Identifying Alchemical Substances
Learn recipes from a text or a teacher.
A Note on the Details of Alchemy
Three cultures of Aeranos are known for alchemy. The Syvani of Manawyn and the Daagar of the Evergloom both have skill in their own forms of the art, but the Dinari of Dragon Mountain are the undoubted masters. As for the Nerans, only in the larger towns and cities can any alchemists usually be found, and those are either Syvani or Dinari selling their skills abroad, or the rarer Neran alchemists who have learned the art.
The Aeranosian alchemist works with elements from nature to create elixirs, powders, poisons, salves and many other concoctions to help and harm. While such mixtures can do varied and impressive things, they are not magical. With the Gift of Light and Shadow specialty, alchemists can eventually learn to infuse their creations with arcane power, creating true potions and artifacts.
Requisite Skill: Craft(Alchemy)
You generally need a Perception+Craft(Alchemy) to identify a mixture not of your own making. This requires a close inspection of the mixture and takes 1 minute. If you are unable to handle or examine the substance, either because of time, circumstance or because the mixture is too dangerous, the GM can impose a -1 to -5.
If you have enough time, and the substance is stable enough, you can instead use your Intelligence to identify. This generally takes 1 hour.
1. (Learn Recipe)
2. Procure Ingredients
3. Craft Mixture
Alchemists can either find existing recipes, from books or teachers, or they can devise their own recipes. Either way, they must transcribe the formula into their own books before they can attempt a procurement or crafting test.
XP Cost: 2xp per alchemical level
Reading and gaining the proper understanding of such recipes takes 2d6 days - half your Intelligence (minimum 1). If a teacher is their to help you learn it, your learning time is reduced by half. Once you have transcribed the formula into your own book, you may move on to step 2 and 3.
Devising your own formula is far more time consuming, requiring a full laboratory and months instead of days. In all other respects learning is the same.
Gathering the proper ingredients for your formula usually requires an alchemical procurement test with modifiers from the table below. At alchemical level three and above, the GM is free to impose additional hurdles to gaining the correct components, even requiring roleplaying the tracking down process.
Alchemical Procurement
An alchemist needs a lab in order to make most mixtures and even do the pre-prep of ingredients. A proper lab contains copper and silver cups and pans, burners, scales and specialized tools, along with an array of basic powders and liquids that all alchemists need. A basic lab can be packed into a large, heavy pack, but when used, requires a flat surface like a table and must be at least partially sheltered. An alchemist with a fully stocked, basic lab can usually make level 1 mixtures in 1d6 hours.
Making level 2 mixtures and above requires a Procurement Test of 2d6 + Procurement modifiers and takes a starting time of 1d6 days per level past 1st.
Procurement modifiers can be obtained by making some or all of the following skill tests. These tests can be made by you or your companions assuming you give them a list.
INT+Streetwise
You know where to look and who to ask.
WIL+Diplomacy
You know the proper way to ask, and how to get cooperation.
INT+Wilderness Survival
You know how to hunt down your own ingredients in the wild.
AGI or PER+Thievery
You know where and how to lift what you need.
The first skill test for each helper is free and doesn't cost any time delay. Each additional test adds 1 day to the time needed, but successes in your procurement test bring down the time by 1 day each.
Additional Modifiers
Current Wealth: add or subtract your specialty or disadvantage level.
In the wilderness: -4
In a standard sized village: +0
In a large city: +4
Portable lab: -1
Standard non-portable lab: +0
Master Lab:+1
Without a lab: -8
An example:
Cinder wants to produce a batch of level 2 healing elixirs. He is currently in a small village (no modifier) and has his portable laboratory (-1). Before making his procurement test, he decides to make an INT+Streetwise test, gaining 2 successes (+2), deciding a net bonus of +1 isn't enough, he asks his adventuring companions for help.
Taen the faelinarie offers an AGI+Thievery test, gaining 4 successes (+4), and Rowen the wicala of the Huntress offers a INT+Wilderness Lore, adding (+2). Altogether, Cinder's Procurement test is now 2d6+7 and it will take 1d6 days. He rolls a total of 4 for the days, and a 17 for the procurement test. Each success on the procurement brings the time down by 1 day, so he and his friends take 1 full day to hunt down all the necessary ingredients.
Remember that procurement tests can be made at any time, not just when you are ready for crafting. An alchemist just needs to know what he plans on making in the future, in order to spend downtime gathering and preparing necessary supplies.
Actually making the mixture requires that you match your successes on your INT+Craft(Alchemy) test to the level of the mixture. The actual process takes 1d6 hours per level and makes anywhere between one and ten uses, depending on the level and the rarity of ingredients.
Botched Mixtures
If you fail your craft test by 2 or more, your attempt could have negative consequences. The GM is free to come up with these, but the botch should probably be of similar power to the planned effect. Of course really bad failures might translate into really bad botches.
Side Effects
After your roll, as long as you have gained at least a standard success, you can choose to add +2 to your craft test at the cost of one minor, negative side effect, or +4 at the cost one major, negative side effect. Minor side effects might be cosmetic, or a temporary - 1 to particular tests. Major will be longer lasting negative modifiers, or even addictions. You and the GM should come up with the exact effect.
Level 1 - Basic Success - Mild Effects
* +1 to a skill test
* Mimic a 1 point specialty or disadvantage for a short time.
* Create a body or mind based toxin ( Resistance 10+successes) that gives a long lasting minor effect, such as a -1 modifier to a single skill or secondary attribute.
* Create some other small, scene based effect subject to GM approval. Examples include a faint, chemical light or weak, slow burning acid.
Level 2 - 1 Success - Moderate Effects
* +2 to a skill test
* Mimic a 2-3 point specialty or disadvantage for a short time.
* Distill a short duration mild poison or venom (Resistance 12+successes) doing continuous damage that caps at moderate, or causes a -2 modifier.
* Create a scene based effect with moderate consequences, like acid, smoke or bright light, or bodily effects like changing someone's skin or hair color for a short time.
* Create healing salves that stabilize and halve the healing time of up to light wounds.
Level 3 - 2 Successes - Lasting Effects
As noted, this level of alchemy often requires particular components and ingredients that take more than a standard procurement test to gather. The GM is free to require role playing the acquisition, burdening the character with favors owed or dangerous events, and generally making the character's life more interesting. Or the GM is free to use the standard procedure if the alchemy doesn't seem overly useful or powerful.
* +3 to a skill test
* Mimic 4+ point specialties or disadvantages for a short time.
* Distill a short duration moderate poison or venom (Resistance 13+successes) doing continuous damage that caps at serious.
* Distill a longer duration mild poison or venom as level 2.
* Create scene based effects with impressive consequences, including single target +7 damage or area +5 damage, or effects that change a combat scene with negative modifiers.
* Create healing salves that stabilize and halve the healing time of up to moderate wounds.
Level 4 - 3 Successes - Powerful Effects
This level of alchemy almost always requires something special in the way of ingredients, and often requires that the crafting be done at a certain time of the month or year. There will most likely be role playing involved in this crafting and failure could very well cause dire consequences.
* +4 to a skill test
* Mimic most specialties or disadvantages for longer durations.
* Distill a short duration serious poison or venom (Resistance 14+successes) doing continuous damage that caps at critical.
* Distill a longer duration moderate poison or venom as level 3, or a mild version that lasts weeks or longer.
* Create scene based effects with impressive consequences, including single target +10 damage or area +7 damage or effects that change a combat scene with impressive negative modifiers.
* Create healing salves that stabilize and halve the healing time of up to serious wounds.
Alchemists who possess the gift of light and shadow can buy the level 6 ritual called Gifted Alchemy once their craft skill is 7. This ritual allows for the creation of magical potions and mixtures that mimic spells and even surpass them. (rules to come).
There are so many possibilities with alchemy that the details can't be covered here. The player and the GM should work together to come up with a character's alchemical mixtures, making sure that they're worthwhile without being game breaking.
This smokeless torch burns with a very low but intense flame for nearly twice the duration of a standard torch. One crafting produces (1d6+successes) torches.
This is a common healing salve that grants +1d (or +2d) to the injured target’s next survival test to recover from a wound. One crafting produces enough salve for 6 wounds.
This ink fades to total invisibility after it dries, and will only reappear when heat is later applied. One crafting produces a vial capable of scribing 10 standard pages.
This smelly paste that smells strongly of the sea, expands and hardens after 20-30 minutes, sealing most surfaces together with the strength of steel. One crafting produces (1d6+successes) applications that each cover a roughly 1’x1’ surface.
This equally smelly solvent dissolves fomor glue in 1d6 turns, without damaging most other materials. One crafting produces (1d6+successes) applications that each cover a roughly 1’x1’ surface.
This harsh grainy powder causes horrible itching to living targets struck by a thrown handful, or who wear clothes treated with it. Such creatures suffer a -1 to all actions unless they pass a body test (10+success). When thrown, the target gets a Speed test vs. the attack first. One crafting produces (1d6+successes) handfuls capable of affecting a size 0 creature.
This distillation of the Mobun slugs acidic slime burns and dissolves living flesh, and can be thrown as a +6 damage splash weapon, affecting a 5' radius.
This special concoction made from the gray scaleback mushroom and various other herbs, must be mixed completely in the absence of sunlight, or any other bright light for that matter. Once steeped, the tea gives off a nutty smell and flavor, but can be mixed into any other drink.
A half candle after the target drinks it, blood vessels pop beneath the skin, around the eyes and joints, and soreness sets in.
If the target fails a Body test (12+successes) their muscles and joints ache enough to give them a -1 to all physical actions, and their speech becomes slurred. They gain the temporary disadvantage "Shambler-like" causing a -2d to new social tests and requiring strangers to make a Mind test 15 or mistake the target for a bloodless creature, or at least a plague victim.
The effects last a day, though the target can make body tests once an hour to remove the slurred speech and action modifier. If the target flushes their system with large quantities of drink the duration can be reduced to 1d6 hours.
One crafting makes 1d6+2 doses.
This highly volatile mixture is derived from a very special blend of natural elements and the crushed black sand of special areas of Piara Tinis, the elemental plane of fire. Mixing the powder requires very special equipment that is only made by certain Dinari craftsmen of Dragon Mountain.
The powder can be used to make...mtc
More to come...