Quick Alchemy and Alchemical Food duration questions

[Faolán Maiali the Azure Abjurer]

To quote the Quick Alchemy action: "Any effect created by an item made with Quick Alchemy that would have a duration longer than 10 minutes lasts for 10 minutes instead."

This presents a possible problem when it comes to making many alchemical foodstuffs with the Wandering Chef Dedication, particularly the initial formulae you get from Alchemical Crafting.

In the case of Journeybread, does Quick Alchemy mean it only provides you with the food and water you need for 10 minutes?

With Cooperative Waffles and Mender's Soup, do the benefits still only last 10 minutes after you spend 10 minutes chowing down?

Seems pretty useless if this is a correct interpretation.

Would it be a reasonable ruling that those with a listed duration of 24 hours or next daily preparations still function as such?

[NorrKnekten]

No that is indeed the correct interpretation.

There are two different timers involved with Quick Alchemy. The first is the created item's Potency and the other is effect duration as seen inside Quick Alchemy

Quick Alchemy wrote:

You can either use up a versatile vial to make another alchemical consumable at a moment's notice or create an especially short-lived versatile vial. Any effect created by an item made with Quick Alchemy that would have a duration longer than 10 minutes lasts for 10 minutes instead.

Create Consumable You expend one of your versatile vials to create a single alchemical consumable item of your level or lower that's in your formula book. You don't have to spend the normal monetary cost in alchemical raw materials or need to attempt a Crafting check. This item has the infused trait, but it remains potent only until the start of your next turn. (As normal, you need only one formula for an item to create any level of that item.)
Quick Vial You create a versatile vial that can be used only as a bomb or for the versatile vial option from your research field (it can't be used to create a consumable, for example). This item has the infused trait, but it remains potent only until the end of your current turn.

Your question mostly only touches upon the alchemical foods with the Processed trait. The trait modifies the time it remains potent and how much time is needed to QA it but this does not override the 10 minute limit that starts after its activation.

Alchemical Food wrote:

Processed: An alchemical consumable with the processed trait can be created with Quick Alchemy but is too complex to create in a single action. Using Quick Alchemy to create a processed item takes 1 minute. If the item would take more than 3 actions to Activate, the time the item remains potent after you create it is equal to its activation time. For instance, a processed item that takes 10 minutes to Activate would remain potent for 10 minutes when created with Quick Alchemy instead of remaining potent only until the start of your next turn. This trait doesn't change other specifics of Quick Alchemy. You could, for example, use double brew to create two of the same processed item over the course of 1 minute.

Ruling processed items to have the same duration as normal would indeed be unreasonable as it makes alchemists(or anyone capable of regenerating vials) able to provide a near infinite amount of day long bonuses for no actual cost.

This is less of a problem with the wandering chef on its own but I would still consider it unreasonable when the wandering chef solves this with Morning Side Dishes Which is Advanced Alchemy instead of Quick Alchemy and thus lasts a maximum of 24 hours or until your next daily prep.

Your other options for Alchemical Foods includes those with the lozenge trait and a mix of cocktails and snacks. Such as the Egg Cream Fizz or Owl Screech Egg

[Finoan]

I agree that things like Cooperative Waffles don't work well with Quick Alchemy, but they can work - under certain definitions of 'can'.

The Processed trait deliberately overrides the rules for Quick Alchemy. Normally Quick Alchemy can be used in 1 action, but Processed items always require 1 minute to make instead. And normally the item created with Quick Alchemy goes inert and is wasted at the start of your next turn, but Processed items created with Quick Alchemy will last long enough for you to finish activating them.

The effect duration wouldn't start until the effect starts - which would be after the item is created and activated (eaten). The Processed trait doesn't, however, override the 10 minute maximum duration that Quick Alchemy imposes.

So the Cooperative Waffles would indeed only last for 10 minutes if created using Quick Alchemy, but it would be 10 minutes of time after they are eaten. Which is enough time for one 10 minute exploration activity.

Whether that is worth using a Quick Alchemy vial on is up to the player and the details of the character. An Alchemist who can regain their vials might decide that it is worth it. A Wandering Chef who cannot regain their vials might or might not, depending on how important that 10 minute activity is.