Alchemy

Alchemy is the practice of extracting, purifying, transforming, and combining naturally-occurring materials. It is the equivalent of chemistry in a medieval fantasy setting, and includes the historical alchemical discipline of transmutation.

While the fantasy narrative often tends to focus on herbs, virtually all material types are represented. The simplest way to break them down is into three categories: animal, plant, and mineral.

As with all trade skills, Alchemy materials are abstracted into a single currency, represented as an amount of GP worth of Alchemical Materials. Alchemical Materials freely convert into other currencies.

Alchemical items are nonmagical, and do not require spellcasting ability to create. All you need to create alchemical items is the Alchemy feat.

Potions

Potions are small quantities of liquid, usually contained within a small vial or flask, which can be quickly ingested to provide various benefits.

It is a bonus action to retrieve and drink any potion stored on your person. If you have deliberately hidden the potion, or placed it in long-term storage (such as backpack or Bag of Holding), a move action is required to retrieve it before using a bonus action to drink it.

Once used, the potion is gone; potions have only one use.

Other names are sometimes used, such as Elixir, Draught, Serum, Flask, etc. These are merely synonyms. Any item that is single-use and is drank in order to activate it is considered a Potion.

Healing Potion

This reddish potion tastes salty and savory, and is vaguely effervescent.

Name	Level	Market Value	Description
Minor Healing Potion	0	1 SP	Heals for 1 hp
Lesser Healing Potion	1	3 SP	Heals for 1d10 hp
Greater Healing Potion	5	1 GP	Heals for 2d10+10 hp
Superior Healing Potion	10	3 GP	Heals for 3d10+20 hp
Grand Healing Potion	15	10 GP	Heals for 4d10+40 hp

Potion of Tall Bounds

This thick, purple potion tastes of several oddly clashing flavors.

Effect: You may leap up to 10 squares horizontally or 4 squares vertically as a move action for 10 minutes.
Level: 3
Market Value: 2 sp

Oils

Oils are small quantities of liquid, usually contained within a small vial or flask, which can be applied to a creature, object, or area of ground to cause some sort of effect.

It is a standard action to retrieve and apply an oil, either to one's self, a held or worn item, to an adjacent target (touch attack required if hostile), or as a ranged attack (attack roll required in all cases).

Oils have a single use; they are consumed upon use.

Synonyms include Powder, Bomb, Dust, Unguent, Salve, etc. These all work the same way as oils.

Luminescent Oil

This oil resembles lantern oil, but more viscous. It is, in fact, merely a fortified variation of common lantern oil, meant to stick to less porous surfaces than a wick.

The oil is sufficient to cover a medium-sized held object such as a sword. When ignited by a fire source, the oil burns, causing illumination similar to a torch, but lasting up to 4 hours. The flame is very cool (as flames go) and causes no damage to metal, although it will char wooden objects and ignite cloth after 1 minute of burning.

Level: 0
Cost: 1 cp

Smoke Bomb

A carbon-black dust mixed with tiny, shiny particles, this mixture ignites upon shock. Therefore, it must be thrown at a hard surface or struck with a weapon. Alternatively, it is activated by a heat source sufficient to light a flammable object such as a torch. Typically, this dust is kept in a non-airtight cloth satchel or a thin, easily-shattered glass vial, for easy application as a thrown projectile.

Once activated, the dust begins to form a voluminous, choking, opaque, black smoke.

After 1 round, the smoke fills a centered circle 2.
Thereafter, the smoke increases by 1 square of radius, to a maximum of 5.
The smoke clears naturally in 10 rounds, or 5 if outdoors.
In the presence of significant wind, the smoke does not accumulate, and any accumulated smoke is cleared.
The smoke blocks line of sight beyond 5 feet. Thus, creatures inside the smoke can see within 5 feet, although targets are partially concealed. Beyond 5 feet, everything is concealed.
Breathing creatures must hold their breath inside the smoke. Thus who breathe must pass a DC 11 Con save or lose their next standard action due as they violently cough out the toxic smoke.
Level: 1
Cost: 5 cp

Powdered Water

A pure-white granulated crystal not unlike salt or sugar, this powder has the unique property of being...dehydrated water.

A single ounce of this powder, which can fit comfortably in the palm of a human hand without piling up, can turn into 5 gallons of pure, otherwise ordinary water.

The powder does not react to shock, and is nearly fireproof. The only way to turn it into water is...to add water. Specifically, each ounce of Powdered Water requires exactly 1 ounce of pure water to fully activate. Interestingly, the water produced by the dust cannot, in turn, activate Powdered Water--thus, it is not sufficient to apply less than an ounce, expecting the water produced to fill in the remainder.

While unpleasant, humans produce a variety of fluids (such as saliva, which is 98% water) that can serve the intended purpose if necessary.

It is recommended to place the powder into an appropriately sized container before converting, as spillage may otherwise occur. As the water produced is several orders of magnitude heavier and more voluminous than the powder, the process can be highly disruptive to insufficiently sized containers.

Alchemists refuse to explain how this concoction can possibly work.

Level: 1
Cost: 5 cp

Instant Skin

This white powder may look harmless, but when applied to an open wound, it burns severely. However, the burn is worth enduring, as it rapidly causes a thick callous to form, staunching the flow of blood and preventing toxins from entering the body. In the long term, this callous is not desirable, and needs to be dealt with surgically, but on the battlefield, it is an indispensable first aid tool.

Effect: immediately stabilizes a dying creature. Creature is stunned with pain for 1 round unless they pass a DC 15 Con save.
Level: 2
Cost: 1 sp

Alchemist's Fire

This thick, blood-red oil ignites on contact with air. The oil itself is sticky, and difficult to remove, intensifying the effect. The oil is self-oxidizing, so it cannot be smothered with water, sand, blankets, or other fire-prevention measures.

If a creature is affected by Alchemist's Fire, they can attempt to either scrape off the oil or remove worn items.

Scraping off the oil requires a standard action and a Dex save, DC 10 + the oil's level. On success, the burning oil is removed. The creature must either possess a flame-resistant tool such as a metal weapon or shield, otherwise the tool they use suffers the listed amount of damage per attempt (including if they are using hands or natural appendages).
Removing worn items requires a standard action, and requires that the creature is fully clothed and/or wearing armor. Removing the outer layer (armor or clothing) removes the alchemist's fire. In case of armor, unless there is some magical means of doffing the armor quickly, quickly doffed armor takes several times longer to put back on than to remove. If subject is not wearing a sufficient outer layer that can be removed, then removing has no effect.

Name	Level	Market Value	Description
Lesser Alchemist's Fire	1	3 SP	Burst 1; burns for 1d8 fire damage per round for 5 rounds.
Greater Alchemist's Fire	5	1 GP	Burst 1; burns for 2d8+4 fire damage per round for 10 rounds.
Superior Alchemist's Fire	10	3 GP	Burst 2; burns for 3d8+10 fire damage per round for 10 rounds.
Grand Alchemist's Fire	15	10 GP	Burst 3; burns for 4d8+15 fire damage per round for 10 rounds.

Ideas

Salve that turns an object to stone, countered by Anti-Stone Salve (useful against petrification)
Liquid Sleep: instant long rest, but no protection from Fatigue. High level item.
Oil of Duplication: once spread completely over subject, and allowed to cure, it can be peeled off, filled with an alchemical agent, then cured--into a perfect copy (made of putty).

Feat Ideas

Tinker: once per long rest, you automatically gain 1 potion of your level, or 3 potions of your level - 5, at no cost. Cannot accumulate from day to day.
Bulk Brewing: each time you make a single-use alchemical item, there is a 25% chance you create a second, identical item at no cost. Each time you succeed at this check, roll it again, to a maximum of 10 bonus items (cumulative chance: less than 1% of 1% of 1%).
Inurement: you've taste-tasted so many potions in your day that you have permanent Resist (poison).