Mage's Breath

Mage's Breath is the hottest new designer drug on the scene. Originally developed as a stable combat stimulant by the Jhal Collective under the direction of the 3rd Embry, the project was cancelled when The 4th Embry took charge of Doreymos. Years later, the scrapped project was discovered by some as-of-yet unknown third party during a break in of a Collective laboratory, and soon became the latest crisis on the block.
During its original testing, it never made much progress as a combat stimulant, as it caused a myriad of side effects, from delusions of grandeur to confusion, with the only notable physical characteristic it enhanced in its users was dampening their instincts of self preservation. When the project was initially cancelled, an industrious Hermetic Sage attempted to market it as a non-lethal crowd dispersal agent to the 4th Embry, pumping up its hallucinogenic effects and vaporizing it in to a gaseous form. This test proved a failure, however, as the subjects were just as likely to cause even more damage as they were to be subdued.
However, now, with some editing in the design of the drug, it is being marketed as an illicit narcotic with power-trip highs. Highly addictive, inhalers of Mage's Breath can be found in all sorts of slums throughout Doreymos, their addicts scrambling for a hit of the blue gas. However, its mass use has revealed a heretofore unknown property of the material; while under the effects, physical prowess may not be increased, but magical ability receives a notable boost. This discovery alone has increased the production of the drug tenfold, with bad actors simultaneously aiming to increase their market share and to power up their magic-using goons, leading to increasing unrest in the more impoverished districts.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

Mage's Breath is most commonly found in small pocket inhalers. On depressing the top of the device, it releases one hit of the drug, normally in to the user's mouth. Upon inhalation, the user almost immediately experiences the effects of the drug; initially, it unlocks their innate spellcasting ability, increasing their effective Caster Level by 2 for 1 minute. Additionally, they must pass a DC 17 Fortitude check, or be inflicted with the Confusion status, as they experience hallucinations dug up from the depths of their mind. This status lasts for 5 minutes, but additionally increases the duration of the Caster Level bonus for the same period of time. This is considered a Poison effect.
After the effects of the drug wear off, the user must make a DC 13 Fortitude check to avoid becoming addicted. For every time this check is passed, it increases by 2 until the user spends at least 1 week not using Mage's Breath, although the DC cannot fall below 13, and drops in increments of 2. Every time the stage of addiction progresses, the DC to prevent from being inflicted with confusion increases by 2 as well as long as that stage of addiction persists.

Significance

Mage's Breath, since its rediscovery, has been the focus of a number of gangs, using it to finance their rise to power in many of the districts. It's a major problem for law enforcement, as its users border on the suicidal when defending their stash or dealers, leading to its sourcing to be difficult to track down even if it's fairly common overall.

Item type

Drug / Narcotic / Medicine

Rarity

Illegal (Uncommon)

Weight

4 oz.

Dimensions

3x2x1 in.

Base Price

15 GP/hit (1 inhaler=10 hits)