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Alchemy is an academic discipline linked to the creation of mystical Potions. The corresponding Skill for characters is abbreviated Alch.

The skills in Darklands are:

Weapons Academics Survival
WEdg Alch Heal
WImp Relg Artf
WFll Virt Stlh
WPol SpkC StrW
WThr SpkL Ride
WBow R&W WdWs
WMsD



Overview[]

Types of Potions
There are personal potions meant to be ingested or applied, and then there are battle potions— dangerous substances, meant to be thrown at enemies. Use the former by pressing P on their entry in a party member's equipment list. Hurling potions is done through the battlescape's menu. Most of the 22 formulas may also find a use in some very specific situation, somewhere, at some time.
Production
Brewing potions will necessitate the party making a circuit of the commercial and academic centers of Germany, with this general plan in mind:
  • Having a character with passable academic and interpersonal skills to get started;
  • Obtaining formulas;
  • Obtaining training in the Alch skill;
  • Upgrading the party's Philosopher's Stone;
  • Gathering ingredients, and/or locating cities that sell all the ingredients to a known recipe;
  • Learning about saints that can boost Alch and eventually Int.

To pay for all this, the party needs to draw on existing resources and brew intermediate potions for profit. Finding a good Saint to boost the purseholder's Chr is recommended for handling the big transactions this endeavor might involve. For its part, advanced alchemy is immensely profitable.

Getting Started[]

XFailedAlc

The Alch skill is required to even find Alchemists in Cities' crafts districts. This "barrier to entry" for the profession, sometimes as high as 30 or more, is troublesome for any party that did not train the skill during CharGen. However, there are saints which boost the Alch skill, and the party may also be able to secure tutoring from a University, which can facilitate beginning the process. Once an urban alchemist is found he can be very ornery and throw everyone out for any perceived slight, which is where the interpersonal skills of the alchemist party member become important.

Regularly trading formulas with these ornery professionals is the longest-running and most important aspect of development. A bug in the formulary makes it so that two-thirds of the alchemical recipes can only be acquired this way, in fact.

Potion Creation[]

Orders to create a batch of potions can be issued during camping/residence. The formula for success is:

% Chance = k + PhStone + Int + Alch - MagicNumber

The Magic Number is the recipe's difficulty and is subtracted from the chance of success. Each point of PhStone, Int, and Alch corresponds with a one-point increase to the success rate. k is a variable, a "base chance," that starts at 100 and decreases exponentially for attempting batches greater than 3 potions, according to the table below:

Batch Size k
1-3 100
4-5 50
6-7 33
8-9 25
10-11 20
12-13 16
14-15 14
16-17 12
18-19 11
20-21 10
22-23 9
24-25 8
26-29 7
30-33 6
34-41 5
42-51 4
52-67 3
68-101 2
102-201 1
202-255 0

It is strongly recommended to camp overland, and not reside in a city's Inn, when creating any-sized batch of any sort of potion. Even recipes that avow themselves "Low Risk" can blow up the inn if they fail. Therefore, performing alchemy in cities' inns over a long term will eventually lead to legal difficulties.


Potion List[]

The table below is a list of the potions in Darklands, their in-game descriptive text, and links to their main articles. The 22 named Potions in this table each have three tiers of quality, for a total of 66 individual recipes.

Name Description
Noxious Aroma A large cloud whose smell makes people sick; agility and fighting skill decline
Eyeburn A vial of blinding powder; skills of the person hit are greatly reduced.
Black Cloud A dense cloud of black smoke; conceals, upping stealth and lowering perception.
Fleadust A cloud of itching powder; reduces skills in proportion to the targets armor.
Eater Water Oily, acidic liquid that can eat through metal -- even armor. Dangerous to make
Breath of Death A poisonous cloud of deadly vapors which are unaffected by armor.
Sunburst A blinding explosion of light; it stuns anyone standing near.
Thunderbolt A sealed vial that, upon impact, explodes with great force.
Arabian Fire A sticky, burning substance that clings to flesh and flows through armor.
Stone-tar A pool of sticky sludge; it slows anyone who crosses it.
Deadly Blade An oil applied to non-impact weapons that increases the damage done.
Strongedge An oil applied to blades and poles that enhances combat effectiveness.
Greatpower An oil applied to weapons that improves their quality.
Trueflight An oil applied to missile weapons that increases accuracy.
Hardarmor An oil applied to armor that increases its thickness and quality.
Transformation A solution that purifies, and sometimes appears to make more gold.
Truesight A potion to be drunk; it increases the user's perception.
New-wind A healing potion that restores lost endurance.
Ironarm A potion that can increase strength above the normal maximum.
Quickmove A draught that can increase agility above the normal maximum.
Essence o'Grace A healing potion that restores endurance and strength.
Firewall A draught that greatly increases the user's resistance to fire magic.


Formulae, Ingredients, Difficulty

Noxious Aroma

25q 35q 45q
al-razi's Gerard C's Petrus B's
80 mn 91 mn 96 mn
Low Risk Low Risk Low Risk
­
3 Brimstone 4 Brimstone 5 Brimstone
2 Choleric Base 1 Choleric Base 3 Choleric Base
1 Sanguine Base 1 Sanguine Base 1 Sanguine Base
1 Melanc. Base 1 Melanc. Base

Eyeburn

25q 35q 45q
Solomon's Galen's Nicholas F's
84 mn 94 mn 103 mn
Medium Risk Medium Risk Medium Risk
­
1 Aqua Regia 1 Solanaceae 1 Antimoni
2 Brimstone 2 Brimstone 2 Brimstone
2 Choleric Base 3 Choleric Base 2 Choleric Base
1 Melanc. Base

Black Cloud

25q 35q 45q
Oriental Rufinus of G's Michael Scot's
98 mn 105 mn 112 mn
Low Risk Low Risk Low Risk
­
1 Zincblende 2 Zincblende 1 Pitchblende
2 Pitchblende 2 Pitchblende 1 Naptha
1 Brimstone 2 Choleric Base 1 Choleric Base
1 Choleric Base 1 Melanc. Base
1 Melanc. Base

Fleadust

25q 35q 45q
al-Razi's Nicholas F's Richard A's
114 mn 120 mn 127 mn
Low Risk Low Risk Low Risk
­
1 Antimoni 2 Antimoni 1 Orpiment
1 Orpiment 1 White Cinnabar 1 White Cinnabar
1 Nikel 1 Nikel 1 Nikel
1 Choleric Base 1 Choleric Base 1 Choleric Base
2 Sanguine Base 2 Sanguine Base 1 Sanguine Base

Eater Water

25q 35q 45q
Solomon's Alfred of S's Gerard of C's
137 mn 146 mn 155 mn
Medium Risk Medium Risk Medium Risk
­
1 Zincblende 2 Antimoni 2 Orpiment
2 Orpiment 5 Aqua Regia 3 Aqua Regia
1 Solanaceae 2 Zinken 2 Brimstone
3 Aqua Regia 3 Phleg. Base 1 Phleg. Base
2 Phleg. Base

Breath of Death

25q 35q 45q
Smargdn. al-Kindi's Simon C's
189 mn 194 mn 199 mn
High Risk High Risk High Risk
­
1 Marsh Vapor 1 Marsh Vapor 1 Marsh Vapor
2 White Cinnabar 2 White Cinnabar 2 White Cinnabar
1 Aqua Regia 1 Alum 1 Camomile
4 Choleric Base 3 Choleric Base 2 Choleric Base
4 Melanc. Base 3 Melanc. Base 2 Melanc. Base

Sunburst

25q 35q 45q
African Raimundus Ls' Brother Elias'
91 mn 99 mn 110 mn
High Risk High Risk High Risk
­
1 Manganes 1 Manganes 1 Manganes
1 Zincblende 1 White Cinnabar 1 Aqua Regia
1 Aqua Regia 1 Aqua Regia 1 Zinken
1 Zinken 1 Zinken 2 Brimstone
2 Choleric Base 2 Brimstone

Thunderbolt

25q 35q 45q
al-Tamimi's Maimonides' Arnald of V's
130 mn 139 mn 152 mn
High Risk High Risk High Risk
­
2 Manganes 2 Manganes 2 Manganes
1 Orpiment 1 Brimstone 2 Aqua Regia
1 Aqua Regia 2 Aqua Regia 4 Choleric Base
4 Choleric Base 4 Choleric Base

Arabian Fire

25q 35q 45q
Geber's Zadith's Hugh's
160 mn 165 mn 170 mn
High Risk High Risk High Risk
­
1 Manganes 2 Naptha 2 Naptha
2 Naptha 1 Zincblende 1 Gum
1 Gum 1 Gum 1 Pitchblende
4 Choleric Base 3 Choleric Base 3 Choleric Base
1 Sanguine Base 1 Sanguine Base 1 Sanguine Base

Stone-tar

25q 35q 45q
Sina's Albertus Ms' Rob. de K's
109 mn 121 mn 133 mn
Medium Risk Medium Risk Medium Risk
­
1 Aqua Regia 1 Gum 1 Gum
1 Gum 1 Alum 2 Brimstone
1 Brimstone 1 Brimstone 3 Phleg. Base
3 Phleg. Base 3 Phleg. Base 2 Melanc. Base
1 Melanc. Base 1 Melanc. Base

Deadly Blade

25q 35q 45q
Hayyan's Vincent Bs' Roger of H's
124 mn 133 mn 142 mn
Medium Risk Medium Risk Medium Risk
­
1 White Cinnabar 2 White Cinnabar 1 White Cinnabar
1 Aqua Regia 1 Antimoni 1 Pitchblende
2 Mondragora 2 Mondragora 2 Mondragora
3 Sanguine Base 1 Sanguine Base 1 Sanguine Base
2 Melanc. Base 1 Melanc. Base 2 Melanc. Base

Strongedge

25q 35q 45q
al-Majriti's John of R's Petrus Bonus'
140 mn 148 mn 156 mn
Low Risk Medium Risk High Risk
­
1 Aqua Regia 1 Aqua Regia 1 Aqua Regia
1 Gum 1 Gum 1 Gum
4 Zinken 1 Nikel 2 Nikel
2 Sanguine Base 2 Zinken 4 Sanguine Base
3 Sanguine Base

Greatpower

25q 35q 45q
ibn Rushd's Jildaki's Albertus M's
131 mn 136 mn 142 mn
High Risk High Risk High Risk
­
1 Gum 1 Solanaceae 1 Gum
3 Zinken 2 Zinken 2 Nikel
1 Pitchblende 1 Pitchblende 1 Pitchblende
1 Choleric Base 1 Choleric Base 1 Choleric Base
3 Sanguine Base 4 Sanguine Base 2 Sanguine Base

Trueflight

25q 35q 45q
ibn Umail's al-Bitruji's John Dausten's
127 mn 135 mn 141 mn
Medium Risk Medium Risk Low Risk
­
1 Antimoni 1 Antimoni 1 Antimoni
2 Solanaceae 2 Solanaceae 2 Solanaceae
1 Alum 1 Alum 1 Alum
2 Brimstone 3 Choleric Base 1 Choleric Base
2 Choleric Base

Hardarmor

25q 35q 45q
ibn Yazid's Brother Elias' Leonard of M's
151 mn 160 mn 167 mn
High Risk Medium Risk Medium Risk
­
1 Manganes 1 Zincblende 1 Solanaceae
1 Aqua Regia 1 Aqua Regia 1 Aqua Regia
2 Nikel 3 Nikel 3 Nikel
3 Zinken 2 Zinken 2 Zinken
4 Sanguine Base 3 Sanguine Base 1 Sanguine Base

Transformation

25q 35q 45q
Morienus' Avicenna's Nicholas of A's
195 mn 200 mn 210 mn
Low Risk Low Risk Medium Risk
­
1 Manganes 1 Antimoni 1 Zincblende
1 Orpiment 1 Orpiment 1 Orpiment
1 Aqua Regia 1 Aqua Regia 1 Aqua Regia
3 Brimstone 2 Brimstone 1 Brimstone
3 Pure Gold 2 Pure Gold 1 Pure Gold

Truesight

25q 35q 45q
Arfa Ras' Rufinus of G's Leonard of M's
105 mn 113 mn 120 mn
Low Risk Low Risk Low Risk
­
1 Solanaceae 1 Alum 1 Solanaceae
3 Mondragora 2 Mondragora 1 Mondragora
1 Phleg. Base 1 Camomile 2 Camomile
1 Sanguine Base 1 Phleg. Base 1 Phleg. Base
2 Sanguine Base

New-wind

25q 35q 45q
Sina's Michael Scot's John Rupesc.'s
90 mn 99 mn 107 mn
Low Risk Low Risk Low Risk
­
2 East. Black Bean 2 Solanaceae 1 East. Black Bean
1 Mondragora 1 Mondragora 1 Solanaceae
1 Choleric Base 1 Camomile 1 Camomile
1 Sanguine Base 1 Choleric Base 1 Choleric Base
2 Sanguine Base

Ironarm

25q 35q 45q
Jabir's Rob de Ketene's Hugh's
110 mn 115 mn 120 mn
Low Risk Low Risk Low Risk
­
2 East. Black Bean 2 East. Black Bean 2 East. Black Bean
1 Manganes 1 Zinken 1 Nikel
1 Alum 1 Alum 1 Alum
3 Sanguine Base 2 Sanguine Base 1 Sanguine Base
1 Choleric Base

Quickmove

25q 35q 45q
Hayyan's John Dausten's Richard A's
101 mn 108 mn 116 mn
Low Risk Low Risk Low Risk
­
1 East. Black Bean 1 East. Black Bean 1 East. Black Bean
1 Solanaceae 1 Mondragora 1 Mondragora
1 Camomile 1 Phleg. Base 1 Camomile
1 Phleg. Base 2 Sanguine Base 1 Phleg. Base
1 Sanguine Base

Essence o'Grace

25q 35q 45q
Galen's Michael S' Avicenna's
81 mn 90 mn 98 mn
Low Risk Low Risk Low Risk
­
1 Zincblende 1 Zincblende 1 Zincblende
2 Gum 2 Camomile 1 Gum
3 Phleg. Base 2 Phleg. Base 1 Camomile
3 Sanguine Base 3 Sanguine Base 1 Phleg. Base
1 Sanguine Base

Firewall

25q 35q 45q
Jabir's Maimonides' Raimundus L's
117 mn 122 mn 127 mn
Medium Risk Medium Risk Medium Risk
­
1 Manganes 1 Orpiment 1 Orpiment
1 Naptha 1 Naptha 1 Naptha
3 Nikel 3 Brimstone 2 Antimoni
3 Phleg. Base 3 Phleg. Base 1 Phleg. Base
3 Sanguine Base 2 Sanguine Base 1 Sanguine Base


Profit Guide[]

Overview[]

If the party scours the land for useful recipes and keeps a record of places where key ingredients are sold, alchemy can be very profitable. Margins on 45q potions are especially high, but those formulas are tougher to find and execute. The table later in this section considers the recipes in terms of profitability, both proportionally and in raw coin gained per unit.

When poor, keep the number of batches low to prevent failure and avoid risk. When rich, experienced, and aided by the Saints, it becomes more feasible to take risks brewing big batches of a product with a high payoff.

XKoln

Köln usually sells the most ingredients.

The Cost column in the table below is the sum price of the ingredients. Ingredients have rarity values that are very important in determining what is on offer from the foreign traders and herbalist at the Markt. While big cities charge slightly more for rare ingredients, they really are the only consistent source of ingredients at all. The biggest (size 8) is Köln, followed by the size 7 cities of Danzig, Hamburg, Lübeck, Nürnberg, Stassburg, and Ulm.

The Sale Value column uses 40 Chr as a baseline for the character holding the purse. Then, what matters is the size of the location to which the goods are being sold. Eight potions are considered by the game to be "common" and are therefore most profitable when sold at a tiny location. For these, the sale value listed is for a chance merchant caravan encounter, which is considered to be the tiniest type of bartering location. The other fourteen potions are considered "rare." Their sale values are what is offered by merchants in the empire's biggest city, Köln.

It bears repeating that the party should camp out in the open country to brew potions rather than risk blowing up a city's inn... especially in the course of trying to earn profits over many sessions of alchemy.

Table[]

Potion qual Mn Rarity Cost Sale
Value
Profit
%
Profit
Pfennigs
Noxious Aroma aR 80 Common 81 105 29% 24
GC 91 92 147 59% 55
PB 96 111 189 70% 78
Eyeburn Sol 84 Common 86 131 52% 45
Ga 94 93 182 95% 89
NF 103 88 235 167% 147
Black Cloud Or 98 Common 133 232 74% 99
RG 105 166 324 95% 158
MS 112 85 417 390% 332
Fleadust aR 114 Common 115 239 107% 124
NF 120 135 334 147% 199
RA 127 98 430 338% 332
Eater Water Sol 137 Rare 287 588 104% 301
AS 146 338 823 143% 485
GC 155 230 1060 360% 830
Breath of Death Sm 189 Rare 221 711 221% 490
aK 194 193 995 415% 802
SC 199 177 1281 623% 1104
Sunburst Af 91 Rare 171 351 105% 180
RL 99 172 492 186% 320
BE 110 149 633 324% 484
Thunderbolt aT 130 Rare 193 463 139% 270
Mam 139 215 648 201% 433
AV 152 198 834 321% 636
Arabian Fire Gb 160 Rare 221 607 174% 386
Za 165 212 851 301% 639
Hu 170 188 1093 481% 905
Stone-tar Si 109 Common 125 165 32% 40
AM 121 113 231 104% 118
RK 133 112 297 165% 185
Deadly Blade Ha 124 Rare 187 343 83% 156
VB 133 176 480 172% 304
RH 142 159 618 288% 459
Strongedge a-M 140 Rare 208 317 52% 109
JR 148 186 443 138% 257
PB 156 164 570 247% 406
Great Power iR 131 Rare 182 281 54% 99
Ji 136 163 394 141% 231
AM 142 142 507 257% 365
Trueflight iU 127 Common 188 255 35% 67
aB 135 160 356 122% 196
JD 141 148 458 209% 310
Hardarmor iY 151 Rare 255 437 71% 182
BE 160 242 611 152% 369
LM 167 223 786 252% 563
Transformation Mo 195 Rare 587 831 41% 244
Av 200 417 1163 178% 746
NA 210 274 1497 446% 1223
Truesight AR 105 Rare 175 266 52% 91
RG 113 158 372 135% 214
LM 120 143 479 234% 336
New-wind Si 90 Common 204 285 39% 81
MS 99 172 399 131% 227
JR 107 150 512 241% 362
Ironarm Ja 110 Rare 249 445 78% 196
RK 115 228 622 172% 394
Hu 120 212 801 277% 589
Quickmove Ha 101 Rare 158 250 58% 92
JD 108 137 350 155% 213
RA 116 149 450 202% 301
Essence o'Grace Ga 81 Common 166 227 36% 61
MS 90 136 318 133% 182
Av 98 126 409 224% 283
Firewall Ja 117 Rare 218 487 123% 269
Mam 122 171 681 298% 510
RL 127 164 877 434% 713

Recommendations[]

Recipes for all the quality levels of the first 7 potions on the table above (which lists potions by their internal index order) are commonly sold by Alchemists. Most of those recipes are easy to perform and useful, but hard to get rich on. The most accessible potion is Noxious Aroma (save some for wolves!).

With extensive training, the 45q Ironarm, Sunburst, and Firewall formulas are the biggest money-makers taking into consideration the odds of being able to brew large quantities of them at a time. Take note of any city found selling all of the ingredients to one of these.

45q Black Cloud and Essence o'Grace are nearly as good, and their materials are more widespread.

Arabian Fire, Breath of Death, and Transformation have the highest margins, but they are impossible to produce in bulk and too powerful an asset for the party.


Saints[]

Main article: Saints (assorted tables)

A party member can make use of a blessing for two days by praying in the afternoon and camping for two days back-to-back.

Intelligence boosts are valuable, because the attribute cannot normally be improved. The party should stay on the lookout for saints who boost this attribute, especially once Alch is fully-trained.

Saints who improve alchemy skill
Name Improvement Min DF Max Virtue
Giles of Portugal * 40-59 15 DF — 60% 37 DF 64v
Albert 30-44 25 DF — 60% 34 DF 39v
Raymond Lull 20-39 10 DF — 35% 39 DF 29v
John Climacus 1-4 + Virt/5 40 DF — 30% 70 DF 20v
Gregory Thaumaturg. 10-19 30 DF — 80% 37 DF 74v
Maurice 10-19 30 DF — 70% 50 DF 81v
Peter of Atroa 10-19 25 DF — 50% 56 DF 62v
Pantaleon 10-19 25 DF — 20% 83 DF 56v
Eligius 8-15 10 DF — 25% 49 DF 29v
Reinold 6-17 25 DF — 45% 43 DF 27v
Erasmus 6-11 15 DF — 40% 41 DF 32v
Jude 6-11 20 DF — 5% 72 DF 15v
Dunstan 5-14 30 DF — 60% 42 DF 45v
Margaret ♀ 5-10 25 DF — 45% 53 DF 46v
Saints who improve intelligence
Name Improvement Min DF Max Virtue
Raymond Penafort 15-29 10 DF — 50% 43 DF 67v
Thomas Aquinas 12-23 15 DF — 65% 34 DF 68v
Paul the Simple ** 12-23 27 DF — 35% 51 DF 19v
Raymond Lull 12-19 10 DF — 35% 39 DF 29v
Gabriel 10-29 30 DF — 45% 63 DF 56v
Dominic 10-19 20 DF — 15% 69 DF 29v
Henry 8-23 30 DF — 75% 35 DF 61v
Albert 8-15 25 DF — 60% 34 DF 39v
Stephen 8-15 20 DF — 30% 53 DF 27v
Matthew 8-15 20 DF — 25% 58 DF 26v
Catherine 8-15 30 DF — 30% 73 DF 46v
Wenceslaus 8-13 35 DF — 60% 47 DF 44v
Cyprian 6-12 25 DF — 50% 52 DF 54v
Alcuin 6-11 15 DF — 60% 24 DF 39v
John Nepolmuchen 6-11 15 DF — 30% 46 DF 22v
Wolfgang 6-11 20 DF — 35% 47 DF 24v
Peter of Atroa 6-11 25 DF — 50% 56 DF 62v
Edward, Confessor 6-11 20 DF — 10% 62 DF 5v
Giles of Portugal 5-9 15 DF — 60% 37 DF 64v
Bathildis 4-8 15 DF — 20% 55 DF 21v
Jude 4-8 20 DF — 5% 72 DF 15v
Arnulf 4-7 15 DF — 65% 32 DF 65v
David 4-7 10 DF — 25% 50 DF 30v
Margaret ♀ 3-6 25 DF — 45% 53 DF 46v
Ceolwulf 3-5 15 DF — 25% 51 DF 23v
Paul ** ÷ 2 20 DF — 60% 45 DF 70v
* St. Giles of Portugal has been documented to wound the target character, reducing Str and/or End by 1 permanently. As far as can be ascertained, this is not the case. The saint deals 1 point of combat damage to the target's Str and reduces Virt by 1 point. Both can be gained back.
** The data for Paul the Apostle and Paul the Simple are switched in-game, causing the blessings of these saints to be pretty much the opposite of what is documented and expected, especially so considering their epithets.


Ingredients[]

Main article: Ingredients
Main article: Table Only

Ingredients in Darklands are sold as tiny, portable samples, always at 25q. A few 35q samples can be found during quests, but the quality does not affect the resulting potions. The prices for ingredients are given in the second section below, in a range that a character with 40 Chr can expect to pay, depending on the size of the vendor's location and the rarity of the compound.

Quantity Chart[]

  Table PureGold Table Manganes Table Naptha Table MarshVapor Table EastBlackBean Table Zincblende Table Antimoni Table Orpiment Table WhiteCinnabar Table Solanaceae Table AquaRegia Table Gum Table Mondragora Table Alum Table Camomile Table Nikel Table Pitchblende Table Zinken Table Brimstone Table CholBase Table PhleqBase Table SangBase Table MelancBase
aR NoxAro 3 2 1 1
GC NoxAro 4 1 1 1
PB NoxAro 5 3 1
Sol Eyebrn 1 2 2
Ga Eyebrn 1 2 3
NF Eyebrn 1 2 2 1
Or BlkCld 1 2 1 1 1
RG BlkCld 2 2 2 1
MS BlkCld 1 1 1
aR Fleadst 1 1 1 1 2
NF Fleadst 2 1 1 1 2
RA Fleadst 1 1 1 1 1
Sol EatWat 1 2 1 3 2
AS EatWat 2 5 2 3
GC EatWat 2 3 2 1
Sm BDeath 1 2 1 4 4
aK BDeath 1 2 1 3 3
SC BDeath 1 2 1 2 2
Af Sunbst 1 1 1 1 2
RL Sunbst 1 1 1 1 2
BE Sunbst 1 1 1 2
aT Thundr 2 1 1 4
Mam Thundr 2 2 1 4
AV Thundr 2 2 4
Gb AFire 1 2 1 4 1
Za AFire 2 1 1 3 1
Hu AFire 2 1 1 3 1
Si Stonetr 1 1 1 3 1
AM Stonetr 1 1 1 3 1
RK Stonetr 1 2 3 2
Ha DeadBld 1 1 2 3 2
VB Deadbld 1 2 2 1 1
RH DeadBld 1 2 1 1 2
a-M StrgEdg 1 1 4 2
JR StrgEdg 1 1 1 2 3
PB StrgEdg 1 1 2 4
iR Grtpwr 1 1 3 1 3
Ji Grtpwr 1 1 2 1 4
AM Grtpwr 1 2 1 1 2
iU TruFlt 1 2 1 2 2
aB TruFlt 1 2 1 3
JD TruFlt 1 2 1 1
iY HrdArm 1 1 2 3 4
BE HrdArm 1 1 3 2 3
LM HrdArm 1 1 3 2 1
Mo Transf 3 1 1 1 3
Av Transf 2 1 1 1 2
NA Transf 1 1 1 1 1
AR TruSgt 1 3 1 1
RG TruSgt 2 1 1 1 2
LM TruSgt 1 1 2 1
Si NewWnd 2 1 1 1
MS NewWnd 2 1 1 1 2
JR NewWnd 1 1 1 1
Ja Ironarm 1 2 1 3
RK Ironarm 2 1 1 1 2
Hu Ironarm 2 1 1 1
Ha Quckmov 1 1 1 1 1
JD Quckmov 1 1 1 2
RA Quckmov 1 1 1 1
Ga EssGrc 1 2 3 3
MS EssGrc 1 2 2 3
Av EssGrc 1 1 1 1 1
Ja Firewal 1 1 3 3 3
Mam Firewal 1 1 3 3 2
RL Firewal 1 2 1 1 1

Descriptions[]

Pure Gold
A sample of gold (79Au), smaller and more pure than the gold Florin, used by the banks and coiners, and a "seed" for the magical Transformation potion.
Rarity: 5
Base price: 96 pf
Asking price: 138 - 163 pf
qual: 25 35 45
Transf
Manganes
Obsolete word for magnesium (12Mg), probably being imported from Magnesia, Greece right now, and more interesting to pyromaniacs than what is now known as "manganes" (25Mn) being mined at the same site.
Rarity: 11
Base price: 24 pf
Asking price: 40 - 47 pf
qual: 25 35 45
Sunbst
Thundr
AFire
HardArm
Transf
Ironarm
Firewal
Naptha
A volatile hydrocarbon solvent being distilled from petroleum by the Arabs in this period, perhaps used in the game to inclusively describe turpentine.
Rarity: 11
Base price: 26 pf
Asking price: 44 - 51 pf
qual: 25 35 45
BlkCld
AFire
Firewal
Marsh Vapor
The natural gas methane, exhaled by the marschland biome. The method of containing this substance was an occult secret, because awareness of gases (let alone the hardware needed to isolate them) certainly did not exist. Its lethal nature makes it a feature piece for the Breath of Death potion.
Rarity: 12
Base price: 36 pf
Asking price: 61 - 71 pf
qual: 25 35 45
BDeath
Eastern Black Bean
The manual identifies this as cocoa, but the only black bean cultivated in the Old World in this era is coffee from Ethiopia. Both the cocoa bean and the coffee bean are stimulants.
Rarity: 10
Base price: 38 pf
Asking price: 64 - 75 pf
qual: 25 35 45
NewWnd
Ironarm
Quckmov
Zincblende
A dark, crystalline ore containing zinc (30Zn), mined locally, that can be pulverized into a chemically-active white powder.
Rarity: 9
Base price: 22 pf
Asking price: 37 - 44 pf
qual: 25 35 45
BlkCld
EatWat
Sunbst
AFire
HrdArm
Transf
EssGrc
Antimoni
Hard, irritating, silvery-white powder with the metalloid antimony (51Sb) in it, used in luxury items since ancient times.
Rarity: 9
Base price: 16 pf
Asking price: 27 - 32 pf
qual: 25 35 45
Eyebrn
Fleadst
EatWat
DeadBld
TruFlt
Transf
Firewal
Orpiment
A poisonous crystal presently believed to have an alchemical connection to Gold due to its color, but later observed to be an arsenic compound, arsenic trisulphide.
Rarity: 10
Base price: 18 pf
Asking price: 30 - 35 pf
qual: 25 35 45
Eyebrn
Fleadst
EatWat
DeadBld
TruFlt
Transf
Firewal
White Cinnabar
The manual asserts that this is pure arsenic (33As) in its powdery, metalloid form. However, cinnabar is a mineral ore from which mercury (80Hg), a.k.a. quicksilver, can be isolated with low-tech methods.
Rarity: 10
Base price: 12 pf
Asking price: 20 - 23 pf
qual: 25 35 45
Fleadst
BDeath
Sunbst
DeadBld
Solanaceae
This is a plant family which probably refers to whole-harvested Nightshade, a thorny, poisonous shrub rumored to have magical properties; related to Mondragora.
Rarity: 7
Base price: 21 pf
Asking price: 35 - 41 pf
qual: 25 35 45
Eyebrn
EatWat
Grtpwr
TruFlt
HrdArm
TruSgt
NewWnd
Quckmov
Aqua Regia
Associated with high-risk recipes, Aqua Regia is the strongest acid used in this period. Separately-stored nitric and hydrochloric acids were mixed to create this red-orange horror that could dissolve metal and people.
Rarity: 8
Base price: 20 pf
Asking price: 34 - 40 pf
qual: 25 35 45
Eyeburn
EatWat
BDeath
Sunbst
Thundr
Stonetr
DeadBld
StrgEdg
HrdArm
Transf
Gum
Acacia tree sap, a sticky, rubbery organic substance imported from the Middle East.
Rarity: 8
Base price: 20 pf
Asking price: 34 - 40 pf
qual: 25 35 45
AFire
Stonetr
StrgEdg
Grtpwr
EssGrc
Mondragora
A mysterious root fiber extracted from the mandrake, a member of Solanaceae, above, known to be poisonous, hallucinogenic, or therapeutic depending on its preparation.
Rarity: 8
Base price: 20 pf
Asking price: 34 - 40 pf
qual: 25 35 45
DeadBld
TruSgt
NewWnd
QuckMov
Alum
A salt compound starring aluminum (13Al). The powder is exported by Italy and Turkey during this period and used as a purgative.
Rarity: 8
Base price: 14 pf
Asking price: 23 - 28 pf
qual: 25 35 45
BDeath
Stonetr
TruFlt
TruSgt
Ironarm
Camomile
An ingestible medicinal herb, camomile grows wild all over the place but requires a skilled harvester to distinguish it from other daisy plants.
Rarity: 8
Base price: 14 pf
Asking price: 23 - 28 pf
qual: 25 35 45
BDeath
TruSgt
NewWnd
QuckMov
EssGrc
Nikel
Element 28Ni, regarded by miners in the Empire as a white variant of copper and suitable for bronze and steel production.
Rarity: 7
Base price: 13 pf
Asking price: 22 - 26 pf
qual: 25 35 45
Fleadst
StrgEdg
Grtpwr
HrdArm
Ironarm
Firewal
Pitchblende
Heavy, lustrous black geoform which can be induced to glow; its full potential still centuries away, this is 92U, uranium ore.
Rarity: 8
Base price: 14 pf
Asking price: 23 - 28 pf
qual: 25 35 45
BlkCld
AFire
DeadBld
Grtpwr
Zinken
Element 30Zn, presently a useful metal in alloys, and a nutrient.
Rarity: 8
Base price: 14 pf
Asking price: 23 - 28 pf
qual: 25 35 45
EatWat
Sunbst
StrgEdg
Grtpwr
HrdArm
Ironarm
Brimstone
An easily-acquired, frequently-required yellow powder, sulfur (16S); it burns blue and emits a stench that invariably associates it with the infernal powers.
Rarity: 6
Base price: 9 pf
Asking price: 15 - 17 pf
qual: 25 35 45
NoxAro
Eyeburn
BlkCld
EatWat
Sunbst
Thundr
Stonetr
TruFlt
Transf
Firewal
Choleric Base
A variety of stock fluids used ad hoc in many potions (the manual mentions aqua fortis, Roman vitriol, distilled water, and alcohol); named for the choleric yellow humor in alchemy, associated with anger.
Rarity: 2
Base price: 4 pf
Asking price: 6 pf
qual: 25 35 45
NoxAro
Eyeburn
BlkCld
Fleadst
BDeath
Sunbst
Thundr
AFire
Grtpwr
TruFlt
NewWnd
Ironarm
Phleqmatic Base
Common minerals used as ad hoc reactants (the manual mentions copper, coal, quicksilver, lead, and lime); supposed to be spelled "Phlegmatic" and named for the blue phlegmatic humor in alchemy, associated with apathy.
Rarity: 2
Base price: 3 pf
Asking price: 5 - 6 pf
qual: 25 35 45
EatWat
Stonetr
TruSgt
QuckMov
EssGrc
Firewal
Sanguine Base
Sketchy animal parts, sold by lunatics but used ad hoc in many genuine recipes (the manual mentions bat claws, eye of newt, toad tongues, and powdered unicorn horn); named for the sanguine red humor in alchemy, associated with passion.
Rarity: 2
Base price: 5 pf
Asking price: 8 pf
qual: 25 35 45
NoxAro
Fleadst
AFire
DeadBld
StrgEdg
Grtpwr
HrdArm
TruSgt
NewWnd
Ironarm
QuckMov
EssGrc
Firewal
Melancholic Base
Plant matter used ad hoc in potions (the manual mentions bell mushrooms, balladonna, camphor, hemlock, seed of sea holly, nightshade, thorn apple, henbane, and turpentine); named for the melancholy black Humor in alchemy, associated with pensivity and depression.
Rarity: 2
Base price: 6 pf
Asking price: 10 pf
qual: 25 35 45
NoxAro
Eyeburn
BlkCld
BDeath
Stonetr
DeadBld
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