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

 
  1. Grind the woundwort till it bleeds.
  2. Spread it cross freshly starched canvas
  3. Beat the rotwater till it foams.
  4. Pensel the rotwater generously over the woundwort.
  5. Wait until the woundwort is vivid red.
  6. Gather the cloth and squeeze the concoction through the cloth into your cucurbit.
  7. Add a thimbleful of powdered Silver and a pinch of powdered Diamond.
  8. Distill and refine
Aelchemical Formulae: An Encyclopaedia
Assorted Healing Potions by Meyer, Handbook of Ornament
RarityCommon
Price50 gp
DistributionSold 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



Comments

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Jul 7, 2021 12:14

"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.
Jul 7, 2021 12:32 by Annie Stein

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.

Creator of Solaris -— Come Explore!
Jul 7, 2021 18:08

Fantastic read and like Qurilion says, the tone you set for the production formula really hits home!   I also like the simplicity of the article. Not everything has to be flamboyant after all. ^^   Keep up the good work! :D

Jul 7, 2021 18:15 by Annie Stein

Thank you so much!

Creator of Solaris -— Come Explore!
Jul 7, 2021 18:13

Does the existence of a professor Penicilli imply the existence of penicillin?   Given that it's actually a product of alchemy (or chemistry) rather than just someone casting cure spell into a liquid, is dosage a consideration?   Also, on an unrelated note, is "Spread it cross" a typo?   I really like the formatting on this one, feels like you pretty seamlessly integrated a statblock into an encyclopedia article

Jul 7, 2021 18:20 by Annie Stein

Thank you so much! If anyone would discover penicillin in the Morning Realm, it would be her!   A vial is supposed to be a dose, approximately. I think it isn't entirely wrong to think of it a a liquidified 'cure'. Alchemical potions are ritual magic to some degree, where the trigger for the magic is the consumption of most of the liquid. After all, with the shape of most potion bottles I can't imagine people downing every last drop, surely some is still left.   Spread it cross is on purpose. I don't quite know how to justify it, but it's what felt right when writing it.

Creator of Solaris -— Come Explore!
Jul 7, 2021 18:31 by Amélie I. S. Debruyne

Nice article, I love manufacturing details :D If you want to expand later, I'd be interesting to see what each of those ingredients do and why they're added to the potion :p   How common are diamonds in your world? I'm guessing that that pinch is what makes the price high.

To see what I am up to: my Summer Camp 2024.
Jul 7, 2021 18:45 by Annie Stein

Thanks! I'm working on an ingredient page as we speak, which I'll link this up to once I've gotten enough down. Some of it will be explained there, but I do want to expand this later and flesh out what the potion does exactly, what it tastes like, and common variations on it.   Diamonds are probably more common in the morning realm than it is for us, to be able to support all the spells that use it. The healing potion uses about 10 gps worth, so it's a 1/5th of the price.

Creator of Solaris -— Come Explore!
Jul 7, 2021 18:47 by Amélie I. S. Debruyne

diamond are artificially kept scarce for us, so it's logical they would have more when they're so useful. Looking forwards to all that new info :D

To see what I am up to: my Summer Camp 2024.