I have a player that wants to be an alchemist "on the side" while playing a Paladin. I don't use anything other than PHB races and classes in this campaign because it is their first. The player doesn't really understand were to go to find resources for alchemy in D&D. After several sessions where the player said, " ... and I go off and look for alchemical ingredients." I decided I should try to come up with something available to the player in Alchemy.
I decided that in this world a monster's eyes could be used to make a potion of invisibility to that kind of monster. It may also make you invisible to other similar monsters, but right now they have been told that it works specifically for that type of monster. I am going to give them other potions that can be used based on an ingredient from the monster. For example, a spine can be boiled and the fluid distilled into some sort of hold monster potion. Using these potions would be something akin to casting a spell. The hold monster requires the PC to pour the potion over one hand and then extend their hand and grip tight forming a fist.
What other kind of matched body parts would work well for potions? Blood, femur, toe, finger, hoof, ...
This isn’t quite what you’re asking, but if I weee to allow crafting potions, I wouldn’t go beyond the ones that exist in the DMG. A hold monster grenade, for example is really quite powerful in allowing a 5th level spell to effectively be cast by anyone with no concentration. It’s an incredibly powerful magic item you’re allowing.
I know you said you want to stick to the PHB, but if the player really wants it, I’d stick to the xanathar’s rules, which you can use as as a side quest — don’t just give it to the character, make them earn it. Spend their downtime studying to get a tool proficiency in an herbalism kit. Then let the brew up healing potions. Or if they want something more, tool proficiency in alchemists tools and then let them learn recipes and craft their own potions. Just remember that potions are magic items. And many are hard to come by. A potion of flying, for example, is very rare, as it lets you fly without concentration. Letting a character craft one once in a while is fun. Letting them churn the things out can be game breaking if you’re not careful.
Blood or Hide might grant resistances and vulnerabilities from the monster.
the muscle (meat) might grant speed or strength
toes for stealth
another option is to go through some common monsters, pick attributes they have (EG fire resistance, immune to poison, high speed) and then pick parts of them that will provide such an ability. Then say they have to combine 2 to get the ability. Note down the negatives of the monster (low intelligence, low speed, damage vulnerabilities) and if two monster parts with the same negatives - which are in all parts of the monster - are combined, then they give the negative ones too. Kinda like Skyrim Alchemy.
I'm trying to keep it from getting out of hand by making it very monster specific. But I could see, as an example, a potion brewed from distilled hides giving +1 or +2 to a saving throw on Fire Damage Resistance or other damage resistance quality. That would seem to be a subdued benefit for a side gig. And if it invites roleplay, then I'm going to double down.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Depending on your DM style, it would be absolutely fair to make some of the potions not work, and some to even have ill effects as this would be a trial and error process. That might discourage the idea, if that is your goal, or allow it go forward but not unbalancing the game. Think Harry Potter and the potions class......
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Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
The first place to look is the character attributes and the animal associated with them, demonstrated on the character sheet and in the spell Enhance Ability: bull's strength, cat's grace, bear's endurance, fox's cunning, owl's wisdom, and eagle's splendor. Those are the easy ones: horns of a minotaur increase strength,
A great source of inspiration might come from the material components of certain spells, which are - more often than not - some mundane means of making the spell magical. For instance, 'a short reed or straw' for Water Breathing or Unseen Servant's 'piece of string and a bit of wood' used in puppetry. With that in mind, here's some ideas off the top of my head:
Pincers, tentacles and web glands have properties which are useful in boosting one's ability to grab ahold of things, improving Athletics and grappling checks.
Tails are possessed with properties of balance, improving acrobatics, movement speed and dodge ability. Tiefling tails are the least effective, whereas tabaxi tails are highly sought after.
Hearts are known to help people act in spite of fear, improving performative and persuasive skills, as well as fighting through frightful effects. The hearts of those who die with great conviction work best.
Fermented poison sacs, when consumed on an stomach, make for a surprising remedy for sickness and poison. Mostly because it causes the imbiber to throw up, but they don't need to know that. If these are harvested from more powerful creatures, it can not only prevent poisonings in the near future, but it can also work on magical poisons and diseases!
Ground bones make the body more rigid, allowing the imbiber to resist being knocked prone more easily. However, depending on the creature which the bones come from, better alchemical equipment may be required. Jawbones have the additional property of improving one's ability to deceive, as well as their skill with improvised weapons.
Fingerbones have the property of helping people get into things they shouldn't be able to, improving sleight of hand and thieves' tool proficiencies. What's worse is the smaller the bones, the more potent the potion...
Blood makes for an excellent healing potion, especially when taken from a recently fed vampire or another creature which primarily feeds on blood. It is not yet known why certain potions made with blood cause a scar to appear on the imbiber's soul, seen only by the righteous, who upon viewing it enter into unbridled rage.
You can of course make these effects exclusive to the monster or type they come from, but these are some general effects for if they become a better alchemist. I wish you luck, you and your alchemist player can have a lot of fun with this!
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Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
The process for making these potions is to obtain the ingredients. Then the "essence" has to be separated from the "carrier." So with the hold monster variety, the femur of the monster has to be boiled to capture everything except the calcium in the bone. The Alchemist doesn't want to boil it too long or the essence begins to be lost in the vapors. The bone is removed (and may be ground down for other things) and the fire is reduced to just a low boil to remove the water. A bit of thick reagent is added and the thickened essence is all that is left when the water is gone. This real ingredient is then retained until the other ingredients are ready.
Stage two requires ingredients to be combined in proper proportions with a catalyst that causes the interaction and reaction of the ingredients. This combination has to be done with a fair amount of mixing. Sometimes it has to be done and the product dried. After drying the product is ground to a fine powder and added to a liquid that completes the reaction.
Once the final product is mixed and blended, it may have to be "stewed" by raising the temperature slowly until the compound begins to transform into a liquid. The liquid is stirred and then allowed to cool, or something is skimmed off the top of the solution. The product is then ground into a fine powder.
The final step is always to mix the powder into a stable solution as a new carrier. The compound may be diluted to make weaker varieties at this stage. The solution is placed in bottles with a flower petal to give the solution a color. Carefully shaped cork stoppers are preferred and the stopper end of the bottle should be dipped in wax to help seal in the product and moisture. The flower petal will eventually turn white as the color mixes into the carrier. An alchemist can gage how old a potion is by looking at the bottle, stopper, wax and the flower petal. Notable alchemists have a way of placing their mark into the wax at the time it is sealed. The color of the wax may help indicate where it came from. Some alchemists tie a colored chord around the stopper before applying the top in the wax. The color of the chord and the type of knots used may indicate the solution.
My PC does not know all these things. The player will be told about them when there are sufficient reasons to attempt a potion. I will have a skill check at each stage, so brewing a potion isn't a guarantee. I will provide the PC with special alchemical powders that help achieve a success.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
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I have a player that wants to be an alchemist "on the side" while playing a Paladin. I don't use anything other than PHB races and classes in this campaign because it is their first. The player doesn't really understand were to go to find resources for alchemy in D&D. After several sessions where the player said, " ... and I go off and look for alchemical ingredients." I decided I should try to come up with something available to the player in Alchemy.
I decided that in this world a monster's eyes could be used to make a potion of invisibility to that kind of monster. It may also make you invisible to other similar monsters, but right now they have been told that it works specifically for that type of monster. I am going to give them other potions that can be used based on an ingredient from the monster. For example, a spine can be boiled and the fluid distilled into some sort of hold monster potion. Using these potions would be something akin to casting a spell. The hold monster requires the PC to pour the potion over one hand and then extend their hand and grip tight forming a fist.
What other kind of matched body parts would work well for potions? Blood, femur, toe, finger, hoof, ...
A heart could grant you an attribute from that creature.
'Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people’s business.'
Snape froze. Harry stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But the map didn’t stop there. More writing was appearing beneath the first.
'Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.'-Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Stay sharp, always carry a dagger and never deal with a devil (except for me, of course).
This isn’t quite what you’re asking, but if I weee to allow crafting potions, I wouldn’t go beyond the ones that exist in the DMG. A hold monster grenade, for example is really quite powerful in allowing a 5th level spell to effectively be cast by anyone with no concentration. It’s an incredibly powerful magic item you’re allowing.
I know you said you want to stick to the PHB, but if the player really wants it, I’d stick to the xanathar’s rules, which you can use as as a side quest — don’t just give it to the character, make them earn it. Spend their downtime studying to get a tool proficiency in an herbalism kit. Then let the brew up healing potions. Or if they want something more, tool proficiency in alchemists tools and then let them learn recipes and craft their own potions. Just remember that potions are magic items. And many are hard to come by. A potion of flying, for example, is very rare, as it lets you fly without concentration. Letting a character craft one once in a while is fun. Letting them churn the things out can be game breaking if you’re not careful.
Blood or Hide might grant resistances and vulnerabilities from the monster.
the muscle (meat) might grant speed or strength
toes for stealth
another option is to go through some common monsters, pick attributes they have (EG fire resistance, immune to poison, high speed) and then pick parts of them that will provide such an ability. Then say they have to combine 2 to get the ability. Note down the negatives of the monster (low intelligence, low speed, damage vulnerabilities) and if two monster parts with the same negatives - which are in all parts of the monster - are combined, then they give the negative ones too. Kinda like Skyrim Alchemy.
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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Thanks for your help and observations.
I'm trying to keep it from getting out of hand by making it very monster specific. But I could see, as an example, a potion brewed from distilled hides giving +1 or +2 to a saving throw on Fire Damage Resistance or other damage resistance quality. That would seem to be a subdued benefit for a side gig. And if it invites roleplay, then I'm going to double down.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Depending on your DM style, it would be absolutely fair to make some of the potions not work, and some to even have ill effects as this would be a trial and error process. That might discourage the idea, if that is your goal, or allow it go forward but not unbalancing the game. Think Harry Potter and the potions class......
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
The first place to look is the character attributes and the animal associated with them, demonstrated on the character sheet and in the spell Enhance Ability: bull's strength, cat's grace, bear's endurance, fox's cunning, owl's wisdom, and eagle's splendor. Those are the easy ones: horns of a minotaur increase strength,
A great source of inspiration might come from the material components of certain spells, which are - more often than not - some mundane means of making the spell magical. For instance, 'a short reed or straw' for Water Breathing or Unseen Servant's 'piece of string and a bit of wood' used in puppetry. With that in mind, here's some ideas off the top of my head:
You can of course make these effects exclusive to the monster or type they come from, but these are some general effects for if they become a better alchemist. I wish you luck, you and your alchemist player can have a lot of fun with this!
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
These are all good ideas. Thanks.
The process for making these potions is to obtain the ingredients. Then the "essence" has to be separated from the "carrier." So with the hold monster variety, the femur of the monster has to be boiled to capture everything except the calcium in the bone. The Alchemist doesn't want to boil it too long or the essence begins to be lost in the vapors. The bone is removed (and may be ground down for other things) and the fire is reduced to just a low boil to remove the water. A bit of thick reagent is added and the thickened essence is all that is left when the water is gone. This real ingredient is then retained until the other ingredients are ready.
Stage two requires ingredients to be combined in proper proportions with a catalyst that causes the interaction and reaction of the ingredients. This combination has to be done with a fair amount of mixing. Sometimes it has to be done and the product dried. After drying the product is ground to a fine powder and added to a liquid that completes the reaction.
Once the final product is mixed and blended, it may have to be "stewed" by raising the temperature slowly until the compound begins to transform into a liquid. The liquid is stirred and then allowed to cool, or something is skimmed off the top of the solution. The product is then ground into a fine powder.
The final step is always to mix the powder into a stable solution as a new carrier. The compound may be diluted to make weaker varieties at this stage. The solution is placed in bottles with a flower petal to give the solution a color. Carefully shaped cork stoppers are preferred and the stopper end of the bottle should be dipped in wax to help seal in the product and moisture. The flower petal will eventually turn white as the color mixes into the carrier. An alchemist can gage how old a potion is by looking at the bottle, stopper, wax and the flower petal. Notable alchemists have a way of placing their mark into the wax at the time it is sealed. The color of the wax may help indicate where it came from. Some alchemists tie a colored chord around the stopper before applying the top in the wax. The color of the chord and the type of knots used may indicate the solution.
My PC does not know all these things. The player will be told about them when there are sufficient reasons to attempt a potion. I will have a skill check at each stage, so brewing a potion isn't a guarantee. I will provide the PC with special alchemical powders that help achieve a success.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt