Ethnopharmacology of Ansalon

By John Grubber

Over the long history of our world, its diverse cultures have indulged in the use of many substances for many purposes. This discussion is in no way an endorsement of their uses, whether negative or positive, but should serve as an introduction to the reader to the many types of materials, their methods of use and the effects they have had. They have a place in history, battles have been won and lost because of them, so they should not be dismissed summarily, but rather should be understood for what they are: another thread in the historical tapestry of Ansalon.

Following a brief overview of their mechanics is a description of some of Krynn's past cultures and how they used them. It is excerpted from various chapters of Hallucinogens, Stimulants and other Drugs in Ansalonian Culture, a popular introductory text on the subject amongst mages at the Academy of Sorcery near Solace.

General Types:
Depending on the culture under consideration, use of these materials may be voluntary or forced, and there are several ways in which they can enter the body.

Inhalation: Some of these materials are best used in a burned format. The smoke and fumes they generate breathed in by the individual or group, to varying effects, as described below. A very small portion of them are effective when simply smelled, burning not being a requirement.

Imbibing: Dissolution of a material into a liquid form is also a popular method of use. Some plant substances can also be steeped in boiling water to obtain the desired liquid.

Ingestion: The most basic and likely the first method by which these substances entered the body of mortals, as it is in this form that they are most easily accessible.

Salves and Ointments: Certain substances, in particular medicinals, are effective by being rubbed into the skin or on an open wound. Their components then directly enter the body or blood and grant their effect.

Sources:
Pharmaceuticals are found in all parts of the natural world, from the living to the nonliving and everywhere in between. At some point in time, some group has tried to use virtually every substance on Krynn to try and gain some effect. Many times this has not been successful, in other cases, specifically with plants, it has been abundantly so. The use of animal components is frequent, despite the fact that there is no evidence of efficacy. In fact, certain animals have been hunted to extinction based simply on rumored effects. It is for reasons such as this that ethnopharmacology must be studied and codices compiled- for the safety of all living things.

Animals: Usually the ground-up bones, horns and dried internal organs of animals find their way into some form or substance, as noted, with dubious claims and usually without effect. Their use is especially prominent among the ogres of Blode, who swear by their effectiveness.

Plants: Leaves, bark, stalks, berries, flowers and roots are all used in every possible way, being ground, boiled, chewed and rubbed on the body. They have innumerable effects, as described below, and range from mildly effective to deadly if misused. Truly when it comes to the use of plants in this way, the safest option is knowledge first, then action.

Non-living Materials: Crystals, rock, gems and other inorganic materials have been used by many cultures, typically being ground up into liquids or burned for inhalation. Their effects are myriad as well, but are rife with rumor and folklore.

Effects:
The diversity of materials used have several possible effects, discovered by shamans, herbalists and healers over millennia of use. There are five typical effects, though the final one, Medicinals, is an extremely broad category, as noted below. The effects often are combined, with a single material having multiple effects. This is both a benefit and a drawback.

Stimulants: These are administered to provide the user with heightened awareness and energy, allowing long periods of strenuous activity without stoppage. Frequent and long-term use of these typically results in addiction and early death as the body of the user is essentially worn out from lack of proper rest.

Relaxants: The effect of these materials is to tranquilize the user or victim for varying purposes. An injured warrior can be prepared for painful surgery, an unwilling sacrifice can be made comatose and unobstructive or an insomniac can attain a restful sleep. The effect depends largely on the material and the concentration.

Hallucinogens: The most appropriate use of these materials is in Barbarian cultures, where they are administered for religious or sacred purposes. In decadent empires of the past, such as Istar and Pre-Solamnic Ergoth they were also misused for entertainment and recreation by the wealthy.

Painkillers: As with relaxants, painkillers are especially useful materials. They appear to paralyze pain senses in parts of the body, allowing movement but preventing feeling. This attribute was and is utilized to great effect by surgeons, midwives and warriors, who can fight on even though they have suffered great injuries. Repeated use of these also results in addiction and sensory dulling, to the point that the user ends up cycling between stimulants and painkillers until they die prematurely of a form of poisoning.

Medicinals: Too broad a category to be fully discussed here, these materials have been used to cure everything from a broken arm to a broken heart. Their efficacy is dubious, though many have proven themselves in controlled experiments.

Usage:
There are many reasons to partake of such substances, some positive, some negative, some merely out of necessity, regardless of the morality. Every culture in Krynn's history has used or abused them at some point or another in their history, with the possible exception of dragons. No information exists regarding these great beasts and pharmaceuticals, but given their intellect and ages, it is likely that they have been used in some way.

Religion: The barbarians of Ansalon typically use these materials in elaborate rituals and ceremonies, always with a purpose in mind. Typically inhaled or imbibed in concert with dancing, singing or story-telling, these materials are essential parts of religious ceremonies of peoples and races across the continent.

Escapism/Entertainment: The decadent empires of Ansalon's past have made extensive use of such materials, usually as a prelude to even greater debaucheries. As part of banquets, orgies and celebrations, the substances have been abused at all levels of society by the idle rich and the desperate poor, both seeking escape from their normal lives, whether of privileged boredom or impoverished despair.

Battle: Most typically used in the aftermath of combat to help heal the injured or ease their journey out of this world, substances such as these also found use prior to battle, to instill fearlessness and energy in warriors. The efficacy of such things is questionable- it is likely the shared ritual of partaking with ones comrades had as much or more effect than the material itself.

Medicinal: The outskirts of every town in Ansalon likely has one, a supposed madwoman or hedge witch who is a skilled herbalist and non-magical healer. Solace itself had one in its past, before the war of the lance, known as Weird Meggin. The return of healing magic and true priests made these individuals less common, but every grandmother or midwife likely knows a few traditional cure-alls handed down through the generations. Appreciation of medicinal plants was renewed after the Chaos war, before mysticism was introduced and taught to the world.

A Pharmacological History of Ansalon:

The Bakali (12000-10000PC?):

The lizardfolk of Krynn are largely shrouded in mystery, but based on information gathered from their savage descendants, they too used materials such as these. The ancient Bakali civilizations did not have fire, so it is likely that the flowers depicted in the bas-reliefs and murals in their ruined cities were ingested or ground into ungents to be implied to the skin (or scales). According to the legends and the images, huge gardens of cultivated plants, which scholars have named theobroma (divine nourishment or quite literally 'food of the gods') were maintained by the Bakali, presumably not for sustenance consumption- the lizard folk are mainly carnivores. Even now, with fire available to them, tribes of Bakali and their brutal overseers, the Jarak-Sinn do not make use of inhalants. Perhaps their highly receptive sense of smell finds such methods unpalatable. It is widely believed that they also had large hospitals, in which healing magic and herbalism were practiced. Recent excavations at Sesrocha in Nordmaar would bear this hypothesis out.

The High Ogres (9000-5000PC):

The first of the starborn mortal races, the High Ogres made extensive use of both inhaled and imbibed substances. Their descendants in Kern and Blode show a fondness for scented smokes and incenses, which hints at the methods employed by their ancestors. The few surviving accounts of High Ogre civilization mention ritual chambers and ceremonial hookahs, or water-pipes, in which mountain plants were often burned or steeped, the fumes inhaled and the leavings drank in elaborate celebrations and rituals. Given the High Ogres reverence for water and its control, this efficient usage is not surprising.

The Elven Nations (5000PC-Present) and Dwarven Kingdoms (3000PC-Present):

Little information exists about these reclusive cultures. Scholars know much about the human empires and the extinct non-human cultures because they have been able to excavate ruins, but the elves and dwarves have been less than forthcoming. It is reasonable to surmise that the dwarves favor inhalation of burned substances, given their love of the forge, while the elves favor ingestion of various wild plants. The Kagonesti have been observed participating in practices similar to those of human tribesman, and it is likely the barbarian elves do so for the same reasons.

Barbarians (9000PC-Present):

The Barbarian tribes of Ansalon seem to make the most extensive use of these materials, their cultures at times centering around them. Visions are essential to the people of the tribes, for in this manner they contact ancestors, consult the spirit and natural worlds and prepare themselves for many life events. Ceremonies and rituals often involve ordeals of pain and stamina, for which these materials are ideally suited. It is difficult to determine whether the barbarians are addicted to the materials, so common are they in daily routine. The typical forms used by the barbarians are inhaled substances and paint-like salves. In typical barbarian philosophy, the materials are neutral, serving only to release and amplify ones inner self, allowing self-knowledge and revelation. There are many varieties of each type, each with specific times, places and circumstances related to their proper use. Often times fasting accompanied their use, which lowered the dosage required for effect significantly. It is important to note though that in the majority of instances, the substances were for use exclusively by the village or tribal shaman- the substances being perceived as too powerful for a mere warrior to survive.

Ergoth (2600PC-Present):

The decadence of Ackal Ergots Empire in its earliest times is well known to the learned people of Ansalon- it is an indulgent appetite matched only by Istar at her height. According to epic poems, the Ergothian military was a frequent user of stimulants and pain-killers, giving rise to the soldiers legendary fearlessness and stoicism even in the face of overwhelming odds. The royal court was no different in its excess, holding huge parties during which hundreds would engage in the eating, drinking and inhaling of various substances, while prostitutes, both male and female, painted in efficacious salves danced and entertained them. The decadence was found throughout the empire, in its bathhouses, smoking dens, villas and bordellos. Datura, widely touted as an aphrodisiac, was commonly used and sold in these houses of ill repute. Absinthe, a drink known euphemistically as the green fairie, was a popular drink among the artistic class, especially the painters and the bards, who sang its praises in numerous songs. Ever fearful of poisonings by those of lower stations, the upper classes also took daily doses of theriaka, a generic term for an antidote of varying compositions, the efficacy of which has never been established. Ergoth was a nation at times enslaved by its hungers- prior to the Cataclysm, some 300 establishments sold pharmaceuticals in Daltigoth alone. In the last century before the Cataclysm, Ergoths colonies in the Nordmaar islands became an important source for plant substances of this type, leading to confrontations with Istar over shipping and sale rights, as well as general disapproval of their use.

Solamnia (1750PC-Present):

Vinas Solamnus set down the new nations laws early on, seeking to combat the corruption and indulgence that had rotted Ergoths core. His and his successors laws dealt mainly with the Knights, but they echoed their founders strong belief in maintaining a sense of self-control. To quote the Measure:

"He who partakes to excess becomes intoxicated. He who becomes intoxicated acts improperly. He who acts improperly says lies with his tongue. He who lies must be punished."

Istar (1700PC-First Cataclysm):

The edicts of the Kingpriests, though forbidding the use, growth or sale of such substances did little more than create a burgeoning black market for them. Frontier cities such as Jaggana, Yandol and Micah did brisk trades in both inhaled and ingested forms of pharmaceuticals. Medicinals had largely faded from use with the rise of the Istaran Priestly Class, who persecuted their users and procurers as heretics who would insult the gods by refusing their aid. To use such substances, it was decreed, was a sign of weakness, which was an affront to the gods, who desired only strong worshippers. In spite of this, the nobles and wealthy of Istar, as well as its lowest underbelly enjoyed frequent use of them, in discreet surroundings such as lounges and bathhouses frequented only by other users. At points in its history, great 'cleansings' were made of the Istaran populace, specifically the upper classes where the unhealthy addicts seemed to congregate. In truth, the executions were little more than an excuse for political maneuvering. No one spoke against the arrests or the executions, lest they be arrested themselves, which made the situation ideal for high-ranking members of the clergy to eliminate potential rivals and critics in a socially acceptable way.

After the Cataclysm:

The destruction of the fiery mountain set civilization on Ansalon back at least a thousand years. In their hunger for a scapegoat, the people blamed the famines and disease and pestilence on witchcraft, specifically on the hedge wizards and herbalists around their villages. Ironically, they hunted and burned those very persons with the knowledge that could have eased their sorrows. Small wonder then that it took over three hundred years of death and despair for them to return to the true gods and healing magic. In many cases, petty nobles fed the fires of persecution as a way to increase their own lands and holdings, now that they no longer held fealty to a national government or king.

The Present:

In the present day, all manner of substances are used throughout Ansalon by numerous races and cultures. Many emerge from New Swamp, grown there by Onysablet and her minions for sale throughout the continent. More than just a way of gaining riches, as I have seen in Solace, it is also a tool of tyranny, a method of holding sway over ones subjects. It is made all the more effective when the people are addicted, as some in Solace have become, and when they use them to escape from the despair of our world. Addicts, seeking to gain more money for their own needs often turn to selling, peddling their products to others in effort to gain social acceptability for their habits. Truly with these substances, misery loves company. Even worse than addict-peddlers are the wealthy Havenites who do not use the substances, but who instead seek to instill the hunger for them in others solely for profit. The resulting indulgents care little for overthrowing the overlords, desiring only to forget their problems for a time. It is a perfect self-tyranny in an age of tyrants.

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