Potions

Potions are substances which, when imbibed or injected, convey on those who consume them magical powers. To create a potion, you must roll Alchemy + Alchemy (yes, the Alchemy score is used twice; your proficiency in Alchemy is so important to the construction of potions, that all other statistics are comparatively unimportant).

[ The section on potions will remain a little inexact until I finally go to the bother of reading a book on herbalism and the supposed magical properties of substances. ]

Level Two

Theriac

Developed by Galen in the second century, Theriac is the ultimate in general preventitive medicine. Composed of over twenty reagents, Theriac has been designed to raise the drinker's resistance against all manner of potentially hazardous diseases and poisons, from colds to snakebites to gonorrhea. It is fairly simple to make: crush together the dried ingredients, add water and flour until the appropriate consistency is reached, and stir, all the while reciting sanitas corpore. If left out, it will spoil after one week, but if properly stored will last indefinitely. It raises your relevant dice pool by 3 when resisting disease and poison for three days. The difficulty is 55.

Charms

Charms are items which have been imbued with power through ritual and inscription. Usually the inscription can be varied to achieve different results. Usually, the role is Dexterity or Artistry (whichever is higher) + Academics.

Level One

Prophylactic Bowl

The bowl is designed to protect those who possess it against some specific evil. It is generally not the most powerful of charms, but it is one of the simplest and is therefore common in folk superstition. It is a plain ceramic bowl, with a picture of the possessor drawn in the centre and an inscription writen along the rim. The inscription determines its purpose and power, and is almost always in the form of an exhortation to a particular power:

• contra serpentos mercurum exoro: provides protection against snakes and other reptiles, specifically +2 Strength for preventing damage, and the reduction of all poison damage by half.
• contra feras silvae dianae exoro: provides protection against the animals of the woods, which will not attack the possessor of this bowl.
• contra mortem apollonium exoro: provides protection against the powers of the undead, specifically raising by 15 the difficulty of any Necromancy spell directed at the possessor.
• contra bellum martum exoro: provides protection against battle, by letting the possessor escape it more easily, raising his movement by 2 provided he moves away from his enemies.
• contra caelum iovem exoro: provides protection against the vagaries of weather, by halving all ill effects weather hs on Stamina.

Whichever inscription you choose, the difficulty is 40, except for the last exhortation to Jupiter (contra caelum iovem exoro), for which the difficulty is 50.