Alchemy (sage study)

The study of natural materials, plants and elemental phenomena, surrounding the creation and refinement of substances, poisons, salves, ointments, potions and more.

To employ the knowledge in the making of substances, the following must be acquired in completion for each status of expertise, so that an Authority would require twice the articles described below, while an expert would need three times and a sage four.

• 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.
• A room 15 feet by 8 feet minimum, with a vertical brazier 2 feet square and 3 feet high under a flue for escaping heat and gas.
• Apparatus, including an alembic, a crystal ball, an hourglass, a lens and a prism.
• 4 iron bowls, 6 wooden bowls, 1 glass bowl, 24 vials, 6 phials.
• 2 glass pipettes and 8 crystal rods for stirring liquids.

While some of these objects may not be used directly, it is believed widely that the presence of these items is as important as their use in creating alchemical mixtures. It is generally assumed the laboratory room will be under lock and key and perhaps looked after. If precautions are not taken and the laboratory is located in a largely public local (like atop an alehouse or within an inn), there is a high chance that a long-term experiment will be foiled by curious intruders. The process of alchemy will produce strange odors and sounds which will likely draw attention to the laboratory's location.

The knowledge included in this study is limited to the exact description of the processes the character can effect. It should not be imagined that being able to smelt mithril, for example, imparts any special knowledge in the fashioning of that mithril into a sword or armour. Similarly, while the character might be able to create a potion of fire resistance, it does not then follow that the character possesses the ability to install the power of that potion into an artifact. The character by means of this ability would be able to produce the potion - the making of other items or the incorporation of these products elsewhere are treated as an entirely different knowledge study.

Note also that most of the above it not created through a spell or by means of magic, but rather through hard, difficult labour. Some things may require considerable expenditure of time or wealth. Others things to be created would be subject to danger rolls, potentially threatening the character's life and even necessarily resulting in damage or injury.

Amateur

Distill Liquids: purify or concentrate a variety of non-magical liquids.

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

Prepare Toxins: create poisons from natural venoms and toxins.

Expert

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

See Also,
Druid Sage Abilities
Mage Sage Abilities