Alchemy

Alchemy in Terragard is a lucrative but experimental business, with a lot of new Flora being discovered, and its uses being explored further and further, alchemy has taken root as a popular trade for mages and rangers alike. For some its almost a waste not to practice it, as it can lead to huge benefits that would otherwise go overlooked.

## Types of Alchemical Formulae

There are two main formulae used to perform alchemy, preparations and brewing.

**Preparations** involve the casting of magic through a macgically enhanced alchemical medium, like a pouch of dust, or a expended focus made of reagents, and these enhance existing spells and create interesting side effects, but require larger portions of materials to perform.

* Preparations raise the level of the spell cast by one level per alchemical preparation.
* Multiple preparations can be combined, but get more expensive.
* Only 3 types of preparations can be safely carried at a time without suffering effect similar to 'mixing potions'

**Brewing** alchemy is the more traditional form of alchemy, where the ingredients are ground, distilled, or otherwise prepared and mixed with water and bottled. There are three primary ways to activate a bottled concoction:

* *Potion* - needs to be ingested to take effect, effect is almost always immediate and
* *Tonic* - a very potent mix that needs to make contact with the intended target to take effect on that target, the more exposure the greater the effect. This includes inhalation of fumes, if the tincture is potent enough.
* *Poison* - needs to be ingested or applied to open wounds to take full effect.

## Mechanics

Alchemy can be used by any PC in Terragard so long as they take the 'alchemist' profession. It is an INT based check to craft a potion, and requires a glass bottle of any shape, but that costs no less than 10gp per dose of the mixture used. The herbs are then mixed with other miscellaneous ingredients using Alchemist's tools. If a potion is brewed successfully, a potion, tonic or poison is created and bottled for future use.

* Potion bottles fit in your hand and can be any shape.
* Poison vials can be as small as a fingernail for potent poisons, (and can be applied to arrows) or the size of a finger for normal poisons (must apply 3 doses via arrow to be poisoned). Vials for coating a melee weapon must be at least 3 doses for each coated weapon.
* Tonic Globes are fragile and one dose is always a bit smaller than the size of a fist, so as to be easy to throw and break on an enemy. Larger globes are expensive (100gp+) and are very difficult to use effectively, only the most well-funded armies and organizations can afford to be lobbing alchemical fire and poisons via catapult.

A PC must spend 1 hour per spell level of the effect desired working at the alchemist's tools to produce the concoction, and must consume enough herbs to total the cost in the table below (spell level x25gp). This does not include the cost of bottles. After this time the alchemist must make a DC check using INT(alchemy), if the character rolls a 19-20, the result is a critical success - the effect or duration of the potion is doubled (DM's discretion).

A character may take a 10 on this check but forfeits the possible benefits of a critical success.

## Combining Potions

Combining potions can be very unpredictable, but not always, oftentimes the effects are able to mix together and get both desired results, but about half the time something unexpected happens. If two concoctions are mixed, or if a new potion is imbibed before the end of the 5th round since the last potion was imbibed, roll a secret die and consult the table below:

 2-4
 4-6
 6-8
 8-17
 18
 19
 20

If a potion was mixed before imbibing, the alchemist needs to make an alchemy 15 check to correctly guess the result before using the concoction, if they do not pass the DC, a secret die is rolled again and the new result is announced, even if it is the same as the original secret roll.

If a potion is mixed with another potion that already had a wild magic effect, roll on this table twice and perform both results, even if they cancel each other out. If a 20 is rolled, then roll twice on the wild magic table when used. If the first potion was already imbibed and already has a wild magic effect happen, roll again on the table. If the same result is rolled on the wild magic table, roll on that table again.

## Discoveries

An alchemist can 'discover' a new potion, tonic, tincture or brew by long periods of study and experimentation, or by observing the effects of another Alchemist's discovery. This leads to new combinations that would otherwise remain unknown to them, including effects beyond what most spells are capable of.

In rare cases, some spellcasters can attempt to learn how to cast a spell with the effect identical to an alchemical discovery, and they must do the following:

1. *Make an alchemy check (DC set by DM) to identify the ingredients used*
2. *Make an arcana check (DC set by DM) to create a spell formulae for the spell*
3. *Spend the equivalent amount of gold as if learning a new spell of appropriate level (Level of spell x 50gp).*

If successful, the PC has learned a new spell and has copied it into their spellbook. For sorcerers, it is added to their list of spells they know, (no more than 1 spell per level of spell they can cast can be learned this way). This check cannot be attempted more than once a month, and can never benefit from a 'take 10' or equivalent action; however Inspiration does apply (DM's discretion).

## List of Ingredients

All potions need a water base, the varying degrees of water quality affecting the potion in minor ways.

Each potion needs at least one ingredient and at least one catalyst, though two catalysts result in a much stronger and wider variety of results. The effects of the ingredients can only result in one spell effect unless a special ingredient specifies otherwise.

Liquid Base - the liquid base within which the ingredients and catalysts will be mixed, and the solution that allows the magical effects be absorbed within the body.

Tainted Water

Unpurified water

Purified water

Holy water

Beer/Mead/Wine

Other (blood/ooze/sap/etc)

Catalyst - the main component of the potion, usually something with special meaning or of particular magical value that acts as the catalyst in bringing out the magical power in the potion.

**Chimera salts** -

Heart of a fallen angel -

Nails from the coffin of a saint -

Blood of a murdered king -

Skin of a live ghoul -

Shavings from a desecrated holy symbol -

Gibbering mouther teeth -

Fabric from the tunic of a pure monk -

Rust monster dust -

Feather from a 50-year old raven -

Twig of a spirit tree -

Ingredients - The main components of a potion, using one or more can lead to specific desirable magical effects.

See *Flora*