How do I know the effect of a potion (i.e. how much does a potion of Cure Moderate Wounds heal)

[SteeleC]

I have a pretty basic question that I can’t seem to find a _direct_ answer to. How much does a healing potion heal?

I believe it would go something like this:

Potion of Cure Light Wounds: 1d8+1
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds: 2d8+3
Potion of Cure Serious Wounds: 3d8+5

But how do I know this when the effect isn't listed?

So I attempted to figure it out, so to start, if these were spells cast by a cleric the effects would be:
Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 +1/level (max +5)
Cure Moderate Wounds: 2d8 +1/level (max +10)
Cure Serious Wounds: 3d8 +1/level (max +15)

So the question now is, when it’s a potion, what’s the “+” portion of the effect.

From what I can tell…
In the core rulebook, page 477-478 there is a short column on potions with no examples (in fact I couldn’t find an example of a potion effect in any source material anywhere, it’s always just a generic reference to the spell).

The first thing it notes is, “The level of such spells depends on the caster brewing the potion.” I now know how to find the effect of a potion when I know who brewed it, but what about stock potions?

On the next page, there follows a table of potion prices that are based on the “lowest possible caster level”. So I make an assumption that the off-the-shelf potions are made with the lowest possible caster level. And here’s where it gets too complicated to be true…

Cure Light Wounds is a level 1 cleric spell. To cast a level 1 cleric spell you must be at least a level 1 cleric so the effect would be 1d8+1.

Cure Moderate Wounds is a level 2 cleric spell. I look up clerics to see when they can cast this (page 40). I see the cleric must be level 3 so I assume the effect is 2d8+3.

I do the same for Cure Serious Wounds and find the cleric needs to be level 5 so the effect is 2d8+5.

Then I think. Did I miss something?? Did I really find a level 1 potion in the first encounter of my first adventure and to determine the effect I had to:
1) read the spell and ask, “What’s the plus?”
2) read about how potions are made
3) read about the cleric (or at least reference its spell table)
4) map the spell level to the minimum cleric level
5) find my answer of +1

Is there someplace, anywhere that I can just directly get the effect of potions (and scrolls as well) or does this cross-referencing nightmare involve everything when it references a spell effect? (ok, that’s a slight vent, sorry)

But lastly, and more importantly – did I do it right? Are my healing potion effects correct?

Thanks’ in advance!

[seebs]

The canonical answer is that items can have their caster level adjusted as high as the creator's level, or as low as the lowest level at which you could cast the spell. Since cost is usually a function of caster level, most potions will be created at the lowest possible caster level. So you're right to use 1d8+1, 2d8+3, and 3d8+5, I believe.

[bigrig107]

Yeah, that is right. You can increase the amount healed by increasing the caster level you buy, but it's not really worth it.

[DesolateHarmony]

For PFS, things like potions are at the lowest caster level at which they can be created, so 1d8+1 for Cure Light Wounds, and 2d8+3 for Cure Moderate Wounds. If you are making your own potions, you set the caster level as Seebs indicated. If you find it in a non-PFS game, the GM will set the caster level to meet the needs of the story.

[Majuba]

SteeleC - you figured it out exactly right. Unless a potion is higher than the minimum caster level (or made by an unusual caster), it will be 1d8+1 for CLW, 2d8+3 for CMW, and 3d8+5 for CSW.