Alchemy is always a lovely idea in games. Unfortunately most \'alchemy\' skills do boil down to potion making, which is not perhaps as rich an opportunity as the name deserves (although I\'m not questioning how useful it is)
My thoughts on alchemy: science. Yes, that simple. Mediaeval scientists were not as primitive as we like to think, and some of the most important research of the time (in england at least) was done within the monastic religions that most people seem to think were holding it back.
Inquiring monk or freelance alchemist though, the basics of scientific enquiry were well-founded and although there were certainly some strange ideas and pursuing of goals now accepted as impossible even with modern technology, it was still science. Highly emperical science, but science.
In a setting where the underlying laws of reality might be probed and fiddled with magic, I think scientific advancement would be accelerated, not retarded, and alchemy would represent bleeding-edge research (within the timeframe decided by the setting i.e. mediaeval, so no \'alchmical\' internal combustion engines) combining chemistry, physics, theology, philosphy and not a little magic. Science isn\'t yet deep enough to be split into the various areas we lable it now, so alchemy really is a catchall. It seems strange there\'s even science/magic division, but that\'s getting seriously off-topic.
*thanks XpYtZ for pointing out the depth of alchemy too*
Might be a bit much to try to make alchemy all it should be, but there\'s no reason to restrict it to potions I think.
In game terms, I\'d expect \'alchemists\' to be concocting a huge variety of substances (most as a side effect of their research) - corrosive materials, flammable oils, foul-smelling tinctures, luminescent pigments, poisons, nigh-unbreakable composite metals, and so on. The important thing would be an air of research - not knowing exactly what will happen when you try to mix two ingedients, \'though you may guess based on what you know about them. Keeping this kind of feeling might be really difficult in an MMO game though - perhaps the introduction of new materials every so often, as well as making such knowledge valuable (player-published \'books\' of alchemical formulae?\') and ensuring there\'re a staggering number of combinations might work though. An alchemist\'s income would perhaps be equal parts selling the weird and wonderful things s/he has made, and selling the formulae for the most important to interested parties.
Healing potions and stuff would be more the realm of the herbalists/pharmacists, although there\'s no reason why an alchemist might stumble upon a new recipe for a healing salve. Alchemists would find new research I think, leaving others to perfect and manufacture the things they produce.
With a nod to the other alchemical thread (explosives and stuff) it seems sensible that an adventuring alchemist would take a few ceramic bottles of the more offensive creations with him. Glass might be expensive, and I think explosives definately a bit of a no-go, but a few ceramic baubles filled with sticky goo that makes the enemy\'s armour glue itself together, or stinking liquid that renders them helpless with nausea, would be just fun. Small ones could be a fine form of slingshot ammunition too, as well as larger grenades for throwing. You could even make clumsy arrows with ceramic heads filled with the stuff.
Hmm. Long post. Sorry - but alchemy rocks, and it\'d be nice if it were richer than Morrowind et al have made it.
