Potioning
For some people, quaffing potions is as much a part of the
fantasy aesthetic as swinging swords and hurling fireballs.
Those people usually end up bugging their dungeon masters
to brew wondrous draughts and miraculous elixirs. The
dungeon master's guide presents some generic rules for
crafting which can be applied to potions, and Xanathar's
guide takes it a step further by spelling out some more
complicated options.
In lieu of those, here's a quick and dirty one page guide to
making potions.
Tools
Potion making can be achieved using a number of different
tools. Alchemist Supplies are an obvious choice for all
potions, but a Herbalism Kit is considered the default for
healing potions. Poisoner's kits are clearly the first choice for
toxins, but you could make an argument for Brewing
Supplies or even Cooking Utensils.
If the tool being used seems like a stretch, consider adding
complications or increasing the DC a little.
Recipes
To make a potion you may either follow a written recipe, be
taught by someone else, or experiment to discover it.
Learning a recipe from a book or a teacher is a matter of
cost and time. Consider the impacts of renewed access to a
potion when you determine how much a recipe book or
tutelage under an apothecary might cost.
When it comes to experimentation, there are two approaches:
blind guesswork and reverse engineering. Blind guesswork
requires you to piece together the recipe by intuition and
assumption. Reverse engineering requires an already crafted
version of the potion, but allows you to gauge your approach
using information gleaned from someone else's success.
To make a potion recipe by experimentation you must
make a check on the Potioning Table, on a success you are
able to make that potion from now on, provided you can
acquire the ingredients and foot the cost. Reverse
engineering adds +5 to this check. Experimenting, like potion
making itself, takes time and money.
Potioning Table
Rarity Difficulty Class Cost
Common 10 25 Gold
Uncommon 12 100 Gold
Rare 15 1000 Gold
Very Rare 20 10,000 Gold
Legendary 27 50,000 Gold
Made and published in accordance with the Wizards of the
Coast Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters
Guild.
Any original material in this work is copyright 2020 by
DarkAbyssKeeper.
Ingredients
One you have learned a recipe, the main cost associated with
brewing potions becomes the ingredients and the dedication
of your time. Acquiring ingredients can be as simple as
strolling into town, or as complicated as a quest. Finding
ingredients requires an ability check on the Potioning Table
and an associated gold cost.
Investigation - Call for investigation if the player wants to
track down a shop or market stall to buy their ingredients.
Survival - Call for survival if the player wants to track a
creature that provides an ingredient for their potion.
Nature - Call for nature if the potion is herbal or floral in
nature and they are searching among wildlife.
You may pair these skills with whatever ability score seems
relevant. If the ingredient is a delicate section of a larger
whole dexterity might be appropriate, intelligence is always a
good better for its role in selecting the correct part to use.
At your discretion, you may add additional complications at
this stage. Perhaps the tracked creature must be defeated or
trick into complying, perhaps the shop-keeper in unwilling to
sell. Regardless, there should an eventual cost in the form of
either gold or equivalent complications.
Crafting
If you followed the other sections of this guide, then crafting
is merely an application of time. No further checks are
required to make the desired potion. How quickly you want
your party to be able to generate potions will dictate the
amount of time it takes to craft them. Xanathar's guide
suggests the common potions take a day and legendary
potions almost a year, go with whatever feels fun and fair.
Miscibility
Mixing potions is covered in the Treasure section of the
DMG, it provides a table of possible consequences for mixing
potions that is frankly, underwhelming. It provides no
impetus for combining potions beyond a slightly better action
economy and a 1 in 100 chance of an amazing outcome. I
suggest using this, slightly more fun table. If the table calls
for a unique effect, have fun with it.
Potion Miscibility
d100
Roll Effect of Mixing Potions
01 The potions both have the reverse of their intended
effect. The exact effect is up to the DM.
02- One potion has its intended effect, the other has its
20 effect inverted in some way.
21- Both potions have their intended effect, and the
40 effect of a poison of the DM's choice.
41- Both potions have their intended effect.
90
90- Both potions have their intended effect, and an
99 additional effect based on their combination.
00 Both potions function properly, but one of the
effects is made permanent.