Old World» Alchemical crafting

To craft alchemical items, the Alchemy (a.k.a. “Craft (alchemy)”) skill is required.

Time & equipment

The time required to craft alchemical items is one day (i.e., 8 hours or two watches of work) per 1,000 gp of the items’ total market price.

Crafting any alchemical item requires an alchemist’s lab.

Requirements

An alchemist may craft any item:

• for which he knows the recipe (see Recipe knowledge, below); and…
• for which he has any requisite special ingredients; and…
• which has an item level no greater than his ranks in the Alchemy skill; and…
• which has a crafting DC no greater than 10 + his total Alchemy skill bonus (including all modifiers from equipment, aid, etc.).

(See Alchemical Items for item levels and crafting DCs of many common alchemical items.)

Recipe knowledge

All alchemists know how to craft items of common rarity. (Knowledge of recipes for items of higher rarity is determined by the DM.)

Alchemists with spellcasting ability also know how to craft spell potions for spells which they can cast. (That is, in the case of recipes for which the special ingredients may be replaced with a casting of one or more spells, such as a potion of barkskin, an alchemist who knows the spell(s) is considered to know the recipe, for the purpose of crafting the item.)

Of the ways of learning alchemical recipes that are listed in this section, the last three—deformulation, reconstruction, and invention—make up alchemical research. An alchemist must have the Master Alchemist feat in order to engage in alchemical research.

Learning from another alchemist

Any alchemist can teach another alchemist of sufficient skill any recipe which he knows. The learner makes an Alchemy check against the crafting DC of the item; if the check succeeds, he now knows the item’s recipe. If the check fails, the alchemist may attempt to learn the recipe again (assuming that the instructing alchemist is willing to provide another lesson), up to a total number of attempts equal to the alchemist’s skill rank in Alchemy. (If all these additional attempts also fail, then the alchemist cannot attempt to learn that recipe from another alchemist, at least until he gains a rank in Alchemy. He may still attempt to learn how to make the same item from a written recipe, or in some other way.)

Alchemists usually charge twice the gold piece value of an item for teaching another alchemist the item’s recipe (plus any costs incurred during the teaching process, such as the ingredients for a “demo run” item); for rare items, this price might be much higher.

Learning from a written recipe

An alchemist can learn a recipe from a book, scroll, or other written description. Doing so requires reading the recipe carefully, then attempting to create the item. The alchemist makes an Alchemy check against the item’s crafting DC; if this check is successful, he has successfully created the item, and now knows the recipe. If the check fails, then the crafting is not successful. As the alchemist is considered to be working without knowledge of the recipe, all ingredients are ruined on a failure, and the chance of a mishap (in the case of a failure by 5 points or more) is doubled. The alchemist must try crafting the item again; rereading the recipe before making the new attempt grants the alchemist a cumulative +1 bonus on the check.

Books containing common and uncommon alchemical recipes may be found in well-stocked libraries, or purchased from specialty dealers. Written recipes for items of greater rarity are harder to come by.

Deformulation

If an alchemist has, in his possession, an alchemical substance for which he doesn’t know (or have) the recipe, he can attempt to perform research on the substance, to discover its secrets and learn how to craft it. This process, known as deformulation, has multiple steps; if successful, it ends with the alchemist knowing the recipe for the item.

Identify: First, the alchemist must identify the substance. Successful identification allows the alchemist to proceed to the next step. (Note that identifying the substance may reveal the item as one for which the alchemist has, or can easily acquire, the written recipe, or for which he can find another alchemist to teach him the recipe, making the rest of the process unnecessary.) If the results of the identification are inconclusive, or if the alchemist gets a false identification result, he may still proceed with the rest of the deformulation process, but takes a −10 penalty on all research checks. (As usual, the DM should make the identification check in secret, and not inform the player whether he’s received a true or false result. See Identifying alchemical items for more information about identifying substances.)

Analyze: Second, the alchemist must analyze the substance. Analyzing the substance requires making one analysis check (which is an Alchemy skill check against the substance’s crafting DC), plus an additional analysis check for every 10 points by which the substance’s crafting DC exceeds 10. Making an analysis check takes one day. If applicable, a test subject is required for this analysis (and, in such a case, proceeding without a test subject, or with an inappropriate test subject, carries with it the requisite penalties to the Alchemy skill check).

A successful analysis check reveals some information about the composition of the substance (in proportion to how many successful checks are required in total). This may include any special ingredients necessary to create the substance, likely processes and procedures which must be applied to those ingredients, etc. (Thus, if the alchemist succeeds at all the required analysis checks, he learns everything about what the substance is made of, though he does not necessarily learn how to properly combine those ingredients to yield the finished product.)

On a failed analysis check, the alchemist makes a Wisdom check against DC 5 (or rather, the DM makes the check for the alchemist, in secret). If this Wisdom check succeeds, the failure is recognized as such, and the alchemist receives no information about the substance’s composition. If the Wisdom check fails, the alchemist believes that the analysis check was successful, and receives erroneous information.

Analysis uses up some or all of the substance. Generally, if the alchemist has only one “dose” of the item on hand (a single vial, or a similar quantity), the entirety of the substance is used up. If the alchemist has more of the substance available than would be required for one “use”, then only the quantity corresponding to a single “dose” or “use” is consumed in the process of analysis. (Of course, if the analysis attempt fails—either partially or totally—the alchemist may wish to try again, for which the same amount of the substance is once more needed; if no more is available, then no further analysis attempts may be made, and the alchemist must attempt to work with whatever information he’s managed to gain, if any.) In all cases, the DM’s judgment determines how much of the substance is used up for analysis.

Craft: Third, the alchemist must try to craft the substance. After a successful (or apparently successful) analysis, the alchemist knows what the substance is made of, but must now perfect the process of making it. He attempts to craft the substance in the usual way; the crafting DC, however, is increased by 5, plus 5 more for each failed analysis check. (The DM should make the crafting roll in secret, as the alchemist may not know if some of his analysis checks failed, and thus does not know the crafting DC he must beat.)

When crafting an alchemical substance in the course of the deformulation process, the alchemist is considered to be working without knowledge of the recipe; this means that all ingredients are always ruined on a failure, and the chance for a mishap is doubled.

If the crafting attempt fails in such a way as to leave the alchemist with only ruined ingredients and no finished product (i.e., either a simple failure, or a mishap that only causes an explosion, release of poison gas, or other such accident; see Creating alchemical items for details on the possible results of an alchemical crafting check), then the alchemist cannot proceed with the rest of the deformulation process. (He may, of course, attempt the crafting step again, assuming that he has more of the required ingredients on hand, etc.)

If the crafting attempt succeeds (or appears to succeed; e.g., by resulting in the creation of a cursed substance, a different substance, etc.), the alchemist can proceed with the next step of the process. (Of course, if the alchemist is brave, or impatient, or both, he may attempt to make use of the created substance immediately. This, however, deprives him of the chance to properly learn the recipe; should he wish to craft the item again, he may do so, but the crafting DC increase remains in effect, and he is still considered to be working without knowledge of the recipe, with all attendant consequences thereof.)

Analyze, Redux: Fourth, the alchemist must analyze the substance he has just created. This is a repeat of the second step, but applied to the newly created substance rather than to a sample of the reference substance. Successful analysis checks in this step reveal any errors made in the crafting step, as well as revealing the properties of the created substance (if it differs from the reference substance). (As usual, the DM should roll these checks, as well as any Wisdom checks triggered by failed analysis checks, in secret.)

If the results of the crafting step are now revealed to be unsatisfactory, the alchemist may wish to acquire another sample of the reference substance and repeat the second (analysis) and third (crafting) steps of the process; doing so affords the alchemist another opportunity to determine the ingredients and key properties of the substance he’s attempting to deformulate, and correct any mistakes (i.e., failed analysis checks) made the first time. This is not required, however, and the alchemist may proceed to the final step regardless of the results of this one.

Learn: Finally, the alchemist may now attempt to synthesize the knowledge and understanding gained from the deformulation process to learn the recipe for creating the reference substance (i.e., that which is being deformulated). He makes an Alchemy check against the substance’s crafting DC. The DC is increased by 5 for every failed analysis check in the second or fourth step (i.e., the analysis steps). (Note that if a step is repeated, any mistakes—i.e., analysis check failures—made in previous iterations are rendered moot; only the last iteration matters.)

Success means that the alchemist now knows the recipe, and may henceforth craft the substance normally.

Failure means that the alchemist was unable to determine how to properly craft the substance. He may attempt to repeat the process, starting from the third or second (or even first) step. Note that if the alchemist tries to repeat the process from the third step (crafting) onward, any errors (i.e., failed analysis checks) originally made in the second step (analysis of the reference substance) continue to affect the DC to craft the substance as well as the DC for the check to learn the recipe, until and unless the alchemist repeats the analysis on another sample of the substance. Such errors typically mean that the alchemist mis-identified, or failed to identify, the ingredients of the substance; this, unsurprisingly, makes all efforts to duplicate the substance much harder, which is reflected in the increased Alchemy check DCs both to craft the substance and to learn the recipe.

Reconstruction

If an alchemist has the opportunity to observe the effects of an alchemical item, or else reads or hears a detailed description of an item’s effects (which must generally come from an observer who is himself a skilled alchemist), he can attempt to reconstruct the recipe for the item.

Reconstruction is a research project, which uses the Alchemy skill to make research checks (and the modifiers in the “Alchemical Research” sidebar apply). The research skill check DC is equal to the item’s crafting DC − 5 (minimum 15), and the learning curve die is d10. A research check may be attempted after one week’s work and the expenditure of materials worth 100 gp × the square of the item’s level.

Successes on progress rolls for the project reveal special components (ingredients or other requirements) for the item’s creation (each success reveals one special component). After all special components are learned, the alchemist proceeds as if following the process of deformulation, starting with the third step (crafting).

Research skill check attempts on a project of this sort may have special requirements, as determined by the DM. Likewise, after one or more successes is achieved (and one or more components thus revealed), further research skill check attempts (if applicable) may have new requirements, different from those needed for the progress thus far.

The limit on the number of research skill check attempts (i.e., tractability) for a project of this nature is equal to 3 + the character’s Alchemy skill modifier (excluding any equipment bonuses, bonuses due to assistance, or any modifiers that apply to a single check only, rather than to all of the character’s Alchemy checks). If this limit is reached, no more checks may be made unless the character gains a rank in Alchemy, or else learns new information (or otherwise experiences a relevant change in circumstances).

Invention

An alchemist may attempt to create an entirely new alchemical item, based only on some idea for what sort of effect he wishes the item to produce. This is the most advanced and most difficult form of the alchemist’s art, and very few alchemists have successfully carried out such research.

Invention of a new alchemical item is a research project. It works in a manner very similar to reconstruction, except that the learning curve die is larger, and varies according to how novel the intended item’s effect is, relative to other alchemical items which the researcher knows how to make. New items that are simply direct extrapolations of existing items use a d20 learning curve die, whereas items that are to have a totally novel effect that is unlike any existing item may use a larger die (from d30 to d100).

Common materials

The crafting of alchemical items requires various common ingredients and reagents, which may be purchased at a cost equal to one-third of the item’s market price. (In other words, this constitutes the standard crafting cost of the item.) These common materials are assumed to be available for purchase in any settlement of small town size or larger, unless specified otherwise.

If any special ingredients are listed in the item’s description, and a price is given for those special ingredients, then only half the usual value (i.e., one-sixth of the item’s market price) of common ingredients and reagents are needed (in addition to the listed special ingredients) to craft the item. (This only applies for special ingredients with a listed price; it does not apply if the special ingredients listed for the item have no price given, or if special conditions needed for the crafting, etc.)

Creating alchemical items

The following rules apply when using the Alchemy skill to craft an alchemical item.

Aid another

In order to assist in alchemical crafting (and thereby grant a +2 to the crafter’s effective Alchemy bonus), the assistant must have at least 1 rank in the Alchemy skill, and his skill bonus (not counting any equipment bonuses from shared equipment, e.g. the alchemist’s lab) must be no lower than the craft DC of the item to be crafted − 20.

Mishaps

A character with the Master Alchemist feat may attempt to craft an alchemical item by making Alchemy checks against the crafting DC (rather than taking 10, as a lesser alchemist must). Failing the check by 5 or more potentially causes a mishap to occur. The chance of a mishap is the margin of failure × 5% (i.e., 25% if failed by 5, 30% if failed by 6, etc.).

If a mishap occurs, the exact nature of the mishap depends on the specific item being crafted. A DM may roll on Table: Alchemical Mishaps to determine what happens, choose an appropriate event from those listed, or invent another sort of mishap, in line with the examples given. (If rolling, the DM should make this roll in secret, as for certain sorts of mishaps, the character may not necessarily immediately realize what has occurred.)

Mishaps such as explosions, clouds of poison gas, and mutations generally allow saving throws of the appropriate type to halve the damage, or to reduce or resist the effect. The DC for such saving throws is generally 5 less than the crafting DC of the item being created. Explosions may damage or destroy alchemical equipment (beakers, retorts, and other glassware usually have very few hit points, although hardness may protect equipment); corrosive gas usually does not (since alchemical equipment is created for the purpose of working with dangerous substances, acid does not bypass its hardness). A set of alchemist’s safety gear grants a +4 bonus on saving throws against the effects of alchemical mishaps.

Alchemical Mishaps
d100	Mishap description
01–10	An explosion occurs, dealing 2d6 points of damage (usually fire, but sometimes acid, cold, bludgeoning (a blast of pressure), piercing (shards of instantaneously forming crystal), or something else) within a 5 ft. radius.
11–20	A large explosion occurs, dealing 4d6 points of damage (usually fire, but not always) within a 10 ft. radius.
21–30	A massive explosion occurs, dealing 8d6 points of damage (usually fire, but not always) within a 20 ft. radius.
31–40	A cloud of poison gas is released. The poison’s damage and duration is as the poison spell. The cloud spreads in a 10-foot radius, and persists for a minute before dispersing.
41–50	A cloud of corrosive gas is released. The cloud spreads in a 10-foot radius, and deals 3d6 points of acid damage to everything within it.
51–60	The crafter is exposed to alchemical substances that temporarily drive him insane (as the confusion spell, lasting for 10d6 minutes; or a different sort of madness).
61–70	The crafter is exposed to alchemical substances that cause 1d2 steps of temporary ability damage, to a randomly determined ability score.
71–75	The crafter is exposed to alchemical substances that cause 1d2 steps of permanent ability drain, from a randomly determined ability score.
76–80	The crafter is exposed to alchemical substances that induce a mutation. Mutations are generally permanent.
81–88	A false or cursed version of the item is created (such as a potion of delusion).
89–96	A dangerous substance is created (such as a potion of poison, “alchemist’s fire” that explodes when disturbed, etc.)
97–98	A different, but similar, item is created (a potion with a similar effect, smokestick instead of a tindertwing, etc.)
99–00	By a freak coincidence, the intended item is created.

Identifying alchemical items

Identifying alchemical items—such as potions, poisons, or other substances—is one of the uses of the Alchemy skill.

Check

A DC 25 Alchemy check is required to identify an unknown substance with the aid of alchemical equipment. (For particularly exotic or unusual substances, the DC may be even higher.)

It is possible to identify a potion, poison, or other substance without use of alchemical equipment (by appearance, smell, etc.), but this is much more difficult; the Alchemy check DC is increased by +10. On the other hand, if you are attempting to identify a potion which you have drunk before (or a poison or other substance with which you have a similar degree of experience), the Alchemy check DC for identifying the substance without the use of equipment is instead reduced by −10.

Success

If you succeed on an Alchemy check to identify a potion, you learn what the potion does. For potions which replicate or closely match the effects of a spell, you learn which spell the potion’s effect matches (e.g. disguise self for dust of illusion); for potions that do not replicate or closely match the effects of any spell, you learn the general nature of the potion’s effect (e.g., “it improves tumbling skill” for a potion of tumbling).

If you succeed on an Alchemy check to identify a poison, you learn the poison’s effect; you also learn the specific sort of poison it is (greenblood oil, small centipede venom, etc.), for common poisons.

If you succeed on an Alchemy check to identify an unknown substance, you learn something of the substance’s nature; you also learn the specific substance it is, for substances used in alchemy or that would otherwise be familiar to an alchemist. For unusual, exotic, or supernatural poisons, or obscure substances, a Knowledge check in the appropriate field may be required to get full information about the poison or substance.

Failure

If you fail an Alchemy check to identify a potion, poison, or other substance, you must make a Wisdom check (DC 5); failing this check means that you come to a false conclusion about the item (but still think that you have successfully identified it), while succeeding on the Wisdom check means that the results of your identification attempt are inconclusive, and you get no information.

The DM should make the Alchemy check for identification, and the Wisdom check (if necessary), in secret, as the character has no way to know if the conclusion they have reached is false. (Of course, a cautious character may choose to make multiple identification attempts, to reduce the chance of a false conclusion.)

Action

It takes 10 minutes to identify an unknown potion, poison, or other substance using alchemical equipment. Attempting to identify a substance without equipment (by appearance, smell, etc.) is a full-round action.

Taking 10 & 20

You can take 10 on Alchemy checks made to identify a substance, but you cannot take 20.

Special

The detect poison spell allows you to identify poisons with a DC 20 Alchemy check.