Alchemy betterment.

[Virgil Thompson]

I do alchemy for one reason. It saves me money on my spell components for one of the spells I tend to cast a lot as soon as I can get it. Yes I do plan on taking Eschew Materials II but that is 12th level and well I like to cast firebrand it is available at 7th or 9th level, If anyone remembers Alexei they will remember he used that much more often than fireball. Leonid does not even have fireball in his spellbook. Alchemy has its uses and yes it is difficult to gather the stuff but imagine if you can barely carry your gear and you want to get enough stuff to actually make the trip to the alchemists table worthwhile.

I am a bit of an alchemist myself, and some may agree that alchemy is the precursor to modern science. If it were not part of our ancient and middle history, science would not be what it is today.
Alchemists made glass and experimented with alloying different metals with glass for different properties and coloration.
They would extract the essence from plants, but only after reducing wine to pure alcohol for the purpose of making tinctures and extractions.
They could also reduce various organs of an animal to gather ingredients in order to make potions and poisons.
To the uneducated, this would appear as magic, but to an alchemist, it was trial and error with positive results, though more disasters befelled the alchemist than discoveries.

I would say that being an alchemist is a poly-craft, as it includes gem crafting, tinkering, smelting, cooking, brewing and poison making. Given that, perhaps a PrC of alchemist or artificer would be in order, but perhaps also only as an NPC.

[Crunch]

I would like to see a high level alchemy potion of "magical refreshment" or some such.  Idea would be that by drinking the potion you recharge spells as if you had rested.  I'm not thinking of getting all your spells; maybe just first through third circle or some such.  I expect it would be one of the toughest potions to make and would require rare components such as diamond dust.  Something that a spell slinger would want to save one of as a last resort.  E.g. your at the bottom of haven mines and out of spells.  You drink the potion to recover your invisibility spells and get yourself and your party out.

I don't know if this is feasible from a programming standpoint b/c it would be like a partial rest.  In fact it might even count as your rest period as an added penalty.  i.e. your so wired fromteh potion that you can't rest again for 10 minutes.

Historically speaking of course and in accordance to RL history. Alchemy was the basis to modern science. With the cataloguing of various plants and animals from around the world by various explorers and authors. Only when the first explorers came across near east, middle east and far east did Alchemy have a beginning. The name implies 'of the earth or black earth'...Al Khem.
Alchemy has been broken down in the game into various categories.
tinkering, with glass making and molds (though lacking in the idea of -lurgical applications)
smelting, with the making of bronze (though where is the electrum:1 gold ingot + 1 silver ingot)
alchemy, within the tower north of hlint, its possible to combine plant product with animal product.
cooking
and brewing in the kitchen inn, is also an integral part of alchemy as well (mind you it would be nice to have a distillation device in the kitchen. Its one thing to have the farmers press, but distillation either by steaming or by boiling in wine would be a nice option, and introduce liquors and extracts.

I guess that for the purposes of alloying materials and liquids, one could call it infusion in a way, though definitely not the same as enchantment. Infusion should not be magical, but enchantment, most definitely.

Alchemy in the true sense is a poly-craft. All things required to do it properly should come from all over Layonara. Not every plant, animal or mineral should be found on just one continent or island.

Just a side note: it would be nice to be able to make tubing, unless of course you introduce bamboo (Gilligan's Island ring any bells?)

[Dark Jester]

I actually don't think there are any official 'origins' to Alchemy in RL. It's been around as long as life has existed. Simply being around plants and minerals will teach you some of their properties with simple interaction. In some creatures, it is even bred into their genetic knowledge.

How many Dog owners can vouch for the fact that their dogs eat Grass when they have an upset stomach. Thats not a trick we teach them, and they usually only do it when they do have an upset stomach. It's an easy way to tell when your dog really isnt feeling good. Instinctively, even animals know the alchemical properties of the some of the plants around them.

As far as the CNR Tradeskill goes (Wow, this thread is old), I think Alchemy is one of the most balanced tradeskills on the server (Always has been, even back when I played in 2003), and it's also one of the few that has the potential to make a continuous profit since the product is disposable. My old Mage Char Nazan (dunno if many remember him) used to make a boatload of money with alchemy once he started getting good with it. It takes a ton of work to master alchemy, but the rewards are definately there for those that put the effort in.

-Jester