Alchemy (sage study)

Alchemy is a sage study within the fields of Earth & Sky and Science. The study concerns the properties, interactions and transformations of natural substances, including minerals, metals, plants and distilled compounds, as they are broken down, combined and altered through controlled processes.

Alchemy provides the theoretical and practical foundation for the creation and refinement of substances such as poisons, salves, ointments and potions, as well as other preparations requiring precise handling of volatile or reactive materials. The study emphasises measurement, heat, timing and containment, with success dependent upon both knowledge and disciplined method.

Founding a Laboratory

To practise the making of substances, the following must be acquired to construct a laboratory suitable for alchemical work. The quantities listed are sufficient for amateur-status knowledge; each higher status requires a proportional increase, such that an Authority must possess twice the articles listed, an expert three times and a sage four times. This expansion reflects not redundancy but the need to conduct multiple processes simultaneously, to separate incompatible materials and to maintain continuity where preparations require uninterrupted attention.

• For work, a laboratory table, 7 feet by 4, made of hardwood, with a 2 foot by 4 square of iron or copper bolted at one end of the table. This surface is essential for heating, cutting, grinding and combining materials, with the metal plate serving as a fire-safe working area for direct heat and volatile reactions. The table must be stable and level, as imbalance or vibration may ruin delicate mixtures or cause spillage.

• For space, a room 15 feet by 8 feet minimum, with a vertical brazier 2 feet square and 3 feet high set beneath a proper flue for the escape of heat, smoke and noxious vapours. Adequate ventilation is not optional, as many alchemical processes release fumes that are corrosive, intoxicating or explosive if allowed to accumulate. The space must also permit movement around the work area, storage of materials and safe separation between flame and finished substances.

• Paraphenalia, including an alembic for distillation, a crystal ball for observation and concentration of light, an hourglass for precise timing, a lens and prism for examining clarity and refraction and 2 glass pipettes with 8 crystal rods for the transfer and agitation of liquids. These instruments form the basis of controlled experimentation, allowing the alchemist to measure, observe and repeat processes with consistency.

• Storage, 4 iron bowls, 6 wooden bowls, 14 jars, 1 glass bowl, 24 vials and 6 phials. Each serves to contain substances at different stages of preparation, with materials chosen to avoid unwanted reactions. Iron resists heat, wood absorbs and isolates and glass permits inspection without exposure. Proper labelling and separation are assumed, as confusion between substances can be disastrous. Every day of study produces a need for one new jar, as substances are sought after or created; this necessarily imposes the need to maintain hundreds of jars, none of which can be thrown away, as the alchemist cannot know if the subjects containing within are needed.

While some of these objects may not be used in every preparation, their presence is considered essential to the proper ordering of the work. Alchemy depends as much upon arrangement and readiness as upon action; a missing vessel or instrument at a critical moment may render hours of labour useless.

Due to the complexity and duration of alchemical processes, the laboratory is assumed to be secured under lock and key. Preparations may require hours or days of uninterrupted attention, during which temperature, mixture and timing must be maintained without disturbance. An apprentice or assistant is commonly employed to tend the fire, clean apparatus, organise jars, maintain records and observe ongoing reactions, ensuring continuity when the master is absent or engaged elsewhere.

If these precautions are not observed, and the laboratory is situated in a place with public access, such as a rented room in a house with other tenants or a chamber taken at an inn, the chance of an experiment being spoiled by interference is doubled or trebled. The processes of alchemy produce unfamiliar odours, discolourations and sounds, which readily attract curiosity. Such intrusions may contaminate materials, disrupt timing or provoke dangerous reactions, with consequences ranging from the loss of valuable ingredients to fire, injury or worse.

Scope

The knowledge included in this study is limited strictly to the processes the character is able to effect. It must not be assumed that competence in one operation confers any broader craft or magical understanding beyond that operation. The ability to smelt mithril, for example, does not impart any skill in forging that metal into a blade or armour, nor does the preparation of a potion of fire resistance grant any capacity to embed that property within an artifact. The character is able to produce the substance itself; the shaping, application or integration of that substance into other forms belongs to separate studies and must be learned independently.

Nor should the results of this study be mistaken for spellwork. Most preparations are achieved not through spellcasting but through exacting, material processes requiring controlled heat, measured quantities and sustained attention. These labours are often time-consuming and costly, consuming rare ingredients and occupying the laboratory for extended periods. Many procedures carry inherent risk, particularly where volatile substances, fumes or pressure are involved; such efforts may call for danger rolls, with the possibility of damage or injury if mishandled or interrupted.

Sage Abilities

The sage abilities below are those acquired by a character through the study, according to status.

Amateur Status

• Distilling: purify or concentrate a variety of non-magical liquids, including the making of beverages.

• Identify Earths: gives a name for naturally occurring substances and liquids.

• Prepare Ingestive Poisons: enables the manufacture of poisons that must be imbibed to be effective.

• Smelt Natural Metals: smelt and purify metals that can be derived from ordinary ores or coarse nuggets.

Authority Status

• Alchemical Distillation: the refined process of extracting, purifying and concentrating essential properties from plants, minerals and other substances for use in alchemy. Unlike crude distilling, this method ensures greater potency, stability and precision, allowing for the reliable creation of tinctures, oils and other alchemical solutions.

• Fabricate Compounds: enables the creation of chemical compounds from base materials.

• Prepare Toxins: create poisons from natural venoms and toxins.

• Purify Element: isolates pure chemical elements devoid of other material.

Expert Status

• Create Poison: enables the personalized tailoring of poisons, causing highly specific effects.

• Make Salve: enables the creation of healing salve.

• Potion-making: enables the character to create magical potions from scratch.

Sage Status

• Bioelectric Animation: the power to bring dead tissue to life.

• Elixir of Life: creates a concoction that permits rejuvenation and potentially immortality.

• Transmutation: enables the isolation of the philosopher's stone and the alteration of base metals into gold and silver.

See also,
Druid Sage Abilities
Mage Sage Abilities