Alchemy Tools

These are the basic methods to use each of the currently available alchemy tools.

In the following notes, I will make reference to herbs in natural form & processed form. What I'll refer to as 'natural form' is what you forage from the ground, so a cebi root, an ithor root, etc. The processed form will refer to once an item has been crushed or dried, and that will then convert to some dried cebi, some crushed ithor, etc. Please see the page here for more information on the specific herbs with foraging & preparation notes.

  • mortar and pestle
    -
    This pair of instruments will be used in the first step of half of all the herb preparations, where you will crush an herb from its base form to the processed form. You will only be able to crush a single item in your mortar at a time, so it is recommended that you invest in the Restoration Acumen technique if you are serious about Remedies, as it will reduce your processing time.
    -Holding one in each hand, if you crush the item in your mortar with your pestle, you will begin to see the item ground down from its natural form.
    -This set of items will be used for both processing a natural herb to a processed herb, but will also be used in a number of the actual recipes for taking a processed herb to a finished remedy. The verbage is the same for both processes.
    CRUSH <item> in my mortar with my pestle
  • Wayerd pyramid and it's variations (greenhouse, pineapple, etc.)
    -To use this device, open it and put in the herbs you would like to dry. Depending on the quality of the pyramid, you will be able to fit a varying number of herbs into it.
    -Close the device and, during good weather in the daylight hours, head outside and look for a place you can safely place the pyramid on the ground.
    -A good rule of thumb and to help prevent honest mistakes is to guard your pyramid once on the ground, and to tie a piece of string around your finger to remember to pick it up when you move on.
    -Once on the ground, if the sun is shining, you should hear a low humming come from the pyramid.
    -After a number of hums, you will receive a secondary message indicating that your herbs, or some of your herbs if you did not start drying them all at the same time, are ready. The message to watch for is: After several moments a high-pitched humming resonates from the pyramid.
    -Rangers can also Beseech the Sun to Dry, although it will not be as effective as using a master-crafted pyramid.
    • a Wayerd pyramid with a cambrinth capstone and variations
      A Fairly rare item sold at a few GM-run auctions, from quests, etc. Bypasses the normal pyramid system by allowing you to dry items at night and inside, although you do still need to drop it to have it work. Holds 10 mana, and uses 1 mana per hum. These were converted to the new system as Tier 5 items, so they do increase drying speed. They will also work during the daytime as a normal pyramid without needing to refresh the mana.
  • bowls, cauldrons, etc. & mixing sticks
    -To complete the transition from a processed herb to a finished remedy, you will also need a bowl & mixing stick set. In some cases, a mortar and pestle will be used to do this, but the others will require you to be able to stir your bowl with a stick with the remedy started.
    STIR my bowl with my stick
  • sieve
    -During the process of converting a processed herb to a finished remedy, you will encounter the need to remove impurities from your mix. This tool will allow you to do that by pushing the mixture in your mortar or bowl with the sieve.
    PUSH <remedy> in my bowl/mortar with my sieve
  • unlonchai bucket - This may be used in future alchemy releases, but is not currently needed for Remedies.
    -Put your herb or water in it and close, shake it once and wait, in a few moments, the water or herb will have cooled to freezing
    -Be forewarned, the elementals that live in the buckets have formed a sort of union, and no longer tolerate excessive shaking of their homes. If you push your luck with shaking them too much, they may leave the buckets, thereby leaving the bucket useless.
  • portable stove - This may be used in future alchemy releases, but is not currently needed for Remedies.
    -To use this device, you will need a combustible material (notes on my detailed herb information page will let you know what forgeable items can be burnt), such as charcoal, place the charcoal into the stove, light the charcoal (with a knife and flint or magical means), close the stove and drop it, then guard
    -Get yourself a jar and fill it with what it is you want to heat, put the jar onto the stove and wait
  • tincture jar (detailed instructions here) - The technique tree indicates this will be a part of the Remedy system, but it was not part of the initial release.
    -To use this device, put in healing herb powder and grain alcohol in a 4:1 ratio (4 parts alcohol to 1 part herb).  Close the jar, wait 10 minutes, shake the jar, wait 10 minutes, shake the jar, wait 10 minutes then open and retrieve your mix.
    -You can LOOK at the jar at any time once you have begun the process to see more information about the stage you are on.
  • vials, jars, bottles, gourds (use 'pour help' in game for additional information)
    -although not a 'proper' alchemy tool in the sense of the ones above, you will always be needing to transfer water, alcohol or other liquids from one container to another.  When you are mixing, you need all your items into consolidated items (for example if you need 3 doses of water, you can't use "a water, a water, a water", you need 1 'a water' that counts as 3 parts.  To combine the waters, you need to:
    pour my <container1/potion/water/etc> into my <container2>

Also useful quick-list of the in game syntax:

  • MARK <item> at # and then BREAK my <item> to adjust item sizes
  • COMBINE <item> (when holding 2 of the same things) - if doing this with finished remedies of different quality, it will average the quality through the group.
  • COUNT my <item>
  • CRUSH <item> in my mortar with my pestle
  • POUR  my <container1/potion/water/etc> into my <container2>

 

The following items are alchemy-related, however they are either not directly related to herb processing or are optional items that can help make the processing more convenient and/or fun.

  • a fine rosewood case
    Quest reward item that turns into a portable scale, your own MAMAS. While not necessary to the process, keeping track of the weight of your items does come in handy, esp. if you are selling your finished product. This item does (unfortunately) become obsolete with high appraisal skill.
  • a candle mold
    Purchased from alchemy stores around Elanthia, you can STUDY them in order to shape them differently and then use melted wax processed from foraged honey comb to make useable candles.
  • garlands
    Purchased from the Empath shop in Crossing, herbs can be put onto the garland to make for easy access to them.
  • "herb stackers"
    Sold during the 2013 Guild Festival in Therengia in the Foraging Emporium shop (Elanthipedia link here), these items will help to reduce item counts by treating all items within the pouch as 1 thing. Very handy.

 

If you wish to get a broader perspective on the different types and tools of alchemy from an IG standpoint, seek out the following IG books (a listing of library locations and books hosted at each can be found on the Elanthipedia wiki here):

  • "Alchemy", call numbers "HRxxA" or "IxxA"
  • "A Brief History of Alchemy", call numbers "HwvBH" or "HwvtBHA"

 

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