2020-12-18 New potions

I felt that Halberds & Helmets need more potions in a while. I usually don’t like big tables of funny results because I don’t see how that makes for a better game. At the same time, I also try to use potions that simply duplicate spells sparingly. Sadly, many magical effects that affect the caster might as well make a good potion. What to do? Making up potions is hard!

Today I added the following to Hex Describe:

• potion of *flooding* (1h, makes you vomit forth water at an extremely painful rate, filling a 20ft cube; move at half speed and no other actions possible)
• potion of *snake bite* (1h, gives you three venomous bites, victims must save vs. poison or die)
• potion of *transformation* (1h, *shape change* like a doppelgänger)
• potion of *transcendence* (10min, 60ft, *true seeing* past all illusions, transformations, through all matter)
• potion of *bonding* (one year, all who share this potion with you will know where they all are: distance, direction, and emotional state)
• potion of the *golden aura* (1h, makes your insides and your eyes and everything your body produces glow in a golden light: when you open your mouth, when you spit, sweat, pee, or poo, everything glows)
• potion of the *harpy* (8h, grow wings that allow you to fly, claws that allow you to fight, a voice that charms; and you look like a hundred years old, shrivelled, elongated, sinewy, and ugly; anybody who hears you sing must save vs. spells or be charmed; deal 1d6/1d6 in melee; drop most clothes and gear due to the growth)
• potion of *knockout* (1h, save vs. poison or lose consciousness; tasteless, can be mixed with water and wine)
• potion of *hearing* (1h, ears grow painfully sensitive; you can locate every breath, heartbeat, and movement within 30ft)
• potion of *smelling* (8h, nose grows painfully sensitive; you can track people and beasts like the best bloodhound)
• potion of the *gizzard* (1h, allows you to eat anything without fear of injury or poison)
• potion of *dreaming* (8h, grants you a dream where you can appear elsewhere to do whatever you like; if you die in your dream, or the rays of the sun strike you, the dream body dissolves in smoke and you wake up back in your bed)

Perhaps you like one of them? Feel free to take them. 😁

​#Treasure ​#RPG ​#Old School ​#Halberds and Helmets ​#Hex Describe

Comments

(Please contact me if you want to remove your comment.)

⁂

Harry Potter’s books are a good source for potions, including ingredients. Veritaserum for forcing people to tell the truth. Polyjuice for transforming into somebody else. Felix felicis for maxing out on luck.

– Enzo 2020-12-23 09:52 UTC

---

I listened to all the audio books but all I remember is the polymorph potion. What I liked about potion brewing was that it seemed so full of accidents, special ingredients, and that it took so long. I’m not sure how to bring that into an adventure game, though. That’s why I no longer have potion brewing in my games. If you want it, suddenly you need a gold economy that works for the costs, time tracking to make the decision to brew a potion or not to brew a potion a relevant one, and so on.

I think the part I still like best is having monsters with body parts “worth 5000 gold to an alchemist” or alchemists searching for a particular rare magical plant. With that, the most adventurous part of potion brewing starts to make sense: missions to go monster hunting or exploring. 🙂

– Alex 2020-12-27 13:13 UTC