ingredients - · pdf fileherbalism & alchemy alchemy is the art of combining magical and...

HERBALISM & ALCHEMY

Alchemy is the art of combining magical and mundaneingredients into powerful potions, unlocking a wide va-riety of helpful and harmful effects. Alchemy goes wellwith adventuring: the rarest and most potent ingredientsare often in the most distant and dangerous of locations!

Most adventurers will be able to achieve some measureof success by merely dabbling in alchemy, but only thosewho dedicate themselves to its mastery will be able tounlock the true power of this art.

OVERVIEW

Producing a potion from raw ingredients has the follow-ing basic form:

• Harvest raw ingredients from an ingredient source.

- Must succeed on an Intelligence (Nature) check.

- A source can yield more than one ingredienttype (feathers, sap, etc)

- Each individual source can yield only one doseof each type.

• Process raw ingredients into preparations.

- No skill check required, just equipment.

- Different preparation methods may be neces-sary for different raw ingredients.

- Effect and potency depend on preparation.

• Combine any number of preparations with a base.

- Must succeed on an Intelligence (Arcana)check.

- DC to create depends on how potent and howcomplicated the recipe is.

- Base determines usage method and constituentpreparations determine effect and quality.

The following sections describe the alchemical processin detail. First we discuss raw ingredients, their harvest-ing, and properties. Then we discuss the act of usingraw ingredients to produce preparations and what equip-ment is required to do so. Finally we discuss the basicsof combining preparations and how to determine the ef-fect and quality of a potion. After these sections followa partial list of ingredients and catalogue of effects. Atthe end of this text is a section targeted at advising anyDMs deities who want to extend or modify this alchemysystem.

INGREDIENTS

Be on the lookout for sources of ingredients. Examinethe plants and animals you come across, as their variousparts may have alchemical applications. If you know pre-cisely what part of a plant or animal it is you wish to har-vest, you simply need to state its type name (refer to theIngredient Types table) and succeed on a DC 10 Intelli-gence (Nature) check to acquire a sample.

You can also try to harvest ingredients even if you’renot exactly sure what it is you’re after. Make a DC 11 In-telligence (Nature) check. On a success, your DM secretlyrolls 1d100. For every point by which your roll exceeded10, there is a cumulative 10% chance that you extractedan ingredient with at least one useful property. Other-wise, you extracted something with no useful properties.Your DM does not tell you the outcome of this roll, andyou do not learn the ingredient’s properties if it succeeds.

It takes approximately 10 minutes to harvest useful in-gredients from a single source. Rangers have advantageon any checks to find ingredients in their favoured ter-rain, or on the bodies of their favoured enemies. If youare a druid and your DM deems you sufficiently familiarwith the source, you may choose to automatically suc-ceed on an ingredient collection roll if you specify its typebeforehand. You may use this ability a number of timesper day equal to your druid level.

Under normal circumstances, successfully harvestingfrom any one ingredient source (such as an individualplant or monster) yields only a single useful dose of thatingredient.

RAW INGREDIENTS

Raw ingredients are the beginning of the alchemical pro-cess. The flora and fauna of the world have many poten-tially useful parts that can be harvested (see the Ingre-dient Types table for a list). Obviously, most plants andanimals will not possess every type of ingredient – youwon’t find feathers on a turtle, for instance.

Raw ingredients are considered to be "fresh" when ini-tially harvested, but few ingredients will be usable with-out further processing. A freshly harvested ingredientwill only last a certain amount of time before becominguseless, by either rotting or becoming stale. Each type ofingredient that can be harvested from a given source hasits own characteristic decay time, after which it loses itspotency entirely and is of no further use in alchemy.

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INGREDIENT TYPES

Flora FaunaBark BileBuds BloodBulbs BoneFlowers BrainFruit ClawsLeaves EggsNectar EyesPollen FatRoots FeathersSap FleshSeeds HairStems HeartThorns HornWood Scale

ShellSkinTeethTongueVenom

BASES

Base UseWater ConsumablesGreases & Oils ApplicablesVolatile solvents ThrowablesVenoms PoisonsMisc. Special

ADJUNCTS AND BASES

Most potions must be quaffed to receive their effects, butsome have other intended uses. All potions require abase substance in which to mix the reagents, and thechoice of base affects the method of use. Some are in-tended to be applied to weapons or armour, some are in-tended to be thrown towards enemies to explosive effect.Refer to the Bases table for details.

Additionally, some ingredients do not have an inher-ent effect on their own and do not behave as other ingre-dients. Instead, they act as an amplifier or catalyst formeta-alchemical effects. Since adjuncts’ special proper-ties occur on a case-by-case basis, they are naturally dif-ficult to summarize. Suffice it to say that many unusualor legendary potions are only craftable through the useof special adjuncts.

INGREDIENT STUDY

In the wilds, you might not have access to apothecariesor libraries. Therefore it can be difficult to discern the

properties of ingredients that you have harvested. It canbe especially daunting if the ingredient will soon spoil,requiring your immediate attention lest it be lost entirely.

A careful alchemist can spend their free time studyingsmall amounts of an ingredient in various preparations.During a long or short rest, choose a number of raw in-gredients less than or equal to your proficiency bonus(you can choose the same ingredient more than once, ifyou have enough doses). You spend an hour of idle timestudying these ingredients. For each ingredient, you maychoose one of two methods of study:

• You name a single preparation method that you havethe equipment to perform. Make a DC 10 Intelli-gence (Nature) or Intelligence (Acarna) check (yourchoice). On a success, you discover whether thepreparation method you chose has any alchemicaleffect or not, and if it does, you discover that effectand its potency. The raw ingredient is not consumed.

• You systematically study all preparation methodsavailable to you, given your current equipment. Thisconsumes one dose of the ingredient in question.The DC of discovering an effect is equal to 10 plusits potency. Make an Intelligence (Nature) or Intel-ligence (Acarna) check (your choice). You learn theeffects and potencies of all preparations with discov-ery DCs less than or equal to your roll. You canonly receive positive results from this method; thatis, you cannot discern if the other preparation meth-ods failed because they have no effects to find, or ifthey failed because you rolled too low.

Alternatively, if you are in town you might have accessto an apothecary or herbalist or other knowledgeable fig-ure. At your DM’s discretion, these people might agree toteach you some of what they know about ingredients inreturn for gold or other favours. There are many peoplewho have at least some amount of alchemical knowledge.You might also be able to find effects, preparations, andrecipes written in books and on scraps of paper through-out the world.

PREPARATIONS AND EQUIP-MENT

Merely collecting an ingredient is only the beginning ofproducing an alchemical mixture. Before an ingredientcan have any useful effects, it must first be made into apreparation. A preparation is just that: a treatment ofthe ingredient, bringing it into a form where its poweris properly released. More than one type of preparationmight be possible for any given raw ingredient, each re-leasing a different effect. Each preparation has two fea-tures: an effect and a potency. The former is what effect

2HERBALISM & ALCHEMY

that preparation will contribute to a potion, and the latteris a number showing the strength with which it does so.

Unless specified, producing a preparation requires nospecial effort, so no skill check is required. You simplyneed to announce what preparation method you are us-ing on a raw ingredient, and the preparation automat-ically proceeds, provided you have access to the rightequipment. Doing so requires care and precision, so canonly be attempted during a long or short rest. You canmake as many preparations in one hour as your profi-ciency modifier.

Under normal circumstances, the number of doses ofpreparation produced is equal to the number of doses ofraw ingredient used in its creation.

In order to prepare an ingredient properly, you musthave the requisite equipment. Some equipment is vitalfor producing any kind of potion: for instance, specimenbottles and a satchel to store raw ingredients and prepa-rations, and a mixing flask to combine reagents. Someother equipment is only necessary for particular prepara-tions, such as an alembic for distilling. You will find thatit is impractical to carry a full set of alchemical equipmentwhen adventuring, as some are either too fragile or to un-wieldy to be easily transported or exposed to dangeroussituations. Some unique preparations may also requirespecial equipment or additional reagents.

Unless specified otherwise, a preparation lasts indefi-nitely, so may be prepared well in advance of its usein a potion.

PREPARATIONS LIST

BREWEDEquipment: Bottle, Brazier, Flask. Product: Brew.

The ingredient is boiled in water and the solids re-moved. The resultant brew is cooled and bottled for lateruse.

BURNEDEquipment: Brazier, Crucible. Product: Ash.

The ingredient is charred to the point where only a fineash powder remains.

DISTILLEDEquipment: Alembic, Bottle, Brazier. Product: Distillate.

The ingredient is lightly crushed and heated in a smallamount of water. The heat is carefully controlled so thatonly the purest part of the material evaporates.

DRIEDEquipment: none.

The ingredient is dried in the sun or open air.

EXTRACTEDEquipment: Bottle, Mortar and Pestle. Product: Essence.

The ingredient is placed in high-proof alcohol or simi-lar solvent. The potency of the ingredient slowly seepsinto the liquid over a long period of time. A time-consuming process, essence extractions are neverthelessone of the most reliable methods of preparing highly po-tent materials.

The extraction process requires a sufficiently high qual-ity of solvent, one which has been clarified precisely forthis purpose. For each point of final maximum potency,you must use 25gp worth of materials. The mixture thenacquires one point of potency for every week that passes,starting at 0, up to the maximum potency for that prepa-ration.

If desired, you can speed or slow this process. Fortwice as much gold, the potency increase proceeds atdouble the rate. For half the gold, halve the rate.

FERMENTEDEquipment: Bottle.

The ingredient is preserved by allowing it to sour,sometimes in vinegar. The preparation is ready in oneweek from its first bottling.

FRESHEquipment: none.

All ingredients are considered fresh when harvested,but this ingredient is naturally potent and requires nofurther preparation to be effective. Be warned that mostingredients, once harvested, will not remain fresh forlong. Recall that fresh ingredients will decay over atimescale indicated in its information section, e.g. "day"or "week". Items which are naturally potent when freshdo not become useless after this amount of time. Instead,for each of these periods that passes, the potency of thefresh item decreases by one. When it reaches zero, theitem is considered rotten or otherwise unusable – this in-cludes using it to make another preparation.

If you make a preparation with a fresh ingredient thathas already lost some potency in this way, the potencyloss is not carried over; the new preparation is made atfull strength.

POWDEREDEquipment: Quern.

The ingredient is ground to a fine powder without oth-erwise changing its composition (with heat, for instance).

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PRESSEDEquipment: Bottle, Hand Press. Product: Secretion.

The ingredient is placed under high pressure tosqueeze out a small amount of liquid.

SMOKEDEquipment: Brazier.

The ingredient is preserved using smoke, withoutburning.

STEAMEDEquipment: Brazier, Flask.

The ingredient is cured through exposure to high-temperature steam.

STEEPEDEquipment: Bottle, Mortar and Pestle. Product: Infusion.

The ingredient is placed in water, sealed, and allowedto infuse slowly. The mixture then acquires one point ofpotency for every week that passes, starting at 0, up tothe maximum potency for that preparation.

EQUIPMENT LIST

ALEMBIC

A fine glass vessel with a long and delicate spout, usedto separate compounds through distillation.

BOTTLE

A glass container for storing liquids.

BRAZIER

A portable dish and stand, made of metal, where a smallfire may be lit.

CRUCIBLE

A ceramic bowl used for heating ingredients to very hightemperatures.

FLASK

A durable container made of thick glass or metal for useover an open flame.

HAND PRESS

A wooden or metal contraption of plates and screws,used to apply pressure to an ingredient.

MORTAR AND PESTLE

A bowl and grinding stick used for crushing, bruising orbreaking down ingredients.

POUCH

A cloth or leather receptacle for storing non-liquid ingre-dients.

QUERN

A small hand-operated grindstone for bringing ingredi-ents to a fine powder.

SATCHEL

A leather shoulder bag with many small padded com-partments for safely storing raw ingredients, prepara-tions, and equipment.

THE BASICS OF COMBINATION

If you have acquired raw ingredients and produced suf-ficient preparations, then you are ready to combine themtogether with a base to make a potion. Since this is a del-icate task that requires care and attention, it may only beattempted during a long or short rest. Each hour, you canattempt to produce (at most) a number of potions equalto their proficiency modifier.

Any number of preparations may be combined togetherinto a given potion, but under normal circumstances apotion can have only a single effect.

To determine the final effect of the potion, sum the po-tency scores of all constituent preparations which sharea common effect. The potion acquires only the most po-tent effect, and any the preparations contributing to othereffects are wasted. If two effects are tied for the most po-tent, the potion acquires no effect. The power and qualityof the potion is linked to the potency score of its effect (re-fer to the Potency in Alchemy table).

Under normal circumstances, a maximum of one dose ofeach preparation can be usefully added to the mixture.Adding more doses of the same preparation does notincrease the potency any further.

Any drinkable water can be used as a base, and thisis assumed to be the case if no other is specified. Suchwater is freely available and requires no effort to acquire.However, if you are in an environment where water isscarce, your DM might require you to actively seek out a


POTENCY IN ALCHEMY

Potency Score Effect Quality0-2 None3-5 Common6-9 Uncommon10-14 Rare15-20 Very Rare21+ Legendary

clean water source before allowing you to proceed withbrewing the potion.

If you are using a base other than water, then be sureto check that it can support the potency of the potionyou are attempting to craft. Different bases have differ-ent maximum qualities, and the potion’s final potency iscapped at the base’s maximum (so adding further prepa-rations does not increase the final quality, but does in-crease the creation DC).

Some potions are more difficult to create than others.More potent preparations require more skill to handle ef-fectively, and if too many total preparations are addedtogether the mixture can become unstable in the handsof an inexperienced alchemist. You must succeed on anIntelligence (Arcana) check or lose the attempt and all itsconstituents.

The DC to succeed in making the potion is equal to 8plus the potency of the potion’s effect. In addition, youcan freely combine any number of preparations up to andincluding your proficiency bonus, but for every prepara-tion by which the total number exceeds this, the DC in-creases by one. For example, if your proficiency bonusis 3, and you attempt to make a potency 6 (Uncommon)potion with 4 constituent preparations, the DC is 15.

POTION CREATION DC8 + (potency) + (# preps. exceeding proficiency)

INGREDIENTS

In this section is an incomplete list of sources of raw in-gredients, the ingredient types they produce, their propermethods of preparation, their effects, and the potency ofthose effects. The information is organised in the follow-ing way:

INGREDIENT SOURCE

Brief notes and extra information.

RAW INGREDIENT

Ingredient Type (Decay Time)

Specific harvesting notes (if any).

Preparation EffectPreparation name Effect name (Potency)

Legendary or special ingredient conditions (if any).

ALDER

A small to medium tree with serrated leaves. It com-monly grows near streams and wetlands, and is associ-ated with air and flight.

ALDER BARK

Bark (Week)

Preparation EffectAlder Bark Infusion Cure Poison (2)

ALDER CATKIN

Flowers (Day)

Preparation EffectFermented Alder Catkin Fly (2)

ASH

A medium to large deciduous tree with compoundleaves. It is associated with life and health.

ASH LEAVES

Leaves (Day)

Preparation EffectFresh Ash Leaf Health (1)Ash Leaf Infusion Life (1)

ASH SAMARA

Fruit (Week)

Preparation EffectAsh Samara Brew Health (1)

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BROWN BEAR

BEAR CLAWS

Claws (Month)

Preparation EffectBrown Bear Claw Powder Increase Strength (2)

BUGBEAR

BUGBEAR BONE

Bone (Year)

Preparation EffectBugbear Bone Brew Blunting (2)

DIRE WOLF

DIRE WOLF FUR

Hair (Month)

Preparation EffectDire Wolf Fur Infusion Resist Cold (2)Dire Wolf Fur Distillate Etherealness (3)

GIANT EAGLE

GIANT EAGLE FEATHER

Feather (Month)

Preparation EffectGiant Eagle Feather Ash Fly (2)

GIANT EAGLE HEART

Heart (Day)

Preparation EffectFresh Giant Eagle Heart Sharpness (3)

GIANT OCTOPUS

GIANT OCTOPUS TENTACLE

Flesh (Day)

Preparation EffectGt. Octopus Tentacle Ash Waterbreathing (2)Gt. Octopus Tentacle Brew Glue (2)

GIANT OWL

GIANT OWL EYEEye (Day)

Preparation EffectDried Giant Owl Eye Truth (2)

GIANT OWL BRAINBrain (Day)

Preparation EffectGiant Owl Brain Essence Increase Wisdom (3)

GIANT TOAD

GIANT TOAD TONGUETongue (Day)

Preparation EffectGt. Toad Tongue Infusion Glue (2)Gt. Toad Tongue Essence Cure Disease (5)

GIANT TOAD SKINSkin (Day)

Preparation EffectFresh Gt. Toad Skin Increase Constitution (2)Steamed Gt. Toad Skin Resist Acid (2)

HARPY

HARPY TALONClaw (Week)

Preparation EffectFermented Harpy Talon Increase Dexterity (2)Harpy Talon Distillate Esters

HARPY BLOODBlood (Week)

Preparation EffectFermented Harpy Blood Increase Charisma (3)

IVY

A creeping climber with palmately lobed leaves andgreenish-black berries. Commonly found growing uptrees, rocky outcrops, or the sides of old buildings.


IVY BERRIESFruit (Week)

The berries ripen from late winter to mid-spring.

Preparation EffectSmoked Ivy Berry Increase Charisma (1)Ivy Berry Essence Magic (2)

IVY LEAVESLeaves (Day)

Preparation EffectDried Ivy Leaf Climbing (1)Pressed Ivy Leaf Oil

Ivy growing on a dead yew tree gains, in addition to theabove, Steamed Ivy Stems: Poison (2) (Stem, (Day)).

OAK

A distinctive large tree with lobed leaves found in decid-uous forests. Oak is associated with strength and protec-tion.

OAK BARKBark (Week)

Preparation EffectDried Oak Bark Resist Bludgeoning (1)Oak Bark Brew Resist Slashing (1)Smoked Oak Bark Resist Piercing (1)

ACORNSeed (Month)

Preparation EffectPowdered Acorn Health (1)Acorn Ash Increase Strength (1)

Ingredients harvested from an oak tree at midnight dur-ing a full moon have +1 potency to all effects. Thoseharvested from an ancient oak (1000 years old or older)have +3 potency to all effects. These bonuses can stack.

RAVEN

RAVEN BEAKHorn (Week)

Preparation EffectSmoked Raven Beak Resist Necrotic (2)

RAVEN EYEEye (Day)

Preparation EffectRaven Eye Secretion Etherealness (1)

RAVEN FEATHERFeather (Week)

Preparation EffectSteamed Raven Feather Magic (1)

RUST MONSTER

RUST MONSTER FLUIDBile (Week)

Preparation EffectDried Rust Monster Fluid Blunting (3)Rust Monster Fluid Infusion Toxin

WILLOW

A deciduous tree which grows near water. Its thin whip-like branches hang downwards, with lanceolate leaves.

WILLOW BARKBark (Week)

Preparation EffectFresh Willow Bark Life (1)Willow Bark Secretion Health (2)

WILLOW SAPSap (Week)

Preparation EffectFresh Willow Sap Increase Dexterity (1)Willow Sap Ash Spirits

YEW

A small to medium coniferous tree which prefers moun-tainous or shady regions. It is associated with death andrebirth.

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YEW ROOTSRoots (Week)

Preparation EffectYew Root Secretion VenomYew Root Distillate Toxin

YEW SEEDSeed (Month)

Preparation EffectYew Seed Powder Poison Cloud (1)Yew Seed Ash Resist Poison (1)

EFFECTS (CONSUMABLES)These are some effects that a consumable potion (using aWater base) may have. Drinking such a potion takes anaction.

CLIMBING

You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.For the duration, you have advantage on Strength (Ath-letics) checks made to climb.

Quality DurationCommon 1 hourUncommon 8 hoursRare 1 dayVery Rare 1 weekLegendary 1 month

COMPREHEND (LANGUAGE)You gain the ability to understand the literal meaning ofone language (as determined by the potion effect) in spo-ken form. You also understand any text in the languageprovided you are touching the surface it is written on. Ittakes about 1 minute to read a page of text.

Quality DurationCommon 1 hourUncommon 8 hoursRare 1 dayVery Rare 1 weekLegendary 1 month

CURE (CONDITION)As determined by the effect of the potion, you are curedof one of the following effects or conditions: one disease,

blindness, deafness, paralysis, poison, a charm, petrifica-tion, one curse, one level of exhaustion, one effect reduc-ing maximum hitpoints, or any reduction to one abilityscore.

These effects do not scale with potency, but note thatsome (such as Cure Petrification) only begin to occur nat-urally at high potencies, while others (such as Cure Poi-son) potentially appear at all potencies.

ELEMENTAL BREATH: (TYPE)

As a bonus action you may exhale a cloud of elemen-tal power (dealing Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Poi-son damage as determined by the potion type) at a targetwithin 30ft of you. The target must make a DC 13 Dex-terity saving throw, taking 4d6 of the associated damagetype on a failed save and half as much on a successfulone. The effects last for 1 hour or until you have ex-hausted its charges.

Quality Breath ChargesCommon 1Uncommon 3Rare 5Very Rare 7Legendary 9

FLY

You acquire a fly speed equal to your walking speed, andcan hover. The effects last for the duration listed in thetable. If you are in the air when the effects end, you fallunless you have some other means of staying aloft.

Quality DurationCommon 1 roundUncommon 1 minuteRare 10 minutesVery Rare 1 hourLegendary 8 hours

HEALTH

You regain a number of hit points as determined by thevalues in the table.

Quality Points HealingCommon 2d4+2Uncommon 4d4+4Rare 8d4+8Very Rare 10d4+20Legendary 12d4+40


INCREASE (ABILITY)One of your ability scores (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS,CHA) increases to the specified value for 1 hour. If yourability score is already at this value or above, the potionhas no effect.

Quality New ScoreCommon 18Uncommon 21Rare 24Very Rare 27Legendary 30

INVISIBILITY

You become invisible, along with anything you are wear-ing or carrying. The effects last for the duration listed inthe table, but end early if you attack or cast a spell.

Quality DurationCommon 1 roundUncommon 1 minuteRare 10 minutesVery Rare 1 hourLegendary 8 hours

LIFE

You acquire a number of temporary hit dice worth of hitpoints equal to the amount given in the table. These extrahit points last 1 hour or until removed by damage (dam-age removes temporary hit points first).

Quality Temporary Hit PointsCommon +CON (min. 1)Uncommon 1HD+CONRare 2HD+CONVery Rare 3HD+CONLegendary 4HD+CON

MAGIC

You restore number of levels of spell slots equal to theamount given in the table. You may choose how to com-bine and distribute these recovered levels. For instance, ifyou recover 3 spell slot levels in this way, you may chooseto recover three first-level slots, one first and one secondlevel slot, or one third level slot.

Quality Slot Levels RecoveredCommon 1d2Uncommon 2d2+1Rare 3d2+2Very Rare 4d2+3Legendary 5d2+4

RESIST (TYPE)

You gain resistance to one type of damage (Acid, Blud-geoning, Cold, Fire, Force, Lightning, Necrotic, Piercing,Poison, Psychic, Radiant, Slashing, Thunder) as deter-mined by the potion type.

Quality DurationCommon 10 minutesUncommon 1 hourRare 8 hoursVery Rare 1 dayLegendary 1 week

WATERBREATHING

You can breathe underwater.

Quality DurationCommon 10 minutesUncommon 1 hourRare 8 hoursVery Rare 1 dayLegendary 1 week

WATER WALK

For the duration, you may walk on the surface of bodiesof non-magical water as if they were normal terrain.

Quality DurationCommon 1 minuteUncommon 10 minutesRare 1 hourVery Rare 8 hoursLegendary 1 day

EFFECTS (APPLICABLES)

These are some effects that an applicable potion (usingan Oil base) may have. Such a potion imbues items withtemporary effects, and is used by pouring it over the itemin question. Doing so generally takes 1 minute and 1dose for Medium or smaller objects. Your DM might rulethat Large or larger objects require as long as 10 minutesand/or multiple potions to fully coat.

BLUNTING

Applied to armour, which for 1 hour imposes a penaltyon attack and damage rolls from slashing or piercing

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weapons.

Quality PenaltyCommon -Uncommon 1Rare 2Very Rare 3Legendary 4

ETHEREALNESS

Applied to an item or creature, which for the durationgains the effects of the etherealness spell (PHB p. 238).

Quality DurationCommon 1 minuteUncommon 10 minutesRare 1 hourVery Rare 8 hoursLegendary 1 day

SHARPNESS

Applied to a piercing or slashing weapon, which for 1hour gains a bonus to attack and to damage rolls.

Quality BonusCommon -Uncommon 1Rare 2Very Rare 3Legendary 4

THORNS

Applied to an item or armour, which for 1 hour causespiercing damage to any creature which makes a meleeattack against it. If the attacker succeeds on a Dexteritysaving throw, the damage is halved.

Quality Damage, Save DCCommon 1d4, 8+(potency)Uncommon 1d6, 7+(potency)Rare 1d8, 6+(potency)Very Rare 1d10, 5+(potency)Legendary 1d12, 4+(potency)

EFFECTS (THROWABLES)These are some effects that a throwable potion (using aSolvent base) may have. To use such a potion, make aranged improvised weapon attack (PHB pp. 147-148) ata creature or point on the ground within range. Generally

a potion’s splash effect spreads over a 10-foot radius fromthe point of impact.

GLUE

A quick-setting glue splashes over all surfaces and itemsnot being carried within a 10-foot radius of the impactpoint. Medium or smaller creatures caught in the splashmust make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be re-strained, stuck to the floor. Stuck creatures may use theiraction to attempt to break free from the glue, requiringsuccess on a Strength (Athletics) check to do so. In ad-dition, interacting with an affected item (such as pickingit up) requires succeeding on a Strength (Athletics) checkof the same difficulty.

Quality Escape DCCommon 8+(potency)Uncommon 7+(potency)Rare 6+(potency)Very Rare 5+(potency)Legendary 4+(potency)

GREASE

Slick grease covers all surfaces and items not being car-ried within a 10-foot radius of the impact point. Thegrease lasts for 1 minute, turning the area into difficultterrain for the duration. Any creature caught in thesplash, who enters the region, or who ends their turnwithin it must make a Dexterity saving throw or fallprone. In addition, interacting with an affected item(such as picking it up) requires succeeding on a Dexter-ity (Acrobatics) or Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check ofthe same difficulty, as appropriate.

Quality Check/Save DCCommon 8+(potency)Uncommon 7+(potency)Rare 6+(potency)Very Rare 5+(potency)Legendary 4+(potency)

POISON CLOUD

A stinking poisonous cloud spreads in a 10-foot radiussphere from the point of impact, heavily obscuring thearea, and spreading around corners. Creatures enteringthe cloud or beginning their turn within it must make aConstitution saving throw, taking the damage listed on a


failed save, or half as much on a successful one.


EFFECTS (POISONS)

A consumable potion with a potentially detrimental ef-fect is called a poison, though their effects need not bedirectly damaging to the consumer. The difference be-tween "poisons" and water-based "consumables" is thata poison generally allows a saving throw to resist the ef-fects – though a creature may deliberately fail this saveif they choose to. Forcing an unwilling creature who isnot restrained or incapacitated to drink a poison requiresa success on a contested Strength (Athletics) check. YourDM may rule that creatures significantly larger or smallerthan Medium feel the effects of a poison differently, asif the potion were effectively one quality level lower orhigher respectively.

POISON

A classic – tried and true. If you drink this potion youtake an initial amount of poison damage and must suc-ceed on a Constitution saving throw or be poisoned, asgiven in the table. If poisoned, on each of your subse-quent turns you are damaged again in this way, and mayattempt another saving throw. For each successful save,the damage is reduced by one die. The effect ends whenthe damage per round decreases to 0.


TRUTH

Anyone who drinks this potion must make a Constitu-tion saving throw, becoming unable to tell a deliberatelie as if under the effects of the zone of truth spell (PHB p.

289) on a failed save. The effect lasts for 10 minutes.

Quality Check/Save DCCommon 8+(potency)Uncommon 7+(potency)Rare 6+(potency)Very Rare 5+(potency)Legendary 4+(potency)

EFFECTS (SPECIAL)This section includes bases, adjuncts, and meta-alchemical effects. Bases behave differently to standardpreparations in that their effects do not scale with po-tency. Instead, different bases have different maximumpotencies that they can support. A potion must have abase whose maximum potency is as least as high as thepotency of the mixture. If you attempt to make a potionwith a base that is too weak to support your mixture, thenthe potency of the potion is automatically reduced by theminimum amount necessary so that the base can supportit. The DC of the potion creation check is not reduced inkind, however.

BASE: OIL

Oils and greases create potions which may be applied toweapons, armour, and other equipment. If you applysuch a potion to a type of item for which its effects arenot intended (such as applying Oil of Sharpness to ar-mour), the effects are wasted, though your DM may ruledifferently in certain cases.

Name Maximum QualityOil CommonGrease UncommonOintment RareResin Very RareUnguent Legendary

BASE: SOLVENT

These are volatile compounds which can react violentlywhen treated roughly. They are used to create potionswhich explode when thrown against a hard surface, re-leasing effects over an area.

Name Maximum QualitySpirits CommonEsters UncommonSals RareNaphtha Very RareAlcahest Legendary

HERBALISM & ALCHEMY

11

BASE: VENOM

Some negative effects may be transmitted via an oiledblade or by explosive draught, but the most powerfuland deadly poisons must be consumed by the intendedvictim.

Name Maximum QualityVenom CommonToxin UncommonIchor RareVitriol Very RareAcrimon Legendary

BASE: WATER

Water is different from other bases in that there is no max-imum potency for any water and no hierarchy of wa-ter bases. Some different ways in which water may betreated prior to use, or different sources for drawing wa-ter, will change how the water behaves when mixed.

DISEASED FLESH

Including a small amount of flesh from a creature af-flicted with a non-magical disease into your potion im-bues it with virulence. Anyone who interacts with theliquid other than yourself (such as someone consumingthe liquid, applying it as an oil, or caught in the splashof a thrown potion) must succeed on a Constitution sav-ing throw or be infected with the disease. The DC for thesave is 8 plus your Intelligence (Arcana) or Intelligence(Nature) bonus (your choice).

DISTILLED WATER

For the purposes of timing, making one dose of distilledwater counts as producing a preparation, and requiresan alembic, bottle, and brazier. Using distilled water as abase gives a flat +1 bonus to the potency of any effect.

SPRING WATER

If an effect has a duration which is not dependent on po-tency, then a potion with that effect lasts twice as long ifbrewed with spring water. This increases the creation DCby 2.

DM’S TOOLKIT

If you want to create any new rules, or modify existingones, here are the basic principles of mechanic designthat were held in mind (or were attempted to be held inmind) whilst creating this document:

DESIGN STATEMENTI wanted this system to feel "authentic" for what weimagine proper storybook alchemy to be – which is some-thing different again from just the bare standard RPGalchemy; A+B = C. This means depth, and it meansa sense of mystery and power. I expect that the systemwill be perhaps overwhelming for new users! I expectthat, just as a junior alchemist might, these players willlatch onto one or two known preparations and tenta-tively dip a toe out from there every now and again. Iexpect that no character, even high level ones, will havea complete picture of ingredients and effects. Finally, Iexpect that, just as with "real" alchemy, only those whoare dedicated to expanding their knowledge will unlockits full potential – only those characters who carefullyrecord their thoughts and experiences (this extends tothe players!).

Now, herbalists and alchemists in the world are armedwith valuable knowledge that the players don’t possess.They could also find a grubby scrap of paper with acouple of arcane-sounding ingredients hastily scribbledon it which, besides being super atmospheric, is actuallyinformative. Each new ingredient, preparation, or effectdiscovered will feel like a win. At the same time, thehope and dream is that the system is also interestingand useful enough not to be boring. There are enougheffects and preparations to give a DM utility for creatingsomething on the fly as in-game rewards.

Magic (and by association, alchemy) is powerful, mys-terious, and should be presented as such. I want myplayers to get excited when they discover something newabout it for themselves, and so my world needs a baselinefrom which that can happen.

• Occam’s Razor. If a mechanic or part of a mechanicalready exists in the game, don’t add another one.Always look to reduce the extra complication forthe players. For instance, the proficiency bonus isa number which scales with level. Tie all level-dependent effects to this number. If you have sim-ilar effects which scale with this number in differentways, collapse them into one. What you might losein realism you gain in playability.

• Consistent Utility. A mechanic should have thesame amount of utility to a 1st level character as toa 20th character. "Amount of utility" here means ac-cess to effects which are proportionate to one’s level.

• Respectful Balance. A new mechanic which intro-duces new features to the game should be roughly aspowerful as the other mechanics that already exist.Do this by ensuring that the quality and value of newitems and new effects granted to players are compa-rable to those already available to them at their level.


MONSTER CR AND POTENCY

Monster CR Suggested Potency<1 11-4 1-35-8 2-49-12 3-513-16 4-617-20 5-721-24 6-825-28 7-929-32 8-10

• Versatile Flavour. Each DM and party of PCs is dif-ferent. The mechanics should be able to be used andabused, mixed and matched, in a variety of ways.DMs should be able to add or drop parts of the rulesas the see fit. They should also be able to tell theirown story with your mechanics, not just yours – youshould leave as much room as possible within yourwork for others to add their own storytelling flavour.

The three-step process of alchemy presented here is,admittedly, a little complicated - or has the potential tobe. As a DM, it’s up to you to gauge what aspects ofthis alchemy system are appropriate to include in yourgame. You might decide to drop the harvesting check, theequipment requirements, the creation DC, or anythingelse that you find inconvenient.

CREATING NEW INGREDIENTS

The ingredients presented here are extremely minimal,and only meant to provide inspiration for DMs who wantto include this alchemy system in their game.

POTENCY FROM CREATURES

The potency of an ingredient should roughly scale withthe challenge rating (CR) of a monster. The ingredientspresented in this introduction adhere to the guidelinesoutlined in the table CR and Potency. This is more or lessa range of three centered around the proficiency bonus ofa monster with that CR, as outlined in the 5th EditionMonster Manual (p8).

It is suggested that you avoid creating ingredients ofpotency more than 10. It only takes two preparations ofthat strength to nearly reach legendary quality potions,and only a single preparation to make a rare quality po-tion. Granted, one must kill and harvest from an ex-tremely powerful creature to do so, but this just meansthat higher-potency preparations would have to comefrom creatures of CR more than 32 (ludicrously strong)if the level scaling is preserved.

PLANT RARITY AND POTENCY

Plant Rarity Suggested Max PotencyCommon 1Uncommon 2-3Rare 4Very Rare 5-6Legendary 7+

POTENCY FROM PLANTS

It is harder to gauge what potency should be attachedto ingredients which come from plants, as they don’thave a handy challenge rating with which to scale them.It is strongly suggested than any mundane, commonly-available plants almost always have a maximum potencyof 1. Preparations which require time, gold, or equip-ment should on average have higher potencies, however.

Potency should increase with plant rarity, but it is gen-erally less hazardous to harvest from flora than fromflora, so the increase should be less severe. It is up toyou to determine how rare or difficult to acquire a plantis, but keep in mind that with the maximum potenciessuggested in the table Plant Rarity and Potency it takesexactly three different preparations of a given rarity tomake a potion of the corresponding quality (compare tothe Potency in Alchemy table for potion qualities basedon potency).

POTENCY FROM OTHER

This alchemy system does not include ingredients fromnon-living sources. This is because the it is intended tobe a partner to an enchanting system, which does. Youare of course welcome to develop your own non-livingalchemy ingredients. It is suggested that you more or lessfollow the Plant Rarity and Potency table for balancingthese ingredients to the system.

CHOOSING EFFECTS

For ingredients from creatures, try and choose or createeffects which match their distinctive abilities. Look notonly to their ability scores but to their traits and spe-cial actions. As noted, their CR give a useful indica-tion of what potency range is appropriate. Plants areharder to choose for, but with a little consideration canbe made thematically appropriate. You might use real-world plants, in which case you can look at their histori-cal, real-world associations (strength from oak, etc). Youmight make fantasy-sounding versions of these plantsbut keep their real-world associations, if you prefer tokeep alchemy strictly magical – "High Oak", etc. Youmight make up completely new plants just for your gameif you prefer.

HERBALISM & ALCHEMY

13

EFFECT QUALITY BY SPELL LEVEL

Spell Level (min) Suggested Quality0-2 Common2-4 Uncommon4-6 Rare6-8 Very Rare8-9 Legendary

CREATING NEW EFFECTS

The effects list is deliberately incomplete, and might evencontain entries undesirable for your game. Of course youare in control of what alchemical properties exist in yourown game world, so feel free to add or remove as needed.In creating new effects, here are a few guidelines for fit-ting them into this system in a balanced way.

SCALING AN EFFECT

Try to create an effect that can be scaled depending onthe quality of a potion. If dice are involved, change thenumber of dice, the die type, or the modifier. If a timedeffect occurs, consider changing the duration - but keepthe intervals simple: one round, one minute, one hour,etc. If a base numerical effect occurs, simply vary theamount.

Deciding which potion quality corresponds to whatlevel of effect can be difficult. If you want to create aneffect that matches or partially matches a spell in thePlayer’s Handbook, you are in luck. Look at the min-imum spell slot level required to cast it. This numbergives an indication of how powerful its base effect is,which tells us roughly what kind of potion quality it cor-responds to. Refer to the table Effect Quality by SpellLevel for details. Note there is a bit of overlap, becausespell strengths are a little blurry at times, so please useyour judgement. From here it is just a matter of choosingwhat part of the spell to vary with potion quality. Ac-tually, try and keep the same-level potion a little weakerthan the corresponding spell as this offsets not needingto expend a spell slot to use it.


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