Moonflower

X Worldbuilders:

GM James R

The Moonflower is a rarely cultivated flower, mostly grown by Druids and used to brew potions of purification.

About

The juice of the ripe berries works as a kind of magical preserver. A potion that duplicates the effect of a spell (like most healing-potions, potion of invisibility, potion of gaseous form, potion of flying and so on) can be produced fairly easy only with the components of the spell and the juice of the “Moon-berry” as major ingredients.

The higher the level of the spell the more juice is needed (usually the juice of one berry per level of the spell per potion). This procedure works for the above mentioned kind of potions, but many of the more powerful potions can’t be produced by this method (alone) and not all spells are suited to be brought into potion form as the reader will surly know.

Growing

The Moonflower is a highly magical plant and as you can guess from the name it flowers and ripens only under the full moon. In the wild, it grows in the vicinity of some Lycanthropes lairs, especially where werewolves mark their territory.

This points to a kind of symbiosis between the were-creatures and this plant. The herb reaches a maximum high as your knees and needs a month after germinating to grow a flower. After this it needs again one month for the berry to ripen. It is interesting to note that all plants in one place are in the same state of development; you can find flowers and berries in the same forest but never in exactly the same place. Other than this, the Moonflower favors damp and shadowy places. It has been tried to cultivate the plant but so far in vain. The plant seems to be particular with the conditions of the soil; perhaps it needs the urine of the were-creatures or other things – in any case it is usually a year or more, until you can find the plant in the same place again.

It is clear that under the aforementioned circumstances it is hard and risky to get hold of this plant – especially since master-Lycanthropes know of its value.

Effects

• There are reports, that the plant has other magical properties as well. The flower of the plant can return a polymorphed or cursed creature to its true shape using the purifying effects of moonlight. This can be done by ingesting the flower, or powdering it and applying it externally.
• Notably, this effect was used by several adventurers to ward off the shadow brought onto Isonhound during The Umbral Flood. To traverse the shadow-infected forests, skilled herbalists could take one flower to use as poultice to ward off the corrupting effects of shadow for a small party of adventurers for a day.

Research Notes

It seems that Moonflowers can be found in the wild around moon/crystal dragon lairs. The root of the Moonflower, when chewed-on, acts as a mild stimulant and pain reliever. There are very few successfully recorded accounts of people domestically growing Moonflowers, of which lycanthrope urine appears to be the common ingredient in proper germination of the seeds. The largest concentration of Moonflowers can be found in direct moonlight near lycanthrope dens. A tea can be made from Moonflower Petals. In low concentration, the leaves give a euphoric effect. In high concentration, the effect can be poisonous or even deadly. Creatures that are shapeshifted (polymorph, wild shape, doppelgängers) into goats are drawn to the smell of Moonflowers. Natural goats do not seem to be affected in this way. Druids of the deep forest have been said to consume a plant mixture that contains Moonflower, prior to wild shaping, to strengthen their beast form. Moonflowers appear to be very resilient against temperatures both high and low. They have been found in frigid high altitudes and barren deserts. Being rare, valuable, and difficult to reproduce, the Moonflower can sometimes be found in the wares of dark merchants or fey. Due to their affinity to moonlight, Moonflower seeds must be planted just below the surface of the ground. The burning of dried Moonflower petals by magical fire creates smoke that that can bring on prophetic or hallucinogenic visions.