User:Tambora/Apothecary

The Apothecary is an alchemist like character, who uses potions and other mixtures in battle. Apothecaries in combat can be used as healers, buffers/debuffers, or other utility, with some damage mixed in.

Apothecary Backstory

Long before magic was given to the sentient races of tyria, medicine men, herbalists, and others were using concoctions of plants, poisons, and other objects for healing, killing, and other areas of life. Even when healing magic was introduced, some ailments were still outside its reach, and only the ancient herbalists could find a cure. Over time, the work of apothecaries has grown less mysterious, and more systematic, with recipes for concoction written down, and careful experimentation used to find new ones, but the apothecaries still maintain a useful place in society, healing the sick alongside the magical healers.

During wartime, apothecaries use their knowledge of potions, poisons, and other concoctions to harm enemies as well as protect and heal allies. Apothecaries are quite insidious in their work, sapping victims' strength, and slowly killing them with uncurable poisons. Some apothecaries prefer to deliver their poisons using a blowgun, others design fuming potions that can be thrown onto an area of the battlefield, poisoning a wide swath of enemies. As always, apothecaries are master healers, devising protective and healing concoctions to be used in the thick of battle.

Apothecary attributes

Alchemy: Increases the duration of applied conditions and concoction effects by 4% per attribute point, and provides a 3-4% per attribute point chance for applied conditions to resist removal by condition removal skills. Alchemy skills relate to potion preparation in general, making it faster, cheaper, etc., and also have a few self buffs and utility.

Blowgun mastery: Increases damage dealt by blowguns, and improves skills related to blowgun shots and preparations. Most blowgun skills favor damage over time or debuffing of some sort rather than direct damage.

Concoctions: Improves skills related to thrown and area effect potions. Most concoction skills are offensive buffs, or debuffs.

Medicine: Improves skills related to healing and protecting allies. Most medicine skills relate to defensive buffs, conditions and hex removal, healing ,etc.

Apothecary Mechanics

When used on enemies, most apothecary effects would be considered the same as conditions for game mechanics purposes. (Removable by condition removal skills, attacks or spells that improve, change, or grow weaker would do so with apothecary effects as well, etc.)

When used on allies, apothecary effects would be their own type of mechanic, concoction effects. they would still probably interact with friendly spells in a similar manner as conditions, but would not be removable, and would not effect enemy skills.

New Weapon: Blowgun

5-15 damage, 1.25 attack speed, 2-handed

Most apothecary preparations only work with blowguns.

Preparations These are the same as ranger preparations (only one usable at a time, add effects to weapon shots).

Fume Clouds These would act similarly to elementalist wards, but the casting would use skills instead of spells. The skill creating them would also be targetable on enemies or allies rather than just appearing in the area around the apothecary.

Potions For some apothecary skills, the apothecary would cast a buff on an ally that could be removed at any time. The buff would not do anything, but could be removed by the player it was used on, and when removed, it would cause an effect (healing ,and armor increase, etc.). The results of these potions could be instant effects or concoction effects that last some time.

Concoction Effects These would be effects caused to friendly targets by the apothecary. They would act as conditions for allied skills, but would not effect enemy skills, and would not be removable.

Apothecary Armor

• 60 armor level, no special bonuses
• +10 energy (for 30 total), 4 energy regeneration
• Provides 20% condition duration reduction (stacks with runes)
• Would mostly use cloth, some types might use leather

I imagine most apothecary armor would have flasks and pouches in it, and different types would probably have long shirts, long pants, robes, and such (no fancy clothes). Headgear would probably be some sort of cloth hats or such.

Insignias:

• Poisoners: +10 armor when using a condition
• Resistant: Conditions expire 20% faster (stacks with normal armor and with runes)
• Alchemists: +10 armor while under the effects of a potion skill.

Apothecary Quests

These would be the profession specific quests used in certain sections of the game. I think of apothecaries as prophecies only professions, so the quests are tyrian ones.

Pre-Searing

Apothecary Test

• Start: Jarold the Apothecary
• End: Jarold the Apothecary

Kill a river skale and bring the organs to Jarold for a potion.

Starting dialogue:

Ah, a newly trained apothecary. Before you begin your travels, I could use some help :completing this potion. Please go down to the river and retrieve some skale gizzard, the last raw material.

Ending dialogue:

Thanks you for the assistance. You seem skilled enough for me to teach you some more complex :potions.

I'll be heading back to ascalon city now, Haversdan will supervise your training from here.

A New Apothecary Trainer

• Start: Haversdan
• End: Alchemist Orteg

Travel to the Catacombs and speak to Alchemist Orteg

Starting dialogue:

To learn more advanced apothecary techniques, you should talk to Alchemist Orteg, in the :catacombs behind Ashford Abbey. Follow the road southwest to the town of Ashford, the church is :Ashford abbey."

Ending dialogue:

I can teach you to make several healing potions and protective skills, but to learn to make :other types of potions, you should talk to other trainers.

The Poisoned Wells

• Start: Alchemist Orteg (catacombs)
• End: Alchemist Orteg

Travel to the different sections of the poisoned water and collect samples for Orteg.

Starting dialogue:

The still waters in some sections of the catacombs have been diseased as far back as we can :remember. While normally, we have had no reason to worry about these affairs, it has recently :come to my attention that water may be seeping out of the catacombs and into the water supply of :nearby farms. To test the truth of this, I will need a sample from different sections of the :catacombs. Normally I would do this myself, but I think it will make a good learning experience :for a new apothecary such as you.

Ending dialogue:

Thanks you for this water. It will take some time to determine whether the farms are being :poisoned, but with these samples we should know within about a day.

Quest Description:

• For this quest, you would be given a healing ability and an ability to prevent poison (or disease, whichever one is caused by the water in the catacombs). you would be required to travel to several starred sections of the catacombs with dirty water, and click on the "sample vial" items to get a sample.

Pest Control

• Start: Herbalist Kathra (Green hills Couty, on the Barradin Estate)
• End; Herbalist Kathra

Clear some thorny vines on the Barradin Estate

Starting Dialogue:

One of the most time consuming types of work on the barradin estate is keeping weeds and other :pests out of the crop fields. Normally, the pests can be cleared by hand, but recently a group of :dryders and thorny weeds hasattacked that are too dangerous to clear by hand. Since you need some :training, I will teach you skills for poisoning these pests, hopefully removing them from the :fields for some time.

Ending dialogue:

Duke Barradin will be pleased to see those pest gone. Here is your reward, and if you need work in the future, we could always use an apothecary such as yourself on the estate.

Quest Description:

• For this quest, you would be given a preparation and blowgun skill, which would be used against several individual insects and thorn stalker looking plants.

Bandit Interrogation

• Start: Medic Hewson (Fort Ranik)
• End: Medic Hewson

Help Stefan fight some bandits and capture one for interrogation. Stefan must survive.

Starting dialogue:

I have gotten word recently of a bandit ring in the forests south of Fort Ranik. While normally :we would simply kill or chase the bandits away, I have heard that these bandits may be linked to a :larger network of royalist rebels. I would like you to travel to the bandit's camp with Stefan, :and help him defeat the bandits there. Make sure to capture at least one that we can interrogate.

Take these skills as well, you will find them useful against the large bandit group.

Ending Dialogue:

Excellent, you captured some! You will make a good battle apothecary, it appears.

Quest description:

• The medic would give you some temporary "fume cloud" skills for this quest. You would travel to the bandit's camp, and cast a fume cloud that would either weaken bandits, cause them to miss, or some other effect that would reduce their combat effectiveness. Another fme spell would likely help Stefan. When the bandits got below some amount of health, they would either run away or give up (At least 1 would be guaranteed to give up). the quest would end when all bandits had either run far enough away with at least 1 giving up.

Post Searing

Devourer's Brew

Start: Alchemist Orteg (Sardelac Sanitarium) End: Alchemist Orteg

Collect some ooze from the devourer cave for alchemist Orteg.

Start dialogue:

As you know, we have been quite sort of food and water ever since the searing. While our :rationing system has allowed us to manage somewhat, but we will need to find new sources of food :and water if we are to survive in this wasteland.

To the east of here is a cavern that was once a devourer cave. While we have had little reason to :care about such a cave, scouts have recently informed me that this cave has many vines, and much :other growth. If true, these vines may serve as a food source, and this cavern may be capable of :supplying us with water. I would like a sample of the soil and of any plants you find in this :cave for examination

End dialogue:

Thank you for these samples. I will get to work studying them immediately, but it appears that :the cave could be a useful source of water for the lands near here.

Quest Description:

• This would be pretty simple, travel to the cave east of Sardelac sanitarium (the devourer cave from pre-searing), than collect samples at the quest points.

Desperate times

• Start: Alchemist Orteg
• End: Alchemist Orteg

Kill some devourers and take samples of their flesh.

Start dialogue:

Your samples have proved promising so far, but a question has recently entered my mind. how do :the devourers survive in the wasteland? I will need to find an animal expert to find their food :sources, but for the time being, the devourers themselves may serve as food for us. I need to :test whether the devourers are poisonous, and how they may be prepared for proper consumption. I :will need some samples of devourer flesh for testing.

End dialogue:

Excellent, these samples will do perfectly. Best wishes to you, young apothecary, and to the :the rest of us trapped in this situation.

Quest Description:

• This is also pretty simple, you would kill some devourers, and grab flesh from them to complete the quest.

Charr Poison

• Start: Herbalist Kathra (Piken Square)
• End: Herbalist Kathra

Kill a charr using a new preparation

Start dialogue:

When the searing destroyed Barradin's estate, I joined his command as a healer and poison :maker. Recently, I have developed a preparation that might be of great use against the charr, but :must test it combat against a charr warrior.

Recently, the Charr commander Burfar Ashenheart has been moving charr forces towards our camp. :Assassinating him would be of great assistance to us at piken square ,and would also make a good :test of my preparation. I have little combat experience, but you seem capable to fighting :Ashenheart and his soldiers should the preparation fail.

End dialogue:

Hmm, that's not as effective as I was expecting, but should suffice for battles ahead. I will :inform Duke Barradin of the assasination and the success of the potion.

Quest Description:

• You would get an item containing Kathra's preparation, and would need to use it on the charr boss. The preparation would cause health degeneration to the charr boss, but your party would still have to fight the boss and three other charr as normal.

A Source of Warmth

• Starts: Medic Hewson (Yak's Bend)
• Ends: Medic Hewson

Help the travellers survive their journey to Yak's bend.

Start dialogue:

As you know, our journey through the shiverpeaks is fraught with dangers, stone summit, bitter :cold, getting lost during windstorms. Recently, it has come to my attention that a group of :travelers is arriving from ascalon foothills with few supplies and no clothing for the weather. :If anyone of this group is to survive, they will need protection from the cold, and from the :patrols the stone summit are sure to send. If you hurry, you will be able to meet the group at :the ascalon foothills and keep them alive until they can reach supplies here.

Traveler dialogue:

Help us!

It's Freezing...

(teeth chattering) (Or however these types of sound effects work in the game.)

Reaching Yak's Bend:

We're here!

Thanks you for saving us.

Need Warmth...

End dialogue:

Thank the gods you were there to protect those travelers. We have been able to provide them :with clothing and warm food, and they should now be prepared for the journey ahead.

Quest Description:

• You would need to travel to the border between ascalon foothills and traveler's vale to meet the group. This group would contain 4-5 travelers, who would take some cold damage every second. (Enough to force constant healing and protection, but not so much as to overwhelm characters.) Occasionally, extra stone summit attacks might occur, but these would be small. The travelers would join as allies in the party window. if at least 1 traveler reached Yak's bend, the quest would be completed.

Crystal Desert

Thirsty River, Elona reach, Dunes of Despair:

• Thirsty river has a nice setup with 6 professions, that would be difficult to add 2 professions to in an elegant way, so instead of adding extra forgotten bosses for the naturist and apothecary professions, I would probably have these professions done by sand giants, minotaurs, and such. In Elona Reach, the two bosses would be in the first section of the mission with the minotaurs. In thirsty river, the bosses would also be in the beginning section with the sand giants. In Dunes of Despair, the two bosses would similarly be in the earlier part of the mission.

Dragon's Lair

• Apothecary aspect environmental effect: Gives all party members a random condition every few seconds. The room would mainly have forgotten rangers, possibly forgotten apothecaries if such units were added.

The Apothecary's path

• Start: Sythias (Augury Rock)
• End: Sythias

Kill a group of 3 Roving Cacti (Naturist creatures) in Skyward Reach

Start dialogue:

Do you think you could learn the arts of an apothecary? An apothecary's power is subtle, not relying on flashy magic or brute strength. An apothecary must learn to understand the workings of the body, the workings of poisons and medicines, and must know how to use available materials to prepare concoctions. If you think the path of the apothecary, kill some of the moving cacti that roam the desert. See what knowledge you can gain from fighting these dangerous creatures.

End dialogue:

You have survived the cacti's poisonous thorns, and are no worse for the wear. Should you wish to gain expertise in the ways of an apothecary, I will be able to teach you