potion creation in legend

7/25/2019 Potion Creation in Legend

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Potion Creationin Legend

Based onArms of Legend, Arcania of Legend: Blood Magicand the RenaissanceSRD

by Alex Greene

ContentsIntroduction 2

Important Sourcebooks 2

Basic Information 2

Substrate Preparation 2

Spell Imprinting 3

efinement !

"osages !

Carried In #$e Air %

#$e Apot$ecary&s 'itbag (

)e* Sorcery Spells +2

,pen Content +!

,pen Game License +-


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IntroductionThe bookArms of Legendmissed out on the fine art of alchemical potion creation, and

while the Enchantment section of Arcania of Legend: Blood Magicdid somewhat close thegap, Legend has still missed out on some important rules concerning the creation ofpotions through alchemy.

mportant SourcebooksThe following sourcebooks pro!ide the essential informationneeded for this article.

- Legend Core Rulebook

- Arms of Legend

- Arcania of Legend: Blood Magic

- Renaissance SRD

Basic Information"lchemical potion creation in!ol!es use of the alchemist#s $hilosopher#s Stone %see&"lchemy,'Arms of Legend, p. ()*+ and the Lore %"lchemy+ skill %p. ()(+. The processin!ol!es epending some of the stored -agic $oints in the $hilosopher#s Stone totransmute base materials into what is called a substrate.

Substrate $reparationThe alchemist rolls Lore %"lchemy+ to create the substrate %Renaissance,p. (*+. Thealchemist creates a number of measures of substrate e/ual to one tenth of his Lore%"lchemy skill+0 an alchemist with Lore %"lchemy+ 123 could create 4 measures ofsubstrate. This process takes one hour per measure, and each measure consumes one-agic $oint from the alchemist#s $hilosopher#s Stone.

Each measure weighs 5 ounces. The substrate is the same regardless of the spell cast

into it0 a crumbly, granulated powder that can be crushed into a fine dust in the fingers,e/ually soluble in watery li/uids and oily materials.

oll esults

Critical Success.Each -agic $oint spent from the $hilosopher#s Stone yields twoounces of substrate at one higher le!el of Refinement 6 see below.

Success. Each -agic $oint of $hilosopher#s Stone yields two ounces of substrate.

/ailure.The materials are wasted.

/umble.Something bad happens. 7onsult the Transmutation Backlash Table,Arms of

Legend, p. ().


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Alternati0e Substrate Creation 1et$ods

8estern alchemy is not the only form of alchemy, and it is possible to come up with an alternati!epotion creation system independent of the need to include the creation of a $hilosopher#s Stone.

9ere are a couple of alternati!e systems for potion creation.

Lore Alc$emy as an 4xtended #ask

Treat Lore %"lchemy+ as a craft skill, using the system on p.: of Arms of Legend. The base $urity is (,and each Enhancement increases the $urity by ;(< a critical success also adds ;( to $urity, yielding amaimum possible $urity of ). The alchemist creates a maimum number of measures of substratee/ual to one=tenth his percentage in Lore %"lchemy+, each measure costing him ( -agic $oint %eitherhis own, which he reco!ers normally, or obtained through the Tap sorcery spell or a $ower 7rystal 6seeArms of Legend+.

This can be used to abstract the process of alchemical creation without the trappings of 8esternalchemy, for instance an alternati!e system based on Eastern alchemy or a !ersion of alchemy asimagined by your own setting which might not e!en resemble 8estern alchemy in the slightest.

Sorcery and 4nc$antment

nstead of using Lore %"lchemy+, the >ames -aster could rule that substrate creation is a form ofenchantment, using either the Enchant skill fromArcania of Legend: Blood Magic or the SorceryEnchantment Ritual fromArms of Legend,either one creating a maimum number of measures e/ualto the ntensity. ?ther than re/uiring temporary -agic $oints which are normally reco!ered, one-agic $oint being sufficient to transmute base materials into a 5 o@ measure, and yielding substratewith a $urity of ( per : ntensity with a maimum of ), substrate creation can be treated as if it were

any other kind of enchantment.

Alc$emy and Concerts

To create substrates with the highest $urity, the alchemist might re/uire a concert effort. The rules in

Arcania of Legend: Blood Magicfor concert casting apply here to concert efforts with Lore %"lchemy+

to create /uantities of !iable substrate for spell imprinting. There is, howe!er, a natural limitation to

the amount of people who may participate0 an alchemist may ha!e a maimum number of assistants

working for him %with access to the 7oncert skill+ e/ual to one=rhird of his 79".

Spell mprintingThe alchemist, or an assisting spell caster, now imprints the spell into the substrate,charging it with the spell and treating one batch of substrate %one or more 5 o@measures+ as a single target. ?nce imprinted, the substrate is known as a preparation,and this needs to be mied with an appropriate medium for consumption.

1edium Application Product 5ield

8ater, -ilk,8eak "leor Diluted 8ine

Dissol!ed $otion ( dose%about acupful+


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7osmetic 7ream -ied Sal!e ( hit location

Lotion -ied Anguent ( hit location

8a -ied 7andle ( candle

efinementThe $urity of the $hilosopher#s Stone used determines the refinement of the substrate 6how small a dose contains one charge of the spell, and how many doses a measurecontains. 7ritical success treats the $urity of the $hilosopher#s Stone as one grade higher%) maimum+0 a $urity 5 $hilosopher#s Stone produces a $urity : substrate.

Purity "osage "oses

( ( ack C 5 ounces %o@+ (

5 ( semis C ( o@ 5

: ( drachm %dr+ %(4 o@+ (2

( scruple %sc+ %(: dr, (5 o@+ 4

) ( grain %(5* sc, (2*dr, (4* o@+. 2*

For the purpose of this article, ( grain e/uals a single granule of the substrate.

Regardless of the $urity of the Stone, the process of creating the substrate still yields/uantities of substrate measured in units weighing 5 o@< so a high=$urity Stone can yield

a lotof doses of preparation.

Guantities of raw, unimprinted substrate will last fore!er, as do measures of preparedpreparation. $remied potions, sal!es, creams, ointments, tinctures and unguents need tobe kept in sealed containers or used on the spot, or they will lose their efficacy at a rateof ( ntensity per week.

"osagesTaken internally, a preparation must be dissol!ed in at least half a cup of li/uid, and the

whole dose consumed to be effecti!e. -easuring out a dose takes (d2 7"< consuming ittakes ( 7". Drinking half the dose now and the rest later ust wastes the potion.

Boosters-ultiple /uantities of the preparation can be premied and drunkas one potion, taking (d2 7" per dose. Either the ntensity of thepotion is increased by half the original dose again for eachadditional dose, or some other factor is similarly increased. Forinstance, a double dose of Treat 8ounds potion accelerates healing

twice as rapidly, healing two 9it $oints at the end of each round.


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-iersDifferent preparations can be premied to create a single potion combining all the

properties of the indi!idual component doses of preparation. Typically a Treat 8oundspotion can be mied with mmunity %see &mmunity' spell below+ and Enhance 7?Hpotions at the same time to create an eliir that both heals wounds and fortifies thecharacter against infection at the same time, for instance.

?!erdosingThere are limits as to how much one charactercan consume at one time. "t any time, acharacter may consume a maimum number of

potions in a single day e/ual to one third of his 7?H. "ny more than that re/uires aResilience roll at a cumulati!e penalty of =(*3 per dose abo!e the limit or suffer from apoison of ntensity e/ual to the ecess %which cannot be magically cured or treated+, anda number of 7onditions e/ual to the ecess, taken from the ?!erdose Table below, theeffects lasting (d2 hours0=

,0erdose #able4xcess Condition esult

( Hausea Strenuous actions re/uire a Resilience roll to a!oidbeing physically sick.

5 "gony ncapacitated with pain.

: Fe!er "ching muscles, temperature fluctuations. "ll skillshal!ed, plus the effects of Hausea abo!e.

Iertigo Anable to maintain balance. "ll skills hal!ed.

) Ehaustion 7haracter gains one le!el of Fatigue.

2 $aralysis ?ne random hit location is paralysed. f the head or

chest, the character is unable to mo!e or act.1 9allucination 7haracter suffers !isions and hallucinations, and is

unable to separate the real world from the !isionsand sensations.

4 Sapping Iictim loses a number of -agic $oints e/ual to thetotal doses consumed.

8eakness STR, 7?H and DEJ reduced to species minimum.

(*; Anconscious Loss of consciousness. ?n reco!ery, suffers Hausea,

Ehaustion and Sapping.


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Carried In #$e Air.

Incenses6 Candles and PerfumesA "elicate /ragranceSome preparations are not consumed directlyby a patient, but are mied with othersubstances to be burned or sprayed in the air.

7andles, incenses and perfumes can carry aspell effect, which can affect anyone who

breathes in the fumes arising from thepreparation. " large enough /uantity of thepreparation can spray enough of the spelleffect to affect e!eryone in a large chamber,such as the interior of a temple.

A Po*erful 4ffect8hile potions and other preparations areuseful for con!eying healing spell effects,

candles, incense and perfumes typically act asmedia for less beneficial spells, such asDominate, Ensla!e %see p. ):,Arcania ofLegend: Blood Magic+, a specific $hantomSense illusion and 9inder or e!en Smother.Such effects are resisted by Resilience, regardless of whether they are normally resistedby Resilience, $ersistence or E!ade %since they re/uire that they be physically inhaled+,and bypass armour 6 e!en magical armour.

Sometimes, howe!er, the spell is beneficial in some way, usually granting insights or

imparting !isions such as ntuition, -ystic Iision, $roect %Sense+, Telepathy or Sense." perfume may be applied to a single 9it Location, affecting the wearer in some wayusually relating to social skills 6 perfumes laced with Enhance 79" or 7ommon -agicspells such as Entertainer#s Smile, for eample 6 or they may be sprayed into the air,where a single dose of the perfume affects e!eryone within a radius of ) metres with aspell such as Dominate or Ensla!e, or Smother.

8ith effects carried in incense and candles, the area of effect of the spell is typically a )metre radius ; ( metre radius per -agnitude %for 7ommon -agic+ or ntensity %sorcery+and the Duration is typically for as long as the candle or incense is kept burning.


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#$e Apot$ecary&s 'itbag.

Sample Preparations#erminologyProducts.Substrate= The crumbly, grainy powder that acts as the flu for a spell.Measure6 a 5 o@ /uantity of substrate. Preparation6 a substrate imprinted with a spell. Potion6 apreparation dissol!ed into a potable li/uid. Ointment, Sale, Lotion, !nguent6 an oily pasteapplied o!er a 9it Location that affects that 9it Location.

1agnitude and Sorcery.n the Sorcery chapter of the Legend Core Rulebook%p. (*+

-agnitude refers solely to the power of this spell to penetrate magical defences and toresist being dispelled. -agnitudes higher than ( re/uire -anipulation factors to be spenton the spell. -agnitude in 7ommon -agic and Di!ine -agic reflects the relati!estrength of the spell and the scale of its effect.

Intensity.FromArcania of Legend: Blood Magic, ntensity measures the power and scaleof the spell. t is not dependent on the -anipulation of the caster as the -agnitude is,but rather on the caster#s >rimoire %sorcery+ skill 6 ntensity is always one tenth of the>rimoire skill.

Sorcery spells typically affect a maimum of : characteristic points %such as SK or

$?8+ or a maimum of ( cubic metre per ntensity.

The following preparations deri!ed from sorcery spells listed in Legend, particularly theLegend Core Rulebook. The default ntensity is ) standard %able to affect maimumcharacteristic ratings of ()+ and -agnitude, with either a standard Duration of 5-anipulation factors based on a $?8 of (2 %4 minutes+, or a set 5 hours %whichre/uires ) -anipulation factors+. ?ne target, no 7ombine spells and a Range of Touch.

Basic Preparations costs per measure

#reat 7ounds Preparation +88 spThis potion can be applied internally, di!iding its effect e/ually among all affected 9itLocations. "pplied as a cream, the potion only benefits the hit location it is applied to.

estoration Preparation %88 spThis potion can only be applied internally. t restores any form of permanentcharacteristic loss = up to ( point per ntensity. Each point restored takes one minute toheal until either the characteristic has been healed and is back to normal, or the potion

reaches the limit of its ntensity.


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?nly one characteristic can be restored at a time by a single dose of potion 6 if acharacter has lost both 7?H and $?8, one dose of Restoration $otion would restoreall points in one characteristic, chosen by the player at the time of consumption.

egenerate Preparation %88 spThis potion can only be applied eternally. t works to regenerate Serious and -aor8ounds, and permit regrowth or the reattachment of se!ered limbs. Locations of up to( 9it $oint per ntensity can be treated with this potion. t cannot bring back a personwho is dead.

Ab9ure /atigue Preparation +-8 sp" potion which allows the caster to forego the effects of fatigue for its 5 hour

duration. "ffects up to : 7?H per ntensity.

)eutralise 1agic Preparation +88 spThis potion neutralises magic that is affecting the drinker. t must be consumedinternally, and it neutralises ( -agnitude of the incoming spell per ntensity. f thentensity is greater than the spell being neutralised, both spell and potion#s effects!anish. Surplus ntensity of potion is lost, and does not carry o!er to other spells.

Immunity Preparation +88 spBolsters the immune system of the recipient for a set 5 hour period, pro!idingimmunity against poisons, infections, drugs and diseases. 7an be applied either as aprophylactic before or ust after eposure to poison or disease.

The preparation educes the $otency of a pathogen, whether poison or disease, by threetimes the ntensity. f the $otency is reduced to *, the character is totally immune to it.

Anlike the spell, the immunity pro!ided is not selecti!e< beneficial medicines are reectedby this preparation as much as toins and harmful drugs.

See the &mmunity' sorcery spell below.

Infertility Preparation +- spThis potion affects a maimum 7?H of three times the ntensity. t reduces the chancesof conception, or of causing a woman to become pregnant if consumed by a man, by5*3 per ntensity, should mating take place at any time during the 5 hour Duration.See &Fertility' and &nfertility' sorcery spells.

/ertility Preparation +(- sp

This potion affects a maimum 7?H of three times the ntensity. t increases the


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chances of conception, or of causing a woman to become pregnant if consumed by aman, by 5*3 per ntensity, should mating take place at any time during the 5 hourDuration. See &Fertility' and &nfertility' sorcery spells.

Gender C$ange Preparation 388 spThis potion affects a maimum 7?H of three times the ntensity. t changes the genderof the consumer to the opposite gender. Some >ender 7hange potions %(*3 chance+remo!e the characteristics of the consumer#s gender altogether, lea!ing them anandrogynous hermaphrodite. See &>ender 7hange' below. The Duration is 5 hours.

,t$er PreparationsThe following aren#t based on any particular sorcery spells, but are ust part of any

competent ad!enturer#s potions kit.

Sleep Potion 2- sp" grainy powder that can be dissol!ed in wine, water or other potable fluids. Takes(d2;7onstitutionM rounds to take effect, and the imbiber will sleep deeply for (d2hours, less 5* minutes per point of 7onstitution. During that time, surgery can beperformed on the patient without waking him from sleep. Hothing can wake up thecharacter, in fact, short of magic of some sort.

)o Sleep Potion :- sp?ne scruple=weight dose of this preparation in a cup of weak wine or water enables theimbiber to go without sleep for one week. "fter this period, he automatically fallsunconscious for ( day 6 :* minutes per point of 7onstitution.

Clarity +88 sp?ne scruple=weight dose of this preparation in a cup of weak wine or water protects theimbiber#s mind from malign powers and mental influences. The imbiber#s $ersistence

score to resist mental influences and attacks is increased by ;(*3 per point of ntensity.

Allure /ragrance 388 sp" fragrance which enhances the wearer#s 79", a single dose of this spray gi!es thewearer Enhance 79", ntensity ), -agnitude , Duration : %duration 2 minutes+.

Slumber Candles -8 sp per candleThis si hour candle, when lit, effecti!ely fills a maimum !olume of (* cubic metreswith a numbing anaesthetic gas with $otency ), carrying the Anconsciousness

7ondition. The Duration is the burning duration of the candle.


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Lo0e PotionsThe staple of e!ery apothecary, lo!e potions %also called philtres+ are typically sold in

indi!idual 5 o@ measures, premied, at an eorbitant cost 6 usually to young men eagerto gain the affections of some hapless young woman, but sometimes to young womenwanting to turn the heads of some man.

"llure Fragrance %see abo!e+ is one kind of lo!e philtre, increasing the wearer#s 79"

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