Alchemy¶
Contested
Named in the open question Witchcraft's place; Mithis metals: the newest treatise files the three witchcrafts under Alchemy, an older overview calls them Elder Magic.
"Alchemy is a science distinct from most other forms of magic." — The Nature of Magic (S208)
Alchemy, or Alchemistry, is magic made from materials. Where a caster needs both a source of power and the skill to shape it, an alchemist finds both in the reagents: "It deals with the creation of magical effects from the combination and reactions between physical reagents and their properties. The reagents provide both focus (power) and spellcraft (effects), so only a single feat is required to learn it" (S208). It is the first of the four origins of magic the treatise names, beside Arcane, Faerie and Ethereal magic (S208; see Nature of Magic). Because it asks no gift of its practitioner, it is the magic that ordinary people can learn, and in the Fifth Age its darker branch, witchcraft, is the commonest magic of all.
The branches¶
The newest treatise and the Sancturi overview divide the craft by the kind of reagent it uses (S208, S212):
| Branch | What it works with | What it makes |
|---|---|---|
| Corporeal Alchemy | "the Terrestrial expression of Magic"; corporeal reagents | potions, mixtures and coats, salves and tonics |
| Empyrean Alchemy | "the Celestial expression of Magic"; empyrean, extraplanar reagents | elixirs, brews and vapours |
| Witchcraft | Abyssal (demonic) reagents | the Aegic, Malefica and Aphotic crafts |
| Artificers | "an external power source, known spellcraft and strong crafting skills" | magical items |
For both Corporeal and Empyrean alchemy "the concoctions act as both spell and power source and no additional magical focus is necessary" (S208). The Corporeal alchemist's craft was taught in Gaelic: knowledge of the language is the first thing the Sancturi overview asks of a student (S212; see Languages). The witch's crafts asked for Abyssal instead (S212).
Reagents¶
Every alchemical reagent belongs to one of three families, each tied to a kind of magic (S209, S210, S211):
- Corporeal reagents are "associated to terrestrial forces such as the Six Elements, 16 Fae Realms and Fae and Mithis magical sources", and are classed as elemental or energy reagents (S210).
- Empyrean reagents are "associated to extraplanar forces such as the Six Elements, 16 Fae Realms and Aetheria-based magical sources" (S211).
- Abyssal reagents are "associated to Hollows and the Abyss. They are used primarily by demonic alchemists and witches" (S209).
Within each family a reagent is base or pure. Base reagents come from "important body organs from most magical and fae creatures as well as magical herbs and plants", "the most common reagents and used widely in all Alchemy"; pure reagents are "a highly refined and purified version", harvested "directly from manifested" elementals or extraplanar creatures "or extracted in very small quantities from large quantities of base reagents" (S210, S209). Energy reagents "provide the magical energy source to Alchemical concoctions. Light and Dark Elements are energy sources, as are Mithis and Fae. Many recipes don't care what kind of energy source is provided and can use any energy", and energy sources rank in strength "from Power, Vertex to Singularity" (S210); for the witch, the Power, Vertex and Singularity "represent any one of the Abyssal, Ethereal, Mithis or Fae energies" (S209). The recipes call for reagents by their Fae domain, and the solvent that binds almost all of them is Sagewater (S220, S221). The herbs, components and minerals themselves are catalogued under Reagents and Herbs.
The recipe books describe concoctions by how they are taken: imbibed, ingested, quaffed, released as a mist, set off by contact with the air, or coated on a weapon (S225). Their recipes include acidic vapours and alchemist's fire, healing and slumber potions, sustenance and water-breathing draughts (S220, S221, S222). One reagent, the Magical Catalyst, is "used in Equivalent Exchange or Essence Inversion processes" (S221).
Gap
Equivalent Exchange and Essence Inversion are named only as the uses of the Magical Catalyst (S221); no source says what either process is. Aetheria is named only as the source of Empyrean reagents (S211). The Ethereal branch of alchemy exists only as a list of potion ideas, among them "Mana Pots", "Powercasting - increases mana throughput in blood" and "Magic Resistance - reduces casting ability" (S223).
Who practises it¶
Alchemy is the trade of those who cannot cast. "The casting talent is very rare among the mortal races, and the vast majority of human oracles, witch doctors, soothsayers, fortune tellers and other common magic users are actually artificers and not casters" (S363, S391); see Artificers. The Silek are "expert alchemists and fair surgeons", and their goblin-draughts "have been popularized across Terrun as powerful elixirs (but usually with significant negative side-effects)" (S025).
In the Fifth Age alchemy turned demonic. "Witches (Alchemist) - essentially demonic alchemists; witches gather reagents and empower their creations using the principles of demonic sacrifice" (S014). The Sancturi called the craft Malusimul, "witches harvest tainted materials and combine them to produce magical effects. They are a Malum alchemist" (S132, cited under Witchcraft).
Witchcraft's placement¶
The newest treatise lists the three witchcrafts, Aegic, Malefica and Aphotic, among the Alchemy focuses: "The mastery of the creation of magical effects from Abyssal (demonic) reagents, this type of alchemy focuses on circles, talismans, drams and wards" (S208). The Sancturi witchcraft overview of 2018 instead files them under Elder Magic (S213). This page and Witchcraft follow the newer treatise.
Earlier accounts¶
The 2014 archive describes "alchemical creations" as made of "at least three different classes of materials: Alchemical Reagents, Alchemical Mediums and Power Sources", where reagents "are parts of a creature with magical origins, magical abilities, or both. The knowledge of how to manipulate Mithis into creating magical effects is built into these reagents" and a power source is "a mithis-based material which gives off magical energy on a renewable basis" (S391). Its alchemist was a kind of artificer, "a master of magical components. While potions are often the easiest to produce, the alchemist's abilities can stretch far beyond the brewing of potions" (S391). The reagent sheets of 2017 to 2018 count sixteen Fae realms (S210, S211) where the catalogue of the same years uses eighteen domains (S224, S226); the count is discussed under Fae Domains.
Legacy rules for alchemy are kept under Mechanics: Alchemy and Witchcraft, Corporeal Alchemy and Reagents.1