About Drugs. The Bad Kind.

So in FF XIV, we have at least two kinds of illegal narcotics in Eorzea: Somnus and milkroot. If there are any others, I don't recall them, but please apply the following questions to them as well, for me, with citations too.

I'd like to know more about these drugs: Who produces them? How are they made? Where are they made? Who usually consumes them and where? What effects do they have on the user? How are they used (smoking, inhaling)? What form do they take (e.g: liquid, plant, or solid)?

Any information would be appreciated.

Somnus - from what I remember, it seems to be an opiate-like drug that induces a kind of comfortably numb sleep-like state. That's all I really remember though.

Milkroot - less a drug for the spoken races and more of a poison, it has alcoholic-like disinhibition qualities when ingested by sylphs. Ingestion can come via drinking it or by creating a "smoke" from it, presumably via boiling. Iirc it has low-level toxic properties for non-sylphs when breathed as smoke, and is considerably more dangerous, albeit not deadly per se, when ingested. Sylphs, when exposed, get considerably more "frisky" and have been known to "overdose" in a sense, with hangover-like after effects including headaches and nausea. Milkroot itself is derived from milkweed, which are represented in game as flower-type monsters in the Sylphlands. There are a few quests involving the Sylphs in East Shroud that involve dealing with the 'touched ones' and stopping their production/use of milkroot.

There is also a third illicit drug mentioned in the game called 'pluto', but it's unclear just what that term refers to, whether it's another term for somnus or a completely different drug (although the name itself seems to suggest the later, and a dangerous one at that).

Somnus is clearly shown to come from a purple-coloured plant that is being illicitly cultivated by the refugees in the caves near Black Brush Station (presumably they do it as a means of supporting themselves, despite the drug being illegal in all Eorzean citystates). And as mentioned, it is apparently a narcotic, having opium-like properties of drowsiness/lethargy, and is also highly addictive, not to mention deadly if overdosed.

Standard Sounsyy lore post on the subject.

This is pre-Stormblood, so I don't know if there are additions since then. I do know of at least one (unnamed) drug mentioned in the RDM 50-60 questline which "can cloud a person's mind".

Image spoilered for size:

https://i.imgur.com/JPWivi8.jpg

I also vaguely recall a comment early in the ALC 50-60 questline which talks about drugs which can rob a person's memories (before we find out later that the issue is an entirely different one). I can't find the screenshot right now, though; I know I took a screenshot, but my screenshot folder is a disorganized mess.

Fogweed seems to be legal (or at least tolerated) and relatively safe to use, but it's also described as having drug-like properties and I could see it being banned amongst some of the game's cultures.

The nanamzu or the little fish people with bells get drunk off tea which is the greatest thing ever.

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Originally Posted by Pastahnak

The nanamzu or the little fish people with bells get drunk off tea which is the greatest thing ever.

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Oh yea, that quest was hysterical -- seeing them flopping around like beached fish just made me smile....

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Originally Posted by Pastahnak

The nanamzu or the little fish people with bells get drunk off tea which is the greatest thing ever.

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"Tea" in the western versions of various anime is actually sake... changed for the western audience... because cartoons are for kids???

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Originally Posted by Okamimaru

"Tea" in the western versions of various anime is actually sake... changed for the western audience... because cartoons are for kids???

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Except that makes no sense here. We know there is sake in the world of FFXIV, and rice wine is mentioned in several side quests. The game never has a problem with there being alcohol in the world of FFXIV; a lot of people in-game like it just fine and no one thinks it's weird.

Also, the humor of trying to ban sake would fall completely flat, whereas the humor of trying to ban tea is obvious. Tea ceremonies are practically an art form for Japan which is what Hingashi and Doma are based off of. There's no way the king of Doma would ever even consider it (most likely).

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

Standard Sounsyy lore post on the subject.

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The biggest thing I took away from that post is that those plants being grown in the cave at Lost Hope are what's used to manufacture Somnus, and I honestly never knew that. How haven't those people been raided, again?

I remember an antagonist from the early pugilist quests inhaling a drug from a pipe that made him impervious to pain and put him in a state of rage causing his aoe attack to harm friend and foe alike. I like to think he took a fantasy equivalent of crystal meth.

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Originally Posted by Saiah

I remember an antagonist from the early pugilist quests inhaling a drug from a pipe that made him impervious to pain and put him in a state of rage causing his aoe attack to harm friend and foe alike. I like to think he took a fantasy equivalent of crystal meth.

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That was Weggfarr, and he was taking pluto, which previous posts in this thread have mentioned.

Somnus is made from Dream Flower according to BLU quests.

There's also some kind of mind control drug, as seen in the SB Hildy quests.

Replying to an old post, but...

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Originally Posted by Mysterysword

The biggest thing I took away from that post is that those plants being grown in the cave at Lost Hope are what's used to manufacture Somnus, and I honestly never knew that. How haven't those people been raided, again?

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There are Brass Blades stationed right there in the camp, so I can only assume they're complicit in the scheme and report back to their bosses that everything is fine.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

There is also a third illicit drug mentioned in the game called 'pluto', but it's unclear just what that term refers to, whether it's another term for somnus or a completely different drug (although the name itself seems to suggest the later, and a dangerous one at that).

Somnus is clearly shown to come from a purple-coloured plant that is being illicitly cultivated by the refugees in the caves near Black Brush Station (presumably they do it as a means of supporting themselves, despite the drug being illegal in all Eorzean citystates). And as mentioned, it is apparently a narcotic, having opium-like properties of drowsiness/lethargy, and is also highly addictive, not to mention deadly if overdosed.

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So the plant to make somnus does actually look like Althyk Lavender, then? My only real experience hearing about the drug is the starter sidequest from Niniya in the Drowning Wench, who tricks you into thinking a bunch of lavender that's been dropped on the ground downstairs is really the plant to make somnus. It turns out its just her hazing you, but its interesting that the plants may indeed look alike.

I can't remember - I do know the plant somnus is cultivated from seems to also be phosforescent (glows in the dark), which Althyk Lavender does not - the somnus plants being cultivated in the caves of Lost Hope are glowing brightly even though the rest of the cave is rather dark, bathing the whole thing in a lurid violet glow.

And speaking of somnus, the level 63 GNB Job quest goes into the issue of somnus addiction, revealing that the drug is also found on Othard and that many inmates of Garlean prison camps are addicts who manage to smuggle the drug in. Apparently somnus addiction manifests certain symptoms in the eyes, as Sophie in the GNB quest line picks up on another npc's secret addiction by noticing her eyes show those same signs, although it's not elaborated on exactly what those signs are (presumedly excessive reddishness or dilated pupils).

Either way somnus addiction manifests physically in the addict's eyes.