Mediums and Messages

GloG: The Chemist

Occult chemistry diagram Image: Illustration from Annie Besant and CW Leadbeater's Occult Chemistry: A Series of Clairvoyant Observations on the Chemical Elements, 1908.

My esteemed colleagues of the Imperial College, while it would be foolhardy to ignore the existence of magic, it is obvious to the informed observer that there is more to our world than the mere manifestation and inter-operation of spells and enchantments. It is known that water, when boiled, becomes a gas; when frozen, becomes a solid. When we perform these operations in a controlled environment, they are invisible to spells of Magic Detection and cannot be countered by wards or protective circles. Therefore, we must hypothesize some form of non-magical means of producing transmogrifying and even evocative effects.

In this treatise, I record my findings as I perform the same temperature change experiment on all manner of substances. While most perform as expected, I flag several substances that behave unintuitively when exposed to heat. Of particular interest are the chapters on slime cuttings, a distillation of powdered lich, and naiad bathwater - each producing a most peculiar reaction. In the final chapter, I propose a series of experiments, super heating the gaseous forms of these materials in the hopes of discovering a new, quaternary form of matter.

Background: 1 Anarchist | 2 Bored Aristocrat | 3 Charlatan | 4 Physician

Starting Gear: Chemist's satchel and formulary (see below), lab attire, 3 sealable flasks

A Quick Concoction, Exquisite Taste

B Lobbables or Imbibables, Forage

C Satchel Charge

D Magnum Opus

Chemist's Satchel and Formulary

Your satchel contains all the tools of your trade - spirits, powders, binders, reagents, mortars, pestles, the whole shebang. You can store a number of Reagent Dice equal to your Chemist templates inside. Reagent Dice can only be restored in reasonably stocked towns (for about 10 gold per die) or by raiding the labs of wizards, witches, and alchemists.

Your formulary is a hardy book that contains all the formulae you can mix. You start with one random formula (roll below), but can acquire new ones by studying any alchemical mixture in a lab environment. This process destroys the mixture you study.

Quick Concoction

While you have access to your satchel, you can spend a round quickly mixing any formula stored in your formulary. Roll any number of Reagent Dice: on a 4-6, you've used the last pinch of that ingredient and it becomes exhausted. Formulae mixed in this way stay active for 1 minute, before they denature or otherwise lose their potency.

Exquisite Taste

You can identify the exact magical properties of any object you taste. This process requires 10 minutes of really soaking in the flavor. The GM will describe the magic; you describe the tasting notes you are picking up.

Lobbables

Your consumable concoctions now work on contact. You can throw a potion at a target (dealing 1 damage) or fired as sling bullets and apply the concoction's effect on impact.

Imbibables

Your contact concoctions now can be consumed. If said concoction would produce a harmful effect (e.g. alchemist's fire), instead your unarmed attacks are imbued with that effect for [dice] rounds.

Forage

With sufficient time, you can scrape up reagents from any environment. With 10 minutes of work you can extract 1 Reagent Die from the corpse of any magical creature. With 4 hours work, you can gather 1 Reagent Die worth of ingredients in the form of mushrooms, herbs, and insects. Concoctions made in this way taste foul.

Satchel Charge

You can rig your satchel to detonate. Choose one of your formulae. After 1 minute, the satchel explodes, exhausting all your Reagent Dice to deal 2 x [sum] x [dice] damage within 15 feet and apply the chosen formulae's effect to everyone within range.

Magnum Opus

You have an idea for a new formula - your life's work. Work with your GM to determine what ingredients, tools, and expertise will be required to synthesize it.

d10 Sample Formulae

  1. Goo Grenade - Contact. Expands on contact with air to fill a 5 foot x 5 foot cube. Those caught inside can make a STR test each round to escape.
  2. Alchemist's Fire - Contact. Sticky, water resistant flames that deal [dice] damage for [sum] rounds.
  3. Dread Ampoule - Contact. Chemically induces fear. Exposed takes a Morale Test at -[dice] or flees.
  4. Bottled Sunlight - Contact. Potion burns like a torch but has the effect of true sunlight. Extremely sticky. Denatures in 10 rounds.
  5. Dwarven Daisy - Contact. Dwarven firecracker solution banned from public celebrations. Deals [sum] damage and blinds for [dice] rounds.
  6. Antidote - Imbibed. Cures poison and gives a +[sum] bonus against poisoning for [dice] hours.
  7. Elixir of Life - Imbibed. Heals [sum] HP for [dice] rounds. If healed HP exceeds damage taken, Save to resist mutation.
  8. Stonefist Elixir - Imbibed. Your fists calcify and become hard as stone. You can't be disarmed, feel no pain in your hands, and your unarmed attacks deal d6 damage for [dice] rounds.
  9. Cat's Eye Elixir - Imbibed. Your eyesight becomes fine tuned to the point of nausea. Gain Advantage on all attack rolls for [dice] rounds, but make a CON Test each round or spend your turn retching.
  10. Mnemonic Acid - Imbibed. Submerge a piece of brain in this before consuming. You gain access to the brain owner's memories for [sum] minutes, but are unable to sense the real world during that time. Unwilling imbiber gets a Save versus this effect.

Designer Notes

I know I've already made a class that's sort of about potions but this one requires working on a more active footing. Mixing a potion makes a round, so you are encouraged to mix what you need before breaching or making a surprise attack. Reagent Dice are harder to refresh than most Magic Dice, but also give pretty substantial rewards.

Big influences here include the Alchemist class from Pathfinder and the Chemist from Final Fantasy Tactics. I've stolen at least the names for most of my sample formulae from PF2e's list of of elixirs and bombs, and I imagine there is more to be mined there.

For the would be GM, you'll likely need to design a bunch of your own formulae if you have a player piloting this class. I would recommend not leaving the details to them except for the Magnum Opus, so that one can feel special. My basic formula is [sum] for big numbers and [dice] for duration / small numbers / multipliers. It's okay for a utility potion to have no dice at all - sometimes you just roll the die to see if you run out of ingredients.

For the Magnum Opus, this is a quest hook. I'd suggest coming up with at least one magical reagent that will require an adventure to acquire and equipment that will cost a significant amount of coin. D template characters rarely are starved for gold, but if they are, maybe that's an opportunity to introduce a patron, a college, or other factional influence.