Drug smugglers,
known simply as "hightailers," can amass small fortunes in no time. Crime
bosses aquire wealth to dream of. Small empires of organized crime poison
most of the larger cities of Asterland. Payoffs to leadership officials
and bribes given to officers of the law allow the operations to run smoothly
with little intervention from the law.
The hightailers
gained a sample of an extremely potent hallucinogen in 1399 from a
spelljamming arcane of the Clan of the Rose, some of the most twisted
brigands to make their way through the stars. Named simply "rush," a
type of "spice", the drug can put one out for hours at a time in a
state of extreme pleasure, bordering on pain. One dose usually makes
an addict for life. All other pleasures in life are so overshadowed
by the single experience that junkies will do any act, no matter how
hideous, to obtain another high from the substance.
From
the sample, the drugrunners produced mass quantities. An unknown alchemist
researched and developed a simple spell to duplicate the substance.
Similar spells could make spice as well, though the profit margin only
slightly excelled over the cost of shipping it from the lands of chaos.
Posession of the new drug became the new symbol of power and influence
among the world of crime. A crime boss could maintin complete control
over their underlings as long as a promise of rush dangled over their
heads.
