Re: CF: Quest & Characters and Alchemy

[Scott Wedel <scott@campy.tymnet.com>]

An alchemist can probably be considered comparable to a pastry chef.

The fanciest desserts require both technique and knowledge.  When
someone is starting out then as he learns more then he learns
to do.  So, for instance he can advance from cakes and figure out
how to make brownies and pies.  Now he would have been able to
make pies and brownies earlier if he knew the recipe for them as
making them requires similar skills as making cakes.

But, at the upper end of the scale there are techniques that he
needs to learn from a master of that technique or he will probably
never figure it out.  There is a technique called "pulled sugar"
which one works with a particular sugar mixture at a particular temp
which allows one to create sugar decorations that look like fine
crystal.  It is something that a person could spend a lifetime
figuring out the correct mixture, the correct temp, how to keep
it at the correct temp while working it, how to properly work it
(not too fast or too slow) and so on.  A person can also know
now to make pulled sugar, but lose the feel for it and find himself
unable to make it.  At which point he must be retaught if he is
to make it again.

With this in mind I have the following suggestions for how alchemy
should be added the CF gameplay.
1) An alchemist starts off basically able to do chemistry.  Take
sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter in order to make an explosive 
powder.  Likewise able to make aspirin (mild pain reliever),
knockout gasses and so on.  Advancing at alchemy should require
spending lots of money for quality compounds and acquiring some
alchemist books.  The actual advancement comes from successfully
making the desired compound.  At this level the alchemist should
have a "Lab stuff" item.  And presumably that item could have
different bonuses depending on how well it was made and how much
it has been used.

2) As the alchemist becomes highly advanced in making chemical
compounds then he starts realizing there are odd things happening.
Sort of like how physics goes bizarre at the subatomic level.
At this point the alchemist starts to realize that these items
know as "Cauldrons" are not merely highly prized decorative
cooking pots.  So anyway, the alchemist discovers he can carefully
mix precise amounts of very pure compounds together in a calderon,
cast a magic spell and the result is a magic potion or such.  The
formula should be hard to acquire since the seller is reducing his
income since he will not be able to sell his potions for as much
when others can make it themselves.

3) Alchemical formulas consist of not only the compounds and their
amounts, but how once places the materials together and mixes them
prior to casting the spell.  That explanation is to justify that
there is a technique aspect of alchemy.  This is important since I
strongly suggest that alchemists must reqularly be making each
recipe or else find themselves unable to make it.  Thus, a factor
in whether an alchemical spell over a calderon is successful should
be how long since last successful at this potion (the end of an
alchemical quest would be everything set up in the calderon for
the casting of spell so the alchemist sees the compounds, how they
are mixed and upon casting the spell, realizes what they make).
Also, if the alchemist is unsuccessful at some later attempt at
making the potion then that slightly decreases his odds of
successfully making it next time.  This would be cumulative so
that an alchemist could easily lose the touch for how to make a
particular potion and need to relearn it again from some quest.

This would seem to set up for interesting gameplay that doesn't
ruin playbalance.  An alchemist could be quite powerful making
potions as needed, but he'd really have to dedicate himself to
getting the compounds and making potions or risk losing being
able to make that potion.  So with the advantage of the skill
comes the curse of having to maintain it.


The above would be implemented presumably by alchemy formula
being an invisible item containing attributes including:
player's skill level at making this compound
Last time successfully made
Number of failures since last success
total number success
where formula acquired
when acquired

This invisible item could be given to the player upon entering the
lab and then used when player casts the alchemy spell.  Various
events such as mental impairments could cause the item to be
removed from the player.  Item is removed when player's skill at
this formula falls too low.

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