Only voted Go to Comment

Another wonderful concept that gets the mind spinning. Spirit Anchors! Just those two words together get me excited.

Also, what Sverigesson said.

This could use some more detail and and exploration. Manfred asks good questions. Anyone have any ideas on expanding these beauties?

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This is really cool Grey - Nicely done!

I'd have created more lists of such things as the powers, but apart from that excellent! Go to Comment

Updated: Expanded with stuff on appearance and some more plot hooks. Go to Comment

I think this is wonderful. Certainly provides a sensible explanation for all of these legendary ships with supernatural abilities that are floating around. I imagine this could also be extended to airships, or in a suitably magical sci-fi campaign, spaceships. Very nice, and a 4.5 to you, sir. Go to Comment

Only voted Go to Comment

The hooks are a bit half-baked, but the main sub is fantastic! Good work. Go to Comment

Excellent plot hooks! A lovely bit of work especially with the descriptions of the various spirits. 

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Scroll post transfered Go to Comment

Spell 7 Drinker's Palm
Passing with the hand above a liquid, the caster is able to sense its alcohol content. The estimate depends on the familiarity with the drink; this won't say much to the common drinker, but brewers can find it very useful. There is an unverified claim, that some poisons can be detected in this way. Go to Comment

Well, it is hard to recreate the fine complexities that constitute a taste of a certain food or drink. It's easy to do 'sweet' or 'bitter', but how to approximate the taste of hops and water from a certain region, and the processing itself, the recipe for which is most likely secret (along with any secret details or ingredients the master brewers keep to themselves)?

There is one way around it: the arts of illusion. The drinker can either supply his own taste impression, which may not work on anyone else; or may make "people feel good", in which case everybody will taste something different. And that only if the illusion doesn't dissipate, leaving a bland or completely tasteless brew. Some would call it cheating anyway.

So I'd say it would take a master brewer to make a magic brew as good as the real thing. Go to Comment

9. Hidden Tap (item)

Zerlen was a man known to handle little drinking, he'd buy a mug or two and go home singing. It was only after his death, that the effect of his favorite mug was discovered. Once filled from a certain source, it would continue to refill itself if the drinker so wanted. All this without the knowledge of the innkeeper, one could steal quite a bit before becoming suspicious. Zerlen would 'nurse his drink' and save a lot money, until one mean bartender decided to teach him a lesson. Giving him a dose of a mildly poisoned beer to give him the 'runs', Zerlen drank his full and died of the poison. The bartender was hanged and the thievish mug was lost. And that is the end of the story. Go to Comment

You had me when I looked up Zythum and found out it was
Zythum \Zy"thum\, n. (L., fr. Gr. ? a kind of beer; -- so called
by the Egyptians.)
A kind of ancient malt beverage; a liquor made from malt and
wheat. Written also zythem.

Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. Benjamin Franklin

Yes, if something is important people would add magic or ritual to it. In the real world, there are many Wiccan charms used for homebrewing. There is a catholic ritual for blessing the wort.

There should be a ton of charms and cantrips, if not outright spells and enchantments, related to beer, as long as magic users are an accepted part of your culture (if they are shunned or must hide what they are, there won't be).

Slipping my admin hat on for a moment, might I suggest that you turn this into a scroll and that each spell (or spell set) or enchanted item should be its own scroll entry. This has several advantages;
1) It makes it easier to follow and add to this submission (AND IT IS WORTHY TO ADD TOO)
2) It makes it easier to link to a given write up, thus you will be able to use a given item or spell in a different write up and directly link back to it.
3) You might one to expand a posting into a full submission all its own, thus creating a refering post or an easy way to scoop things. (See Worlds and Planets as examples).
4) Someday, when Strolen 3.0, an admin will be very happy you have done this as it will assist the re-org as every item or thing should be its own stub or entry. (Okay, and since that Admin will probably be me, I admit it will be self serving.) Go to Comment

Scroll post transfered Go to Comment

I transfered the existing additions... more things can be added on. Go to Comment

Spell 8-18 Of the Cantrips Submission
Cross Posted

In the school of pubcrawling spellcasters, there are many spells which are passed around on looseleafed notes (or found in the margins of many used spell books).

Cool: To cool one's drink, useful on a hots day.

Warm: To warm one's drink, useful on cold days or if you have a proper brew.

Froth: Flat beer is a bad beer

Find Tap: Creates a floating bubble from the beverage, that will lazily head towards its tap. A fun trick to see if you are being served the good stuff or the cheap stuff. Also if you keep some beer from an tied or common house, you can follow the bubble back to that house.

Fix Mug: Well if your mug is cracked or broken, precious amber liquid could be lost. A quick spell will replace all but the worst damage

Careful Beer: This cantrip prevents the accidental sloshing of precious liquid out of the cup. One has to literally desire to pour it out for it to spill. This is handy if you have clumsy friends.

Water to beer: Rather than a full spell, it allows you convert a mug of water, with a splash of beer added to it, into a full mug of beer. A great spell that teaches many magical fundementals and allows cash strapped apprentices to get a drink with their friends.

Second Mug: This cantrip seems to make a tiny bit of extra space in you mug. Cast the cantrip and have someone refill your mug. It will load up with one and a half times the volume of normal drink (sometimes up to two times the volume if cast well).

Rosey Glow: This allows one a glamour of being into your cups. You will feel that happy warm, sloshed feeling, after drinking one drink with rosey cups cast on it. The glamour will shatter if you are hit with a sobering truth, potential violence, or hit up the head really hard.

There are a few more in Cantrips Go to Comment

Related to this is a discussion about brewing and tied and free houses.

There will be no specialist mages, this is a magic form that is squarely in Hedge Magic and Domestic/ Craft Magics. Thus, a mage might learn some spells, but no mage of note would admit it. Go to Comment

I love this. 5/5. This is new. Go to Comment

Ha! I love it. Zythumancy turns any wizard into a potential barkeep, or vice versa. Although maybe not a primary skill for most, having a few zythumancy skills would be handy for any magic user worth her salt.

If I wanted anything more from the post, it would be a little more background. Are there zythumancer guilds? Any famous zythumancers besides Oleander? Does zythumancy differ from culture to culture? These are really just bonus details, because the post itself stands very well on its own. Well done. Go to Comment

Spells 19-22
19) Sour - A trick to play on opponents and for barkeeps to play on lousy customers, this turns a beverage excessively bitter, almost to the point of being unpalatable. It can clear a room fast, when needed.

20) Heady - A form of the Froth spell, this converts a liquid beer to be entirely froth. The volume of liquid remains the same, so this tends to cause mugs to overflow with foam.

21) Booze - An alchemical spell, this can modify a beverage's alcoholic content. When done well, it is subtle enough that the drinker does not notice the difference in taste.

22) Liquefy Bread - Beer is often called "liquid bread," something a few zythumancers have taken to heart. An advanced spell, Liquefy Bread turns a loaf of bread into a mug of beer. The taste and quality of the beer matches that of the bread. Only a few zythumancers have mastered this spell, the rest making either very mushy bread or thick, bad-tasting beer.

Items 6 to 8
6) Doublesip Mugs - Used by spendthrift barkeeps, this mug appears full at 3/4 of its actual volume. This brings patrons buying more drinks at less cost for the bar. They're known as "doublesips" because beer served in them seems to disappear twice as fast.

7) Hyperbolic Barrel - Brewing is an art that takes time, and time is often scarce. A hyperbolic barrel is enchanted to accelerate the passage of time within, allowing for booze to be brewed faster without damaging the quality of the flavors.

8) Tele-tap - Going all the way back to a keg isn't always convenient. The Tele-tap has two parts: one is attached to a keg, the other is carried on the user. Pressing the handle of the carried portion will pour beer just as if one were right in front of the keg. If the interior of the tap isn't alchemicaly silvered, however, the beer will take on a metallic taste during teleportation. Go to Comment