Pharmacoepia
The Drow of the Underhollow make good use of the variety of herbs and plants found in the Silverweald to treat a variety of ills... and, sometimes, to cause them.
Common drugs:
Silverbark- Steeped in a tea and drunk warm, this bitter concoction will ease all manner of fever and aches.
Toadbore- A rather alarming-looking mushroom that is toxic to eat, Toadbore, when cut into tiiiiiny pieces and carefully made a tincture of, then mixed with a fair quantity of honey, makes a very effective cough aid. It also puts the sufferer right to sleep, which is a much-lauded side effect.
Ka’alithi- Usually found in the form of a salve, smeared on a bruise, cut, or burn, this substance will help numb the wound. Much to the vexation of Silverweald herbalists, it is derived from the sap of a hellishly spiky tree with an impolite name.
Cahl- a common toxin derived from the leaves of the snakeroot plant, it smells and tastes awful and is generally reserved for rat poison. It’s only harmful if ingested, and generally won’t kill an adult drow except through prolonged exposure but will make them very sick. And really, if they’re managing to eat something that tastes that foul, there are larger problems.
Myar- Derived from the sting of the soldier ants of the swarms that produce the honey for vesca, this poison requires contact with the blood to be effective as a poison. The rash it produces is distinctive, and while it sometimes fails to kill, the pain it causes a victim is excruciating. In low doses, though, and administered as a salve to unbroken skin, it’s an effective treatment for fungal and bacterial infections of the skin.
Vidiri- Produced by boiling the petals of a particular flower harvested from the deeper parts of the Silverweald, in low doses this substance induces long, restful sleep, and is therefore a common sleep aid. In middling doses, it induces quick, long-lasting unconsciousness with vivid dreams. In this form, it is often used as a recreational drug or as a nonlethal poison to incapacitate. In high doses, it stops the heart and produces black veining around the wound. It’s harmless to eat, and so is frequently used as a hunting aid in this form (administered to the hunted rather than the hunter, of course), and is standard issue for the army.
Uncommon drugs:
Karuzzu- extracted from the venom glands of a viper found in the Silverweald and preserved with magic, karuzzu is dangerous and expensive to produce. It requires a very low dose to be lethal, but it must be administered via injury and causes seizures and death in seconds.
Xussut- A slow-acting poison, the recipe of which is known only to a few. It is concocted from several ingredients from deep in the Silverweald. A drop in the food or drink, and without potent magical help the victim will be dead within days. However, the poison leaves a distinctive purple staining in the eyes and mouth which leaves little doubt that the death was no accident.
Zukuth- Derived from the venom of a tiny, harmless spider, this is either a potent medicine that can break the toughest fever and steady a faltering heart, or a deadly poison. The difference is, of course, in the dose and it is tragically often an accidental killer in the hands of a well-meaning physician. In the hands of a killer, however, it is prized. While it must be delivered beneath the skin, the smallest scratch can administer a lethal dose and thereafter the victim looks as though he’s simply had a heart attack.
