You all are awesome! Ten days to make a potion that closes wounds is pretty bad-ass, IMO. Thank you!

Sounds like I'll be sticking to Chivalry and Sorcery or the Treasure Companion or GURPS Magic.  Oh well, I've only had a handful of players who cared to make magic items over the years.

Quote from: Alderaan Crumbs;802079I'm away from my books so would it be impolite to ask where you got the 5 days from, so I may point it out to my friend? Thank you.

First off I was wrong it would be 10 days.

Page 187, Downtime Actitives, Crafting. It cost half of the list price to craft an item and 5 pg per man-day. Healing Potions cost 50gp on the list, hence cost 25 gp to craft, 50 gp (list value) / 5 gp per day means it takes 10 days for one person to brew up a potion with the herbalist kit.

Quote from: Blacky the Blackball;802096A spell caster who can cast Cure Wounds** can make a healing potion too. It takes them 50gp of ingredients*** but only 2 days since magic items are crafted at 25gp worth of item per day. This is fine if you can't wait the 10 days it will take for the herbalist to make one or if you don't have access to a herbalist.

Make sense and thanks for all the page number cites.

Quote from: David Johansen;802109Sounds like I'll be sticking to Chivalry and Sorcery or the Treasure Companion or GURPS Magic.  Oh well, I've only had a handful of players who cared to make magic items over the years.

Agreed I don't want shops selling magic potions let alone other stuff and there seems to be an odd dicotomy between the short rest economy and the efficacy of healing potions, which I like as I have always hated healing potions as they feel like a 'sticking plaster' on the HP mechanic, so now I can dump them (can anyone think of a non-d&d fantasy tale with healing potions except for maybe the holy grail/caldron and there its the container not the liquid that makes the magic).

I think I will be lifting magic creation from elsewhere although I may pick up the 5e splat when it comes out.

Quote from: jibbajibba;802122Can anyone think of a non-d&d fantasy tale with healing potions except for maybe the holy grail/caldron

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?
http://narnia.wikia.com/wiki/Lucy%27s_Cordial

EDIT: Though to be fair, they don't chug this stuff every day.

To derail the thread a bit, one thing I've always found hard to visualize is a person struggling in pitched battle then reaching for a potion while being attacked.

Quote from: Alderaan Crumbs;802194To derail the thread a bit, one thing I've always found hard to visualize is a person struggling in pitched battle then reaching for a potion while being attacked.

We never had time for that unless someone created a breathing space for the potion imbiber to slug one down. For us potions have been mostly after battle stuff.

Quote from: jibbajibba;802122can anyone think of a non-d&d fantasy tale with healing potions except for maybe the holy grail/caldron and there its the container not the liquid that makes the magic.

Many going back to classsical times. Ambrosia for the Greek, Amrita/Soma for the Hindu, and a couple of others. Some did more than heal depending on the useage. Not to mention the various transformative potions that have appeared.

In modern litrature they show up too. I think even Conan found one once. Definitly showed up in Burroughs books here and there. Though often in either an offhand or commonplace manner.

I've seen a few instances of characters using or making a healing salve or paste.

Quote from: jibbajibba;802122(can anyone think of a non-d&d fantasy tale with healing potions except for maybe the holy grail/caldron and there its the container not the liquid that makes the magic).

The Three Musketeers - which isn't even fantasy.

QuoteThe host had reckoned upon eleven days of confinement at a crown a day, but he had reckoned without his guest. On the following morning at five o'clock d'Artagnan arose, and descending to the kitchen without help, asked, among other ingredients the list of which has not come down to us, for some oil, some wine, and some rosemary, and with his mother's recipe in his hand composed a balsam, with which he anointed his numerous wounds, replacing his bandages himself, and positively refusing the assistance of any doctor, d'Artagnan walked about that same evening, and was almost cured by the morrow.

Quote from: estar;801936I am not sure what you are referring too? I can't find the terms in the PHB or the Basic rules. The only thing I can think of is that one way of dealing with initiative is to start by saying "Anybody have an initiative higher than 20". Resolve them in order, and then start counting down from 20 halting with somebody calls out that is their number.

I think I saw the "initiative count 20" thing in the Monster Manual (note I only just got the MM and DMG, and haven't looked at either in detail yet).  I think certain monsters, in their lair, get to do special "lair actions" or something like that, at "initiative count 20".

I assume this to mean that these actions take place as though it was a 20 on an initiative roll.

Quote from: Skyrock;802384The Three Musketeers - which isn't even fantasy.

Well that is a curative politce not quite the same as quaffing a vial of exotic liquid in the midst of battle.

As for ambrosia or soma again can only recall such things beings in one place and the heros questing to fetch back a small amount to heal the king/princess etc or the heroes being taken their to be healed.

The Narnia example is the best one. I can't recall Conan or whoever quaffing healing poitions though haven't read a lot of the work so .. certainly fantasy post LotR can't recall any but again I am limited in my scope.

The most precise parallel is the medi kit in FPS games. It's there because the game expects you to take damage at a certain rate and natural healing would mean too much downtime so the reward for being above the ammount of damage taken by this point is to give you a kit that boosts your HP.