Can an arcane caster craft healing potions?

[Wheldrake]

One of my players asked me this question this weak, and on closer examination I realized that there are no specific prerequisites listed, so nothing prevents him from choosing the formula for healing potions amongst the four free formulae he gets from the magic crafting feat.

Is this a feature or a bug?

It doesn't *feel* right to me, since an arcane caster doesn't have access to the heal spell as such But PF2 potions appear to be divorced from the spells they are based on, so the only question becomes DM-gated access to the right formulae.

Or am I missing something?

[OneManShow]

Ok, two things:

1. You do NOT need to be a spellcaster, arcane or otherwise, to take the Magical Crafting feat (this is news to me).
2. Potions are alchemical items, and require the Alchemical Crafting feat (which has even lower prerequisites).

[Djinn71]

OneManShow wrote:

Ok, two things:

1. You do NOT need to be a spellcaster, arcane or otherwise, to take the Magical Crafting feat (this is news to me).
2. Potions are alchemical items, and require the Alchemical Crafting feat (which has even lower prerequisites).

Potions are Magical Items. Elixirs are Alchemical Items.

This is a Healing Potion

This is an Elixir of Life

[shroudb]

OneManShow wrote:

Ok, two things:

1. You do NOT need to be a spellcaster, arcane or otherwise, to take the Magical Crafting feat (this is news to me).
2. Potions are alchemical items, and require the Alchemical Crafting feat (which has even lower prerequisites).

potions aren't alchemical items, elixirs are.

that is:
potion of healing, is a magical item and requires magical crafter. Elixir of Life is the alchemical item and requires Alchemical Crafting.

[olimar92]

Potions have never required a spell for their creation. Healing isn't a Divine only thing, especially with how 2E is with mundane healing.

[Blave]

Healing potions don't have a craft requirement listed. So any character with the magical crafting feat and the formula can craft a healing potion.

Potions no longer emulate spells as they did in PF1. It's not a "Potion of Heal" but an independent healing effect.

So yes, a wizard with the right fear and the formula can totally craft a Healing Potion.

[Wheldrake]

Thanks for the confirmation, y'all. That's exactly how I read it, it just surprised me that potions which emulate spells don't require a casting of the spell during crafting.

So as long as the forumula can be acquired, anybody, spellcaster or not, with the Magical Crafting feat can make em.

The only prerequisite with the Magical Crafting feat is being an expert in crafting, so for non-rogues, that means 4th level minimum.

Kind of counter-intuitive, I would've thought that temples and clerics had a kind of monopoly on crafting healing potions and the like. Apparently, this is not a thing in PF2.

[Blave]

Wheldrake wrote:

Thanks for the confirmation, y'all. That's exactly how I read it, it just surprised me that potions which emulate spells don't require a casting of the spell during crafting.

Again, potions don't emulate spells. They produce similarly effects, but do so in a different way. Other exacmples are an alchemical Elixir of Life which can heal without any magic, or a Bard who can heal without using positive energy and so on.

You don't need a Heal spell to close wounds :)

Quote:

The only prerequisite with the Magical Crafting feat is being an expert in crafting, so for non-rogues, that means 4th level minimum.

Level 3, technically, since you can spend your 3rd level general feat to take Magical Crafting.

[thenobledrake]

Wheldrake wrote:

...Kind of counter-intuitive...

Random D&D history lesson:

Prior to WotC releasing 3rd edition, it was actually the Wizard category of characters that were the ones capable of crafting magical items. That was the only class entry that mentioned being able to craft items (it required reaching 9th level, and at least the AD&D 2nd PHB explicitly mentioned potions in the wizard entry).

And further, potions were not treated as being a spell in a bottle except in D&D 3rd/3.5/PF1. In all other versions potions were treated as they are in PF2; specific magical items that produce effects similar to spells (in some cases) but have no direct relationship with spells.

So what seems counter-intuitive to you feels like a return to form for me.