Alchemist's Supplies - v 1.1
Alchemical items include magical medicines, potions, poisons and concoctions made from not only plants, but caustic chemicals, acids and what some might consider dangerous or illegal substances.
Alchemist's Supplies
Alchemist's supplies contains a variety of instruments such as vials, burners, flasks and other components needed to pursue alchemy.
Your tools weigh 8 lbs and costs 50 gp.
Proficiency with these supplies allows you to add your proficiency bonus to any Intelligence checks you make for your alchemical concoctions.
Crafting Alchemical Items
To craft an alchemical item, you must have proficiency in the use of alchemist's supplies and you must know the recipe for the item you wish to craft. After choosing the item to craft, you then must gather the required ingredients and then begin crafting the item.
Alchemical items come in three qualities: Minor, Moderate, and Masterwork. Generally, the higher the quality, the more potent the item. Alchemical items do not lose their potency unless they are purposely mixed with other ingredients like water. Many alchemical items and recipes may be purchased from local alchemists, but as these items may take a while to produce, they could be very expensive when purchasing.
Alchemy Recipes
If you know the recipe for a particular item, you know which ingredients are required to craft an alchemical item, where those ingredients are likely to be found, and how to prepare them. You even know enough to substitute ingredients based on what’s available in the local area.
Every alchemy recipe specifies the DCs required to craft Minor, Moderate, and Masterwork quality versions of that item. It also specifies any unique ingredients you must have access too. Those ingredients must be acquired through special means, either through purchase or during the course of an adventure.
Crafting the Item
Once you have gathered the appropriate materials, it generally takes several hours to craft the item and you need a safe place to conduct these experiments. After the set amount of time has passed to create the item, you roll an Intelligence (Alchemist's Supplies) check and consult the DCs of the item you created. The higher the result of the check, typically the more potent the item you created.
Timing
Sometimes you can leave the item alone after the initial set up, other items might need constant tending to and could take a hit to their potency or be useless. If an item requires Constant attention, than you must be available to check in or work on your alchemical item multiple times every hour. If an item doesn't, then all that is required is the initial setup and you can come back after a set number of hours.
Learning New Recipes
If you are proficient with the alchemical supplies, there are a number of ways you can learn new recipes. Alchemists can easily teach each other recipes in just a few minutes. If you discover an alchemist’s notes, you can also learn any recipes they had recorded.
In addition, if you acquire an alchemical item, you can use your alchemist's supplies to analyze the item. It takes one hour of quiet, careful work to analyze an alchemical item and the item is destroyed in the process. At the end of the work period, roll an Intelligence (Alchemist's Supplies) check. If you meet or exceed the DC required to craft the item at Masterwork quality, you learn the recipe. Otherwise, you have learned nothing and the item is destroyed.
Example Crafted Items
| Item | Crafting Time | Cost to Craft |
|---|---|---|
| Acid | 8 Hours | 15 gp |
| Alchemist's Fire | 8 Hours | 25 gp |
| Assassin's Blood | 24 hours | 75 gp |
| Detect Magic Smelling Salts | 4 hours | 10 gp |
| Potion of Healing | 8 Hours | 25 gp |
| Smoke Powder | 4 Hours | 10 gp |
| Smokestick | 8 hours | 25 gp |
| Thunderstone | 4 hours | 30 gp |
| Truth Serum | 3 Days | 100 gp |
Alchemical Recipes
A new alchemist, or someone who has just recently purchased the supplies typically knows three recipes. After that, they must find more recipes or experiment.
Acid
A generic bottle of acid ideal for tricky situations when you just need to dissolve things like wood, stone or metal. As an action, you can splash the contents of this vial onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw the vial up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged attack against a creature or object, treating the acid as an improvised weapon. On a hit, roll damage equal to the quality of the acid.
- Material Cost: 15 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 8 hours
- Attention: Sparse
- Craft DC: 8 (Minor) / 10 (Moderate) / 13 (Masterwork)
- Minor: deals 1d4 acid damage; dissolves up to 5 sqft of wood or 2 sqft of stone
- Moderate: deals 2d4 acid damage; dissolves up to 7 sqft of wood, 3 sqft of stone or small chunks of metal
- Masterwork: deals 2d6 acid damage; dissolves up to 10 sqft of wood, 5 sqft of stone or 1 sqft of metal
Alchemist's Fire
Fire is always the answer, at least to some alchemists that holds true. This sticky, adhesive fluid ignites when exposed to air. As an action, you can throw this flask up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Make a ranged attack against a creature or object, treating the alchemist's fire as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes fire damage and continues to take fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature can end this damage by using its action to make a DC 10 Dexterity check to extinguish the flames or the flames will extinguish themselves in 1 minute.
- Material Cost: 25 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 8 hours
- Attention: Constant
- Craft DC: 10 / 12 / 15
- Minor: deals 1 fire damage
- Moderate: deals 1d2 fire damage
- Masterwork: deals 1d4 fire damage
Assassin's Blood
This viscous green goo-like mixture is death itself. If a creature ingests the poison, they can become poisoned for up to a day unless they are subjected to a lesser restoration spell.
- Cost: 75 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 24 hours
- Attention: Constant
- Craft DC: 13 / 15 / 18
- Minor: A creature must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 3 (1d6) poison damage and is poisoned for 6 hours. On a success, the creature takes half damage.
- Moderate: A creature must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 6 (1d12) poison damage and is poisoned for 12 hours. On a success, the creature takes half damage.
- Masterwork: A creature must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 12 (2d12) poison damage and is poisoned for 24 hours. On a success, they creature takes half damage.
Detect Magic Smelling Salts
Mixing together ammonia, perfumes and certain rare oils. As an action, you can inhale this vile mixture and be able to discern the location of any magical item as if you are under the effects of a Detect Magic spell, though you do not see an aura of magic, as you can only smell it.
- Material Cost: 10 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 4 hours
- Attention: Constant
- Craft DC: 8 / 10 / 13
- Minor: lasts for 1 minute
- Moderate: lasts for 5 minutes
- Masterwork: lasts for 10 minutes
Keoghtom's Ointment
This sticky mixture smells faintly of aloe and is created from rare medicinal plants, it requires great quantities that must be cooked down into a sticky paste. This glass jar, 3 inches in diameter, contains five doses of a thick mixture that smells faintly of aloe. The jar and its contents weigh 1/2 pound. As an action, one dose of the ointment can be swallowed or applied to the skin. The creature that receives it gains a bonus based on the potency of the ointment.
- Material Cost: 300 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 8 hours
- Attention: Sparse
- Craft DC: 10 / 13 / 15
- Minor: restores 1d8+1 hit points
- Moderate: restores 2d8+2 hit points and ceases to be poisoned
- Masterwork: restores 2d8+2 hit points, ceases to be poisoned, and is cured of any disease
Oil of Sharpness
This clear, gelatinous oil sparkles with tiny, ultrathin silver shards. The oil can coat one slashing or piercing weapon or up to 5 pieces of slashing or piercing ammunition. Applying the oil takes 1 minute. For 1 hour, the coated item is magical and has a bonus to attack and damage rolls based off of its potency. The longterm effects of silver dust on the lungs of alchemists is not very well studied, though several alchemists have died choking on their own blood when not properly ventilating their working area.
- Material Cost: 1,600 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 24 hours
- Attention: Sparse
- Craft DC: 15 / 18 / 20
- Minor: +1 bonus
- Moderate: +2 bonus
- Masterwork: +3 bonus
Potion of Growth
This potion is well loved by warriors and is a concoction combining the blood of giants with strange chemical accelerants found in certain magical plants that have proven to be incredibly unsafe when explosed for an extended period of time with reports of excessive hair and nail growth and other effects. When you drink this potion, you gain the "enlarge" effect of the enlarge/reduce spell for a period of time based on the potency of the item. The red in the potion's liquid continuously expands from a tiny bead to color the clear liquid around it and then contracts. Shaking the bottle fails to interrupt this process.
- Material Cost: 135 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 8 hours
- Attention: Sparse
- Craft DC: 10 / 13/ 15
- Minor: lasts for 1d4 rounds (no concentration required)
- Moderate: lasts for 1d4 minutes (no concentration required)
- Masterwork: lasts for 1d4 hours (no concentration required)
Potion of Healing
A potion of healing is the main bread and butter for any alchemist. It cost 25 gold in raw costs and once learned, is easy to reproduce consistently. A mixture of water, common herbs and certain chemicals that are the off-product of most herbalist and metal forging productions. All reports are that it's perfectly safe to drink.
- Material Cost: 25 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 4 hours
- Attention: Sparse
- Craft DC: 8 / 10 / 13
- Minor: restores 1d4 Hit Points
- Moderate: restores 2d4 Hit Points
- Masterwork: restores 2d4+2 Hit Points
Potion of Healing, Greater
A potion of healing is the main bread and butter for any alchemist. A greater version costs 75 gold in raw costs and once learned, is easy to reproduce consistently. A mixture of water, common herbs and certain chemicals that are the off-product of most herbalist and metal forging productions. All reports are that it's perfectly safe to drink.
- Material Cost: 75 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 16 hours
- Attention: Sparse
- Craft DC: 10 / 13 / 15
- Minor: restores 2d4 Hit Points
- Moderate: restores 4d4 Hit Points
- Masterwork: restores 4d4+4 Hit Points
Potion of Healing, Superior
A potion of healing is the main bread and butter for any alchemist. A superior version costs 225 gold in raw costs and once learned, is easy to reproduce consistently. A mixture of water, common herbs and certain chemicals that are the off-product of most herbalist and metal forging productions. All reports are that it's perfectly safe to drink.
- Material Cost: 225 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 24 hours
- Attention: Sparse
- Craft DC: 13 / 15 / 18
- Minor: restores 4d4 Hit Points
- Moderate: restores 8d4 Hit Points
- Masterwork: restores 8d4+8 Hit Points
Potion of Healing, Supreme
A potion of healing is the main bread and butter for any alchemist. A supreme version costs 675 gold in raw costs and once learned, is easy to reproduce consistently. A mixture of water, common herbs and certain chemicals that are the off-product of most herbalist and metal forging productions. All reports are that it's perfectly safe to drink.
- Material Cost: 675 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 48 hours
- Attention: Sparse
- Craft DC: 15 / 18 / 20
- Minor: restores 10d4 Hit Points
- Moderate: restores 10d4+10 Hit Points
- Masterwork: restores 10d4+20 Hit Points
Potion of Invisibility
This strange potion appears to have nothing in it but when shaken, the sound of water can be heard from within. This curious mixture is experiment at best and relies on the ethereal elements left behind by ghosts. When you drink it, you become invisible for a period of time based on the quality of the potion. Anything you wear or carry is invisible with you. The effect ends early if you attack or cast a spell.
- Material Cost: 90 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 24 hours
- Attention: Sparse
- Craft DC: 13 / 15 / 18
- Minor: effects last until the start of your next turn
- Moderate: effects last for 1 minute
- Masterwork: effects last for 1 hour
Smoke Powder
The ability to craft explosive powder for firearms and explosives like grenades. It's a coarse, black powder that must be kept dry once crafted. Created from the off-product of mining facilities, it must be milled down with sodium and charcoal into a highly volatile powder. Its best to not work with this around candles, lanterns, or campfires.
- Material Cost: 10 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 4 hours
- Attention: Constant
- Craft DC: 10 / 12 / 15
- Minor: produce 3 shots
- Moderate: produce 8 shots
- Masterwork: produce 15 shots
- Grenade: To create a grenade, you need an additional 8 gold for a metal or ceramic orb, and then you need enough Smoke Powder for 30 shots. As an action you can throw it up to 60 feet and each creature within 10 feet of the detonation must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 2d6 fire and 1d6 piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
- Keg: To create a keg of smokepowder, you need 100 shots and an additional 14 gold for the keg to store it in. You can either throw it or roll it up to a range of 15ft and then roll initiative for the keg. On its initiative it explodes, and each creature within 20 feet of it must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or take 3d6 fire and 2d6 bludgeoning damage and they fall prone. If they succeed, they take half damage.
Smokestick
A black rod of alchemical clay that can be lit as an action and releases a haze of obscuring smoke. All creatures inside of the smoke are lightly obscured. A strong wind can end the effect early.
- Material Cost: 25 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 8 hours
- Attention: Constant
- Craft DC: 10 / 12 / 15
- Minor: The smoke creates a 5 foot radius cloud that lasts until the start of your next turn.
- Moderate: The smoke creates a 10 foot radius cloud that lasts for 1d4 rounds.
- Masterwork: The smoke creates a 20 foot radius cloud that lasts for 2d4 rounds.
Thunderstone
This clay sphere is packed with powerful reagents that create a deafening boom and enough volatile energy that can knock creatures back. As an action, this sphere can be thrown up to 20 feet away.
- Material Cost: 30 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 4 hours
- Attention: Sparse
- Craft DC: 10 / 12 / 15
- Minor: All creatures within 5 feet of the sphere must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature is defeaned for 1 minute and they are knocked back 5 feet. They can repeat the saving throw at the end of their turn to end the effect early. On a successful save, a creature is unaffected.
- Moderate: All creatures within 10 feet of the sphere must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes 1d4 thunder damage, is deafened for 2 minutes and they are knocked back 10 feet. They can repeat the saving throw at the end of their turn to end the effect early. On a successful save, a creature takes half damage and suffers no other effects.
- Masterwork: All creatures within 15 feet of the sphere must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes 2d4 thunder damage, is deafened for 10 minutes and they are knocked back 15 feet. They can repeat the saving throw at the end of their turn to end the effect early. On a successful save, a creature takes half damage and sufefrs no other effects.
Truth Serum
One of the hardest things for a practicing alchemist to get right, and to get it strong enough to work. Its also only for alchemists that have coin to spare, as the cost of such a thing is high. Mixed with the crushed seeds of a flower that grows in certain tropics, it goes through months of processing until it's outer coating dissolves and the delicate oils are able to be harvested. When ingested, one is unable to speak a lie as if they are under the spell Zone of Truth. This takes 3 days to produce one vial, and you have to make the check at the end of every day. The lowest quality you roll for any of the days will determine the quality of the Truth Serum.
- Material Cost: 75 gp per attempt
- Crafting Time: 72 hours (3 days)
- Attention: Constant
- Craft DC: 15 / 18 / 20
- Minor: Upon a creature ingesting the serum, they must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or take a -2 to all Charisma, Wisdom & Intelligence ability checks for 1 hour.
- Moderate: Upon a creature ingesting the serum, they must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or a creature becomes poisoned for 1 hour.
- Masterwork: Upon a creature ingesting the serum, they must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or a creature becomes poisoned for 1 hour. The poisoned creature can't knowingly speak a lie, as if under the effect of a zone of truth spell.
Variant Rules
Combining Less Potent Items
If your players would like to have masterwork items by combining lower quality ingredients, they can spend a short rest combining their lower quality items to form items of higher quality. It takes 2 minor items to create 1 moderate item, and 2 moderate items to create 1 masterwork item.
To dilute items into lower potency requires 2 masterwork items which dilute to 3 moderate items, or 2 moderate items which dilute to 3 minor items.
Specific Components
Instead of requiring a gold cost, you can instead require a component cost based on what item is being created. A few examples are given below:
| Item | Components Required to Make One |
|---|---|
| Acid | 1 lb of ooze |
| Alchemist's Fire | Firenewt Remains |
| Potion of Healing | Myconid Mushrooms |
| Smoke Powder | Fire Elemental Remains |
| Thunderstone | Dangerous Minerals in the Underdark |
| Truth Serum | Carrion Crawler Venom |
Singular Quality
To decrease confusion around the various qualities of potions at the table, you can decide that a potion only has a singular quality to it. Assume that every item can only be crafted at the masterwork quality and anything below it isn't potent enough to be of use. To determine effect and DC of each item, refer to the masterwork quality only.
Guidelines for Recipes
Prices are roughly based off of half the cost of consumables as found in the Sane Magical Prices and in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
Craft DCs and time typically follow these guideline:
| Rarity | Minor DC | Moderate DC | Masterwork DC | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 8 | 10 | 13 | 4 hours |
| Uncommon | 10 | 13 | 15 | 8 hours |
| Rare | 13 | 15 | 18 | 16 hours |
| Very Rare | 15 | 18 | 20 | 24+ hours |
The effects as listed in the Dungeon Master's Guide are assumed to be the Masterwork versions of those item, lower qualities provide less benefits either through functioning for a shorter amount of time or providing a lower bonus.
Liquids and potions typically require little to no attention unless working with dangerous poisons. Solids and powders require constant attention while crafting.
Eratta
Version 1.1
- New Recipes - Every type of Potion of Healing, Potion of Invisibility, Potion of Growth, Keoghtom's Ointment, Oil of Sharpness
- Updated wording and provided clarifications
- New Added Variant Rules
- New Guidlines for Recipes
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Version 1
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