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Coffee and Cocoa

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
meshon
Feb 14, 2010 21:13:14 In the late 1600s coffe and exotic hot chocolate from the far reaches of the world became popular drinks in London.

Does Eberron have established analogues for cofee and cocoa?

cheers,
Meshon
#2
haplo81
Feb 15, 2010 0:36:31 Established? Not that I know of.

But don't let that stop you from making them.
#3
monstro
Feb 15, 2010 18:07:06
Read Samuel Johnson stuff if you want more 17th century culture stuff. By the way, "the far reaches of the world" according to late 1600's London, included Scotland.
#4
meshon
Feb 16, 2010 10:28:03

Read Samuel Johnson stuff if you want more 17th century culture stuff. By the way, "the far reaches of the world" according to late 1600's London, included Scotland.

That's a good point, and fun to work with. I still think of Xen'drik when I'm looking for a place to get cocoa from, so I may add that to its exports along with long corn and gurk'ash.

I'll have to think hard about this because in our world trade in cocoa and coffee became very serious business, worth a lot of money. Maybe coffee comes from Q'barra or something, might explain why the dragonborn are so hyper.

cheers,
Meshon

#5
yakman
Feb 16, 2010 11:59:25

Read Samuel Johnson stuff if you want more 17th century culture stuff. By the way, "the far reaches of the world" according to late 1600's London, included Scotland.

That's a good point, and fun to work with. I still think of Xen'drik when I'm looking for a place to get cocoa from, so I may add that to its exports along with long corn and gurk'ash.

I'll have to think hard about this because in our world trade in cocoa and coffee became very serious business, worth a lot of money. Maybe coffee comes from Q'barra or something, might explain why the dragonborn are so hyper.

cheers,
Meshon

an interesting place might be kapaering island off of xen'drik. it has cities, and although in PGtE, it says they are populated by races from Magic of Incarnum, there's no need to include that material if you don't want to.

#6
monstro
Feb 16, 2010 12:57:55 I don't play Eberron. I just don't like prepacked worlds in general because of their size (I feel I've wasted something if the players never make it to Doom's Peak or something so I'd rather not know about Doom's Peak until I work it in). However, having played Jorune a whole bunch, I think they offer a pretty good description of trade. I mean who, of those who've played Jorune, haven't helped some poor Thriddle get some Giggit Larvae for their thriddle Hookah. Yeah, I know it's a Jorune thing.

The point being that in Jorune, certain races like certain things. Those races pay big money for those things (like English with coffee) and they need people to either go get them or start growing them (like the English with tea) or whatever. Races that aren't really built for the adventuring life (like the Thriddle in Jorune) hire people out to go get the stuff they need. In Jorune, this provides great adventure seeds--the characters want to know how to get to the sky realms and the thriddle want to get high. I don't see why that couldn't work in D and D. The trick is that wherever the stuff is, if it's difficult to get by those who crave it, they'll need people to work for them. It doesn't matter if the stuff is grown next door, if the dwarves of where-ever-land can't make it over there, they'll need to hire someone to go.
#7
meshon
Feb 17, 2010 10:51:13
I mean who, of those who've played Jorune, haven't helped some poor Thriddle get some Giggit Larvae for their thriddle Hookah.

Like a Beagre on fire! Trading with Thivins for Dichandra stones and Djampers, hiding from Ramians in chiveer, hunting cleash in the Trinnu Jungles, getting your chalisk engraved on the Drenn wall, and learning Isho weaving from Sholari sages.

I love Jorune! WotC needs to get that license and release it as a 4E Genre setting!

Also, thanks for the insights into how ideas of trade might work. I really like the concept that certain races value commodities which they are unsuited to acquire.

As a side note, I've made my own worlds in the past for just the reason you mention. It's also easier to expand as you play. Unfortunately I don't currently have time to make a world to the standards I'd want to achieve and so I decided to give Eberron a go so I could run a 4E campaign. It's going well so far but I sometimes miss the creative freedom that a complete homebrew affords. Mind you, Eberron is pretty permissive.

cheers,
Meshon
#8
superdeadsmurf
Feb 17, 2010 13:12:11 There is a tea-like drink established in Keith Baker's novels called Tal, brewed with a root i believe.
but its from a novel, so not canon.
#9
DoctorBadWolf
Feb 17, 2010 22:09:10 But it's by Kieth, which means it's a good call for a game until proven otherwise. :P

the only thing I don't like about Eberron is that DDO is set in stormreach, rather than, say, sharn. :P

Thoughts on people craving things they aren't easily able to get, non setting specific:

Shadar-Kai, I could easily see having shadar-kai fey addicts. There could be certain herbs and spices that grow only in the Feywild that simulate the enhanced sensory/emotional state of the Feywild. For the S-K, this could be a very tempting, very dangerous proposition.
However, it would be reasonable to think that for them, entering the Feywild risks immediate descent into madness, from simple sensory/emotional overload.

Dwarves: If they live underground and such, it could easily be difficult for them to get ahold of many spices, particularly ones which grow in very hot climates. Likewise, they may have access to substances both food related and narcotic, which non subteranean cultures can't safely aquire. in the case of narcotics, venturing into thier territory to harvest such substances would cause you to run afowl of their law, making for interesting conflicts.

Gnomes are often depicted as master artists, artisans, and inventors. Aside from the obvious trade opportunities here, rare metals, gems, substances which are particularly useful for enchantment, etc., gnomish institutes of learning might contract out to adventures to explore ancient ruins that may hold ancient devices, the making of which is currently lost.

Goliaths are a great source of buyers for various useful items that one can usually aquire in any city, since their lifestyle makes it hard for them to regularly have access to those markets. setting up a yearly meeting place for the Goliaths in a region, and providing protection for merchants to travel there to trade with the Goliaths could be a very profitable, and fun, story arc in a campiagn.

....ok that's all I got right now. normally I'm better at these things. :P

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 meshon Feb 14, 2010 21:13:14	In the late 1600s coffe and exotic hot chocolate from the far reaches of the world became popular drinks in London. Does Eberron have established analogues for cofee and cocoa? cheers, Meshon
#2 haplo81 Feb 15, 2010 0:36:31	Established? Not that I know of. But don't let that stop you from making them.
#3 monstro Feb 15, 2010 18:07:06	Read Samuel Johnson stuff if you want more 17th century culture stuff. By the way, "the far reaches of the world" according to late 1600's London, included Scotland.
#4 meshon Feb 16, 2010 10:28:03	Read Samuel Johnson stuff if you want more 17th century culture stuff. By the way, "the far reaches of the world" according to late 1600's London, included Scotland. That's a good point, and fun to work with. I still think of Xen'drik when I'm looking for a place to get cocoa from, so I may add that to its exports along with long corn and gurk'ash. I'll have to think hard about this because in our world trade in cocoa and coffee became very serious business, worth a lot of money. Maybe coffee comes from Q'barra or something, might explain why the dragonborn are so hyper. cheers, Meshon
#5 yakman Feb 16, 2010 11:59:25	Read Samuel Johnson stuff if you want more 17th century culture stuff. By the way, "the far reaches of the world" according to late 1600's London, included Scotland. That's a good point, and fun to work with. I still think of Xen'drik when I'm looking for a place to get cocoa from, so I may add that to its exports along with long corn and gurk'ash. I'll have to think hard about this because in our world trade in cocoa and coffee became very serious business, worth a lot of money. Maybe coffee comes from Q'barra or something, might explain why the dragonborn are so hyper. cheers, Meshon an interesting place might be kapaering island off of xen'drik. it has cities, and although in PGtE, it says they are populated by races from Magic of Incarnum, there's no need to include that material if you don't want to.
#6 monstro Feb 16, 2010 12:57:55	I don't play Eberron. I just don't like prepacked worlds in general because of their size (I feel I've wasted something if the players never make it to Doom's Peak or something so I'd rather not know about Doom's Peak until I work it in). However, having played Jorune a whole bunch, I think they offer a pretty good description of trade. I mean who, of those who've played Jorune, haven't helped some poor Thriddle get some Giggit Larvae for their thriddle Hookah. Yeah, I know it's a Jorune thing. The point being that in Jorune, certain races like certain things. Those races pay big money for those things (like English with coffee) and they need people to either go get them or start growing them (like the English with tea) or whatever. Races that aren't really built for the adventuring life (like the Thriddle in Jorune) hire people out to go get the stuff they need. In Jorune, this provides great adventure seeds--the characters want to know how to get to the sky realms and the thriddle want to get high. I don't see why that couldn't work in D and D. The trick is that wherever the stuff is, if it's difficult to get by those who crave it, they'll need people to work for them. It doesn't matter if the stuff is grown next door, if the dwarves of where-ever-land can't make it over there, they'll need to hire someone to go.
#7 meshon Feb 17, 2010 10:51:13	I mean who, of those who've played Jorune, haven't helped some poor Thriddle get some Giggit Larvae for their thriddle Hookah. Like a Beagre on fire! Trading with Thivins for Dichandra stones and Djampers, hiding from Ramians in chiveer, hunting cleash in the Trinnu Jungles, getting your chalisk engraved on the Drenn wall, and learning Isho weaving from Sholari sages. I love Jorune! WotC needs to get that license and release it as a 4E Genre setting! Also, thanks for the insights into how ideas of trade might work. I really like the concept that certain races value commodities which they are unsuited to acquire. As a side note, I've made my own worlds in the past for just the reason you mention. It's also easier to expand as you play. Unfortunately I don't currently have time to make a world to the standards I'd want to achieve and so I decided to give Eberron a go so I could run a 4E campaign. It's going well so far but I sometimes miss the creative freedom that a complete homebrew affords. Mind you, Eberron is pretty permissive. cheers, Meshon
#8 superdeadsmurf Feb 17, 2010 13:12:11	There is a tea-like drink established in Keith Baker's novels called Tal, brewed with a root i believe. but its from a novel, so not canon.
#9 DoctorBadWolf Feb 17, 2010 22:09:10	But it's by Kieth, which means it's a good call for a game until proven otherwise. :P the only thing I don't like about Eberron is that DDO is set in stormreach, rather than, say, sharn. :P Thoughts on people craving things they aren't easily able to get, non setting specific: Shadar-Kai, I could easily see having shadar-kai fey addicts. There could be certain herbs and spices that grow only in the Feywild that simulate the enhanced sensory/emotional state of the Feywild. For the S-K, this could be a very tempting, very dangerous proposition. However, it would be reasonable to think that for them, entering the Feywild risks immediate descent into madness, from simple sensory/emotional overload. Dwarves: If they live underground and such, it could easily be difficult for them to get ahold of many spices, particularly ones which grow in very hot climates. Likewise, they may have access to substances both food related and narcotic, which non subteranean cultures can't safely aquire. in the case of narcotics, venturing into thier territory to harvest such substances would cause you to run afowl of their law, making for interesting conflicts. Gnomes are often depicted as master artists, artisans, and inventors. Aside from the obvious trade opportunities here, rare metals, gems, substances which are particularly useful for enchantment, etc., gnomish institutes of learning might contract out to adventures to explore ancient ruins that may hold ancient devices, the making of which is currently lost. Goliaths are a great source of buyers for various useful items that one can usually aquire in any city, since their lifestyle makes it hard for them to regularly have access to those markets. setting up a yearly meeting place for the Goliaths in a region, and providing protection for merchants to travel there to trade with the Goliaths could be a very profitable, and fun, story arc in a campiagn. ....ok that's all I got right now. normally I'm better at these things. :P