The alchemy is split into three classes of knowledge.
I don't know much about chemistry so most of the stuff here is files I've downloaded from other places.
A small warning: when I wrte tihs game I wanted it to be as realistic as possible. So to get information on these matters I visited sites which are generally described as being a bit dodgy.
For Christ's sake don't actually try anything described here. This information is true to life and you'll probably kill yourself or some one else while attempting the things here.
In the game, just assume that the characters who do these things are smart enough to not blow thier own heads off.
The best recource I could find for explosives was a file one of my friends gave to me which goes by the name of the terrorists handbook.
It contains infomration abouthe construction of every kind of explosive you could imagine.
So rather than try and find out about explosives, I decided to just put this file up:
The Terrorist's Handbook
It does contain things about a few other matters, but i couldn't be bothered to edit it, and besides I thought the other stuff might be used to spice up a few games.
You'd be surprised how many poisons we come in contact with in every day circumstances.
Just about everything is poisonous given the right amount and enough time for the chemicals to take effect.
Poison generally means anythign which disrupts the operational functions of the body.
Alchohol is a poison (deadly if pure enough - methylated spirit) to the brain.
But for really deadly poisons it has to be something which makes a critical function of the body stop.
Rat / mouse poison is a chemical called Warfarin. It is an anti-coagulant , which means it thins the blood and prevents clotting. In open heart surgery, and long operations, Warfarin is used to keep the flash raw while operating on it and to prevent the opening from scabbing up. In it's use as a poison it is i na dosage which thins the blood so much that it can leak out of blood vessels and cause internal bleeding. victims of warfarin are usually bloated and decomposing within.
For general usage the best poison that mice will have access to is foxgloves. These seemingly harmless common gardan plants have chemicals in them which can cause cardiac arrest. If distilled they would make a quite harmful poison.
Considering the nature ofthegame, unusal genetic poisons and things like the anthrax virus and mixametosis may come into play later on.
Medicines are pretty simple things to come by in natural forms. Not many people know that eating raw maggots can prevent dissentry (in WWII the prisoners of war had bbeen told by thier captains that if given rotting meat, they should eat the maggots instead of the meat).
Other cures for diarrhoea include charcoal, salt, and of cause immodium AD (but where are mice goign to get a bottle of that stuff?). The one universal cure for almost anything is penecillin. This can be foremd by forming mould on thigns such as jam and bread. However, there are abotu five hundredtypes of mould and I don't know which one contaisn penecillin. Most of the other types are deadly. This should berememberted whe ncharacters with little knowledge try thier hand at alchemy.
Of course, there are thigns which don't need curing - they need healing, such as wounds, stings, bruises etc.
As far as poultices are conerned, anything cold will do and usually some kind of soothing substance can be found (anything with a pH around 7.5, yoghurt could be a possiblity).
To heal wounds however, the general rule is the more it hurts, the quicker it heals. Salt actually makes wounds close up quickly, but you won't be much appreicated for sticking a companion's cut into it. Things suc has vinegar also do a good job.
Stings can be either acid or alkali. To ease the pain, put the sting into the opposite. For example, a wasp sting is alkali so put it into acid such as vinegar, relish, or most other condiments including lemon juice (dont stick it in car battery acid- you may find your player missing a limb). If you put a bee sting into acid it'll hurt like buggery because bee stings are acid and it only makes it worse. A good source of alkali is bicarbonate of soda.
Nettles are generally acid, as are jelly fish toxins.
Scurvy is a disease which you may come into contact with. it isn't contageous but playeras may get it if they have a vitamin C deficiancy. Citrus fruits replenish vitamin C, so make sure they get a good supply.
There is no cure for:
The common cold
The bubonic plague
The AIDS virus
The pneumonic plague*
BCE/CJD
Leprocy*
Tuberculosis*
Rabies*
small pox*
* all items marked with a star have immunisations but not cures.
For other info on medicines see pages on alternative medicine - but for god's sake use a decent search engine. I looked under 'herbs' and accidentally put myself o na mailing list for the world eclectic foundation. Don't ask my how or why, it just happened.