Looking for exotic crops

[Kafana]

What are some exotic crops I can have my villagers harvest in a wild rainforest land based somewhat on Eberron (Xen'drik)? They don't neccesarily have to have a game mechanic effect when consumed (though some could), but they need to have a great reason for being grown. Short descriptions would be highly appreciated. I need at least four, but the more the merrier :)

[JeminiZero]

Are you looking for homebrew or official material?

BoVD has a short chapter on drugs. Some are from single plants (like Devilweed and Mordayn Vapor). Others are made from an unspecified mixture of herbs which might include some stuff growing in the forest (so maybe they only harvest a few components which are shipped elsewhere to make the final product).

And of course there are also poisons, which can be harvested for use in hunting, sale to other interested parties, or for use against those you don't like.

[Master of Doink]

For an actual plant, the Anamu. its used against leukemia and for strengthening ones Immune system.

[Mootsmcboots]

Some of the most commonly harvested rainforest crops;
Papaya
Rubber Tree
Coconut
Banana
Oil Palm

Cassava
Rice
Barley
Sweet Potato
Tobacco
Sugarcane
Beans
Tea
Coffee
Cocoa

From that list, tobacco, sugarcane, tea, coffee, and cocoa have all held global relevence in real life, and usually those crops are the main source of income/jobs in the areas they are heavily cultivated.

[Kafana]

I was thinking more along the lines of made up stuff, and yes, homebrew is ok. It should also be legal to grow it.

[Barstro]

If you are looking at homebrew that needs to have a reason to be harvested; how about some more background on your setting.
What do you want the PCs to be up against (ignoring the crop)
What's the economic setting of this village? (peasants with an overlord/king, just peasants, small isolated tribe?)

Initial thoughts;
Foodstuff that increases/decreases certain magical abilities (prophecy or mind effect spells)
Grain that is especially loved by some magical beast (king's mounts, wild animals that can domesticated with this food)
Textile or body paint that creates small anti-scry field to keep village off the map (but too much is like a beacon that says "secret stuff here, so it needs to be cut to correct amount)
From STNG, food/medicine that is a drug, but those people don't know it. They all think they have a bad disease (withdrawals) and this is the only way to stop it. Maybe their king got them addicted to keep them in line.
Particular plant is a great filter for the otherwise sickening water supply.

[Telonius]

Blinkleaf powder: This drug allows you to treat all locations as "very familiar" for teleportation spells, and reduce off-target distance by 50%. A dose also grants you an essentia pool of 1 for 24 hours; during this time you become physically indistinguishable from an Azurin. However, the drug is extremely addictive, and can begin to warp the body and mind. Prolonged exposure, or frequent overdoses, will result in an irrevocable change into an illithid-like being.

:smallbiggrin:

[Gavinfoxx]

Coca. Yes, THAT Coca.

[Mootsmcboots]

Any kind of Orchid or Bromeliad would fit in the setting. A valuable spice or flavouring of somekind would also work here. As harvesting these plants is usually difficult, time consuming and thus fetches a high price. Think actual Vanilla, or Saffron(Though it is a desert crocus.)

Bromelaids can generally be found growing on trees and other plants. Super nice flowers, often high up in the canopy. Their root structure is usually wrapped around the tree/plant they are growing on, and tend to either collect rain/moisture in it's leaf structure, or it's roots absorb water on the surface of the plant they are attached to.

Orchids are finicky, tedious, sensitive, touchy, jerk flowers.

Just make up a name, and why it's harvested.

Medicinal- The flower provides an extract that cures a common, but dangerous illness. Or counteracts an effect from something in the environment, or a disease from a common monster in the area. An anti-toxin, a pain killer etc.

Food- It couldn't act like a cash crop. Harvesting is too intense, and yeilds too small, but again, think Saffron. Each flower has just a few stigma(which is what this spice is) so the number of plants requiring harvesting(By hand) just to produce a few grams makes this the world's most expensive spice. Vanilla and coffee are also difficult to harvest but they're expense comes much in the processing and drying and roasting etc.

Cosmetic-It could be the sole source of a favourite cosmetic among the rich and ruling elite. More so because of the cost and difficulty in obtaining it than the actual quality of the cosmetic.

I'm sure there's other reasons for a crop. These are the most common I can think of.

[Mootsmcboots]

Coca is a good one. Unprocessed it's very mild, the alkaloid content bein less than 1%.

It stains the teeth, so in the game world if it is a looked down upon activity to chew, there would be a tell for users there.

It's also drank as a tea.

In reality, if chewed or drank as a tea, it's so mild as to not be a concern.

If it were processed and the alkaloid content increased, cocaine style, then that's a different story.