starshine_schnapps
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STARSHINE SCHNAPPS
Overview & Game Mechanics
Origin | Type | Impact (on-table rules) | Cost (Beta Age) | Cost (Gamma Age) | Availability for Players |
Developed by 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 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., took inspiration from the old-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’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
starshine_schnapps.txt · Last modified: 2025/07/22 03:55 by admin