Blue Mountain
Alchemy
This skill has three tasks:

General Alchemical Knowledge
This skill can also be used for general Alchemical Lore: ((KNOW - 15) x 3) + (Rank x 5)

Identify Potion
The character with this skill can attempt a skill roll ((KNOW - 15) x 3) + (Rank x 5) to identify a magical potion. The skill roll should be made secretly by the GM.
  • The character can identify a magical potion by observing the color, texture, consistency if he makes his roll at -15.
  • If he also sniffs the potion, he can identify it if he makes his roll at -0.
  • If he also takes a small sip, he can identify it with a bonus of +15.

Note that all three of the above will sometimes be used. The GM makes the roll and, if it comes out to failure at -15, and the player states that he is willing to open the potion stopper and sniff it, then the GM uses the same roll, but this time with no modifier. If the player states that, if sniffing doesn't give him the info he needs, that he is willing to taste it, then the GM adds 15 to the roll.

For example, Darius has a bonus of 20 with his Alchemy skill. The GM rolls a 63 and adds 20, resulting in a 83. At first, Darius just wants to look at the potion, so the GM subtracts 15 from the roll, resulting in a 68 - failure. He tells Darius that he doesn't recognize the potion based on color, texture and consistency alone so Darius says that he will open the potion and sniff it. So the GM eliminates the -15 penalty, giving Darius his full roll of 83 - Partial Success. The GM tells Darius that he thinks it is some sort of body-altering potion but is not sure what kind. Finally, Darius takes a small sip so the GM adds 15 to his roll, giving him a 98 - Near Success. The GM tells Darius that it is some sort of healing potion but he is not sure if it is Healing or Extra Healing (full success would have given him that information).

The character is only allowed one roll per potion but may make a new attempt when their skill with Alchemy improves.

The character gains no beneficial effects of a magical potion when he takes a small sip, but will suffer any negative effects if the potion is harmful.

Harvest Potion Ingredients
An alchemist can harvest ingredients needed to make magical potions. Their bonus for doing so is equal to ((KNOW - 15) x 3) + (Rank x 7).

Make Potion
Every second rank (ranks 2, 4, 6, etc.), the alchemist learns how to make a specific potion. They must choose the potion and it will not change thereafter except with special permission from the GM. Their chance to successfully make the potion is as follows. The Potion Modifer and the cost to make a potion is listed under the potion descriptions in the Magic Item section. Note that the alchemist must have an Alchemy Lab to make potions. The cost to create a lab is 5,000 sp.

The alchemist's chance to make a potion they are familiar with is (((MA + KNOW) - 30) x 1.5) + (Rank x 5) + Potion Modifer. They can attempt to make potions they are unfamiliar with but suffer a -50 to their die rolls. The die roll is compared to the following table.

Make Potion Table
  • Absolute Success - 2 potions (or 1 potion with 2 draughts) created if Absolute Success rolled on first attempt. Otherwise treat as Success.
  • Success - Potion created.
  • Near Success - Spend an additional (Cost to Make / 10), and an additional day, and roll again with a +10 bonus.
  • Partial Success - Spend an additional (Cost to Make / 5), and an additional day, and roll again with a +5 bonus.
  • Failure - Potion failed. Ingredients used up.
  • Absolute Failure - Potion failed and part of lab destroyed. Spend 2d100 sp to repair lab. (For NPC alchemists, the result might instead be a bad potion such as poison, delusion or contrariness.)
  • Blunder - Potion failed and part of lab destroyed. Spend 2d100 x 10 sp to repair lab. (For NPC alchemists, the result might instead be a bad potion such as poison, delusion or contrariness.)

Note that the bonuses listed for partial and near success are not cumulative. If, for example, the character rolls near success and rolls again at +10 and achieves partial success, they would roll a third time with only the +5 bonus for partial success.

Each potion takes 5 days to make. This is not only the time to concoct the potion, but also the time spent preparing the ingredients.

The cost to make a potion is generally the sale cost x .45. For the sake of simplicity, the GM will determine if the ingredients are available from local merchants. The cost to make a potion can be lowered by at least half if the alchemist is able to harvest the ingredients himself. For example, the group kills three trolls and the alchemist in the group announces that he would like to harvest potion ingredients. The GM rules that certain essenses from the trolls can be harvested to make potions of healing and/or extra healing. The alchemist successfully makes 3 Harvest Potion Ingredients rolls and the GM rules that he has the primary ingredients to make 3 potions of extra healing or 6 potions of healing. When the alchemist goes to make the potions, the cost to make will be half of that listed for those potions.

Every potion has its own list of 8-10 ingredients, in varying amounts, needed to make the potion. However, each potion will also have 1-2 hard to find ingredients. The following is an example of what a potion recipe might look like:

Potion of Flying

Ingredients
  • 4 cupfuls of water taken from a waterfall of at least 25 feet vertical drop
  • 12 gossamer dragonfly wings
  • 4 pinches of crushed and dried mandrake leaves
  • 7 drops of blood, one each from a different type of common bird
  • 3 leaf fragments from the top branches of an ironwood tree, salted and soaked in vinegar
  • 10 windblow grasses, harvested under the noonday sun
  • 5 pieces of pollen caught on a gentle breeze
  • 1 large pinch of nutmeg
  • tailfeathers of a giant eagle or other mystical flying creature

Instructions
  1. Boil water, adding one wing at a time until a cupful has evaporated to steam.
  2. Add dried mandrake leaves, two pinches at a time, separated by the slow count of five.
  3. As the water continues to boil slowly, add each drop of blood interspersed with the leaf fragments after the second, fifth and final drop.
  4. Drop in the grasses and follow quickly with the pollen.
  5. Sprinkle the tailfeathers with nutmeg and slowly break apart and add over time as the mixture boils down.
  6. Rinse the potion bottle with steam before storing completed potion.