Alchemy

Alchemy was one of the Five Magics, and its procedures were described by formulas of arcane symbols kept in grimoires. Formula success was governed by probability; the more potent the result, the less likely it was to succeed.

Laws
Doctrine of Signatures - the attributes without mirror the powers within

Practitioners
One who practices Alchemy is known as an Alchemist. There are two ranks of mastery:
 * Novice
 * Master

Appearance
Alchemists wear white robes covered with the inverted triangle.

The Art
The Art of Alchemy consists of combining the signatures of available materials to produce a finished product that creates the desired effects. Products of Alchemy tend to be potions, powders, or other transient items. They retain their potency for a relatively short time (typically weeks or months), and cannot produce lasting magical effects, but within those restrictions, they can be powerful indeed.

Potions to produce invisibility or change the shape and abilities of the drinker can be created, along with others to alter their minds or hearts. Acids can be created to destroy all matter, or to aid in the hardening of metals. Powders can transport the user vast distances or blast with fire or lightning. Ointments can protect the user from any danger, at least for a while.

The basic alchemical operation is the creation of a potion. This requires a recipe, unless the user is of sufficient skill to create a recipe on his own - few Alchemists have the requisite skill.

Recipes are recorded in the creator's notebook and jealously guarded, often trapped and warded, but sometimes traded for others of similar worth. Each recipe consists of a series of steps, with each step consisting of an ingredient to be added to the mixture and an incantation to be performed. The ingredients range from simple (coal dust, ground glass) to the sublime (powdered diamond, organs from exotic beasts). The incantations are taken from a secret magical language, and can be used only by those with magical talent. The more powerful the result of the recipe, the more steps and ingredients are needed to produce it.

Each step has a chance of failure based on the power of the effect or signature added, the materials used, and the other materials in the recipe. If a given step fails, the entire recipe fails and must be restarted. Thus, if a recipe has more than a few steps, even a low chance of failure for each individual step will result in a fairly high overall failure rate. In addition, there are often many alternative sources of a given effect, so making a high-yield recipe is a very complicated matter, especially as the number of steps rises.

Alchemy and Society
Alchemists are traders and merchants. There are essentially two types of alchemists, those who run factories producing the same potions or ointments on a large scale, and those who operate independently. The latter kind of alchemist experiments with new formulas of potency, creating products that can be sold to gain a small fortune. Unfortunately, most of these alchemists either end up spending their fortunes to pay off their debts, or else end up as slave labor in the larger factories.