Brewing potions in the field

[Lathelus]

Hello! I have a question that I can't answer myself through intense googling. I have an alchemist in my group.

Can he brew potions (potions, not extracts) in the field, if he has Alchemist Kit and required amount of gold?

My first thought was "No" because you have to have the required materials. But then, he has Alchemist Kit, and on the Internet there are a lot of people that seemingly brew potions on the fly. Also, can't he just buy the ingredients while he is in town, to brew them later?

I'd like to read to your solutions. Thanks for help!

[Gray Warden]

He can, but it takes a quite place and, more importantly, time:

Brew Potion wrote:

Brewing a potion takes 2 hours if its base price is 250 gp or less, otherwise brewing a potion takes 1 day for each 1,000 gp in its base price.

which is based on a 8 hours work dedicated entirely to crafting. The Alchemist can speed up the process by increasing the DC by 5:

Magic Item Creation wrote:

Regardless of the time needed for construction, a caster can create no more than one magic item per day. This process can be accelerated to 4 hours of work per 1,000 gp in the item’s base price (or fraction thereof) by increasing the DC to create the item by 5.

so that in a work-day he can craft up to 2000gp worth of potions.

However, on an average adventuring day, the Alchemist won't be able to work for 8 hours. It doesn't matter if he has a ring of Sustenance that keeps him awake, or you figure out shifts: if you go out adventuring, the crafting is slowed. In these days, the Alchemist only has 2 effective hours to work:

Magic Item Creation wrote:

The caster can work for up to 8 hours each day. He cannot rush the process by working longer each day, but the days need not be consecutive, and the caster can use the rest of his time as he sees fit. If the caster is out adventuring, he can devote 4 hours each day to item creation, although he nets only 2 hours’ worth of work. This time is not spent in one continuous period, but rather during lunch, morning preparation, and during watches at night.

So, to summarize, let's say that the Alchemist is level 12 and wants to craft a Potion of Barkskin CL 12. The price is 1200gp. He can craft it in:

- one whole day crafting (8h~1000gp) + one adventuring day (2h~250gp)
- one whole day crafting quickly (8h~2000gp, DC+5)
- five days adventuring (5x[2h~250gp]~1250gp)
- arguably three days adventuring while crafting quickly (3x[2h~500gp]~1500gp, DC+5)

As per the materials, potions are essentially distilled spells. I usually interpret the "raw material" as vials, water, and precious materials which are otherwise equivalent to gold (like diamond dust worth 1000gp that the Alchemist has with him and that is equivalent to having 1000 actual pieces of gold). As long as the Alchemist can cast the required spell (each day of the crafting process), he should be able to brew potions.

Unless, of course, there is a specific plot reason not to. But otherwise I wouldn't negate a class feature just for this.

[Lathelus]

thank you!