The Empirical Department of Alchemists

Create and sell mixtures, poisons, potions, and medicines

The Empirical Department of Alchemists is primarily an academic guild, with a heavy focus on philosophy and the nature of the universe, both mundane and magical, but many of its members use that knowledge to create and sell mixtures, poisons, potions, and medicines. Experimental alchemists, naturalists, pharmacists, anthropologists, and thaumatologists seek empirical data on how the world works and use that knowledge in a repeatable and consistent fashion.

Structure

Guildmaster

The Department Lead, or Guildmaster of the Alchemists, is the male orc Director Oslo Barnett. Lead Director Barnett has been re-elected as Guildmaster for the past several decades and is the primary reason that the Department is focused on empirical evidence rather than random experimentation. Although he is not a strict authoritarian, he absolutely loathes chaos and disorder, and pushes the other Directors to encourage and train that type of Associate. Lead Director Barnett is a thaumatologist, or someone who studies miracles, and a devout worshiper of Kallias.

Guild Representative

The alchemist’s guild Representative is ama’il dark elf Director Maril Hargraves. Director Hargraves is a kind soul that’s far less demanding than Lead Director Barnett, and they tend to field a lot of complaints and offer direction and advice where needed. Director Hargraves is particularly good at negotiating and offering support when experiments fail or aren’t reproducible. Their specialty is as a pharmacist, using their skill to mix drugs and medicine.

Guild Administrator

The alchemist guild’s administrator is female kenku Director Irene Carter. Director Carter is new to her position as Administrator, and has yet to prove herself in her new role. She won the position after a lengthy campaign and vote, using impeccable logic and proven facts to explain why she should be the administrator rather than the incumbent. Irene’s official specialty is as an Alchemist, but she is also a skilled anthropologist, and she was able to use her knowledge to her advantage by winning the election that gave her the evidence she needed to prove that her experiment was correct. Personality-wise, Director Carter has a mischievous attitude and enjoys proving people wrong.

Guild Structure and Ranks

Apprentice: Known as associates, apprentices in the Empirical Department of Alchemists are generally the lab assistants that are given menial tasks such as cleaning up after experiments, recording results, maintaining equipment, and feeding pets and animals in their care. As an empirical scholar, Associates are taught how to make repeatable experiments and the basics of whichever Fellow and Director that they train under. Although there are some Directors that are less strict than others, Associates are closely monitored for dangerous inclinations toward the chaos that following Gorath brings.
Journeyer: Known as fellows, journeyer alchemists are trusted to work on their own, as a team, and to supervise associates. Fellows are given a lot of trust and leeway in pursuing the goals of the Guild and are expected to work under Directors within their same specialty. They are expected to submit regular research papers (or projects) to the guild, both to show off their skill and to expand the knowledge of the guild. Especially for newer Fellows, this doesn’t need to be something groundbreaking - it can just be a matter of documenting how much you’re learning. Usually these are one on one with the Director, but especially noteworthy projects are expected to be shown at the World’s Fair.
While not common, some Adept Fellows will decide not to pursue a Director role, and instead completely turn their skills to the mundane purposes of making and selling medicines and potions. In that case, Adept Fellows still retain their access to knowledge within the guild, but are not expected to continue research.
Master: A Master alchemist, known in the guild as a Director, is a skilled authority in their field who has been given extended leeway in pursuing whatever research project they wish, though if they use resources of the guild, they are expected to provide the results of that research. Participation at the World’s Fair, whether as a team or individual, is a mandatory requirement. Directors are also required to serve for a period on the Mastery panel, and to provide feedback for Fellows. It is understood that Director Alchemists in the Department will continue to experiment long after they take their exam.
Mastery Exam: A Director in the Department is expected to be knowledgeable in one area of study, and a mastery exam in the field is a thesis that must be defended versus a panel of three Directors who are not a Director they trained under. That panel will then determine if the thesis meets the standards that qualifies someone to be a Director, but typically includes a study of rare alchemical components, organizing a team of assistants and fellows (or equivalent from other guilds) to complete an important project, or something that profoundly expands the knowledge of the guild.

Culture

To outward appearances the Empirical Department of Alchemists is officially a fairly strict and authoritarian guild with backstabbing politics, but in reality, only a few people in power actually care. Most Directors are isolated from each other with their Fellows and Apprentices, and it’s only when it comes to competing for the World Fair that things get serious. The guild as a whole is pretty laid back, and there are even pockets of Gorathians that are isolated by Directors that pretend to be outwardly model citizens, while secretly just having fun blowing things up.
Patron God: Kallias

Guild Symbols

Assistant Alchemists wear a leaded copper coin engraved with symbols of the four primary elements pinned to their collars. Fellows wear a coin that’s half leaded copper and half brass, and Directors wear a gold coin. This coin represents the Alchemist’s knowledge changing from lead to gold.

Guild House Description

The Empirical Department of Alchemists is in an office lab situated between the Novandrian universities. The office lab contains rooms for meeting, studying, and showing off experiments in a neutral setting.

Public Agenda

The Alchemists provide many of the medicines, potions, and mixtures for many of the other guilds in Eisen.

Assets

In addition to potions and mixtures for the guilds, the Department also sells magical potions to the Adventuring and Healing guilds.

Type

Guild, Craftsmen

Alternative Names

Alchemist's Guild

Demonym

Alchemist

Location

Novandria, Eisen

Patron God
Kallias
Guild Symbols
Coin engraved with symbols of the four primary elements