Alchemy

Alchemical Formula
To brew a potion you will need to know what ingredients, measurements, processes and tools to use. This is known as a Formula. The complexity and specifics of measurements makes it hard to remember them all. This is why most alchemists keep their Formulae in a ledger or book of sorts similar to a wizard and their spells.

You can memorise a number of Formulae equal to your Intelligence Modifier + your proficiency bonus. A formula you have memorised you can craft in half the usual time, will reduce the DC to add a reaction substance by 1, and don’t need to have the formula with you to craft the potion. To memorise a formula, you must spend 20 reagents and 8hrs of time studying the formula and commit it to memory, regardless of rarity. You can choose at any time to replace a memorised formula. To learn an alchemical formula there are three options:


 * To buy the formula from a seller. Prices may vary but on average a formula costs three times as much as the potion itself.
 * You spend a number of Reagents with an appropriate skill check to craft a potion, writing down your process of experimentation, declaring your vague assumption of the effect. Roll on a table which the DM has in their possession.
 * You can study an existing potion by researching it for a number of days with it based on the rarity. This destroys the potion in the process.

Reagents
Reagents are various different plants and herbs used in combination to brew potions. They can be acquired in a number of ways.


 * To buy reagents from a seller: Prices may vary but your average reagent costs 2gp.
 * Harvest a kill: Reagents can also be found through various organs and parts of creatures. Harvesting from a kill requires 1 hour of work and cannot be done to humanoids or undead. The body of the creature cannot be dead for more than 24hrs otherwise it will begin to spoil. Make a survival check with a DC of 10 + CR of creature. On a success you gain an amount of reagents equal to the CR of the creature.
 * Harvest while traveling: An easy and simple way to acquire reagents. It requires a full day to complete and can be done while travelling at a normal pace but will increase the DC by 2. If done at a slow pace there is no penalty to the check. At the end of the day make a Nature or survival check. Based on how successful your check is, is the amount of reagents you gather.

Reaction Substance
Alchemists are free to experiment with their formulas to create something unique for themselves. By adding reaction substances when crafting potions, you can imbue that potion with additional effects. Adding a reaction substance increases the DC by 3. There is no limit to how many reactions you can add. Should you fail, the potion becomes useless and resources wasted. Or the potion is still usable but tainted in an unknown way to you where consuming it could have drawbacks. You can acquire reaction substances in a number of ways, with vermillion and hydragenum being the only exception being from kills or crafting it yourself:


 * To buy from a seller: Prices may vary but your average reaction substance costs 50gp. With vermillion being 65gp and hydragenum 85gp.
 * Harvest from kill: Harvesting from a kill requires 1 hour of work and cannot be done to humanoids or undead. The body of the creature cannot be dead for more than 24hrs otherwise it will begin to spoil. Make a survival check with a DC of 10 + CR of creature. On a success you gain an amount of reaction substances (your choice of which) equal to half the CR of the creature.
 * Create through alchemy: Reaction substances can be created with the right tools and experience through alchemy. It requires at least a Tier 1 alchemy setup to do so. You can spend 15 reagents and 4 hours of time to create a reaction substance of your choice. At the end of the 4 hours of work, roll a d100. You have a 25% chance to create an additional reaction substance. Vermillion requires 8 hours of work and hydragenum requires 12 hours of work.
 * Harvest while travelling: It requires a full day to complete and can be done while travelling at a normal pace but will increase the DC by 2. If done at a slow pace there is no penalty to the check. At the end of the day make a Nature or survival check. Based on how successful your check is, is the amount of reaction substances (your choice of which) you gather.

The known reaction substances that alchemists have discovered so fare are:


 * Albedo substance – Reduce Toxicity of potion by x.
 * Nigredo substance – Increase Potency of potion by x. Increase toxicity by 2.
 * Rubedo substance – Increase duration of potion by x. Increase toxicity by 1.
 * Vitroil substance – The potion provides an additional 5ft of movement. Increase toxicity by 1.
 * Rebis substance – The potion when drunk restores x hit points. Increases toxicity by 2.
 * Hydragenum substance – Gives the potion advantage on X Saving Throws. Increases toxicity by 4
 * Vermilion substances – Gives the potion advantage on X Ability Checks. Increase toxicity by 3.

The various hydragenum substances can be acquired by creatures that have their primary/highest ability score corresponding to the substance.


 * Brown hydragenum – Advantage on Strength Saving Throws.
 * Yellow hydragenum – Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws.
 * Red hydragenum – Advantage on Constitution Saving Throws.
 * Blue hydragenum – Advantage on Intelligence Saving Throws.
 * Green hydragenum – Advantage on Wisdom Saving Throws.

The various vermilion substances can be acquired by creatures that have their primary/highest ability score corresponding to the substance.

Reaction Substances can only be harvested in their base tier. Its takes skill and time to further refine them to higher qualities. Hydragenum and vermilion being exceptions as they are only ever in one tier.
 * Brown vermilion – Advantage on Strength Checks.
 * Yellow vermilion – Advantage on Dexterity Checks.
 * Red vermilion – Advantage on Constitution Checks.
 * Blue vermilion – Advantage on Intelligence Checks.
 * Green vermilion – Advantage on Wisdom Checks.

For more information refer to the Potions page.
 * To refine a reaction substance to Tier 2, you need to combine 5 of the same substance, and succeed on a DC 15 Alchemy supplies or herbalism check. This process takes 2hrs. Should you fail the check, you loose half of the substances used.
 * To refine a reaction substance to Tier 3, you need to combine 10 of the same substance, and succeed on a DC 18 Alchemy supplies or herbalism check. This process takes 6hrs. Should you fail the check, you loose half of the substances used.

Quintessence
It’s very rare to find an alchemist skilled enough to harvest and utilise pure quintessence. Quintessence is energy from the elements made physical. To be able to acquire them you must first construct what alchemists imply refer to as a Crux. To construct a Crux requires a Tier 2 Alchemy setup, 100 reagents, 500gp of other basic materials, and one of every reaction substance other than vermillion or hydragenum. A crux takes 3 days to construct, with a alchemist supplies check DC of 20.

Once constructed you can use a crux once a day to harvest pure quintessence from elemental sources such as fire, water, earth etc. Some are harder to acquire than others such as lightning or radiant. You can additionally spend 5 reagents and 6 hours to turn a quintessence into a base quintessence. Uses for quintessence are as follows:


 * The prime requirement for brewing resistance potions.
 * Used in various enchanting processes. See Enchanting page.
 * Used in the creation of chromatic rounds, chromatic bombs and rune robe construction creation. See Armor and Weapon Smithing page.

Crafting Potions
Once you have all the necessary ingredients and tools, you are ready to begin brewing potions. Rolling alchemy supplies or herbalism tools checks based on the following table. Should you be proficient in both tools, gain a +2 bonus to your tools check. Rarer potions require more hands on work and so require more rolls. Your average at the end of the roll will determine your final outcome.

-Should you fail, you lose all reagents and there is a 40% chance for a hazardous effect or mishap to occur. Should you roll a natural 1 in any of your checks, the % chance for a mishap to occur increases by 15%.-

For further information on potions, refer to the Potions page.