Perfume was mixture of oil extracts designed to give off a pleasing scent. Unlike incense, perfume was worn or sprayed about, rather than burned.[5]
“
Victory is the finest perfume, and I smell delightful.
”
Description[]
In the Realms, "scent" came to mean general pleasant-smelling substances, while "perfume" came to mean stronger, longer-lasting substances that could be worn, applied to items, or misted across an area.[5][7]
Perfume was stored in vials and bottles that were sometimes covered with sealing wax. Scents were made from a wide variety of natural and processed materials, such as vegetable oils, plant sap and resin, herbs, spices, animal fluids and organs, and minerals.[8][5][7]
Applications[]
Some perfumes had magical qualities,[9] and sprinkling perfume was required for casting the air variation of protection from the elements.[10] Perfume was even used to repulse vampires.[11]
Beeswax could be purified of its honey smell and be given new scents.[12] Inks could also be perfumed, imbuing a written message with the scent, and was most often used for love letters.[13]
Availability[]
“
These perfumes are the world’s finest, ranging from simple scents that cover odors to fine scents that fire imagination and stir passion.
”
— Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue[14]
The value of perfumed varied depending on its quality and rarity, but usually sold for 1 to 6 gp for 1 fl dr (3.7 cm³).[15] In Waterdeep, a vial of perfume had a market value of approximately 1 gp,[16] though the price varied from 1 cp to 30 gp.[17] In other places, perfume could be sold for even more expensive prices,[18] some up to 75 gp per vial.[19]
Perfume was produced in various settlements on Toril, as far back as the empire of Netheril.[20] Marsember was a center of perfume production,[21] and Westgate was particularly renowned for its high-quality perfumes.[22]
Narbondellyn in Menzoberranzan was renowned for its perfumers, who exclusively supplied the rich and powerful of the city.[23]
Alabaster and rock crystal was sometimes used for making delicate ornamental containers such as perfume bottles.[24][25] In Kara-Tur, jade perfume bottles were produced and sold for 1 ch'ien.[26]
Thay also imported or produced perfume. Such perfume was stored in crystal bottles that were designed to spritz the content onto the wearer.[27]
Notable Perfume Sellers[]
- A specialist perfume shop, the House of Pride, existed within Waterdeep in the 14th century DR.[16]
- Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue sold a variety of Westgate-made perfumes, and claimed they were the world's finest. They were named Jasmine Night, Flowers, Mountain Breeze, Mystra's Spell, Red Rose, Ocean Mist, Night Spice, Lliira's Joy, Breath of Spring, and finally, Sune's Fire.[14]
- A Kiss Across the Table in Mosstone sold a wide variety of goods like perfumes, philters of love, and high-heel lace-up bright-red boots.[28]
- Jerome Diloontier, a skilled perfumer that worked in Waterdeep.[29]
- Nottle, a shifty and opportunistic rogue and peddler from the ruins of Myth Drannor carved various and often random items, including perfume.[30]
- Peraegh Omliskur, a seller of fragrances, facepaints, nailbrights, and fanciful silks from Cormyr who traded in the most cutting edge stock popular among young nobility, to the older generation of Cormyrean ladies' disdain.[31]
- Quintessa, a merchant of exotic perfumes.[32]
- The Flame of Love Lutery in Jester's Green sold various perfumed and scented items for romantic purposes.[33]
Notable Perfumes[]
Mundane Perfumes[]
A bottle of dwarven scent.
- Avarine, an expensive perfume from Netheril.[34]
- Bluestars, an expensive concoction that smelled of fresh before-storm winds.[7][5]
- Darkdew, a powerful aphrodisiac perfume.[7][5]
- Felsul flower oil, a perfume formed from petals of the felsul tree, that made the wearer more charismatic.[35][8]
- Frankincense, a sweet-smelling mundane perfume used by Bedine women.[36]
- Harlyr, a cheap rose-smelling perfume that stank of charred goldflow when applied to goblinoid skin.[7][5]
- Jasmine dust, an expensive perfume from Kara-Tur.[32]
- Jassal, an extremely expensive cherry-like perfume that had peculiar reactions with flesh.[7][5]
- Sunrise, an expensive perfume that left a minty, citrusy smell.[7][5]
- Tanlarl, a reasonably expensive perfume that could create an irresistible allure for females.[7][5]
- Other common scents included cinnamon, patchouli, sandalwood, myrrh, rose, lily of the valley, violet, peach, apple, vanilla, and pine.[12]
Magical Perfumes[]
- Perfume of bewitching, a wondrous perfume that made the wearer fascinating.[37]
- Silver spark, a luminescent, musky perfume-poison that could greatly sicken or kill someone who breathed in the rich scent.[38]
- Starella's aphrodisiac, a magical perfume that could charm those of the opposite sex if they were a similar race.[18][39]
History[]
In the late 14th century DR, a fad emerged among the wealthy and nobility of Sembia known as "tomb-scents." These were rare perfumes, for whom the knowledge of how to create was lost to time and thus were obtained from plundering the tombs of fallen realms, such as Netheril.[20]
Notable Users of Perfumes[]
Individuals[]
- Anorrweyn Evensong of Myth Drannor wore a delicate scent of gardenias.[2]
- Elena, one of the victims of the Weeping War, wore jasmine perfume, as the scent emanated from the ghostly form after death.[1]
- Ulia Mannicci, the First Lady of Sumbria, wife of Price Cappa Mannicci, circa 1217 DR.[3]
- The Grand Caliph of Zakhara possessed special perfumes. One such example produced in 1372 DR was kept in a cut ruby bottle, sealed in wax and stamped with his device, and valued at 4,000 gp in 1479 DR.[40]
Intelligent Creatures & Races[]
- Some cloud giants collected rare perfumes, stored within crystal vials with silver lids, in order to display their extravagance.[41]
- Some male dwarves of the Realms were known to perfume their beards, as did the females.[42]
- Among the many luxuries they strove for, noble djinn often sought to have the richest of perfumes.[43]
- In the land of Zakhara, great ghuls were fond of all forms of perfume and would use them to mask their unpleasant odor.[43]
Religions[]
- Cultists of living idols of elemental air were known to sacrifice exotic perfumes to them.[43]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
The Mage in the Iron Mask • The Council of Blades • Uneasy Alliances • Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor • The Crimson Gold
Video Games
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stormfront Studios (2001). Designed by Mark Buchignani, Ken Eklund, Sarah W. Stocker. Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor. Ubisoft Entertainment.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Carrie Bebris (2001). Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 8, pp. 157, 162. ISBN 0-7869-1387-8.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pauli Kidd (November 1996). The Council of Blades. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 2, p. 18. ISBN 978-0786905317.
- ↑ David "Zeb" Cook (August 1989). Player's Handbook (2nd edition). (TSR, Inc.), p. 91. ISBN 0-88038-716-5.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Ed Greenwood (October 2012). Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 127–128. ISBN 0786960345.
- ↑ Jerry Holkins, Elyssa Grant, Scott Fitzgerald Gray (June 18, 2019). Acquisitions Incorporated. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 69. ISBN 978-0786966905.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Ed Greenwood, The Hooded One (2007-06-03). Questions for Ed Greenwood (2007). Candlekeep Forum. Retrieved on 2023-08-03.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd (1996). Volo's Guide to All Things Magical. (TSR, Inc), p. 61. ISBN 0-7869-0446-1.
- ↑ slade et al. (February 1995). Encyclopedia Magica Volume II. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 823–825.
- ↑ Mark Middleton et al (March 1998). Wizard's Spell Compendium Volume Three. (TSR, Inc), p. 712. ISBN 978-0786907915.
- ↑ Christopher Perkins (September 2020). Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 190. ISBN 978-0786966981.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Jeff Grubb, Julia Martin, Steven E. Schend et al (1992). Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue. (TSR, Inc), p. 106. ISBN 0-5607-6327-2.
- ↑ Erin M. Evans (October 2014). Fire in the Blood (hardcover ed.). (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 21, p. ?. ISBN 978-0-7869-6529-8.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Jeff Grubb, Julia Martin, Steven E. Schend et al (1992). Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue. (TSR, Inc), p. 100. ISBN 0-5607-6327-2.
- ↑ Gary Gygax (1979). Dungeon Masters Guide 1st edition. (TSR, Inc.), p. 27. ISBN 0-9356-9602-4.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb (September 1988). City System. Edited by Karen Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 31. ISBN 0-8803-8600-2.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (1987). Waterdeep and the North. (TSR, Inc), p. 31. ISBN 0-88038-490-5.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Steve Kurtz (1993). A Dozen and One Adventures. (TSR, Inc), p. 35. ISBN 1-56076-622-0.
- ↑ Christopher Perkins (November 2018). Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Edited by Jeremy Crawford. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 123. ISBN 978-0-7869-6626-4.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Ed Greenwood (April 1994). “The Everwinking Eye: Land of Merchants”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #94 (TSR, Inc.), p. 4.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood (1990). Forgotten Realms Adventures. (TSR, Inc), p. 92. ISBN 0-8803-8828-5.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood (1990). Forgotten Realms Adventures. (TSR, Inc), p. 116. ISBN 0-8803-8828-5.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 229. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd (1996). Volo's Guide to All Things Magical. (TSR, Inc), p. 35. ISBN 0-7869-0446-1.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood (1990). Forgotten Realms Adventures. (TSR, Inc), p. 145. ISBN 0-8803-8828-5.
- ↑ Curtis Smith, Rick Swan (May 1990). Ronin Challenge. Edited by Jon Pickens, Steve Winter. (TSR, Inc.), p. 94. ISBN 0-88038-749-1.
- ↑ Voronica Whitney-Robinson (September 2012). The Crimson Gold. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 9, p. ?. ISBN 0-7869-3120-5.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (July 2000). Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate II. Edited by Duane Maxwell, David Noonan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 111. ISBN 0-7869-1626-5.
- ↑ Elaine Cunningham (May 1999). “Rogues Gallery: Dreams Spheres”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon #259 (TSR, Inc.), p. 63.
- ↑ Carrie Bebris (2001). Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 35. ISBN 0-7869-1387-8.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (August 2006). Swords of Eveningstar. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 12, p. 144. ISBN 978-0-7869-4022-6.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Ossian Studios (June 2018). Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford. Beamdog.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (July 1995). Volo's Guide to Cormyr. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 160. ISBN 0-7869-0151-9.
- ↑ Erin M. Evans (October 2014). Fire in the Blood (hardcover ed.). (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 12, p. ?. ISBN 978-0-7869-6529-8.
- ↑ Sean K. Reynolds, Duane Maxwell, Angel McCoy (August 2001). Magic of Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 181. ISBN 0-7869-1964-7.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (November 1991). Anauroch. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 19. ISBN 1-56076-126-1.
- ↑ Jeremy Crawford, Mike Mearls, Robert J. Schwalb, Adam Lee, Christopher Perkins, Matt Sernett (November 2017). Xanathar's Guide to Everything. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 137. ISBN 978-0-7869-6612-7.
- ↑ Wolfgang Baur (1993). Al-Qadim: Assassin Mountain: Holy Slayer Sourcebook. (TSR, Inc), p. 5. ISBN 1-56076-764-X.
- ↑ slade et al. (February 1995). Encyclopedia Magica Volume II. (TSR, Inc.), p. 825.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 45. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, et al. (November 2016). Volo's Guide to Monsters. Edited by Jeremy Crawford, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 24. ISBN 978-0786966011.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (October 1990). Dwarves Deep. (TSR, Inc.), p. 5. ISBN 0-88038-880-3.
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 Wolfgang Baur, Steve Kurtz (1992). Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix. (TSR, Inc). ISBN l-56076-370-1.