Chandu

Opium prepared for smoking is known as chandu. It is boiled and strained, then cooled into a crystalline block and wrapped in a dry leaf. To smoke chandu requires a number of tools and a special pipe made from nonreactive materials, often ceramic or jade. Because opium heightens one’s tactile sensations, opium pipes are made with interesting ridged textures for the imbiber to fixate on as they achieve their high.

Preparing chandu requires deft hands and skill, as the drug must be heated until the resin softens, shaped into a pellet, and then dropped with tweezers into the pipe bowl. Opium dens employ servants to do this for patrons, but rōnin who wish to use opium on their own must learn how. Opium makes users especially light sensitive, so chandu is smoked in the dark. Contrary to popular belief, chandu does not eliminate pain, but simply alters the user’s perception so that the pain is bearable or the user no longer cares.

Chandu is legal in Rokugan, but its recreational use is frowned upon by polite society. A person who uses opium infrequently may not become addicted; such a user may be able to cease for months without suffering withdrawal. However, with enough use addiction takes hold, and it becomes nearly impossible to function without a dose. Although opium is important in Rokugani medicine, without proper care, it can just as easily destroy the user as help heal them. (Cost: 4 bu per use. Rarity: 6. Qualities: Forbidden [outside of a medical context].)