Add special “reduced” effects for the diluted potion of polymorph.

Objects dipped in it will change their material, but not their type. The material is constrained to non-exotic ones the object could naturally generate with.

Monsters who have it smashed on them or who quaff it will try to polymorph into a different monster of the same class. If none are available, they follow the ordinary monster-polymorph logic.

Dipping a corpse into a potion of polymorph “keys” the potion to that specific monster type: if it is used to polymorph the player or a monster, they will be turned into the same monster type as the corpse used. The corpse and potion are not consumed by being dipped.

If the monster is no-polymorph, nothing happens.

If the potion is used to polymorph an object, it does not do anything unusual, unless the object is a type for which species matters, in which case the potion changes its species to the keyed type, which can be useful for changing a figurine to something specific.

If in a variant that has potions of specific monsters’ blood, this can also be created by dipping polymorph into monster blood or vice versa.

If you have polymorph control, you can control what any item dipped into a potion of polymorph will become, respecting existing polymorph restrictions (i.e. not controlling the number of charges something will get, and incrementing the recharge count). This allows it to act basically like limited wishing, but it may be okay given the rarity of polymorph potions.

An Alchemist role, revolving around potions and alchemy, and likely requiring overhauls of several systems.

• The main form of combat is to create phials of potion (where 1 potion splits into many phials), which can be tossed at enemies to cause potion effects on them. The main potions used are things like acid, paralysis, (lit) oil, and confusion.
  • Phials come in all the same types as normal potions but have somewhat weaker effects.
  • You can dip a stack of empty phials into a potion to fill them with that potion (up to some maximum).
  • Thrown phials have the same exact splash damage effect on things as throwing the potion would produce, but drinking it is a small enough dose to only cause the splash damage effects to the drinker. Requires some balance so that splash damage is useful against monsters but not useful for the player to drink for beneficial phials.
  • Phials can be dipped into potions, but nothing can be dipped into phials.
• The quest artifact is the Philosopher’s Stone.
  • The quest leader is Nicolas Flamel and the nemesis is an Avatar of Death (like Death, but weaker).
  • Fun possibilities for transmuting materials here if the object materials patch is in effect.
  • Its base item type could be a ruby (but perhaps not because dnethack makes the Heart of Ahriman a ruby) or a garnet, based on its color in Harry Potter, or an opal.
• Can also create alchemic gizmos: smoke bombs from potions of blindness, firebombs from potions of oil, all lighter and more numerous and useful than the base potions.
• Start with all potions identified.
• Could start with an alchemy kit, which is a rare tool find for other roles. NeroOneTrueKing proposed a set of mechanics for an alchemy kit:
  • Has 3 compartments. The first accepts only potions/phials of polymorph (or perhaps it just has charges and you can recharge it by using potions of polymorph).
  • The other compartments must each only contain items of the same material.
  • A success chance is displayed based on the amount of polymorph potion available, the weight ratio of the two compartments, and the materials themselves (metal can transform into metal relatively easily).
  • A successful use swaps all of the materials of the two compartments.
• Needs mechanics such that in an Alchemist’s hands, no potion is useless.

The invoke effect of the Philosopher’s Stone is heavily debated.

• It creates potions of the Elixir of Life. This potion cures disease and restores lost attributes, but most importantly it grants temporary intrinsic lifesaving. If you die with intrinsic lifesaving, you lose the remaining time for the intrinsic.
• Creating potions is way too powerful since the player will be able to bank them, so nerf this: perhaps you can only get Elixir of Life by dipping the Stone into a potion of full healing, or something. Or Elixir goes bad after a while and reverts to water, making it usable for before a fight but not for stashing.
• The Elixir should not be more powerful than a potion of full healing, or the invoke effect of the Staff of Aesculapius - healers should be the best at actual healing. Probably, getting lifesaved from intrinsic lifesaving will only restore enough HP to stay alive a little longer.
• The Elixir gives a large temporary boost to HP regeneration.
• No Elixir of Life; it instead turns potions of sickness into (extra? full?) healing.
• The Stone can turn metal objects into gold or can turn rocks into gold pieces when rubbed on them.
• When dipped into gain level or gain energy, transforms the potion into polymorph.

A really great Alchemist implementation would probably involve a full alchemy overhaul which adds herbs and fungi, harvesting ingredients from corpses, cooking, and interesting ways to combine everything. The challenge with making this is how to make it useful for other roles and not just the alchemist, and at the same time not overcomplicating the game with the new additions.

Allow sinks to be catalysts for alchemizing things. (Or possibly add a “cauldron” as a new piece of dungeon furniture, but that’s iffier.)

• You can dip potions into sinks to pour them down the drain, experiencing the vapor effects in a safe way. (Pouring polymorph down the sink of course polymorphs the sink.) This requires vapor effects to be implemented for many of the potions that don’t currently have any.
• If you don’t pour the potion down the drain, you instead mix it with the fluid from the tap, which is usually water but can already be a random potion.
• Possibly, doing alchemy in/on a sink is more efficient. There are many possible forms this could take, such as:
  • Potions not diluting when you mix them.
  • Reduced or zero chance of an alchemic blast.
  • You can get results from mixing potions that you can’t otherwise. (Flavor for this is weak. Is the character heating them somehow with the hot water?)

When you attempt to polymorph an item that has polymorph magic (wand/spell/potion of polymorph, tin of meat that may cause a polymorph when eaten, etc) it explodes and creates one or more monsters affiliated with polymorph magic, such as polymorph vortices (see YANI #3669), genetic engineers, or similar.

If blessed, the potion of polymorph gives you control over your polymorphing form when quaffed.

Dipping a ring of polymorph control into a potion of polymorph allows you to control the ring it turns into (not its enchantment though, if the ring is enchantable).

Vapors from the potion of polymorph should cause a brief or minor polymorph. Possibly the “you feel like a new foo” effect.

Polymorph potions affect all monsters adjacent to where they shatter.

Blessed potions of polymorph, when quaffed, grant you immediate polymorph control over just that one polymorph either 50% or 100% of the time. To compensate, cursed potions of polymorph will ignore changing into a dragon and will try several times to roll a monster that will make you break out of your armor. Or the cursed potion could have a wildly variable duration, so you have no idea when it will end and cannot rely on it.