Alchemy Devices are items that are made through alchemy formulas but are not the typical potion.
In addition to the items described here, a number of magic items listed in the AD&D 1st edition DMG and UA are also considered Alchemy Devices or products. They are:
Dust of Appearance
Dust of Disappearance
Dust of Sneezing and Choking
Dust of Dryness
Dust of Illusion
Dust of Tracelessness
Egg of Reason
Egg of Shattering
Philosopher’s Stone
Keoghtom’s Ointment
As with Potions, each of these items are a separate Formula and all of these are Very Complex in nature.
Additionally, all the Healing substances listed on the Healer&Healing page can be made by an Alchemist as well as a Healer. Assuming the Alchemist has the proper formula. However, the Alchemist is NOT a Healer when it comes to applying the substances and does not gain any First Aid skills or healing rate benefits.
The formulas of these Healing Substances are considered Simple for an Alchemist.
Dagger of Venom
These daggers are not made of metal, but rather are of a solidified chemical compound that was cast into a mold and allowed to cure. When an individual is stabbed with one of these weapons it immediately begins to dissolve in the wound, poisoning the victim. A dagger is rather fragile and is unable to penetrate armor heavier then leather without shattering, so they are best employed against unarmored targets. The blade is not sharp, it is a stabbing weapon only, and cannot cut anything.
The dagger size is ‘small’ as the blade is too brittle for a larger size. They are not balanced for throwing (-3 to hit if thrown and a miss WILL shatter the blade.) A blow direct to the blade will shatter it as well.
A dagger is substantial enough to be used three times (actually inflicting wounds) before the process of dissolution so weakens the dagger as to be unusable. If a dagger is left in the wound the dose of poison increases.
A single stab and withdrawl does 1d4+ 3d6 damage with a saving throw reducing it to 2d6
The second wound does 1d4+2d6 with HT reducing it to 1d6
The third stab does 1d4+1d6 with Saving Throw reducing it to 1d6-3
If the dagger can be left in the wound, the poison is much more potent and has not been weakened by exposure to air in its active state or degraded by passing through clothing and such repeatedly.
A stab that remains in the wound for two to three rounds does 8d6damage with a Saving Throw reducing it to 4d6
A stab that remains implanted for more then 3 rounds does 12d6 damage and a Saving Throw reduces it to 8d6. The dagger is completely useless and impotent at this point.
Arrow and bolt heads are also possible. The smaller size of these limits the total damage to missile + 2d6 with a saving throw reducing it to 1d6.
The wounds of the dagger are extremely painful as the poison is caustic in nature.
The blade is inert until it is brought into contact with body fluids, so it may be safely handled. However, if it is allowed to get wet, by immersion, rain, etc, the blade will immediateley begin to react and will melt away into a pool of poisonous chemicals in less then 10 seconds.
Material Cost $150 ($50 for arrowheads) Retail $1,000 Materials, various caustic and toxic chemicals, herbs, and powdered lime. Time to make 3 days plus 1 week to cure. Must have pre-made mold to pour into. A one use mold cost 5gp (clay) A reusable (metal) mold cost 100gp
Medallion Of Airy Water
A chemical compound that is poured into a medallion mold and allowed to cure. When immersed in water it for more then 30 seconds it begins to dissolve and give off a huge spray of bubbles that allow the wearer of the medallion (it cannot be worn under clothes) to breathe the water in front of his face. The Medallion will dissolve completely after 30 minutes. If it is removed from water before that it will cease it’s function after 1 minute. Any remaining time may be used again in a future immersion.
The Medallion gives off sufficient Air to allow one other person to share the cloud, more then one is feasible if they take turns.
The medallion is about 8 inches in diameter and three inches thick when new.
Material Cost 400gp Retail 1,500gp Materials, various chemicals, herbs, and powdered lime. Time to make 5 days plus 1 week to cure. Must have pre-made mold to pour into. A one use mold cost 5gp (clay) A reusable (metal) mold cost 100gp
Alchemical Fire Lighter
A finger sized piece of greasy, black stone. (Commonly 3” in length.) This is an alchemical substance that when scraped across a rough surface, like stone of unfinished wood, while ignite into a match sized flame. The flame consumes the substance at a rate of about 1” per hour. It is used to light candles, pipes, torches, small fires etc. Lighting a candle typically uses 3 seconds of ‘fuel’ while a pipe or small fire takes 5 seconds of fuel.
Though a 3” piece is good for about 3500+ candle lighting, for practical purposes it becomes difficult to use the stick once it is less then an inch long without burning ones fingers, allowing about 2400 candle lightings.
Though faster and far more reliable then flint and steel, it still does not work in windy or wet conditions. If immersed in water the stick will begin melting in about a minute and after three minutes it is useless.
These are made in batches of four and require relatively common materials, though a mold is needed. A one use mold cost 5gp (clay.) A reusable (metal) mold cost 100gp. Other then the mold, the material cost is 20gp for a batch of 4 sticks. It takes a day to process the formula and three days for the castings to cure. This is a formula of Average Complexity.
(This is a fairly common item and can be found for sale in most towns and decent sized villages.) Cost retail = 15gp
Fire Staves
These are made by alchemists, not mages. It consists of a bundle of reeds, Yellow Leafed Swamp Cane, harvested during a two week period after the cane flowers and before the seed pods are fully formed. The cane must be cut under water (the plant grows in shallows up to 2 feet deep) and the cut stem must not be allowed to dry out or drain its sap. The reeds cannot be any thicker than a man’s thumb, or thinner than his little finger. They must be utilized within three days of being cut. The reeds are stripped of their leaves and placed in vats of a specially prepared chemical bath. They remain in the bath for thirty days, absorbing the salts and chemicals where they react with the plant’s sap. At the end of thirty days they are carefully removed from the vat and tied into tight bundles of eight to ten reeds. These bundles are coated in plaster or clay, all except one end, and allowed to harden, which takes a week. A staff is about 4” in diameter and 4 feet long.
When the length of the staff is struck sharply against a solid object, the ground or a wall, it starts a rapid chemical reaction. One segment later the exposed end sprays a cone of fire that is three hexes long and one hex wide. The flame lasts one second and leaves a trail of glowing sparks on the floor in front of it. At this point the staff is finished, though the reeds will smolder and drop glowing embers for some time to come. The reaction cannot be stopped or the staff reused. A staff can be discharged under water, in this case the burning is confined to a bubbling effervescent ball about a foot in diameter at the end of the staff. The burning will last for three seconds. NOTE: Immersing a staff for more then ten minutes will result in the clay/plaster coating breaking down and the reeds losing their chemical content.
Damage from the flame jet is 3d6 the round it hits and 2d6 the round following. Under water the fire ball does 1d per round for three rounds. The staves are light, so striking some one is treated as a light baton. A blow will start the reaction. Once burned out the staff is useless as a weapon and will crumble if struck.
A vat must be made of, or coated in, glass or heavily glazed earthen ware to provide a non reactive surface. A vat is capable of processing 50 to 60 reeds, typically yielding 5 staves (after waste and loss of some reeds) per bath. A suitable earthen ware vat costs 1500 to 2000 gold pieces. A glass vat will cost 10,000 to 15000 gold pieces. This is a Very Complex formula and any failure will, 75% of the time, break the vat!
The chemical solution, suitable for processing 50 reeds, costs 500gp per mixture.
Acquiring the reeds to make the staves can be very difficult and expensive unless the alchemist is working in an area where the reeds are native. Prices start at 10gp per reed and go up!
Retail Cost per staff = 1,000gp each.
Fire Arrows
These are alchemical devices that explodes into a ball of fire when it hits a target (or anything else for that matter!) They are made in much the same way, and with the same processing time and cane requirements, as Fire Staves, using most of the same materials and substances. (There are minor changes in the ingredients of the chemical bath.)
The same vats used to make Fire Staves can be used to make the arrows. See the Fire Staves description for details on vats.
A vat is capable of processing up to 100 arrow sized and 150 bolt sized reeds. But the need for for higher standards of durability, straightness and weight means that the vat of a hundred reeds will only yield 75 to 80 percent usable shafts per bath.
When the arrow reeds are removed from the vat after thirty days, they are examined by a skilled fletcher to determine suitability, then coated in a thin layer of clay. When this has cured, a week, the fletcher will, very, very carefully, fletch and tip each arrow. (A mistake can be fatal!)
A dozen arrows or bolts will be packed in a padded, reinforced wood and leather case. This keeps them safe from all but the roughest handling, but it takes a round to unbuckle, open and unwrap the arrows.
This is a Very Complex formula and any failure will, 75% of the time, break the vat! The chemical solution, suitable for processing 100 reeds, costs 750gp
On a hit the target takes regular arrow damage plus 2d fire damage. They will go off if roughly handled or dropped.
They can discharge underwater, but only for an extra 1d damage. (See the description of Fire Staves for more info.) NOTE: Immersing an arrow for more then five minutes will result in the clay/plaster coating breaking down and the reeds losing their chemical content.
The force of the arrow release and acceleration starts the chemical reaction, so an arrow shot straight up will explode in the air two seconds after release. (Being smaller than staves the reaction is quicker.) It is possible for someone shot at close range with a fire arrow to rip it out before it explodes, IF he recognizes it AND grabs it quickly enough AND is willing to suffer another 1d damage tearing it out. The blast radius is only 1 hex. It affects only the target and anyone in close combat.
The arrows/bolts are worth $100 each.