Bottomless Bottle o' Rum [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Talya

2011-08-21, 03:32 PM

In my pirate game, one of my players is a drunken seacliff dwarf ranger. Even without optimizing much, this guy is reasonably effective at level 7. He weilds a pair of Dwarven Waraxes, has the flaws Shakey and Unreactive. (Yes, I know -6 to initiative is a bad idea, but it suits the character well. He's a complete drunk), and can dish out some effective damage while having so much constitution he's got the hit points to absorb anything we throw at him. He's a skill monkey (high str, high con, high int, medium wis, dump dex/cha) who knows a lot and can do a lot, a captain-ahab like ex-pirate captain who lost his ship and all hands to a sea monster, and now spends his days consuming rum and lying passed out on deck when not fighting.

As a somewhat jokish reward type of item that might also be very useful in situations, I'm thinking of giving him a Bottomless Bottle o' Rum (somewhat like a decanter of endless water.) I just don't want him breaking it too badly, and as there's no elemental plane of rum from which to draw the rum, it has to be conjuration (creation) based, which might limit it further.(Besides, I don't want him using it to spray an endless jet of rum that he can set on fire like a flamethrower.) But I don't want it so limited as the tankard of endless grog i've seen around somewhere, either.

Thoughts?

TurtleKing

2011-08-21, 03:39 PM

Let see the there is a magical mug that can conjure a limited amount a liquid per day. You could just make this a larger version conjuring a larger amount but limited to rum. I think the magical mug was able to do it 3/day so could maybe have same limitations.

darksolitaire

2011-08-21, 03:46 PM

Would it be appropriate that the Bottle only conjured rum when the dwarf was drinking from it, and only conjure water for anyone else?

RedWarrior0

2011-08-21, 04:03 PM

Would it be appropriate that the Bottle only conjured rum when the dwarf was drinking from it, and only conjure water for anyone else?

"My Rum. You don't get any!"

"But... it's endless."

"I can drink it all."

And besides, being the DM, who says you can't have an Elemental Plane of Alcohol?

darksolitaire

2011-08-21, 04:10 PM

"My Rum. You don't get any!"

"But... it's endless."

"I can drink it all."

And besides, being the DM, who says you can't have an Elemental Plane of Alcohol?

Ok, that IS better.

Making the bottle o' rum have a compulsion effect that simply doesn't allow sharing it.:smallamused:

RedWarrior0

2011-08-21, 04:14 PM

A compulsion effect which causes you to believe sharing it will cause you to never be able to drink alcohol again?

NOhara24

2011-08-21, 04:29 PM

And besides, being the DM, who says you can't have an Elemental Plane of Alcohol?

Our campaign has one. Our party is in possession of two of the portals there, actually. (Empty pitchers that respond to audio cues.) Someone says "Inebriate"? The pitcher starts spraying ale at tremendous pressure, enough to flood a medium sized room in minutes.

twas_Brillig

2011-08-21, 06:08 PM

And besides, being the DM, who says you can't have an Elemental Plane of Alcohol?

A few thoughts on why you need to do this:

1) Creates the (booze) subschool

2) Your dudes are pirates. This is an ocean of alcohol. Adventure hooks abound.

3) Booze elementals.

4) Energy Substitution (Rum). (This is...a bit of a stretch.)

5) Booze Genies

NNescio

2011-08-21, 06:22 PM

(Besides, I don't want him using it to spray an endless jet of rum that he can set on fire like a flamethrower.)

Normal rums are usually less than 100 proof and are not that flammable (at least not without prewarming (http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/ethanol-water-d_989.html)).

Just don't give him Bacardi 151.

TurtleKing

2011-08-21, 06:32 PM

Or a Pan Galatic Gargule Blaster! Those can go nuclear!:smallbiggrin:

MammonAzrael

2011-08-21, 07:17 PM

The Everfull Mug can be found on page 160 of the MIC. At 200 gp it can be filled 3 times a day with water, cheap ale, or watery wine. This should be your starting point. In fact, what you reward him with can be a specially modified Everfull Mug (when identified it is noted as an everfull mug...but unusual).

Have the mug capable of making nothing but rum. It can make any type of rum, but it must be rum (you could also go with guinness, so he can live off it). You could have it key to a single person (say, the next pirate captain that the dwarf kills, and then inherits the mug) or you could have it keyed to dwarves only, etc.

To prevent abuse - It is an Unspillable Everfull Mug. The mug is always full. If drained, it refills in a round. And drinking is the only method of getting the liquid out. You can't dump it out. You can't siphon it. If your drink it, you are compelled to swallow. If you dunk cloth in it, things will act normally...until you pull the cloth out, which will emerge bone dry.

Bhaakon

2011-08-21, 07:49 PM

and as there's no elemental plane of rum from which to draw the rum, it has to be conjuration (creation) based,

It would be pretty hilarious if instead of creating rum, it siphoned it from other sources. The PC goes on a bender and suddenly a ship full of completely sober pirates show up to in search of the man magically filching their alcohol.

Talya

2011-08-21, 08:38 PM

RedWarrior0

2011-08-21, 09:08 PM

Now this...has plot potential.

While you're at it, make it a bunch of sober dwarf pirates.

Also, have you shown said player the Drunken Master PrC?

Ravens_cry

2011-08-21, 09:31 PM

Kol Korran

2011-08-22, 08:43 AM

not sure if it would help, but maybe a thought:
- have the rum mug be intelligent, speaking to the dwarf only, telepathically (if you use notes to players this could be excellent) if the dward says the mug speaks to him, most likely the others will roll their eyes "yeah right!"

- the mug could call the dwarf to do all kind of simple mischief (if it's the intelligence of a trickster spirit) or perhaps slightly objectionable or "Grey" acts (testing it if it's more of a fiendish spirit), or perhaps strange seemingly innocent things ("paint "The Blue Doplpihn on the bow of the third ship in the dock. break the wheel of THAT cart) and so on. these later prove to cause a cascading chain of events into the group is drawn to. of course for especially malign spirits, or those with w wicked sense of humor)

- rewards and punishments: the mug could keep eluding to special alcohol it can create for the dwarf, of which the likes he never tasted! everytime the dwarf follows through, the mug can produce a limite amount of highly addictive special brew. these brews can have various effects- lamable, causing greater rage, greater physical stats for a while, traits of another creature, really really really loud burps (sonic damage) and so on/ i suggest you make them cool and thematic to appeal to the dwarf

if he doesn't follow through or otherwise insults the mug, the rum makes him sick, or comatose, or suffer, or perhaps suddenly his friends are strangely intoxicated, or the like. not too dibilitating (unless it fits the campaign)

- the main idea is that there should be a special relationship between mug and owner. i'm thinking of something of a parsonality between a halfling ale seller, an old cackling hag, and a seductive succubus.

- getting rid of the mug: preferably the mug will prove fun enough as to not to get to that point. but if it happens, i suggest it to be quite harder than it looks. a bit like a minor artifact. if it's broken or thrown away, the dwarf awake with it in his hand when he next awake, the mug brimming with booze. (and some mischief is a foot as compensation for the insult!) i have no idea what it takes to get rid of the mug entirely, but it should be quite a challenge to find out, and prevent the mug from getting them into too deep a trouble ("the one ring?" pfffft!) io doubt that many libraries and temples have much info on an alcohol producing alcohol mug

damn! now i really have to use this in my campaign!
hope you like it :smallsmile:

Nachtritter

2011-08-22, 09:21 AM

Hold on.

What proof is this never-ending supply of rum? Because if I were a PC, I wouldn't be drinking it.

I'd be fueling fires with it.

BlueInc

2011-08-22, 09:26 AM

It would be pretty hilarious if instead of creating rum, it siphoned it from other sources. The PC goes on a bender and suddenly a ship full of completely sober pirates show up to in search of the man magically filching their alcohol.

Had a minor bad guy in a campaign with a coin purse that went directly to his treasury; only the owner of the treasury could use the bag. Essentially, he could access most of his possessions without actually carrying them around.

Worked out pretty well for him until the PCs located his treasury, broke into it, and looted the whole place XD

- - - - - - - - - - - -

As far as the OP is concerned, what about a vessel that turns water and cheap alcohol into excellent rum? That way it's not creating anything, but will get him his desire quickly and cheaply (mug of seawater, anyone?).

RedWarrior0

2011-08-22, 09:27 AM

Hold on.

What proof is this never-ending supply of rum? Because if I were a PC, I wouldn't be drinking it.

I'd be fueling fires with it.

210 proof. However, she explicitly stated she doesn't want the dwarf to be fueling fires with it.

Talya

2011-08-22, 09:28 AM

Hold on.

What proof is this never-ending supply of rum? Because if I were a PC, I wouldn't be drinking it.

I'd be fueling fires with it.

yeah.

Besides, I don't want him using it to spray an endless jet of rum that he can set on fire like a flamethrower.

I actually don't mind if he fuels small fires with it. he's got a bit of Craft (Alchemy.) He occasionally makes "rum grenades" even with the rum supply he has. (It's just alchemist's fire reflavored.)

Nachtritter

2011-08-22, 09:38 AM

I actually don't mind if he fuels small fires with it. he's got a bit of Craft (Alchemy.) He occasionally makes "rum grenades" even with the rum supply he has. (It's just alchemist's fire reflavored.)

Oh dear.

Everything in your campaign has suddenly become tinder. I hope you don't plan on angering the PCs soon, because if you do, everything will burn.

Stix

2011-08-22, 05:18 PM

i believe it may already have been touched on but i had to mention it.

gin djinn

also if you really wanna make sure he can't exploit the flavor item:
-it can't be poured out of the bottle except directly into the owner's mouth. no other way to get rum out. if he really wants to exploit it then he's selling dwarven mouthwash (slightly used)

Keld Denar

2011-08-22, 05:27 PM

If there's a quasielemental plane of ranch (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0802.html), then there is most definitely a quasielemental plane of RUM.

MammonAzrael

2011-08-22, 05:36 PM

If there's a quasielemental plane of ranch (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0802.html), then there is most definitely a quasielemental plane of RUM.

Thats assuming that people haven't already discovered it and drained it dry. I don't care if its an infinite expanse of a plane made out of rum. They're pirates, and they'd find a way, damnit! :smallbiggrin:

deuxhero

2011-08-22, 06:20 PM

Give him the Ibuki Gourd (http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Suika_Ibuki).A quick check of google says sake is not flamable.

Crasical

2011-08-22, 06:34 PM

Give him the Ibuki Gourd (http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Suika_Ibuki).A quick check of google says sake is not flamable.

Sake's not piratey!

I've been considering making a Psionic Warrior pirate who uses that summon Object power to summon bottles of wine, but the duration is measured in hours and the object returns from whence it came after the duration's up. I'm not really sure what happens if I summon something and drink it. Does it teleport out of my body? Do I send back a bottle of piss?

deuxhero

2011-08-22, 06:37 PM

Exactly. Why have it make good booze? Infinite x items generally produce low quality goods.

Alefiend

2011-08-22, 09:56 PM

210 proof. However, she explicitly stated she doesn't want the dwarf to be fueling fires with it.

Umm, 210 proof doesn't exist, as that would be more than 100% alcohol. I have personal experience with spirits of 150-180 proof, and I can tell you it will murder the digestive system of anybody but your dwarf.

Knaight

2011-08-22, 10:36 PM

I have personal experience with spirits of 150-180 proof, and I can tell you it will murder the digestive system of anybody but your dwarf.

And I thought moonshine was a relic of the past.

MammonAzrael

2011-08-22, 10:42 PM

And isn't rum usually around 80 proof? Though I could easily see pirates preferring something with a bit more kick.

Arundel

2011-08-22, 10:45 PM

Bacardi 151 is both commercially available and successful, everclear goes up to 195 proof. Edit: <100 proof doesn't reliably burn.

You need to make it intelligent as suggested, then have the item transfer it from the plane of rum. The mug can start talking to the PC in his dreams, seeking help for the Rum Golems. Watch as he tries to convince the party they need to planeshift to the plane of rum.

Knaight

2011-08-22, 10:46 PM

And isn't rum usually around 80 proof? Though I could easily see pirates preferring something with a bit more kick.

80 proof is still a good 40% alcohol. The proof is the half percent, so anything above 20 is pretty damn high.

Bacardi 151 is both commercially available and successful, everclear goes up to 195 proof. Edit: <100 proof doesn't reliably burn.
Everclear basically is moonshine. As for Bacardi, fair enough, though that is still only 151 proof, and nowhere near true moonshine levels. In any case, it was a semi sarcastic comment to begin with.

RedWarrior0

2011-08-22, 10:59 PM

Umm, 210 proof doesn't exist, as that would be more than 100% alcohol.
I know. That's why I said 210 proof. How, you ask? A (dwarven pirate) wizard did it.

theMycon

2011-08-22, 11:12 PM

And I thought moonshine was a relic of the past.
'Round here (North Carolina), you can buy not just moonshine, not just Everclear (190 proof grain alcohol), but OFF-BRAND Everclear, in state-owned liquor stores. It's something like $8/750 mL, makes most people ill just putting it in their mouths (swallowing not necessary), and once you light it on fire, blowing on it doesn't put it out. You have to smother it until the oxygen is all used up, or dilute it enough that it just won't burn anymore. I've had more than one friend accidentally set their faces on fire by expecting it to go out after they blew it out.

Also, the moonshine is sold in adorable little mason jars the proudly announce they were made from local corn. The flavor varies noticeably from jar to jar, and the label claims it "averages to" about 110 proof.

(Note: Above 190 (or is it 195?) proof, alcohol is so dry that it physically sucks the water from the atmosphere to "drop itself down" to 190 (195?) proof. So it has to be in a sealed, air-tight container to stay that concentrated.)

Nachtritter

2011-08-23, 08:34 AM

Umm, 210 proof doesn't exist, as that would be more than 100% alcohol. I have personal experience with spirits of 150-180 proof, and I can tell you it will murder the digestive system of anybody but your dwarf.

Dude, it's magic rum. I figure in a fantasy world, 210 proof is possible.

... which makes it MUCH more flammable. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Talya

2011-08-23, 09:14 AM

Nachtritter

2011-08-23, 09:23 AM

The only way to have 210 proof rum, even in D&D's magical world, is to have a killer gnome cast use minor image to mimic a conjuration (creation) spell to make shadow rum, with a quasi-reality higher than 100%.

... That sounds awesome.

<lich>
BEHOLD, ADVENTURERS! THE RUM... OF SHADOWS
</lich>

Seriously though, what do you mean by "killer gnome?"

Feytalist

2011-08-23, 09:55 AM

The only way to have 210 proof rum, even in D&D's magical world, is to have a killer gnome cast use minor image to mimic a conjuration (creation) spell to make shadow rum, with a quasi-reality higher than 100%.

You'll have to have them disbelieve its real rum first, though. Try doing that to a drunk dwarf.

MammonAzrael

2011-08-23, 09:56 AM

... That sounds awesome.

<lich>
BEHOLD, ADVENTURERS! THE RUM... OF SHADOWS
</lich>

Seriously though, what do you mean by "killer gnome?"

Its a specific build that uses a gnome-specific PrC and cheese to cast shadow conjuration (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shadowConjuration.htm) spells that are more than 100% real. Also with enough cheese can be casting miracles from 1st level slots.

Keld Denar

2011-08-23, 11:20 AM

Also with enough cheese can be casting miracles from 0th level slots.
Fix't.

Don't forget about the Gnome Illusionist ACF from RoStone.

Also, the actual Miracle part is debatable.

Nachtritter

2011-08-23, 11:45 AM

Its a specific build that uses a gnome-specific PrC and cheese to cast shadow conjuration (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shadowConjuration.htm) spells that are more than 100% real. Also with enough cheese can be casting miracles from 1st level slots.

Ah. So it's a broken class combo.

Dangit, 3.5/3.75, how is it that everything you do is so broken?

Cieyrin

2011-08-23, 12:44 PM

Ah. So it's a broken class combo.

Dangit, 3.5/3.75, how is it that everything you do is so broken?

There are plenty of things that are broken the other way, too, it should be noted. There's a reason people have instituted a Tier system to describe differing scales of power.

RedWarrior0

2011-08-23, 01:01 PM

What I was thinking for 210 proof: It's 105 percent alcohol by volume. Thus, drinking a shot of it would be like drinking 1.05 shots of pure alcohol. It would weigh 1.05 times as much for a given volume, burning it would give off 1.05 times as much of everything, and so on. It's perfectly normal pure ethyl alcohol, except that it's in a smaller container (divide the size by 1.05) than should be physically possible. Shouldn't be much harder than a 4th or 5th level spell to make, honestly. Heck, you could probably cheese some prestidigitation into making it.

Keld Denar

2011-08-23, 01:10 PM

Except for the fact that nearly all fluids are non-compressable*. Gasses? I could see, but not fluids.

Especially since when you pressurize a fluid, its heat of vaporization drops, making it less likely to become a gas. Water at ~30 lbs pressure can be heated to ~225-230 without flashing into steam, for example. If you put 30 lbs of pressure on a gallon of pure ethyl alcohol, it would still have a volume of one gallon. If you put 300 tons of pressure on a gallon of pure ethyl alcohol, it'll still have a volume of one gallon.

Its best not to try to wrap your noggin around things that are "more real than reality" WRT real life. This way madness lies.

*I say nearly, since I'm not aware of any, but then again, I know that I don't know anything, and physics is a wierd place.

Mr.Smashy

2011-08-23, 01:47 PM

RedWarrior0

2011-08-23, 02:36 PM

Except for the fact that nearly all fluids are non-compressable

Ergo, magic.

Talya

2011-08-23, 04:26 PM

Nothing is "Uncompressable."

http://www.donandcarla.com/Celestia/cel_scripting/BlackHole.jpg

Nachtritter

2011-08-23, 07:34 PM

Nothing is "Uncompressable."

http://www.donandcarla.com/Celestia/cel_scripting/BlackHole.jpg

Yeah, but unless you have a black hole at your beck and call 24/7, some things are still damned hard to compress beyond a certain point.

Slipperychicken

2011-08-23, 08:26 PM

Yeah, but unless you have a black hole at your beck and call 24/7, some things are still damned hard to compress beyond a certain point.

This dwarf is going to have the plane of rum at his beck and call 24/7. A (very drunk) wizard did it.

Knaight

2011-08-23, 11:24 PM

Yeah, but unless you have a black hole at your beck and call 24/7, some things are still damned hard to compress beyond a certain point.

Fluids can be compressed just fine. The issue is doing it without a phase change. Gases, meanwhile, can have a huge variety of pressures while remaining gaseous, and that difference can be phrased as "most fluids are non-compressible", as "unless compressed into a solid" is a safe assumption afterwards.

Seerow

2011-08-23, 11:31 PM

And I thought moonshine was a relic of the past.

Strong alcohol will NEVER become a relic of the past. It just gets renamed.

On an unrelated note, I had some everclear while playing D&D one night a few years back. That stuff will get you drunk fast as anything, but I'll be damned if it isn't one of the worst things I'd ever tasted. I'll stick with my whiskey any day.

Talya

2011-08-23, 11:51 PM

Strong alcohol will NEVER become a relic of the past. It just gets renamed.

On an unrelated note, I had some everclear while playing D&D one night a few years back. That stuff will get you drunk fast as anything, but I'll be damned if it isn't one of the worst things I'd ever tasted. I'll stick with my whiskey any day.

Real absinthe is a decent compromise, if you like the taste of anise.

Feytalist

2011-08-24, 03:42 AM

Strong alcohol will NEVER become a relic of the past. It just gets renamed.

We made mampoer (essentially South African moonshine) from all kinds of fruits in a small homemade distillery on the roof of our residence in university. It helped that one of the guys studied agriculture engineering. The best was made from mangoes, if I recall. I think we managed to get it up to 40 proof.

How we didn't all get alcohol poisoning, no-one will ever know.

Also, absinthe is the devil.

Anyway, to get this topic slightly back on track, have you decided what to do about the evermug bottle of rum?

Alefiend

2011-08-24, 04:02 AM

Real absinthe is a decent compromise, if you like the taste of anise.

Pleasant, but too much work. Jaegermeister FTW (for certain values of "win," that is). :smallbiggrin:

2xMachina

2011-08-24, 04:07 AM

Fluids can be compressed just fine. The issue is doing it without a phase change. Gases, meanwhile, can have a huge variety of pressures while remaining gaseous, and that difference can be phrased as "most fluids are non-compressible", as "unless compressed into a solid" is a safe assumption afterwards.

Ah. Solid Rum.

deuxhero

2011-08-24, 04:48 AM

^Won't it melt after a patch?

Ravens_cry

2011-08-24, 04:56 AM

Real absinthe is a decent compromise, if you like the taste of anise.
It tasted (and looked like) mint mouthwash with a wee bit of liquorish taste in the back. I much preferred sambuca.

Talya

2011-08-24, 07:09 AM

It tasted (and looked like) mint mouthwash with a wee bit of liquorish taste in the back. I much preferred sambuca.

There's no mint flavor in absinthe (the green is just a byproduct of the flavoring leaves - anise and wormwood - soaking chlorophyll into the mix. To know how much mint flavor chlorophyll has, eat a green lettuce leaf). However, it's come to my attention that it was never fully legalized in the USA (legal to use and possess, but not legal to sell), so it becomes more work.

Knaight

2011-08-24, 12:32 PM

It tasted (and looked like) mint mouthwash with a wee bit of liquorish taste in the back. I much preferred sambuca.

Sambuca is pretty much hard liquor at its best though. Its hardly a fair comparison for anything else. Except maybe Ouzo, which is basically the same thing, except worse.

Keld Denar

2011-08-24, 12:53 PM

I had absinthe in Germany. I'll agree with the minty mouthwash taste with only a hint of anise. Granted, that was 10 years ago, but I remember that it was pretty repulsive, but we were just taking shots of it rather than "doing it right". That also lead to my nigh-infamous "international puking incident". How many people can claim to have puked in two countries simultaneously?

<< This guy!

PS: I don't remember there being a green fairy. Then again, I don't remember much of anything. There were stairs...and thats about it. I woke up in my GF's bed without any pants on, so...success!

As far as the item goes, given that an Everful Tankard is what, 250g, and only produces weak beer 3/day, I'd say that this rum bottle should have a value of 2500-5000g, tops. Its neat, and situationally very handy, but not universally so.

Seerow

2011-08-24, 04:03 PM

There's no mint flavor in absinthe (the green is just a byproduct of the flavoring leaves - anise and wormwood - soaking chlorophyll into the mix. To know how much mint flavor chlorophyll has, eat a green lettuce leaf). However, it's come to my attention that it was never fully legalized in the USA (legal to use and possess, but not legal to sell), so it becomes more work.

Is that US-wide? Because I'm 90% sure it's legal in Florida. If not, it makes me very curious as to where my friend got that bottle....

That said, I didn't really care for it. But then, I'm a creature of habit, and almost always stick with my jack and coke on drinking nights. Though I'll drink some long island iced teas on the special occasion when I can afford them.