Alchemy in 5e[edit]
Alchemy allows characters to craft poisons and potions for use primarily in combat. It is something any character can do if they have a proficiency in Medicine or Nature. Even without crafting, ingredients can be foraged for when traveling, found in locations or bought or sold from traders.
Acquiring Ingredients:[edit]
| 3d4 | Cost | Name | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 200 gp | Banroot | Doubled. Effects are doubled. |
| 4 | 60 gp | Pale Wrackleaf | Remove Spell. Remove all magical effects of level x1 that of the alchemist (instantaneous). (What levels are we talking about, exactly?) |
| 5 | 50 gp | Bloodkeeper | Thickening Agent. Effects are doubled if applied to wounds. |
| 6 | 20 gp | Gibbnut oil | Healing. Regain a number of hit points equal to the level of the alchemist. |
| 7 | 15 gp | Wormflower petals | Poison. Suffer an amount of poison damage equal to the level of the alchemist. |
| 8 | 15 gp | Rose Dracomatus | Flaming. Poison damage becomes fire damage, sets flammable items alight. |
| 9 | 35 gp | Warden's Redcap | Intoxicant. For 1d4 hours, suffer −2 Dexterity, Intelligence, and Charisma, and experience alcohol-like effects. |
| 10 | 20 gp | Dried Quick-Lichen | Increased Heart Rate. Doubles effect potency, halves effect duration. |
| 11 | 50 gp | Miracle Berry | Effects are doubled if ingested. |
| 12 | 200 gp | Lady's Embrace | Paralysis. For 4 rounds, you suffer from slow, as the spell. At the beginning of each of your turns for this duration, make a Constitution saving throw with DC equal to 5 + the alchemist's level. On a failed save, you stop making saving throws, you become incapacitated for 4 rounds, and then suffer from slow for 4 rounds after that (you don't make any more saving throws during this slow). |
Foraging. Each day spent traveling in the wilderness, an alchemist may make a DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) or Wisdom (Medicine) check. On a success, the alchemist rolls 3d4 and consults the table to see what he or she found. The ability check includes knowledge of the value and effects of the ingredient.
Ingredients can, of course, be found in places like any other item: on the bodies of the fallen or in the homes, shops, and pockets of other characters, as the DM dictates.
Buying and selling. Each day spent in a settlement, a number of ingredients are available for purchase, depending on the size of the settlement, changing each day. Villages have one random ingredient, and towns and cities have two random ingredients. Characters can usually sell ingredients at half their normal cost; any normal settlement will have buyers for all ingredients (though they don't have unlimited coin to buy with).
Crafting Potions/Poisons:[edit]
The equipment required to craft these items is Alchemist's Supplies (50g, 8lbs).
A player can perform Recipes - these are the equivalent of Ritual spells - to create one potion/poison. These take 10 minutes to perform and result in a vial of paste or powder of negligible weight. Potions/poisons cannot be unmade and cannot be sold. You cannot make antidotes to poisons.
When crafting, up to 4 ingredients can be combined and the effects last 4 turns. A poison's collective effects for each turn can be avoided by making a DC10+alchemist's level saving throw. This does not defeat the poison and the creature's next turn must start with a saving throw until all 4 saving throws have been taken. Effects stack and combine (see Scenario 1)
Table of effects:
03 Banroot: Doubled - Effects are doubled.
04 Pale Wrackleaf: Remove Spell - Remove all magical effects of level x1 that of the alchemist (instantaneous).
05 Bloodkeeper: Thickening Agent - Effects are doubled if applied to wounds.
06 Gibbnut oil: Healing - cause +1HP per level of alchemist.
07 Wormflower petals: Poison - cause -1HP per level of alchemist.
08 Rose Dracomatus: Flaming - Poison damage becomes Fire Damage, sets flammable items alight.
09 Warden's Redcap: -2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma, -2 Intelligence. Creature is dizzy and appears drunk for sometime afterwards.
10 Dried Quick-Lichen: Increases heartrate - Doubles Effect potency, halves Effect duration.
11 Miracle Berry: Removes/Covers Taste - Effects are doubled if ingested.
12 Lady's Embrace: Paralysis - On a Constitution (DC5+level) saving throw fail, creature is Incapacitated for 4 turns and makes no further saving throws. On a DC score of 10+level(of the same saving throw), target becomes Slow (Spell) for 4 turns but must continue to make saving throws for the remaining turns. After recovering from Incapacitated, target becomes Slow (Spell) for 4 turns and cannot avoid this with saving throws.
A player can perform Recipes - these are the equivalent of Ritual spells - to create one potion/poison. These take 10 minutes to perform and result in a vial of paste or powder of negligible weight. Potions/poisons cannot be unmade and cannot be sold. You cannot make antidotes to poisons.
When crafting, up to 4 ingredients can be combined and the effects last 4 turns. A poison's collective effects for each turn can be avoided by making a DC10+alchemist's level saving throw. This does not defeat the poison and the creature's next turn must start with a saving throw until all 4 saving throws have been taken. Effects stack and combine (see Scenario 1)
Table of effects:
04 Pale Wrackleaf: Remove Spell - Remove all magical effects of level x1 that of the alchemist (instantaneous).
05 Bloodkeeper: Thickening Agent - Effects are doubled if applied to wounds.
06 Gibbnut oil: Healing - cause +1HP per level of alchemist.
07 Wormflower petals: Poison - cause -1HP per level of alchemist.
08 Rose Dracomatus: Flaming - Poison damage becomes Fire Damage, sets flammable items alight.
09 Warden's Redcap: -2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma, -2 Intelligence. Creature is dizzy and appears drunk for sometime afterwards.
10 Dried Quick-Lichen: Increases heartrate - Doubles Effect potency, halves Effect duration.
11 Miracle Berry: Removes/Covers Taste - Effects are doubled if ingested.
12 Lady's Embrace: Paralysis - On a Constitution (DC5+level) saving throw fail, creature is Incapacitated for 4 turns and makes no further saving throws. On a DC score of 10+level(of the same saving throw), target becomes Slow (Spell) for 4 turns but must continue to make saving throws for the remaining turns. After recovering from Incapacitated, target becomes Slow (Spell) for 4 turns and cannot avoid this with saving throws.
Using Potions/Poisons[edit]
Once you have a salve/powder/potion, you must use one entire action (not a bonus nor a free action) to drink a potion, apply a healing salve to a wound, or apply a poison to a slashing or piercing weapon (or three darts or items of piercing/slashing ammunition). Each poisoned item remains poisoned for one day or until it is used (a sword's first hit will use all the poison on it and an arrow that misses its mark will also lose its poison). Undead and non-living creatures only take account of Rose Dracomatus, Banroot and Pale Wrackleaf (and Wormflower but only as fuel for the Rose Dracomatus).
You may also wish to poison a drink outside of combat. Unless Miracle berry is one of the ingredients, the drinker might report an odd taste after the first successful saving throw.
Scenario 1:
A level 5 alchemist crafts a poison with the following ingredients and applies it to her longsword:
07 Wormflower petals
07 Wormflower petals
10 Dried Quick-Lichen
The ogre leaves the alchemist's threat zone and her reaction strike hits, so the poison is administered. The ogre takes 1D8+Strength damage from the sword strike. The alchemist then makes another attack during her turn but she misses. Before he is able to act in his next turn, the ogre takes and succeeds his (DC15) Constitution saving throw so avoids the first round of poison damage and continues his turn as if unaffected. On his next turn, the ogre takes the 2nd of the four saving throws before doing anything else and fails, taking him below 0 hit points. Unconscious, the ogre is as good as dead and, if he was a hero would automatically fail death saving throws in his next two turns for taking damage while unconscious.
Scenario 2:
A level 3 alchemist crafts a poison with the following ingredients and applies it to three arrows:
07 Wormflower petals
05 Bloodkeeper
08 Rose Dracomatus
The first arrow misses the orc and loses its poison. The second arrow hits and the shortbow inflicts 1D6+DexMod and the poison begins to work (Place a D4 by the creature set to 4. Change it to 3 next turn to show how many more saving throws must be made before the poison stops taking affect). When the afflicted orc takes its turn, it first rolls a Constitution saving throw (DC13) and fails. Before it takes any action it sustains 1HP damage for each of the alchemist's levels (3), this is then doubled because Bloodkeeper doubles the effect when the poison is in a wound, and Rose Dracomatus turns this damage to fire damage (Rose Dracomatus uses Wormflower as fuel so even undead/non-living creatures would take damage from this poison but would disregard the inclusion of Bloodkeeper). The orc takes 6HP of fire damage this turn and must succeed three more saving throws in its subsequent turns or suffer another 6HP of fire damage for each failure.
Scenario 3:
A level 8 alchemist has mixed a poison and passed it to the bard in order to subdue the guards:
11 Miracle Berry
12 Lady's Embrace
The Bard uses his performance skill check to distract the guards, then he laces the guards' drinking water with the poison. There is enough to put into a jug or several flagands but not enough for a barrel. Fortunately there is just one jug they are drinking from, so a single sleight of hand check is enough. Because of the Miracle Berry, not only do they not notice the odd taste in the water but they also don't notice they are affected, even though some of them are suffering from Slow (Spell). They begin to sense something is amiss when their friends pass out and are paralysed (The Constitution save they failed was DC5 x 2(because of the Miracle Berry doubling effect) +level. Having scored under 18, they are incapacitated. The last of the three guards, remaining conscious, passes an Intelligence check to notice what is happening and goes to alert others but - being slowed - is easily knocked out by the Bard and tied up. The guards soon wake up groggy (Slowed), bound and gagged. (If a creature gradually suffers enough Wormflower damage over these 4 turns to knock it below 0HP, the Miracle berry will prevent it from noticing until it is too late. If it is not dead after 4 turns, it will suffer sudden agony but may not necessarily identify the cause).
Other Scenarios and FAQs:
Q. What if a creature is effected by the same poison/potion more than once?
A. If you manage to land a second poisoned crossbow bolt on an already poisoned enemy, the effects stack and run simultaneously. The creature makes two saving throws and, if it fails both, suffers the effects of both the first and the second poison dose before taking any action.
Q. Can I apply a healing salve to my blowpipe dart and shoot a friend to heal them?
A. Absolutely do that! That sounds fun! But don't go inflicting their last death save before the healing takes effect; the dart is still going to cause damage!
You may also wish to poison a drink outside of combat. Unless Miracle berry is one of the ingredients, the drinker might report an odd taste after the first successful saving throw.
07 Wormflower petals
10 Dried Quick-Lichen
05 Bloodkeeper
08 Rose Dracomatus
12 Lady's Embrace
Other Scenarios and FAQs:
Q. Can I apply a healing salve to my blowpipe dart and shoot a friend to heal them?
Lore Surrounding Different Ingredients:[edit]
03 Banroot:
Banroot is used to remove impurities and concentrate a residue. When cooked, the engorged root of the Ban becomes coarse, helping the residue to mix and grind into finer and finer powders. It absorbs and combines with impurities preventing them from being metabolized. Much of it is sifted out before the mixture is used but it is said to have a very distinctive flavor.
04 Pale Wrackleaf:
When powdered, the Wrackleaf detects and combines with weak traces of magical power and so has been used at crime scenes to identify the use of incantations or lethal curses. As a weapon coated with Wrackleaf impacts, a cloud of iridescent dust appears momentarily before whipping quickly to the magic nearby. The Pale Wrackleaf actually consumes the magical energy and its seeds germinate in response to magic in the very near vicinity. This consumption of magic can, in certain circumstances, draw out enough power from a blessing or other magical effect as to deactivate it. A Pale Wrackleaf sapling may be evidence of a recently lifted curse.
05 Bloodkeeper:
The Bloodkeeper is similar to an onion but looks more like a black carrot. It thickens the blood and could be used to localized afflictions, preventing transmission through the blood's course. It can prevent venom from reaching the heart and killing its victim or it could be used to help scab an open wound and prevent bleeding out. Advancements in medicine will most likely make use of the Bloodkeeper in one form or another but its potential is as yet unexplored.
06 Gibbnut oil:
A pleasant aroma is soothing and acts as a painkiller just in its vapour. The oils also prevent infection and drying out of the wounds. The Gibbnut tree grows in most woodlands whether moist or dry and can cope with only dappled sunlight. Refining the oil can be costly but it can be used for such a wide variety of purposes that its relative price remains stable in times of hardship. Gibbnut oil has granted entry to a city in turmoil on many occasions.
07 Wormflower petals:
The delicate scent of Wormflower has been called Morningsong when sold as perfume but it is the most abundant and readily available poison in your region. The fact that some plants are more deadly is often overlooked in sake of the readiness with which a hunter might find Wormflower. The flower is a sort of hardy lily that has a wound-up stamen that often tricks birds into tugging at it, hence the name.
08 Rose Dracomatus:
The Dragon Rose is rich in a mineral which, if fanned like embers, will burst into flame spontaneously. When wielded correctly, the heavy paste of refined Dracomatus will reliably burst into flame as it rides the head of an arrow through the air to its mark or even the tip of a long blade if it can be whipped through the air fast enough. Wormflower residue is very flammable and so the two are often used in combination.
09 Warden's Redcap:
This pleasant-looking mushroom is very similar in appearance to the entirely benign mother's cap used in stews. It is a neuro-toxin that almost instantaneously debilitates the faculties of reasonable beings. Their speech is slurred and their thoughts are clouded. While the effects often last less than a halfhour, the motor skills, thought processes and general presence of an afflicted party are visibly diminished.
10 Dried Quick-Lichen:
This is a carefully managed culture of a very specific and short-lived lichen stage. On a surface suitable, the first hints of pale green lichen appear and remain for two tendays, then the bright yellow lichen engulfs and feeds off the pale green. This remains for 3 months and then the cobalt blue of Quick-lichen lasts 12 hours before red or black lichen-like colonies win out, depending in the kind of rock. If collected and baked in this brief period, the Quick-lichen asphyxiates the blood chemically and, as a result, increases blood flow and heart beat. This can both act as a healing agent and as a wounder.
11 Miracle Berry:
A flavor like cranberry infuses all mixtures wrought with Miracle berry, although even this is subtle. The disgusting bitter drink that will rid your system of venom is made more easy to swallow with Miracle berry as is any mixture combined with this silly berry. This is an anti-emetic and warrants no further study.
12 Lady's Embrace:
It is an odd plant which grows on other trees and bushes like mistletoe does. It is named for the Lady of Pain because of the way its own berries are often punctured by ensnaring tendrils bristling with thorns. The berry is most often distended and crushed in an odd shape. As the berry is gradually constricted by the growing plant's own limbs, the berries bleed a deep mauve juice which entices smaller insects in to feed. The juice of the berries quickly paralyses them and they die, unable to move at the base of the plant, thus providing nutrients for the plant to absorb and further grow. Myths exist about the Ladytree and a pile of rotting human skeletons at the foot of a plant the size of a building, though these are silly rumours from unreliable sources.
Resource from
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Alchemy_%285e_Variant_Rule%29
Banroot is used to remove impurities and concentrate a residue. When cooked, the engorged root of the Ban becomes coarse, helping the residue to mix and grind into finer and finer powders. It absorbs and combines with impurities preventing them from being metabolized. Much of it is sifted out before the mixture is used but it is said to have a very distinctive flavor.
04 Pale Wrackleaf:
When powdered, the Wrackleaf detects and combines with weak traces of magical power and so has been used at crime scenes to identify the use of incantations or lethal curses. As a weapon coated with Wrackleaf impacts, a cloud of iridescent dust appears momentarily before whipping quickly to the magic nearby. The Pale Wrackleaf actually consumes the magical energy and its seeds germinate in response to magic in the very near vicinity. This consumption of magic can, in certain circumstances, draw out enough power from a blessing or other magical effect as to deactivate it. A Pale Wrackleaf sapling may be evidence of a recently lifted curse.
05 Bloodkeeper:
The Bloodkeeper is similar to an onion but looks more like a black carrot. It thickens the blood and could be used to localized afflictions, preventing transmission through the blood's course. It can prevent venom from reaching the heart and killing its victim or it could be used to help scab an open wound and prevent bleeding out. Advancements in medicine will most likely make use of the Bloodkeeper in one form or another but its potential is as yet unexplored.
06 Gibbnut oil:
A pleasant aroma is soothing and acts as a painkiller just in its vapour. The oils also prevent infection and drying out of the wounds. The Gibbnut tree grows in most woodlands whether moist or dry and can cope with only dappled sunlight. Refining the oil can be costly but it can be used for such a wide variety of purposes that its relative price remains stable in times of hardship. Gibbnut oil has granted entry to a city in turmoil on many occasions.
07 Wormflower petals:
The delicate scent of Wormflower has been called Morningsong when sold as perfume but it is the most abundant and readily available poison in your region. The fact that some plants are more deadly is often overlooked in sake of the readiness with which a hunter might find Wormflower. The flower is a sort of hardy lily that has a wound-up stamen that often tricks birds into tugging at it, hence the name.
08 Rose Dracomatus:
The Dragon Rose is rich in a mineral which, if fanned like embers, will burst into flame spontaneously. When wielded correctly, the heavy paste of refined Dracomatus will reliably burst into flame as it rides the head of an arrow through the air to its mark or even the tip of a long blade if it can be whipped through the air fast enough. Wormflower residue is very flammable and so the two are often used in combination.
09 Warden's Redcap:
This pleasant-looking mushroom is very similar in appearance to the entirely benign mother's cap used in stews. It is a neuro-toxin that almost instantaneously debilitates the faculties of reasonable beings. Their speech is slurred and their thoughts are clouded. While the effects often last less than a halfhour, the motor skills, thought processes and general presence of an afflicted party are visibly diminished.
This is a carefully managed culture of a very specific and short-lived lichen stage. On a surface suitable, the first hints of pale green lichen appear and remain for two tendays, then the bright yellow lichen engulfs and feeds off the pale green. This remains for 3 months and then the cobalt blue of Quick-lichen lasts 12 hours before red or black lichen-like colonies win out, depending in the kind of rock. If collected and baked in this brief period, the Quick-lichen asphyxiates the blood chemically and, as a result, increases blood flow and heart beat. This can both act as a healing agent and as a wounder.
11 Miracle Berry:
A flavor like cranberry infuses all mixtures wrought with Miracle berry, although even this is subtle. The disgusting bitter drink that will rid your system of venom is made more easy to swallow with Miracle berry as is any mixture combined with this silly berry. This is an anti-emetic and warrants no further study.
12 Lady's Embrace:
It is an odd plant which grows on other trees and bushes like mistletoe does. It is named for the Lady of Pain because of the way its own berries are often punctured by ensnaring tendrils bristling with thorns. The berry is most often distended and crushed in an odd shape. As the berry is gradually constricted by the growing plant's own limbs, the berries bleed a deep mauve juice which entices smaller insects in to feed. The juice of the berries quickly paralyses them and they die, unable to move at the base of the plant, thus providing nutrients for the plant to absorb and further grow. Myths exist about the Ladytree and a pile of rotting human skeletons at the foot of a plant the size of a building, though these are silly rumours from unreliable sources.
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