Philter of love

A philter of love, sometimes referred to as a love potion or elixir of love, was a potion that rendered its drinker susceptible to becoming charmed by, or even enamored with another creature for a limited amount of time.

Description
The liquid of a philter of love was rose-colored and sparkling with bubbles. It contained a single heart-shaped bubble inside that was easily missed upon casual inspection. To those who could see such things, they emitted a faint transmutation aura.

Powers
Drinkers of a philter of love were susceptible for up to 10 minutes to becoming charmed by the first creature they saw. This condition lasted for between one and three hours. The creature had to be a humanoid, and if the creature seen was of a species and gender to which the drinker was normally attracted, the potion would make the drinker regard that creature as a true love for the same duration. In some cases, this enamored state could only be neutralized by a dispel magic spell.

History
Priests of Sune who had completed an important task in her name were granted a draft of water from Evergold, which made anyone who looked upon them susceptible to the same effects of drinking a philter of love. The draft was poisonous to anyone else who attempted to drink it.

Mystics in the Realms learned to concoct non-magical love potions during their studies that had similar effects to philters of love. Those who were versed in candle magic could manufacture love candles that produced the same effects and were powerful enough even to affect creatures that were normally immune to its charm effects, such as elves and sylvan creatures.

A nonmagical version brewed by hedge wizards was known as love potion. It induced in the drinker an infatuation with the next seen individual that was of the opposite sex and a similar species. It did not include any form of charm, however, and it could not cause abnormal behavior on its own: it only caused them to notice that individual as unlikely persuasive and possessing some intangible attractiveness. The synthesis of this concoction was extremely delicate, requiring both chemical and herbal knowledge in order to brew correctly. It sold for about 300 gold pieces.

The people of Shou Lung developed a way to create potions that created permanent effects as those found in philters of love, using an oil formulated from ylang blossoms.

Creation
Magical versions of this potion required the brewer to be able to cast the spell charm person.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Shattered Statue
 * Novels
 * The Veiled Dragon
 * Video Games
 * Warriors of Waterdeep &bull; Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms