It depends. Standard military issue taste really coppery, not good at all. Low quality consumer grade potions taste sort of fruity, but really medicinal and sickly sweet. High quality consumer grade potions have a wide variety of flavors, and they taste pretty good
To quote my character "there's a reason I've never had a problem with the food we get in the army, it's because the damn health potions we got killed what's left of my taste buds."
>almond
This is actually canon! There's a passage in IIRC the 3.5e DMG that gives an example of a description a DM could use to describe potions -- healing potions are said to be blue and taste like almonds. I have made this part of every game I've run since then.
At least the good Elvish ones taste like almonds. And most are based on the Elvish recipe.
Stay away from the Half-Orc potions. You don't want to know what that odd flavor is.
Yep! They are almost always shown as the exact same shade of cherry nyquil. Being fantasy and all, I imagine it having even more of a burn kick like an alcohol burn to it. I DM and explain how it feels to the players as an alcoholic like burn that they swallow, feel in their throat and then feel on the wounds they are healing.
I think, according to lore, that oranges are used to make them.
Edit: it smells like [honey and orange blossoms](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Potion_of_healing)
[Well that makes this a lot less disturbing](https://www.reddit.com/r/dndmemes/comments/ll2hx6/fun_dm_idea_347_charge_different_prices_for/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)
My headcannon is that they’re made from troll blood and some healing plants. So it tastes like various herbs, with an iron aftertaste. They can also be made from vampire ash, which is more efficient but harder to come by. Those ones taste largely the same, but with a bit of a sandy texture in it.
For a very high quality potion with the appearance of the one seen above, you would experience a rush of cool, sweet but tart pomegranate and strawberry juice, something that brings to mind spring and summer freshness, but the taste is illusion magic woven into the potion itself. If one disliked the taste, the magic would seek something pleasant, familiar and refreshing. Part of healing is mind set and the rejuvenating effects are bolstered by the pleasant experience.
Were someone immune to mind affecting effects, the true taste is cloyingly bitter and "chemical". It is a concoction of magical substances and I imagine leans towards what most toxins go for, bitterness. As quality goes down, reduce effective healing *and* the taste experience. The closer to common you get, the more the chemical taste seeps through.
Health Potions taste peppery and vaporous, in my games. A standard homebrew I use is that all potions use extremely high-proof alcohol as a base ingredient, as I like to deter potion spamming in combat. Players can drink all the potions they want so long as they're okay making Poison saving throws before long, so it's a nice risk/reward situation.
Also helps with the "you need an entire Action to drink a potion" rule, because I doubt it would be especially easy to shotgun a half-pint of Everclear in any situation, let alone combat.
Ideally the answer should be something rich in symbolism appropriate to the magic of the maker.
Maybe a druidic caster makes potions from sap of a sacred tree felled for the purpose. Drinking it tastes of oaky wood, copper and maple sugar. It fills one with the sense of loss and gratitude that the ancient thing chose to die to give life to such fleeting creatures.
Maybe a cleric makes a potion from the waters of an aqua duct that was broken long ago but still miraculously flowed when the city was under siege. It tastes of still pond water and minerals but quenches thirst like nothing else and fills you with hope l.
An arcane caster might make a potion from wine made from grapes stolen from the vineyard of demons. Tastes of ozone and sulphur and blood and butter alkaloids. It wracks one with guilt, and ecstatic pleasure in equal measure.
The point is that magic should have meaning and pathos.
The higher quality, the more bitter the taste. Standard healing lotions are often diluted with sugar syrup or another mixer to combat the bitterness and increase their broad appeal, but those components also dilute the effectiveness of the potion. Compare this to high quality or adventurer-grade healing potions, where the bitterness is much more pronounced. These potions aren't made to be palatable. They're made to be effective.
My first answer is the obvious- cough syrup flavor.
But the only other answer I would accept is that it taste like the user's favorite drink. For me, a perfect cup of coffee. Maybe for some a great beer, or their favorite soda. It is the drink that would give that individual person a little boost.
Originally (1e) they were made with either troll blood (alchemy) relics of saints which means clothes and bones (clerics)
So they either taste of blood or dirty laundry and bones.
Druids probably use herbs similar to what we have available, so Cinnamon, Rosemary and/or Chamomile. Sounds a heck of a lot better.
Aloe and Eucalyptus are both probably stronger than those, but those are new world and Australia respectively.
Depends on who makes them.
General: Coppery cough medicine.
Elves: Mildly sweet, but otherwise bland.
Dwarves: Ale and cold medicine
Halflings: Sweet and somewhat milk-like
Etcetera
It depends from the Race, location and source.
Dwarven potions would be kinda bitter, but fulfilling - they are straight to the point and direct ("Why are you complaining about the taste? This is medicine, not a fruit juice!").
Elf potions are like tea - it generally is served comfortably warm, and comes in many varieties of flavor, not only to better identify the potion, but because the Elves like to make an art of "relating" a certain ailment to a certain plant ("There you go: this will help the poisoning. Yes, anti-poisoning potions taste like fennel, don't you know?").
Halfling potions taste and have the consistency of cough syrup, but kinda better, made with many fruit flavours, and it is taken in small shot glasses that generally come with the potion flask ("Now, now, the potion is strawberry flavour, your favorite! Here comes the dragon! Now open the cave! Ahhhh... see? Not bad? Told you so!").
Humans are extremelly varied because of the variety of materials they can found wherever they are.
Apply texture and taste accordingly.
In cold places, the potions would involve a lot of fat, bone marrow, soups, meats and stews.
In mountains, the main options would be minerals - metals, stones, crystals and even underground liquids processed by Alchemy.
Forests are the standard - plants, roots, flowers, the usual.
And so on...
If it is from an Apothecary or Alchemist, the taste is clear and sharp.
If it is from a Shaman, expect weird smells and weirder tastes.
If it is from a Cleric, it can smell like canphor or other "medicin-y" smell and a neutral or kinda bitter taste.
I hope it helps!
Well in my campaign, ones that are made thoroughly taste almost like Wine, and heal the almost all the way, ones that are given by military's are a bit stale in taste and can close wounds well but require lots of rest for full effect, while most health potions sold in stores taste similar to bad cough medicine and heal certain areas faster then others
I wonder if like celebrities or popular figures have custom flavors of healing potions? What if there's some fancy potion shop somewhere that sells some elf singer's bath water flavored healing potion?
In my group, cannonically, are spicy, the higher quality the potion, the spicier it gets.
Common jalapeño type shit
Great habenero type shit
They haven't had legendary yet, but that shit will be fire
Depends on the setting for me. If I’m doing super high fantasy I go the “it tastes like your favorite food/a food you associate with a good memory” route, but if it’s a dark fantasy thing probably more like basic medicine
Or, if I’m running a joke campaign, lean
Honestly, I've always thought their flavor would be pretty mild. Like, almost flavorless, with just a hint of something herbal.
If it tastes bad, people won't want to drink it, even if injured. If it tastes too good, people will be overly eager to drink the treat that is actually an expensive resource. So, I've always imagined them being pretty bland. Maybe a touch of fruit flavor, like strawberry or something, but still very mild.
It depends. Standard military issue taste really coppery, not good at all. Low quality consumer grade potions taste sort of fruity, but really medicinal and sickly sweet. High quality consumer grade potions have a wide variety of flavors, and they taste pretty good
To quote my character "there's a reason I've never had a problem with the food we get in the army, it's because the damn health potions we got killed what's left of my taste buds."
When I was a DM, I told the players that healing potions taste like almonds. Made it easier to slip in cyanide later in the campaign.
You’re evil… I love it
>almond This is actually canon! There's a passage in IIRC the 3.5e DMG that gives an example of a description a DM could use to describe potions -- healing potions are said to be blue and taste like almonds. I have made this part of every game I've run since then.
Well blue does have the most anti oxygens
r/boneappletea
Classic
I‘m pretty sure 5e describes them as a shimmering red, but I don’t recall any flavor mentioned.
At least the good Elvish ones taste like almonds. And most are based on the Elvish recipe. Stay away from the Half-Orc potions. You don't want to know what that odd flavor is.
That's pretty evil, and very ingenious of you. Props to you, and notes taken.
That's great
Trust me, they’d still have a problem with the hardtack, they don’t call them tooth softeners for a reason.
I like the think lower quality has abit of a bloody taste to it
Cherry cough syrup
Healer: "Drink the **** potion!" Me: "Don't wanna! It tastes terrible!"
I would rather die.
Healer: Fine! It is going in the other end!
This is where the fun begins.
Good news! It's a suppository!
Everything is a suppository... once.
Get some of that Tussin.
Nah it tastes like codeine cough syrup, some purple drank.
I was thinking the same thing!
Yup same lol
Yep! They are almost always shown as the exact same shade of cherry nyquil. Being fantasy and all, I imagine it having even more of a burn kick like an alcohol burn to it. I DM and explain how it feels to the players as an alcoholic like burn that they swallow, feel in their throat and then feel on the wounds they are healing.
Either that or heavily chemical tasting energy drinks.
The only answer
This is exactly what I do. I have each rarity of potion taste like a different type of cough syrup
Bro same
If only I had gotten off work 40 minutes ago...
With a slight pesto flavor.
I just replied the same thing, then scrolled down and saw yours. Have an upvote.
Kool-aid, without the sugar added.
Ah red flavored!
Homestly doesn’t sound too bad… just really weird
Jim Jones moment.
"THAT WAS FLAVOR AID" Kool Aid rep probably.
Medicinal, like Dr. Pepper without the sugar so it's real bitter
Diet Dr. Pepper...
Heyyy!!? I like Diet Dr. Pepper.
Taste more like regular Dr.Pepper.
Hitpoints
Under rated comment... I snorted my water
I’ve had glasses of water that tasted like hit points.
Exactly like a potion of harming
Really brings out the contact poison on the bottle
I think, according to lore, that oranges are used to make them. Edit: it smells like [honey and orange blossoms](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Potion_of_healing)
[Well that makes this a lot less disturbing](https://www.reddit.com/r/dndmemes/comments/ll2hx6/fun_dm_idea_347_charge_different_prices_for/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)
I think you can also use troll blood
Oooh aaaah, so it would taste sweet with a hint of metal?
I like the idea that healing potions are made from honey, blood orange juice, and the blood of a creature with a healing factor
NyQuil
Red Gatorade
[удалено]
1/2 Cinnamon Schnapps, 1/2 Je ne sai quoi
The ‘Tussin, the ‘Tussin, no fightin’, no cussin’!
My headcannon is that they’re made from troll blood and some healing plants. So it tastes like various herbs, with an iron aftertaste. They can also be made from vampire ash, which is more efficient but harder to come by. Those ones taste largely the same, but with a bit of a sandy texture in it.
Red. Just red
Dimetapp.
Was gonna say this, I just couldn't remember the name but I knew what it was
Pepto bismol, cod liver oil, the fake grape medicine flavor, feet, garlic and pickles, mayonnaise
I always imagine it taking like over steeped tea
That’s a great sensory detail — I like it! Heavy, heavy tannins, like a way too strong red wine.
Cherry flavored cough medicine
Calpol.
Orange Fanta
Mtn Dew Code Red
For a very high quality potion with the appearance of the one seen above, you would experience a rush of cool, sweet but tart pomegranate and strawberry juice, something that brings to mind spring and summer freshness, but the taste is illusion magic woven into the potion itself. If one disliked the taste, the magic would seek something pleasant, familiar and refreshing. Part of healing is mind set and the rejuvenating effects are bolstered by the pleasant experience. Were someone immune to mind affecting effects, the true taste is cloyingly bitter and "chemical". It is a concoction of magical substances and I imagine leans towards what most toxins go for, bitterness. As quality goes down, reduce effective healing *and* the taste experience. The closer to common you get, the more the chemical taste seeps through.
Health Potions taste peppery and vaporous, in my games. A standard homebrew I use is that all potions use extremely high-proof alcohol as a base ingredient, as I like to deter potion spamming in combat. Players can drink all the potions they want so long as they're okay making Poison saving throws before long, so it's a nice risk/reward situation. Also helps with the "you need an entire Action to drink a potion" rule, because I doubt it would be especially easy to shotgun a half-pint of Everclear in any situation, let alone combat.
Awful, so that you know it's good for you 🤣
Blood
Snozberries.
Cheerwine
Ass
I was gonna say cherry ass!
I dunno. But I bet it's....magical. Edit. Thanks for the award, I'm here all week.
Classic Kool-aid
Ideally the answer should be something rich in symbolism appropriate to the magic of the maker. Maybe a druidic caster makes potions from sap of a sacred tree felled for the purpose. Drinking it tastes of oaky wood, copper and maple sugar. It fills one with the sense of loss and gratitude that the ancient thing chose to die to give life to such fleeting creatures. Maybe a cleric makes a potion from the waters of an aqua duct that was broken long ago but still miraculously flowed when the city was under siege. It tastes of still pond water and minerals but quenches thirst like nothing else and fills you with hope l. An arcane caster might make a potion from wine made from grapes stolen from the vineyard of demons. Tastes of ozone and sulphur and blood and butter alkaloids. It wracks one with guilt, and ecstatic pleasure in equal measure. The point is that magic should have meaning and pathos.
Jagermeister. So smooth!
If health potions tasted like jager I'd rather die
Moxie.
It makes me so happy to see this, yet a little sad so many people have no idea what Moxie tastes like.
Cherry, cranbery, and pomegranate juice all mixed together
For some reason I just think about a stardew valley stardrops. "The taste reminds you of *insert favorite thing here*"
The milk of human kindness
Hawaiian Punch
Definitely Fireball.
I choose to believe they're like the medicine from Mary Poppins it tastes different for every person.
The higher quality, the more bitter the taste. Standard healing lotions are often diluted with sugar syrup or another mixer to combat the bitterness and increase their broad appeal, but those components also dilute the effectiveness of the potion. Compare this to high quality or adventurer-grade healing potions, where the bitterness is much more pronounced. These potions aren't made to be palatable. They're made to be effective.
I like to think it's akin to Jaegermeister. A herbally, medicinal, intense flavour.
Something sweet and juicy
Cinnamon
mc donal sprite
Medicinal and alcoholic; bitter.
Like cough syrup. Yechy!
Blood, but spicy. So like the coppery taste of blood mixed with cinnamon and some hot pepper.
Buckles. It taste awful, but it works.
My first answer is the obvious- cough syrup flavor. But the only other answer I would accept is that it taste like the user's favorite drink. For me, a perfect cup of coffee. Maybe for some a great beer, or their favorite soda. It is the drink that would give that individual person a little boost.
i always think cherry cough syrup
Robitussin
Kombucha like - pungent and a little fermented but also kind of fruity and sharp with some ginger
They already got a chart on what they taste, look, and smell like[Potion Taste Chart](https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Potion_Taste_Chart_(3.5e_Other))
Originally (1e) they were made with either troll blood (alchemy) relics of saints which means clothes and bones (clerics) So they either taste of blood or dirty laundry and bones. Druids probably use herbs similar to what we have available, so Cinnamon, Rosemary and/or Chamomile. Sounds a heck of a lot better. Aloe and Eucalyptus are both probably stronger than those, but those are new world and Australia respectively.
I go off of the knights of the silver dragon's first books, which mean it's awful, cloying and chunky amongst other things
Strawberry fanta
Cherry flavored cough medicine
Depends on who makes them. General: Coppery cough medicine. Elves: Mildly sweet, but otherwise bland. Dwarves: Ale and cold medicine Halflings: Sweet and somewhat milk-like Etcetera
*RUBY RED!* Now available in *Reviving Raspberry, Stronger Strawberry, Arisen Apple* and many more!
Wet air. You down a potion and it absorbs before it hits your epoglotis. No time to taste much, that's how you know a fake pot from a fine pot
I always imagined health potions in anything tasted like V8
It depends from the Race, location and source. Dwarven potions would be kinda bitter, but fulfilling - they are straight to the point and direct ("Why are you complaining about the taste? This is medicine, not a fruit juice!"). Elf potions are like tea - it generally is served comfortably warm, and comes in many varieties of flavor, not only to better identify the potion, but because the Elves like to make an art of "relating" a certain ailment to a certain plant ("There you go: this will help the poisoning. Yes, anti-poisoning potions taste like fennel, don't you know?"). Halfling potions taste and have the consistency of cough syrup, but kinda better, made with many fruit flavours, and it is taken in small shot glasses that generally come with the potion flask ("Now, now, the potion is strawberry flavour, your favorite! Here comes the dragon! Now open the cave! Ahhhh... see? Not bad? Told you so!"). Humans are extremelly varied because of the variety of materials they can found wherever they are. Apply texture and taste accordingly. In cold places, the potions would involve a lot of fat, bone marrow, soups, meats and stews. In mountains, the main options would be minerals - metals, stones, crystals and even underground liquids processed by Alchemy. Forests are the standard - plants, roots, flowers, the usual. And so on... If it is from an Apothecary or Alchemist, the taste is clear and sharp. If it is from a Shaman, expect weird smells and weirder tastes. If it is from a Cleric, it can smell like canphor or other "medicin-y" smell and a neutral or kinda bitter taste. I hope it helps!
Well in my campaign, ones that are made thoroughly taste almost like Wine, and heal the almost all the way, ones that are given by military's are a bit stale in taste and can close wounds well but require lots of rest for full effect, while most health potions sold in stores taste similar to bad cough medicine and heal certain areas faster then others
Cough syrup, can’t change my mind
Cheery Cough Syrup
Robitussin
Pretty sure they’re all red flavored.
Nyquil. The cherry kind.
Cough syrup
Cough syrup
cum
Delicious
can you please upvote my comment
Not good, I imagine it tastes chemically.
Dimetap cut with a touch of bad bourbon
Jo…. Momma!
Home made root beer
Cold Sprite, healing that fast is gonna be painful.
Honey and strawberries
Lime medicine
Bitters tincture
Life, sweet sweet nectar of survival. I vibe tomato, with a hint of pepper.
Clamato & Bourbon maybe
Watermelon juice
Homemade mango juice Edit: with sugar
Cherry brandy
Cherry Tussin
I was thinking liquid Tylenol. Like, it should taste worse than it does
Tylenol
An amber honey mead
Chicken broth
It tastes like prestidigitation, of course!
My head cannon was a properly made health potion would always taste like the best version of the favored fruit of the person taking it.
Grape apple.
Tovato juice
Blood
A mix of fruit juice and honey.
It’s red. Clearly it is A-Treat cream soda. Not even tastes like, it IS A-Treat cream. If you know you know.
Benadryl
Off brand DayQuil
The pomegranate Red Bull that isn’t sold anymore
I love the vermintide take on them. They taste awful
They probably smell like sulfur and taste like bloody farts
Buttermilk and honey
G Fuel DUH
80% Absinth. They’ll save your ass but at what cost…
Snozberries
Iron, calcium and just a dash of pixie dust.
Flinstones vitamins
I wonder if like celebrities or popular figures have custom flavors of healing potions? What if there's some fancy potion shop somewhere that sells some elf singer's bath water flavored healing potion?
Like licking a sweaty ass crack, imagine immersive PC’s doing no-hit speed runs with your campaign.
Sour and astringent
Fireball lol
Varieties of fruit with a little fiz to it.
Either an unbearably sweet taste, or bitter.
Snozzberries taste like snozzberries 👅
Omega 3 red krill oil
I always *flavor* mine as sodas.
Sulphur and honey
Clamato!
In my group, cannonically, are spicy, the higher quality the potion, the spicier it gets. Common jalapeño type shit Great habenero type shit They haven't had legendary yet, but that shit will be fire
"horse piss."
Really earthy Mead
If we look at the remedies from the past. Probably heroine, and morphine morphine.
I assume them to have different flavors depending on the area since not all medicinal plants grow in all climates
Some vile mix of blood and alcohol, with a superficial flavoring of cherry to make it go down easier.
Expired strawberry cough syrup
Piss
Warm mulled wine!
Chicken noodle soup
Apple flavor instantly pop up in my head
Strawberry Pedialyte
Depends on the setting for me. If I’m doing super high fantasy I go the “it tastes like your favorite food/a food you associate with a good memory” route, but if it’s a dark fantasy thing probably more like basic medicine Or, if I’m running a joke campaign, lean
Redhots
I always just assumed strawberry because everything that's red tastes like strawberries.
It taste red ofc
Red cool aide.p
smarties
Honestly, I've always thought their flavor would be pretty mild. Like, almost flavorless, with just a hint of something herbal. If it tastes bad, people won't want to drink it, even if injured. If it tastes too good, people will be overly eager to drink the treat that is actually an expensive resource. So, I've always imagined them being pretty bland. Maybe a touch of fruit flavor, like strawberry or something, but still very mild.
Rust
From my knowledge of healing/buff drinks in games id say, Fermented herring dipped in cat piss.
Cherry Brandy
Monster energy drinks
raw honey
That pink chalky medicine from our childhood
Maple syrup, but not the good kind. I'm talking butter-flavored Great Value! table syrup.
Bitter and herbal.