A chemist or alchemist may also set up his own shop. The cost of the equipment involved is 1,000 gold pieces - that is, SP10,000. The two types of lab are not the same; a chemist needs precision measuring and distilling equipment, and similar gear, while the alchemist needs a specialized library, carefully enchanted tools, etc. If a shop cannot be found for sale, a chemist or alchemist can make most of what he needs, and buy the rest a piece at a time, in about six months, spending only $5,000. Manufacture of any potion will require a number of ingredients. Most are fairly ordinary (salt, iron, copper sulfate, virgin's blood, etc.) and may be bought anywhere - these are not listed. One or two, though, may be unusual. If an unusual ingredient is listed, anyone wishing to make that potion must obtain it - either by buying it at the price listed or by getting it during an adventure. GMs are free to raise the price on special ingredients, or to rule that some things are locally unavailable (or illegal), thus providing a ready-made quest for the players.

The quantity of ingredients listed for each potion will make one dose. Note that this is a total quantity. . . the amount needed for the whole process, NOT the amount per week. Up to 10 doses of any potion may be made in a single "batch," if enough ingredients are available. It does take a certain number of weeks to make each potion (usually only one, but sometimes more, depending on the potion). At the end of each week, the manufacture will reach a critical point; the GM, rolling for the potion-maker, attempts his DX roll on 3 dice. If each weekly roll is made successfully, the potion is finished. If any roll is failed, the potion (and ingredients) are ruined. A roll of 16 means the potion is faulty . . . it may be totally inactive, poisonous, or produce the opposite of the desired effect. The GM determines which. A roll of 17 or 18 means the potion explodes, doing 2 dice injury to its maker and 1 die times $1,000 damage to the laboratory. NOTE: If the potion is faulty, only the GM will know . . . until someone uses it. A Chemist or Alchemist can detect a faulty potion of their type on a 4-die roll against IQ — but only one roll per potion can be made, and the maker himself cannot detect anything wrong.

To make any potion, a chemist or alchemist must possess a book (q.v.) containing all the instructions for that potion. It takes 5 pages per week to adequately describe each potion. The worth of such a book is usually about $20 per page. Only one kind of potion may be made by each chemist or alchemist each week; it occupies almost all his time each day. A player wishing to sell any potion may do so in any civilized area; there is always a demand. The "going price" for each potion is shown on the table below. Players wishing to buy a potion may go about it three ways: (1) Go to a magic shop and see what he has in stock. He'll probably have something (the GM will make a random determination what), and you can buy it at the going rate. If you want to buy a specific potion, you can (2) look for it as described under FINDING MAGIC ITEMS FOR SALE, or (3) acquire all the ingredients, take them to a chemist or alchemist (as appropriate) and ask him to make the potion for you. If his reaction to you is good, he will do the job; the price he charges you will be based on his reaction, as under FINDING MAGIC ITEMS FOR SALE. He will probably credit you with the worth of all ingredients you bring him, and may take extra ingredients in trade. Bc sure you agree in advance on who pays for any ingredients your alchemist ruins!

A single dose of any potion will produce the listed effects. Multiple doses will have no extra effect, except: Poisons always have full effect. Two doses of poison do twice as much as one. and so on. Any number of hits can be cured with Healing Potion at 1 hit/dose. Any number of years may be removed from your age by Youth Potion at 1 year/dose. The potions to increase and decrease ST. DX, and IQ are effective up to 3 per day. For example. 3 doses of Increase ST potion would raise your ST by 3 for a day. The fourth dose that day would have no effect. Any potion marked by an asterisk (if) can be used to make a gas bomb. Five doses of a given potion are required to make a bomb of that potion. A chemist. or alchemist (as appropriate) must do the work; the fee is $2.5. A gas bomb consists of a thin-walled glass flask (like a molotail) filled with the potion in compressed gaseous form. When the flask is thrown (exactly like a molotail). it breaks. Any figure in the affected hex OR an adjacent one must make a saving roll of 4 dice vs. DX. Success means the figure held its breath or jumped away; failure means the figure is affected by the potion just as though he/she had drunk one dose.