Ogrebait

Ogrebait is a large, leafy shrub found in the lowlands of High Trollar. The plant has flowers that can bloom in a color ranging from purple to yellow to white depending on breed. Ogrebait, while toxic to most races, is known to be consumed by Ogres for its tranquilizing effect. As such, ogre hunters also use the plant as bait, hence the name.

Ogrebait

Official Name: Ogrebait

Common Name: Sleepy Plant

Classification: Shrub

Common Use: Drug, baiting, medicine

Habitat: Cold and damp environments

Origins: The Lowlands of High Trollar

Origins

Ogrebait is a naturally occurring plant that has existed for hundreds of years. It grows in the cold, lowland forests of the island of High Trollar, south of Ellador. It is an evergreen plant, keeping its leaves throughout the year. Among the forests, ogrebait is a fairly nonremarkable plant with its pale green leaves. It is easily recognizable and distinguished by its flowers.

Ogrebait first caught the attention of Humans in 52 A.C. when a group of hunters observed an Ogre sitting down to consume the plant’s leaves before the beast fell into a state of drowsiness. After killing the helpless beast and making further such observations, they determined the plant’s properties, and soon its use as ogrebait was spread among hunters alike. Hunters often use the scent to tell if an ogre was nearby as it meant a plant was recently feasted upon.

Etymology

Ogrebait’s common name comes from its main use as ogre bait. The plant was not previously noticed by Humans and as such did not have any name. The native Dargan races are quite familiar with the plant and its effects, avoiding it and simply call it “sleepy plant” in their respective tongues.

Primary Use

Ogrebait leaves are poisonous, containing a toxin that causes extreme and total paralysis, meaning loss of movement and feeling. It effectively kills the victim through heart failure or suffocation as the required muscles stop working.

The toxin must be ingested to take effect, whether through eating or direct exposure to open wounds. Neither the leaf nor the toxin penetrates through skin. If a leaf is removed from the plant, the toxin within loses potency over time as the leaf rots.
Ogres use the leaf as a recreational drug. It is generally believed that an Ogre’s blood, known for having medicinal qualities, counteracts the deadliness of the toxin. The large beasts will generally sit down besides a shrub and pick at the leaves, eating them one at a time until the toxin makes them too drowsy to continue moving. Ogres usually eat no more than half a dozen leaves before the effects fully take hold.
Ogrebait was found to be deadly to Humans, and presumably other races, when it killed a hunter who ate it as part of a dare.
The ogrebait toxin has a very distinctive smell of bitter leaves. When parts of an ogrebait become cut or torn, the scent is exposed to the air and is incredibly easy to detect. Unless the toxin is extracted and preserved, an ogrebait leaf generally becomes harmless within a week.

The Ogrebait toxin is also used by healers as an anesthetic. The toxin is extracted and then extremely diluted with water to weaken its effect. Other herbs or ingredients, sometimes including ogre blood, are also added to further negate the lethal effects of the toxin. The resulting mixture, called Ogrebait Extract, is used to numb parts of the body during otherwise painful procedures.

To use, a needle is dipped into a vial of extract. The patient is then pricked at the desired area so that the mixture penetrates the skin and enters the body.
Muscles are paralyzed and feeling is lost from that point on to the extremities. The mixture often causes a throbbing pain for a second or so before a pleasant tingling signals the numbing effect taking place. The effect lasts for a few hours. Afterwards, an electrical tingling may be felt that lasts for a day afterwards.
Multiple uses are avoided as it can risk heart failure.
The extract works in various degrees across races. Generally, smaller sized races are more susceptible to the extract’s effects. Orcs seem to be particularly resistant to it, presumably because of their relations to ogres. Though an ogrebait leaf can still kill an Orc, the diluted extract causes paralysis for only an hour at most and no further numbing takes place.

Name	Appearance	Habitat
Ogrebait (Sleepy Plant)	Large shrub, grows to the height of a human. Pale green, arrowhead shaped leaves about the size of a human hand. Bell-shaped flowers just as large, can come in colors ranging from purple to yellow to white depending on breed.	Full to partial shade, cannot tolerate full sunlight. Prefers damp, cold environments, cannot tolerate environments that are temperate or warmer.

Accreditation

Written by Sven_Tu.
Art by Lithiel_Everlast.
Processed by Shayin and Green_Hood.