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Potion sizes

Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2019 11:40 pm
by Veknironth
Well, potions are pretty simple, you drink them and you receive the effect for 10 minutes. There are some potions that have double the duration. Are those potions larger in volume, or just more powerful? If they're larger in volume, couldn't you just create a longer lasting potion by buying a larger container and pouring two into it? If they are just more powerful, like they have more potent magic, what happens when you take two regular potions and add them? I'm talking about the same type of potion. Further, could you make a smaller potion that has the same effect but with a shorter duration? It could help for carrying more potions. For something like a healing potion it would heal less.

And for the crazy stuff, what happens when you mix potions with different effects?

-Vek
"For the second question I suppose an explosion or just a large amount of foul-tasting, inert liquid."

Re: Potion sizes

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2019 2:24 pm
by Hotrod
Veknironth wrote:Well, potions are pretty simple, you drink them and you receive the effect for 10 minutes. There are some potions that have double the duration. Are those potions larger in volume, or just more powerful? If they're larger in volume, couldn't you just create a longer lasting potion by buying a larger container and pouring two into it? If they are just more powerful, like they have more potent magic, what happens when you take two regular potions and add them? I'm talking about the same type of potion. Further, could you make a smaller potion that has the same effect but with a shorter duration? It could help for carrying more potions. For something like a healing potion it would heal less.

And for the crazy stuff, what happens when you mix potions with different effects?

-Vek
"For the second question I suppose an explosion or just a large amount of foul-tasting, inert liquid."



For the original question, it's a question of concentration, just like in chemistry. You can have diluted potions that are larger/heavier, and you can have concentrated versions that are smaller/lighter. Most alchemists sell them at a fairly high concentration. What matters is the amount of special *stuff* that's dissolved in the liquid. There's a lowest-volume/highest-concentration limit that's potion-dependent, and there are practical limits of how much a character can drink in order to achieve an effect.

For the second question, If combining potions created explosions, that would be a bit too easy to exploit. If it inerted the potion, that would be uninteresting. I would propose you randomize the result:

1. The combined potion works, and both potions' effects combine flawlessly.
2. One potion's effect gets nullified. Flip a coin to determine which.
3. Both potions' effects are nullified. The result is ingestible, but tastes nasty.
4. Both potions' effects are nullified, and the result is an un-ingestible acid (1D6 S.D.C. per melee for 8 melees)
5. Both potions' effects are nullified, and the result produces a noxious, thick cloud of smoke (same as Cloud of Smoke spell, but smells terrible)
6. Both potions' effects are nullified, and the result burns with a bright light or explodes, doing 2D6 S.D.C. to a 6 foot radius (flip a coin to see which).

Re: Potion sizes

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2019 6:15 pm
by kiralon
Does size of imbiber matter, a gnome sized healing potion has to be a lot less liquid than a titans, but does it heal a titan the same amount.

To me the recipe used is the difference, altering volume and strength (and side effects, I allow players to make pots with holistic medicine and have added a heap of magical plants to help do so)
and as for the pots interacting with each other, why would they, casting multiple spells on a person doesn't have crazy interactions. (The answer is because crazy interactions are fun, I use a modified table from 2nd ed d&d mixed with morrowinds as a based part of the pot creation on that)
3 Potions per hour = OK
More = Roll on the table with a modifier for each extra one.
Healing potions are excluded, drink as many as you like.