Offensive use of potions


Rules Questions


"A potion or oil can duplicate the effect of a spell of up to 3rd level that has a casting time of less than 1 minute and targets one or more creatures or objects."

Fine. Some spells that meet those criteria seem...odd...as potions. In theory you might use a melee attack to apply an oil to a target. Or you might trick someone into drinking a potion and becoming the target of its effect.

My witch knows these spells which qualify to be brewed into potion/oil form but which might make some people scratch their heads, if for example a spell that normally has Close range is made into an oil that now requires a melee touch attack:

bestow curse
charm person
diagnose disease
ear-piercing scream
hold person
ill omen
touch of idiocy

Is the offensive use of potions clarified anywhere? Is there anything that explicitly states that any spell made into a potion or oil has its range changed to Personal or Touch as appropriate; and Target modified so that multiple creatures cannot be affected?


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Hmmm... I can't speak to the validity of those options, but a potion of hold person could make for a fun little gaming moment.

"In his moment of desperation, Victor the Mighty pulls the potion of cure serious wounds from his belt and quaffs it in one gulp. As he takes a moment to feel the restorative magic course through him, he realizes that he can't bring his arm back down. He can't turn his head! He can't move a muscle! And then the image comes to his mind of that smelly rat of a tiefling selling potions in the alley, half-price."


Beguiling Gift is the spell you want to do this in combat.

Grand Lodge

Damon Griffin wrote:
In theory you might use a melee attack to apply an oil to a target.

Applying an oil to a target is not a melee attack, but an "Apply an oil" standard action, which provokes an attack of opportunity.

Damon Griffin wrote:
Or you might trick someone into drinking a potion and becoming the target of its effect.

That's fine. Developers have confirmed that the target still gets a saving throw.

Damon Griffin wrote:
Is there anything that explicitly states that any spell made into a potion or oil has its range changed to Personal or Touch as appropriate; and Target modified so that multiple creatures cannot be affected?

There is: "The drinker of the potion is both the effective target and the caster of the effect", page 477. Someone who drinks a potion of touch of idiocy takes a 1d6 penalty to her Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores, to a minimum of 1. Someone who drinks a potion of charm person becomes extremely impressed with herself.

If the creator wants the item to work differently, she can create it as a wondrous item, similar to the elixir of fire breath or elixir of love.

Grand Lodge

Starglim wrote:
That's fine. Developers have confirmed that the target still gets a saving throw.

Hey could you throw a link to what you are referring to here?

I am curious for a total different reason.


Throw them like an alchemical bomb?


In PFS a ninja character looted all the items off the enemies. With no ranks to determine what was what he assumed they were cure light wounds.

Well I randomly rolled and he drank the two oils of bless first.

I have also had a barbarian getting owned by two imps. Take AoO putting oil of bless on his sword. They casted suggestion to clean his sword and took more AoOs fromthe other one.

Grand Lodge

Corbin Dallas wrote:
Starglim wrote:
That's fine. Developers have confirmed that the target still gets a saving throw.

Hey could you throw a link to what you are referring to here?

I am curious for a total different reason.

No problem:

FAQ: If I drink a potion, do I automatically forego my save against that potion?


I actually used this with a villainous NPC witch.

She hired mercenaries to take out the party. Gave them potions to treat their wounds once they'd killed the party. Didn't tell the mercs the potions were of inflict moderate wounds.

Her theory was that they'd be sufficiently wounded that a single potion would kill the mercs (low enough level to be a reasonable assumption). The potions' plot-reason for existing was to allow the players leverage to turn the mercs against the witch, if any survived the fight.


Does it ever strike anyone as odd that potions are almost never labelled? Are there no safety reps in their workplace? :-)

Grand Lodge

Label makers are really expensive in ancient times....

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