Alchemical Study

“Distill the soul, decoct the essence, bottle the change.”

"To change lead into gold was never the goal. That was just the bait. The true question was: what happens when you succeed?"
—Brother Anselm of Tournai, prior to his arrest for heresy, 1274

Alchemy in the Middle Ages was not science, nor magic, nor faith. It was all three braided into a discipline so feared and desired, it had to be hidden behind metaphor, madness, and molten metals.

The early Hermetics of the medieval period were not refined scholars. They were monks locked in smoke-choked stone cells, hedge magicians trading secrets for goat’s blood, wandering Saracen adepts wrapped in fire-scorched robes, and noblemen ruined by obsession.

At the heart of it all was Primus Experimentum, or The First Tome of Experimentation, a book which every known alchemical tradition relies. Half-burned in Constantinople. Smuggled in pieces through Moorish Spain. Reconstructed in Prague. Lost in the Siege of Milan. Found again in a cellar in 1347, beside a man whose lungs had turned to glass.

The Primus Experimentum is not a guidebook. It is a lab record of thousands of experiments though the ages. Each page is written by a different hand. Some sane, some not. Some illuminated in gold leaf, others scribbled in rust-red powder. All untitled. All unsigned. Some pages instruct. Others confuse. Partial copies never work the entire Tome has to be transcribed whether seemingly relevant or not it seems its whole is needed for understanding.

Alchemists craft magical potions, tinctures, and catalytic materials. These spells create or awaken substances, to be used immediately or saved for later. Each spell forms a one-use magical item unless stated otherwise.

All spell / potion production requires a full Alchemical Lab. Using a potion or salve takes one action.

1. Draught of Clarity (Minor Focus Elixir)

• Difficulty: 1
• Q Cost: 1
• Brew Time: 10 hours for net successes doses
• Material Cost Min: 3s
• Use: Drink
• Effect: Gain +1 Die to your next Intelligence or Spellcasting roll made within 10 minutes.
• Notes: Slight minty taste with a faint ozone smell.

2. Smoke-Scent Distillate (Trail-Revealing Vapor)

• Difficulty: 2
• Q Cost: 2
• Brew Time: 5 hours for net successes doses
• Material Cost Min: 5s
• Use: Spray or toss
• Effect: Releases a coloured mist that clings to creatures.
  • Reveals invisible or hidden targets in 5 yard radius for 3 initiatives.
  • Coats them in glowing mist for tracking +3 dice bonus to tracking for 5 minutes after an effected target leaves the area.

3. Ironbrew Tonic (Resilience Elixir)

• Difficulty: 2
• Q Cost: 2
• Brew Time: 7 hours for net successes doses
• Material Cost Min: 10s
• Use: Drink
• Effect: For 5 initiatives, the drinker gains +2 armour vs physical damage.
• Notes: Causes thickening of skin and can cause minor nausea.

4. Ignition Flask (Volatile Alchemical Fire)

• Difficulty: 3
• Q Cost: 3
• Brew Time: 2 hours for net successes doses
• Material Cost Min: £1
• Use: Throw as grenade
• Effect: 3 yard radius blast.
• All in range take 1 Damage per net successes (fire)
• Flammable targets ignite
• Notes: Glows slightly before detonation. Not safe for backpacks.

5. Serpent's Spit (Contact Venom Suspension)

• Difficulty: 3
• Q Cost: 3
• Brew Time: 2 hours for net successes doses
• Material Cost Min: 15s
• Use: Apply to weapon or ingested
• Effect: Providing the Serpents's spit makes contact with the target.
  • Target suffers one black dice to all rolls for 3 minutes
  • Additional Damage on failed Fortitude test
• Notes: Green, viscous. Smells like bitter almonds.

6. Aether-Stabilising Serum (Anti-Magic Buffer)

• Difficulty: 3
• Q Cost: 3
• Use: Inject or drink
• Brew Time: 5 hours for net successes doses
• Material Cost Min: 18s
• Effect: For 3 initiatives :
  • The drinker gains +2 Dice to resist hostile spells.
  • Can suppress 1 magical condition or enchantment with 2+ net successes.
• Notes: Leaves a faint blue glow in the veins. Tastes metallic.

7. Stonegut Tonic (Stomach Buffer Elixir)

• Difficulty: 3
• Q Cost: 4
• Use: Drink
• Brew Time: 6 hours for net successes doses
• Material Cost Min: £1. 5s
• Effect: For 10 minutes:
  • Ignore all new Poison effects through eating or drinking (includes getting drunk)
  • Existing Poisons have effect halved for 10 minutes and removed after that time has elapsed.
• Notes: Leaves a chalky film in the mouth. Not compatible with other potions while active.

8. Ghostsalt Draught (Ethereal Phase Potion)

• Difficulty: 4
• Q Cost: 5
• Use: Drink
• Brew Time: 10 hours for net successes doses
• Material Cost Min: £2.15s
• Effect: For 1 initiative:
  • Become intangible: walk through walls, ignore physical attacks
  • Cannot interact physically or cast spells during effect
• Notes: Smells like cold stone and winter air. Used for escapes and infiltration.

9. Reversal Draught (Stability-Disrupting Elixir)

• Difficulty: 5
• Q Cost: 6
• Brew Time: 10 hours for net successes doses
• Material Cost Min: £1. 10s
• Use: Drink or throw for skin contact
• Effect: Reverses the last magical effect placed on the drinker.
  • Negates 1 active spell or curse with skin contact.
  • Damage or effects from the last spell that occurred is restored to the drinker but not their equipment or the surrounding area.
• Notes: Only stable when at body temperature. Made from ash, oil, and silver leaf.

**10. The Auric Resonance (Spiritual Transmutation Draft)

• Difficulty: 5
• Q Cost: 6
• Brew Time: 30 hours for one dose.
• Material Cost Min: £5
• Use: Drink
• Effect: If the caster is the drinker they become a vessel of radiant order for 20 minutes:
  • Radiates golden light in a 20 ft radius
  • Holding in your right hand a lead item for the entire duration changes the lead item to Pure Gold. This effect can only occur twice in the casters life time, once during the day and once during the night.
  • +2 Presence
  • Holding a item or items in your left hand turns any base metal (iron, lead, tin) into gold. Reverts to original form after 1 hour unless maintained with Quintessence (1 per 10 minutes)
  • If the drinker is not the caster they find their flesh converted to gold for 1 hour, this is fatal unless burning a luck point or quick acting counter magic (1 initiative to use). It is impossible to identify the exact cause of death after the hour has passed through examination of the body.