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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Another "Magic breaks the economy" thread
- Thread starter Greenfield
- Start date
RUMBLETiGER
Adventurer
Would Fabricate reduce a solid stone to powder?
I'd also imagine submersing this now-salt-statue into water would eventually dissolve it, if you have a contained pool, you could then draw the salt out by evaporation or another process.
I like @am181d 's comment about eating pit fiend salt and the like. reminds me a little of the City Built Around A Tarrasque. Madness and mutations could be fascinating.
This could be a really neat plot hook, where your PC's are sent to investigate a mysterious wealthy merchant who went from being a nobody to high society by cornering the salt market, out producing all the other methods of other merchants. His salt is very popular, and some people appear addicted, some seem to be turning crazy, some seem to be getting sick..., etc. PCs investigate his warehouse and find that it's a factory, where he takes (Insert interesting creature acquired by questionable methods), casts this spell on them, and tosses the entire now salt rock into a grinding machine.
EDIT: This is my 1000th post! Yay for "Grinding Bones to Make My Bread!"
I'd also imagine submersing this now-salt-statue into water would eventually dissolve it, if you have a contained pool, you could then draw the salt out by evaporation or another process.
I like @am181d 's comment about eating pit fiend salt and the like. reminds me a little of the City Built Around A Tarrasque. Madness and mutations could be fascinating.
This could be a really neat plot hook, where your PC's are sent to investigate a mysterious wealthy merchant who went from being a nobody to high society by cornering the salt market, out producing all the other methods of other merchants. His salt is very popular, and some people appear addicted, some seem to be turning crazy, some seem to be getting sick..., etc. PCs investigate his warehouse and find that it's a factory, where he takes (Insert interesting creature acquired by questionable methods), casts this spell on them, and tosses the entire now salt rock into a grinding machine.
EDIT: This is my 1000th post! Yay for "Grinding Bones to Make My Bread!"
Last edited:
Greenfield
Adventurer
Actually, while Fabricate would work, Shatter does nasty things to crystaline beings, structures and objects and is much more available.
The normal process for mining salt involves soaking salt bearing rocks in water, so the salt dissolves and the rest of the rock stays behind. Then the water is spread in evaporating trays and left in the sun. What's left is chipped out of the trays and ground the the desired consistency.
Like I've said, for our game I'll just specify that the salt is inherently tainted with the blood of the creature it used to be, and completely unsuitable for normal use without extensive processing.
As for it's value? It isn't just a condiment or "food additive". It's necessary for life, a neuro-electrolyte. Soldiers used to get part of their pay in salt, and a man who "wasn't worth his salt" was one who wasn't worth keeping alive.
Look up the history of Salzburg some time. Two guesses how it got it's name, or what sort of trade was the foundation for its wealth.
Or, look at the New York Times articles on the Civil war (Disunion, in the Op-Ed pages), and the impact a salt shortage had on the Confederate war effort. Shortages of salt due to the blockade of European imports made it hard to preserve foods, so that even though the Southern states were huge agricultural producers, they were in a constant struggle to feed their armies.
Or do a bit of research on the "Great Hedge of India" ( Inland Customs Line - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ), erected to control the salt trade.
The history of salt is the history of the world.
The normal process for mining salt involves soaking salt bearing rocks in water, so the salt dissolves and the rest of the rock stays behind. Then the water is spread in evaporating trays and left in the sun. What's left is chipped out of the trays and ground the the desired consistency.
Like I've said, for our game I'll just specify that the salt is inherently tainted with the blood of the creature it used to be, and completely unsuitable for normal use without extensive processing.
As for it's value? It isn't just a condiment or "food additive". It's necessary for life, a neuro-electrolyte. Soldiers used to get part of their pay in salt, and a man who "wasn't worth his salt" was one who wasn't worth keeping alive.
Look up the history of Salzburg some time. Two guesses how it got it's name, or what sort of trade was the foundation for its wealth.
Or, look at the New York Times articles on the Civil war (Disunion, in the Op-Ed pages), and the impact a salt shortage had on the Confederate war effort. Shortages of salt due to the blockade of European imports made it hard to preserve foods, so that even though the Southern states were huge agricultural producers, they were in a constant struggle to feed their armies.
Or do a bit of research on the "Great Hedge of India" ( Inland Customs Line - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ), erected to control the salt trade.
The history of salt is the history of the world.
Greenfield
Adventurer
Invasion? Your plan is to turn the finely ground salt into finely ground monsters?
Cunning, cunning...
Cunning, cunning...
xigbar
Explorer
Stealing this idea.
kitcik
Adventurer
OK, if we're going to take this to the dark side... think swarms.
Greenfield
Adventurer
Is there a market for Troll-burger? 
Jack Simth
First Post
Yes, you just need to pick a monster that's OK with being finely ground. Anything with Regeneration, really.
end of the world
First Post
you're missing out on an incredible opportunity here. here's a plan to put this salt-minting scheme out of play for good.
let them go ahead and make a lot of money at this, turning people, mules, dragons, whatever, into salt, and sell it in the town.
they grow richer in coin, power, and prestige, until they're invited to a royal banquet. the lord, or king, or whatever hosts them at his table, along with a bunch of knights, and everyone is enjoying all the salty goodness.
and then the king's whisperer, who has been planning this all along, has one of the mages in his employ dispel it. suddenly the table is crawling with animal guts, crawling human body parts, and abominable mixes of creatures who attack the pcs, the lord, the knights, and all of the guests.
if they survive the battle against the living dinner, then they are at the mercy of a very pissed off lord, and his very pissed off knights. best case scenerio, they are stripped of all of their wealth, power, and reputation, and sent into exile.
let them go ahead and make a lot of money at this, turning people, mules, dragons, whatever, into salt, and sell it in the town.
they grow richer in coin, power, and prestige, until they're invited to a royal banquet. the lord, or king, or whatever hosts them at his table, along with a bunch of knights, and everyone is enjoying all the salty goodness.
and then the king's whisperer, who has been planning this all along, has one of the mages in his employ dispel it. suddenly the table is crawling with animal guts, crawling human body parts, and abominable mixes of creatures who attack the pcs, the lord, the knights, and all of the guests.
if they survive the battle against the living dinner, then they are at the mercy of a very pissed off lord, and his very pissed off knights. best case scenerio, they are stripped of all of their wealth, power, and reputation, and sent into exile.
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