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=== Races | Economy | Buildings & Organizations | Products ===

====== STARSHINE SCHNAPPS ======

===== Overview & Game Mechanics =====

| **Origin**                              | **Type**                                         | **Impact (on-table rules)**             | **Cost ([[beta_age|Beta Age]])**  | **Cost ([[the_gamma_age|Gamma Age]])**             | **Availability for Players**|                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
| Developed by [[space_drinks_inc|Space Drinks Inc.]] (first bottled mid-2626) | Virel Spice-infused schnapps (30 % ABV) | For 1 h after a dose the drinker’s exhaled breath shimmers with tiny glittering crystals; Stealth checks –2 due to sparkling fog | 13 K per 500 mL cobalt flask, 6 K for 200 mL hip flask | Production banned; contraband flask ≈ 35 K | Common in taverns and [[frontier_quickdraw_network|Frontier Quickdraw vending machines]]; Gamma Age PCs must buy on the black market or recover forgotten stock|

===== Context & Historical Background =====

Christos Demopoulos, CEO of [[space_drinks_inc|Space Drinks Inc.]], took inspiration from the old-[[the_earth|Earth]] phrase “take a hit and see stars.” He challenged his brewers to craft a party-kick spirit that would make revelers literally sparkle. By infusing a crisp cane-spirit with sweet-citrus Virel Spice and suspending micro-sugar prisms, they launched Starshine Schnapps — a single shot meant to send any gathering into orbit.

===== Ingredients & Process =====

  * **Spring-Drawn Water** – mineral-bright, gravity-fed from the [[arla_river|Arla River’s]] headwaters  
  * **Refined Cane Spirit** – double-distilled base alcohol (neutral 96 %)  
  * **Virel Spice** – bright-green powder adding sweet-citrus freshness and the signature sparkling breath effect  
  * **Micro-Sugar Prisms** – crystalline flakes that refract exhaled moisture into “starlight”  

===== How the “Starshine” Effect Works =====

==== Suspended Sugar-Prism Microflakes ====

  * During bottling, a centrifuge sprinkles micron-thin sugar crystals coated with food-grade silicate into the schnapps.
  * These prisms remain neutrally buoyant; a gentle swirl keeps them evenly suspended and invisible in the clear spirit.

==== Virel-Spice Volatiles ====

  * Virel Spice contributes not only the sweet-citrus flavour but also volatile aromatic oils that vaporise at room temperature.

==== Exhalation Chemistry ====

  * When a drinker exhales, warm, moist breath condenses on the prisms’ silicate coat, creating tiny reflective droplets.
  * The Virel volatiles lower surface tension, letting the droplets disperse as a fine, glitter-like fog up to 30 cm in front of the mouth.

==== Visual Result ====

  * In torch- or lamplight the suspended droplets refract light into brief, star-like sparkles — hence the “seeing stars” nickname.
  * The effect persists for roughly an hour, until the remaining prisms are cleared by the lungs or swallowed with saliva.


===== Legacy & Impact =====

  * **Nightlife Neon** — The glitter-breath effect turned every toast into an impromptu light show; musicians timed stage lights to collective exhales.
  *  **Collector’s Cobalt** — Empty blue flasks became lamp shades and signal beacons for clandestine meetings in the Gamma Age.
  *  **Frontier Magic** — Travelers and locals swiped small hip flasks from Frontier Quickdraws for free hours of sparkling spectacle during long journeys.
  * **Contraband Boom** — Knock-off “Moonshard Schnapps” skips the prismatic filter, causing throat burns (Con save DC 13 or 1 fire dmg on failed swig).

===== Tactical Advice for Dungeon Masters =====

  * **Glitter Trail** — PCs fleeing a crime must deal with the sparkling vapor betraying their path.
  * **Shady Trade** — Smuggle a crate of genuine Starshine to Firetown in exchange for rare weapons parts.
  * **Sabotaged Batch** — Someone laces the microspheres with flash-powder; a tasting event might erupt—literally.
===== Related Pages & Further Information =====

  * [[beta_age|Beta Age]]
  * [[free_state_of_settlers|Free State of Settlers]]
  * [[space_drinks_inc|Space Drinks Inc.]]
  * [[space_market|Space Market (New Kourou)]]
  * [[frontier_quickdraw_network|Frontier Quickdraw Network]]
  * [[space_drinks_inc._headquarters|Space Drinks Inc. Headquarters]]
  * [[mikulic_inc|Mikulić Inc.]]
  * [[pilswerke_inc|Pilswerke Inc.]]

**Beverages and spirits of Space Drinks Inc.:**

  * [[space_beer|Space Beer]]
  * [[red_dwarf_firewater|Red Dwarf Firewater]]
  * [[starshine_schnapps|Starshine Schnapps]]
  * [[gravity_grog|Gravity Grog]]
  * [[orbital_stout|Orbital Stout]]