Shadowrun Compounds: Flora

Taxonomy: 	Aloe magivera
Cost: 		400Y
Street Index: 	2.5
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	8/2 weeks
Appearance: 	Succulent cacti with a rosette of narrow, prickly-edged, 
	fleshy leaves filled with bitter juice. Single leafless stalk growing 
	just under 1 meter, terminating in an elongated cluster of down-
	pointing yellow to orange flowers.
Climate: 	Aztlan, CFS, The Ute, Pueblo Corporate Council
Effects: 	This plant can heal minor wounds [Moderate or less] when the 
	juice is rubbed over or into it. This takes about 10 minutes for the 
	magical effect to work, during which time, the wound tingles very 
	powerfully [+1 to all T# for distraction]. It's powers are doubly 
	effective against wounds caused by burns [Serious wounds or less].

Taxonomy: 	Colchicum autumnale
Cost: 		20Y
Street Index: 	1.5
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	6/6 weeks
Appearance: 	Herb which grows to 0.3 meters from an onion looking 
	bulb. Large, lance-shaped leaves develop in spring. In the fall, a 
	leafless flowering stalk yields a solitary white to pale purple 
	crocus-like flower.
Climate: 	Damp meadows, fields, woodlands and mountains, especially in 
		the Canadian parts of the UCAS and northern Sioux Nation.
Effects: 	Ingesting any part of this plant will cause a burning 
	sensation in the throat, vomiting, and possible kidney and 
	respiratory failure. [4D 1 hour after ingestion, Effects can last all 
	day.]

Taxonomy: 	Myroxylon magibalsam
Cost: 		500Y/dose
Street Index: 	2.5
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	10/3 weeks
Appearance: 	Thick, fragrant resin (smells like cinnamon when fresh 
	and vanilla when aged) extracted from a shade tree of up to 20+ 
	meters tall. The evergreen tree leaves are oblong 8cm, sprinkled with 
	transparent dots. White flowers terminate the branches.
Climate: 	Central America, southern Aztlan, northern South America
Effects: 	When applied to wounds, the balsam acts as a coagulant. It 
	also contains magical properties which can heal tissue (heals 1-3 
	boxes). The resin is slightly astrally active, and is sometimes used 
	to shellac doors or windows to make them astrally secure (one dose 
	can cover a square meter).

>>>>>[In order to get this stuff to work for astral security, you need 
to do a bit of enchanting. No magic required, but it needs to be 
mixed with distilled water and tannin just right, and I mean just 
right. Watching the whole process astrally can help a bit.]<<<<<
	-- Karla Nash (01:03:29/3-16-54)

Taxonomy: 	Hedera magihelix
Cost: 		500Y/meter2
Street Index: 	3.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	2/3 weeks
Appearance: 	Climbing plant with woody stem which get reach 35 meters 
	or more. Dark, glossy, veined, evergreen alternate leaves are 
	triangular and three-lobed.
Climate: 	Nearly anywhere
Effects: 	An Awakened form of common English Ivy, this plant is dual 
	natured, and as such is used to cover buildings to make them astrally 
	impenetrable.

>>>>>[Too easy. Just go through the windows.]<<<<<
	-- Coma (22:24:58/1-26-54)

>>>>>[Most buildings which use this are very secure, and so have no 
windows. Or, often the windows are very small, oddly proportioned or 
barred (with the ivy on the bars). If there isn't a space big enough 
for a person's real body, their astral form won't fit through either. 
And you can't move the ivy from the astral plane in anyway at all. 
Simple and effective. Your best bet is to wait until someone opens a 
door.]<<<<<
	-- Quarrel (18:25:57/11-30-54)

>>>>>[Since this type of security is just as capable of keeping astral 
things in as out, some installations may have a back way in. It'll be 
very well hidden, but you might get lucky.]<<<<<
	-- Niche (05:44:57/12-17-54)

Taxonomy: 	Atropa belladonna
Cost: 		1,200
Street Index: 	1.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	7/1 week
Appearance: 	Leafy, smooth branched stem growing to a meter with dull 
	green alternate leaves of unequal size on the upper parts. Solitary 
	bell-shaped purplish-brown flowers (June-July) arising from the leaf 
	axils are followed by glossy black berries with inky purple juice 
	(September).
Climate: 	Woods and wastlands. Eastern UCAS.
Effects: 	Belladonna contains atropine, scopolamine and hyoscyamine. 
	Once ingested, Belladonna is a deadly poison [5D] which begins 
	working in minutes.

Taxonomy: 	Solanum americanum
Cost: 		70Y
Street Index: 	2.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	6/2 weeks
Appearance: 	.3 to 1 meter tall, with oval to lance-shaped leaves. 
		White flowers with five backswept petals. Black berries
Climate: 	Sunny
Effects: 	All parts of this plant are poisonous when ingested (5D) and 
		can kill within minutes.

Taxonomy: 	Physostigma venenosum
Cost: 		250Y
Street Index: 	1.5
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	6/4 weeks
Appearance: 	Vines rooting in riverbanks, climbing up to 20m into the 
	trees. Large, purple flowers hand in the spring. After the flowers 
	fall, 15cm pods develop, containing two or three flat maroon seeds
Climate: 	Calm rivers in dry climates, in the delta. Mainly found in 
	the Niger Delta.
Effects: 	A drink made of the powdered beans contain physostigmine, 
	which paralyzes the heart, causing death; often, however, the drink 
	is rejected by the stomach before the drug can effect the body. [On a 
	success of a Body(5) roll, the concoction is vomited, otherwise, the 
	drink will kill the person in 10-30 minutes.]

>>>>>[A lot of gangs in the Seattle area have taken to using this bean 
drink as an initiation technique. If the newcomer pukes, he's in, if 
not, he's buried.]<<<<<
	-- Flash (10:01:32/4-29-54)

>>>>>[Physostigmine can counteract the effects of atropine.]<<<<<
	-- Doctorjack (02:32:44/8-18-54)

Taxonomy: 	Nepeta magicataria
Cost: 		100Y
Street Index: 	1.5
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	4/5 days
Appearance: 	Upright herb, 1 meter tall with branching square stems 
	and toothed, heart-shaped opposite leaves covered with downy grey 
	hairs. Clusters of pale lavender tubular flowers (June-October) with 
	purpulish spots grow at the ends of the main stem. Minty smell
Climate: 	Throughout North America
Effects: 	This plant secretes an oil which cats of all types find 
	irresistible. It is as effective as its mundane cousin on mundane 
	cats, but especially effective on paranormal felines, including Talis 
	Cats, Sabre-Toothed Cats, and even Tiger Shapeshifters. It causes a 
	very powerful euphoria in such creatures with few ill effects, and 
	can reduce aggressiveness.

>>>>>[When making friends with an angry Talis Cat, this plant can go a long way.]<<<<<
	-- Coma (10:19:45/2-30-54)

Taxonomy: 	Catha edulis
Cost: 		5Y/leaf
Street Index: 	1.5
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	4/3 hours
Appearance: 	Small leafy trees, very small white flowers.
Climate: 	Ethiopia
Effects: 	Chewing the three or four leaves of this tree for 10 minutes 
	or so causes increased alertness, relief from hunger and fatigue, and 
	mild euphoric high. [as stim patch(3), +1 Quickness]. Shredded leaves 
	can be used to make a tea which has the same effect.

>>>>>[This tea, when brewed with honey, is called Arabia tea and has 
some importance to Arab culture.]<<<<<
	-- Fariba al-Hassan (01:59:30/2-17-54)

Taxonomy: 	Buxus magisempervirens
Cost: 		500Y/fruit
Street Index: 	2.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	6/3 weeks
Appearance: 	Shrub from 1 to 2 meters high with small, juicy, 
	elliptical leaves, dark green above and pale below. Clusters of small 
	inconspicuous red flowers (April-June) produce small red, horned 
	capsules containing seeds.
Climate: 	Only cultivated.
Effects: 	Crushing and drying the ripe fruit and seeds of this 
	Awakened form of Boxwood, then inhaling the powder will bestow 
	resistance to about all forms of spiritual activity [+2 to t# for 
	spirit attacks and -2 to Power of any form of attack from a spirit]; 
	however, this powder is slightly toxic [3S, immediate]. The effect 
	lasts for 3-8 hours. It's main attraction for magicians is that any 
	spirit summoned by a magician under the effects of this powder will 
	be much less able to harm the magician should it go free [treat all 
	attacks from the spirit on the summoning mage as if it were of a 
	force equal to one-half (round down) its actual force]. As long as 
	the magician was under the effects of the drug during the actual 
	summoning of the spirit, this effect will last for the spirit's 
	entire existence.

>>>>>[When summoning big elementals or allies, this stuff can be a good move.]<<<<<
	-- Quarrel (19:48:15/4-28-54)

>>>>>[You will never find this in the wild. This is because it is the 
results of a ritual involving it's mundane counterpart boxwood. It 
will only grow indoors.]<<<<<
	--Arianna (18:13:15/8-6-54)

>>>>>[I don't suppose you'd clue us into the ritual, would you?]<<<<<
	-- Coma (18:20:15/8-6-54)

>>>>>[You suppose correctly.]<<<<<
	-- Arianna (18:21:20/8-6-54)

Taxonomy: 	Digitalis purpurea
Cost: 		200Y
Street Index: 	2.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	10/2 weeks
Appearance: 	A rosette of long-staled leaves with 1-2 meter stem 
	growing out. Leaves are lance-shaped to oval. Spires of white to 
	pinkish to red thimble-shaped flowers (June-September) are speckled 
	with red dots.
Climate: 	Fields, moist clearings. Cascade Mountains
Effects: 	Chewing a leaf can cause paralysis and even death. [3D, 
	plus, if any damage is taken, reduce natural Quickness by the number 
	of boxes taken. If quickness reduced below zero by one-half (round-
	down) its original value or more, death results; otherwise, one point 
	returns each hour, allowing mobility when Quickness reaches above 
	zero.] This also has the odd effect of making Fox shapeshifters 
	sneeze uncontrollably [Willpower(5) each minute exposed to ignore 
	effects).

Taxonomy: 	Stropharia cubensis
Cost: 		100Y per mushroom
Street Index: 	2.0
Legality: 	5-M1
Availability: 	7/3 weeks
Appearance: 	Small, wispy mushrooms with thin stems and narrow, white caps.
Climate: 	Yucatan
Effects: 	One of the strongest hallucinatory mushrooms, Godflesh was 
	used ritually by Mayan in northeast Oaxaca. Eating this fungi caused 
	severe hallucinations, which are very realistic. True reality is 
	ignored. [Quickness -4, Charisma -1, Reaction -3, Intelligence 
	-2(cognitive)/+4 perceptive, Willpower -1, Artistic Skills +2, tests 
	requiring concentration at +2 T#.] Hilarity generally overtakes a 
	user just before hallucinations begin.

Taxonomy: 	Sanicula magimarilandica
Cost: 		1,000Y
Street Index: 	1.5
Legality: 	Legal 
Availability: 	6/1 week
Appearance: 	Thick, dark green, undulating, snake-like root. Leafless 
	flower stalks over 1 meter. Leaves at base with long stalks, oval to 
	elliptical, unequally toothed, often with deeply cut leaflets. Flower 
	clusters in June and July with 23 jet black blossoms.
Climate: 	Meadows, thickets and shady, moist, woodland soils down 
	eastern North America.
Effects: 	One of the only plants with naturally black flowers, Healing 
	Snakeroot is an Awakened form of Black Snakeroot, and is often found 
	with them. The flowers can make a permanent dye which is often used 
	in Seattle and Pueblo to paint patterns on skin, which act as tattoos 
	until the top layer of skin wears off. While containing no healing 
	properties by itself, a paste made from the root when eaten by a 
	wounded person can make magical healing easier [-2 to target numbers 
	of Heal and Treat spells]. This effect however takes five minutes to 
	manifest after ingestion. The root can make enough paste for 4-8 
	doses.

Taxonomy: 	Conium maculatum
Cost: 		150Y
Street Index: 	2.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	6/2 weeks
Appearance: 	Lacy leaves and small white flowers arranged in umbels. 
	White root. Crushed leaves emit sour, mousy odor.
Climate: 	Open places throughout North America
Effects: 	Hemlock is poisonous when ingested (3D), especially the 
	seeds and roots (6D)

Taxonomy: 	Mercurialis magiannua
Cost: 		3,000Y
Street Index: 	1.5
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	8/4 weeks
Appearance: 	A leafy-stemmed herb growing to 50cm, with light green 
	lance-shaped to oval leaves with rounded teeth, arranged in opposite 
	pairs. Small yellow flowers borne on spikes in the leaf axils.
Climate: 	Waste places. Eastern North America
Effects: 	The juice of this plant, when mixed with oil, forms a salve 
	which magically protects what it covers from fire and heat [-3 to 
	power] until it is washed or worn off. A single plant can yield 
	enough juice to cover, when mixed, an average sized human being.

>>>>>[Only a magical Enchanter can do the mixing, but it is a 
straightforward process, as long as no human save the enchanter 
touches the juice until the mixture is done.]<<<<<
	-- Alta (08:41:42/2-11-54)

Taxonomy: 	Cynoglossum magiofficinale
Cost: 		200Y
Street Index: 	1.5
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	6/2 weeks
Appearance: 	Hairy stem up to 0.5 meters tall with pointed alternate 
	leaves and clusters of small reddish-purple flowers (May-August) 
	followed by prickly fruits in the form of burs.
Climate: 	Sandy and rocky roadsides high in the Rocky Mountains.
Effects: 	Boiling the leaves of this plant, the removing them and 
	boiling off the water, leaves behind a yellowish slime. Mixing this 
	slime with grain alcohol yields a toxin which inhibits the barking 
	reflex in canine forms, including paranormal dogs like bargeists and 
	hell hounds. Injecting a dog with this chemical will prevent them 
	from making any sound at all for 1-6 hours [Dog needs to make a 
	Body(9) test].

>>>>>[This can really confuse the hell out of dogs, often giving you 
enough time to get by.]<<<<<
	-- Coma (05:36:41/1-3-54)

Taxonomy: 	Picrasma excelsa
Cost: 		400Y/kg
Street Index: 	3.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	8/6 days
Appearance: 	An ashlike tree, up to 20m tall, with pinnately compound 
	leaves and clusters of small rose-colored flowers. The wood and leaves
Climate: 	Jamaica
Effects: 	A bitter resin can be extracted from the wood of this tree 
	(about 40ml per kg), which acts as an incredible natural insecticide. 
	This resin is extremely effective against insect spirits [acting as a 
	8S poison (this number includes the effects of the vulnerability to 
	insecticides)].

>>>>>[Yow. Talk about misinformation. We used some of this stuff loaded 
into NarcoJet rounds, and it worked great, with only one problem: bee 
spirits are completely unaffected by it. In fact, it seems to heal 
them and the scent of it attracts them, as well as normal bees.]<<<<<
	-- Coma (23:47:36/4-10-54)

Taxonomy: 	Piper methysticum
Cost: 		30Y/leaf
Street Index: 	3.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	6/2 weeks
Appearance: 	Shrub with broad, heart-shaped leaves webbed with network 
	of prominent veins.
Climate: 	South Pacific
Effects: 	Chewing on the leaves vigorously, soaking them in water or 
	milk, then drinking the liquid produces a euphoric state, and when 
	the user sleeps, the sleep is deep and dreamless. In large enough 
	quantities (triple dose) can increase the force of heart action while 
	decreasing pulse rate, induce a hypnotic state and paralyze large 
	skeletal muscles, like those in the legs.

>>>>>[I don't know why, but metahumans with allergies to sunlight 
really don't take this drug well. It can cause nausea and even coma. 
[5(level of allergy) stun damage.]<<<<<
	-- Misha (02:57:49/2-2-54)

Taxonomy: 	Mandragora magiofficinarum
Cost: 		1,000Y
Street Index: 	2.5
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	12/5 weeks
Appearance: 	Vine-like member of the nightshade family with sparse, 
	ovate leaves and whitish flowers. The root is turnip-like, contorted 
	into a shape resembling a human being.
Climate: 	Mediterranean, also under hanged bodies.
Effects: 	Mandrake is credited with much more than it can actually do. 
	Often in legend a catalyst for love magic, ritual sorcery and other 
	sympathetic magic becomes much easier to cast on someone with whom 
	the caster has shared mandrake [-2 to T#]. Mandrake is an 
	aphrodisiac. Eating mandrake also makes connecting magically to other 
	minds easier [+1 die to Mind Probe, spells which control or alter 
	conscious thought, and mana detection spells for 1d6 hours]. 
	Continued use of mandrake can pose hazards to magical ability [make a 
	Magic test against a target number of 2 plus the number of times 
	mandrake has been used in the past 28 days to avoid loosing a Magic 
	point].

Taxonomy: 	Ocimum magimasilicum
Cost: 		500Y
Street Index: 	3.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	8/2 weeks
Appearance: 	Bushy and up to a meter tall, with a square stem and many 
	branches. Opposite, shiny green to purple, toothed leaves which are 
	elliptical to oval and about 3cm long. Small white flowers grow in 
	whorls of seven at the ends of the branches from June-September.
Climate: 	temperate North America, often hidden among common basil.
Effects: 	This Awakened form of common basil is thought to be the 
	source of the legendary association of basil with the basilisk. 
	Drinking a tea made of died mirror basil leaves will render the 
	imbiber completely immune to the gaze of a basilisk for around an 
	hour [(1d6+4) x 10 minutes].

>>>>>[What they don't tell you is that anyone who uses this stuff will 
be targeted first by a basilisk's bite. I guess its some sort of 
smell or something (at least to them, I couldn't smell a thing) which 
really ticks them off. The plant itself doesn't seem to have this 
effect on them.]<<<<<
	-- Coma (06:39:17/7-3-54)
>>>>>[This plant is often used in foci and fetishes for barrier and 
transformative magic.]<<<<<
	--Ericka (14:17:59/11-10-54)

Taxonomy: 	Lysimachia maginummularia
Cost: 		5,000Y
Street Index: 	1.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	12/5 weeks
Appearance: 	A creeping vine with trailing stems up to two meters long 
	with glossy round leaves in opposite pairs. Golden yellow flowers 
	(June-August) 2 to 3 cm across with five petals marked with dark 
	spots.
Climate: 	Moist shores, roadsides, meadows and grasslands in southern 
		UCAS, northern Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast.
Effects: 	The juice of this plant, boiled with wine and honey and 
	ingested forms the most powerful magical healing agent known [will 
	heal six boxes of damage]. It begins working within minutes and takes 
	10 to 60 minutes to work, depending on the wound's severity; however, 
	it makes the user very sleepy for hours after application. This plant 
	must be harvested specially, and handling by mundanes spoils its 
	effects. One plant provides up to four applications.

>>>>>[On the streets, the syrup this plant makes is called beautiform, 
hiber, and le morte vim. It works wonders, but it tastes like 
shit.]<<<<<
	-- Doctorjack (14:45:27/5-28-54)

Taxonomy: 	Papaver somniferum
Cost: 		15Y
Street Index: 	1.5
Legality: 	5-M1
Availability: 	4/3 weeks
Appearance: 	White, lavender, red or purple flowers with four large petals 
		with dark centers
Climate: 	Most of Asia and the Mideast
Effects: 	This plant is the source of opium--the main ingredient the 
		manufacture of morphine and heroin--as well as codine.

Taxonomy: 	Chondrodendron tomentosum
Cost: 		100Y
Street Index: 	2.5
Legality: 	8-M1
Availability: 	10/2 weeks
Appearance: 	High climbing vine with woody stems and broad, veined 
	leaves and bundles of what look much like hard, dark green grapes.
Climate: 	Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Amazonia
Effects: 	From the stems of this plant is extracted a poison called 
	curare. This is a very deadly poison, which relaxes the muscles of 
	the body, even to the point of stopping the lungs from working. 
	Curare can, in fairly small doses, paralyze a man in minutes (7D, 1d6 
	minutes onset time), leaving him immobile and asphyxiating until he 
	dies.

>>>>>[If this gets into your blood, you will be very, very sorry.]<<<<<
	-- Blow (23:40:42/3-22-54)

>>>>>[Not necessarily, if you've got the right wires. This toxin has 
been around for a long time, and many better blood filter cyberware 
systems were designed specifically to fight it. Seems like any system 
over level 3 works about 50% better against curare than against other 
blood-borne poisons. The same doesn't seem to hold for bioware.]<<<<<
	-- Doctorjack (21:35:27/6-28-54)

Taxonomy: 	Lophophora williamsii
Cost: 		125Y
Street Index: 	2.5
Legality: 	3-M1
Availability: 	9/2 weeks
Appearance: 	A tomato-sized round cacti, fleshy, greyish to chalky 
	blue, with 5 to 13 ribs with pencil-like tufts of woolly white hairs 
	instead of sharp spines. Massive carrot-like taproot. Tiny pinkish to 
	creamy white flowers on top. 
Climate: 	Aztlan desert, southern NAN deserts
Effects: 	Peyote contains over 56 alkaloid substances which act as 
	drugs in humans, including mescaline (q.v.). When slices of peyote 
	are chewed, the following effects happen within minutes: Quickness 
	-1, Charisma -1, Reaction -1, Intelligence -1 (cognitive)/+3 
	perceptive, Willpower -1, and hallucinations. When prepared properly 
	and smoked, peyote can have a very profound effect: Quickness -3, 
	Charisma -1, Reaction -1, Intelligence -2(cognitive)/+4 perceptive, 
	Willpower -1, possible uncontrolled astral perception [Essence(12), # 
	successes * 10 is what percent of the time you are astral], magical 
	theory +4, Artistic Skills +2, tests requiring concentration at +2 
	T#, dream state trance, intense hallucinations. Addiction information 
	and crash, permanent and addiction effects are as per mescaline. 
	Duration of chewing peyote is 1d6 hours, smoking 3d6.

>>>>>[The ``proper'' preparation mentioned is a magical ritual. You 
need an Awakened enchanter.]<<<<<
	-- Poboy (07:49:59/1-5-54)


>>>>>[It is very unlikely that this will make you walk astral space. 
Most people are unaware that many of the attributes sought by 
magicians from peyote are actually from an extremely rare awakened 
form of the plant. Here's a listing of it:

This peyote is 
	non-addictive and has none of the normal crash effects; however, you 
	have little control of any astral body gained during the trip and may 
	possibly stay in astral space too long. Also, magicians may 
	experience a degradation in power for a time after coming down, 
	especially if they went to the metaplanes.]<<<<<
	-- Quarrel (09:01:27/1-29-54)

>>>>>[Well, whatever. I do know that peyote highs are nothing like 
mescaline highs. Peyote goes for all the senses, including smell and 
touch, and is, wellIkaleidoscopic. Right before you start 
hallucinating, this flashes of color trance across your vision. There 
is an old legend that says that El Santo Nio de Peyotl survives in 
the plants.]<<<<<
	-- Red Pawn (08:31:36/7-17-54)

>>>>>[A peyote cult eventually turned into the Native American Church, 
which is still around. They had 250,000 members during the 1970's, 
but numbers are a bit sketchy now. They are dedicated to brotherly 
love, high moral principle, abstention from alcohol, and other 
niceties.]<<<<<
	-- Holly (01:18:59/11-2-54)

Taxonomy: 	Rauvolfia serpentina
Cost: 		100Y
Street Index: 	1.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	4/1 week
Appearance: 	0.5 meter, graceful and woody. Oval leaves, dark green 
	above and paler below, in whorls of three or four along the stem. 
	Small pink to white flowers borne in terminal clusters produce tiny, 
	oval, fleshy fruits which turn a shiny purple-black when ripe.
Climate: 	Only grows in the wild. Mainly in Indonesia, India and 
	Thailand.
Effects: 	Chewing the root of this plant brings on a detachment while 
	meditating [+1 to philosophic and artistic skills]. Over 50 chemicals 
	can be extracted from this plant, including some to treat mental 
	illness and high blood pressure. The fruits are rumored in folk lore 
	to cure lunacy and lycanthropy. They also act as powerful 
	tranquilizers [Tranq 6].

>>>>>[Holy men in India, including Mahatma Gandhi, commonly used the root.]<<<<<
	-- Wolf (21:54:29/6-25-54)

>>>>>[I don't know about lycanthropy, but I've seen the fruits prevent 
shapeshifters from changing to their animal forms, at least temporarily.]<<<<<
	-- Quarrel (17:20:13/6-11-54)

Taxonomy: 	Urginea maritima
Cost: 		10Y
Street Index: 	1.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	6/2 weeks
Appearance: 	A cabbage-sized onion, weighing up to 6 kilos. Leafless, 
	purple flower stalk with a long cluster of whitish or rose covered 
	flowers. The onion is either white or red.
Climate: 	The white variety is found in sandy coastal areas fringing 
	the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, and South Africa. The red is 
	found mostly Algeria and Cyprus.
Effects: 	Both varieties of onion are loaded with chemicals, mostly 
	those which stimulate heart activity. The red variety contains a 
	highly poisonous substance called scilliroside. When ingested, it 
	would be lethal, but the human body vomits it out immediately before 
	it takes effect. It is a lethal rat poison, however, as rats and 
	other rodents are not able to vomit. The red version is much harder 
	to find, as it is not harvested for its other drugs [x5 cost].

>>>>>[Devil Rats will eat the red Sea Onion like candy, until it kills 
them. One weird thing, though, is that the outer layers of the onion 
and the layers close to the heart have no chemicals in them at all. 
Only the layers in-between are useful.]<<<<<
	-- Misha (14:20:31/6-1-54)

Taxonomy: 	Heimia salicfolia
Cost: 		250Y/dose
Street Index: 	2.5
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	9/4 weeks
Appearance: 	Small, sparsely leafed shrub, with twined green leaves up 
	the stems and 6-petaled, white flowers at mid-stem.
Climate: 	Central America
Effects: 	Picking the leaves from the sinicuichi and letting them 
	wilt, then crushing them in water and fermenting the mixture in the 
	sun will produce a drink with very unique properties when ingested. 
	Most distinctive among these are vivid remembrances of the past (as 
	far at childhood, or even pre-natal memories) and solely auditory 
	hallucinations. These effects are accompanied by a giddy, drowsy 
	euphoria, a darkening of vision, a shrinking of the surrounding 
	world, and altered time/space perception. A single plant can prepare 
	from three to eight doses.

Taxonomy: 	Stropanthus gratus
Cost: 		400Y
Street Index: 	5.0
Legality: 	3P-M1
Availability: 	10/4 weeks
Appearance: 	Woody, climbing vine, up to 10 meters or more. Uses 
	branches like arms to climb trees rather than tendrils. Glossy 
	evergreen leaves, thick and leathery. Terminal clusters of beautiful, 
	bell-shaped, purple and white flowers resembling begonias, but which 
	smell like roses at night.
Climate: 	Deciduous forests in tropical West Africa
Effects: 	The flowers are used for ornamentation. The plant is the 
	source of the compound ouabain, a powerful, immediate heart 
	stimulator. When this chemical is injected in small quantities, it 
	can save humans from recent heart damage. In larger doses, it is very 
	lethal [7D, immediately].

>>>>>[This was used as arrow poison by tribes in Africa long before Dr. 
David Livingstone brought it to European attention.]<<<<<
	-- Doctorjack (01:07:57/4-13-54)

Taxonomy: 	Amanita magimuscaria
Cost: 		1200Y/mushroom
Street Index: 	4.5
Legality: 	5-M1
Availability: 	10/3 weeks
Appearance: 	Think musroom with white, thick base and crimson head, 
	with white splotches. Starts as an egg-sized, fluffy ball which 
	appears as if wrapped in white wool. As it grows, it bursts, 
	revealing the red skin.
Climate: 	Siberia, northern India
Effects: 	This mushroom, when properly filtered, provides a user with 
	an intoxication, much like alcohol with an added side effect: an 
	empathy for those around him, especially if those around him are also 
	using the drug. [+2 Charisma, -2 bonus to Charisma, Etiquette and 
	Negotiation target numbers, for 1d3 hours; double this effect towards 
	those also on the drug. Also Quickness -2, Intelligence -2, Willpower 
	-1.] This has earned this mushroom the name ``brotherhood'' on the 
	streets. The proper method of filtration is to pound out the juice, 
	and filter the juice through a wool cloth, then mix it with water, 
	milk, honey or barley water and drink.

>>>>>[This mushroom is the plant which was known as Soma to a group in 
northwest India circa 1600 B.C. called the Aryans. It is the only 
plant in the world to have been deified; almost 160 books of hymns 
were written about Soma. Soma seemed to have vanished from the earth 
for nearly three millennia, and it was not until 1970 that R. Gordon 
Wasson connected Soma to the fly agaris. He had to wait until the 
Awakening for Soma to reach its full effect, though, as it works 
magically.]<<<<<
	-- Arya ben-Yosef (19:23:25/4-5-54)

>>>>>[So that's where Huxley got the name.]<<<<<
	-- Ivy Tower (10:18:38/5-6-54)

>>>>>[A more arcane filtration (in both senses of he word) is to let 
rain water soak into the mushroom, then perform an enchantment, and 
eating the mushroom. If done correctly under moonlight, the resulting 
effect allows a better communal with spirits [1 extra service from a 
summoning].]<<<<<
	-- Quarrel (01:37:29/5-26-54)

>>>>>[There's yet another filtration, chummers, and it's hanious. 
First, get some people to consume the stuff made by the first kind of 
filtration. Then, drink their urine. It's gross, but it works 
wonders. It works for about five ``generations'' unless one of those 
is a magician. I did it, chummers, and I'm here ta tell ya, I thought 
I was talking to God. [Any astral quest undertaken while under this 
filtration is performed as if it were 2 Rating points lower for the 
purposes of target numbers and numbers of dice used. Also, any 
conjuring test is at a -1 T# bonus.]]<<<<<
	-- Inga (21:27:57/11-10-54)

Taxonomy: 	Angelica magiarchangelica
Cost: 		500Y
Street Index: 	2.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	6/4 weeks
Appearance: 	Herb with thick, hollow stems up to 2 meters. Pinnately 
	compound leaves, with toothed leaflets and enlarged sheaths at the 
	base of the leaf stalk.
Climate: 	Temperate steppe in high latitude UCAS
Effects: 	Chewing the root of this Awakened form of angelica can boost 
	the immune system [+1 to resist diseases for 1d6 hours] and has very 
	odd effects on the astral aura for a few hours. Most of these effects 
	are not noticeable, but it does make the user slightly immune to many 
	of the powers which nature spirits can use. [+3 dice to throw off 
	effects, such as alienation, et. al.] This root also increases 
	appetite for its duration [x2].

>>>>>[This aura fluctuation is not significant, but can confuse low 
force watchers sent to find you.]<<<<<
	-- Quarrel (09:21:19/8-25-54)

Taxonomy: 	Strychnos nux-vomica
Cost: 		50Y/berry
Street Index: 	2.5
Legality: 	6-M1
Availability: 	10/2 weeks
Appearance: 	Medium-sized deciduous evergreen, with a thick, crooked 
	trunk. 9cm oval leaves are borne in pairs and deeply veined. Small, 
	loose clusters of greenish flowers at the branch ends, followed by 
	fleshy, orange-red berries 4cm wide.
Climate: 	Tropics and subtropics in southeastern Asia and Australia.
Effects: 	The berries are bitter and very lethal when consumed. 
	Victims of strychnine poisoning suffer violent seizures, sometimes 
	nearly bent in half, without losing consciousness. The face is often 
	distorted into a hideous mask. Death by strychnine can take up to an 
	hour [6D. Make test every ten minutes, subtracting 1 from the power 
	until the power reaches zero or the victim is dead.]

Taxonomy: 	Orchidaceae magisupplus
Cost: 		10Y
Street Index: 	1.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	3/3 days
Appearance: 	A medium sized member of the orchid family, with white 
	petals with black and green flecks toward the center of the flower.
Climate: 	Tropics, Hawaii
Effects: 	Discovered two years ago by a free spirit called Dion 
	Kimber, this Awakened orchid has rapidly infused the magical 
	community, especially magical security companies, and is grown 
	greenhouses everywhere. Although rather commonplace for an orchid, it 
	possesses a pleasing, brilliant astral aura. It is mainly harvested 
	for its ability to raise the background count in areas in which it 
	prospers. The extraneous astral patterns created by a room full of 
	these plants has been called extremely beautiful, and compared in 
	intensity to that within major cathedrals [Background Count = 4].

Taxonomy: 	Rhamnus magifrangula
Cost: 		1,000Y/berry
Street Index: 	5.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	10/4 weeks
Appearance: 	Deciduous shrub, up to 4 meters tall. Glossy oval green 
	leaves, 2-7cm long. Green to grey bark. Small greenish white flowers 
	grow in small clusters at the leaf joints from May to June. Most 
	distinctive are the pea-sized berries which are torus (doughnut) 
	shaped, the only berries ever found that exhibit such a shape. The 
	berries turn from green to red to black.
Climate: 	Eurasia, North Africa, northeast UCAS, Quebec
Effects: 	This plant is the Awakened form of Alder Buckthorn. Eating 
	the berries will, within minutes, make the user more resistant to 
	magical forces. [One berry will give an extra die of magical defense 
	to mundanes and magicians alike, but only for themselves, it cannot 
	be extended to another. Eating berries is cumulative, but only to a 
	number of extra dice equal to one-half Essence (round up). The magic 
	resistance will last for 1d6 hours.]

>>>>>[Only the red berries will help. You can tell if the berries will 
work by looking astrally into the empty center. If the berry is 
effective, the hole will be filled with astral energy.]<<<<<
	-- Quarrel (02:35:18/5-12-54)

Taxonomy: 	Allium magisativum
Cost: 		300Y/bulb
Street Index: 	1.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	5/2 weeks
Appearance: 	With its white bulb, composed of small cloves, and 
	pungent odor, this plant is completely indistinguishable from garlic.
Climate: 	Pastures, open woods. Eastern North America
Effects: 	This Awakened form of garlic provide the basis for the 
	legend that garlic would repel vampires. Vambane reacts strongly with 
	humans and metahumans infected with HMHVV, irritating mucous 
	membranes and irritating skin. Even the odor can cause such effects, 
	although to a much more minor extent.

>>>>>[I don't think this always works. I've only seen it twice, once it 
worked, once it didn't.]<<<<<
	-- Torment (14:45:27/5-28-54)

>>>>>[Could be that it isn't always effective, but I think it more 
likely that you got slotted by your Talismonger. There is absolutely 
no way you can tell vambane from normal garlic. None. Not even 
astrally.]<<<<<
	-- Misha (07:05:20/7-16-54)

>>>>>[Hmm. My experience was that the reason this stuff works is that 
it is a powerful psychological deterrent. Nothing happens immediately 
after exposure, but after about a day, an HMHVV carrier's lungs start 
burning, itching skin, watering eyes, etc. None of this is damaging, 
but can very very distracting because nothing helps the irritation 
and it lasts for months. So, the next time the vamp smells the stuff, 
he runs like hell, if he's smart.]<<<<<
	-- Vanth (06:03:45/8-1-54)

Taxonomy: 	Apocynum magicannabinum
Cost: 		500Y
Street Index: 	3.0
Legality: 	Legal
Availability: 	3/5 weeks
Appearance: 	Branching stems, 1-2 meters tall, with oval to lance-
	shaped leaves in opposite pair. Inconspicuous green-white flowers and 
	18cm slender pods, containing silky, tufted seeds. All parts of the 
	plant produce a bitter, milky sap.
Climate: 	Thickets and fields in Temperate UCAS, often around hemp 
	dogbane plants.
Effects: 	An Awakened form of hemp dogbane, the sap of this plant, 
	when mixed with alcohol, forms a poison lethal to paranormal dog-
	forms, like the bargeist and hellhound [8D, Instant]. A single plant 
	can yield up to 10 doses of this drug.