Frum has been working on some private experiments, modifying common alchemist concoctions. He has also become interested in magic, and how alchemical items can enhance spells. This line of curiosity has led him to buy a blank wizard's spellbook and an owl that he felt particularly drawn to and has a daily conversation with.
As a gnome with sufficient Charisma, Frum has limited magical abilities. His concoctions generally deal with how to combine alchemical smoke effects with dancing lights, ghost sound, and prestidigitation.
He has tweaked the smoke stick to generate a subtly different kind of smoke, which is not quite as good at obscuring vision, but is much better at being used in combination with dancing lights and ghost sound to create a kind of non-magical illusion of something ethereal - a kind of ghost monster.
He has also designed a large pill (too big for him to swallow, but for human's it would be just a large pill. For larger creatures it would be easy to hide in food, or whatever. They are flavored and scented to be appealing to Giants, and it is unknown whether it would be attractive to Orcs, Goblins, etc. . . Inside the pill is alchemist's fire, which would hit the monster from within it's throat, dripping down. There is also an inner/middle coating filled with oil to disperse the fire once disolved. When the fire hits the oil it should provide an initial burst, and then slide down the throat via the oil, burning as it goes down. Its damage and other effects are unknown - it has never been tested.
Frum also developed this weapon for acid, with the idea that it would spread throughout water in the body. It's release is faster than the fire, to ensure it is released before getting to the stomach, which might not be bothered as much by acid. The acid is highly concentrated and should be enough to turn all the water (such as in the eyes, nose, throat, intestines, cell walls, etc) in a large human into a diluted acid still strong enough to do serious damage.
This weapon is also untested, with effects unknown.
I would expect these weapons to have at least 1d6 damage (which is standard for alchemist's fire), and bypass the creatures AC. If the monster has hardened insides perhaps it would still have a Touch AC. But for humanoids I would think this would be pretty nasty, with continual damage in multiple rounds until the acid or fire becomes so diluted it becomes more of a feeling of sickness.
More items Frum is carrying:
Alchemist's Fire (custom) (2 flasks)
Dissolving Tablets of Alchemist's Fire (1) unflavored, test pill
Dissolved Tablets of Acid (1) unflavored, test pill
Smoke Stick (custom) (x1)
Wizard's Spellbook, blank.
You find six gems; one green, two black, one yellow, one blue and one translucent.
"You find another minor cache of 'ripe' gems on the way up, though with only three samples this time. They also seem different - more alchemical than of value. As you appraise them all, you find that the earlier gems have some value - at least a hundred gold a piece, if not more - though they are rough."
"several batches of rare herbs, called Snötåre, that you know can be used for healing purposes. In the grove, you come upon several fungi, known as Chillgrowth, used to create objects and alchemical concoctions with weak frost properties; you also gather leaves from special trees called Frostgrein, which contain unique properties in similar veins. You also manage to collect two vials of sap from the Frostgreins, an azure, thick substance that is suitable as an amplifier."
"Once you arrive at the Willow Plains, you find flowers, a myriad of them. The one that stands out is a single Silver Bell, a beautiful bellflower laced with silver. Its alchemical properties are few, if any - but it is very valuable. You also find a relative to the snötåre, the Vårsol, about fifteen - it bears many of the same properties, if weaker - but isn't as bitter."
15 Snötårer, 6 Chillgrowth Mushrooms, 35 pristine Frostgrein leaves, 2 vials of Frostgrein sap. 15 Vårsol (healing herb)
