Alchemical Resources

Since this particular answer might be generally useful, I’m posting it independently; here’s a brief list of the alchemy-related items currently posted on the site.

  • For Glowstone Alchemy we have the Basics and the Items.
  • The low-powered Ceremonial Magic system here can be used for alchemy.
  • The Philosopher’s Stone pops up on this list of Relics.
  • The Exotic Compounds might come in useful as examples of alchemical preparations. The posted examples include Vidan (a drug which breaks down mental barriers), Kos and Narhan (a sensory amplifier and a regeneration-inducer), M’ram (a stimulant), Denila (metabolic stabilizer), and Zashin (A drug that extends the user’s mind into other dimensions).
  • The Alchemical Magic spell list was in Eclipse, but got a few extra notes here; the blog has no space limitations.
  • The Noun Isomers were set up for World Tree, but are general enough to serve as inspiration for things like classical “True Earth” and other “pure elements”.
  • The Esoteric Botany series includes a number of plants with alchemical properties: Earth Magic Plants, Life Magic Plants, Death Magic Plants, and Spirit Magic Plants.
  • The Elemental Physics article might help with getting into the alchemical mindset and suggesting ideas.
  • Black Stone Alchemy – along with some other exotic magical systems – is briefly covered in this Legend of the Five Rings article. There are some notes on the magical properties of stones as well, to be found in Part I and Part II.
  • The Alchemic Mastery option in this set of power-packages is good for making adventurous alchemists; it lets them make a selection of minor items to bring along on each adventure without prohibitive costs.
  • The Allomancer Template works for some kinds of alchemists.
  • Zareth has a listing of his usual alchemical wares. He’s an Exalted character, but most of his wares are generic enough for any setting that allows alchemy in the first place.
  • The Pathfinder Alchemist is really more of a “mad bomber” than an alchemist, but here’s the Eclipse Conversion anyway.
  • It really hasn’t got much to do with classical alchemy, but here’s Edward Elric, the “Full Metal Alchemist”.
  • An article on why spells granting alchemical bonuses aren’t too practical can be found over here.

13 Responses

  1. Might I suggest that some of these (plus the living harvest article) be part of Eclipse III?

    • Well some might, and I do need to get back to that particular project. Some of it might go better in a supplement to The Practical Enchanter though.

  2. So you are writing a TPE II? Sweet.

    One thing that you might want to consider is rewriting the alchemy skill. As much as I enjoy your resources, Bastion’s book and a few other tidbits here and there, the only decent rules I have found about the skill itself are in a magazine that didn’t last long (EN world Player’s journal #1 if you are interested) and even then it went too far in the other direction (made alchemy very quick and cheap).

    • Well, I don’t happen to have a copy of that one (if the rules are OGL, they might be posted somewhere or passed along though; is there anywhere that they can be found?).

      I used to use the Arcanum rules a very long time ago, but these days I usually split things up a bit. Thus an article on the topic over here:

      Creating Alchemists

  3. Sadly it appears neither of EN World’s magazines are sold as files. But the rules are easy to remember- reduce DCs by 5, creation takes 1 day and for every 10 points above the DC, make an additional alchemical item as long as there is enough raw materials.

    What it reminds me of is the apothecary from Sages and Specialists (the 2e supplement).

  4. Out of curiosity, do you know off the top of your head if the titles/references you listed are OGC?

    • Well lets see… first up, for things I’ve written on the blog:

    • Glowstone Alchemy is not entirely open game content, it’s subject to the usual proper names and discriptive material restrictions.

      The Ceremonial Magic system is for Continuum II, as were the Exotic Compounds. That’s not OGC, since Continuum II long predates OGC – but could certainly inspire a d20 system (and the compounds can easily be used in a d20 game).

      The Philosopher’s Stone is for Eclipse d20; the mechanics are OGC, and the freeware version of Eclipse covers them. For what’s OGC in Eclipse (most of it), you can check in that book. It’s also in Eclipse II.

      The Alchemical Magic spell list is pretty much OGC. Technically most of the new spells are not, but you could change a couple of words and fix that. It’s not like those are complicated spells and there aren’t too many of them.

      The Noun Isomers were – as noted – for the World Tree game, but they’d take translation anyway (and the basic idea is nothing new, which more or less makes them research).

      The Esoteric Botany series isn’t OGC really, since it’s covering plants that are specific to one of my settings. You’d be welcome to use them as inspiration or in an actual game, but it wouldn’t be proper to republish them.

      The Elemental Physics article is non-system specific, and is simply examining the consequences of a world based on fire,earth, air, water, and spirit. Not OGC, but more intended as an aide for people writing about such worlds anyway. It’s not like it has actual rules in it.

      Black Stone Alchemy and the Stone Magic are for Legend of the Five Rings (original system), but the basic notions translate readily enough. Again, more a research source than anything else as far as d20 is concerned.

      The Alchemic Mastery package and the Allomancer Template are for use with Eclipse again, and the mechanics are OGC.

      Zareth’s alchemical wares are for Exalted, but it’s mostly just a list of things like “Parasite Expeller”, “Metal Cutting Acid”, and “Spirit Repelling Fumes”. Those don’t even have – or need – game statistics, and I can hardly claim that the names are particularly creative.

      The Pathfinder Alchemist conversion is OGC twice – it’s an OGC Eclipse conversion of the Pathfinder OGC Alchemist.

      Edward Elric’s Mechanics are generally OGC, the name itself is from the Anime of course.

      The article on why spells granting Alchemical Bonuses aren’t too practical isn’t OGC, but it’s just a background discussion.

      Now, for the stuff that isn’t on the blog

      Bastion Press’s Alchemy and Herbalists book is – except for the graphics – pretty much all open game content.

      The article in EN World Player’s Journal is probably OGC, but I don’t happen to have it to be sure.

      The Arcanum alchemy rules were quite extensive; it was, however, from the early 1980’s, and thus long predated both d20 and OGC. You might be able to find it online somewhere though. It does make a good source of ideas.

  • A bit late but the Extended Alchemy article is OGC. If you need the s15, ask.

  • I am so sorry about forgetting to provide the s15 for the article. So here it is:

    Extended Alchemy, Copyright 2003, Matt “Cyberzombie” Blakely
    All text in this article is designated Open Game Content

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