A potion that contains the essence of Courage... In a way.
Long ago, it is said, an alchemist was hired by a lordling to concoct an elixir to make him a hero; the lordling was a coward at heart, and wished to be otherwise many times. After several false starts, one of which nearly killed the lordling by inducing a heart attack, the alchemist made a daring effort, combining exotic materials to create this potion.
The Elixir is a vile grey-green color, and bubbles softly no matter how warm or cold it is; it never seems to freeze, even in deep arctic conditions, and never boils away, even when subjected to the heat of dragonfire.
The lordling found, when he managed to stomach the foul brew, that his cowardice was no more; unfortunately for him, it did little to enhance his ability as a warrior, and he died soon after by fearlessly leading a charge into an army three times the size of the one he was serving in.
The alchemist refused to let his secrets out, until he died. Now, while still exceptionally rare, Elixirs of Courage can be found occasionally among other, more common potions.
Magical Properties:
The Elixir is a foul, repulsive brew, the grey-green color of wet, rotting sludge, bubbling softly at all times. The taste is reported to be something between the smell of a skunk's musk and the flavor of raw horse dung, and many who imbibe it are sick for days afterwards as the foul materials used to make it slowly purge themselves from the system.
Some say that the drawbacks are worth it, however - the elixir, when drank, permanently destroys the ability of the drinker to feel fear in any form. While generally not conducive to a long life, the drinker of the potion no longer feels natural fear, wariness, suspicion, paranoia, or anything else related to fear. Even supernatural fear has no effect.
The major drawback actually _is_ the lack of fear. Surrender, retreat, caution, and survival tactics in general become unimportant - the potion does more than burn off fear, it instills a sense of bravado into the drinker, to the point that they consider an entire army to be no more of a threat than a single ant, and often they lead suicidal charges into the foe.
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Links to this article 1
- Flawed Potions valadaar linked by valadaar
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A good item. Solid history, double edged effect, not overpowerful. Very good job!
5/5
I agree with Agar entirely.5/5
Another item I like. It is a nice story that properly explains a basic magic item. This twist is handy, balancing the power of the item.
Are they days of submissions that make my eyes bleed over?
Oh, no, we're just giving you a sense of false security.
I like - a good solid basic item with a believable backstory not too powerful and with a nice little drawback to balance it out good work Kassil 4/5
Excellent - far better than the usual generic 'potions of courage' and a worthy addition to any world. A PC who drank this (if he role-played well) would cause great difficulties to the party as well as advantages.
On a whole I like this very much... simple and to the point tells all and has some great side effects.
Great potion!
I can't imagine anyone surviving this for long without protective friends.
Adding to my Flawed Potions codex!
Of course, those same friends would probably end up being considered spineless cowards for protecting the imbiber, holding back, and showing prudent concern.
I love that you have to find your courage just to drink it.
We forget how important the fight-or-flight reaction is. When you've got fight or fight some more, there's a problem.
Heh. Yeah, only the desperate or those with no sense of smell/taste can find it in themselves to down the goop.
I think this potion really helps explain the kick-in-the-door munchkin play-style. You know, where no matter how many times they kick the door in only to find that the door was trapped, or they woke the sleeping troll behind the door, or whatever else, they keep doing it, blindly charging in until they get killed.