Alchemy

Key facts

Characteristic

Reason

Skill group

Reason skills.

Test

2d10 + Reason; 11 or lower is tier 1, 12 to 16 tier 2, 17 or higher tier 3. Training grants a benefit and unlocks attempts untrained heroes cannot make.

Edges and banes

A laboratory, reference notes, or a known formula grants an edge (+2). Rushed work, improvised glassware, or unfamiliar reagents imposes a bane (-2).

Overview

Alchemy covers the practical chemistry of the setting: distilling an acid, recognizing a poison by smell, neutralizing a spilled reagent, brewing a smoke bomb from market ingredients. It is a Reason skill because the work rewards precise measurement and memory for formulas. It comes up when the party finds unlabeled vials, needs a specific compound before a heist, wants to know what killed a body, or has downtime near a stocked laboratory.

How it works

Characteristic: Reason.

How it is used: Tier 3 identifies a substance exactly or produces a full-strength batch. Tier 2 gives a partial answer or a weaker product. Tier 1 wastes ingredients, and a botched brew can burn or fume.

Tips and playstyle

Best for: Heroes who want consumables the party cannot buy, and investigators who need to read poisonings and burns. Character concepts: Mage's Apprentice who tended the still, Sage career poisoner, memonek chemist. Synergies: Cook for shared ingredients and kitchens, Medicine for antidotes, Magic Lore when a substance is enchanted rather than chemical.

Frequently asked questions