Maneuving Alchemy within GURPS

     Azando the alchemist (skill 13) spent the last 
umpteen weeks making healing potions, and doing little 
else, war being a great reason to use up healing potions 
faster than they can be made. 

     In GURPS terms, this is training experience, and 
Azando has some CP to spend.  4 points, as it happens. 
Under the rules, he can raise his alchemy skill as a 
whole.  This will let him become expert with another 
elixir, and raise his skill with every elixir he already 
is expert with, and improve his chance of success making 
elixirs while reading their formulae as well.

     "Now HOLD ON THAR!" Azando's player shouts. 
 Azando has only worked with healing potions, and he'd 
rather concentrate the skill boost those points give to the 
one elixir he's worked on.

     In just about any other aspect of GURPS, this 
wouldn't be a problem.  Specialization rules for skills, 
martial arts maneuvers, the system is generally damn 
flexible and character conception friendly and allows to 
focus on specific areas of a skill or ability. 

     But not alchemy.  Here you have a rather rigid 
hierarchy, elixirs are lockstepped with the alchemy skill 
and an "expertise" system.  One reason you see so few 
alchemist characters may be due to that regimentation.

     So here is a way of bringing GURPS Alchemy into the 
90s, even into the next century.

     Elixirs are *maneuvers* of the Alchemy skill.  All 
are Hard.  No elixir may advance more than Alchemy +5, 
and GMs may wish to restrict some elixirs to lower 
levels. 

     Pretty much by definition, a maneuver of a skill 
should be cheaper to learn than the parent skill, 
otherwise you might as well improve every aspect of the 
skill rather than specialize in one area.  The maneuver 
system in GURPS was built for physical martial arts 
skills and where physical skills peak out at a cost 
of 8 points per level, Mental skills generally peak out
at a cost of 2 per level, except for Mental very Hard 
skills, which peak out at a 4 points per level basis.

     Mental maneuvers then should reflect a lower point
cost per level basis because the skills they are based
on don't cost as much.

   Compendium 1 notes the word "maneuver" has several 
interrelated but distinct definitions in GURPS and put forth 
alternate terms.  Mental based maneuvers are designated 
"Methods".  What follows is a cost chart for Mental 
Maneuvers.  To minimize confusion with the martial 
maneuvers, which are divided into "Average" and "Hard" 
categories,  Methods will be divided into "Easy" and 
"Standard" forms. 

   All Alchemy methods are Standard.  In fact very few 
methods should qualify as easy. 

                      Methods
Default                 Easy                  Standard
+1                        .5                         1 
+2                         1                         2 
+3                         2                         3 
+4                         3                         4 
   
            And +1 CP per additional level.         


     In this situation, Chiron (healing potion) has the 
same skill as the alchemy skill of the person making the 
potion. (Defaults to Alchemy skill)  Instead of spending 
4 pts to raise his alchemy skill to 14, Azando's Chiron 
maneuver is raised to 17.

     Optional: To minimize conflicts with existing alchemist 
characters, alchemists still get their alchemy skill level 
as a base expertise, and may purchase additional expertise 
for elixirs.  This won't be that cheap, but remember you are 
expert with the first (alchemist skill level) elixirs for 
0 points.  It's only when you exceed that number that you 
begin to pay points, and any elixir bought as a maneuver with
points automatically counts as one the character is expert
with.

     Cost is based on three factors: Minimum social 
status "needed" to know a given formula (see Magic p.88), 
the difficulty in making the elixir, and the legality of 
the elixir.  If the character qualifies for learning
an elixir, he or she does not have to pay this additional
cost.  

     Elixirs that are supposed to only be known to 
guildmasters or higher status alchemists add 1 point to 
the cost, while elixirs supposedly only known to Grand 
Masters add 3 points to the cost.  

     Any elixir which is outlawed (or just extremely 
rare) in the area the character learns it requires 2 
extra points.  Rare & outlawed are not normally 
cumulative penalties.  It is presumed the illegal sources 
that supply the materials have overcome the rarity 
problems as well as a degree of the law enforcement types 
trying to shut them down. 

     That leaves the difficulty.  The default elixir
presumes 1 week or less to prepare it, and no modifier to 
the alchemy skill.  Any elixir that takes longer or has a 
penalty to the skill is defined as difficult.  

TIME 
(up to)     2 weeks to prepare:     1 pt 
            3-4 weeks to prepare:   2 pts
            5-6 weeks to prepare:   3 pts
            7+:                     4 pts

SKILL
     For every point of penalty to the skill, add 1 pt to 
the cost of expertise.

     Example: The elixir of Ares takes 2 weeks to make (1 
pt) and is at -1 skill (1 pt).  Experise Cost: 2 points.

     Counter Example: The elixir of Ceres takes 20 weeks 
(4 pts) and is at -4 (4 pts).  It is supposed to only be 
known to guildmasters or higher ranked members of the 
guild(s) (1 pt).  It costs 9 points to become expert with it. 

     Minimum cost for additional expertise is 1 point.  
(It's still advisable to put the most difficult elixirs 
in the "slots" provided by the alchemy skill, but there 
is no free ride to be found by putting non-difficult 
elixirs in as extras.)

CRITICAL FAILURES
     One of the things players can do is cite the rules.  
(Perhaps you've encountered this phenomenon yourselves.) 
And one of the things a rules quoter can cite is that 
there is NO CHANCE whatsoever of a crit failed elixir 
hurting someone not present at the time the batch was 
screwed up.  (all results have an immediate effect on the 
alchemist and labratory.)  The following chart fixes 
that.  

     Definitions: 

     An *immediate* result means the effect occurs in the 
lab. 
     A *delayed* result means the effect occurs when the 
elixir is used.  (Yes, this is rather obvious, but some 
players will try to weasel their way out of a bad result 
by arguing that the use of the word "delayed" gives them 
a chance to throw the elixir away and run for cover.  It 
does no such thing unless the result description says 
they can do so.)

Roll 3d after a critical failure has occured making the 
elixir:

3-5: Immediate.  Everyone within 100 yds of the lab 
 experiences the effects of the elixir (or it's reverse 
 50-50 chance).
6: Delayed.  As above but when the elixir is used.
7-8: Immediate.  Everyone within 10 feet of the lab 
 experiences the effects as noted for 3-5.
9-10: Delayed.  Pity the poor fool who uses the elixir.  
 Roll on the SPELL crit failure chart (Magic p.6)
11-12: Immediate.  Explosion/corrosive vapors/fire destroy 
 lab, alchemist has time to flee.
13: Delayed.  Once activated, something goes wrong, along 
 the lines of Explosion/corrosive/fire.  Characters may 
 flee, but their location at the time this occurs may 
 bring the destruction along ( ie fire in a forest, poisonous 
 vapor in a cavern etc.) to where they flee.
14-15: Immediate.  Explosion (etc.) destroy lab, 3d to 
 alchemist.
16-17: Delayed.  Oh dear.  It seems Mr. Elixir was Mr. 
 Grenade in disguise, and not your friend after all.  3d 
 explosive (etc.) damage to user, -1d per hex to anyone 
 too close.
18: Immediate.  As 14-15, but the alchemist takes 6d.

     There is no delayed 6d damage, but then the 
alchemist in the lab doesn't have to worry about demons 
popping up.  

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