Salt

A chunk of rock salt.
Salt
History
Aliases	Sodium Chloride Halite Table salt Rock salt
Usage
Cost	5 cp per 1 pound (0.45 kilograms)

Salt was a substance that was widely produced and used in the Realms for a variety of culinary, industrial, alchemical, and magical purposes.

Description

Salt was a naturally occurring mineral that formed translucent white crystals. When mined from the ground, it was called rock salt, also known as halite.

It was not to be confused with other substances referred to as salts, such as saltpeter, smelling salts, natron, alum, potash, sal ammoniac, bromine salt, or alkaline salt that were often inadvisably edible and were more readily applied in laboratories or other non-culinary situations.

Availability

A heap of ground rock salt.

Salt was a common trade good on many routes, with most large caravans containing at least one dedicated salt wagon. It was rarely the mainstay of entire economies, however, as it was broadly naturally abundant, most regions having at least some local production. Its value as a spice and a preservative was also somewhat lessened by the wide selection of other methods available in Faerûn and beyond. This included preservative substances such as maxoris, seal berries, halamda, and nitre, the spell preservation, or careful use of brown mold. Other flavor-enhancers including the wide array of spices in the Realms and spells such as flavor or prestidigitation.

Purveyors

Many people and organizations used the harvesting, trading, and application of salt as a source of income:

• The Saltbaron clan of Duergar in Gracklstugh practised salt mining as their main trade.
• Gnomish families often made a living by mining small salt deposits.
• The Salters' and Packers' Guild of Port Kir in Tethyr packed salted fish for inland trade.
• The Fellowship of Salters, Packers, and Joiners in Waterdeep preserved food for oceanic trade, including between Faerûn and Maztica.
• Aurora of Aurora's Emporium sold salt for in bulk for 1 sp per pound, in 1 lb blocks or 5 lb of granules, or smaller seasoning packets for 1 cp.
• The markets of Zakhara would typically sell salt at a price of 1 sp per pound.
• The island of Tharsult was a center of trade for spices and salts.

Locations

Special Moonsea salt.

Salt could be obtained from salt marshes, the ocean, or other bodies of salty water by evaporating the water. A common method was pouring the water across a flat surface and letting the water evaporate. It was harvested from a wide variety of sources in the Realms:

• The Flooded Forest between the Vast and Moonsea regions.
• The Adder Swamp in Chessenta was difficult to access, but gave Chessenta a sizable salt export.
• The Spider Swamp in Calimshan.
• The Great Swamp of Rethild in the Shining South.
• A tributary of the Deeping Stream in Featherdale infused with mineral salt was harvested by boiling the water.
• The water from bogs beneath the salt pans of the the Sword could be harvested for salt, though it was difficult and risky.
• The lakes fed by the Anai River in the Plain of Horses were harvested for salt, especially Lake Gusang, with each lakebed's minerals producing a different color.
• The Dwyvach Salt Flats in the Moonshae Isles.
• The Moonsea provided a unique salt.

Salt could also be found as naturally forming chunks on the shores of extremely salty bodies of water.

• Azulduth, the Lake of Salt, near Mulhorand.
• The Lake of Steam in southern Faerûn.
• Lake Lhespen in the Shaar had several communities that harvested from it.
• Volcanic hot springs could produce special kinds of salt.

A small heap of salt.

Salt pans on the site of dried-up lakes and inland seas were also a source of salt:

• The Anauroch desert had many salt pans that were mined by the Bedine, especially in the Sword region. The Shoal of Thirst was an especially massive salt pan, formed from the basin of Hidden Lake.
• The Raurin desert.
• The Lake of Salt contracted in summer, revealing expansive salt flats. They were mined by locals from the towns of Azun and Buldamar.
• A kavir was a salt flat in Zakhara which was actually a crust of salt over thick black mud, making a dangerous hazard for travelers. Similar formations existed in Anauroch covering saltwater bogs.

Exploratory salt mines were major producers of rock salt. Underground deposits could be located by the presence of a salty spring, as groundwater combined with the salt vein.

• The mountains around Amn, including around Keczulla.
• The mountains of Calimshan.
• The mountains of Chult.
• The Korinn Archipelago in the Moonshae Isles.
• The northern islands of Mintarn in the Sea of Swords.
• The Orsraun Mountains.
• The Whiteshell Mine near Blingdenstone in the Underdark.
• The mountains of Samarach in the Chultan Peninsula, including Torich's Mines of Selgol.
• The Serpent Hills in the Western Heartlands. Below the head of the Great Petrified Serpent, ancient gnomes dug salt mines.
• The Valley of Umbricci near Colletro in the Blade Kingdoms.
• The valleys near Marrauk in Laerakond produced very pure, very fine salt.
• Small veins of salt formed in rock crevices in the Sword of Anauroch.
• The arid plains of Ma' Yuan and Ch'ing Tung in Shou Lung provided great amounts of salt for the empire.

Other large deposits of salt could be found elsewhere in the Realms, but were not necessarily accessible:

• The Underdark contained many large deposits of salt. These included the Buried Realms near Tethyamar, the caves of Deep Raurin, the Darklands near Traaskl Thorog, and the deposits near Lake Drooud that were searingly-hot thanks to nearby underground volcanism.
• Lake Luo was surrounded by salt flats.
• The Sea of Salt near Moradask in Zakhara was a large salt pan, but was too inhospitable to harvest.
• The alkaline lake in the Pit of the Ghuls in Zakhara was an untapped source of many types of salt thanks to its remote location and extreme danger.
• The T'hai Salt Flats in Wai were a salt lake that drained away, but were inaccessible thanks to the necromancer Utwa So.

Usage

Food

Crushed rock salt.

• Salt was often used to preserve meat such as pork and fish including cod, salmon, and herring (turning them into salted fish), prolonging their shelf life. Wemics favored salt to preserve their foods.
• Salt was a primary ingredient in the creation of certain condiments and sauces such as mustard, garum, and soya sauce.
• Salt was a common seasoning in countless dishes, ranging from subtle to overwhelming. Some salty meals and snacks such as salted nuts were served in taverns in order to make patrons thirstier, or served alongside dishes such as farmer's cheese and caprese to enhance the taste.
• Salt was sometimes applied to food via a small device called a salt shaker, or stored in another called a salt cellar.
• Sauerkraut was made by fermenting cabbage in salt.
• The Bedine salted their coffee.
• Colored salts were a part of Chultan cuisine, and salt was used in recipes such as kinche and kita.
• The people of the Plain of Horses, harvesting around the Anai River, favored white salt for the upper classes, green for the rest, and red salt for animals.
• Dwarves were fond of eating heavily salted food that others found unpalatable, and often carried chunks of rock salt to lick. They would even lick salt residue from the walls of natural caverns they traveled through.
• Gnomes generally over-salted their food by other's standards, and ate rock salt like others would eat candy. Deep gnomes rarely cooked, instead preserving their food with salt to the extent it was unpalatable to others.
• Greater sea hags derived much of their sustenance from sea salt and consequently spent much of their time grinding salt through the use of magical rock-crushing devices.
• The Tuigans had their tea with salt and milk.
• Qilué Veladorn was fond of eating glow worms dipped in rock salt.
• In the sage Elminster's opinion, only barbarians salted their butter.

Other

• Salt was used in the production of alchemical potions, especially explosive ones.
• Salt was involved in processes to refine and purify gold ore.
• Saltsteel was a form of magically-hardened salt which could then be used in crafting.
• Salt was a key ingredient in some medicinal balms.
• The priests of Loviatar rubbed salt in their wounds to accentuate the pain.
• Arable land was sometimes salted to poison the land for generations, such as in Sessrendale. However, this was considered a grievous affront to the harvest goddess Chauntea.
• Bamsmacks were filled with common salt.
• The salt bond was a Zakharan bond of hospitality formed by the consumption of salt from a host's table.
• Marids used exotic salts to flavor the water they breathed.

Spell Components

Salt was used as a material component in many spells:

• Agitate wounds used a pinch of salt.
• Clone could be performed using a vessel filled with salt water to contain the grown body.
• Comprehend languages used a pinch of salt and soot.
• Gentle repose used a pinch of salt along with two copper coins placed on the corpse's eyes.
• Metal to rust used a vial of salt water.
• Obar's lesser purification used a pinch of salt along with a pinch of limestone dust and three drops of potion of sweet water.
• Preservation used a pinch of salt.
• Proof from teleportation could use 10 lb. of salt stuffed into a 5-lb. sack.
• Protection from the elements could use salt to protect against drowning and depth pressure.
• Spellweb could use a grain of salt.

Bedine magical traditions used salt or another elemental aspect of the desert as a component. This included At'ar's fire, cleanse water, conjure sand lion, create water, death smoke, find water, fist of sand, flesh mirage, flying jambiya, life water, pillar of sand, sand gems, sand healing, sand jambiya, sand shadow, sand shroud, sand whisper, sand worm, sandswallow, sun stone, whispering sand, wind blade, wind compass, and wind shadow.

Creatures

Salt dragons ate salt and used it as a weapon.

• Salt was a vital part of most creatures' biology, with too much or too little causing illness and death.
• Sea-native aquatic beings such as sea elves and sahuagin usually required salt water to remain healthy.
• Nishruu were heavily damaged by contact with even a handful of salt.
• Salt dragons lived near the sea or saltwater lakes. They breathed a cone of salt crystals, potentially blinding the target or incapacitating them with pain.
• Salt mephits were minor elementals made of salt.
• Salt mummies were created when a person who led a horror-filled life was buried near veins of salt, often becoming a threat to miners.
• Snails, slugs, and scum creepers were highly vulnerable to salt.

Magic

• A wand of salt could be used to induce pain and dehydration on a target, or salt a large area of soil.
• The salt cantrip could create a small amount of fine salt.
• Purify food and drink and purify water could be used to remove the salt from water, making it potable.
• A decanter of endless water or alchemy jug could be used to make salt water.

Other

• The Green Sword River was extremely salty, but was purified of salt at Sekras by an mysterious device operated by the priesthood of Thoth.
• Crystal flowers were highly-prized natural halite or gypsum formations from the Underdark that resembled flowers.
• The wastelands of Avernus in the Nine Hells were dotted with salt flats made from the tears of the damned.
• The Quasi-Elemental Plane of Salt was an entire plane made of salt, a rare instance of too much salt.
• Hamdh was a desert-growing shrub in Zakhara which was extremely rich in salt, making it ideal for camel grazing.
• In T'u Lung tradition, salt was one of the five tastes.
• Salt was used colloquially to refer to old sailors ("old salts").

Appendix

External Links

• Rock Salt article at the Neverwinter Wiki.
• Salt article at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.