Alchemy?

Lorelliad

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I tend to go in depth in things that I want to explain, or actually have the facts to explain it.

Had been thinking of implementing Alchemy into my story (but its not the MC who uses it)

For those who have this in their story, how did you guys write it? When I think of Alchemy I'd immediately think potions and homunculuses.

And that's probably not all of there is to it.
 
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Zirrboy

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At a very fundamental level you can view existing chemistry as a form of alchemy, thus abstracting chemical concepts and re-purposing the details would get you another variant.
If you say chemistry is the science of the periodic table of elements and the behavior of parts thereof during and after reactions, you get two abstract concepts: elements and combination.

An element would be any non-dividable existence, something like the building blocks of reality with inherent properties, while combinations define requirements and results of any transition between compounds and elements or other compounds.

Then you simply fill them with whatever seems plausible by common sense, which you can do as detailed or sporadic as you wish, especially if the focal character doesn't need to show deep understanding of it.
 

Reborn_Cat

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Like what he said, Alchemy is mostly about magic chemistry, it can also involve stuff like transmutation and equivalent exchange as its more western definition eg- Fullmetal Alchemist, as well as making magic tools and weapons in some stories (Can't think of any examples). Some stories also label it as an all-purpose crafting some what like how it is portrayed in the atelier series (not really sure about this one, have only seen the playthrough of one game). Golemany is also aspected to alchemy.
There is also stuff like biological experimentation and chimera creation (RIP Nina)
In the end alchemy is just magic sciencey stuff
 

GodlessEmperor

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I would usually split all magic science in three categories for my stories:
- Alchemy: Consumables like potions and pills etc. and equipment imbuement (turning a sword into some magic sword) and bio sciences
- magic engineering: permanent structures and fancy stuff
- mage scholars: base magic research

as well as making magic tools and weapons in some stories (Can't think of any examples)
I forgot its name but there is a LN with an alchemist girl that has a store in a village. In that LN she creates not only potions but also magic tools and weapons with alchemy.
 

TotallyHuman

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I wrote (currently on hiatus) a cultivation novel, where alchemy was a broad discipline about using the spiritual to transform the material. That included turning stone into gold, hot into cold, living into dead, space into a lot more space etc. On lower (below what basically was one step away from the closest thing to omnipotence) levels, it broke apart into innumerable sciences that tackle very particular problems and those break apart further (like how physics is mechanics + quantum mechanics + hydrodynamics + nuclear physics + etc etc).
On that note, I broke apart cultivation into four broad parts that intercept at their borders:
1) formations: physical transphorms the spiritual, the most versatile but requires a lot of skill and knowledge and investment before giving any returns. The most expensive and the least well-understood, basically nobody beyond the very very few do it.
2) alchemy, explained, the "strongest" but requires a lot of initial power, knowledge, luck and basically you have to be heaven's chosen to achieve any great results. Second least-understood, for the most privileged.
3) spells and rituals, spiritual transphorms spiritual, the second most accessible. The cornerstone and foundation of cultivation. Everybody who can does it to some extent. Incredibly broad but gives quickly diminishing returns. For commoners among cultivators.
4) mortal sciences, material transphorms the material. Literally everyone can do, very shallow in comparison to the other 3,for literal commoners.
 

Werelure

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Things commonly attributed to alchemy are - various potions and other consumables with magical effects, transformation of elements, creation of artificial life and research towards ultimate goals of granting indefinite lifespan and ability to transform material objects at will. Gaming and anime culture diluted meanings associated with alchemy and turned it into all-purpose go-to scapegoat for magical fuckery so nowadays it could as well include adding blessings to items, rituals, communication with gods, shapeshifting, manipulations with souls and summonable cat-girls.

Personally I tend to write Alchemy in two distinct forms. First is a mix of basic chemistry and pharmacology, no or little magic involved. And second is purely magical with broader goals and tools but with one shared principle - it should have fixed rules and be repeatable as long as the same actions with the same ingredients are performed, meaning it should not be based on something like feelings of user or blessings from divine beings, only on knowledge, skills and accessibility of whatever ingredients and energies are required.

In the end, Alchemy is just a tool both for whoever uses it in your story and for you as an author - decide what you want to show with it and write it accordingly.
 

cryum

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Strictly speaking, Alchemy is chemistry before we figured out the periodic table. It attempts to use various elemental systems to describe material phenomena, and "potions" are just as much alchemy as cooking is technically chemistry.

What we use for alchemy in fiction is not too different from spells: a list of powers and abilities derived from a deeper understanding of the world. This can be potions(manipulating reagents), golems(manipulating fantasy AI), zombies/homunculi(some rare titles consider necromancy a form of alchemy since it manipulates souls), or straight up wizardry if you combine elements to create your spells. Even cultivators classify as alchemists, since all of them use their own bodies as alchemical cauldrons to create immortal bodies while only a few mess about with pills.

The difference is primarily in theme and appearance, since it's pretty rare for a writer to step up and develop an interlocking system of interactions. Besides, plenty of recipes boil down to "Add these two mundane ingredients, then douse it in MAGIC JUICE".
 
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you need materials and recipes. that's the basis of it. what you add further is up to you. easiest way would be looking up a bunch of games with decent alchemy systems and taking some inspiration.
 

Ai-chan

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I tend to go in depth in things that I want to explain, or actually have the facts to explain it.

Had been thinking of implementing Alchemy into my story (but its not the MC who uses it)

For those who have this in their story, how did you guys write it? When I think of Alchemy I'd immediately think potions and homunculuses.

And that's probably not all of there is to it.
If we're talking about medieval Alchemy, the common components are:
1. Transmutation
2. Extraction
3. Reduction
4. Combination

Transmutation is the act of changing something into something else. Such as for example, turning lead into gold. Most people you ask will say that it is impossible, but it's actually not. After all, to turn one element into another, all you need to do is change the number of its protons. Knock 3 protons from lead, it becomes gold. However, to scientifically do this, you need a massive amount of energy and a particle accelerator, to the point that the cost of making the gold far outstrips the value of the gold itself. Perhaps the philosopher's stone was not an actual stone, but a machine or substance capable of knocking off protons from elements. If you want to make alchemy magic, then based off this info, you could make it so that transmutation requires a massive sacrifice.

Extraction is the act of extracting something from something else. Often, this involves removing the things you don't need so that you can acquire the things that you do need. The smelting of iron is this form of alchemy. You use high heat to remove the slag (unneeded materials) from the ore in order to get the iron. Depending on your technology, you could get higher percentage of the available iron, as the slag will always contain a small amount of iron. If you want to make this magical, you can make it so that the user's mastery of Extraction increases the efficiency of it.

Reduction is basically the act of reducing something to acquire the proper quality or substance. For example, the creation of Aztec fake gold. What they did was, they allowed gold and copper together. Then, they use heat to reduce the copper from the alloy inside a solution of aluminium sulfate. The result is a metal that looks like gold, behaves like gold, but is fairly lighter than gold. If you want to magic this, you can make it so that the user can simply remove whatever they don't want.

Combination is the act of putting two things together. Such as for example, fake gold. The Aztec fake gold involved combining copper and gold. However, the fake gold used in the American West were basically lead plated in gold. That was why people would bite gold coins to see if it was real, because lead is softer than gold. To this day, athletes still bite their gold medal to ensure that it's real gold. If you can see teeth mark in it, that's gold-plated lead. If you want to magic this, do like that pen-apple-pineapple guy.

The above is the basics.

Alchemy is actually a lot more expansive, but for the sake of writing, Ai-chan thought it would just confuse you. Medieval alchemy included processes such as Calcination, Solution, Sublimation, Congelation, Digestion, Separation, Multiplication, Fixation, Distillation, Ceration and Projection. Creating living things was never the goal of medieval alchemy, but we owe it to them that we found out a lot about microorganisms and microscopic life. Perhaps the idea of homunculus came from some alchemist finding out that the goo they made moved over time because they've basically made a petri dish without knowing what a petri dish was.
 

ElijahRyne

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When I think of alchemy I think of how to change one thing into another. Here are some examples:

So let’s say changing lead into gold. Now, since magic exists, we can do this pretty easily. Create a spell that gradually decreases the strong force, while increasing the weak force in an area. Eventually the lead will decay into gold.

That’s the easy step, turning gold into lead is much more difficult. You might think that all you have to do is increase the strong force, and while possible it is extremely. For the strong force to affect an area outside of the nucleus of an atom, you would need to modify how far gluons can move. That is risky, because they travel at the speed of light, but are mostly just stuck in the nucleus. You might get lead, but if you increase the range to far, you might become lead.

Of course there is fusion, but that is extremely energy inefficient. So, this where you just use magic speak and create a new law that allows you to fuse it.

For elixirs and stuff, it is a combination of the ingredients and the process. In example mercury was thought to shift in between life and death, salt was the body, and gold for mental/spiritual perfection. So you take those (or objects that have them), and put them in a silver or copper cauldron. (Silver =purity so the product will have less imperfections, and copper = woman so the cauldron can create something/give birth) Then, you add water to the cauldron and start a fire under it to boil away the water. (Water =feminine, Fire= masculine) Once the water starts to boil add sulfur. (Sulfur =dissolution and evaporation) When you add the sulfur, the original salt, mercury, and gold will combine with each other and the water. You wait for this process to finish, and you get a mana potion.
 

Plantorsomething

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I tend to go in depth in things that I want to explain, or actually have the facts to explain it.

Had been thinking of implementing Alchemy into my story (but its not the MC who uses it)

For those who have this in their story, how did you guys write it? When I think of Alchemy I'd immediately think potions and homunculuses.

And that's probably not all of there is to it.
The magical qualities of monsters are imbedded in their drops, so you mix them together to make something that uses those qualities. It’s nothing chemical at all, but more makes use of your creativity and magic skill, and how you can twist the essence of magical beings to fit your will. Fire elemental drop - fire resistance. Kind of how game designers make crafting recipes “make sense” to the players. Can’t have a fire thingy make a water thingy.
 

CupcakeNinja

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I tend to go in depth in things that I want to explain, or actually have the facts to explain it.

Had been thinking of implementing Alchemy into my story (but its not the MC who uses it)

For those who have this in their story, how did you guys write it? When I think of Alchemy I'd immediately think potions and homunculuses.

And that's probably not all of there is to it.
Big bro has drugs
 

Viator

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I tend to go in depth in things that I want to explain, or actually have the facts to explain it.

Had been thinking of implementing Alchemy into my story (but its not the MC who uses it)

For those who have this in their story, how did you guys write it? When I think of Alchemy I'd immediately think potions and homunculuses.

And that's probably not all of there is to it.
If your serious about going in depth, you could research the historical alchemical texts. Just for fun and inspiration. there is a site "sacred-texts.com" you can check out that has translations of Alchemy related material for free. "As above so below" (Emerald Tablet of Hermes I think) and all that... Anyway, it might give you inspiration. Have fun regardless.
 

BearlyAlive

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My get-to for alchemy would be
-Extraction (taking materials or elements out of something)
-Refinement (increasing the purity of the materials)
-Transmutation (turning the refined mats into a finished product)

Granted, my alchemist are more of a "craftmage" than anything else, but it leaves enough room for specialization and sub-categories
 

T.K._Paradox

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Alchemy often has or revolves around: creating life (homunculi), potion-making, transmutation, elemental construction, elemental deconstruction, pseudo-magical engineering, elemental combination, golem creation, making or finding the philosopher's stone, achieving immortality, being a pseudo-science, elemental creation, etc., etc.

I hope this helps you.
 
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