Alchemy An explanation of basic alchemical techniques By Leolanthas the Warrior Mage 

Disclaimer: This is not an official Simutronics document, and represents my own thoughts and opinions. All statements are as of 6/22/97 when the alchemical system is under improvement by GM Gonk. DragonRealms and all of its official information are the property of Simutronics, Inc.

Foreword:

Alchemy is the art of using and manipulating herbs for the purpose of healing. We haven’t reached the full potential of the system and it still needs much improvement and refinement. As of this time, I know not of an incredible number of people that actually practice alchemy. It is a passing hobby for some, a passion for others, but it is a tool of self-sufficiency. Ye shan’t become rich, or even make any money off of it, but that is not the point. If ye be looking for a quick way to make money, try skinning Giant Wolf Spiders, but don’t try to peddle herbs. Again, it is a tool of self-sufficiency; it also could help save a life, perhaps thine own, but not for the feint of heart or patience.

Purpose:

This is not an all-encompassing guide to alchemy. It will discuss basic alchemical procedures, as well as the needs of an alchemist, both in skills and equipment. Alchemy is a great tool for self-healing, but I consider it also a bit of a puzzle, of which you must experiment for yourself with. I will not tell you all I know of alchemy, for that would ruin the surprise, but this guide will get you on your way to becoming an alchemist. There is limited in-game reference to alchemy and is therefore something that has been explored by players mostly and as such is where I learned most of what I know of alchemy. (Suggestion: read the ‘alchemy’ message board, great source of information).

Skills and Requirements:

Well, being plenty experienced in this field, I would have to say that there are no minimum skill requirements or abilities. Although fair amounts of skill in foraging and mechanical lore are both helpful and will develop upon the beginning of the use of alchemy, the only true requirement is the desire to explore and learn of herbs. It is not just something that can be fully utilized without in-depth experiments, plenty of time and coins, plenty of patience, and the desire to see it work. For anyone that has an overall lore requirement or mechanical lore requirement, this is one of the fastest ways to get mechanical lore/overall lore (second only to Musical lore). Another good thing to have is a decent stamina score, for much of the alchemical equipment, as are most of the herbs, is fairly bulky (albeit a handy vault can remedy this situation). Almost everything ye do with alchemy, save eating thine herbs, shall improve with thy foraging or mechanical lore skills. However, do not take up alchemy, and expect it to work for you, solely the sake of learning mechanical lore or foraging. If ye do thou shalt be disappointed in thy endeavors. Both of those skills are intertwined with alchemy, and alchemy is a good way of gaining those, but there are other options (although for rangers, not many)

THE Basics:

Alchemy is dependent on finding your own raw materials. In fact, alchemy is the use of raw materials to save the trouble of buying it. Almost everything that you can make in alchemy can also be purchased somewhere else, and some things to come (hopefully) in alchemy can be bought already (namely, scar healing herbs). The most basic thing you will do with alchemy is heal yourself or others using herbs. It is not as simple as it seems, and t’were it to be as simple as "you eat herb ‘x’, body part ‘y’ is healed" it would be fairly disappointing indeed. A large part of the joy of alchemy is discovery of what does what, and with Gonk on the job, I doubt that we will ever run out of things to discover, so I will disclose to ye the basics of the alchemical system.

Potency:

Well, this is something that will affect ye from the beginning, even though ye might not know it. When you take a bite out of an herb, ye will get either a ‘You feel a slight tingling sensation which quickly passes’ message or no message at all (besides the ‘you eat a portion of <said herb>). If ye get no message, ye need only wait a few seconds for the herb to work it’s way through thy system or into the wound (depending on method of application) and ye shalt feel better (depending on the herb, this is the time that ye count thy blessings that it actually worked). If you get a slight tingling throughout thy body, the herb was, for on of many reasons, not enough to help out (either ye ate not enough of the herb, the wrong part or filler parts, or it was just plain to moist and diluted, etc.). Ye should probably eat some more of the herb, or ye should (depending on the herb) throw it into thy wayerd pyramid for a short while longer. If, my any chance, ye should feel better, but ye feel nauseous instead, that means that ye have made an error with the choice of herbs and have nae a wound there that can be affected by that herb (or Gonk’s tinkerings are affecting it somehow). My only advice is, unless ye like that felling of nausea, not to consume any more of it until ye be more injured (which isn’t to say you should go out and TRY to get injured . . .) ::ponders Iamafanaticalalchemist approaching a rock troll and saying ‘hurteth me!’::

Equipment:

Ahh yes, the ever-present question of ‘What will I need to be an alchemist?’. Well, before I being, I state that usage of all items will be covered in the next section of this work, so fear not. All items are also attainable at Chizili’s Alchemical Goods shop on Guildleaf Circle (somewhere between the Empath’s guild, the Paladin’s guild, and the Cleric’s Guild, ye cannae miss the place, as there is a constant stream of noxious odors permeating the general viscinity)

First and foremost- a Mortar and Pestle- No true alchemist can call himself that without these two basic, multi-purpose, and all around useful (yet heavy) items. Normally I keep my pestle in my mortar when I am not using it, as well as most of the rest of my alchemical tools (a mortar is quite large). Combined they will cost ye a bit over a gold kronar, but are well worth it. Using them ye can crush items into a pulp or a powder, which is the basis for making salves and potions.

The next two most important items are the Jar and Mixing stick- There are many types of jars, but I would recommend a small jar to start with, and I leave my mixing stick in it when I am not using it. If in need of space, I just put them into my mortar (they fit nicely) when not using them, which isn’t a bad arrangement. Neither are very expensive, and combined should nae cost ye more than a few silver.

Catalysts and Water- Both necessary to complete the repritoire of a brewer of potions, they are both expendables, and can become somewhat costly if store-bought. Catalysts can be foraged for, and water can be obtained by getting a closeable container (I believe the wooden barrel from Kaerna or Arthe works, as doth the silver vial from the Cleric Shop in the crossing, or if ye be short on money, a coffer or chest will do) and visiting the Town Green North East or the Vats in the Cleric’s guild and ‘fill <closeable object> with water’ and ye have some nifty water to use. Seolarn Weed be a good forageable catalyst (best near the ‘dead vilt stalks’ in the Zalfung Swamp, Near Riverhaven), as is Glaysker Flower (found near Jadice flowers), but Glaysker needs to be dried, and is a poor catalyst compared to seolarn weed. (My personal preference is the store-bought Dracon Powder, which if you ‘BREAK’ it gives ye another dose of it, so far, I have never run out of the powder from my one that I bought so long ago). I believe water only costs a few coppers and Dracon Powder costs but around half a gold coin.

The Wayerd Pyramid- Ahh, ‘tis a find and nifty device. Costing ye around two gold coins at Chizili’s shop (convenient that he she seems to be the only one selling these devices, isn’t it? ::Ponders asking Chizili if she would pay him for advertising her products::). It focuses the sun’s rays into a narrow beam and uses that to dry out certain herbs to make them more potent (not all herbs are more potent when dried).

Ulanchi Bucket and Portable Stove- Well, here is where the great extent of my knowledge of alchemical devices ends. Not only do I hear that they weigh as much as a ton of bricks, but they also have minimal uses (and being short of funds right now, I hath not the resources to experiment with them). I know that ye can boil water in a closeable container with a stove and freeze liquids into solids in the bucket, but that be most of what I know. They also be fairly costly, from what I hear.

Procedures:

Crushing: The usage if fairly simple, put the item to be crushed (as it is not limited to crushing herbs) into the mortar, get the pestle in one hand, mortar in other, and ‘Crush <item> in Mortar with Pestle’. It may take a few tries, but eventually you will have a crushed item in thy mortar (a bit of mechanical lore exp. to go along with it). Any other quirks of these two devices, I leave to ye to find out.

Drying: Ye find a sunny day (make sure the sun is out and it is daytime), put a few dryable herbs into it, drop it on the ground (I also recommend ‘guard’ing it, as to keep thieves from running off with thy 1800 kronar device), close it up, and wait for it to hum (upon doing so, thy mechanical lore will skyrocket). I also recommend finding a secluded spot for this, as there are still ways of grabbing thy pyramid, even if ye were guarding it. It usually hums approximately once per minute, and when thy mechanical lore comes down from dazed (i.e. stops going up with the hums), that is generally when you can tell that all the herbs inside are dry as they can be.

Brewing Potions: Ahh, at last! I now will talk, in detail, of the steps necessary to take thy raw herb, and create a wondrous potion or salve with which ye can heal thyself with ::ponders Empaths adapting the saying to "Alchemist, heal thyself"::

The first step to brewing is to forage up a raw herb for thyself, the herbs and where to find them will be covered later, the herb itself is the basis for the potion/salve. Second is to create a pulp or powder of it using a mortar and pestle, this will give it the necessary consistency in order to mix with the catalyst and water, which are the next two steps- acquire water and a catalyst (both are described previously), although a warning should be stated here: *if ye use pourable water from the trough in the town green or the vats in the cleric’s guild, ye get a pourable potion*, which means if ye use water from those two sources, you have to provide thy own container, which might be simpler just to buy water from Chizili which comes in it’s own container and ye needn’t worry about the whole mess (of course, you could drink your potion right out of the container, but that container is basically useless until the potion is gone). Catalyst strength is also a matter of concern, Glaysker is weak, and a number of herbs refuse to combineth with it, Seolarn weed is strong enough too work with all but Eghmok moss to make a potion, and the store-bought ones have no restriction to use. Remember that you MUST crush you catalyst before it can be used to create a potion. The last step in brewing thy potion is to put the water (pourable or not), catalyst, and herb (both crushed) into thy jar, get a mixing stick, and ‘mix the water in my jar with my mixing stick’. It may take a few tries to get it to bond, but if it says something to the effect of ‘the catalyst caused no reaction’ something is wrong, but I leave it to ye to find out what (look back through the previous steps, the problem should be somewhere in there).

Herbs:

Well, now that ye know of potency, procedures, equipment, and requirements, I shall now delve into the herbs themselves and my observations (as with the rest of this text, this is a good part opinion, so I would feel free to correct or dispute anything presented here)

Georin Grass- Ahh yes, Georin grass, probably the first herb ye can find. As such (grass) it is basically a bit tastier yak food. Yet when made into a salve, it is a good remedy for those wounds inflicted upon thy neck. Although some people eat the stuff, personally, I find it revolting, and it serves the same purpose if rubbed upon the neck. It is extremely easy to find, and is abundant in many places, especially along the Grimsage Way, near the Warrior Mage guild. I have not used this herb for the simple fact that Nemoih root (the next herb) heals both Head AND Neck wounds and therefore is a two-in-one herb, although this salve might be better to carry around because it is more potent than it the root.

Nemoih Root- A rather large and interesting herb. In it’s natural state it is best. It heals external head and neck wounds, from scuffings to, well, It has helped out when my head was in pretty bad shape, so I don’t think there is really an upper limit on how much damage can be healed. Again, as I said the herb is big, and I mean big, second only to the Plovik. As for taste, this large herb is also one of the most bitter ones (go figure- ye have to eat nearly the entire herb before it works and it is also not very appetizing). Well, as my Father hath said often, the worse it tastes, the better ‘tis for thee. It can be crushed into a pulp or dried and turned into a powder, or brewed into a potion, but all of these alternatives reduce potency, and as such would not be the best of thy alternatives to do with thy spare. It is a fairly easily recognizable herb, and as such, can be found easily near the Warrior Mage guild outside the Northeast gate, as well as many other areas.

Yelith Root- Another herb, one I have not used too much. It mends the insides of thy arms, in its natural state it is best, as far as I can tell. I have found it readily in most areas that I have found Nemoih Root, yet I believe it is a bit smaller and more resilient than it’s counterpart. An interesting quirk I hath noticed is that ‘Yelith root’ brews into ‘Nemoih Potion’ . . . an interesting bug indeed!

Jadice Flower- The next herb ye generally will find on the foraging ladder, this herb will heal the external wounds on thy arms (not ‘limbs’ as quoted by the book in the infirmary, although the illustrious GreatMage, Gonk, has promised to fix that). I have noticed that it is a much smaller herb than either of the aforementioned roots, barely 1/10 of the size of the Nemoih root, but almost every mouthful will count with this herb when dried (when not it is almost useless). Brewing ‘Jadice Potion’ gives ye noting more than a fairly bland liquid. Ye can find it first in the Arthe Dale communal gardens, the clearing in wolf clan, and the dense forest (cougars) near wolf clan, albeit a bit tougher to find than Nemoih or Yelith.

Plovik Leaf- This is undoubtedly THE largest, and probably least potent herb. It is good for helping those nasty chest wounds, Although I have spend a good deal of time eating it before it does much, and nae know of any who have done extensive studies upon the herb. It seems to get more potent near the end of the leaf, as again, a huge herb. There are no known ways of noticeably improving it’s potency, although drying it should help, I have never seen it made into a powder. Although it does make a tasteful herbal tea, it does have quite an aftertaste. As far as I have seen, it is first forageable in the dense forest near wolf clan, although I hath not tried much in the Clearing in Wolf Clan.

Riolur Leaf- Riolur is the Plovik as Yelith is to Nemoih. An herb I have not tested much for it’s herbal properties much, although it is rumored to heal everything from thy nervous system (twitching has been confirmed as something NOT deal with by it), to thy brain (drain brammage?), to thy throat or neck. All rumors aside, It makes a tasty herbal tea, and is also great for sore or dry throats, so I tend to keep some Riolur tea upon me at most times. I would assume it comes about in the same places as Plovik Leaves, but I have such little need for it as an herb, and I nae make many speeches (well, at least I don’t yet), so that which I find lying around is usually enough to support my need for this herb.

Nilos Grass- Ahh, more glorified yak fodder. Useless in it’s natural state, but again, can be made into a salve, which helps out with those nasty abdomen wounds. I hath not experimented with it much, but it seems about the same potency and size as Georin salve, but not as potent as dried Jadice flower. This is one herb I hath never tried ingesting, always instead opting for rubbing it upon the wound directly, mainly for the fact that I have not been able to forage for it yet, although I hear the wolf clan clearing is good, but ye need to knoweth at least 40 ranks in the ways of foraging to be able to distinguish it from normal grasses. Again, I hath not acquired a ‘feel’ for this herb, as I rarely have had occasion or supply to use it.

Hulnik Grass- I doubt I need to say it, but t’would be a waste to feed this grass to a trader’s pet, for it is the one grass I know of that is useable as foraged ::gasps from the audience::. Although from what I have heard, I must assume that it is as useful as Jadice flower, as impotent when undried, and as potent when dried, but I have never successfully used this herb, so I can nae say much of it. Again, from what I hath heard, it is supposedly found in the same places at Nilos grass as well as along the Journulai Trade route (rock trolls), although Bezyan the Ranger might be on better authority to say so.

Junliar Stem- Hmmm. . . . well, frankly, being a Warrior Mage (and survival being tietary skill group for us), I have not acquired enough experience with herbs to pick out this stem among others, although it is supposed to heal internal back wounds. I hath dabbled with it once, when I found one lying on the ground, and it did heal my insides as supposed to, with a pleasant, peppery taste, but as of late I hear that it has been doing some weird things (as have a few internal-healing herbs). The only place that hath sprung into my mind as a place to forage for it seems to be the Fallow Fields, near Shard, but thou might forage about along the Grimsage Way or in the Arthe dale gardens (again, not sure).

Blocil Berries- Well, these berries are quite tasty, but not very useful as such. When brewed into a potion, they make a moderately potent (I believe, but again, not much experience), yet still fairly tasty, remedy for those hits that rattle thy brain and bruise thy chin, although as of late, it has been a little sporadic in it’s healing abilities. ::shrugs:: I have not had much experience with this herb either (as you will see with most advanced, internal-healing herbs), as it is not for the feint of foraging, and it an elusive herb. For ideas as to where to find it. . . I have none. Of guesses, I would say to try the Arthe Dale garden or the Wolf Clan clearing, but again, Bezyan would be the one to ask about it.

Eghmok Moss- Well, this is a deceptively hard moss to spot, or so I hath heard, being so much alike to many other, more common mosses. It can be made into a potion to help with internal neck wounds, but I hear that it is the one herb that defies both the small jar and seolarn weed as containers to mix it in and catalyst to bond it with. (if ye be befuddled with that, hang on, for I shalt explain later). Pretty much this is where my knowledge of it stops, but ye might try the Fallow Fields to find some of this rare herb, for I know not much of it’s whereabouts (or even what it looks like, as of yet).

Ithor ???- Yes, that’s right! We hath no clue as to what the root herb of Ithor Potion is, or if someone doth know, they talk of it not. My assumption is that it is an unforageable, or hasn’t been implemented as a forageable, although it is very possible that it is EXTREMELY hard to find (i.e. over 100 ranks in the ways of foraging). Enough on it’s unfindablility, if ye do happen to go to one of the find herb shops of the realms, ye can purchase it, and it is a fine potion to help out with bruisings and swellings of the chest (as well as greater wounds), and probably handy to have around, but being unforageable, and me not one to pay for herbs (empaths do just as good, and Tim the healer or Kaiva are probably less expensive), I have never experienced it, nor have I ever seen someone with one, for that matter. (although an extremely unsubstantiated rumor puts Ithor as a moss. . . if it is forageable, that is probably what I would start looking for it as).

Muljin Sap- Ahh, another victim of the incomplete alchemy system. It is supposed to help those internal abdomen wounds, but as it IS forageable, the foraged version does as much (if not less) than fresh Jadice Flower, which is nothing. However, the store-bought version does work quite well, or so I hear. That is just about all I know of this herb, perhaps someone else could help ye with it.

Sufil Sap- Yes, since we be up to the list of bugged herbs, wondrous Sufil Sap falls in that category too. It is a great herb that heals thy external eyes, but is unforageable. As far as I know it has never been foraged for, although that is not as bad as it might seem, for most bipedal critters carry the stuff (especially goblins- whenever I need some more of this herb, I take a stroll in goblins, usually some lying on the ground that someone doesn’t want). ‘Tis a sweep herb, with a bit of an aftertaste, yet it falls in the mid-range of potency. Never had to eat too much of it, and it is not so impotent that it is noticeable. As stated before, it is not forageable (or there are no known people to have foraged for it).

Well, as you will notice, there are a few discrepancies upon this that might need some explaining. First off, all herbs that heal scars are un-forageable. End of questions on that, so if you seen something that heals scars, it was purchased at an herbalist’s shop. Second, there is no known herb to heal thy internal eye wounds, therefore making that one of the body parts that can nae be healed by herbs right now, along with ‘skin’ wounds (again, no herb known of), as well as hands and legs (Jadice Flower is *supposed* to, but doesn’t. Gonk has stated that that is a bug). Also, ye might hear people using the herb Lavender. ‘Tis an easily foraged herb with no _documented_ effect, although many people swear by it as a vitality helper. My personal view is it prevents vitality loss (at least a bit) or is just a placebo. Blue flower has the same supposed effect on Harness Points.

Author's Note:  Due to time constraints, I was unable to add the appendixed listes that are present in the other version of this document, please see that document for the list of herbs and the transcript of the alchemical meeting.