Alchemists: moving beyond potions

I'd like to see them also make powders for various effects.

One set of powders can be thrown on a fire to change the color of the flame. Blue, purple, green, red, etc.
It would be awesome if those same powders can be used at the Knight's lighthouse to change the lighthouse color (for a duration)

There is a lot of lore surrounding alchemists as well. The Philosophers stone (capable of changing lead to gold or silver, also capable of producing or of being the elixir of life).

here is some inspiration: In the sixteenth century, Pierce the Black Monk, wrote the following about the Elixir: "Take earth of Earth, Earth's Mother (Water of Earth), Fire of Earth, and Water of the Wood. These are to lie together and then be parted. Alchemical gold is made of three pure soul, as purged as crystal. Body, seat, and spirit grow into a Stone, wherein there is no corruption. This is to be cast on Mercury and it shall become most worthy gold."


Also there are various ways alchemists did things, yes they would heat some stuff, and they would also allow putrefaction to occur and used those animal/plant parts in their concoctions.

This might be worth a read as well:

http://www.alchemywebsite.com/animal.html

Blackening(Putrefaction or heating) - Black Crow, Raven, Toad, Massa Confusa.
Whitening(The white crust or powder) - White Swan, White Eagle, skeleton.
Greening(sulfuric acid from green crystals or other acids from other things) - Green Lion.
Rapid cycling through iridescent colours(sometimes from an oil on water or oxidation) - Peacock's Tail.
White Stone(A white tincture or stone, feminine, growth, nourishment) - Unicorn.
Reddening(A red tincture or stone, masculine, strength, blood) - Pelican feeding young with its own blood, cockerel.
Final transmutation(the philosopher's stone, rejuvenation) - Phoenix reborn from the fire.

It was believed the red tincture would turn metals to gold, and the white tincture metals to silver.

 

While I wouldn't want to overpower alchemists or get too fantastic with them.. moving beyond liquids is an intriguing notion that I'd love to see but to be quite honest you lost me at the philosopher's stone. Perhaps it's simply a matter of personal taste but all that's just too far fetched for me to swallow. If it fits the story though I guess that's ok.

I did start thinking of effects of powders and possibly pouches or potions you'd throw for various effects.. such as a flash or smoke bomb.. sleeping powder's and things of that nature.

In the case of a potion it would evaporate quickly producing a gas.. where as a powder would behave like those little snap-it fireworks you get that are mixed with stone to cause a spark or some other catalyst that would interact with the powder on impact.

 

I thought about Salves. you can't use them in combat, however you could apply them out of combat for a longer lasting, less potent effect.

 

My though is that the difference between a low level armor maker and a high level armor makes is that they make cooler looking armor. To me, this means alchemy is mostly there for making dyes. Really cool looking stuff that everyone wants, but doesn't offer a huge statistical advantage.

I like the idea that in the field, but out of combat, alchemists could help with light healing / curing just as smiths might make field repairs to armor.

If one profession can provide a small buff - e.g. a sharpening stone like WoW used to have, then I see no reason why they all couldn't.

 

How about turning lead to gold. lol

 

would causes to much in game inflation

 

make lead rarer than gold haha..

so powders could also be a make-up(disguise) kit. I wouldn't call something gun powder, but some sort of explosive powder might fit into the era we are looking at. (woohoo, fireworks?) so a combination of the color changing fire powders and the explosive powder and a fuse and tube might make a firework.. time consuming to make so a special event use item.

there could also be pastes and paints and dyes.. although I think generally alchemists didn't concern themselves with paints and dyes.. that would be more of a tailor's speciality or leathworker tanning process.

 

I would use black powder for the era and theme of the game, it was invented in china in the tenth century. I would like to see basic types like a aerial shell, fountains, roman candles. Could be its own crafting skill. Also would be cool if they would sometimes fail and explode when lit or being crafted, since having a background into all kinds of explosive from manufacturing to shooting, its not a matter if it will happen but when it will happen.

The only problem is that I remember LB saying he wants to stay away from gun powder and black powder is a propellant, so many would wonder why the game would not have muskets ect.

off topic but I think it would be cool if you could use magic to send a white or red flare up into the air to gather attention, could be used to gather people or warn of danger, like PKs

 

Right.. I guess they don't want it to be asian.. (non ninjas or samurai) more western european. but this is interesting: "One recipe for "flying fire" (ingis volatilis) involves saltpetre, sulfur, and colophonium, which, when inserted into a reed or hollow wood, "flies away suddenly and burns up everything." Another recipe, for artificial "thunder", specifies a mixture of one pound native sulfur, two pounds linden or willow charcoal, and six pounds of saltpeter"

that was written in 1300, in Liber Ignium.. according to wikipedia..

we could say that this is a new thing recently discovered, it was sometime before they managed to actually make guns..

 

I like this idea. Personally I've always found alchemy fairly dull as it's usually pigeonholed into stat buffs and self healing.

 

Fertilizers and pesticides, hallucinogens, slow and fast acting poisons, inks and paints - regular and disappearing, fireworks and smokebombs, addicting drugs, crystals, acids and elements for smithing. Better living through chemistry.

 

I like the idea of Alchemists doing more than potions. Salves, powder, fireworks, etc. All Great ideas.

 

Cool ideas mugly wumple. I especially like the fertilizers and pesticides in light of the farming ability and what that could mean.

 

This may be a little off topic, but as far as actual potions go I would like to see more than just the basic healing, poison, invisibility, explosive, cure poison. They should have some that can polymorph, see in the dark, and basically all the stuff in the harry potter books about potions.

 

Sir Mishri, I know what having the farming ability means. A place to put those black and red round columns! hahaha

(think Ultima IX)


LordG

 

I agree with Sir Mishri and Mugly Wumple's examples! I too am tired seeing that alchemists only make potions and dye's. I'd love to see them expand into more physical territories.

 

@Montesquieu: Nice

How about growing red algae on a lab apparatus which one could customize to produce... chloroform, for example? Or create coal through hydrothermal carbonization (arcane heat source required?).

There's a lot of room for poisonous chemicals.

And I'm inclined to think an alchemist should be able to synthesize various salts. Everything from calcium carbonate, used to purify iron, to culinary salts used to enhance food.

 

@P?re Fouettard: I take it atropine is a given?

 

What about the size of the bottle or using more bottles for bigger expolsions?

 

Hmmm even though I dont like playing the magic-type character I always thought things like inscription or alchemy were kinda cool. You werent really performing magic for combat, more of a crafting/merchant skill. I think that there should definitely be explosives and poisons because I loved setting trapped chests and stuff, always a blast >=-P
I just really hope theres some use for poisoning food and trapping chest, more than likely it will have very little PvP value, no biggie for me, but I at least want there to be some cool use for it PvE. Cuz the only people who really fell for the trapped chest trick were newer players who didnt have good loot. And yea, I just think it'd be cool to use traps for something involving a quest, or something. I especially would like to bring back those good ol' powder kegs that I messed around with all the time in Ultima 6!! Not a single keg of powder was ever seen in UO.