Alchemy is the process of using an alchemy set and certain extraction methods to break down herbs and other materials into specific components that can be used to either brew potent potions or craft various kinds of useful recipes including medicines, coatings and poisons, or reagents.
Workbench
In order to perform alchemy, you will have to set up a workbench within the tavern or market area to facilitate your role-play; however, it should not be set up where combat can occur. It can include authentic phys-reps such as a hanging or drying rack, an incense bowl, a mortar and pestle or plate, a still and condenser, and glass jars or vials with or without liquids.
Travel Kit
Since alchemy can be done in the field and during combat, having a small travel kit is recommended. For simplicity's sake, it can consist of a single tool such as a small mortar and pestle; however, it should not include sharp, dangerous, or fragile objects such as glass.
Extraction
The process of extracting a herb's specific elements requires the use of one of the following four extraction methods:
Aerate
Dry the source out to alter its natural form.
Burn
Burn or heat the source to collect its charcoal or smoke.
Crush
Crush the source with a mortar and pestle or plate to collect its powder.
Distill
Boil or heat the source to produce steam that is condensed into a fine oil.
Each herb resource card has one or more extraction methods that are compatible with it and can be used to extract one of its listed resource values of your choice. Once you have extracted a resource value from a resource card, the resource value can be applied to one of your known recipes to fulfill its brewing or crafting requirements; however, the resource card is considered to be destroyed and that extraction method can no longer be used in the same brew or craft. As such, the goal of alchemy is to match the exact resource requirement of a potion or recipe with a limit of four resource cards and four extractions per brew or craft; however, Potion Brewing and Recipe Crafting have their own specific rules which are explained below.
Herb Resources
A variety of different herbs can be found throughout the area surrounding Ingress, purchased from travelling merchants, or looted from other sources. Each herb is known for its potential benefits which can be harnessed to make a variety of concoctions using the four extraction methods. For instance, some herbs have very potent properties but are fickle and can only be harvested in one or two methods while other herbs are less potent but can be harvest in two or more methods.
Herbs
Potion Brewing
Potion Brewing is unique because you can combine different potions together into one potion with multiple effects. In order to help facilitate this, you are able to use an extraction method more than once but doing so will incur an additional penalty that deals
Potency damage equal to the total number of resource cards on the extraction method with the most cards on it (2-4 Potency). Additionally, you are also able to exceed a potion's resource requirement but doing so will incur an additional penalty that inflicts a certain
Condition based on which resource is exceeded:
If Restorative is exceeded, the potion inflicts Weakness;
If Corrosive is exceeded, the potion inflicts Gore; and
If Toxicity is exceeded, the potion inflicts Infection.
Consuming a potion requires you to spend a
Short RP drinking it, after which it inflicts the
Agony Effect and all effects and additional penalties are simultaneously applied. For example, if someone was
Bleeding and in their
Death Count and you fed them a combined potion containing
Eogyn's Tears and
Thickening Gel then both would affect them at the same time thus removing their Bleed Condition and restoring 1 Vitality to them. Potions last for an event or until they are used (if applicable), whichever happens first.
Potions
Recipe Crafting
Recipe Crafting is also unique because you are able to make batches of recipes as long as the resource totals can be divided up evenly among all crafted recipes without excess. Unlike Potion Brewing, you are not able to use an extraction method more than once unless an Alchemy Skill states otherwise and you are not able to exceed a recipe's resource requirement.
Coatings and Poisons
Coating and poison recipes make potent and versatile tools that help fighters adapt to threats in the middle of combat or can be used in more creative ways by savvy alchemists.
Applying a coating or poison to a weapon requires you to spend a
Short RP pouring it on the desired weapon and they last for an event or until used, whichever happens first. A poison's effect can be appended to any Weapon
Call but keep in mind that each Call can only have one Potency value and only one instance of any given
Condition or
Effect. Coatings and poisons can also be poured on the environment to produce certain effects but are subject to the Game Runners' discretion.
Medicines
Medicinal recipes make tonics and other healing items which are used by apothecaries to perform various
Apothecary medical procedures.
Reagents
Reagent recipes make chemical substances that are used by blacksmiths to finely-tune a number of aspects of the
Metallurgy smithing process and can be used any number of times in the Metallurgy smithing process unless stated otherwise.
