Potion Making

Every potion has a defined recipe made using different Aspects of Essentia. This means that there is a right and a wrong way to make potions! Recipes can be found from researched sources, or discovered through logic, trial and error.

When you wish to try and make a potion, you must follow the below method:

Inform the Potions NPC of what the intended effect of your potion is
If the NPC has no additional questions, you may begin your crafting attempt. If you have the full attention of the NPC, you may announce what ingredients you are using and hand them directly to the NPC. If they are overseeing multiple attempts, it may be best to keep hold of your ingredients to hand over at a suitable point.
After you have brewed your potion, you will need to test it. How you go about this is up to you, but unless it's been created from a known recipe then you will want a ref to be present!

Finding and Combining Aspects

Almost everything contains some degree of Essentia (aka magical energy), and this essentia tends to have characteristics that relate to the thing it is attached to, referred to as it’s Aspect. There are two ways to acquire essentia for the purposes of potion making through the alchemist’s ability to Extract Essentia

Combine Aspects to make new Aspects
Draw Aspects from other sources.

In potion-making, crystalised essentia does not naturally combine to make secondary or tertiary essentia. This requires magical intervention from the brewer to make it happen. Their intervention is, essentially, the catalyst for the transformation. This also explains why individual elements can be present in a recipe without their automatically combining into a different type of essentia.

To make a Combined Aspect, you need 2 pieces from Component 1 and one piece from Component 2. This makes one new Combined Aspect crystal.
To make a Complex Aspect, you need six pieces from Component 1 and three pieces from Component 2. This makes one new Complex Aspect crystal.

Magical Plant Effects

One thing that Norms have benefited from in regards to magic is in their use of plant-life. There are certain plants that resonate magical energy better than others, and while the application of one's own magical essence is required to truly unlock this potential, even a norm may feel the mild effects of one of these plants.

OOC NOTE: When used raw/neat, these plants produce a roleplay effect that the recipient can choose whether or not to display. They can be used in potion making as part of your recipe, or used neat purely as a roleplay aid.

Apple. Can improve two people’s feelings towards one another if they share halves of the same fruit. (Spiritus)

Alkanet. Can soothe burns and prevent scarring. (Sano)

Angelica. This herb protects from spirits and is used in exorcisms. (Victus)

Bayleaf. Bayleaf brings good fortune. (Permutatio)

Blackberry. Induces feelings of loss, sorrow and remorse. (Vacuos)

Bluebells. Encourage truthfulness and help clear the mind. (Ordo)

Calendula. These common herbs are used to create a feeling of well-being or happiness. They are used recreationally by many and are easily available, though mildly addictive. (Lux)

Chamomile. This herb can be turned into a sleep potion. If eaten alone, it can cause drowsiness. (Mortuus)

Cinnamon. Fills the user with a feeling of warmth and comfort. (Ignis)

Comfrey. Immunity boosters are used as preventative herbs; they increase the user’s resistance to disease. (Victus)

Daisy. Increases positive emotions. (Auram)

Dandelion. Can be drunk as a tea to increase psychic awareness. (Cognito)

Echinacea. An antibiotic plant which can treat small injuries. (Sano)

Fig. Combats sleep and drowsiness. (Motus)

Forget-Me-Not. Aids memory retention. (Cognito)

Garlic. Properly prepared, garlic can repel vampires. (Victus)

Ginger. A basic, cheap herb which grants the user a temporary burst of strength. (Potentia)

Gingko Biloba. Sometimes used by student scholars and apprentice wizards, this herb can be chewed to gain a degree of mental clarity. (Cognito)

Hag’s Taper. Acts as a mild deterrent against curses (Sano).

Holly Leaves. Helps banish unwanted entities. (Auram)

Lavender. Calms the mind, encourages relaxation. (Ordo)

Marjoram. Marjoram eases coughs and similar ailments. (Sano)

Mint. Adds strength to spoken words. (Potentia)

Mistletoe. Helps repel unpleasant dreams or visions, or unwanted spirits. (Victus)

Nettle. Used to help prevent curses. (Ordo)

Olive. Brings good fortune. (Permutatio)

Peppermint. When placed under the tongue, it heightens the recipient’s senses of sight and hearing. (Sensus)

Peyote. Opens the mind to be more receptive to spirits (Mortus)

Rice. Can distract some spirits. (Auram)

Rose. Encourages secrecy. (Tenebrae)

Rosemary. Used to remove memories. Developed for trauma victims to help them

forget certain events, less beneficial uses were soon found. When eaten raw, anything up to the last days events are forgotten… though there is a risk that more can be lost. (Tenebrae)

Sunflower. Improves confidence. (Potentia)

Thyme. Increases magical strength. (Praecantatio)

Turmeric. Increases cognitive processing, awareness, and reaction speed. (Cognito)

Valerian Root. Combats guilt and negativity. (Ignis)

White Dittany. Susceptible to heat and wards off the cold. (Ignis)

White Sage. Used to cleanse an area of negative magics. (Praecantatio)

Wolfsbane. Can help improve a werewolf's control during a full moon. (Ordo)

Extract Essentia

Essentia is present in all things magical, and stands to be potentially extracted.
For non-living objects, unless they have protects on to prevent it, it tends to be quite easy to extract essentia from it. It’s worth noting that foci seem to always have a protection against essentia extraction on them.

For living objects, it’s a little different. While living, essentia naturally clings to the thing that it is held within, making it extremely difficult to extract. While this can be forced for some living things (such as small plants), it is impossible to do so on sentient creatures. In their case, essentia can only be extracted very shortly after death before the essentia dissipates.

Essentia can be present in mundane objects too, but in very small amounts. For example, you may be able to draw one piece of crystallised Ignis from a whole bucket of charcoal, or one piece of crystallised Cognito from an entire bookshelf of literature. These pieces of essentia are not required for mundane items to carry on existing, and so will not affect them when removed.

OOC INFO - If a player tries to extract essentia and is successful, the ref can give them an Essentia Slip, marking down what types of essentia they have extracted and a 4 hour duration. The player can then take this to the potion professor to change it into crystallised essentia. Until then, the essentia is considered to be “stored” in the foci. If the slip is handed in after the duration has expired, the essentia has dissipated and cannot be turned into crystallised essentia.

Potion Slips

When you successfully create a potion, you'll be given an embossed Potion Slip. This must be attached to your potion phys-rep for the phys-rep to be effective. No slip, no effect! When you use a potion, you must tear the slip in half and dispose of it responsibly.