 1d4 hours. Longstrider - Drinkers gets the benefits for 1d4 hours./
Then I'd scale up the brews at higher and higher levels along with the cost potentially. As I say for me, I think enchantment and transmutation are the schools of magic I'd focus on and just modify spells from those lists.
I have a party of 5 level 11 characters in my campaign, one of them is playing a Dwarf fighter. His character is intrigued by magic, it's a mystery to him but he wants to learn about it and use it where possible. Any time he reaches a library or visits a new city he speaks to anyone selling magic items to find out more and see if he can get some scrolls.
In one dungeon, they defeated a boss and he searched the library where he found a book on brewing containing recipes that were unfamiliar to him. He took the recipes to a brewer in Elterell, who working with a mage friend of his, said he would charge 800 gold for the brew that would "be something special". I had no idea what the magical properties of this brew would be, but I made the NPCs suggest it would be worth the wait to find out.
What ideas do you guys have for what this could do? The brew is now ready and I have no idea when he's going to want to pick it up. The magical properties can only be balanced around the value of 800gold, and it's a kegs worth. It can't be too powerful as it's a full keg, so would get used often (he can sometimes power game), but has also waited a while for it so it can't be too underwhelming. The player loves RP aspects, so if it does have a stat effect like +1 to constitution saves, then there should be a negative like -2 to intelligence saves, or give the character a beard whilst it's still effective or something.
I'm just looking for some ideas that can be practical, but with some silly RP opportunities!
every drink causes something different, duration maybe 10 minutes? probably should roll a die although it would be fun if some of the powers he could be more likely to draw if he adds or encounters something in the environment during a sip...
0 - "how they feel, said out loud" - the actual effects they can learn to associate with it by observation - (material they can add/sprinkle/chew in lieu of random roll)
1 - "strength, warmth, and inner fire" - Str checks +3, resistance to cold, enemies grappled or grappling take 1 fire damage on their turn - (pepper, match stick, cinnamon candy)
2 - "wispy, faint, hollow" - advantage to hide while lightly (or better) obscured, +1 psychic damage to attacks - (ghostweed, pipe smoke, marshmallow)
3 - "stolid, flinty, rooted" - adv vs any attempt to force player to move, +1 to AC and Cons save, +10 damage to attacking objects - (dirt, sugar, tree bark)
4 - "desiccated, dry, gritty" - bonus to disengage and +5ft movement (dry), -5ft (wet), successful melee attack grants +2temp hp (up to 10hp, till long rest) - (salt, sand, ashes)
5 - electricity...
6 - poison...
7 - horse whispering...
8 - gift of gab...
9 - charming deodorant...
10 - swimming lessons...
11 - mr hyde...
12 - darkvision + detect magic: evo & abj / det.m: conj & trans / det.m: illusion, div, and ench
13 - trap & treasure sense + drunk/blind fighting (manifested as a feeling of extreme luck ala harry potter's 'felix felicis' potion)
14 - advantage to tracking via smell...
15 - become magnetic...
16 - split into three smaller versions of self (sitting on own shoulders, bonus points for trenchcoat)...
17 - parry or intercept as reaction (with adv) any melee or missile attacks within 5ft, gain 2 reactions...
18 - reverse 'comprehend languages:' everyone can understand you...
19 - glow.
20 - hair and clothing become living, grasping plants...
21 - hair becomes snakes, chance (very low) to petrify creatures (party members?) that meet your gaze...
22 - become barrel mimic...
23 - detect lies but also unable to speak falsely...
24 - levitate as if become a tenser's floating disk, enemies struck in combat also float uncontrollably (12 seconds)...
25 - frozen in giant block of ice, unable to move, instantly thawed after 10min, benefits of a short rest...
26 - swing of sword becomes ranged attack as a copy of the blade flies out (accurate to 20ft)...
27 - (limited) trolls' blood regeneration, might grow back missing limb...
etc etc
...by the way, maybe consider asking ChatGBT to make you a list. unless you give it an example it'll probably be even more 'elemental' than what i just suggested but worth a try.
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!
Maybe look at existing magic items or spells your party doesn't have access to, and consider making the brews into limited versions of those. Not every campaign uses every magic item or spell, but there's still a lot of stuff out there you could use.
I would personally go down the road of utilising the Enchantment school of magics. Maybe dip into the transmutation if you really want to. The following are spells I'd probably infuse a brew or potion with if it were me...though what works for my tables might not work for yours:
Low Level Brew - 1st Level
Modified Animal Friendship - Instead of choosing a beast, all beasts encountered have the chance of being charmed unless they beat a WIS save of 10.
Modified Bless - Only works on the person who drank the brew.
Modified Heroism - Only works on the person who drinks the brew.
Modified Sleep - The person who drinks the brew is the only possible target.
Message - Imbiber gets the ability to Message at will for 1d4 hours.
Modified Thaumaturgy - Pick an aspect of the cantrip, the drinker gets to use that for 1d4 hours.
Jump - Drinker gets the benefits of the spell for 1d4 hours.
Longstrider - Drinkers gets the benefits for 1d4 hours./
Then I'd scale up the brews at higher and higher levels along with the cost potentially. As I say for me, I think enchantment and transmutation are the schools of magic I'd focus on and just modify spells from those lists.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
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Going by the same line of thought Aquilain:
Modified zone of truth - DC 13. Those who fail can't knowingly tell a lie.
Modified Command- DC 13. Those who fail, you can give a one word command for them to follow.