Zether

Zether

Wondrous Item (potion), Rare | Street Name: “Crackleaf,” “Greenflash,” or simply “The Zap”

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Visual Description

Zether comes in a sleek, shimmer-style vial—long, narrow, and sealed with dark, arcane-forged metal caps. The glass contains a swirling neon green liquid streaked with darker forest-green undertones. Inside, the fluid churns unnaturally, as though resisting containment.

When the seal is broken, a glowing green gas hisses upward, hovering in the air for a moment before dissipating. The vapor smells of crackling electricity with a surprising sweetness—like ripe forest berries crushed underfoot during a lightning storm.

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Taste & Sensation

Zether tastes sharply sweet, with a follow-up bite of sourness that kicks in right as the effects hit. Drinking it causes a rush of heat behind the eyes, followed by a sudden physical or mental shift.

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Effect (Upon Consumption)

When a creature drinks Zether, they must immediately make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw:

• On a 12 or lower:
  The drinker is overcome with chill euphoria for 10 minutes.
• They gain resistance to psychic damage, and disadvantage on Dexterity checks.
• Their demeanor becomes laid-back, giggly, or mentally adrift (DM discretion).
• On a 12 or higher:
  The drinker experiences hyper-focused stimulation for 10 minutes.
• Gains advantage on Initiative rolls, +1 to spell attack rolls, and +10 feet of movement.
• They cannot benefit from short rests during this time (they’re too wired).

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Addictive Trait

After each use, the drinker must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw:

• On a fail, they develop a Zether dependency:
• Must drink another dose every 48 hours or suffer disadvantage on Intelligence and Charisma-based checks.
• Addiction is broken after three consecutive days without Zether (requiring long rests and no doses).
• Each additional use while addicted raises the addiction DC by +2.

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Known Lore

• First brewed by forest druids who turned to alchemy during a magical drought.
• Banned in upper noble courts due to an “incident” during a spell duel.
• In the undercity and guild backalleys, Zether is as common as ale—and twice as valued.