Alchemy System Brainstorm

It failed as a Zelda game and an open-world game. The fact that so much of /v/ actually liked it confirmed my suspicion that it is by far the board with the most shit taste.

>But it needs to be limited in some way, to explain why everyone in the setting isn't just some pro alchemist.
Why not? Just make everyone a dabbling alchemist with a passing knowledge of it with few people having dedication and a knack for mastering it. So many people love to talk alchemy and best recipes but few of them are masters worth listening too.

Assuming D&D 5e mechanics for ease.

Ingredients have tiers:
>Tier 0 (d4) - random crap
>Tier 1 (d6) - very fine mundane items or refined elements in one of the forms
>Tier 2 (d8) - "normal" alchemical ingredients or aged fine ingredients that lost potency
>Tier 3 (d10) - purified elements, distilled ingredients, etc. Stuff masters use.
>Tier 4 (d12) - special and rare alchemical ingredients, or maybe a legendary ingredient that has been worn with use.
>Tier 5 (d20) - the stuff legends are made about, items gifted from the gods.

The forms are important to the result:
>Dry (+0)
>Wet (+5)
>Paper (+10)
>Device (+15)

When being combined the types default to the most complex form - dry being the most basic form, device being the most complicated. You choose the form of the desired result, and set a target number by taking what is typically the best ingredient to make it and using the maximum result, and then add the form modifier (like a torch that never goes out might be a refined element device for DC21).

Roll your d20 and add the ingredients you are throwing into the pot, up to a maximum equal to a stat like Intelligence Modifier. Roll the dice for that ingredient and add it to the result. If no ingredients share a form with the result the roll is with disadvantage, if they are higher tier than the result it's made with advantage.

And treat alchemy like a tool use proficiency.

Potions, poisons, glues, explosives, acids, slippery surfaces, disappearing ink, ink that only shows when heated/put underwater/scrubbed with some other substance, lightless fire, heatless light, food conservation, regenerating spoiled food, hardening materials, lighter/more flexible armors with the same toughness.. what else?

jesus, that soynigger is quite upset.

Those are cool, but not part of the "simple" I wanted. I'm looking just for healing and buffing potions, and maybe offensive poisons.

If you want something so simple you could've done it in 2 hours. You won't go anywhere by standing on the same spot.

Check Barbarians of Lemuria.

>not owning one of each console

Fuck off poorfag.

Personally I use random recipe. They have very basic recipe at the beginning, and then they can learn more by studying books (heavy lore-campaign), training with other alchemist, or studying potions/stuff they find.

Things are really strong, but you need time to make them (so 1x concoction per day).

For a quick and dirty BotW-esque system, you will need 2 tables.

>Effects Table
Table contains the sort of different effects you want to have. In BotW it'd be as follows, but you can tailor it to fit your system:
1. Attack Up
2. Defense Up
3. Stealth Up
4. Speed Up
5. Resist Heat
6. Resist Cold
7. Flame Guard
8. Resist Shock
9. Healing
10. Max Healing
11. Stamina
12. Max Stamina

>Ingredient Table
Table contains the sort of different ingredients can player can collect. Again, alter as needed:
1. Mushroom
2. Fruit
3. Herb
4. Fish

In order to make a potion, a player must use at least two ingredients of a matching effect and make an Alchemy check. The potion becomes stronger if different ingredient types of the same effect type are used:
Single Ingredient Type - d4
Two Ingredient Types - d6
Three Ingredient Types - d8
Four Ingredient Types - d10

When a player is in a situation where they could gain more ingredients (i.e. successfully foraging) simply roll both table to see what sort of an ingredient they get. If they get a Healing Mushroom for example, they could combine it with another Healing Mushroom for a d4 healing potion, or with a Healing Fruit for a d6 healing potion. If your effects table is particularly large, you may want to roll more than once so they have a better chance at getting matching effects.

They already have alchemist's tools actually.
Stolen, thanks.

Or what if you put limits on healing magic like shadowrun does, so that regular medicine and natural recovery keep their central role in the healing process.

>I spend the entirety of my downtime making healing potions.

Anything where the major investment is time will see the players use every spare second they have creating and hording said power. Combat will lose most of it's danger when every single character carries 20 heals on his person.

It literally succeeded as an open world game where every other open world game in the last five years failed horribly: It makes you want to explore. Instead of climbing the same exact tower as every other tower using game, each one represent a different challenge in reaching or climbing the tower, where the standard open world game may as well as copy+paste the same tower 15 times.

Instead of just filling a map with checklists of chores to do like standard OW games it provides a good view for the player to go check out interesting features for themselves, and even provides a fun way to get there, via the glider.

End of the day, it gives reason for the player to WANT to go explore. But maybe you just want a checklist simulator? Who knows. More likely I'm going to assume you just didn't play it, or played it for a few minutes with the intent of not liking it so you could bitch about it.

It's a good game, and it deserves the praise it gets, though it does have it's flaws, like all games. Of course, feel free to construct a counter argument that isn't just some tacked on throwaway line dismissing the argument I presented because you prefer to say you don't like it.

I think some of the stuff from actual medieval alchemy could be fun to include. Basically group ingredients into classifications based on their component elements or sign (Water based stuff gets the Mercury sign, iron and raw meat gets the Mars, etc.) and mix recipies that way.
That way a proper recipie would be "2 parts Mercury, one part Jupiter, three parts Moon, stewed over a flame for three hours" but could be a ton of different things, making the component pieces findable by traveling adventurers. Maybe some kind of catalystic to make the process work like Quintessence, which could then explain the need for a Philosopher's Stone as some kind of unlimited catalyst?

This is almost exactly what I wanted, thanks.