Alchemy

Puffery vs True Alchemy   While ordinary alchemical «puffery» involves working in a non-magical way with chemicals and minerals to create interesting and potentially useful substances, True Alchemy combines work with chemicals/minerals along with a set of spiritual exercises and magical preparations, to create supernatural substances.   Doing work of True Alchemy requires expensive laboratory equipment. The minimal cost of this is 18,000gp, though some substances will require more expensive labs than that. Thus, most True Alchemists (except the very few who are fortunate enough to be incredibly wealthy on their own) require the aid of great patrons, either noble or royal families, or institutions like a Collegium of magic, the Clerical order, or possibly extremely rich merchants or guilds. Usually these patrons will require a great deal of service and results in exchange for their investment.   In order to take True Alchemy, a magister must also have the Alchemy («puffery») lore. If a magister gets this skill as a random selection without first having the «puffery» lore, he will gain that lore instead of the first level of True Alchemy.   Alchemists will practice according to different traditions and debate about the virtues of different methods. However, all agree on two things: the mere «puffers» are not true Alchemists, and at the same time true Alchemists must use some of the same tools. The difference is principally that while «puffers» work only with external materials and the manipulation of chemicals, the True Alchemist simultaneously works with external substances and their own internal being through meditations and experiments in his own body and awareness. He applies the symbols of chemistry to his own consciousness. One of the central tools of any True Alchemist’s lab is the Athanoor (or Alchemical Oven), created by secret methods to make possible the creation of substances that ordinary processes could not create. The symbolic parallel to this, the ‘internal athanoor’, is the body of the Alchemist himself, which can be worked on through the application of various methods to transform one’s being. The ultimate goal in external True Alchemy is the Philosopher’s Stone, which can be used to transmute lead into gold. In internal alchemy, it is the Elixir of Life, which can be used to transform the ‘lead’ of flawed mortal existence into the ‘gold’ of immortality.   Note that some processes of Alchemy are forbidden by the Church: the creation of golems, homonculi, or talking heads are all forbidden except under the explicit authorization and strictest supervision of the Clerical order (because of the propensity of the former two to do evil, and that the latter requires a human sacrifice). And likewise, the creation of gold through True Alchemy is forbidden by secular law in some nations (as it could destabilize the economy). Royal Licenses sometimes are permitted, though only magisters of great renown, those with great connections or personal political influence at court, or those with powerful allies or a great ability (natural or supernatural) to gain favor can obtain one. There will typically be a dozen magisters attempting to win such a license each year, so competition can be stiff and cut-throat (sometimes literally). The granting of the license has no cost, and in fact grants the Magister the crown’s protection and a generous stipend of 18,000gp per year for a 3 year period! However, within 3 years’ time of being granted such a license the magister will be expected to begin to pay the crown 54,000gp per year, for the next 13 years (at the end of which time the license will either expire or be renewed). The reasoning is that any magister who succeeds at his art should be able to pay that sum easily. Any who do not, and who fail to pay the amount due by some other means, will not only find themselves ruined but will have the license annulled.   Naturally, many individuals engaged in attempting the production of gold through alchemy without a license. However, if caught, this was a death-sentence offense.   The first time the True Alchemy skill is gained, the Magister gains the ability to make all the recipes under minor alchemy. The second time, he gains all the techniques in ‘major alchemy’. The third time he must choose one of the two techniques of the Great Work (either the Philosopher’s Stone OR the Elixir of Life), and the last time allows him the other technique. However, while the Magister gains the theoretical ability to make the recipes in each category when it is taken, some specific recipes may also have other prerequisites of knowledge, study, research or ingredients which the Magister will then have to pursue in order to actually accomplish those recipes.   Note: an alchemist can usually only work on one alchemical production at a time. Two or more alchemists using the same lab can only work on multiple projects if the lab is higher than base value. For every 9000gp above the base value, one more project can be taken on at a time.  

PUFFERY

  These substances can be created with a standard «puffery » lab, and Knowledge-Alchemy check.     Alkhalest:
—Puffery: DC14
—cost: 36gp
A very powerful acid, this will burn through almost anything other than glass. When preparing this substance, if the alchemist fails with a natural 1, it causes an explosion that does 2d6 points of damage to the user (as well as 2d6x60gp worth of damage to the laboratory), with a saving throw for half damage. A vial of alkhalest if thrown on an individual will do no damage on the round it is thrown, but will do 1d6 points of damage to the victim on the next 2 rounds thereafter. A single vial can be poured on wood or leather and burn a hole through it in 10 minutes, or through metal or stone in 20-60 minutes.     Aqua Regia:
—Puffery: DC14
—cost: 180gp
Another powerful acid, capable of burning through organic material. On a natural 1 in the check while creating this substance, the alchemist will do 3d6 damage to himself, 1d6+180gp damage to the lab equipment (with a saving throw vs. area effect for half damage). If the vial’s contents are thrown at a living thing, it will do 2d6 damage for 1 round.     Aura Fulminata:
—Puffery: DC14
—cost: 348gp
A very expensive explosive, this material is extremely volatile. Even a light shaking of the substance could cause it to explode (in the event of such a shake, saving throw vs. paralysis to avoid setting it off). Each batch of this material will cause 6d6 points of damage when it explodes to everything within 30ft (save vs. area effect for 1/2 damage). In the event the alchemist rolls a natural 1 during his check while preparing this substance, he will cause a massive explosion to his laboratory, doing 12d6 points of damage to himself (save vs. area effect for 1/2 damage), and the same amount of damage x 60gp to the lab.     False Gold:
—Puffery: DC18
—cost: 72gp
This produces a nugget of counterfeit gold, worth 1d4x60gp if it is not detected to be false. An alchemist, expert accountant, or certain other professionals will be able to tell relatively easily, upon examination, that this is not true gold, but ordinary people may be fooled.     Asbestos:
—Puffery: DC14
—cost: 36gp
This procedure produces a cloth material which can be worn to grant protection against fire. Effectively made, it allows the wearer a +2 bonus against all varieties of fire-based saving throws (including magical fire), and will reduce any damage from normal non-magical fire by 1 point per die of damage (even if this reduces the damage dealt to zero). It does not grant said reduction against magical fire. A natural 1 on the skill check by the alchemist when creating this substance indicates the alchemist will inhale toxic fumes, reducing his constitution by 1 point permanently if he fails a saving throw versus poison.     Gunpowder:
—Puffery: DC12 (takes one week to produce enough gunpowder for 30 small-arms shots, or 15 cannon shots).
—cost: 18gp
This is an essential substance for the use of bombards and black-powder weapons, popular but not yet common in the region.  

MINOR ALCHEMY

   
  a) Apollonius’ Lantern:  

• Requirements: basic laboratory, specially made copper lamp (cost: 6gp), a special mix of alcohols and oils (cost: 36sp). The lamp must be made to specifications, it can be done by any craftsman skilled in working with copper.
• Description: St. Apollonius was not only considered the founder of the modern Church of Unconquered Sol, it bears remembering that he was also a great magister! It was considered by the Alchemists that he had uncovered the secrets of the Elixir of Life. He also invented this powerful alchemical crafting; it is tied to a legend of his having traveled into the depths of the Earth seek out the Sun (one common iconography portrays him dressed as a hermit, traveling at night with his staff and lamp). The lamp, properly constructed, will be ever-burning, it never needs to be refilled. However, if it is ever put out, the magic of the lamp is lost forever. But it will not be put out if it is shuttered, as it also requires no oxygen to burn. Only immersion in water, physical destruction of the lamp, or being intentionally snuffed out will extinguish it.
• Construction: An Apollonius Lantern takes one full month to enchant, but only a couple of hours a day of carefully mixing the various ingredients to make the oils and consecrate the lamp are required, so a Magister may be able to do other activities at the same time so long as he can spend the necessary time at his lab every day. At the end of the construction period, he must perform a ritual, lighting it with a flame drawn from his Athanoor. A magic check is then required against DC14. If he succeeds, the lamp is lit and will be everburning. If he fails, the lamp will go out after about 6 hours of burning.

  b) Banishing Water:  

• Requirements: basic laboratory, and ink made with from a special powder containing frankincense (cost: 60gp).
• Description: Banishing Water has the power to draw away incorporeal spirits of all kinds, as well as to protect against the undead, demons, extra-planar beings of any kind, magical constructs of any kind, or other fae creatures. A vial of Banishing water, sprinkled or thrown in the direction of an incorporeal creature (requiring a ranged attack roll), will cause the creature (if struck) to immediately be banished back into the astral plane. They will be unable to reform in the material plane for 20-120 minutes. If a vial strikes a corporeal creature from the aforementioned list, the creature will suffer disorientation and distress giving it a -4 penalty to hit and to armor class or 20 minutes. If a vial is poured in a line in front of an entry-way, or in a circle, none of the creatures listed above will be able to cross it until the water evaporates (the rate of evaporation will depend on the environment, possibly as little as 1-10 minutes in a hot/dry environment, 10-30 minutes in an average environment, or 1-4 hours in a very damp environment).
• Construction: Banishing water requires the mixing of a special tincture of herbs and minerals, which must be progressively heated, filtered and re-heated on his athanoor over the course of 3 days, taking about 2 hours of work per day. The magister must also design a specific sigil on clean parchment with powerful magical names using the special ink. After the tincture is ready, the magister must perform a ritual where he burns the parchment and then mixes the ashes with the tincture in pure water. He must succeed in a magic check with a DC13. If he succeeds, the Banishing water will have the desired effect. Note that if he has access to it, the formula can be created using Holy Water, in which case the vial of Banishing water will have all the effects of both Banishing Water and clerical Holy Water.

c) Draught of Courage:  

• Requirements: basic lab, a small barrel of alcoholic beverage (wine, beer or mead), vinegar, almond oil, royal jelly.
• Description: a draught of courage is a magic potion, made by the special preparation of relatively ordinary ingredients on the alchemical Athanoor. It is likely the recipe originated with the great alchemists of Khem, but it bears some similarity to a similar potion made by barbarian shaman to enflame the wild spirit of barbaric warriors before battle. Whoever drinks a cup-full of the potion will become wild and reckless in battle; for the next hour after drinking, they will have a +2 bonus to-hit and to damage in combat, but they will suffer a -2 penalty to armor class. Anyone under the effect of this potion cannot fight defensively for the duration.
• Construction: The magister must first prepare a cooking vessel by consecrating it writing secret symbols on it with almond oil. Then he must prepare a mix of water, vinegar and royal jelly which is cooked in a particular way. During this process, he must make a magic check against a DC13. Failure means the potion will have no effect, but a natural 1 will mean the potion will make its imbibers wild for the duration, suffering a –2 to armor class and a –1 to hit though they will still get a +2 to damage. A natural 20, or a total roll of 22 or higher, will make that potion particularly effective, granting a +2 to hit and damage but with only a -1 to armor class. The entire process to make one batch of the courage potion (enough for 10 doses) takes only about 8 hours of careful work, but then the potion must be left to sit in a wooden cask for at least 6 days before it is ready. After that minimum, the potion will maintain its effectiveness until drunk, so long as it’s not somehow tainted.

  d) Friendship Cake:  

• Requirements: basic lab, cooking ingredients (honey, flour), a mix of secret herbs and mineral substances.
• Description: Friendship cake will look to ordinary appearances as an ordinary sweet dry pastry. However, it has a powerful magical function: it will entrance a person who is meant to be the target of its magic. A cake will always require two names: the name of the person who desires the friendship, and the target, the person whose mind is to be altered to become friendly. After it is cooked, half the cake must be eaten by each person, though not necessarily at the same time. If this is done, then the target must make a saving throw against magic. If he fails, he will be completely entranced, seeing the other person who ate the cake as his dearest friend. He will be willing to do almost anything for him. Only if he is called on to directly violate his alignment, his religious faith, or to do something that will put him in immediate and direct likelihood of death, will he be allowed a new saving throw. A target who saved initially will simply not be affected; but if someone is entranced and later on makes their saving throw under one of the aforementioned conditions, they will realize that they were enchanted. Barring those circumstances, the enchantment will persist until one of the two individuals involved dies (unless the magical effect of the enchantment is banished or dispelled through some other magic or miracle).
• Construction: The magister must first prepare the initial ingredients of the magical portion of the cake, considering of various secret herbs and other substances. They must be cooked progressively and slowly on the Athanoor for seven days, being allowed to cool every night from sunset to sunrise, and then heated again on a very low heat from sunrise to sunset. Each morning magical incantations must be said over the ingredients, giving the true names of the cake’s ‘owner’ and it’s ‘target’. At the end of the 7th day, the ingredients are mixed into the ingredients for a regular sweet honey cake. The magister must make a magic check against DC13. If he succeeds, the cake will work as indicated, otherwise it will have no effect.

  e) Potion Curative:  

• Requirements: standard lab, all-heal, henbane; also, the assistance of a cleric.
• Description: These are potions of great value as they can cure injury with great speed. However, a magister cannot create this potion by himself. He requires the assistance of a Cleric. Without that, what he created would only be a mild curative or a toxic poison.
• Construction: The Magister must prepare a special concoction of a variety of alchemical substances along with the herbs all-heal and henbane. These must be carefully cooked in the Athanoor, prepared over the course of 7 days; the Cleric does not need to be present until the last day of preparation, but the Magister must periodically watch over the cooking process of the tincture (he can engage in some other activities in the course of the day, but will need to check on the process several times each day). On the 7th day a ritual must be performed to empower the potion. In this ceremony, combining magic and prayer, the magister must make a magic check while the Cleric must make two checks, one for a Blessing and the other to imbue the potion with magical healing properties. The DC for the Blessing check is always DC13, but the checks for the Alchemy and Cleric magic check is variable depending on the strength of the potion you wish to create:

  f) Rain Powder:  

• Requirements: standard lab, including a variety of substances like salt and sulfur. It is also necessary to have the blood and bile of a steer. Likewise parchment and inks.
• Description: Rain powder is not exactly an incense, its purpose is not to create a pleasant or holy scent (in fact, it smells foul), though it does create a great amount of smoke. Burnt over a large brazier anywhere outdoors, it will (if correctly prepared) generate rain over a large area. These will usually be heavy but gentle rains, as the purpose of this concoction was originally agricultural, but it is also possible to use them to create more powerful storms in the hopes of harming crops, sinking ships, or distressing armies.
• Construction: Before commencing the preparation, the magister must spend three days in fasting and meditation during which he can partake of no heavy work or travel. Then he must mix together the various ingredients heating and mingling them in his laboratory. They must be reduced into a dry powder, which will take a day’s work. At the same time he must inscribe certain secret sigils and words on parchment. He must then burn the parchment as part of a ritual, and mix the ashes with the powder. At the time of burning the parchment he must make a magic check vs DC13.
If he succeeds, the powder will then retain its magic properties indefinitely. The amount of powder created, enough for one use, is fairly considerable, weighing a few pounds and occupying a space equivalent to a small sack of flour. If the magister fails his check with a natural 1, then the magister must make a saving throw modified by his WIS. If he succeeds, the powder catches fire and the room or area fills with a hideous green smoke that will create a nearly unbearable pungent odor (if the ritual was being performed indoors, the odor will remain for weeks)! If he fails, the powder will explode, doing 2d6 damage to everyone within 30’ radius of the powder, half that much to anyone who makes a saving throw modified by DEX.To be utilized the powder must be burned outdoors in a large brazier, gradually over the course of about an hour. The burning will produce thick and colorful smoke and will fill the area with a fairly foul odor. Magisters wishing to impress onlookers may often recite loud incantations at this time, but in fact none are needed, in fact, the Magister need not even be present, strictly speaking. However, anyone attempting to burn Rain Powder who does not have either alchemy or at least the «puffery» lore will have to make a WIS check at DC10, to avoid burning the powder either too quickly or too slowly, if the check is failed, there will only be a 33% chance of the powder working. Magisters or trained nonmagical alchemists will require no such check. When the burning is complete, rainclouds will begin to gradually gather, and rain will fall within 1d20 hours. How much rain and how long it will last varies depending on the local climate; conditions that are very dry might see only a light volume of rain for only a few hours, whereas areas that were already humid might see a good volume of rain over several days. A magister can also create rain powder with the express intention of conjuring strong storms. In this case, the magic check is DC20. If the magister fails his check by more than 10 points, or with a natural 1, he will suffer the effects described in the case of a natural-1 above, except that in the case of the powder exploding it will do 4d6 damage up to a radius of 40’. Storms will last the same duration as natural rains but will be of much greater intensity, and usually include lightning strikes and possibly (30% chance) hail. In any area where the temperature is below freezing, rain powder will instead generate snowfall or blizzards.