Designing Holy Drugs

The lot of the practitioner is one of someone who masters the art of gigre, a holy drug that imparts certain behavioral commandments for its use. But other people can and do use holy drugs, or else their semi-magical relatives such as wine, opium, or absinthe.

Unlike the paladin, a practitioner is held to the standards of a commandment only for as long as they take them. It is possible to break a commandment, but to do so makes you Unclean; you cannot benefit from chemic or divine magic and if something bad happens, it happens to you. Some commandments proscribe mortal sins. These are harder to wipe away.

I do my best to pepper the occasional gigre (or gigre recipe) in every dungeon, since it can be used by practitioners and non-practitioners alike.  The guidelines I've hewn to are that there should be at least one commandment that compels you to take actions and at least one that forbids you from taking certain actions. The better the power imparted by the gigre, the heavier the burden of the commandments should be and the more likely that gigre should carry a mortal sin. It's also important to remember that these commandments should be relevant to whatever your game is about. A vow of abstinence is much less of a sacrifice in a dungeon delve than it is for many people in normal life.

To facilitate quick gigre creation, I've heavily borrowed from taboos listed in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature to create a list of example commandments, mortal sins, and prompts for gigre powers. In a hurry, you can just roll once on each table and apply some imagination to figure out the drug's name and purpose. I would recommend curating it so that the commandments are commensurate with the power.

 d20/20/20/10 Random Gigre

d20 Compelling Commandments Must answer questions honestly Must give thanks upon encountering water/fire Must boast Must touch everyone before speaking to them Must be sexually active Must eat some of everyone you kill Must count things compulsively Must steal when able Must make sacrifices after victories Must be silent on the sabbath Must attack the followers of a certain god Must pay homage to artists/priests/singers/artisans Must travel by starlight Must kill any birds/insects Must accept wagers Must daily drink saltwater/alcohol/poison Must mark yourself with blood/symbols/tattoos Must consume the heart/brain of a person weekly Must keep secrets Must sleep indoors

d20 Forbidding Commandments Cannot harm someone on sacred ground Cannot wear leather Cannot see someone naked Cannot offend a child Cannot have bread/meat/alcohol Cannot sleep indoors Cannot touch the dead Cannot touch supernatural creatures Cannot ask questions Cannot reveal gigre use Cannot speak to peasants/nobility/soldiers/priests Cannot use metal weapons or armor Cannot cross running water except at its source Cannot look at holy objects Cannot lie Cannot disobey men/women/laws/promises Cannot harm the followers of a certain god Cannot glimpse the moon Cannot ignore pleas for aid Cannot be suspicious of others

d20 Random Mortal Sin Wrath Gluttony Avarice Pride Envy Betrayal Malice Submission Vandalism Accepting destiny Chastity Temperance Charity Diligence Patience Kindness Vainglory Attachment Blasphemy Wealth

d10 Random Ability Naming a certain animal summons it. Incite love/hate/curiosity Cast a certain spell Smell a certain substance/magic/animal/type of person “Warp spasm” increases strength/speed/insight C0mmune with stone/plants/animals/the dead multiply/summon/refine items/coins/plants/fire/food prophecy/augury/divination Create a mask or tool from a cadaver/donor/portrait Stave off/inflict a certain illness

So say we rolled a 9, a 19, a 10, and a 2:

• Gigre of the Hearth: Must make sacrifices after a significant victory. Cannot ignore pleas for aid. Accepting destiny is a mortal sin. You can entice someone to share something with you.