I tried to write rules for medieval alchemy and I reckon that it is best
handled as a sort of HQ.
I say this because according to the masters the philosophers stone could
only be made by the pure of heart. To put it another way alchemy was as
much a spiritual as a chemical exercise just as the end product was as
much spiritual as material in its benefits.
The creation of the stone had a number of stages involving various pieces
of equipment, processes and foul-smelling compounds. Each stage is a
stage on the quest for spiritual perfection as symbolized by the
philosopher's stone.
An alchemist who sets out merely to create gold will, of course, never
complete the quest.
IMO the Kralori Path of Immanent Mastery is the Gloranthan analogue to
the debased alchemical phase of Taoism. POIM cultists literal reading of
the Kralori cosmic dragon metaphor paralells the movement of Taoism from
philosophy to magic, from wanting longevity to ponder the universe more
deeply to a materialistic desire for immortality for its own sake.
POIM cultists are allowed use sorcery. The only way a prole POIM cultist is
going to last long enough to get 36 points of DM and become a dragon is an
Immortality spell. IMO the POIM has the same medical and alchemical
fixations as Taoism.
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Andrew Behan