[Jack Simth]

Originally posted by narf poit chez BOOM:
unless, like your gems, the enchantment is buried. but it still wouldn't be able to function. on the other hand, the strength and speed could be a potion. we've seen a fair amount of alchemy.

Quite possible.

Originally posted by narf poit chez BOOM:

harking back to previous stuff, mages can cast spells and enchant. if we let psionics store activatable energy patterns in items, then they'd have a personal power and an item power. but alchemists only have an item power, so as a proposal, how about alchemists being able to take on characteristics from there environment?

Possibly - perhaps they could also produce adreneline activated potions that hang around as an inert substance until activated - drink one, and then next month when some drunk throws a punch at you, the potion activates, and grants a temporary strength boost, speed boost, or whatever, all under the nose of any watching mages. They could possibly be made to run on other triggers as well - massive injury (shock triggered), illness (elavated white-blood cell count), strenuous exertion (lactic acid buildup), et cetera. Then an alchemist could store potions inside the alchemist's own body, where they can't be readily removed. They'd just need to make sure it wouldn't react with anything else they ingest....

Also, don't forget about alchemically modified pets! Who wouldn't want to be the master of a 2-ton dog, trained to be totally loyal to its master, saturated with anti-magic dust and below the intelligence threshold needed for telepathic influence to operate? Or a cat, or a bug, or a bird, or a _________(fill in blank)? Sure, it might be expensive to maintain (how much would a 2-ton dog/cat/bird/bug/______ eat every day?), but it would be quite an impressive war-beast.