Alchemy

Step

 * Rank+PER

Action

 * Sustained

Strain

 * 0

Cost

 * Novice

Description

 * This skill requires an alchemist’s kit or access to an alchemist’s shop. The Alchemy skill includes an understanding of the magical principles and formulas used to create magical concoctions, the knowledge needed to gather ingredients, and the ability to test and analyze different potions a character might discover in the course of adventuring.
 * Gathering Ingredients
 * Creating most alchemical concoctions requires natural herbs, roots, leaves, minerals and animal parts. Characters may purchase ingredients from herbalists or other alchemists, or may gather them himself. This usually requires a day of work. At the gamemaster’s discretion, some concoctions may require exotic ingredients that characters must travel far and wide to find. Once a character has gathered the necessary ingredients, he may begin combining them.
 * Creating Potions and Salves
 * Creating an alchemical recipe takes a day’s work. The character makes an Alchemy test against the appropriate Difficulty Number. If successful, the potion is finished and immediately usable, creating one dose per success. If the test fails, the potion is inert and useless. Gamemasters may allow player characters with the Alchemy skill to create new potions with unique effects. Base the difficulty for such creations on similar potions, with a +3 modifier to reflect the difficulty of creating new potions.
 * Creating Poisons
 * Alchemists can also use natural ingredients to brew various poisons (see the Gamemaster’s Guide). The base difficulty for brewing a poison is equal to the poison’s Mystic Defense or Step Number, whichever is higher. The process works the same way as creating potions. Most alchemists working in cities will not sell poisons openly. Many alchemists, however, will sell them under the counter to favored or known customers. This is especially true in cities like Kratas, where the skills of a capable poisoner are constantly in demand.
 * Analysis
 * A character who possesses a potion of unknown properties may attempt to analyze it. This analysis requires only a few drops of the substance and about an hour’s time for analysis. The gamemaster makes a secret Alchemy test for the character against the Difficulty Number used to create the potion or other substance. One or two successes reveals the potion’s general purpose, such as for healing, harm, or an antidote. Three or more successes reveals the exact effects of the potion or poison.