A Better Potion

A gloomy cavern, lit only by smoky torches. In the darkness a group of adventures gather round a fallen comrade. They lift her head, and bring a small glass bottle to her lips... ..."It's a potion of healing" whispers the gamesmaster into the ear of the fallen priestess. "When you drink the harsh, bitter fluid you'll feel a warmth spreading through your body. The fallen priestess glances at the disgusting concoction swirling in the antique bottle. "It hasn't got any raw eggs in it, has it?" she whispers to the gamesmaster. "Only... I think I might be pregnant." "Pregnant!" booms the gamesmaster in confusion. "You're a virgin priestess of the Goddess! How the hell can you be pregnant?" It is only when he sees the look of stunned horror slowly settling upon the face of Yarlon the Scout (a.k.a. her boyfriend Steve) that comprehension dawns. Oops. One of the things that has always put me off live-roleplaying - other than the general toe-curling embarrassment of the whole thing - has been the stories I've been told about the potions. Tales of disgusting, cloudy liquids, full of shit-knows what, where you just have to take a deep breath and drink it all down. Thing is I'm a vegan. And I don't eat or drink anything without looking at the ingredients list. Ever. And I can't be the only one. What with vegans, veggies, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, pregnant women and health freaks, there must a few people out there who aren't just going to swig down an unknown liquid. It's a dilemma. If you give something which is obviously a standard brand of cola, or even worse, something like fruit juice, you've just lost all sense of occasion. We're bought up to believe that medicines taste bad. And a magic potion? This should do more than simply taste bad. It'd shouldn't even taste like something food-like at all.

So what to do..? Page 1 of 2 Copyright � 2001 Critical Miss Gaming Society