Specialty Drinks For Your Fantasy Games

During a recent game session, I had an NPC introduce one of the players (my wife) to an alcoholic beverage, Sangwyvernis, Blood of the Wyvern. A specialty whiskey, aged with the venomous stinger of a wyvern's tail inside the bottle. It was meant to be a small, yet interesting detail dropped into the adventure, with no idea that it would spark my wife into asking me what other "interesting" concoctions where available in the campaign. Honestly, except for a few dwarven ales, I had never really given the subject matter much thought.

After the session, my wife immediately grabbed the AD&D Monster Manual (1st edition) and fired up Google. Armed with a few quick answers about exotic real-world drinks, she decided that she'd use tidbits from various spell components, and details from some likely monster descriptions, to create a list of original specialty drinks to be used in our campaign. The following drinks are just the tip of the iceberg to come.

Effects of Alcohol and Drugs can be found on pages 82-83 of the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide. Feel free to use whatever other rules you prefer.

Specialty Drinks:

Essence of Will-O-(The)-Wisp: When imbibed, the drinker will be surrounded by a shimmering luminescent glow, similar to that of a Will-O-Wisp, for 70 - 120 minutes (60 minutes + 1d6 x 10). The user will also have a faint static electrical aura that will cause small, but not unpleasant, shocks to those who come into close physical contact. During this time, the drinker will naturally draw the attention of those around them.

Cost: 100 gold pieces per bottle

Contents: 6 glasses

Brightwine: A sweet tasting wine, made with enchanted powdered agate. Induces a light euphoric hallucinogenic state, that makes colors appear much more vibrant than they actually are.

Cost: 50 gold pieces per bottle

Contents: 6 glasses

Eel Wine: A strong rice wine, fermented with the body of a poisonous eel inside the bottle. The drinker suffers the debilitating effects of alcohol as if they have consumed twice as many drinks than normal. If the drinker passes out from drinking too much, a Save (+2 to the roll) vs Poison must be made or death occurs.

Cost: 30 gold pieces per bottle

Contents: 6 glasses

Sangwyvernis, (Blood of the Wyvern): A specialty whiskey, aged with the venomous tail stinger of a wyvern in the bottle. This drink is very smooth with a hell of a kick, and quickly numbs away any aches and pains.

Cost: 60 gold pieces per bottle

Contents: 25 normal shots, or 16 large shot glasses

Mo'shyugh:  A powerful drink made by orcs, not  meant for human consumption! This strong liquor is fermented from the dried dung of an Otyugh. Non-orcs can drink it, but it tastes vile, and requires a Save vs Poison (per drink) to not vomit. Each drink counts as three drinks for the purposes of inebriation effects. Often pickled Rot Grubs are added to the bottle during aging. Eating a grub will induce feelings of invulnerability and deaden pain for an hour (add +1d4 temporary hit points to the drinker, non-cumulative, for the next hour).

Cost: 50 gold pieces per gallon jug (usually unavailable to non-orcs)

Contents: 8 pint mugs

Fire Lizard Brandy: A strong brandy, mixed with the powdered fire-producing glands of a Fire Lizard, and aged for at least three years. It has a fierce burning flavor, with a smoky aftertaste. It must be sipped slowly and savored, or the drinker may end up with smoke coming from their mouth and nostrils.

Cost: 70 gold pieces per bottle
Contents: 6 glasses