Using living creatures as athanors?

In a prior post I mentioned relict athanors from third edition. I wanted to give an update on that, as since I wrote that I translated The Gamemaster's Book that provided more details. Basically, the athanor develops sapience as the alchemist progresses through the circles. It remains benign, and a master alchemist can transfer the athanor's Ka into a golem to create a familiar, or even into a living human body! If the alchemist disobeys certain limits, the spirit may become malignant and attempt to possess the alchemist's simulacrum. It cannot actually kill the alchemist, as this would kill it too, but it can become quite troublesome. 

I read a French fanbook on alchemy collating and expanding the various canonical alchemy traditions in an unofficial revision/fork of third edition. (For reference, the fanbook was written by a Hubert "Ouroboros" Terrieux. It is divided into three files: alchemy rules, western formulae, spagyrie artifacts.) It includes descriptions of using living creatures as athanors. It might be the alchemist himself, it might be a farmed animal (compare the fairytale of the golden goose), it might even be a tamed elemental beast! The same document also mentions using natural features and magical places as athanors, in lieu of artificial constructions, as well as "tools" like flutes and so forth. Very flavorful!

These rules remove the Ka investiture in favor of using the alchemist's Ka-elements directly, which I consider a welcome change (it also makes conversion to Slaying the Dragon way easier). It introduces the concept of "alchemic developers" (by analogy to photographic developers) instead, which extend from the alchemist's pentacle like tendrils of Ka and inhabit the tools the alchemist uses to produce the effects. Using a tool enough times leaves an impression that allows the laboratory to develop sentience, limited metamorphosis and limited spellcasting ability, similar to a relic. Sentient laboratories are sentimental and like to collect every tool ever used by the alchemist, even temporarily, building an eclectic collection in the alchemist's studio.

I think it would be fairly simple to adapt these ideas to Slaying the Dragon/Enlightened Magic style rules. If a player desires, then instead of the standard Craft specialty, he can select an animal husbandry and veterinary trade for the PC’s alchemy style. By controlling the animal’s environment and food, the alchemist induces it to produce eggs, milk, fur, feathers, etc. with the desired effects. Some further preparation may be necessary, like cooking eggs, fermenting cheese, spinning wool, etc., but that’s essentially it. Laboratory procedures would consist of applying veterinary techniques to the subject.

This may extend to other trades like esoteric architecture and musical performance, at the GM's discretion. E.g. an elaborate flute might be used to condense perfumes instead of a conventional perfumery, channeling the Ka through musical notes.

Just in case your players want further options for roleplaying! In a future post, I'll go into more detail on laboratory golems and monstrous laboratories as well as my ideas for adapting them to Enlightened Magic style...

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