Alchemy

Alchemy is renowned as one of the most powerful magical skills. Some might say it is notorious as one of the most easily unbalanced and exploited skills. At any rate, its use will depend on the player's own style, within the parameters explained below.

A very high percentage of the magical effects in Morrowind are available in potion form; Alchemy makes it possible to create these potions, and some types can only be manufactured, not bought.

Every ingredient can have up to four magical effects; as alchemists progress in skill, one and then another of these magical effects are displayed, although the default name of the potion (corresponding to the first effect) is always seen.

The higher the character's intelligence and Alchemy skill, the more powerful and higher resale value potions acquire, and the greater the chance of success when creating them.

Most of the ingredients can be gathered in the wild or looted from monsters, but by far the easier way of training alchemy is by buying from stores; because using the skill can make money, alchemy is a skill that can finance its own advancement, and rarely requires training, except perhaps at the beginning.

The player who wishes to use Alchemy extensively should be wary of making it a Major or Minor skill; raising it up to 100 will raise the character as much as 10 levels with no gains in any other Attribute than Intelligence. This is much less of a problem in Morrowind than Oblivion, however, as monsters do not level up with the player.

Fortify Alchemy is available as a Spellmaking and Enchant effect in Morrowind, where it, and the bonus from Intelligence, were effectively removed in Oblivion.

Alchemical ingredients can be consumed directly, and the player can receive the benefits of the first listed effect, and skillups from Alchemy use.

Production
In order to produce a potion, the minimum requirements are a Mortar & Pestle item of any grade, and two ingredients which share at least 1 effect. Up to 4 ingredients can be combined into a potion. Consuming raw ingredients can improve Alchemy skill at 25% 'XP' rate. The first listed effect of the ingredient at low duration and value will is the effect.

Click on any Alchemy equipment piece (Calcinators etc work as well for this as Mortar & Pestle), and move its icon over the character's portrait, and click again. In the PC version, the list of apparatus is in the top section, and there are four boxes below that to which ingredients can be added. As many of the apparatus boxes as you have a type to fill will automatically be displayed. (See "Tools" below.)

In the PC version, clicking on an ingredient box brings up the popup scrollable list of available ingredients; add them as for the apparatus. As ingredients are added, potential effects of their combination are listed in the box to the right. Potions can be renamed; they will otherwise be set to the default of the first magical effect. Depending on the character's Alchemy skill and Intelligence the potion may succeed or fail; either way, the ingredients are consumed.

Luck affects Alchemy skill, increasing it up to 100, but has no further effect.

The weight of a potion is an average of the weight of the ingredients, rounded down.

Effects
Every ingredient can have up to four magical effects; as alchemists progress in skill, the first and successive magical effects are displayed; the default name of the potion (corresponding to the first effect) is always seen. • 0-14: Only the first effect visible as the default name of the potion •  15-29: First tier effect visible •  30-44: First and second tier effects visible •  45-59: First through third visible •  60-100: All four tiers of effects visible

Some ingredients have fewer than four effects. Unknown effects are always listed with a question mark ("?"). Despite not being named in the ingredients or the finished potion (unless they are first effects, in which case they are the default name), the effects will still be active in the potion, where in Oblivion, players actually make potions that simply do not have the effects that are not recognized by their characters, even if those effects are negative. First effects always being visible as the default name of the potion, players can learn effects of ingredients even with low skill.

Tools
Mortar and Pestles are the only tools required to make a potion. The quality of the Mortar and Pestle directly affects the initial quality of the potion produced, and therefore its price. Potion value is unaffected by the alembic, retort, or calcinator use, presumably in order to give the same profit can for potions with no Value or Duration. Alembics reduce the strength and duration of negative effects. Skooma Pipes can be used as very weak Efficacy Alembics Retorts increase the strength and duration of positive effects in the potion. Calcinators Increase the strength and duration of all effects, positive or negative.

Secret Master tools are only accessible on the PC version. Even then, they are only obtainable through console codes.

Powerful Potions
There is no maximum to Alchemy skill or effectiveness, other than the ability of the player's software and hardware to deal with the results; running through architecture and suchlike effects can crash games.

The four increasable factors that modify potion strength are: Fortify Alchemy, Fortify Intelligence, Alchemy equipment grades, and the most powerful aspect of Alchemy, the fact that potion effects 'stack', which is to say, their effects add to each other.

Fortify Alchemy is only available as a spell or enchantment effect, but Fortify Intelligence can be augmented with Alchemy itself; potions can be made with ash yams, bloat and netch leather, easily bought from alchemist or apothecary NPCs. Bloodmoon players also have Horker Tusk available. While intelligence is fortified from such potions, successive potions will be stronger. These stronger potions can be consumed, for an ever-increasing effect. Potions with values into the thousands and days-long durations can be made.

Powerful potions can be created with less of a clickfest by using Spellmakers and multiples of the same Fortify Alchemy effect.

Character Creation
See Character Creation

Altmer characters receive a +10 bonus to Alchemy; Argonians, Bosmer, and Bretons, a +5 bonus. The Standard Classes Bard and Witchhunter have it as a Major skill; Assassins, Battlemages, Crusaders, Healers, Mages, Pilgrims, Scouts and Spellswords get it as a Minor skill

Favored Skill
The Mages Guild and Tribunal Temple groups include Alchemy as one of the skills required for advancement in their faction; the Dark Brotherhood members favor Alchemy, but the player cannot join their group.

Trainers
Alchemy trainers are a little thin on the ground. The Master Trainer of Alchemy is Abelle Chriditte, who lives in the Propylon Chamber at Valenvaryon.

Books
Looking at some books will increase your Alchemy skill: • A Game at Dinner •  The Cake and the Diamond  •  Song of the Alchemists  •  36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 2  •  36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 18 Also the Bloodmoon expansion book, The Song of Uncle Sweetshare

See Also:

 * Ingredients - Complete list of ingredients and their attributes.
 * Magical Effects - List of the alchemy effects and which ingredients have them.
 * Alchemy Apparatus - List of the tools used for alchemy, and where to find them.
 * Alchemy Cheat - One way in which a player can make a lot of money out of Alchemy.