Saulot/Contracts of Alembic
Contents
Contracts of Alembic
UNIVERSAL AFFINITY
Thought to have been first forged somewhere in the Middle-East, where the Courts change with the passage of hours, the Contracts of the Alembic allow changelings to work wonders of alchemy that rely more on narrative convention than atomic law. Particularly popular among the wizened, these powers rely on use of a lab space, and reward some fairly erratic behaviour - as such, alchemists tend to work alone, in inhospitable but well-stocked laboratory-Hollows. This position does little to improve their sanity, perceived or otherwise.
Though these Contracts often refer to “potions” and similar terms, they have no bias in favour of liquid - or even edible - products. Balms and oils, pellets and powders, even incense and smokables are all valid ways in which the alchemist’s art can manifest itself.
Universal Modifiers: All but the first of these clauses require the use of chemical equipment, whether modern distillation tanks or a home-made pestle and mortar, and apply equipment modifiers to the Contract's dice pool. Specialties in “Alchemy”, “Chemistry” or similar areas are always considered applicable to these activation rolls, regardless of the Skill they are associated with.
Extended actions produced by these Contracts consist of a number of intervals no greater than the changeling's Science. These are distributed throughout the process according to the Storyteller's discretion. He can also add a +1 or +2 bonus by doubling or tripling the amount of time the process takes, taking especial care over his concoctions. Further extensions offer no benefit.
Litmus Tongue (•)
The changeling divines the entire chemical makeup of an object or substance with but a taste.
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wyrd + Wits
Action: Instant
Catch: The Contract must be used to analyze something that is dangerous to the changeling when ingested. This offers no protection against the substance, and the applicability (or not) of this clause cannot be used to determine a substance’s safety ahead of time.
Dramatic Failure: The changeling is completely mistaken about the recipe of whatever he’s tasting, drawing misleading or even dangerous conclusions.
Failure: The character learns nothing concrete.
Success: The character intuits the substance’s composition - every present element, mixture, compound and so on. He also learns the proportions in which they are present, and the nature of their inclusion - contamination as opposed to coating, for example.
Exceptional Success: Along with its composition, the changeling also learns the details of the substance’s creation - how long it was heated at what temperature, what tools were used to distil or smelt or glaze it, and so on.
Suggested Modifiers:
+1 The character swallows at least a full mouthful of the substance.
+1 The changeling is familiar with the substance’s fundamental ingredients.
Genius of Improvisation (••)
The changeling can replace ingredients in his brews with implausible substitutes, whether replacing Sudafed with gravel when cooking up drugs or using paper in place of apples for a hot pie. Only mundane ingredients can be replaced in this way.
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wyrd + Science
Action: Instant
Catch: Every time the changeling has made something using the replaced ingredient in the past month, he's used this same substitute to replace it.
Dramatic Failure: The substitution appears to work perfectly, only to totally spoil the mixture in some unforeseeable way - beverages become poisons, explosives become stink bombs.
Failure: The Contract fails to function, and the added item clearly retains its usual properties.
Success: The added ingredient perfectly replaces whatever the original recipe called for. It does not transform, but simply gains all the appropriate properties for that recipe. These properties only manifest as part of a greater mixture, and last for only (Wyrd) days after the concoction’s completion, before the ingredient returns to normal.
Exceptional Success: The altered recipe retains its intended properties indefinitely.
Suggested Modifiers:
-1 Other ingredients have been substituted with this Contract (-1 each).
+1 The changeling is experienced with this recipe, regardless of substitutions.
Elementary Distillation (•••)
The changeling can replace ingredients in his brews with implausible substitutes, whether replacing Sudafed with gravel when cooking up drugs or using paper in place of apples for a hot pie. Only mundane ingredients can be replaced in this way.
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wyrd + Science
Action: Instant
Catch: Every time the changeling has made something using the replaced ingredient in the past month, he's used this same substitute to replace it.
Dramatic Failure: The substitution appears to work perfectly, only to totally spoil the mixture in some unforeseeable way - beverages become poisons, explosives become stink bombs.
Failure: The Contract fails to function, and the added item clearly retains its usual properties.
Success: The added ingredient perfectly replaces whatever the original recipe called for. It does not transform, but simply gains all the appropriate properties for that recipe. These properties only manifest as part of a greater mixture, and last for only (Wyrd) days after the concoction’s completion, before the ingredient returns to normal.
Exceptional Success: The altered recipe retains its intended properties indefinitely.
Suggested Modifiers:
-1 Other ingredients have been substituted with this Contract (-1 each).
+1 The changeling is experienced with this recipe, regardless of substitutions.
Name (••••)
Description
Cost: Words
Dice Pool: Wyrd + Thing
Action: Instant Reflexive Extended
Catch: Words
Dramatic Failure: Words
Failure: Words
Success: Words
Exceptional Success: Words
Name (•••••)
Description
Cost: Words
Dice Pool: Wyrd + Thing
Action: Instant Reflexive Extended
Catch: Words
Dramatic Failure: Words
Failure: Words
Success: Words
Exceptional Success: Words
