Alchemy
Alchemy, is a collection of techniques that allows anyone, Gifted or mundane, to create potent substances and objects.
There are two uses for Alchemy:
- Concocting - Allows the alchemist to create potions and implements that channel ambient Essence for various purposes.
- Enchanting - Only usable by those with the Enchanter Quality, allows the alchemist to sacrifice parts of their own soul to create powerful and varied magical Artifacts.
Concoctions
The first and simplest usage of Alchemy is Concocting. Alchemical concoctions come in many shapes and sizes, but they all share certain properties:
Creating a Concoction
Creating a Concoction requires the following steps:
- Collection - the Alchemist must reagents required by the Recipe. This isn’t inherently an Alchemical process, but it’s essential nonetheless.
- Treatment - the Alchemist prepares the reagents for the next step. The quality of the Alchemist’s work in this step determines how potent the Concoction will ultimately be. This requires an Intelligence and Alchemy test, and the Alchemist must get a number of Success Levels at least equal to the Recipe’s Power Level. A Concoction's Potency Level is equal to the Success Levels on the Treatment test minus its Power Level.
- Infusion - the Alchemist leaves the treated reagents to collect Essence. These materials absorb Essence as Times of Power come and go. The Concoction is ready the moment it collects enough Essence. Any movement or interference before completion causes all the gathered Essence to be lost, and the reagents must be treated again, with a -2 penalty (this penalty is cumulative if interrupted multiple times).
The moment the Concoction is ready, it begins to decay. After a certain amount of time, the Concoction loses all its alchemical properties, and the reagents can never be used for Alchemy again.
Acquiring Recipes
An Alchemist begins the game with knowledge of a number of Recipes equal to their levels in the Alchemy skill. An Alchemist may later learn a new Recipe by paying a number of Experience Points equal to the Recipe’s Power Level.
List of Recipes
Alchemist's Tea
Power Level: 1
Reagents: Various fruits and seeds, boiled in a cup of water
Essence: 1* (see below)
Duration: 1 hour
Commonly referred to as "Hot Brown Morning Potion", despite not necessarily being served hot and not always being consumed in the morning, this brown brew carries an incredible rejuvenating effect. When imbibed, Alchemist's Tea increases the drinker's awareness and general energy, increasing their Dexterity and Perception by 1 level each. Additionally, the drinker may reduce any penalty they have due to exhaustion by up to 2 (to a minimum penalty of 0). These bonuses last for 1 hour, plus 30 minutes per Potency Level.
This beverage is not without its downsides: After the bonuses expire, the drinker is left exhausted and numb, with a -1 penalty on Dexterity and Perception. This lasts twice as long as the benefits gained. If another dose of Alchemist's Tea is drunk before the penalties run their course, the benefits last for half as long as they normally would, and the penalties lengths double. Additionally, drinking too much Alchemist's Tea may lead to the Addiction Drawback.
While Alchemist's Tea requires Essence in its creation, it needs such a small amount that throwing a few pinches of salt into the fire as the water boils provides enough Essence for this Concoction to be complete.
Antivenom
Power Level: 2
Reagents: horse milk and a scorpion sting, snake fang, platypus foot, or any other venom- producing organ
Essence: 15
Duration: 1 day
When this Concoction is complete, the reagent dissolves in the milk, producing a sweet-and-sour smell. Drinking the resulting fluid grants the drinker a bonus equal to 2 + the Concoction's Potency Level on tests to resist the effects of poisons for 1 day.
Alchemist's Fire
Power Level: 3
Reagents: salpeter, charcoal, and a pinch of sulfur
Essence: 15
Duration: 30 days
This golden stone reacts violently to sudden forces, exploding in a bright yellow burst of flame. Alchemist's Fire can be thrown with Dexterity and Bow-Fu, with a -1 penalty for every 2 meters distance. On a direct hit, this deals 4 damage plus 4 damage per Potency Level. Additionally, they must succeed at a simple Dexterity test with a -1 penalty per Potency level, or immediately catch fire.
Anyone standing close to the point of impact takes 1 damage per Potency Level, unless they succeed on a simple Dexterity Test.
Dehydrated Lightning
Power Level: 3
Reagents: Fine iron dust crushed in a copper mortar and pestle
Essence: 10
Duration: 30 days
This brittle reddish stone can either be used as-is or crushed into a fine powder. In either form, contact with even a single drop of water or humid air quickly dissolves the Dehydrated Lightning and releases a powerful jolt of electricity. As such, Dehydrated Lightning is usually stored in pouches or bottles full of oil, for safe storage and transport.
The stone can be thrown with Dexterity and Bow-Fu, with a -1 penalty for every 2 meters distance. If thrown at an object or creature, the stone shatters upon contact and discharges immediately. Anyone physically touching the Dehydrated Lightning as it discharges takes 4 damage, plus an additional 4 damage per Potency Level. If the discharge occurs in a large body of water, the damage is halved for every meter of distance, though multiple targets can be hit.
Distilled Sunlight
Power Level: 1
Reagents:
Essence: 5* (see below)
Duration: 30 days
This golden fluid glows like a bright flame. The light produced by Distilled Sunlight looks like real sunlight to the mundane eye, though it does not serve as such for magical effects or creatures (so it can’t burn vampires or create more Distilled Sunlight). The fluid must be Infused in a sealed container, and it evaporates if the container is opened.
To infuse Distilled Sunlight it must be exposed to the sky for one day, from dawn to dusk.
Identifying Pick
Power Level: 1
Reagents: a short wooden stick, a tiny amount of cotton, some drops of rosemary oil.
Essence: 1
Duration: 14 days
This small Q-tip like implement can be used as a quick test to identify magical or alchemical tampering. If pressed lightly onto an object, the cotton head turns a dull navy colour if the object has been modified alchemically, or crimson if it was affected by magic (including Necromancy, The Sight, or Divine). If the object was affected by both alchemy and magic, the cotton turns a deep purple. An Identifying Pick can be used repeatedly, until it successfully identifies magic or alchemy, after which it changes colour and becomes inert.
Identifying Picks are usually created in large batches, with an alchemist being able to create 10 Picks plus an additional 2 picks per Potency Level.
Love Poison
Power Level: 4
Reagents: rose water, powdered quartz (traditionally rose quartz, but any other will work)
Essence: 10* (see below)
Duration: 21 days
Upon drinking this pinkish brew, the drinker must succeed on a Constitution and Willpower test, with a penalty equal to the potion’s Potency Level. If they fail the test, the next time they see a person or a likeness of a person, they instantly become infatuated and lustful for that individual. This effect persists for one week, plus an additional week per Potency Level.
This brew can only be infused under the direct light of a full moon.
Midas’ Touch
Power Level: 3
Reagents: a pint of ox blood, fur from a donkey’s ear
Essence: 70
Duration: 60 days
This dark red powder is perhaps one of Alchemy’s most well known achievements, though it is also one of its greatest lies. A pinch of this powder mixed with molten metal, or a small amount dissolved into fine oil and spread over a metal object, seems to transform the metal to the purest of gold. The deception behind this blend is twofold: the first lie is that the transformation is only temporary, as the metal crumbles to ash after a short amount of time. Many Alchemists have tried to con their way to riches or grandeur using this method, only to see their subterfuge melt before their very eyes. The second lie is that many Alchemists have sought their craft solely for the power to create tremendous wealth out of nothing. Once they mastered the creation of this blend, they felt sated and ceased their studies, never thinking to expand the research on this concoction and perfecting its results.
One dose of this Concoction is enough to effect 10 litres of metal (0.1 cubic meters), whether mixed into it or applied to the surface. The transformation lasts for 1 hour, though the Alchemist may choose to halve or double that duration for each Potency Level.
Slow Quicksilver
Power Level: 2
Reagents: a drop of mercury, a sliver of silver
Essence: 20
Duration: 60 days
Favoured by vampire hunters, werewolf hunters, ghost hunters, witch hunters, warlock hunters, demon hunters, angel hunters, and various other supernatural hunters, a single drop of Slow Quicksilver that touches a blade gives it the magical properties of a Mithril blade. This lasts for 1 hour, plus an additional hour per Potency Level.
Tapputi’s Razor
Power Level: 3
Reagents: a drop of snake venom, and copper or lead dust
Essence: 30
Duration: 7 days
While not the deadliest of poisons known to man, the Razor is a particularly nasty one. A pinch of this copper-tinted powder sprinkled on a dish of food or stirred into a drink causes large cuts on the flesh of anyone who consumes it. The victim must make a simple Constitution test with a penalty equal to the Potency Level. If they fail, the victim loses one level of Constitution and loses 5 life points per Potency Level. Without medical or magical aid, the blood loss continues and the victim takes another 5 damage every minute. Magically restoring a number of Life Points equal to the Potency Level (minimum 1), or getting the same number of Success Levels on an Intelligence and Doctor test, prevents further damage being caused.
If the victim succeeds on the initial test, only shallow cuts appear, and they only lose a number of Life Points equal to the Potency Level.
Thunderflash
Power Level: 2
Reagents: a chunk of phosphorus and pincers of a shrimp
Essence: 10
Duration: 30 days
Upon sudden impact with another object, this bright yellow rock shatters in a flash of bright light and the sound of a great explosion. Anyone standing within a distance of 5 meters plus 1 per Potency Level is blinded and deafened for 10 seconds (2 turns) unless they succeed on a Constitution and Perception test, with a penalty equal to the Potency Level. Regardless of the result of the test, all humans in the area have a -2 penalty on Perception tests for 1 minute.