Post by YammaY on Feb 21, 2016 13:59:22 GMT
Alchemy
Alchemy is the art of rearranging the structure of things to make it something different. There are two many schools of Alchemy governed by the Mage's Guild, Western and Eastern. Western falls under the goal of transmuting matter, whether that be keeping matter the same material and reshaping it through magic, blending into alloys, or changing matter all together. Eastern focuses on the transformation of energy and while based on similar principles isn't as definitively scientific in practice. It can range from changing one type of energy to another, such as converting Ki into electricity, or turning "bad" energy into "good" energy. Both tend more towards the academic side of magic due to alchemy as a whole requiring preparation to be used well, though arrangements can be made to make use of it in combat.
Both forms often function on complexly drawn circles or seals, essentially visual representations of formulas or commands about to be put to the manipulated matter or energy in front of the user. Western tend to be more geometric and symbolic in focus, while Eastern is more inclined towards including complex ideograms or mythological representations. In both cases though, the seal merely functions as a visualized spell for the user to perform, meaning alchemy requires no incantations. Conversely, circles and diagrams may be prepared in advance and reused, but the users are susceptible to their destruction or erasure, requiring a new circle or seal to be drawn. Like an incantation, the complexity of the circle has to do with the complexity of the spell in question and how much mana the user will pour into it as the lines with the circle act as channels in which your mana functions, the circle must have enough "volume" through its lines to store the mana used for the technique. A transmutation requiring a lot of mana can either mean a simple transmutation performed on a lot of matter or a very complex circle in a small area.
Circles are often drawn in chalk in Western Alchemy while a variety of materials are used in Eastern for a variety of desired effects and what materials are viewed as conducting certain types of energy well. Due to circles being spells, functionally, circles with different purposes replace spells for alchemy based mages. Both schools are also highly capable, and known for, the creation of their own familiars through their processes, usually Homonculi is Western Schools or Shikigami in Eastern.
Both forms often function on complexly drawn circles or seals, essentially visual representations of formulas or commands about to be put to the manipulated matter or energy in front of the user. Western tend to be more geometric and symbolic in focus, while Eastern is more inclined towards including complex ideograms or mythological representations. In both cases though, the seal merely functions as a visualized spell for the user to perform, meaning alchemy requires no incantations. Conversely, circles and diagrams may be prepared in advance and reused, but the users are susceptible to their destruction or erasure, requiring a new circle or seal to be drawn. Like an incantation, the complexity of the circle has to do with the complexity of the spell in question and how much mana the user will pour into it as the lines with the circle act as channels in which your mana functions, the circle must have enough "volume" through its lines to store the mana used for the technique. A transmutation requiring a lot of mana can either mean a simple transmutation performed on a lot of matter or a very complex circle in a small area.
Circles are often drawn in chalk in Western Alchemy while a variety of materials are used in Eastern for a variety of desired effects and what materials are viewed as conducting certain types of energy well. Due to circles being spells, functionally, circles with different purposes replace spells for alchemy based mages. Both schools are also highly capable, and known for, the creation of their own familiars through their processes, usually Homonculi is Western Schools or Shikigami in Eastern.
Western Alchemy
Western Alchemy, while finding its origins in the middle east, arose primarily due to the work of Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hoenheim, better known as Paracelsus. Paracelsus, though at the time modern scientific precepts eluded him and he wasn't recognized entirely for his work among the Mage's Guild in his day, created many of the precepts and technique by which modern Alchemy thrives and functions. This was further reinforced by the discovery of the periodic table of elements, providing a framework for which Paracelsus' magical research fully worked.
Modern Alchemy functions by converting the constituent particles of a piece of matter, making them the particles for the type of matter you want to see. An example of various forms of transmutation works well with the example of steel. The simplest form of transmutation is shape transmutation, for example, taking a lump of steel and transmuting it into a sword, bypassing forging processes. The next would be magically fusing alloys together, for example, taking carbon and iron then transmuting it into steel. Partial matter transmutation would be next, such as taking a lump of iron and converting some of it to carbon to make the whole thing steel. Finally would be full transmutation of one form of matter into another, which would be taking a lump of concrete and turning it into steel. When conversion is said and done, you end up with how many moles of matter you started with for moles of the new material. The breakdown or creation of additional protons and electrons is handled through the outpouring of mana from the user.
The bigger the jump in transmutation, the effort and skill it takes from the user, with transmuting gases being especially difficult. The Periodic table should be referenced in this case as the jump in atomic number between elements determines the difficulty of transmutation. For example, turning Silicon into Aluminum would be very easy as they're only one atomic number apart. Turning Hydrogen into Uranium would be a task suited only to a master alchemist and would take an immense amount of prana to accomplish. Additionally lower skill in Alchemy creates a higher number of impurities when transmuting one material into another or changing the chemical properties of a material.
The few who use alchemy for combat generally limit it to shaping matter around them into weapons they can use or keeping objects around they can transmute and alter as they see fit. Skilled alchemists have sometimes woven in complex spells and meticulously mixed reagents before hand for more complex fighting styles. In the end, Alchemy is more geared towards academically inclined mage's though it's not without its combat uses.
Eastern Alchemy
Eastern Alchemy originates in attempts to find immortality and due to that tends to be more geared towards healing. Unlike Western Alchemy, Eastern uses not only circles but the flow of energy through traditions such as Feng Shui and Acupuncture, making advanced forms of these particularly popular among Eastern Alchemists. Due to its close relation to ki and ki arts, ki can be used in place of mana when using Eastern Alchemy. Eastern Alchemy is based primarily around transmuting types of energy into each other. This can range from turning Ki into Electricity to simply changing "negative" energy into "positive" energy. Due to the complexity involved in Eastern Alchemical processes, this often relegates Eastern Alchemists to even less combat than Western, though it hasn't been unheard of for highly trained Eastern Alchemists to mimic Ki Arts through Alchemy for combat, though takes a remarkable amount of preparation to work, let alone talent and training. The general idea is placing alchemy circles on one's body and using them to transmute the ki in one's own body for various combat effects, however this takes a remarkable amount of skill to perform the transmutation while in combat at the same time.
Transmutation often finds its origin in Daoist Principles and Taiji, many Eastern Alchemists focusing on transmutation between Yin and Yang or the flow of elements in traditional Daoism. For this sort of elemental transmutation, elements must transform into what element they absorb in the cycle described in Daoism. Fire becomes Earth, Earth becomes Metal, Metal Becomes Water, Water becomes Wood, and Wood becomes fire. The reason for this limitation is that it functions on changing the elemental energy of the matter rather than the matter itself as Western Alchemy does. Eastern Alchemy is also capable of combining materials, but is incapable of the inherent change of materials except in the example listed previously. The principal of the transmutation lies not in the matter of itself but in the transformation of the energy in different elements and what they represent. This type of transmutation is typically difficult to perform directly, but principals from it can be used in healing methods, determining if a health problem is perhaps caused by an imbalance or obstruction in the natural flow of their energy.
Healing arts often work by amplifying the natural energy of something to heal itself with the ambient energy around it. Eastern Alchemy originally finds its origins in trying to combine materials together to create a secret to immortality and as the ages passed worked in principals such as the flow of Ki or energy from other traditions to become what it is now. Healing is generally accomplished either by drawing an alchemy circle around the wound or by moving the patient onto an alchemy circle and then performing transmutation. For this reason, Eastern Alchemists often make good combat medics as they can use the same circle repeatedly as new patients in need of healing come in, it makes them poor for healing while directly in combat, however. For this reason, healing in Eastern Alchemy can also be performed by way of creating powerful healing potions. Eastern Alchemy can also focus on the flow of energy, which connects it heavily to the ancient principle of Feng Shui. For this reason, while Western Alchemical circles are focused on creating a spell through a formula, those of the East focus on the principle of changing its flow to alter it or bringing in energy from a certain direction to alter the energy being worked with.
Can:
- Transmute Elements Based on the Principals of Daoism and Taiji
- Combine Materials Together
- Infuse Items with a Specific Energy
- Be Used to Heal Wounds
Cannot:
- Change One Material into Another outside of the Daoist Elements
Potions and Elixirs
Both Eastern and Western alchemy have traditions pertaining to the creation of significant mixtures or objects. For the Western Alchemists, this was often the Philosopher's Stone, in whatever form the alchemist in question theorized it would take. For the Eastern Alchemists, these were often elixirs of immortality.
The modern art of Potion Craft as it is known academically stems from these traditions in alchemy, though the notion comes from much older sources in much older forms. Potion Craft is unlike most alchemy in that a fundamental portion of it is a belief in the effectiveness of it. More so than with regular alchemy, a potion is infused the the Mana of the person who brews it, supplying it with a kind of enhanced placebo effect that infuses the actual liquid with its intent. A potion recipe is of very little significance in its actual effect, but of incredible significance to the brewer. At lower ranks, some grounding in fact is required for the user to trick themselves into the effectiveness of the brew, but once one masters the art, random ingredients could be commanded to any number of tasks, so long as the maker believes the recipe.
This does not supplant any real effects of the mixture, however. If you use Cyanide for a potion, that potion will still end up poisonous if the cyanide isn't neutralized by some other effect of the mixture. It's still important for someone to know what they're doing when creating a potion. Even masters couldn't turn something deadly into something harmless, unless of course they brewed an antidote to the poisonous agents in question out of those poisonous agents. The key, however, is always belief in the specific recipe for the potion in question. The requirements for brewing potions loosen with the rank of the magical skill for it.
E: Potion Recipe Requires 5 ingredients, 3 of which must be directly Pertinent to the Desired effect
D: Requires 3 Ingredients, 2 of Which must be directly pertinent to the desired effect
C: Requires a a minimum of 3 ingredients with 1 of direct pertinence, 5 or more ingredients ignores pertinence
B: Three Unrelated Ingredients may be Used
A: Two Unrelated Ingredients may be Used
S: A Potion can be crafted out of anything to do anything
For the purposes of brewing potions, recipes replace spells and ingredients replace an incantation. Ingredients may be brewed traditionally or using an alchemy circle.
On missions, a mage using potions as spells may enter a mission with pre-selected potions of total equal cost to their mana or od stat and create more any time mana or od would be replenished.
Alchemy Specific Laws
The Mage's Association has several Alchemy Specific laws pertaining to both West and East:
- First: That profit from transmuted materials is strictly prohibited and the transmutation of gold, silver, or diamond outside of a lab environment without Enforcer Licensing is strictly prohibited.
- Second: That Alchemy must not be used for the pursuit of immortality in the modern age.
- Third: That aside from the creation of Homonculi as familiars using humans or spirits or other sapient beings as reagents, targets or end goals is strictly prohibited.
- Fourth: An Alchemist's Atelier must be maintained with a function to tag all transmuted materials as transmuted to prevent resale as normal material. (Simply a function of an Atelier created by an Alchemist by default)
Technical Limitations
Alchemy must be performed with a Circle
The Same circle can be used repeatedly, but must be redrawn if damaged.
The circle can be patched if partially damaged, but the patch must be done perfectly or it will lead to misfires.
Different Transmutation Circles Replace Spells for Alchemists, an Alchemist can have as many functioning circles they know as they have spell slots
For all intents and purposes, materials must be stationary. Alchemy is not an instantaneous process, taking anywhere from a frame of 10 seconds to several minutes depending on the amount of matter being worked with.
Alchemy Scales with the abilities of the User
- E rank Users may transmute an element to another up to 10 atomic numbers on the periodic table, with 20% impurities resulting
- D rank Users may transmute an element to another up to 20 atomic numbers on the periodic table, with 15% impurities
- C rank Users may transmute an element to another up to 30 atomic numbers on the periodic table with 10% impurities and may start transmutations from gases
- B rank Users transmute an element to another of up to 40 atomic numbers on the periodic table with 5% Impurities
- A rank Users transmute an element to another up to 50 atomic numbers on the periodic table with 1% Impurities
- S rank Users have no limit that they can jump with no impurities
- + Modifiers allow for an additional 2 atomic numbers, - take 2 away
Circle Size determines the amount of matter you can transmute at once. Every 3" of diameter on a circle means you can transmute up to 100 grams more of material As Circle size increases, so does the cost of the spell.