Casse drugs

[duncan.gill]

In my Casse campaign one of my FM developed a trait where by he was a recereational drug user. I was wondering if anyone know of which herbs/drugs were used recreationally at the time?

[Ibrahim]

Opium; some poisonous mushrooms, beladona, ergot, I dunno
wait..there's a recreational drug user in EB?
*Ibrahim runs to EB casse to see for himself*

[stupac]

We can clearly deduce LSD. Because the Beatles used LSD and they were British. Logic wins again! You might change history with that general and end up having "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" written 2000 years early.

[The General]

We can clearly deduce LSD. Because the Beatles used LSD and they were British. Logic wins again! You might change history with that general and end up having "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" written 2000 years early.

Well... They could've inadvertently (more or less) gotten to "enjoy" the effects of LSD.

[Anthony]

Well, alcoholism exists, but as a seperate trait. The Casse, the most likely candidates? Mushrooms, certainly, very ancient hallucinogen, and a general psychedelic. Opium would be too foreign. But, cannabis (marijuana), for a wealthy noble? He could potentially import that. Cannabis was hardly unknown, the Greek word kánnabis was probably ultimately from a Scythian word. This particular plant was probably smoked through much of Europe, because we have terms for it as far as iron age Britain. However, this ignores the religious aspects (many Celts viewed things we would view today as 'drugs' intended to induce visions).

In a short reasoning (I tend to ramble, a friend has said I should not), the Britons, and most ancients, were not in the least bit unfamiliar with many, many drugs. Mushrooms, weeds, roots, various strengths of alcohol they hadn't quite quantified. Indian goods were exported as far as Britain, but even then, only a few in each generation would probably have a chance for opium. These were drugs. So a drug addicated character represents one, wealthy enough to not be a drunk, but a 'pothead', or just in general a drug addict, indulging in foreign drugs that cannot be imported and grown. It's a dicey bit.

The appelation is mainly because we know Celts were engaged in drugs, and weren't adverse to them at all, and some things we know of imply they even desired such drugs. ...Kind of like modern folks.

[Elmetiacos]

I'll shut up...

[SaberHRE]

LSD-like effect can be achieved from a fungi which forms on rotten wheat.

[Dhampir]

There is evidence of marijuana use going back to the neolithic age in Europe. Wiki cites a find of burnt marijuana seeds in a brazier in Romania, but I seem to recall reading about more significant evidence. If we could find a Gallic dime-bag, we'd be in business.

[Watchman]

LSD-like effect can be achieved from a fungi which forms on rotten wheat.

That one AFAIK tended to give you something of a "bad trip" though. Commonly assumed to be the main culprit behind werewolf legends, doubly so as those are noticeably lacking from local folklore in Scandinavia where grain has for a very long time been barn-dried (which requires access to lots of firewood, but also helpfully ousts all kinds of little creepy-crawlies from the harvest... and keeps quirky molds from setting up shop in damp grain)...

[Elmetiacos]

Voluntarily suffering ergot poisoning is a bit unlikely. It makes you quite ill.

[russia almighty]

TC, don't feel left out. We are legion.

[Copperknickers]

Voluntarily suffering ergot poisoning is a bit unlikely. It makes you quite ill.

Ever seen 'TRIBE': the documentary with Bruce Parry? One tribe used a particularly nasty hallucinogen in spiritual initiation ceremonies, and a small amount made Bruce spend the most part of a day vomiting and fevering, but twice the amount did little more than widen the eyes of the shamans who took this stuff every year for most of their lives. Maybe it's just an aquired taste, so to speak?

[Ibrahim]

Well, alcoholism exists, but as a seperate trait. The Casse, the most likely candidates? Mushrooms, certainly, very ancient hallucinogen, and a general psychedelic. Opium would be too foreign. But, cannabis (marijuana), for a wealthy noble? He could potentially import that. Cannabis was hardly unknown, the Greek word kánnabis was probably ultimately from a Scythian word. This particular plant was probably smoked through much of Europe, because we have terms for it as far as iron age Britain. However, this ignores the religious aspects (many Celts viewed things we would view today as 'drugs' intended to induce visions).

In a short reasoning (I tend to ramble, a friend has said I should not), the Britons, and most ancients, were not in the least bit unfamiliar with many, many drugs. Mushrooms, weeds, roots, various strengths of alcohol they hadn't quite quantified. Indian goods were exported as far as Britain, but even then, only a few in each generation would probably have a chance for opium. These were drugs. So a drug addicated character represents one, wealthy enough to not be a drunk, but a 'pothead', or just in general a drug addict, indulging in foreign drugs that cannot be imported and grown. It's a dicey bit.

The appelation is mainly because we know Celts were engaged in drugs, and weren't adverse to them at all, and some things we know of imply they even desired such drugs. ...Kind of like modern folks.

actually Opium was known and very common among the elite classes then; it was grown in Kypros for millenia. I don't see why not have them.

[Wilhelm The Mediocre]

Wasn't Opium first domesticated in Western Europe anyway?

[Ibrahim]

I think it's actually in Kypros (so I was told)

[Elmetiacos]

Ever seen 'TRIBE': the documentary with Bruce Parry? One tribe used a particularly nasty hallucinogen in spiritual initiation ceremonies, and a small amount made Bruce spend the most part of a day vomiting and fevering, but twice the amount did little more than widen the eyes of the shamans who took this stuff every year for most of their lives. Maybe it's just an aquired taste, so to speak?

When I say 'quite ill', the symptoms are somewhat worse than a nasty headache and an upset stomach. There was an outbreak of ergot poisoning in a village in France in the 1950s. 135 people had to go to hospital and 6 died.