I’ve traveled as an adventurer for many years, and my favorite part about quests has always been the new potion combinations. I haven’t always been a cleric, you see. Before my spiritual revelation several years ago, I was a popular alchemist near the capitol. Considering the many years I brewed potions before I became a Cleric, I have come up with a few helpful tips to bestow on first time alchemists.
- Know What you Gather
I kept an ingredient bag while on our travels, just in case we came across a wood with a rare fungus strapped to it, or a sentient flower crossed our paths. It’s so important to know what you are gathering, though, in case it may interact poorly with what you already have in your satchel. For example, sunflowers will catch fire when interacting with kobold scales. - Keep a Few Ingredient Bags
You may be tempted to gather everything you see as useful, and shove it all into one satchel, but this can cause you strife down the road. Other than poor interactions, you can easily mix in your poisonous ingredients with our effect based ingredients. Many poisons can be harvested with powder or spores from particular fungi, so when these spores mix in with healing herbs, you may end up creating a deadly potion rather than a cure light wounds. - Invest in your materials
It is so important to have a quality mortar and pestle handy when crafting potions. Lesser quality pestel’s may break when you are attempting to grind your herbs. This creates more time wasted compared to the coin you are saving. If you invest in your equipment now you won’t have to worry about low quality potions, hazards from broken stone, or the poor interaction that occurs on unpolished stone with certain ingredients.
If your alchemy journey is just beginning don’t be discouraged, it takes time to learn to navigate the countless hazards involved with potion brewing. Just keep working hard and you’ll find yourself making expert concoctions in no time!
