A fivefold athanor?

In the French version, athanors were revised over the editions. 

First Edition

In the first edition, the Athanor was an egg-shaped oven that produced alchemical Powders for all five elements. 

US version

This was retained by the US version. Although a revised system was planned and drafted, the line was canceled before it could be released. These rules were later genericized and incorporated into the BRP supplement Enlightened Magic. In those rules, the Circles were reorganized like so:

  1. Black Stone involved manipulation of physical substances via the laboratory, athanor and alchemical materials. It affected the physical.
  2. White Stone involved the creation of works of art that induced a specific effect in the minds of the audience. It affected the mental.
  3. Philosopher's Stone involved meditations that would affect the very souls of the alchemist's targets. It affected the spiritual.

In other words, much of the first and second circles of the French were consigned to Black Stone.

Second Edition

In the first edition Alchimie supplement and incorporated by default in second edition, two new magical tools or "substantial constructs" that produced four new substances were added to the laboratory when the alchemist learned White Stone. Each construct was associated with a different "Way."

These worked like so:

  • Available at Black Stone was the Brief Way: the Athanor produced Powders thanks to the process Carbuncle.
  • Available at White Stone was...
    • The Wet Way: The Alembic produced…
      • Vapors thanks to the process Alkahest.
      • Liquors thanks to the process Cinnabar.
    • The Dry Way: The Crucible produced…
      • Ambers thanks to the process Androgyne.
      • Metals thanks to the process Chrysopœia.

At all circles, the alchemist could produce any combination of element and substance. All tools in the laboratory shared the same Ka-elements among them, so you didn't need to track separately. 

Third Edition

In the third edition, two more magical tools were introduced for a total of five. This time each tool was associated with and contained a single fixed Ka-element rather than sharing these across the lab. This was explained in-universe as new discoveries in the occult sciences. These worked like so:

  • The Forge produced Metals of Fire.
  • The Bellows produced Vapors of Air.
  • The Crucible produced Ambers of Earth.
  • The Athanor produced Powders of Moon.
  • The Alembic produced Liquors of Water.

In both Circles, there were 5 skills: the five elements in Black Stone and the five substances (i.e. still linked to fixed elements) in White Stone, as explained here. 

An Aside

Some fans were disappointed by this and revised these circles to give more diversity reminiscent of second edition, allowing the alchemist to freely mix and match elements and substances rather than being limited to one association each. 

  1. At Black Stone the alchemist selected any one substance to specialize in and could create that substance for all five elements. 
  2. At White Stone, the alchemist learned to create all five substances with any combination of element. 

The Third Circle was unchanged.

Fourth Edition

In fourth edition Alchemy worked much the same way as in third edition with fairly minor changes that brought back in the diversity of second edition.

The tools broke down like so:

  • The Forge produced Metals.
  • The Retort produced Vapors.
  • The Crucible produced Ambers.
  • The Athanor produced Powders.
  • The Alembic produced Liquors.

The Black Stone was once again divided into three Ways that the alchemist could specialize in:

  • The Dry Way produced…
    • Metals of Fire in the Forge.
    • Ambers of Earth in the Crucible.
  • The Wet Way produced…
    • Vapors of Air in the Retort.
    • Liquors of Water in the Alembic.
  • The Brief Way produced Powders of Moon in the Athanor.

The White Stone was divided by the Processes:

  • The Forge produced Metals of all elements thanks to Chrysopœia.
  • The Retort produced Vapors of all elements thanks to Alkahest.
  • The Crucible produced Ambers of all elements thanks to Androgyne.
  • The Athanor produced Powders of all elements thanks to Carbuncle.
  • The Alembic produced Liquors of all elements thanks to Cinnabar.

As you can see, it seems to be a combination of second and third edition. This works not unlike that house rule for third edition I described above, save that the associations between Substances and Elements were retained in Black Stone.

Fifth Edition

In the fifth edition, these magical tools or "Constructs" were reorganized yet again: 

  • The Forge or Crucible produced Metals of all elements thanks to Chrysopœia.
  • The Aludel produced Vapors of all elements thanks to Alkahest.
  • The Retort produced Ambers of all elements thanks to Androgyne.
  • The Athanor produced Powders of all elements thanks to Carbuncle.
  • The Alembic produced Liquors of all elements thanks to Cinnabar.

The substances were now linked to specific Processes rather than Ka-elements at both circles, not just White Stone. Each Construct now had separate ratings in all five Ka-elements, rather than the simpler shared or distributed Ka-elements of prior editions. 

My commentary and conclusion

These revisions occurred independently of the unpublished alchemy revision for the US version, later published for generic BRP in 2015's Enlightened Magic. In those rules, something loosely similar was done by allowing alchemists to choose the form of their laboratory and athanor based on any single Craft specialty. In contrast to the French version, athanors weren't invested with Ka: the alchemist always used his own Ka.

I find the French version interesting, albeit overcomplicated (as usual, I think the 3e/4e era was the most refined), and I was curious to see if it could be adapted to the enlightened alchemy rules. Unfortunately it isn’t gonna be easy: enlightened alchemists may only have a single athanor at a time, not five, and may only prepare a single procedure at a time. If I directly copied the fivefold athanor, then it would require a different Craft specialty for each element and provide no benefit over a single athanor. It would need to provide some kind of benefit to justify the investment in five different Craft specialties.

Ultimately, it seems like too much complexity for little real gain. The enlightened alchemy rules are flavorful enough. Your alchemist’s athanor can take whatever form you want without limiting the procedure available to you. At the end of the day, I think that’s plenty sufficient.

An enlightened laboratory inspired by the French

So let’s simplify it down to the flavor. This isn't a new rule but a cosmetic implementation of the standard enlightened alchemy rules. These use the unpublished alchemy rules, which were reprinted in Enlightened Magic. This is limited to Black Stone alchemy, of course.

If you want a traditionalist alchemy lab with an athanor, alembic, aludel, bellows, forge, crucible, retort and related tools to produce the various substances for specific or non-specific elements, then use Craft (Alchemy) as the associated "mundane" skill. This specialty is the medieval precursor to Craft (Chemistry). 

As with the standard rules, the alchemist may only use another alchemist's laboratory if it also uses the Craft (Alchemy) skill (see Enlightened Magic p66). Although this laboratory may shares features in common with the other examples listed in the book (see Enlightened Magic p69), its "jack of all trades, master of none" flavor means that the alchemist cannot use other kinds of laboratories unless he knows the associated mundane skill. However, at the GM's discretion he may still benefit from skill synergy (see Basic Roleplaying rulebook p50), adding one-fifth of his Craft (Alchemy) skill to the roll for other styles that share a tool in common. The overly detailed nature of the traditionalist lab may also provide a bonus for roleplaying (see Enlightened Magic p69-70).

This eclectic laboratory produces a variety of substances with the multiple tools available, often refining substances through multiple tools before it's ready. Depending on the alchemist, each substance is linked to an fixed element or to a "process."  This correspondence between states of matter, processes, and elements goes like so:

  • The Substance of Metal is produced by the Crucible and Forge. 
    • This state of matter is preferred for procedures of Fire and generally by the Pyrim. 
    • The associated Process is Chrysopœia: It manifests mastery, control and rectitude of the world. Under its action, matter is obliged to keep its uprightness, to obey the immutable laws imposed on it by the Ka.
  • The Substance of Vapor is produced by the Alembic, Aludel, Bellows and Retort. 
    • This state of matter is preferred for procedures of Air and generally by the Eolim. 
    • The associated Process is Alkahest: It deals with the intelligence of things, the understanding of the intimate laws of matter and their perception. The Alchemist can thus decipher the secrets and communicate them.
  • The Substance of Amber is produced by the Crucible and Retort. 
    • This state of matter is preferred for procedures of Earth and generally by the Faerim. 
    • The associated Process is Androgyne: It corresponds to the power of uninterrupted creation, generation, fertility and invention. The Alchemist uses it to cause the eruption of new Substances which look more and more like the Prima Materia as it progresses.
  • The Substance of Powder is produced by the Athanor. 
    • This state of matter is preferred for procedures of Moon and generally by the Onirim. 
    • The associated Process is Carbuncle: It allows the Alchemist to explore the destructive powers of matter, which comes from decomposition, calcination, disappearance and corruption. Through it the Alchemist reiterates the symbolic decline to understand how to overcome it.
  • The Substance of Liquor is produced by the Alembic. 
    • This state of matter is preferred for procedures of Water and generally by the Hydrim. 
    • The associated Process is Cinnabar: It acts on change, the incessant transformations of matter in its form and content. The Alchemist uses it to hasten these changes and combine them as he pleases.

As stated, each of the Dominant Ka favors a specific Substances and corresponding Processes even if they can use it for multiple elements. While each Ka-element is by no means limited to using that Substance and its Process, they often find themselves preferring it over the others. Using their preferred substance over others may provide a bonus for roleplaying (see Enlightened Magic p69-70). If you want this to be slightly more than a roleplaying thing, then consider limiting all procedures prepared by the character to their Dominant Ka's preferred Substance and/or limiting their procedures to the Substance corresponding with that procedure’s element and/or process… at least until they master Black Stone (75% in Enlightened Magic). This won’t have any mechanical drawback since they can still produce any procedure listed in Enlightened Magic regardless of material, but it may still have symbolic and social consequences at the GM’s discretion.

In a later post, I might see how we can modify some of the procedures listed in the enlightened alchemy rules to this scheme.

Hope you enjoyed!

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