Potions are nice and all, but there is one variation that don't seem to have a direct rule: generic Philters.
Also, there are some contradictions in the rules for brewing potions:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/magicItems/magicItemCreation.html - Says it takes 1 day.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/feats.html#_brew-potion - Says 2 hours for low cost (250GP or less) potions, or 1 day per 1000GP for expensive ones.
Currently there is only one "Philter" listed, and it's treated as a Wondrous Item rather than the potionlike item it actually is.
The special "Philter of Love" is fine as far as it goes, but it makes no sense that it couldn't be brewed as a potion in a weaker form. The main issue is that it's a Charm Monster effect with permanency and no save, and normal potions are limited to level 3 or lower.
A Generic Philter would be a highly concentrated potion that can be mixed into food or drink like an ingested poison (Would replace the normal save with Fortitude) - because it's more concentrated, it would have multiple doses in a bottle (Say, 5 doses, at 5 times the cost in ingredients and time) and could be produced in powdered form so it could be mixed into a spice like salt, pepper, ginger, etc. Philters would usually be offensive effects like Charm, Sleep, Reduce Person, etc, though there is no reason you couldn't put a helpful effect in your pepper shaker to make it seem harmless. (Insert "Red Bull Gives you Wings" joke here)
Just like a normal potion, the brewer defines the effects. For example, a Charm Person Philter could be "set" to charm the consumer to the first creature it sees, or to the brewer of the philter (though that would be less useful, since it makes it harder for the brewer's allies to use.)
And how about magical poisons? They could work by concentrating the potion even more, creating a poison that casts a spell on the victim instead of having a "normal" poison effect. Considering some of the nasty things poison can do to a character (Draining constitution or other stats for example), casting a spell on them is comparatively mild. Like brewing all potions, magical poison can be quite expensive. They would substitute the usual save for a FORT save (this would make Philters just an ingested version of a magical poison.)
Potions are nice and all, but there is one variation that don't seem to have a direct rule: generic Philters.
What the heck is a "generic philter"? And why do we care?
Potions have a very specific definition in the rules, but the Wondrous Item category encompasses any number of one-use use-activated items: candles, dusts, feather tokens, bandages, beads, and so forth.
The only real difference is that Wondrous Items take more time to make, but don't have the limitations on form and content that Potions do. And take a different creation feat.
I think it's about great idea and is not overpowered. not sure if it's would ever be interested and paizo product button I would buy and 3rd party product on the topic.
Potions are nice and all, but there is one variation that don't seem to have a direct rule: generic Philters.What the heck is a "generic philter"? And why do we care?
Any philter that isn't a "Philter of Love" - which is effectively a level 5 potion (Due to the permanency) with an offensive, permanent effect, would be considered "Generic" because, like the regular potions in the potion making rules, can be made for just about every spell of level 3 or less in the game..
So you are saying you couldn't find some use for, say, a "Potion of Hold Person" or "Potion of Slow" that could be mixed into someone's dinner?
And here I thought roleplayers all had imagination...guess not.