I came across an article in Wikipedia about Mad Honey, and how it was used as a biological warfare agent against Roman Armies.
Wondering how Hermetic Magic might synthesise this.
I believe honey would be considered an Animal product, so would Mad Honey need a Mentem requisite?
Apparently, honey is a natural liquid, according to TME 77, and so seems to fall under Aquam. For the purpose of volumes, I'd treat Mad Honey as a dangerous liquid. This is a bit odd, and I would have tended to treat it as an animal product too - but on the bright side, governing it with Aquam means you can use the poison rules - perhaps a light wound. Animal and mentem requisites might be appropriate if you decide to disregard the poison rules, give no wound, and instead use something like Creo Aquam base 2. Just some thoughts.
I would say mad honey could be an unnatural liquid - see the MuAq level 4 guideline "Change a liquid into a very unnatural liquid (for example, a shocking pink liquid that causes bizarre hallucinations) — requisites will often be required."
I would then say it's MuAq with a mentem requisite. Naturally occuring mad honey has its powers becuase it's actually mentem vis.
I have to say that, yes, it would make a great vis source.
Maybe it comes from Rhododendrons of Virtue.
Much like blood is Aquam with an Animal or Corpus requisite to create, one could rule that honey is similar and requires an Animal requisite.
Mad honey would indeed require an additional Mentem requisite. It should probably be considered like a poison, so that a base individual would be 1 dose (however much that is).
Maybe having bees make Mad Honey is how one enriches Rhododendrons of Virtue, with the honey being the final enriched product.
The ancients thought that it could cure insanity (so, Greater Purifying Touch).
And it was apparently consumed by the Delphic Oracles as a prophetic aid (Visions, like a Cornu Ammonis)... so perhaps it's of Faerie origin instead, like ergot?
Ergot has been on my mind recently, and I seem to recall seeing it written up in an Ars Magica book. But it doesn't seem to be "RoP:Faerie" mor "Art & Academe".
Can anyone tell me where Ergot is written up?
I seem to recall ergot being in the old Faeries book, from 2nd edition or so.
Faeries (4th edition) on page 123. It is in the Faerie Plants section, which also covers Cypress, Destroying Angel, Mandrake, Mistletoe, Sea Foam, Stinkhorns, Toadstools, and Truffles.
Before I try digging around for that book, how well does it integrate with 5th Ed?
There is not much text. It can serve as a source of two types of Vis, a poison, and a source of the Virtue Faerie Sight.
EDIT: Faerie Sight functions the same as 'faerie eyes', as seen in the Strong Faerie Blood Virtue. So otherwise normal eyes of an unusual and vivid color that grant Second Sight and the ability to see normally in darkness or semi-darkness.