A Sampling of Alchemical Substances
Brain spider
Potions (P):When you speak, your brain literally hums and vibrates with psionic radiance. Anybody who hears you can understand your speech—even if you don’t share a language—because the meaning of your words is psychically broadcast.
Bomb (B): The bomb explodes into a silver web that covers the victim, Rooting them. This silver web also affects incorporeal creatures.
Oil (O): The chemicals in the brain spider’s spinnerets form a powerful glue. For a watch, this glue sticks two things inseparably together.
Cockatrice
Bomb (B): Cockatrices devour their petrified victims using a special stone-dissolving gland in their throat. Distill this gland to create this bomb. The bomb creates a blast of smoke that has one of the following effects depending on the target:
Destroys an item made of stone roughly the size of a person.
Melts a hole in a larger stone item, such as a stone door.
Deals Critical damage to a creature made of stone like a gargoyle or animate statue.
Oil (O):Whatever stone this oil touches becomes fleshy. Pouring the oil onto a petrified creature permanently cures the Curse of petrification. It also makes stone walls gross.
Devil
Potions (P): You are now immune to fire for a watch. Your gear is still affected normally.
Bomb (B): The victim is Controlled to confess their gravest sin.
Oil (O): This oil burns with an invisible fire. It casts no light but generates heat, like an ethanol fire in daylight.
This fire acts like a normal fire, consuming flammable items of wood, cloth, paper, etc.
If you dip a metal weapon (like a sword) into it, it burns as hot as a torch but sheds no light. Your weapon suffers a Notch, but your attacks might be especially deadly to creatures who are weak to fire.
The fire is not quenched by water. It can only be quenched by smothering.
Face rat
Potions (P): An illusion covers you that makes you look like a duplicate of the first creature you see after drinking this potion. This illusion lasts for a watch.
Illusions are purely visual, like a hologram.
Creatures that are not affected by illusions can see through this effect.
Bomb (B): A face rat’s saliva rapidly grows dermis, which is used to create this bomb. The target’s ears, eyes, and mouth are immediately covered in skin: they are Blinded, Deafened, and Silenced. Each effect must be Recovered from separately; one Recover cures Blind, one Recover action cures Deafen, etc.
Fungoid
Potion (P): You are immediately Healed. Tiny mushrooms sprout on your skin where your wounds once were.
Bomb (B): The bomb explodes into a choking cloud of spores. Assuming the target breathes, they cough so badly they are Exhausted. This effect lasts until the victim performs a Recover action.
Oil (O): A thick patch of huge mushrooms sprout wherever the oil is poured. The top card of the minor arcana discard pile determines the type of mushrooms:
: giant inky cap (edible, poisonous with alcohol)
: giant destroying angel (very poisonous)
: giant hen of the woods (edible)
: giant shrieker (magical, screams like an air raid siren)
Griffin
Potion (P): The lion is the king of beasts but the griffin is the king of birds. When you drink this potion, a dungeon bird will seek you out, arriving in a watch or so. The dungeon bird will tell you a rumor.
These are similar to the rumors you hear in the City (City Events).
Dungeon birds look like owls but are not owls. The owls are not what they seem.
Oil (O): The tear ducts of the griffin are harvested to create this oil. It cleans anything it touches. Rust, minor flaws, impurities, and filth slide off and vanish. This can be used to take an impromptu “dungeon bath.”
Harpy
Potion (P): Your arms become wings for a watch. You can fly but can’t hold anything. You cannot hover and must continue flying to stay in the air.
Bomb (B): The target suffers the Inspire distaste in its victim. The victim hates the first creature they see. Lasts for a watch. Creatures that do not feel emotions are not affected by this alchemy.
Imp
Potion (P): You vomit and are cured of any poisons or alchemical effects. During Challenges, you are also Exhausted until you take the Recover action.
Bomb (B): You don’t want to know what part of the imp is used to create this bomb. The target is covered in a terrible stink. They are Stunned as they choke and cough. If they are an adventurer, they are also Stressed until they can wash off.
Oil (O): Whatever this oil touches becomes utterly frictionless. If poured out, it creates a slippery puddle with a 10’ diameter.
Jinn
Potion (P): This potion is made from the jinn’s smokeless fire. When you drink it, you become Shrouded. You can also see all Shrouded creatures. However, this effect ends as soon as you interact with a visible object.
A Shrouded creature is impossible to see without the aid of magic or special senses. Typically, if a Shrouded creature stands still and stays quiet, they cannot be deliberately targeted by creatures that can’t see them.
If the Shrouded creature moves, those nearby may have a vague sense of their presence. All attempts to target them are made with disfavor.
Bomb (B): Derived from the eyes of the jinn, this bomb explicitly affects intangible creatures. Intangible creatures are forced into the material realm, making them both visible and tangible.
Oil (O): When poured onto the ground, this oil opens a fiery hole in reality. Anyone that enters it is teleported to the City, rocketing out of a manhole. A City Phase begins. This portal is open for about one minute.
Kelpie
Potion (P): Gills etch themselves on your neck, like the Mariner from Waterworld. You can breathe underwater for a watch.
Oil (O): The kelpie walks on water using a secretion in its hooves. Whatever this oil touches rejects water for a watch.
If poured onto water, this potion forms an island of oil about 10’ in diameter—the island is soft but sturdy enough to be used as a platform.
If an object is covered in the oil, it will not sink no matter what—it can’t even be pushed forcibly under water.
If you pour this on your boots, you can walk on water for a watch.
Mimic
Potion (P): You can talk to objects for the next three minutes in real time (use a stopwatch).
Objects know a lot about the tasks they were created to perform.
Spears regularly quote Sun Tzu, mugs can tell you a liquid’s alcohol content, etc.
Objects know a lot about what they’ve done.
Swords know who they’ve killed; doors have a good description of people who have opened them, etc.
Objects usually don’t know about a lot else.
If you give the GM a beer, the object is particularly talkative. You can talk to the object for as long as the GM is drinking your beer.
Oil (O): If smeared on a non-living object, that object instantly becomes a mimic. The mimic is not loyal to you in any way.
Nymph
Potion (P): You become extremely beautiful. Tests of fate to favorably influence the Disposition of creatures that would be attracted to you are made with favor (Example test of fate with favor). You also cannot be Inspired or Controlled. These effects last for a watch.
Bomb (B): The victim falls in love with the first creature they see. This is as though they have been Inspired with joy, except it’s romantic. This effect lasts for a watch. Creatures that do not feel emotions are not affected by this alchemy.
Ogre
Potion (P): You become immune to poisons for a watch. In fact, nothing you eat or swallow hurts you at all. You can swallow live coals, the One Ring, or shards of glass to no ill effect.
Bomb (B): The victim emits a terrible, rage-inducing pheromone. All creatures in the same zone as the target are Inspired with anger towards the target.
In combat, anger makes people stupid and clumsy. The angry creature will try and focus on the source of their anger. An angry creature will attack recklessly, with little regard to the environment.
Creatures that do not feel emotions are not affected by this bomb.
Oil (O): The ogre can famously digest anything. Their digestive acids can be distilled into a universal solvent. This oil can break down any adhesive and makes materials soft and pliable: stone becomes mud, metal becomes bendable, wood becomes paper.
Questing beast
Potion (P): You can ask the GM about the location of any one person, place, or thing. The GM will answer your adventurer with a sudden flash of prophetic insight.
Oil (O): Whatever the oil touches begins to emit a sound like the barking of many dogs. Draw twice on the Meatgrinder table. Any encounters drawn have noticed the sound and are headed to this area to check it out. This effect lasts for a watch.
Slime
Potion (P): Your bones stop being bones and become fluid-filled sacs for a watch. You take no damage from falls for the duration. You can also squeeze your body through any space you can reach your hand through during this time, e.g., through a portcullis or into a mouse hole.
Bomb (B): The bomb explodes in a spray of neon-green acid ooze that covers the target. Any armor the target is wearing is Destroyed.
Oil (O): Slime oil is a powerful acid that can eat through any non-magical material except for glass, creating a hole about 5’ in diameter. It will eat through the floor.
Destroys any non-magical object it touches.
Deals Critical damage if it comes into contact with flesh.
Titan
Potion (P): Your body quickly swells and you suddenly Grow. This effect lasts for a watch.
When this massive size would be advantageous to tests of fate (e.g., contests of strength, lifting gates), gain favor. When this would be disadvantageous to tests of fate (e.g., squeezing into holes, sneaking around), gain disfavor.
Your massive size does not provide favor to Challenge Actions.
Oil (O): Whatever the oil is smeared on becomes ten times as heavy. This doesn’t create any structural problems for the object itself (statues don’t collapse under their own weight, for instance) but can create structural problems for the environment around it.
Ungoat
Potion (P): You cannot be targeted with spells (as if you’re wearing iron armor) for a watch. You also cannot cast spells.
Bomb (B): The target immediately draws on a random Maleficence table. Whatever effect occurs is centered on the target.
Oil (O): The oil negates any active spells affecting the thing it's smeared on for a watch.
This can pause permanent enchantments on objects for a watch (e.g., the flaming sword is just a regular sword).
This instantly ends active spells that sorcerers are concentrating on.
Vampire
Potion (P): You transform into a thick mist. Your equipment drops to the ground. This lasts for a watch.
You can move at a walking pace in your mist form.
You can move freely through small cracks, under doors, through keyholes, etc.
Most attacks and environmental hazards cannot harm you. The GM can make a ruling if certain circumstances (e.g., strong winds, super cold temperatures) provide any problems.
Bomb (B): The target suffers all of the vampire’s weaknesses for a watch. They become Stunned whenever they are exposed to sunlight, wholesome herbs (e.g., garlic, wolfsbane, or wild rose), silver, or running water.
Winter wolf
Potion (P): You become immune to cold temperatures and ice-based damage for a watch. You can stand outside in a blizzard in your small clothes comfortably.
Oil (O): As soon as the oil touches air, it begins to freeze.
Will freeze a body of water the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
If poured onto the ground, it forms a wall of ice 10’ tall, 10’ wide, 1’ thick. Walls of ice are opaque and impermeable.