The Knowledge of the Apothecary

     The Apothecary is a fundamental part of the D&D world, and is just as important as Divine healing for a more mundane setting. Your players could be playing a priest of a faith, but could also be a type of Apothecary that uses herbs and practical methods of healing.
     Most PC groups always forget that the more mundane ways of healing can be just as effective in a campaign as the quick methods of a potion or blessings. It is important to have a backup plan in case these quick ways of getting back Hit Points are not available, and having a PC with the knowledge to heal at all can be vital to survival.
     There are many different ways to go about introducing the slower and less effective ways of healing to a group, but it is important that it not be as easy as just brewing a tea or finding an herb. Making the process more involving gives a larger appreciation to the NPCs they come across that heal in this way!
     There are 6 vital points of knowledge one should know to be the most effective at healing another naturally. While having just one of these subjects known can help get the process started, having more of these subjects studied will make the Apothecary far more effective. The following six subjects have both descriptions of what the basic proficiency will help with, along with its expanded version called Sage Knowledge.

- Herbalism -     How to spot, identify, and harvest herbs. This allows a PC to make a check in the wild to locate herbs, and understand their uses.
          Sage Knowledge: Expanded understanding of Botany, and how to grow your own herbs in a controlled environment. This gives a +4 to Harvesting Dangerous Plants, and gives a chance to identify rare or magical herbs with a successful check.

- Alchemy -     Understand the basic materials and core elements of nature, and how to apply those ideas in a practical way.
          Sage Knowledge: A complex understand of how chemicals interact, how to manipulate elements, and a material's arcane alignment. Advanced material spell component use and which components enhance spell effects.

- Healing -     How to spot and treat superficial wounds, and to understand the basic treatment of injuries. Fundamental ideas on how to treat symptoms of illness.
          Sage Knowledge: Quickly identify conditions or illnesses, and how to treat them. Administer and oversee long term treatment with full recovery.

- Poisons -     Understand the signs of poisonous condition, along with basic knowledge of what materials could be a poison. Know the types of poisons and their signature onset effects.
          Sage Knowledge: Know the proper dosage of poison to use to attain a desired effect. Be able to maintain safety when concocting or using a poisonous substance.

- Brewing -     How to brew ale and wine from scratch. Know how to brew teas and herbal concoctions properly to obtain benefits from their herbal properties.
          Sage Knowledge: How to distill, combine, and condense an ingestable substance for medicinal purposes. Ferment and develop new alcoholic drinks and understand palate interactions.

- Nature -     Basic understanding of how wilderness thrives, along with the small creatures that inhabit it. Know how landscapes effect the general circle of life.
          Sage Knowledge: Intimate understanding on how life, nature, and environment shift and effect one another. Complex knowledge of toxins, venom, and poisonous environments.

   
   

The Orrery of Si'Thyial

The Orrery of Si'Thyial

Created By: Archmage Si'Thyial

Time Period: MR348, The Age of Lawless Arcana

Created on: The Prime Material

Contains Life Essence

Rarity: Artifact, Unique

This is a one of a kind artifact from Magic Reign, Created by Archmage Si'Thyial. It was his intention to study the Inner Planes, and find a way to draw from them as sources. To do this, he spent his entire life creating a device that would help him travel around the fastest, by modifying a model he made when he was under tutelage. He would never get to go on his adventure, as it wasn't until near the end of his life he developed a spell to draw a sustained amount of Arcana, which he was able to etch into the crystalline casing. Before he was able to test the device, he perished of disease. The soul of Archmage Si'Thyial is attached to this item, but is non-acting.

Description

The core only, it is a Thick Rod made of intricate gears and dials. Many rings are stacked upon each other creating layers of cogs, wheels, and combinations of small moving parts. Upon the top is an orb of a clear nature, emitting a faint yellow white glow. In between the many rings, has a clear crystalline barrier that is protecting extremely small parts. Some of the dials have arcane markings upon them, indicating days, months, seasons, and celestial cycles. There are dials that have a small gold clamp, and a hole through the ring. There is a string of numbers, letters, and symbols etched into the metal of each gold clamp. There are 8 Clamps. The bottom of the rod has 4 feet that are made of solid iron, resembling the claws of a Draconian Creature.

The crystal casing that is protecting the smallest, most intricate parts is covered in small, flowing runes that glow with a soft dark blue. There seems to be many layers of these runes within the thickness of the crystal.

The rings are still in continual motion, as the device is keeping track of time and position. The orb in the middle will glow the color of the plane they are on:

• Fire = Red
• Blue = Water
• Brown = Earth
• Clear = Air
• Yellow = Prime Material

**NOTE** The device is not currently glowing **NOTE**

The strange numbers, letters, and symbols on the gold clamps represent the precise measurements and dimensions of the other pieces needed to operate the entire device. They require perfect sphere chunks of gemstone no lower value of 2500gp, needing one of each Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, and Amber. The other 4 pieces need precious stones shaped into a perfect sphere, no lower that 2000gp in value: an Opal, Pearl, Red Jasper, and Amethyst. These will be placed upon tiny bowls to keep the spheres from falling, attached to rods at the specified distance and height from the core. The rods must be made of Deep Mithril, and the little bowls must be made of Mithril.

The power source is enchanted to deliver jolts of arcane energy into the device when activated, but it is currently running on just the initial enchantment. The etching in the crystal is what it is burning up, and it needs to be refreshed. The etching is already there, and will only require an expert Gem Cutter to etch into the crystal and restore the enchantment before it burns up.

Operation

When assembled correctly, it will keep precise time, give you an exact position on the current inner plane you are on, and will grant the ability to travel freely between the planes. By dialing a position into the Orrery, the relic will root into the mithril trimmed keel of what ever vessel you are within, and create a protective barrier to that specific plane your traveling too. You will take flight, and within the skies transverse through the ethereal plane; quickly making your way to your destination. The destination must be within the inner planes, and must be accessible through the Ethereal plane.

The protective barrier is always active, no matter what plane you are on.

     Static Barrier – Allows the craft to fly and balance. Allows the Navigator to control the ship at their will. Provides atmosphere.

Plane of:

     Fire – Protected from Fire and Magic Fire

     Water – Protected from Water, along with the pressure of being deep under water.

     Earth – Provides protection from the wild nature and acts as camouflage.

     Air – Provides Maximum atmosphere

     Ethereal – Masks the presence of the ship within the Ethereal.

     Prime Material – Protection from Normal Missiles, can not be struck by lightning.

Special Material

Deep Mithril – By taking Mithril and repeatedly melting it by dragon fire, its color will turn from bright silver to a glass polished gray black (Gunmetal in color). This will cause the Mithril to be extremely light, and turn into an arcane super-magnet. Deep Mithril can pull in Arcana from the air and cause decay. The metal is volatile, and will decay back into normal Mithril if the arcane energy it is collecting isn't being expended or stored immediately.

Parts to Assemble

1 Ruby – Polished with super-heated flame (Blue or White) (Flame Elemental)

1 Sapphire – Water jet cut to a perfect sphere (Water Elemental or Djinn)

1 Diamond – Sand blasted and spun to create an almost invisible object (Air Elemental)

1 Amber – Rolled in powdered stone until glass-like (Earth Elemental)

1 Opal – The opal must have a cosmic sheen, as if looking at a storm brewing amongst the stars.

1 Pearl – It must be naturally made into a perfect sphere, and be completely white with absolute pearl-essence.

1 Red Jasper – Must be completely red, with no black veins

1 Amethyst – Just has to be a perfect sphere.

8 Precision-Molded, Deep Mithril Rods to Exact Specification