Spice

Spice is integral to any space trader's success, and not only in the act of selling it for profit. Spice is also used by your crew in order to maintain their morale. Be aware that not all zones are created equal! Some may offer more spice and entertainments than others or perhaps do not offer anything in the way of leisure at all.

To that effect, be mindful that spice halls do not appear in the wild or in other places where the Spice Rating is less than 3. The higher the Spice Rating, the more morale will be recovered, but Spice and Entertainment in the Hall cannot raise crew morale above 80, regardless of a zone's Spice Rating. Furthermore, should you visit a zone owned by a Faction with whom you have a reputation of -15 or lower, you will be denied access to their Spice Districts.

### Spice Hall Services

Spice and Entertainment in the Hall cannot raise crew morale above 80, regardless of a zone's Spice Rating. Rychart spice halls are a special case; they can raise morale to 90 if the spice rating on the zone is high enough.
The amount of morale recovered with each round of Spicing and Entertaining depends on the zone's Spice Rating. Half the Spice Rating is guaranteed in morale gain, and the other half is rolled as a dice. Therefore, with 10 Spice Rating, you gain 5 to 10 morale with each paid round. Individual crew member Talents and Traits effect the morale changes caused by Spicing. Some crew will gain morale faster, or cause other crew members to gain or loose morale at each visit to the Spice Hall.

## Spice History

The spice is the universal intoxicant that keeps any good spice hall running for spacers and gravs alike. By the time it reaches the spice hall, it has been refined from its naturally occurring or farmed form into all sorts of consumable eats, drinks, smokes, and other delights.

In its natural state, spice is an organism that in many ways resembles a modern coral -- spreading through spores released into the air which take root and replicate when they land in favorable conditions. From these spores grow a hard crystalline structure that eventually cracks or shatters and releases another round of spores to continue the spice’s spread.

Spice has been found to be naturally occurring on worlds across the galaxy, even before the arrival of the Star Traders. How the spice crystal has traveled the stars is an abiding mystery. Some believe that humanity and Xeno alike played a role in inadvertently spreading the spores of spice to the galactic winds. Whatever the truth behind its proliferation, the spice spore is a hardy organism. Trace amounts of spice spores are able to survive harsh conditions and environments and then later blossom into spice crystals that start a new cycle. Once airborne in a “spice wind,” spice spores have been known to drift for hundreds of miles in the atmosphere until landing in an area to start the cycle again.

Far away from the Spice Halls, spice harvesting and farming is hard and grinding work. Refining spice requires whole crystals that have not been damaged or cracked, as once the inside of the crystal is cracked and exposed to air, it begins to rapidly decompose into spores. On worlds where spice has been growing unharvested for thousands of cycles, great crystal deposits have built up over the ages. On these worlds, spice mines plunge deep beneath the surface to tap these immense seams of spice, often employing massive labor forces to carefully extract individual crystals.

While spice crystals spread naturally, their quantity and quality for refinement varies greatly upon the conditions under which the spice grew and the timing of its harvest. Spice farming is a labor intensive practice of spreading spice spoor, trimming and grooming the spice field, and attempting to provide the optimal radiation, moisture and temperature for the crystals. The Spice Festivals across the many Quadrants are often tied to the timing of the spice harvest on nearby spice farming worlds.

## Spice Festivals

Spice festivals are declared for rare and portent astronomical events or aligned with great spice field harvests on nearby systems. Planned in advance for years at times, these excessive and exaggerated affairs draw hundreds of thousands of spectators to the spice hall and the surrounding districts to join in the weeks of revelry and hedonism. During these times, it is common that laws are bent if not outright broken.

### Pit Fighting

On some of the more lawless and backwater worlds, spice festivals may include gladiatorial violence. Pit fights draw crowds of blood-thirsty spectators who roar for more and fill rosters with bets on the opposing teams of four. Such murderous sport is allowed only during a festival, but it is known that much like black markets, pit fighting goes underground the rest of the year.