Alchemy
Alchemy is the art and science of purifying and mastering the self and the world. It's as much a spiritual journey as any other form of magic. The problem is that a lot of people don't realise that. To the uninitiated, the big schtick of alchemists is the potions they make, but there's far more even to them than meets the eye. An alchemical potion is an expression of a profound truth, it is a manifestation of the alchemist's path to perfection and their control over the base. That non-alchemists buy them and knock them back like cheap beer causes alchemists equal parts distaste and amusement.
Alchemical potions have different effects depending on who takes them. If a potion is taken by an alchemist who knows how to create that sort of potion, then it has a bonus effect. If it is taken by anybody else, then it has its ordinary effect, and may also have side effects...
Healing - Strength - Love - Dreams - Purification - Sleep - Poison - Travel - Anti-Magic
Reliance
Alchemy is a powerful and subtle art, and its effects are not to be taken lightly. Drinking alchemical potions alters your mind, body and soul. It isn't a good idea to do it too often or too regularly.
Please Note to quote Season 7 Buffy "this isn't a hobby or an addiction, it's a connection to something powerful". Potion reliance is not an addiction, it is your very being becoming consumed by a power you are ill equipped to manage. Similarly Alchemy isn't a thing you do in your spare time, it's a serious, serious calling.
A character who drinks a number of potions (in any combination) in a given adventure whose total potency in excess of his base Psyche hits plus his total Ranks of the Alchemy skill is considered to have become Reliant on one of the potions consumed during said adventure. The potency of a potion is equal to its level. This reliance does not kick in until after the adventure. In the (likely) event that the character has consumed more than one type of potion, the GM chooses which their addiction is to (if they're feeling cruel, they may make it a cocktail).
A potion-reliant character suffers the following ill effects:
- During downtime they must pay the cost of 10 doses of the potion, or else suffer side effects as outlined in the individual descriptions below.
- They may not use the benefits of their Alchemy skill for so long as the reliance lasts
- Long term, the effects of potion reliance increase.
In order to get rid of potion reliance a character must take one of the following options:
- Go a full adventure without taking any alchemical potions (you do not need to pay for the 10 doses in downtime), suffering the full side effects of the reliance and then either:
- Buy a rank of Strong Willed or Alchemist, representing dedication to overcoming the forces ravaging your system, or:
- Go a second adventure (again, not paying the cost of the 10 doses in downtime), suffering doubled symptoms from the reliance
Those familiar with the old Alchemy rules please note that Alchemists are no longer immune to the effects of reliance on potions they know how to produce. If you know how you're fucking up, you're still fucking up.
Potions
Alchemits can brew a variety of potions, some simple and some fiendishly complex. Potions are divided up into levels, at every new rank of Alchemy, the alchemist gains the ability to make a new potion, from the level they have just reached.
First Rank
Potions of Purification
Price 5 Hexa, raw materials cost 2 Hexa.
- These potions purge the drinker of all disease, poison and impurity. The downside is that they also deal a hit to every location because they burn out a lot of other things as well. This includes such things as the Paralysing venom of the Weavers.
- Alchemists of any sort, Light Sorcerors (Ordained or otherwise) and those reliant on this potion are all sufficiently purified to avoid the burning.
- Reliants have their immune systems greatly suppressed, thus poisons and diseases have double the normal effect on them.
Alchemical Poisons
Prices and raw material costs vary, see here for details.
As you may have guessed, alchemical poisons are nasty. They are widely reckoned to be poisonous to anything, although the damage they do to anything that's not human is reduced by one unless the potion has been specifically designed to affect that type of creature. Against alchemists these poisons are even more baleful, rendering the victim spiritually unfit to practice alchemy (and therefore unable to reap the benefits of their increased knowledge of potions) for one to five weeks (depending on the level of the poison). Alchemical poisons come in several different kinds.
- Ingested Poisons. These do 2 to 10 points of damage to the torso of the target once ingested. The damage is limited to twice the maker's ranks in the Alchemy skill.
- Contact Poisons. These do 1 to 5 levels of damage to the torso of the target (regardless of where they actually touch). The limit of damage is the maker's ranks of Alchemy.
- Blade Venom. Applying blade venom properly requires the Poisoner skill. A venomed blade will do poison damage. The damage from the poison is limited to the normal damage of the weapon, as well as by the maker's Alchemy skill.
- An alchemist who can brew alchemical poisons has developed a certain amount of resistance to their effects, and the number of weeks for which they are rendered spiritually unfit to practice alchemy is reduced by their Rank in the Alchemy skill.
- Anyone unfortunate enough to become reliant upon alchemical poisons loses a number of Fatigue hits equal to the strength of the poison (but will not be reduced below 1 Fatigue). They are not regained until the individual has broken the hold the poison has over them.
Sleep Draughts
Price 3 Hexa, raw materials cost 1 Hexa.
- These potions put the subject into a deep sleep from which almost nothing will awaken them for at least four hours. During this sleep they will recover their Psyche Hits as from a normal good night's sleep.
- To alchemists who can brew these potions the sleep is simply natural, and a ninety minute catnap after drinking a sleep draught will heal all Psyche damage the alchemist has suffered.
- To the reliant these potions are the only way to get a decent night's sleep at all. Unless they drank a sleep draught the previous night they are permanently at half their normal number of Fatigue hits.
Second Rank
Healing Potions
Price 3 Hexa, raw materials cost 1 Hexa.
- That old mainstay. Healing potions heal one hit to every location when drunk.
- Alchemists who know how to produce healing potions may heal an extra hit to the torso.
- A character reliant upon healing potions is permanently down 1 body hit to every location.
Potions of Strength
Price 5 Hexa, raw materials cost 2 Hexa.
- These potions give a character an extra 2 Ranks of the Strong skill for the duration of the encounter in which they are drunk. (If this would take the character's skill Rank above 5 then they gain a free mythic feat of strength for that Encounter instead.)
- The character retains one extra rank of Strong in the next encounter.
- For the following two encounters the character is weakened - any Ranks of the Strong skill they have are ignored. If they don't have any Ranks of the skill then their damage is halved.
- Alchemists who know how to produce potions of strength may make the strength increase from these potions permanent by buying Ranks of the Strong skill at the normal xp cost, even though it's usually a Warrior skill.
- A character reliant upon potions of strength is permanently weakened, as from the comedown from this potion. Drinking a potion of strength will restore them to normal for one Encounter, but won't give them the usual bonus skill Ranks.
Third Rank
Love Potions
Price 10 to 20 Hexa, raw materials cost 3 Hexa.
- Another old mainstay, these cause the subject to fall for the next person they lay eyes on, and to stay that way until either sunrise or sunset, whichever is sooner.
- To the alchemist who knows how to prepare love potions they simply make the world seem a generally more beautiful and pleasant place.
- To the reliant, it is impossible to feel any of the more tender emotions unless under the influence of a love potion.
Potions of Dreams
Price 5 Hexa, raw materials cost 2 Hexa.
- Much beloved by Dream Sorcerors, Glass Sorcerors and thrill seekers, these potions grant the drinker visions.
- Dream Sorcerors, Glass Sorcerors, characters with the Visions skill and alchemists who know how to produce potions of dreams may all use these visions to produce something of use (although for Glass Sorcerors "of use" usually means "images of the Vitriarchs").
- To a reliant, these potions become the only way to stop the images in their head from getting out of control.
Potions of Travel
Price 15 Hexa, raw materials cost 3 Hexa.
- Alchemists can brew potions which allow your spirit to leave your body and travel to other places. Possible destinations include wandering Dreams (comparatively safe), wandering the Burned Realm (dangerous) and wandering the Shattered Plain and the Tower of Glass (insanely dangerous). However, although the potion allows you to leave your body easily enough you must find your own way back to it. Stay away from your body for too long and it could die from hunger and thirst, and then where will you be?
- Note that potions must be specifically brewed for a specific destination. Due to the rather physical nature of the White City metaphysics, it is even possible to get potions that will take you to the weirder bits of the forest or the Breathing Isle.
- Alchemists who know how to brew such potions may return to their bodies at will.
- Reliants must drink a potion of travel each day and each night in order to remain in their physical body.
Fourth Rank
Potions Against [Form of Magic]
Price 15 Hexa, raw materials cost 3 Hexa.
- There are seven variants of these - potions against Ash, Blood, Chains, Dreams, Glass, Light and Wind. Alchemists must learn how to brew each type of potion separately. These potions will allay the permanent effects of an ongoing spell for one adventure. Want to keep the spell allayed? Then keep taking the potions.
Fifth Rank
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This page last updated: 3rd February 2004
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