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View Full Version : Alchemy, potions, poisons and explosions! [WIP-PEACH]



Lacco
2021-04-20, 08:49 AM
Hello fellow playgrounders!

I had this idea stuck in my mind since this morning for an alchemy system. Please, let me know if this sounds familiar (another system has done it already), workable and/or interesting. Bear in mind that I wrote this whole today, as the ideas came to my mind... but PEACH.

This should work as "add-on" to one of my heartbreaker projects. Basically a mini-game for the player to be done mainly during downtime (as preparing recipes takes time).

Of course, this being a fantasy, I'd like to keep some internal logic, but also provide space for interesting ingredients and strangeness.

Alchemy
Alchemy shall be used for creation of potions, balms, draughts, ointments... and also poisons, bombs and other fun stuff. When an alchemist wants to create something, he has to have a recipe and all ingredients (some may be improvised).

Recipes
A recipe usually consists of:

Ingredients
Process
Conditions


It will also detail equipment used - most of the time.

Ingredients
Each ingredient has several properties - effects - with set probabilities of outcome. These can be determined by the GM or just taken from a list. Applicable processes are detailed in
Example: Bullroot: Strength 15, Acid 5, Heal 2, Cold -10, Calm X (X means that a recipe containing this can not be used for calming)

Each ingredient also has few characterstics (e.g. how common it is, what kind of ingredient it is, its freshness or additional information) and potence. Potence - per dose - determines the power of the effect. Zero potence means the ingredient only changes the effect, not its scope, while 5 means an amazing effect.

There are also "bases" - basic ingredients. These are usually water (for potions), alcohol (for draughts and solutions), oil (for ointments and balms), wax (for balms). These are usually added first and determine how the result looks like. They can also change nature of ingredients via some of the pre-processes.

Some ingredients:
Bullroot (common root, dry, potence 1): Strength 15, Acid 5, Heal 2, Cold -10, Calm X
Bitterweed Sap (common plant sap, liquid, potence 2): Growth 7, Nausea 7, Pain 3
Crispair Flower (uncommon plant, fresh, potence 1): Mana 22, Heal 5, Cold 1, Fire -5
Wild Luminorose (uncommon plant, fresh, potence 2): Light 18, Fire 11, Mana 7, Confusion 3, Darkness X
Fish Eyes (common solid animal body part, fresh, potence 1): Breathe 3, Cold 2, Fire -12, Love X
Mirrorcap (uncommon mushroom, fresh, potence 2): Poison 35, Mana 17, Fear 13, Hallucination 11, Heal X
Lava Bloom (rare plant, potence 2, volatility 1): Fire 45, Mana 20, Cold X
Unicorn Horn (extremely rare, dry, solid animal body part, magical, potence 5): Mana 60, Heal 35, Life 10, Death 1, Miracle 1
Blood (common, animal or human body part, fresh, potence 2): Heal 1, Pain 1, Poison 1, Life 1, Death 1
Alcohol (common, liquid, base, potence 0, volatility 1): Pain 5, Nausea 5, Fire 3.
Water (common, liquid, base, potence 0): Heal 1, Water 1, Air 1, Fire X.
Undead Flesh (uncommon, solid, animal or human body part, potence 0): Fear 20, Paralysis 17, Disease 13, Cold 3, Death 2
Basilisk Eye (rare animal body part, fresh, potence 4): Petrify 40, Poison 30, Sleep 15, Pain 10, Death 3, Heal X
Blessed Water (common, liquid, potence 1): Heal 5, Bless 5, Miracle 1
...
These can be made relatively easily in large batches.


Process
Basic rule: No more than 2 processes may be applied per each ingredient used.
Dosage: Additional dose adds half the effect of previous dose (round down).
Time steps: few seconds -> few minutes -> few hours -> few days -> few weeks -> few months (few = 2d6).
When a process is applied in a recipe, it stays the same. If applied again, with different results, the process must be altered somehow (see example at the end).

Basic processes:
Warm up - increase single effect by 1d6 per time step, decrease another by 1d4 per time step.
Simmer - decrease single random effect by 1d6 per time step, increase chosen effect by 1d6 per time step. Can be used on liquids containing ingredients. Adds 1 point of volatility.
Boil - remove a single random effect, double another random effect. Can be used on liquids containing ingredients. Adds 2 points of volatility.
Stir - add 1d6 per time step. Increase random effect by the result, then decrease a chosen result by the number of the dice (e.g. if stirred for few hours, roll 3d6 and increase a single random effect, then choose an effect to decrease by 3).
Dilute - add a liquid base (usually water) to decrease the volatility. Decrease randomly a effects by 1d10 (split as you wish) for each point of volatility that you drop. Volatility can not get below 1.
To be done:
Distill
Cool down
Freeze
Evaporate
Ferment

Pre-process of ingredients:
No more than 2 pre-processes may be applied on an ingredient.
Cut up - consider the dose doubled and remove one random effect - liquid ingredients can not be cut.
Crush - consider the dose doubled, add half probability to each effect and remove the lowest. Liquid ingredients can not be crushed.
Press - ? - dry and liquid ingredients can not be pressed.
Dry - add "dry"characteristic. Start at time step "few days", increase potence by 1. In addition, randomly assign a d6, d10 and d12 to effects - 1 die per time step - and add the result to the effect. If a 1 is rolled, reroll and decrease the effect by the result. Dry, solid and liquid ingredients can not be dried.
Infuse - mix the effects of a liquid with a solid or dry ingredient. Creates an infusion (liquid), with the potency of the dry/solid ingredient. Start at time step "few days" and add +1d6 per time step to selected effect or +1 to potency, and then decrease the other effects by 1d4 per time step.
Let spoil - fresh ingredients may be spoiled - depending on the ingredient, roll 1d6 per time step: 1 - spoiled, unusable, 2 - change the ingredient to Rot/Waste/Moss/Slime, 3 - remove a single effect, 4 - increase a single effect by 1d10, 5 - increase all remaining effects by 1d10, 6 - add new effect.

When a volatile mix is further processed, roll 1d10. If you roll a 1, the mix has exploded and the ingredients were wasted. Depending on potence of the mix, the alchemist may be wounded or his equipment damaged. If you roll under the volatility, roll d10 equal to the current potence of your mix - that is the damage sustained on equipment or the alchemist.

Tools
to be done
Tools determine possibility and efficiency of certain actions - e.g. a basic black cauldron will allow you to boil, stir, simmer or warm up. A set of weights will provide you with bonus to rolls to repeat a recipe. A distillation column will allow you to distill.

Conditions
To be done.
If you work in specific conditions (e.g. moonlight, darkness, light), this will further modify the effects of your recipes.



So: to produce a mix (a potion, for example), you need to either have a recipe, all required tools and ingredients (it becomes a simple roll)... or you have to experiment. When experimenting, the alchemist adds ingredients, decides on process and writes down the whole thing.
Once satisfied with the result, the final effect ratings, potency and volatility is determined.
Now the alchemist rolls their skill (providing rerolls for the other rolls) and then rolls percentile dice for each effect. If they roll below the effect rating, the final result acquires the effect - and it's up to the GM and the player to agree on the result. Warning: the final effect is mixed from all the effects!

Following rules apply:
Two opposing effects usually destroy each other.
Two similar effects are combined.
Two completely different effects (non-opposing) are both applied.


Exampilios, the apprentice alchemist decides to mix his first potion. He chooses water as his base:
Water (common, liquid, base, potence 0): Heal 1, Water 1, Air 1, Fire X

He has 2 bullroots (2 doses), a handful of crispair flowers (1 dose) a vial of blessed water (1 dose) and a flask of bitterweed sap (1 dose).

He prepares the ingredients:
He cleans & cuts one bullroot to small pieces (cutting doubles the dose and removes a random effect; roll of 1d6 - there are 5 effects - comes up as 5, removes Calm X). He writes down that cutting bullroot to small pieces removes the Calm X effect.
He cuts the other one into long slices and rolls agan. Roll of 2 means the Acid 5 effect is removed.

So we get:
Bullroot pieces - 2 doses - (common root, dry, potence 1): Strength 15, Acid 5, Heal 2, Cold -10
Bullroot slices - 2 doses - (common root, dry, potence 1): Strength 15, Heal 2, Cold -10

He then infuses the crispair flower in the blessed water - a long process that takes 11 months (few days -> few weeks -> few months... 2d6 months comes up as 11). He decides to go increase the Heal by 2d6 and increase the potence by 1, and decreases the others by 3d4.

Crispair Flower (uncommon plant, fresh, potence 1): Mana 22, Heal 5, Cold 1, Fire -5
+
Blessed Water (common, liquid, potence 1): Heal 5, Bless 5, Miracle 1
=
Blessed Crispair Infusion (uncommon liquid infusion, potence 2): Mana 10 (roll of -12), Heal 18 (5+5+roll of 8), Bless -3, Miracle -4, Cold -8, Fire - 13

...

Once everything is prepared, he starts with cauldron full of water as his base. He adds the two doses of bullroot slices (second dose gives 1d6 effects) and boils the preparation.

Water (potence 0): Heal 1, Water 1, Air 1, Fire X
Bullroot slices - 2 doses - (potence 1): Strength 15+7, Heal 2+1 Cold -10-5
Boil: Remove a single random effect (roll of 7 = remove Cold), double another random effect (4 = double Strength).
Volatility 2: roll of 10 means nothing bad happens.

Preparation (potence 1): Strength 44, Heal 4, Air 1, Fire X

As second step, he adds the two doses of bullroot pieces and stirs clockwise for few days.
Preparation (potence 1): Strength 44, Heal 4, Air 1, Fire X
+
Bullroot pieces - 2 doses - (common root, dry, potence 1): Strength 15, Acid 5, Heal 2, Cold -10
+
Stirring: few seconds -> few minutes -> few hours -> few days = add 4d6 to random effect (roll of 3 = Air), decrease chosen effect by 4 (Acid).
=
Almost finished preparation (potence 2, volatility 2): Strength 59, Heal 6, Air 9 (roll 4d6 comes up as 8), Cold -10, Fire X

For a last step, he adds the Blessed Crispair Infusion and simmers for few hours.
Almost finished preparation (potence 2, volatility 2): Strength 59, Heal 6, Air 9, Cold -10, Fire X
+
Blessed Crispair Infusion (uncommon liquid infusion, potence 2): Mana 10, Heal 18, Bless -3, Miracle -4, Cold -8, Fire - 13
+
Simmer for few hours: decrease single random effect by 3d6 (Bless -11), increase another random effect by 3d6 (Heal +12). Volatility +1.
=
Strange Potion (Potence 4, Volatility 3): Strength 59, Heal 24, Mana 10, Air 9, Miracle -4, Cold -18, Bless -21, Fire X

Oh. Volatility 3. Rolled a 6, so safe for now!

Exampilios now rolls for his skill - and let's say he gets 1 reroll in return.
He tests the potion and gets following rolls on d%: 35, 22, 64, 90.
(He does not have to roll for the negative effects).
So the result is:

Potion of Heroic Second Wind
(Potence 4)
This potion temporarily gives the person who drinks it extreme strength and heals their wounds.
Preparation of a single batch takes a whole year, and requires two bullroots, a handful of crispair flowers, a vial of blessed water and a flask of bitterweed sap.

Specific effects of potions need to be determined by the game system this is applied to.

Thoughts? Ideas?

Nerth
2021-04-20, 08:59 AM
I like the general breakdown of source ingredient -> apply process -> modify with tools and conditions. I can't comment to to the specific mechanics. "Mana 60", for example; does that mean there's a 60% chance for the final product to interact with mana?

You might consider the spontaneous alchemy optional rule from Pathfinder Player Companion: Alchemy Manual. See if anything there inspires you.

Lacco
2021-04-20, 09:06 AM
I like the general breakdown of source ingredient -> apply process -> modify with tools and conditions. I can't comment to to the specific mechanics. "Mana 60", for example; does that mean there's a 60% chance for the final product to interact with mana?

You might consider the spontaneous alchemy optional rule from Pathfinder Player Companion: Alchemy Manual. See if anything there inspires you.

Thanks!

Yes, in the case you described there is 60% chance that the final product will interact with mana/will impact mana. Also: different combination of effects create different effects. I think it's better described in the example than in the text. Maybe not.

And while I would like some inspiration, I have no access to Pathfinder :smallwink:. What is the rule?