Block of incense

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A block of incense is a consumable component in a variety of rituals. It can also be burnt.

Types

The most common type of incense is the plain kind, "a small block of holy incense"[1] or "a small block of <scent> incense". The former weighs 2 grams, is a continuous item, and is generally available in temple shops, costing &&&&&&&&&&&&+200 $.50 or the local equivalent. The latter is sold by the smelly vendor in the covered market in Bes Pelargic for a bit more, and comes in cinnamon, frankincense, jasmine, musk, nutmeg, patchouli, rose, sandalwood, vanilla, and ylang ylang. Both the "holy" incense and the "<scent>" incense look like this:

This is a small block of holy incense that will purify the area in preparation for a religious ritual if it is burnt.
It is not lit.  It is unmarred and unburned.

Scented incense has a short description of "a small block of <scent> incense", and is sold in the incense shop in the Temple of Small Gods for slightly more than plain holy incense. It has different chats than the plain kind, and comes in cinnamon, clove, ginger-scented, ginseng-scented, jasmine, lemon-scented, lilac, lime-scented, lotus-scented, musk-scented, nutmeg, orange-scented, patchouli, rose, sandalwood, vanilla, and violet-scented. It looks like this:

This small block of incense has been carefully treated and scented so that when it burns, it will have the aroma of <scent>.
It is not lit.  It is unmarred and unburned.

Finally, special incense has different descriptions, and different chats than the other kinds when burning (and, to a significant extent, from each other). Like scented incense, it's sold in the incense shop in the Temple of Small Gods, for slightly more than plain holy incense. Types spotted so far:

  •  a small block of dark red incense This small block of incense has been carefully treated and scented so that when it burns, it will have a pungent odour. 
  •  a small block of dark yellow incense This small block of incense is made of a dark yellow substance, with red and black flecks throughout. 
  •  a small block of dirty brown incense This small block of incense has been carefully treated and scented so that when it burns, it will have a pungent odour. 
  •  a small block of frankincense This is a dried block of resin. While untreated, it is meant to be burned for its aroma. 
  •  a small block of myrrh This is a dried block of resin. While untreated, it is meant to be burned for its aroma. 
  •  a small block of oily brown incense This small block of incense has been carefully treated and scented so that when it burns, it will have a pungent odour. 
  •  a small block of rocky incense This small block appears to nothing more than a bar of grey stone. 
  •  a small block of silvery incense This small block of incense has been carefully treated and scented so that when it burns, it will have a soothing odour. 

There is also one more type of special incense--beer incense--available from the Hat temple in Ankh-Morpork:

  •  a small block of beer incense This small block of incense has been placed in a puddle of beer over night and took up the beer's smell, so that when it burns, it will probably have the sweet aroma of stale beer. 

Incense comes pre-consecrated, although not necessarily to any particular deity.

Ritual use

Incense is used in, and consumed by, the following rituals:

Burning

You can also burn or light incense, either by itself or in an incense burner. It burns for an hour, and gives off item chats when lit (which vary depending on the type of incense).

Deity-themed incense burners can be bought as furniture in the incense shop in the Temple of Small Gods (the shop sells one type at a time, so check back if it doesn't have the one you want). There are also some permanent ones installed at the main high altars of Gufnork, Gapp, Sandelfon, Hat, and Sek, which can be used in the same way.

The syntax for the burners is:

light [the] contents of <object> 
burn [the] contents of <object> 
dowse [the] contents of <object> 
extinguish [the] contents of <object>

Note that the incense may still be used in rituals after being burnt.

Stages

When burning, a block goes through several stages, visible in the line after its description after the sentence indicating whether it's lit. The stages, in order, are:

  • It is unmarred and unburned.
  • It is slightly scorched.
  • Half of it has burnt away.
  • It is nearly completely burnt.
  • It is burnt to a stub.

Footnotes

  1. This can be referred to as a "plain block" if you want to select it specifically from a pile that includes other types of incense.