ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

As a follower of Zigur, my archer will betray alchemists on escort quests.

But I'm more than willing to get potions for the Brotherhood of Alchemist prospects.

"Hmmm, a potion that will give me two general points. Well, really I should turn you into a pin cushion, but.. sure, I can help with that."

Power over morality - I think he'll run for Mayor of Toronto next year.

But of course. The path of the arcane leads only to destruction. Thus, by helping the Alchemists get into the Brotherhood, aren't you really just speeding them along to their own ironic demise?

Mewtarthio wrote:But of course. The path of the arcane leads only to destruction. Thus, by helping the Alchemists get into the Brotherhood, aren't you really just speeding them along to their own ironic demise?

That's true, but arcane destruction is indiscriminate and affects the guilty and the innocent alike, whereas an arrow through the eye allows a very precise removal of an arcane threat.

I don't see the Alchemists that brew elixirs (and in one case, brews) using Arcane forces. And their products seem to be infused by nature. At any rate, they don't pervert ordinary gemstones into arcane filth and launch them with impunity.

The Revanchist wrote:I don't see the Alchemists that brew elixirs (and in one case, brews) using Arcane forces.

Zigur does.

There's a whole big Lore about it.

Potion making is Arcane and evil and Zigur will rip out your tongue and might even burn you alive if you brew any.

Unless it's to sever you from the Arcane with another elixir?

Or do home-brewed ones not count? TThat'd be awfully hypocritical of those Nature-Masters.

The Revanchist wrote:That'd be awfully hypocritical of those Nature-Masters.

There is no evidence that the anti-magic drink was ever made by an Alchemist.

Doctornull wrote: Zigur does.

There's a whole big Lore about it.

Potion making is Arcane and evil and Zigur will rip out your tongue and might even burn you alive if you brew any.

Yeah, that's what I thought. So, should Zigurites be allowed to do the Alchemist quests? I think it would be cool if they were replaced and you ended up with the option of killing the alchemists.

TheFinn70 wrote:Yeah, that's what I thought. So, should Zigurites be allowed to do the Alchemist quests? I think it would be cool if they were replaced and you ended up with the option of killing the alchemists.

It's a matter of taste.

Some people like to power-game, some people like the challenge of playing with RP restrictions that reduce their total power. Neither way of playing is morally superior, and both can be fun.

From a balance perspective, it might be kind of neat if the Alchemist potions were the alternative to Fungus.

Doctornull wrote:

The Revanchist wrote:I don't see the Alchemists that brew elixirs (and in one case, brews) using Arcane forces.

Zigur does.

There's a whole big Lore about it.

Potion making is Arcane and evil and Zigur will rip out your tongue and might even burn you alive if you brew any.

That lore is explicitly clear that the Zigurant consider potion-making to be misguided at worst. Remember, the only actual Ziguranth saved the alchemist from the lynch mob. She clearly considers alchemy morally wrong, but more like some people consider pollution morally wrong: It's not that you're actively unraveling the fabric of reality, but that you're causing unintended damage in the long run.