H ERBALISM & A LCHEMY

Alchemy is the art of combining magical and mundane

ingredients into powerful potions, unlocking a wide va-
I NGREDIENTS
riety of helpful and harmful effects. Alchemy goes well
with adventuring: the rarest and most potent ingredients Be on the lookout for sources of ingredients. Examine
are often in the most distant and dangerous of locations! the plants and animals you come across, as their various
Most adventurers will be able to achieve some measure parts may have alchemical applications. If you know pre-
of success by merely dabbling in alchemy, but only those cisely what part of a plant or animal it is you wish to har-
who dedicate themselves to its mastery will be able to vest, you simply need to state its type name (refer to the
unlock the true power of this art. Ingredient Types table) and succeed on a DC 10 Intelli-
gence (Nature) check to acquire a sample.
You can also try to harvest ingredients even if you’re
O VERVIEW not exactly sure what it is you’re after. Make a DC 11 In-
telligence (Nature) check. On a success, your DM secretly
Producing a potion from raw ingredients has the follow- rolls 1d100. For every point by which your roll exceeded
ing basic form: 10, there is a cumulative 10% chance that you extracted
an ingredient with at least one useful property. Other-
• Harvest raw ingredients from an ingredient source. wise, you extracted something with no useful properties.
Your DM does not tell you the outcome of this roll, and
- Must succeed on an Intelligence (Nature) check. you do not learn the ingredient’s properties if it succeeds.
- A source can yield more than one ingredient It takes approximately 10 minutes to harvest useful in-
type (feathers, sap, etc) gredients from a single source. Rangers have advantage
on any checks to find ingredients in their favoured ter-
- Each individual source can yield only one dose rain, or on the bodies of their favoured enemies. If you
of each type. are a druid and your DM deems you sufficiently familiar
with the source, you may choose to automatically suc-
• Process raw ingredients into preparations. ceed on an ingredient collection roll if you specify its type
beforehand. You may use this ability a number of times
- No skill check required, just equipment.
per day equal to your druid level.
- Different preparation methods may be neces-
sary for different raw ingredients. Under normal circumstances, successfully harvesting
- Effect and potency depend on preparation. from any one ingredient source (such as an individual
plant or monster) yields only a single useful dose of that
• Combine any number of preparations with a base. ingredient.

- Must succeed on an Intelligence (Arcana)

check.
- DC to create depends on how potent and how
complicated the recipe is.
R AW I NGREDIENTS
- Base determines usage method and constituent Raw ingredients are the beginning of the alchemical pro-
preparations determine effect and quality. cess. The flora and fauna of the world have many poten-
tially useful parts that can be harvested (see the Ingre-
The following sections describe the alchemical process dient Types table for a list). Obviously, most plants and
in detail. First we discuss raw ingredients, their harvest- animals will not possess every type of ingredient – you
ing, and properties. Then we discuss the act of using won’t find feathers on a turtle, for instance.
raw ingredients to produce preparations and what equip- Raw ingredients are considered to be "fresh" when ini-
ment is required to do so. Finally we discuss the basics tially harvested, but few ingredients will be usable with-
of combining preparations and how to determine the ef- out further processing. A freshly harvested ingredient
fect and quality of a potion. After these sections follow will only last a certain amount of time before becoming
a partial list of ingredients and catalogue of effects. At useless, by either rotting or becoming stale. Each type of
the end of this text is a section targeted at advising any ingredient that can be harvested from a given source has
DMs deities who want to extend or modify this alchemy its own characteristic decay time, after which it loses its
system. potency entirely and is of no further use in alchemy.

H ERBALISM & A LCHEMY

1
 properties of ingredients that you have harvested. It can
I NGREDIENT T YPES
be especially daunting if the ingredient will soon spoil,
Flora Fauna requiring your immediate attention lest it be lost entirely.
Bark Bile A careful alchemist can spend their free time studying
Buds Blood small amounts of an ingredient in various preparations.
Bulbs Bone During a long or short rest, choose a number of raw in-
Flowers Brain gredients less than or equal to your proficiency bonus
Fruit Claws (you can choose the same ingredient more than once, if
Leaves Eggs you have enough doses). You spend an hour of idle time
Nectar Eyes studying these ingredients. For each ingredient, you may
Pollen Fat choose one of two methods of study:
Roots Feathers
Sap Flesh • You name a single preparation method that you have
Seeds Hair the equipment to perform. Make a DC 10 Intelli-
Stems Heart gence (Nature) or Intelligence (Acarna) check (your
Thorns Horn choice). On a success, you discover whether the
Wood Scale preparation method you chose has any alchemical
Shell effect or not, and if it does, you discover that effect
Skin and its potency. The raw ingredient is not consumed.
Teeth
Tongue • You systematically study all preparation methods
Venom available to you, given your current equipment. This
consumes one dose of the ingredient in question.
The DC of discovering an effect is equal to 10 plus
B ASES its potency. Make an Intelligence (Nature) or Intel-
ligence (Acarna) check (your choice). You learn the
Base Use effects and potencies of all preparations with discov-
Water Consumables ery DCs less than or equal to your roll. You can
Greases & Oils Applicables only receive positive results from this method; that
Volatile solvents Throwables is, you cannot discern if the other preparation meth-
Venoms Poisons ods failed because they have no effects to find, or if
Misc. Special they failed because you rolled too low.

Alternatively, if you are in town you might have access

to an apothecary or herbalist or other knowledgeable fig-
A DJUNCTS AND B ASES ure. At your DM’s discretion, these people might agree to
teach you some of what they know about ingredients in
Most potions must be quaffed to receive their effects, but
return for gold or other favours. There are many people
some have other intended uses. All potions require a
who have at least some amount of alchemical knowledge.
base substance in which to mix the reagents, and the
You might also be able to find effects, preparations, and
choice of base affects the method of use. Some are in-
recipes written in books and on scraps of paper through-
tended to be applied to weapons or armour, some are in-
out the world.
tended to be thrown towards enemies to explosive effect.
Refer to the Bases table for details.
Additionally, some ingredients do not have an inher-
ent effect on their own and do not behave as other ingre- P REPARATIONS AND E QUIP -
dients. Instead, they act as an amplifier or catalyst for
meta-alchemical effects. Since adjuncts’ special proper- MENT
ties occur on a case-by-case basis, they are naturally dif-
ficult to summarize. Suffice it to say that many unusual Merely collecting an ingredient is only the beginning of
or legendary potions are only craftable through the use producing an alchemical mixture. Before an ingredient
of special adjuncts. can have any useful effects, it must first be made into a
preparation. A preparation is just that: a treatment of
the ingredient, bringing it into a form where its power
I NGREDIENT S TUDY is properly released. More than one type of preparation
might be possible for any given raw ingredient, each re-
In the wilds, you might not have access to apothecaries leasing a different effect. Each preparation has two fea-
or libraries. Therefore it can be difficult to discern the tures: an effect and a potency. The former is what effect

H ERBALISM & A LCHEMY

2
that preparation will contribute to a potion, and the latter D RIED
is a number showing the strength with which it does so. Equipment: none.
Unless specified, producing a preparation requires no
special effort, so no skill check is required. You simply The ingredient is dried in the sun or open air.
need to announce what preparation method you are us-
ing on a raw ingredient, and the preparation automat- E XTRACTED
ically proceeds, provided you have access to the right Equipment: Bottle, Mortar and Pestle. Product: Essence.
equipment. Doing so requires care and precision, so can
only be attempted during a long or short rest. You can The ingredient is placed in high-proof alcohol or simi-
make as many preparations in one hour as your profi- lar solvent. The potency of the ingredient slowly seeps
ciency modifier. into the liquid over a long period of time. A time-
consuming process, essence extractions are nevertheless
one of the most reliable methods of preparing highly po-
Under normal circumstances, the number of doses of tent materials.
preparation produced is equal to the number of doses of
The extraction process requires a sufficiently high qual-
raw ingredient used in its creation.
ity of solvent, one which has been clarified precisely for
this purpose. For each point of final maximum potency,
In order to prepare an ingredient properly, you must you must use 25gp worth of materials. The mixture then
have the requisite equipment. Some equipment is vital acquires one point of potency for every week that passes,
for producing any kind of potion: for instance, specimen starting at 0, up to the maximum potency for that prepa-
bottles and a satchel to store raw ingredients and prepa- ration.
rations, and a mixing flask to combine reagents. Some If desired, you can speed or slow this process. For
other equipment is only necessary for particular prepara- twice as much gold, the potency increase proceeds at
tions, such as an alembic for distilling. You will find that double the rate. For half the gold, halve the rate.
it is impractical to carry a full set of alchemical equipment
when adventuring, as some are either too fragile or to un- F ERMENTED
wieldy to be easily transported or exposed to dangerous
Equipment: Bottle.
situations. Some unique preparations may also require
special equipment or additional reagents. The ingredient is preserved by allowing it to sour,
sometimes in vinegar. The preparation is ready in one
Unless specified otherwise, a preparation lasts indefi- week from its first bottling.
nitely, so may be prepared well in advance of its use
in a potion. F RESH
Equipment: none.
All ingredients are considered fresh when harvested,
but this ingredient is naturally potent and requires no
P REPARATIONS L IST further preparation to be effective. Be warned that most
ingredients, once harvested, will not remain fresh for
B REWED long. Recall that fresh ingredients will decay over a
Equipment: Bottle, Brazier, Flask. Product: Brew. timescale indicated in its information section, e.g. "day"
The ingredient is boiled in water and the solids re- or "week". Items which are naturally potent when fresh
moved. The resultant brew is cooled and bottled for later do not become useless after this amount of time. Instead,
use. for each of these periods that passes, the potency of the
fresh item decreases by one. When it reaches zero, the
item is considered rotten or otherwise unusable – this in-
B URNED cludes using it to make another preparation.
Equipment: Brazier, Crucible. Product: Ash. If you make a preparation with a fresh ingredient that
The ingredient is charred to the point where only a fine has already lost some potency in this way, the potency
ash powder remains. loss is not carried over; the new preparation is made at
full strength.
D ISTILLED
Equipment: Alembic, Bottle, Brazier. Product: Distillate. P OWDERED
Equipment: Quern.
The ingredient is lightly crushed and heated in a small
amount of water. The heat is carefully controlled so that The ingredient is ground to a fine powder without oth-
only the purest part of the material evaporates. erwise changing its composition (with heat, for instance).

H ERBALISM & A LCHEMY

3
 P RESSED M OR TAR AND P ESTLE
Equipment: Bottle, Hand Press. Product: Secretion. A bowl and grinding stick used for crushing, bruising or
The ingredient is placed under high pressure to breaking down ingredients.
squeeze out a small amount of liquid.
P OUCH
S MOKED
A cloth or leather receptacle for storing non-liquid ingre-
Equipment: Brazier. dients.
The ingredient is preserved using smoke, without
burning. Q UERN
A small hand-operated grindstone for bringing ingredi-
S TEAMED ents to a fine powder.
Equipment: Brazier, Flask.
The ingredient is cured through exposure to high- S ATCHEL
temperature steam.
A leather shoulder bag with many small padded com-
partments for safely storing raw ingredients, prepara-
S TEEPED tions, and equipment.
Equipment: Bottle, Mortar and Pestle. Product: Infusion.
The ingredient is placed in water, sealed, and allowed
to infuse slowly. The mixture then acquires one point of T HE B ASICS OF C OMBINATION
potency for every week that passes, starting at 0, up to
the maximum potency for that preparation. If you have acquired raw ingredients and produced suf-
ficient preparations, then you are ready to combine them
together with a base to make a potion. Since this is a del-
E QUIPMENT L IST icate task that requires care and attention, it may only be
attempted during a long or short rest. Each hour, you can
A LEMBIC attempt to produce (at most) a number of potions equal
A fine glass vessel with a long and delicate spout, used to their proficiency modifier.
to separate compounds through distillation.
Any number of preparations may be combined together
into a given potion, but under normal circumstances a
B OTTLE
potion can have only a single effect.
A glass container for storing liquids.
To determine the final effect of the potion, sum the po-
B RAZIER tency scores of all constituent preparations which share
a common effect. The potion acquires only the most po-
A portable dish and stand, made of metal, where a small
tent effect, and any the preparations contributing to other
fire may be lit.
effects are wasted. If two effects are tied for the most po-
tent, the potion acquires no effect. The power and quality
C RUCIBLE of the potion is linked to the potency score of its effect (re-
fer to the Potency in Alchemy table).
A ceramic bowl used for heating ingredients to very high
temperatures.
Under normal circumstances, a maximum of one dose of
each preparation can be usefully added to the mixture.
F LASK Adding more doses of the same preparation does not
increase the potency any further.
A durable container made of thick glass or metal for use
over an open flame.
Any drinkable water can be used as a base, and this
H AND P RESS is assumed to be the case if no other is specified. Such
water is freely available and requires no effort to acquire.
A wooden or metal contraption of plates and screws, However, if you are in an environment where water is
used to apply pressure to an ingredient. scarce, your DM might require you to actively seek out a

H ERBALISM & A LCHEMY

4
P OTENCY IN A LCHEMY
R AW I NGREDIENT
Ingredient Type (Decay Time)
Potency Score Effect Quality
0-2 None Specific harvesting notes (if any).
3-5 Common
6-9 Uncommon Preparation Effect
10-14 Rare Preparation name Effect name (Potency)
15-20 Very Rare
21+ Legendary
Legendary or special ingredient conditions (if any).

clean water source before allowing you to proceed with

brewing the potion.
If you are using a base other than water, then be sure A LDER
to check that it can support the potency of the potion
you are attempting to craft. Different bases have differ- A small to medium tree with serrated leaves. It com-
ent maximum qualities, and the potion’s final potency is monly grows near streams and wetlands, and is associ-
capped at the base’s maximum (so adding further prepa- ated with air and flight.
rations does not increase the final quality, but does in-
crease the creation DC). A LDER B ARK
Some potions are more difficult to create than others.
More potent preparations require more skill to handle ef- Bark (Week)
fectively, and if too many total preparations are added
together the mixture can become unstable in the hands Preparation Effect
of an inexperienced alchemist. You must succeed on an Alder Bark Infusion Cure Poison (2)
Intelligence (Arcana) check or lose the attempt and all its
constituents.
The DC to succeed in making the potion is equal to 8 A LDER C ATKIN
plus the potency of the potion’s effect. In addition, you
Flowers (Day)
can freely combine any number of preparations up to and
including your proficiency bonus, but for every prepara-
tion by which the total number exceeds this, the DC in- Preparation Effect
creases by one. For example, if your proficiency bonus Fermented Alder Catkin Fly (2)
is 3, and you attempt to make a potency 6 (Uncommon)
potion with 4 constituent preparations, the DC is 15.
A SH
POTION CREATION DC
A medium to large deciduous tree with compound
8 + (potency) + (# preps. exceeding proficiency) leaves. It is associated with life and health.

A SH L EAVES
Leaves (Day)
I NGREDIENTS
Preparation Effect
In this section is an incomplete list of sources of raw in- Fresh Ash Leaf Health (1)
gredients, the ingredient types they produce, their proper Ash Leaf Infusion Life (1)
methods of preparation, their effects, and the potency of
those effects. The information is organised in the follow-
ing way:
A SH S AMARA
Fruit (Week)
I NGREDIENT S OURCE
Preparation Effect
Brief notes and extra information. Ash Samara Brew Health (1)

H ERBALISM & A LCHEMY

5
 B ROWN B EAR G IANT O WL
B EAR C LAWS G IANT O WL E YE
Claws (Month) Eye (Day)

Preparation Effect Preparation Effect

Brown Bear Claw Powder Increase Strength (2) Dried Giant Owl Eye Truth (2)

G IANT O WL B RAIN
B UGBEAR Brain (Day)
B UGBEAR B ONE
Preparation Effect
Bone (Year) Giant Owl Brain Essence Increase Wisdom (3)
Preparation Effect
Bugbear Bone Brew Blunting (2)
G IANT T OAD
G IANT T OAD T ONGUE
D IRE W OLF Tongue (Day)

D IRE W OLF F UR Preparation Effect

Hair (Month) Gt. Toad Tongue Infusion Glue (2)
Gt. Toad Tongue Essence Cure Disease (5)
Preparation Effect
Dire Wolf Fur Infusion Resist Cold (2)
Dire Wolf Fur Distillate Etherealness (3) G IANT T OAD S KIN
Skin (Day)

G IANT E AGLE Preparation Effect

Fresh Gt. Toad Skin Increase Constitution (2)
G IANT E AGLE F EATHER Steamed Gt. Toad Skin Resist Acid (2)
Feather (Month)

Preparation Effect H ARPY

Giant Eagle Feather Ash Fly (2)
H ARPY T ALON
Claw (Week)

G IANT E AGLE H EAR T Preparation Effect

Heart (Day) Fermented Harpy Talon Increase Dexterity (2)
Harpy Talon Distillate Esters
Preparation Effect
Fresh Giant Eagle Heart Sharpness (3)
H ARPY B LOOD
Blood (Week)
G IANT O CTOPUS Preparation Effect
Fermented Harpy Blood Increase Charisma (3)
G IANT O CTOPUS T ENTACLE
Flesh (Day)
I VY
Preparation Effect
Gt. Octopus Tentacle Ash Waterbreathing (2) A creeping climber with palmately lobed leaves and
Gt. Octopus Tentacle Brew Glue (2) greenish-black berries. Commonly found growing up
trees, rocky outcrops, or the sides of old buildings.

H ERBALISM & A LCHEMY

6
I VY B ERRIES
Fruit (Week) Preparation Effect
The berries ripen from late winter to mid-spring. Smoked Raven Beak Resist Necrotic (2)

Preparation Effect
Smoked Ivy Berry Increase Charisma (1) R AVEN E YE
Ivy Berry Essence Magic (2)
Eye (Day)

Preparation Effect
I VY L EAVES Raven Eye Secretion Etherealness (1)
Leaves (Day)

Preparation Effect R AVEN F EATHER

Dried Ivy Leaf Climbing (1)
Feather (Week)
Pressed Ivy Leaf Oil
Preparation Effect
Steamed Raven Feather Magic (1)
Ivy growing on a dead yew tree gains, in addition to the
above, Steamed Ivy Stems: Poison (2) (Stem, (Day)).

R UST M ONSTER
O AK R UST M ONSTER F LUID
Bile (Week)
A distinctive large tree with lobed leaves found in decid-
uous forests. Oak is associated with strength and protec- Preparation Effect
tion. Dried Rust Monster Fluid Blunting (3)
Rust Monster Fluid Infusion Toxin
O AK B ARK
Bark (Week)
W ILLOW
Preparation Effect
A deciduous tree which grows near water. Its thin whip-
Dried Oak Bark Resist Bludgeoning (1)
like branches hang downwards, with lanceolate leaves.
Oak Bark Brew Resist Slashing (1)
Smoked Oak Bark Resist Piercing (1)
W ILLOW B ARK
Bark (Week)
A CORN
Seed (Month) Preparation Effect
Fresh Willow Bark Life (1)
Preparation Effect Willow Bark Secretion Health (2)
Powdered Acorn Health (1)
Acorn Ash Increase Strength (1)
W ILLOW S AP
Sap (Week)
Ingredients harvested from an oak tree at midnight dur-
ing a full moon have +1 potency to all effects. Those Preparation Effect
harvested from an ancient oak (1000 years old or older) Fresh Willow Sap Increase Dexterity (1)
have +3 potency to all effects. These bonuses can stack. Willow Sap Ash Spirits

Y EW
R AVEN
A small to medium coniferous tree which prefers moun-
R AVEN B EAK tainous or shady regions. It is associated with death and
Horn (Week) rebirth.

H ERBALISM & A LCHEMY

7
 Y EW R OOTS blindness, deafness, paralysis, poison, a charm, petrifica-
Roots (Week) tion, one curse, one level of exhaustion, one effect reduc-
ing maximum hitpoints, or any reduction to one ability
Preparation Effect score.
Yew Root Secretion Venom These effects do not scale with potency, but note that
Yew Root Distillate Toxin some (such as Cure Petrification) only begin to occur nat-
urally at high potencies, while others (such as Cure Poi-
son) potentially appear at all potencies.
Y EW S EED
Seed (Month)
E LEMENTAL B REATH : (T YPE )
Preparation Effect
Yew Seed Powder Poison Cloud (1) As a bonus action you may exhale a cloud of elemen-
Yew Seed Ash Resist Poison (1) tal power (dealing Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Poi-
son damage as determined by the potion type) at a target
within 30ft of you. The target must make a DC 13 Dex-
terity saving throw, taking 4d6 of the associated damage
E FFECTS (C ONSUMABLES ) type on a failed save and half as much on a successful
one. The effects last for 1 hour or until you have ex-
These are some effects that a consumable potion (using a hausted its charges.
Water base) may have. Drinking such a potion takes an
action. Quality Breath Charges
Common 1
Uncommon 3
C LIMBING Rare 5
Very Rare 7
You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed. Legendary 9
For the duration, you have advantage on Strength (Ath-
letics) checks made to climb.
Quality Duration
Common 1 hour F LY
Uncommon 8 hours
You acquire a fly speed equal to your walking speed, and
Rare 1 day
can hover. The effects last for the duration listed in the
Very Rare 1 week
table. If you are in the air when the effects end, you fall
Legendary 1 month
unless you have some other means of staying aloft.

Quality Duration
C OMPREHEND (L ANGUAGE ) Common 1 round
Uncommon 1 minute
You gain the ability to understand the literal meaning of Rare 10 minutes
one language (as determined by the potion effect) in spo- Very Rare 1 hour
ken form. You also understand any text in the language Legendary 8 hours
provided you are touching the surface it is written on. It
takes about 1 minute to read a page of text.

Quality Duration
Common 1 hour
H EALTH
Uncommon 8 hours
You regain a number of hit points as determined by the
Rare 1 day
values in the table.
Very Rare 1 week
Legendary 1 month Quality Points Healing
Common 2d4+2
Uncommon 4d4+4
C URE (C ONDITION ) Rare 8d4+8
Very Rare 10d4+20
As determined by the effect of the potion, you are cured Legendary 12d4+40
of one of the following effects or conditions: one disease,

H ERBALISM & A LCHEMY

8
I NCREASE (A BILITY ) R ESIST (T YPE )
One of your ability scores (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, You gain resistance to one type of damage (Acid, Blud-
CHA) increases to the specified value for 1 hour. If your geoning, Cold, Fire, Force, Lightning, Necrotic, Piercing,
ability score is already at this value or above, the potion Poison, Psychic, Radiant, Slashing, Thunder) as deter-
has no effect. mined by the potion type.
Quality New Score
Quality Duration
Common 18
Common 10 minutes
Uncommon 21
Uncommon 1 hour
Rare 24
Rare 8 hours
Very Rare 27
Very Rare 1 day
Legendary 30
Legendary 1 week

I NVISIBILITY
WATERBREATHING
You become invisible, along with anything you are wear-
ing or carrying. The effects last for the duration listed in You can breathe underwater.
the table, but end early if you attack or cast a spell.
Quality Duration
Quality Duration Common 10 minutes
Common 1 round Uncommon 1 hour
Uncommon 1 minute Rare 8 hours
Rare 10 minutes Very Rare 1 day
Very Rare 1 hour Legendary 1 week
Legendary 8 hours

L IFE WATER WALK

You acquire a number of temporary hit dice worth of hit For the duration, you may walk on the surface of bodies
points equal to the amount given in the table. These extra of non-magical water as if they were normal terrain.
hit points last 1 hour or until removed by damage (dam-
age removes temporary hit points first). Quality Duration
Common 1 minute
Quality Temporary Hit Points Uncommon 10 minutes
Common +CON (min. 1) Rare 1 hour
Uncommon 1HD+CON Very Rare 8 hours
Rare 2HD+CON Legendary 1 day
Very Rare 3HD+CON
Legendary 4HD+CON

E FFECTS (A PPLICABLES )
M AGIC
These are some effects that an applicable potion (using
You restore number of levels of spell slots equal to the
an Oil base) may have. Such a potion imbues items with
amount given in the table. You may choose how to com-
temporary effects, and is used by pouring it over the item
bine and distribute these recovered levels. For instance, if
in question. Doing so generally takes 1 minute and 1
you recover 3 spell slot levels in this way, you may choose
dose for Medium or smaller objects. Your DM might rule
to recover three first-level slots, one first and one second
that Large or larger objects require as long as 10 minutes
level slot, or one third level slot.
and/or multiple potions to fully coat.
Quality Slot Levels Recovered
Common 1d2
Uncommon 2d2+1 B LUNTING
Rare 3d2+2
Very Rare 4d2+3 Applied to armour, which for 1 hour imposes a penalty
Legendary 5d2+4 on attack and damage rolls from slashing or piercing

H ERBALISM & A LCHEMY

9
 weapons. a potion’s splash effect spreads over a 10-foot radius from
the point of impact.
Quality Penalty
Common -
Uncommon 1
Rare 2 G LUE
Very Rare 3
Legendary 4 A quick-setting glue splashes over all surfaces and items
not being carried within a 10-foot radius of the impact
point. Medium or smaller creatures caught in the splash
E THEREALNESS must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be re-
strained, stuck to the floor. Stuck creatures may use their
Applied to an item or creature, which for the duration action to attempt to break free from the glue, requiring
gains the effects of the etherealness spell (PHB p. 238). success on a Strength (Athletics) check to do so. In ad-
dition, interacting with an affected item (such as picking
Quality Duration it up) requires succeeding on a Strength (Athletics) check
Common 1 minute of the same difficulty.
Uncommon 10 minutes
Rare 1 hour Quality Escape DC
Very Rare 8 hours Common 8+(potency)
Legendary 1 day Uncommon 7+(potency)
Rare 6+(potency)
Very Rare 5+(potency)
S HARPNESS Legendary 4+(potency)

Applied to a piercing or slashing weapon, which for 1

hour gains a bonus to attack and to damage rolls.

Quality Bonus G REASE

Common -
Uncommon 1 Slick grease covers all surfaces and items not being car-
Rare 2 ried within a 10-foot radius of the impact point. The
Very Rare 3 grease lasts for 1 minute, turning the area into difficult
Legendary 4 terrain for the duration. Any creature caught in the
splash, who enters the region, or who ends their turn
within it must make a Dexterity saving throw or fall
T HORNS prone. In addition, interacting with an affected item
(such as picking it up) requires succeeding on a Dexter-
Applied to an item or armour, which for 1 hour causes ity (Acrobatics) or Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check of
piercing damage to any creature which makes a melee the same difficulty, as appropriate.
attack against it. If the attacker succeeds on a Dexterity
saving throw, the damage is halved. Quality Check/Save DC
Common 8+(potency)
Quality Damage, Save DC Uncommon 7+(potency)
Common 1d4, 8+(potency) Rare 6+(potency)
Uncommon 1d6, 7+(potency) Very Rare 5+(potency)
Rare 1d8, 6+(potency) Legendary 4+(potency)
Very Rare 1d10, 5+(potency)
Legendary 1d12, 4+(potency)

P OISON C LOUD
E FFECTS (T HROWABLES )
A stinking poisonous cloud spreads in a 10-foot radius
These are some effects that a throwable potion (using a sphere from the point of impact, heavily obscuring the
Solvent base) may have. To use such a potion, make a area, and spreading around corners. Creatures entering
ranged improvised weapon attack (PHB pp. 147-148) at the cloud or beginning their turn within it must make a
a creature or point on the ground within range. Generally Constitution saving throw, taking the damage listed on a

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10
failed save, or half as much on a successful one. 289) on a failed save. The effect lasts for 10 minutes.

Quality Damage, Save DC Quality Check/Save DC

Common 1d8, 8+(potency) Common 8+(potency)
Uncommon 3d8, 7+(potency) Uncommon 7+(potency)
Rare 5d8, 6+(potency) Rare 6+(potency)
Very Rare 7d8, 5+(potency) Very Rare 5+(potency)
Legendary 9d8, 4+(potency) Legendary 4+(potency)

E FFECTS (S PECIAL )
E FFECTS (P OISONS ) This section includes bases, adjuncts, and meta-
alchemical effects. Bases behave differently to standard
A consumable potion with a potentially detrimental ef- preparations in that their effects do not scale with po-
fect is called a poison, though their effects need not be tency. Instead, different bases have different maximum
directly damaging to the consumer. The difference be- potencies that they can support. A potion must have a
tween "poisons" and water-based "consumables" is that base whose maximum potency is as least as high as the
a poison generally allows a saving throw to resist the ef- potency of the mixture. If you attempt to make a potion
fects – though a creature may deliberately fail this save with a base that is too weak to support your mixture, then
if they choose to. Forcing an unwilling creature who is the potency of the potion is automatically reduced by the
not restrained or incapacitated to drink a poison requires minimum amount necessary so that the base can support
a success on a contested Strength (Athletics) check. Your it. The DC of the potion creation check is not reduced in
DM may rule that creatures significantly larger or smaller kind, however.
than Medium feel the effects of a poison differently, as
if the potion were effectively one quality level lower or
higher respectively. B ASE : O IL
Oils and greases create potions which may be applied to
weapons, armour, and other equipment. If you apply
such a potion to a type of item for which its effects are
P OISON not intended (such as applying Oil of Sharpness to ar-
mour), the effects are wasted, though your DM may rule
A classic – tried and true. If you drink this potion you differently in certain cases.
take an initial amount of poison damage and must suc-
ceed on a Constitution saving throw or be poisoned, as Name Maximum Quality
given in the table. If poisoned, on each of your subse- Oil Common
quent turns you are damaged again in this way, and may Grease Uncommon
attempt another saving throw. For each successful save, Ointment Rare
the damage is reduced by one die. The effect ends when Resin Very Rare
the damage per round decreases to 0. Unguent Legendary

Quality Damage, Save DC

Common 3d4, 8+(potency)
Uncommon 3d6, 7+(potency) B ASE : S OLVENT
Rare 3d8, 6+(potency)
These are volatile compounds which can react violently
Very Rare 3d10, 5+(potency)
when treated roughly. They are used to create potions
Legendary 3d12, 4+(potency)
which explode when thrown against a hard surface, re-
leasing effects over an area.

Name Maximum Quality

Spirits Common
T RUTH Esters Uncommon
Sals Rare
Anyone who drinks this potion must make a Constitu- Naphtha Very Rare
tion saving throw, becoming unable to tell a deliberate Alcahest Legendary
lie as if under the effects of the zone of truth spell (PHB p.

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 B ASE : V ENOM DESIGN STATEMENT
Some negative effects may be transmitted via an oiled I wanted this system to feel "authentic" for what we
blade or by explosive draught, but the most powerful imagine proper storybook alchemy to be – which is some-
and deadly poisons must be consumed by the intended thing different again from just the bare standard RPG
victim. alchemy; A + B = C. This means depth, and it means
a sense of mystery and power. I expect that the system
Name Maximum Quality
will be perhaps overwhelming for new users! I expect
Venom Common
that, just as a junior alchemist might, these players will
Toxin Uncommon
latch onto one or two known preparations and tenta-
Ichor Rare
tively dip a toe out from there every now and again. I
Vitriol Very Rare
expect that no character, even high level ones, will have
Acrimon Legendary
a complete picture of ingredients and effects. Finally, I
expect that, just as with "real" alchemy, only those who
are dedicated to expanding their knowledge will unlock
B ASE : WATER its full potential – only those characters who carefully
record their thoughts and experiences (this extends to
Water is different from other bases in that there is no max- the players!).
imum potency for any water and no hierarchy of wa- Now, herbalists and alchemists in the world are armed
ter bases. Some different ways in which water may be with valuable knowledge that the players don’t possess.
treated prior to use, or different sources for drawing wa- They could also find a grubby scrap of paper with a
ter, will change how the water behaves when mixed. couple of arcane-sounding ingredients hastily scribbled
on it which, besides being super atmospheric, is actually
informative. Each new ingredient, preparation, or effect
D ISEASED F LESH discovered will feel like a win. At the same time, the
Including a small amount of flesh from a creature af- hope and dream is that the system is also interesting
flicted with a non-magical disease into your potion im- and useful enough not to be boring. There are enough
bues it with virulence. Anyone who interacts with the effects and preparations to give a DM utility for creating
liquid other than yourself (such as someone consuming something on the fly as in-game rewards.
the liquid, applying it as an oil, or caught in the splash Magic (and by association, alchemy) is powerful, mys-
of a thrown potion) must succeed on a Constitution sav- terious, and should be presented as such. I want my
ing throw or be infected with the disease. The DC for the players to get excited when they discover something new
save is 8 plus your Intelligence (Arcana) or Intelligence about it for themselves, and so my world needs a baseline
(Nature) bonus (your choice). from which that can happen.

D ISTILLED WATER
• Occam’s Razor. If a mechanic or part of a mechanic
For the purposes of timing, making one dose of distilled already exists in the game, don’t add another one.
water counts as producing a preparation, and requires Always look to reduce the extra complication for
an alembic, bottle, and brazier. Using distilled water as a the players. For instance, the proficiency bonus is
base gives a flat +1 bonus to the potency of any effect. a number which scales with level. Tie all level-
dependent effects to this number. If you have sim-
ilar effects which scale with this number in different
S PRING WATER ways, collapse them into one. What you might lose
in realism you gain in playability.
If an effect has a duration which is not dependent on po-
tency, then a potion with that effect lasts twice as long if
• Consistent Utility. A mechanic should have the
brewed with spring water. This increases the creation DC
same amount of utility to a 1st level character as to
by 2.
a 20th character. "Amount of utility" here means ac-
cess to effects which are proportionate to one’s level.

DM’ S T OOLKIT • Respectful Balance. A new mechanic which intro-

duces new features to the game should be roughly as
If you want to create any new rules, or modify existing powerful as the other mechanics that already exist.
ones, here are the basic principles of mechanic design Do this by ensuring that the quality and value of new
that were held in mind (or were attempted to be held in items and new effects granted to players are compa-
mind) whilst creating this document: rable to those already available to them at their level.

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M ONSTER CR AND P OTENCY P LANT R ARITY AND P OTENCY
Monster CR Suggested Potency Plant Rarity Suggested Max Potency
<1 1 Common 1
1-4 1-3 Uncommon 2-3
5-8 2-4 Rare 4
9-12 3-5 Very Rare 5-6
13-16 4-6 Legendary 7+
17-20 5-7
21-24 6-8
25-28 7-9
29-32 8-10 P OTENCY F ROM P LANTS
It is harder to gauge what potency should be attached
to ingredients which come from plants, as they don’t
• Versatile Flavour. Each DM and party of PCs is dif- have a handy challenge rating with which to scale them.
ferent. The mechanics should be able to be used and It is strongly suggested than any mundane, commonly-
abused, mixed and matched, in a variety of ways. available plants almost always have a maximum potency
DMs should be able to add or drop parts of the rules of 1. Preparations which require time, gold, or equip-
as the see fit. They should also be able to tell their ment should on average have higher potencies, however.
own story with your mechanics, not just yours – you Potency should increase with plant rarity, but it is gen-
should leave as much room as possible within your erally less hazardous to harvest from flora than from
work for others to add their own storytelling flavour. flora, so the increase should be less severe. It is up to
you to determine how rare or difficult to acquire a plant
is, but keep in mind that with the maximum potencies
The three-step process of alchemy presented here is,
suggested in the table Plant Rarity and Potency it takes
admittedly, a little complicated - or has the potential to
exactly three different preparations of a given rarity to
be. As a DM, it’s up to you to gauge what aspects of
make a potion of the corresponding quality (compare to
this alchemy system are appropriate to include in your
the Potency in Alchemy table for potion qualities based
game. You might decide to drop the harvesting check, the
on potency).
equipment requirements, the creation DC, or anything
else that you find inconvenient.
P OTENCY F ROM O THER
C REATING N EW I NGREDIENTS This alchemy system does not include ingredients from
non-living sources. This is because the it is intended to
The ingredients presented here are extremely minimal, be a partner to an enchanting system, which does. You
and only meant to provide inspiration for DMs who want are of course welcome to develop your own non-living
to include this alchemy system in their game. alchemy ingredients. It is suggested that you more or less
follow the Plant Rarity and Potency table for balancing
these ingredients to the system.
P OTENCY F ROM C REATURES
The potency of an ingredient should roughly scale with C HOOSING E FFECTS
the challenge rating (CR) of a monster. The ingredients
presented in this introduction adhere to the guidelines For ingredients from creatures, try and choose or create
outlined in the table CR and Potency. This is more or less effects which match their distinctive abilities. Look not
a range of three centered around the proficiency bonus of only to their ability scores but to their traits and spe-
a monster with that CR, as outlined in the 5th Edition cial actions. As noted, their CR give a useful indica-
Monster Manual (p8). tion of what potency range is appropriate. Plants are
It is suggested that you avoid creating ingredients of harder to choose for, but with a little consideration can
potency more than 10. It only takes two preparations of be made thematically appropriate. You might use real-
that strength to nearly reach legendary quality potions, world plants, in which case you can look at their histori-
and only a single preparation to make a rare quality po- cal, real-world associations (strength from oak, etc). You
tion. Granted, one must kill and harvest from an ex- might make fantasy-sounding versions of these plants
tremely powerful creature to do so, but this just means but keep their real-world associations, if you prefer to
that higher-potency preparations would have to come keep alchemy strictly magical – "High Oak", etc. You
from creatures of CR more than 32 (ludicrously strong) might make up completely new plants just for your game
if the level scaling is preserved. if you prefer.

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13
 E FFECT Q UALITY BY S PELL L EVEL
Spell Level (min) Suggested Quality
0-2 Common
2-4 Uncommon
4-6 Rare
6-8 Very Rare
8-9 Legendary

C REATING N EW E FFECTS
The effects list is deliberately incomplete, and might even
contain entries undesirable for your game. Of course you
are in control of what alchemical properties exist in your
own game world, so feel free to add or remove as needed.
In creating new effects, here are a few guidelines for fit-
ting them into this system in a balanced way.

S CALING AN E FFECT
Try to create an effect that can be scaled depending on
the quality of a potion. If dice are involved, change the
number of dice, the die type, or the modifier. If a timed
effect occurs, consider changing the duration - but keep
the intervals simple: one round, one minute, one hour,
etc. If a base numerical effect occurs, simply vary the
amount.
Deciding which potion quality corresponds to what
level of effect can be difficult. If you want to create an
effect that matches or partially matches a spell in the
Player’s Handbook, you are in luck. Look at the min-
imum spell slot level required to cast it. This number
gives an indication of how powerful its base effect is,
which tells us roughly what kind of potion quality it cor-
responds to. Refer to the table Effect Quality by Spell
Level for details. Note there is a bit of overlap, because
spell strengths are a little blurry at times, so please use
your judgement. From here it is just a matter of choosing
what part of the spell to vary with potion quality. Ac-
tually, try and keep the same-level potion a little weaker
than the corresponding spell as this offsets not needing
to expend a spell slot to use it.

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14