Potion of Healing
Potions of healing are concoctions used by adventurers to treat injuries. The potion was developed by the College of Alchemy under the Universitas Magisterium as part of Project Vinca, in turn started as a response to the Blackwort Epidemic of 224 IE. Project Vinca was completed in 252 IE.
Healing potions are by far the most frequently manufactured potions by alchemists due to their high demand and good return on investment. The potion can be easily identified by it's signature vivid red hue, and the distinctive shimmer as it is agitated.
Project Vinca
Named after the Elven Goddess of medicine, Project Vinca was an effort to create a stable and easily replicable formulae for healing potions. The project was helmed by professor Beatrice Penicilli in response to the Blackwort Epidemic of 224 IE. However, actual development only started in 247 IE because of time spent recruiting, acquiring funding, and internal opposition by other in-university factions. Project Vinca was an unprecedented success, creating a shelf-stable, predictable potion that is easily produced by any trained alchemist with commonly available ingredients and alchemical instruments. Penicilli and her students were bestowed the Imperial Fellow Honor as a result of their involvement in the project, and Pencilli herself went on to leverage her new influence to fund her other projects.Production
- Grind the woundwort till it bleeds.
- Spread it cross freshly starched canvas
- Beat the rotwater till it foams.
- Pensel the rotwater generously over the woundwort.
- Wait until the woundwort is vivid red.
- Gather the cloth and squeeze the concoction through the cloth into your cucurbit.
- Add a thimbleful of powdered Silver and a pinch of powdered Diamond.
- Distill and refine
Assorted Healing Potions by Meyer, Handbook of Ornament
| Rarity | Common |
|---|---|
| Price | 50 gp |
| Distribution | Sold by most alchemists and frequently found in adventuring supply stores. |
Adverse effects
Side effects of healing potions can include:- Body rash/itching
- Nausea
- Drowsiness
- Dizziness
- Dilated pupils
- Blurred or double vision
- Sedation
- Delusions of grandeur
- Euphoria
- Fever
"Grind until it bleeds" is just a lovely opener that really sets the tone for the production formula. I really like how you have dug into the evolution of the potion, too! The way it has an in-universe effort to make it essentially mass-produced is wonderful :D I wonder though, with the powdered silver and diamond, are there ever material shortages? Diamond especially is kinda rare - does any particular faction hold more mines than their competitiors, and leverage this into influence with powdered diamond as a bargaining chip? Great stuff :D
Creator of Araea, Megacorpolis, and many others.
Thanks! I like to try and find a way to explain things like healing potions being readily available in universe rather than handwaving it with a 'because balance!' What you bring up with powdered silver and diamond is another such thing. Silver and diamond being somewhat readily available, and the price being fixed rather than affected by markets is often part of the conceit of DnD, since it's such a common spell component. So far I'm thinking that a) Neither material is a luxury in and of itself. Think something along the lines of the difference between industrial diamonds and jewelry diamonds in our world. b) It is more easily available in the realm than it is in our world. Like for instance, I'm considering having dragons and some deities cry diamonds, which has nice roots in folklore and feels very nice and fantastical.