Alternatives to potions...

[Wiggz]

In our campaign world we have a number of 'potion alternatives', which is to say items that work like potions but take on different forms... the effects are the same but the flavor is different. The concepts we've used (listed below) have been a lot of fun, so I wanted to share and to see if anyone else has done something similar/different that we might use in world building.

Rune tiles - dwarves inscribe runs on small ceramic tiles that, when broken, activate the spell within then.

Incense sticks - elves use small sticks of incense made of rare materials, about twice the length of a matchstick. They burn quickly over any flame source (including the spark cantrip) and when the smoke is inhaled, the spell used to create it takes effect.

Beads - small beads worn on a bracelet around the wrist. When an individual bead is crushed, the spell's effect occurs.

Tattoos - inks with mysterious ingredients tattoo images on the skin which can be activated with a touch - the ink is absorbed into the skin and the spell activates.

[Necromancer]

Syringes - potion via injection

[Orthos]

Spellcryst - magically-infused inexpensive brittle crystals, usually stored within a tough wooden or metal box until needed. Crush to initiate the effect. Or throw at an ally/enemy. My halfling witch makes them in the game I'm a player in, and kobolds are fond of them and sell them to the other races in my homebrew.

[DarkStar15]

Potion Candy. Comes in Strawberry, Chocolate, and whatever other flavors the person making it can think of. You eat them like hard candy and get the effect of the spell as if you had drunk the appropriate potion.

[ValandarTheRed]

I realize this is a bit of a necropost... but it's an interesting subject and worth considering.

One daemonologist would infuse the magic of a "potion" into living insects and other arthropods, and they would be eaten alive to take effect. And the more powerful the potion, the larger and nastier the insect. Cure Light Wounds might only need a small cokroach or cricket, while Water Walking might need a praying mantis, and the most powerful ones would require a bird-eating spider.

A barbarian tribe might use powders, inks, or herbs instead of potions. Powders are inhaled, inks smeared on the subject like war paint, and herbs could be smoked in a pipe (one or two puffs causes the effect).

[Bwang]

Just spotted this thread and will have to steal the ideas within.

In one of the local games, a giant incorporated them into murals in his lair, high enough that we runts could not reach them without effort. We never would have found them if I hadn't scaled the wall to search the 'chandelier' and set off a desperately needed CMW sigil !

A few rooms later, we found tapestries with similar enchantments and a levitation 'trap' carved into the bottom of a air shaft. Need to go back there and find where it goes.

[Drejk]

Magic fruits. Instead of brewing a potion, the creator grows a fruit that bestow the effect upon the eater.

[Cavall]

Small beads filled with ink you rub on your skin. I realize lotions and salves are part of potions already but most think "drink" when they do potions.

[Opuk0]

I think I saw it around the forums somewhere, but food items such as biscuits or cookies of cure light wounds

[Ciaran Barnes]

Little scones

[What's in the box?]

Candles- as it burns the spell works, when it is out... no more magic.

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

Don't forget the Candlecaster prestige class from 3.0 Tome & Blood! As written, it wasn't very good for adventuring, but some of its later abilities were innovative, and it could certainly have been rewritten and rehabilitated.

[Greylurker]

how about Knots

Instead of a Potion you have a length of rope with several knots tied in it. Untie the knots and the spell is released

[Snorb]

Biscuit of healing. Munch on this tasty cookie-like treat and you get some hit points back!

(...And no, you can't just take one bite for some HP. You want the healing, you have to eat the entire damn cookie.)

[UnArcaneElection]

Greylurker wrote:

how about Knots

Instead of a Potion you have a length of rope with several knots tied in it. Untie the knots and the spell is released

A long time ago I saw someone recommend something similar, but as an alternative to Scrolls and even Spellbooks. It was a thread in rec.games.frp.dnd if I remember correctly. People pointed out the obvious problem with tangling, but it you could get past that, it would have the advantage of durability under conditions where paper would be ruined (think prolonged tropical heat and humidity).

Somewhere or other a similar amount of time ago I read of a Potion alternative that I can't remember the name of that consisted of squeezable gelatinous things that you bit into. The purpose of this was that you could use it under water.

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

UnArcaneElection wrote:

Somewhere or other a similar amount of time ago I read of a Potion alternative that I can't remember the name of that consisted of squeezable gelatinous things that you bit into. The purpose of this was that you could use it under water.

There's certainly always room for Jello.

Planescape: Torment had all kinds of alternative potions. Among them you had:

- magical knotted strings, as mentioned (including the Gordian Knot itself, a consumable artifact!)
- fingerbones that granted an armor bonus when snapped
- fiendish mosquitoes gorged on devil blood that gave you fast healing when you ate them (the ORIGINAL infernal healing spell!)
- sticks of charred matter that you crushed in your hand then rubbed on your chest to gain fire resistance
- cockroaches that gave you reasonably enormous defensive bonuses when eaten
- breath mints that boosted your Charisma
- chocolates...OF POWER!
- and let's not forget about jars of embalming fluid, yum-yum. ^.^