Sulfur

Sulfur, also known as brimstone, was an alchemical substance used in potion-making. It had a potent rotten egg smell, often associated with fiends of the Abyss. "Despite all this ridiculous incense, mistress, I suddenly detect the odor of sulfur. And a strange presence—similar to dragonfear, but not nearly as strong. Should we be concerned?"

- Gamaliel

Description
Sulfur was a naturally occurring substance that could be found and, more often smelled, in the vicinity of volcanoes, swamps, and hot springs.

Naturally Occurring

 * Akarav's Bay was a place of always warm mineral springs and sulfur-infused hot springs.
 * Ambilya Shan, the Sacred Mountain of Amber, was known for its exposed deposits of sulfur-tainted obsidian.
 * Carceri's atmosphere was filled with sulfurous vapors and brimstone smoke.
 * Chultan volcanoes were known to produce brimstone.
 * Imnescar was a small Amnian town that had sulfur springs inside the caves to its east. Locals believed that the sulfuric smells came from an old wizard's potion brewery hidden inside the caves.
 * Lake Esmel's western shallow waters had a high concentration of sulfur, coloring its waters sea-green, as opposed to the rest of the lake's deep midnight-blue color.
 * The Mount in the Border Kingdoms was an active sulfur- and smoke-spewing volcano of many vents.
 * Mount Zatal in Maztica held caverns of sulfurous geysers and melted rock.
 * The Underdark had multiple areas rife with volcanic activity and hot springs. Fyvrek'Zek, the area under Thaymount, was one of them.
 * The Vast Swamp's hot springs were warmed by the volcanic activity deep underground.

Merchants

 * Seven Suns Trading Coster in Neverwinter: A drow merchant M'tari Prin'tal was selling various alchemical supplies including sulfur circa 1479 DR.

Usage

 * Fabric dye of vermilion color was made using sulfur, alkali, and mercury.
 * Fabric dye of yellow color and yellow paint were made using sulfur and were sold by Aurora's Emporium.
 * Firenewts were known to make a paste out of sulfur, mineral salts, and oil. They enjoyed chewing on the mix and often carried a container of it with them.
 * Ghul-kin's weaker cousins, lesser ghuls, could be created from living beings via a cruel magical ritual that involved placing the victims into a stupor, dusting them with sulfur, wrapping them in bandages, placing them inside copper containers, and dusting them with metal powders. The victims were left inside the containers for a number of months slowly being transformed into the ghoulish ghuls.
 * Lures made out of sulfur were used in Port Nyanzaru, Chult, as a way to attract Hedetet, a scorpion-like elemental creature that was birthed from a volcano in years past.
 * Oil of sulphur was a magic oil often used to trick intelligent creatures into setting themselves on fire as well as a delightful massage oil used by efreeti.
 * Smoke spheres were small sulfurous black orbs that exploded in a flash when thrown and created a black smoke cloud.

Spell Components

 * Conjure fire elemental required a pinch of sulfur and phosphorus to be used as the material component.
 * Conjure nature elemental required lit incense, softened clay, sulfur, phosphorus, sand, and water.
 * Explosive cascade required bat guano and sulfur, as well as copper pieces packed into a metal tube with one end sealed.
 * Fireball and delayed blast fireball spells both required bat guano and sulfur.
 * Firebrand required a pinch of sulfur and a spark of fire.
 * Flame strike 's only material component was a pinch of sulfur.
 * Flashburst 's material component was a pinch of phosphorus or sulfur.
 * The lightning bolt spell, or at least a version of it, could be cast using a handful of dry sulfur as the material component, as demonstrated by a harper wizard Brenna Graycloak in 1362 DR while battling a darkenbeast.
 * Melf's minute meteors required a bead molded out of niter, sulfur, and pine tar.
 * Protection from the elements, when cast as protection from fire, required the use of sulfur.
 * Syluné's streaking meteor required a wing of an insect or a feather, a pinch of ash, and a pinch of saltpeter or sulfur.
 * Steam blast required some wetted powdered sulfur and two tea leaves or a drop of dragon saliva as material components.
 * Summon fire dragons, a Zakharan spell, required a strip of paper soaked in saltpeter, coal oil, and sulfur to be lit aflame as its material component.
 * Zikalan fireform, a spell very rarely seen on Toril, required a mix of salt, sulfur, and ground peppercorns to be tossed into fire.

Trivia

 * Hell hounds' bodies smelled of smoke and sulfur.
 * Iron golems of Ironslag vented sulfurous smoke from their vents when activated.
 * Kruthiks could not stand the smell of their dead. The creatures' insides reeked of sulfur. Kruthik ichor, innards, and body parts were a valuable commodity in the areas where these monstrous insects were common.
 * Oblex could create duplicates of creatures that were virtually indistinguishable from the original apart from a faint odor of sulfur around them.
 * Nightmares' and red dragons' breath of fire had a heavy distinct stench of sulfur.
 * Saurials of Tarkhaldale were known to exude the scent of brimstone when confused.

Appearances

 * Adventures:
 * Blood Charge &bull; A Dozen and One Adventures &bull; Caravans &bull; Secrets of the Lamp &bull; Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave &bull; Tomb of Annihilation &bull; Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage &bull; The Orrery of the Wanderer


 * Nightmare Keep (adventure) &bull; Undermountain: Stardock &bull; TSR Jam 1999 &bull; For Duty & Deity &bull; Sons of Gruumsh &bull; Princes of the Apocalypse &bull; Storm King's Thunder &bull; Curse of Strahd
 * Novels:
 * Pool of Radiance (novel) &bull; Ironhelm &bull; Red Magic &bull; Elminster in Hell


 * Pools of Darkness (novel) &bull; Pool of Twilight &bull; Dragonwall (novel) &bull; Elfshadow &bull; Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad &bull; An Opportunity for Profit&bull; The Crimson Gold &bull; The City of Ravens &bull; Temple Hill (novel) &bull; The Godborn &bull; The Sentinel
 * Video Games
 * Secret of the Silver Blades &bull; Neverwinter


 * Sword Coast Legends
 * Gamebooks
 * Knight of the Living Dead