Thursday, June 25, 2009

Potion of Forgetting (Magic Item)

I’ve been fixated on The Mirror of Fixation a bit and somehow that lead to thinking about magic that can cause one to forget. In a sense, the Mirror of Fixation does this, forcing you to forget everything except love of self. But there is similar magic which isn't so focused in its effect. Unlisted in Dungeons & Dragons rules until the advent of AD&D is the 2nd level magic user spell “Forget”. While it’s ironic that a magic user will forget the Forget spell after casting it per the usual D&D magic rules, it’s also ironic that it seems to be forgotten from the D20 SRD.

Fine, adapting the Forget spell from OSRIC or the 1E Player's Handbook for use with Labyrinth Lord is not a problem, but I can't find explicit references to Potions with the same effect in the old D&D rules sets (including 1E). It seems unfair to let the Harry Potter fans hoard their Potions of Forgetfulness. So like the Mirror of Fixation, not finding this previously described in our game's ancient tomes I felt obliged to "create" and document this simple item here...
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Potion of Forgetting

This tasteless and colorless liquid substance will wipe all memory of recent events from the person who imbibes it. The potion's effects are permanent and will generally remove all trace of the last hour's worth of memory (save allowed vs. Spells/Spell-Like Devices), although sometimes less: experienced alchemists know that Potions of Forgetting are notorious for losing their efficacy over time. Legends tell of more powerful Potions of Forgetting which have been known to wash away memories weeks or even years old, but these are extremely rare.

Every imaginable sort of trickery and deceipt have been accomplished through the use of this item. Because of the difficulty in detecting its presence, it's often used to spike food or drink. Potent stuff, it can even be thrown into the face and eyes of an individual (saving throw made at +2). Known to be used in traps as a liquid projectile, spies and thieves are still very fond of and familiar with this potion. When else can you throw what appears to be your drink directly into the face of a bartender, resulting only in the convenient erasure of your tab?

Strangely, some folk have been known to willingly imbibe or wash their own eyes with this potion after witnessing something incredibly horrible (thanks Al!) ... As there may be a slightly addictive quality to the potion when taken repeatedly in such a manner, dungeoneers are encouraged to stick to the equally addictive but cheaper and probably safer liquids of scotch, ale, and mead when dealing with heart or sword break.

2 comments:

Chris said...

Oooh, waters of Lethe. Very (Phil K.) Dickian. GJ.

Don Snabulus said...

That's a good one. I just can't remember what "that" is. Do I know you?

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