D&D and Drugs

[Richards]

One of the Underdark races I created for a Dragon article was the snailmen. (They got bumped from the published article, though.) Snailmen often became adventurers specifically to obtain potions of speed, which they found to be extremely addictive. Nowadays I guess they'd be snailfolk addicted to potions of haste.

 

[sepulchrave]

Saruman remarks to Gandalf that "His love of the halfling's weed has clouded his mind

Unless I am mistaken, this is a quote from the movie, NOT the book. I'll happily retract if you can find a page refeference.

Pipeweed IS tobacco. I quote:

The hobbits "imbibed or inhaled, through pipes of clay or wood, the smoke of the burning leaves of a herb, which they called pipe-weed of leaf, a variety probably of Nicotiana ."

From "Concerning Pipeweed" in Prologue to (Lord of the Rings (Collector's Edition, p. 17. Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 1987).

Nicotiana = tobacco genus.

 

[Desdichado]

From the Prologue to the Lord of the Rings (pg. 28 of the soft-cover of Fellowship of the Rings:

There is another thing about the Hobbits of old that must be mentioned, an astonishing habit: they imbibed or inhaled, through pipes of clay or wood, the smoke of the burning leaves of an herb, which they called pipe-weed or leaf, a variety probably of Nicotiana.

Besides, your logic of equating Saruman's use of the word weed with the modern slang term weed is an anachronism. I don't believe that weed meant marijuana as a slang term until sometime in the sixties.

Now, on the real topic at hand: this would probably work better of some kind of addiction mechanic were added to these potions, and maybe potential side effects as well. But the more I think about it, the more I like it! This would be a very different take on things, and the typical adventurer would suddenly become an illegal drug-user! My mind is already whirring with the possibilities...

 

[RogueJK]

Okay, I concede the point. I was basing my statement off of a article I had read regarding hidden drug use in literature. Obviously, the author was misinformed.

 

[KingThorvar]

I am a police officer.

I do not promote the use of drugs even in a fantasy campaign setting. It's too close to home, especially for some of my younger players that are trying hard to stay away from such things.

If any of you think that marijuana or ecstasy won't hurt you, you are certainly mistaken... so don't even "play" with them in your games.

 

[RogueJK]

I'm not trying to promote drug use, but it's my opinion that someone who is mature enough to handle the violence, death, and even small amount of nudity involved with D&D and other RPGs shouldn't have a problem with drug use in-game.

By your line of thought, there shouldn't be any fighting, killing, or thievery in our games.

I agree, however, that in the case of young children playing, the violence and other "adult aspects" should be toned down.

This goes back to the whole concept of being able to distinguish between fantasy and reality. People hopefully know that while their character may kill or steal, they shouldn't. Also, if people in the fantasy setting use drugs, that doesn't necessarily mean that the player will in real life.

 

[Azure Trance]

For those who aren't that uncomfortable with the idea of drugs within your campaign (whether due to decedant nobles, inner city slums, or whatever), try finding Desmond Reids "AD&D Guide To Drugs." 2nd Edition, but it has a variety of different drugs which has both bonuses and penalties. It even has an addiction table among other things.

 

[rounser]

If any of you think that marijuana or ecstasy won't hurt you, you are certainly mistaken... so don't even "play" with them in your games.

It's okay to depict extreme violence in an RPG, but not narcotics use?

What about the common depiction of drug use in popular media?

Hmm...I think you're working a double standard on a couple of levels here...

 

[KingThorvar]

By your line of thought, there shouldn't be any fighting, killing, or thievery in our games.

Way off base.

It's not difficult to keep fantasy and reality separate with things like killing... no sane person is going to think that killing is okay.

Most people are easily swayed with drugs.. I work as a School Resource Officer in a middle school.. so I see kids completely change overnight simply from becoming friends with the wrong crowd and doing things that change their way of thinking.

Too many people in this world think that drugs are okay, and I do whatever I can to keep people away from them.

 

[Drew]

"So, Sir Rodin, at last you have come to face me, Kheldpar, Blackgaurd of Ashmire! This is a moment I have been waiting for since our fateful meeting at Geston's Point. Two of us shall enter the battlegrounds, but only one will walk away."

"(giggle, giggle) You know what man, what's all the fighting about anyway? I've got a better idea. How about we both just sit down and mellow out for a while? Here, turn up that Pink Floyd at little bit. That's better. Hey, are those trail rations you've got there? Oh man, are you gonna eat those? I'm so hungry."
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I'm not entirely against drugs in D&D, although they don't really have a big place in my campaign. While I see how they could work as a plot element, inclusion of their stats seems like it would encourage immature roleplayers to be...well...immature.

The last thing I want to hear about is how some munchkin's psion smokes weed.

PS: Hidden drug use in literature is one of the silliest things I've ever heard. How do you have hidden drug use in a book? If the author writes "He smoked tobacco" then that's what happened. Whatever happens in a book is, by default, true. What I mean is, if Tolkein writes "Bilbo put on his hat" then that is indeed what happened. It is not open to discussion.

To claim that the author really meant marijuana is like saying that Frodo Baggins is really a Pigmy Cookie Chef. Sure Tolkien says "Hobbit," but that's not what he MEANS. Sheesh.