Fun Facts about Onion Head

[Limoncello Lizard]

Now that we have four varieties of Onion Head in the game, I thought I'd look into it a bit.
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The in-game description of the "original" Onion Head, from Kappa Fornacis states that the plant is actually from HIP 55118, and not Kappa Fornacis.

The Onion Head flower is native to HIP 55118, and its seeds contain the well-known psychedelic narcotic. Illegal in most jurisdictions.

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The ED Wiki page on Onion Head describes the history of Onion Head. How its production at Kappa Fornacis was nearly destroyed. How the strain of Lucan Onion Head was developed at tanmark and also the development of the Onionhead Alpha Strain at Xelabara. We have now witnessed the next chapter with the creation of Onionhead Beta Strain.
Unfortunately, I can't find anything more about the history of Onion Head at is native planet. but there is nothing stating that Onion Head is extinct there.
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I wonder if there should actually be Onion Head available from a station in HIP 55118.
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I did a little research on HIP 55118.
It is an Alliance system, but is currently not controlled by any powerlay faction. There are 3 stations and 4 outposts.
Narcotics are illegal at all of the stations and outposts, except for Hermite Port
Stations:

• Drzewiecki Market, 403ls - Alliance corporate, agriculture, no black market - orbits a water world that is being terraformed
• Lopez de Villalobos Enterprise, 557ls, - Alliance corporate, industrial, no black market - orbits a terrestrial water world
• Julian Enterprise, 1088ls - Federation democracy, Industrial/Refinery, has a black market

Outposts:

• Hermite Port, 226ls - Independant dictatorship, industrial, no commodities or black market,
• Roberts City, 528ls - Independant dictatorship, industrial, no black market - orbits a terrestrial water world
• Gunn Hub, 764ls, Alliance corporate, industrial, no commodities market or black market
• Bogdanov Ring, 1041ls - Federation corporate, industrial, no commodities market or black market

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The most likely source of the Onion Head is the planet Drzewiecki Market orbits. I checked out the market there and Onion Head is not available, which is no surprise. The fact it is a water world doesn't discount it as being the source of Onion Head, though the fact it is being terraformed may explain why our favourite narcotic is not available here.
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I suspect the makeup of the HIP 55118 system is due to Stellar Forge rather than lore, but a terrestrial waterworld being terraformed could easily be built into the Onion Head lore.
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I hope that we can eventually have a CG to return Onion Head to its native planet, hopefully using all four existing Onion Heads in the game.

 

[DNA-Decay]

I'm in.

I reckon FDev could do worse than get Marra to write some lore around Onion Head.

She keeps a ripper blog here's a tale from a previous Oh CG http://inara.cz/cmdr-logbook/1355?page=3

 

[goemon]

one could try flipping drzewiecki market ... what kind of planets are the other stations alligned to?

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

one could try flipping drzewiecki market ... what kind of planets are the other stations alligned to?

I'm at work ATM, but IIRC the closest planet was metal rich, then three water worlds (closest being terraformed), then an ice planet and a couple of gas giants.
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Flipping drzewiecki market would be fun as a group, but there's probably not much point until there is a guarantee that the Onion Head will actually be there. Pity there isn't a black market, but this is moot as illicit goods aren't sold at black markets.

 

[Elementical]

Onionhead has always been legal in Alliance controlled space

Narcotics are a different commodity type.

 

[Marra Morgan]

I'm in.

I reckon FDev could do worse than get Marra to write some lore around Onion Head.

She keeps a ripper blog here's a tale from a previous Oh CG http://inara.cz/cmdr-logbook/1355?page=3

You're wonderfully kind, as always ♡

I've thought a lot about the lore behind Onionhead and my take on it is that in its native environment on HIP 55118, the plant is not toxic. But when grown on Panem (Kappa Fornacis), there's something that gives the plant it's psychoactive properties; it could be something in the atmosphere, the soil, or a native insect that polinates the flower and gives the seeds their potency.

This could explain why it's not exported from HIP 55118. The artificial strains created at Tanmark, Xelebara and HIP 112974 use lab-created synths of whatever it is that's special about Panem. Onionhead connoirseurs, like my character Marra, can tell the difference between the strains

I've also wondered about the method of consumtion and the effects of Onionhead; other than it being described as a psychedelic, there's little else to go off. I gather that it's largely accepted as "space-weed" (star-skunk?!) but the description tells us that it's the seeds which are the psychoactive part. This would be more akin to Morning Glory seeds, which have an effect very similar to LSD and are ingested or used in brews (or potions, if you want to get all shamanistic!).

If the head of the flower was dried out, including the seeds, it could be smoked. This could be what name of the drug is referring to. Drying and smoking would also be a more organic and natural way of processing and distinguishes it from the basic Narcotics type of good, which are described as "synthetic".

Anyway, that's what I reckon. Oh and I would just like to clarify that I don't condone the use of drugs in real-life. But please understand that writers have to do research, right?

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

Narcotics are a different commodity type.

Not really. "Legal drugs" have these types: Beer; Wine; Liquor; Tobacco; and Narcotics. The rare goods can each be grouped into these (except for Pavonis Ear Grubs)
The in game description for OH says

and its seeds contain the well-known psychedelic narcotic

 

[M. Grey]

Great stuff: The post, Lore and Onionhead!

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

Onionhead connoirseurs, like my character Marra, can tell the difference between the strains

I helped with this. I cut the OH I was supplying to Xelabara with LTT Hypersweet, and I cut the OH supplied to HIP 112974 with Ochoeng Chillies. The geneticist who helped me said that it would take a few generations for the effects to become obvious.
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Your explaination for OH not being supplied from HIP 55118 is plausible, but I think it more likely that the terraforming has made it nearly extinct in its native form.
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And on how it is used. That would depend on the culture of the user. Smoking, snuff, sprinkled on food, brewed and drunk, concentrated and injected - all these might work and give the user a slightly different hit.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

The correct slang term for consuming one unit of all four varieties onionhead simultaneously is "to chuck norris."

Oh, wait, I thought you wanted actual facts about onionhead... My bad.

 

[DNA-Decay]

Generally I take my Onion Head like I take my coffee - Orally.

But I'm open to suggestions.


Re: Chuck Norris - not generally known as a drug pig.
Maybe the "Burroughs, Bukowski and Sheen"

or the "Keith Moon" or the "Keith Richards" or "Keith Flint" (Prodigy)
or maybe "Go the full Keith"

 

[goemon]

Not really. "Legal drugs" have these types: Beer; Wine; Liquor; Tobacco; and Narcotics. The rare goods can each be grouped into these (except for Pavonis Ear Grubs)

not really \o/

there are also (hardcoded?) iregular legalities and illegalites with rare goods, for exampel vorhab bee drones, which are only illegal in jaques system...

also some rares are blocked by major faction allegiance of a ruling faction, and not by goverment type (for exampel: borasetanic parthogenics - classified as battle weapons, but not unlocked if battle weapons are sold, because blocked by alliance...).

same is afaik with alliance and onionhead - even if narcotics is illegal, a corporate alliance goverment (which makes narcotics illegal) allows onionhead. needs more testing!

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

not really \o/

you have a point. What I meant by "legal drugs" is the heading in the commodity market. But, on second thought, they are - by definition - legal, since they are legally for sale.
The real category heading is just "drugs", some of which are legal, some not, for exactly the reasons you describe. I can't recall if there is any grouping in the black market.
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But my point in the above post is that most rare goods group into specific commodities, such as animal meat, fish, liquor, narcotics, etc. and the description for OH states it is a narcotic, so this one is clear. But some rare goods require some imagination to group (vacuum krill is nearly a fish) while others don't group at all, such as Pavonis Ear Grubs or Azure Milk.
I could be quite wrong about this grouping, as each rare good is possibly hard coded. The test for this is a trade CG that asks for a specific commodity that also has a rare group. So if a Coffee CG didn't count the rare coffees (Any Na Coffee, CD-75 Kitten Brand Coffee, Goman Yaupon Coffee, or Void Extract Coffee - [I'm not certain if Orrerian Vicious Brew is a coffee or a tea] ), then my theory is wrong.

 

[goemon]

I could be quite wrong about this grouping, as each rare good is possibly hard coded. The test for this is a trade CG that asks for a specific commodity that also has a rare group. So if a Coffee CG didn't count the rare coffees (Any Na Coffee, CD-75 Kitten Brand Coffee, Goman Yaupon Coffee, or Void Extract Coffee - [I'm not certain if Orrerian Vicious Brew is a coffee or a tea] ), then my theory is wrong.

interesting. basically, for testing, one could take different straws of onionhead and narcotics, and check major factions and goverment types for legality of each.

terra mater bloodbores for exampel count as medicine for cg's...

 

[Vasious]

I remember when Onionhead was first introduced I headed out to HIP 55118 to find it

I remembered thinking the terriforming has ruined the original, but interesting to see if station flipping changes anything.

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

The blood bores are definitely medicines. I wonder if they can be further grouped under Performance Enhancers.
Sothis Gold counted in Kaushpoos, I was among those who took some to help gold plate Obsidian Orbital. But that CG was all metals. Cherbones Blood Crystals, Helvetitj Pearls and Ngadandari Fire Opals are also supposedly metals, but the blood crystals and pearls didn't count, I don't think anyone tried the fire opals. But I think these should actually be minerals, not metals, the CG setup seemed to agree.
But this CG wasn't a true test. If the CG had just been gold, and Sothis Gold also counted (without any extra effort by the CG team).

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but interesting to see if station flipping changes anything.

I'm willing to try, if others are too.

 

[goemon]

I'm willing to try, if others are too.

actually i'm wondering whether AEDC could broker a deal, also with the other rare being blocked in alliance space - for mahon giving a bonus at level 5 and all - and for science, respecting local traditions and all.

those systems have a big popultation and a lot of factions , and won't be flipped easily.

 

[tawittle]

our pilots should be able to consume onion head in game

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

our pilots should be able to consume onion head in game

It would explain some NPC behaviour.