Classes
Class refers to your character’s choice of adventuring profession.
RPG Series
Illustrations by the inimitable Julie Dillon.
PERFUME OIL BLENDS
Presented in an amber apothecary vial
“You all meet at an inn…”
Pen and paper role-playing games have been a tremendous influence in my life since my formative years. My parents bought me the magenta D&D boxed set back in 1982, along with the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual. My lifelong passion for fantasy, science fiction, war games, and mythology was well-channeled through RPGs, and I credit playing D&D with helping me sustain my imagination and sense of wonder through adulthood.
I played with one particular group through the bulk of my late teens and early 20s, and this series — along with the atmosphere tools that Black Phoenix Trading Post has introduced — was inspired, specifically, by the time that we spent campaigning together. Our group was somewhat prop-driven in our gaming: we felt that setting a mood was conducive to our style of gameplay. Little things like changes in lighting, minor sound effects, and music made a world of difference, and we found that utilizing miniatures, model railroad scenery, and other tools in order to physically illustrate strategies and provide visual cues was tremendously useful. How much more immersive would it have been if we’d been able to smell the crypt we were crawling through? Or the stench of steel and blood that permeates a warrior’s cloak? What do the wizard’s spell components smell like? What does winter in the desert smell like? Or spring in a druid’s sanctuary?
Pen and paper role playing games are, to me, dynamic stories that are propelled by the active participation of many individuals. You can’t have a strong storyline without creating characters of some depth. When you create a character, you generally have their personalities, priorities, and history in mind, along with a clear vision of what your character looks and sounds like. But how does she smell? What does the world around her smell like?
In most pen and paper fantasy RPGs, three of the primary attributes that you must choose for your character are race, class, and alignment. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s RPG scent series was designed to emulate the character creation process, and are meant to be layered in order to create a character concept. In short: you layer your class, race, and the two fragrances that compose your alignment to construct your character scent. RPGs in all their myriad forms — CRPGs, MMOs, and old school pen and paper — have brought me immeasurable joy. This is my homage. This series is dedicated to my first DMs — my parents — for laughing off the nutter-perpetuated AD&D Satan Scare of the 80’s. Thanks for taking the time to play with your little girl. I miss you, and I love you.
Anna Hurd –
Got Rogue as an imp and IMMEDIATELY ordered a full bottle. It’s warm, wearable, and androgynous- very comforting, and very roguelike, like a moody, leather-clad adventurer with a secret soft spot. I get quite a lot of supple, worn leather at first, but it mellows quickly and melds gorgeously with the hemp to make a warm, slightly sweet, slightly smoky scent when dry. I love layering a little bit of Graveyard Dirt to really give Just Came Back To The Tavern After Riding Through the Woods vibes, but Rogue is also absolutely lovely on its own.
Ella Stone –
super comforting scent, the hemp reminds me of my dad. very masculine. the leather note is just superb. It’s warm but no sharp, just melts into your skin like butter. My female friend wears it religiously and smells fantastic in it.
morganism –
This was the first ever perfume I have received from this site, my friend gave this to me as an imp because I commented on how it smelt like a childhood memory of mine– a well looked after second-hand shop, or a crystal/spirituality store. Personally I would have described it as ‘heavy hemp, incense, and well-worn leather’ when first applied, but as it fades during the day it drifts into a more sweeter yet still very warm smell. This is good for people who don’t enjoy floral scents and want a much more calmer perfume. My boyfriend said, and I quote, “I don’t like the way it smells in the morning, but I like it in the afternoon.” It is quite a masculine scent but can also be feminine, like a pretty stranger you saw in a book store. I have a full sized bottle arriving in the mail soon with other imps from this series, very happy!
Eli –
A really nice warm scent! The leather smell is very comforting.
It fades quickly on my skin but when I pair it with other perfumes, it’s adds a nice undertone!
Lunashayde –
I really like this scent, when i first put it i get the warmth of the leather along w/ an incense kind of hint. Later on it turns more into a cinnamon,sugar/vanilla and slight floral with a hint of the leather. Definitely can be worn by anyone looking for a warm, spicy scent.
SwampFairy –
I can definitely smell the rosin- by which I mean it smells just like my violin rosin! I’m also getting florals, and maybe the hemp? It’s nice and unisex and isn’t overpowering. It very distinctly reminds me of the incense in my favorite tattoo parlor, as weird as that sounds.
eleanorh13 –
This smells like a rogues trusty length of hemp rope, carried for years in a leather satchel. Both soft and strong.
I absolutely love this scent once it dries, it is delightfully androgynous. It is invigorating without being overpowering.
Margaret –
Bought an imp of this first and was not disappointed! This might become a new favorite scent. Relentless but not overpowering.
Gloame –
Like something that used to be zingy and has been worn down a bit from constant use and battle. Still zingy, but now more mellowed. Does seem to fade quickly… or maybe it just went Stealth. I like this!
When I’d wear this: Early spring
jonsicampbell –
I’ve bought this a few times, and me and my fiance both love it to bits!
For a more potent fragrance, I apply at the key areas (jawline, wrists, back of the knees) for when I want to have a nice and adventurous smell, but for a more subtle everyday scent, I recommend mixing a few drops into about a tablespoon of an essential oil. Almond oil is my recommendation if you want a nice moisturizing oil without a strong scent, but baby oil works in a pinch! Mixing it with Dwarf gives it an overtly musky and masculine tone, mixing it with Good gives it a more subtly sweet feminine fragrance, but either mix is unisex for sure.
chelsielabrecque –
Love it!! Just bought a bunch of perfume and it came in yesterday. Tried this one today. For some reason it actually smells like a hint of vanilla and very sweet on me? Not what I expected but still good. And agree on the staying power– still on me at 8pm from 11am this morning
etarletons –
Comes out as a very overt leather scent on my skin, and has good staying power.
vampireleniore –
I love this so much. This is a great scent for androgynous souls. It has this masculine, adventurous aspect shown through the leather and hemp, but a subtle femininity that gradually comes to the surface as it dries down. I am very glad I was sent this with an order. It immediately became a favorite.
john –
This is absolutely fantastic if you let it age a while, but still very good fresh. In a fresh bottle the hemp is very aggressive in the bottle, but melds into leather on the skin. After about a year the hemp mellows out and mixes even better with the rosin and leather. Overall to me it smells like old wood that has been worn smooth over time, with medium notes of leather.
Janna –
The description of it made me very happy, hence going for it.
However, for me, it was too over-powering, especially the hemp. That said, I ended up giving it away to a buddy of mine and she loved it to pieces! Which, to me, doesn’t mean it wasn’t successful, just didn’t work on my body type.
I would highly recommend that if this is your first time thinking about it, purchase an Imp, first, to see if it’s truly for you. 🙂
xaglow –
I love the smell of hemp and, when wet, this one smells of it strongly! I found that as it dried the pine-like rosin scent became a bit stronger.
I will be buying this one in the larger bottle.
[email protected] –
There are very few perfumes I tend to like wet, but in the bottle rogue simply smells deliciously musky though no real notes of leather or rosin can yet be picked up there is a light scent of hemp. Once on the skin it almost instantly changes. On me it smelled of warm hemp and rosin almost instantly and given a little time sweetened to the soft smell of hemp and leather with lighter rosin notes complimenting it. Overall a wonderful smell that lasts quite sometime without being too over-powering that it might give a sneaking thief away. Overall it leaves you smelling like a true rogue in every sense.