In my current 3E campaign there is an mind-altering substance which is usually smoked, with the street name "singlemind". It induces a state of singlemindedness --surprise-- which varies in effect from a minor concentration aid to full blown monomania, depending on dosage.
Its highly addictive, and its users range from decadent young nobles at musical performances {who are all grooving to the same chamber music} to magicians working long complex rituals {or in combat} to slaves whose food has been laced with the stuff so as to make them more productive and docile {though this can backfire horribly}. A highly concentrated form can be used, ninja-style, as a weapon, with usually amusing results...
It use is {barely} tolerated because of its use be magicians {usually the younger ones, who are frequently battling addiction, or wrapped in criminal dealingsbecause of their dealers, or better yet, both...}
As a side note, four of the dieties in this worlds pantheon are smokers.
Pairolairo, God of Gamblers and Saint of Aces smokes cigars, often rolled in high-denomination bills from the paper currencies of the world. The tobacco products his temple sell have the magical ability to give people cancer.
Dalhberg Distante, the Dreamer Out of Time smokes small strangely uniform white cigars that are called, in secret ceremonies, "Camel Lights".
Mallec Pearlhammer, the God of Simple Machines, He Who Is All Sizes At Once, invented a reasonable knock-off of the Zippo lighter.
And Nadannya, God of the Yeti, called Noddy Fancypants --hey, he must be their God, he's the one wearing pants-- smokes from a divine hookah. His temple does create magic smoking paraphenalia whose effects effect either INT or CHR {his purpose is to raise the Yeti out of a state of barbarism and into a state of urbanity}.
Sorry for rambling on...
Its highly addictive, and its users range from decadent young nobles at musical performances {who are all grooving to the same chamber music} to magicians working long complex rituals {or in combat} to slaves whose food has been laced with the stuff so as to make them more productive and docile {though this can backfire horribly}. A highly concentrated form can be used, ninja-style, as a weapon, with usually amusing results...
It use is {barely} tolerated because of its use be magicians {usually the younger ones, who are frequently battling addiction, or wrapped in criminal dealingsbecause of their dealers, or better yet, both...}
As a side note, four of the dieties in this worlds pantheon are smokers.
Pairolairo, God of Gamblers and Saint of Aces smokes cigars, often rolled in high-denomination bills from the paper currencies of the world. The tobacco products his temple sell have the magical ability to give people cancer.
Dalhberg Distante, the Dreamer Out of Time smokes small strangely uniform white cigars that are called, in secret ceremonies, "Camel Lights".
Mallec Pearlhammer, the God of Simple Machines, He Who Is All Sizes At Once, invented a reasonable knock-off of the Zippo lighter.
And Nadannya, God of the Yeti, called Noddy Fancypants --hey, he must be their God, he's the one wearing pants-- smokes from a divine hookah. His temple does create magic smoking paraphenalia whose effects effect either INT or CHR {his purpose is to raise the Yeti out of a state of barbarism and into a state of urbanity}.
Sorry for rambling on...
