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rpg:arcydea:places:owlery:wizards

Wizard's Laboratory

Alembic. This glass device — consisting of a pear-shaped cucurbit, venting cap, and round receiver—has become the universal distilling mechanism. Our alembics come with a metal stand, but the burner must be purchased separately. (10 gp)

3 required for a complete laboratory.

Aprons: In a lab stocked with acid, bat guano, and mercury, a good apron can avert death as well as embarrassing stains. Our clay-steeped canvas aprons cover the body from neck to ankle and resist stains, acids, and fires (4 gp). We also offer a leather apron with an attached beard pocket and hood to protect decades of hair growth. (10 gp)

Provides advantage on saves vs fire and acid attacks when worn; 3 canvas aprons required for complete laboratory.

Astrolabe and Armillary Sphere: Though much of magic draws its power from the world of matter, many mages turn their eyes also to the quintessent heavens. For those who have only a passing interest in the stars, we offer a solid bronze astrolabe (8 gp) useful for tracking the sun, planets, and stars across the heavens. Our full armillary (60 gp) provides a near-flawless model of the principal celestial circles.

1 astrolabe is required for a complete laboratory.

Bags: We stock bags of all sizes and materials, from large and tight-woven grain sacks to small and loose knit steeping sacks. All weave types cost the same and are available in any size. We also provide water-tight leather bags in each size (doubles cost), bags that work especially well for fermentation processes. Please specify material type when ordering from the following sizes: Tea: 1 cp; Hand: 3 cp, Loaf: 6 cp; Flour: 8 cp; Grain: 1 sp.

5 of each size are requisite for a complete lab

Balance: For truly accurate measurement of weight, our tabletop balance is without compare. The sturdy steel frame can handle weights up to 50 lb. Comes with weights that range from 10 lb down to 1/16 oz. Accurate to the weight of a cricket’s leg. (30 gp)

1 is needed for a complete laboratory

Beakers, Vials, Glass Tubing: All our laboratory glassware is made of finest-quality, fire-hardened glass, crafted in Delgado by members of the glass-blowers guild. Vials (1 sp each) fit easily in vial racks, and are perfect for experimenting with small quantities of liquid or powder.

Our beakers come in small (5 sp), medium (1 gp), and large (3 gp) sizes. We stock glass tubing in two-foot lengths (2 sp) that can be cut to size or fired and bent. We carry one specialized piece of glass tubing—the distilling coil (5 gp), which is fully compatible with our other tubing.

Of course, we also carry corks for all of these containers, offering whole stoppers (5 cp), stoppers drilled for tubing (8 cp), and corks meant to connect two sections of tubing (1 sp).

18 vials; 6 beakers of each size; 10 two-foot lengths of tubing, 3 distilling coils, and 18 corks of each type are required for a complete lab.

Bellows: An efficient set of bellows can double the heat in a furnace without adding any more fuel. We offer small and large bellows constructed of supple calf-skin and hardwood, with a brass nozzle. Small: 5 gp; Large: 10 gp.

1 of each size required for a complete laboratory

Braziers and Burners: Though not as controllable as ovens, braziers supply quick or long-term heat to vials and beakers without removing them from sight. Our small bronze brazier (5 gp) holds enough coals to heat a large beaker, whereas our large brazier can heat an entire laboratory. Our burners (5 sp) are circular slabs of hard wax in which linen rags are coiled to act as wicks. These slabs fit easily into our small braziers and provide constant, low-level heat.

3 small braziers and 9 burners are requisite for a complete laboratory

Burette: This thin glass tube is made under the strictest supervision of glass-blower guildsmen of Delgado. Each is individually graduated by a skilled alchemist to assure proper fluid measure. Our burettes come with a cork stop-cock and a bronze stand. (15gp)

2 burettes are requisite for a complete laboratory

Cabinetry and Tables: Absolutely essential to the well-stocked laboratory, equipment and chemical storage cabinets can make the difference between order and chaos in experimentation. Our complete cabinet (50 gp) contains shelves to accommodate all sizes of jars, as well as smaller cabinets for light-sensitive materials. We also offer braces (2 gp per pair) and fine hardwood planking (1 sp per board foot) for building your own shelves.

Our tables (50 gp) are broad and sturdy, with black granite tops that can withstand great heat and strong acids. For an added fee of 5 gp we can shorten the legs of tables on a special-order basis for gnome, dwarf, or halfling mages.

Complete laboratories must have at least two tables, 1 cabinet, and 2 ten-foot shelves—or the equivalent

Candles: These mundane items are among the most versatile tools in the lab. Those of you new to the laboratory will quickly learn that candles can provide far more than light. We offer timekeeping candles (1 gp), which are notched to indicate the passage of hours and half-hours; incense candles (1 gp), which can clear foul odors from the laboratory; vial heaters (1 sp), which burn long and steadily; and typical tapers (1 sp), which provide excellent light for reading. All candles come in red, black, yellow, or uncolored versions.

30 of each type are requisite for a complete laboratory

Centrifuge: A critical tool for drawing out precipitants, this modern contraption works on the same principle as the mill wheel. By applying pressure to foot-pedals near the floor, the weighted horizontal wheel is set in motion. When stoppered vials are set in the wheel and spun heavy solids fall from the liquid to the base of the vial. (25 gp)

1 is required for a complete laboratory

Clay: Amongst highly reactive compounds, a nonreactive substance is most welcome. When kept moist, clay can be flattened into a pad to support hot containers, molded onto a mage’s face to protect against burns or acid, or even shaped to provide a temporary joint between glass tubes. (1 gp per pound)

20 pounds are required for a complete laboratory

Coal: We offer clean- and hotburning anthracite coal (1 gp per pound) in blocks for use in braziers and other non-vented fires as well as the more common bituminous coal (1 gp per 20 pounds), which must be vented. 10 pounds of anthracite and 200 pounds of bituminous are required for a complete laboratory

Dissection Instruments: Not among the more pleasant of wizardly duties, dissection is often necessary to acquire rare and unpurchasable spell components. Some (odd) mages also use our dissection instruments to study the inner workings of the bodies of beasts. Our dissection kit includes all the knives, pins, sponges, blotters, lenses, and so forth you need to make quick work of this unpleasant task. (10 gp)

1 is required for a complete laboratory

Easels: Our adjustable easels are sturdy enough to serve as sloped writingtables and large enough to support even the widest slates. Broad feet and four-legged construction make them stable in any arrangement. (40 gp)

1 is required for a complete laboratory

Files: This assortment of 18 wood and metal files would make a thief proud. These work perfectly for shaving small measures of solid materials for components. This set of files comes with a leather satchel. (10 gp)

1 set is required for a complete laboratory

Filter: We offer sheets of gauze or coarse-screen straw mesh (1 sp per square foot) that can be cut to fit most any laboratory setup. For those occasions in which a tighter filter is needed, we offer linen screen (1 sp per square foot) or silken screen (1 gp per square foot).

10 square feet of each type is needed for a complete laboratory

Gloves: In my many travels, I met more than a few wizards who had lost a finger to acids or knives in their labs. Contact poisons provide another reason to wear good gloves. Our clay-steeped canvas gloves (2 gp) guard against most substances. Our steel-reinforced leather gloves (5 gp) provide as much protection as a gauntlet, without the accompanying weight.

2 pairs of each type are needed for a complete laboratory

Heat Mats: Our heat mats (5 cp) are used in kitchens across Arcydea and can absorb lead-melting heat levels before bursting into flame. We also offer pads made of a fibrous white crystalline material known as asbestos (5 gp), capable of withstanding any heat. (I knew one mage who constructed a suit of the stuff before descending to the Abyss. He returned untouched by the fire, but died shortly afterward with a hacking cough.)

10 of the first type are required for a complete laboratory

Hour/Minute Glass: Closely tracking time is crucial to the success of chemical research. We offer various sizes of time glasses: half minute (5 gp), minute (3 gp), five minute (7 gp), ten minute (10 gp), hour (7 gp), and two hour (15 gp) glasses. All of these timepieces are cast and ornately painted in Nexus, then filled with precise sand measures in Crommel. Half-minute, minute, five minute, and hour glasses are required for a complete laboratory

Ice Chest: Strange though it may seem, some alchemical supplies keep better in cold rather than at common temperature. Our ice chest (35 gp) can hold up to 12 midsize jars standing upright and 2 jars lying on their sides, and our freezer (200 gp) holds 10 jars but keeps them cold without additional ice. We also supply ice year-round (1 gp per pound).

1 ice chest and 20 pounds of ice are needed for a complete laboratory; 20 pounds of ice will keep for 2 months

Jars: Most wizards like to keep a vast cache of spell components and alchemical ingredients on hand. To do so they need an array of jars and corks. We offer jars of ceramic and glass, charging twice the listed cost for glass. All our jars— six ounce (8 cp), twelve ounce (1 sp), quart (2 sp), half-gallon (3 sp), gallon (5 sp), two gallon (1 gp), five gallon (2 gp), and ten gallon (3 gp)— come with cork stoppers that seal them tightly.

40 six-ounce, 40 12-ounce, 10 quart, 5 half-gallon, 15 gallon, 10 five-gallon, and 5 ten-gallon jars are needed for a complete laboratory

Magnets: AS well as using them in certain spells, some wizards use an assortment of magnets to do everything from polarizing ionized liquids to holding their ink pens. 1“ x 1”: 5 sp; 2“ x 2”: 1 gp; 3“ x 3”: 3 gp.

3 of each size are requisite for a complete laboratory

Optic Aids: After years spent peering at minuscule scribbles in spell books, and watching the minute bubbling of liquids in flasks, even the most youthful mage may require visual assistance. We offer the common magnifying lens (2 gp), as well as a monocle (4 gp) to enhance the vision in one eye, and an odd set of lenses called spectacles (8 gp) that balance precariously upon the tip of one’s nose.

1 magnifying glass is required for a complete laboratory; DMs may require older mages to purchase the other two items

Ovens and Kilns: If heat is the common currency of alchemical research, ovens and kilns are the usurer’s office. Our ovens (60 gp) have a fire-hardened iron shell with a stoking chamber that contains adjustable air intakes and a metal vent that fits nicely through most windows. These ovens achieve heat levels that will melt lead. Our kilns (120 gp) are large, ceramic-work cylinders heated by a broad coal chamber. Instead of adjustable vents, our kiln coal chamber is fed by four attached bellows, set to pumping by the hot air vented through the kiln’s back. With constant stoking, our kilns can reach heat levels that will fire bisque and melt low-grade steel. (Only anthracite coal should be used in our kilns.)

1 oven and 1 kiln are required for a complete laboratory

Papyrus Pads: An experimenting mage may write more in an hour than the average man does in a lifetime. Our inexpensive papyrus pads (25 sheets for 15 gp) use quality cross-grain stock pressed in Mulhorand and sewn together along one edge by artisans in Chessenta and Unther.

4 pads are needed for a complete laboratory

Pestle and Mortar: Among the most ancient of alchemical instruments, the pestle and mortar are indispensable for crushing and powdering small quantities of solid materials. Both our 4 oz (3 gp) and 6 oz (6 gp) pestle and mortar sets are made of fine-quality black marble, highly polished on the sections you will handle and left raw on the grinding surfaces. (3 gp) 2 pestle and mortar sets are needed for a complete laboratory

Quern: Based upon the principle of the miller’s wheel, this self-powered grinding mechanism can powder most any solid, from wheat to lead. Operated by a crank and cam assembly atop the stone, our quern does the work of ten mortars and pestles. (20 gp) 1 is required for a complete laboratory

Racks and Stands: First among the unsung heroes of the laboratory are the various racks, stands, and holders that function as additional hands for the wizard. We offer wooden vial racks (1 gp) that can hold up to six vials, cushioned metal beaker stands (3 gp) that vary in height and include variously sized clamps and rings, and three-pronged heating stands (3 gp) that fit easily over a small brazier. All can support up to 15 lb of weight before failing.

10 of each type are needed for a complete laboratory

Retort: An indispensable tool for distillation, the retort is a stock item for even the most basic laboratories. We offer retorts in 3 ounce (1 sp), 5 A complete laboratory requires 1 lap slate, 1 wall slate, and 2 chalk bundles ounce (5 sp), 12 ounce (1 gp), and quart (5 gp) sizes. Six 3 oz, six 5 oz, one 12 oz, and one quart size are needed for a complete laboratory

Rods, Glass: Though some mages still insist upon using wooden stirring rods (which sometimes flake into solutions and always absorb liquids they contact), glass stirring rods have become essential to accurate admixing. We offer small rods (3 sp) for stirring vial-sized mixtures, medium-length rods (4 sp) for stirring even large beakers, and large, thick rods (8 sp) for stirring containers up to cauldron-size.

6 small, 6 medium, and 2 large rods are needed for a complete laboratory

Slate and Chalk: Though our papyrus is cheap by market value, it still may cost a mage dearly. To reserve papyrus for permanent records, a mage’s laboratory needs a set of slates and some chalk. We offer two sizes of slates—a 1-foot square lap slate (10 gp) and a 4-by-6 foot wall slate (30 gp), which can either be either mounted on a (sturdy) wall or set on one of our easels. Chalk comes at 1 cp per stick, or a bundle of 12 for 1 sp. We also offer chalk in red and yellow for 3 cp each (2 sp for 12).

A complete laboratory requires 1 lap slate, 1 wall slate, and 2 chalk bundles

Sparker: Flint and steel set upon a wire hinge, these convenient mechanisms provide a ready spark that can be easily introduced into a beaker of vapor. (5 sp)

Sponges: Where there are wizards and beakers, there will be spills. These sponges can absorb 100 times their weight of liquid. Shapes and colors vary. Small: 3 sp; Medium: 6 sp; Large: 1 gp.

5 of each size are required for a complete laboratory

String: A skein of string can cover a multitude of sins. Useful not only as wicks and draw-strings to seal opened bags, string can also temporarily jury-rig most any laboratory setup. We offer a white, resilient and absorbent string (3 sp per 50 feet), as well as the more familiar flaxen string (2 sp per 50 feet). For an added 3 cp per 50 feet, we offer black, red, and yellow string, and for 1 sp per 50 feet we can offer string in other colors. All our string can hold up to 15 pounds before fraying.

a skein of 1000 feet is required for a complete laboratory

Tongs: Though gloves work fairly well for some tasks, white-hot objects, acid-filled containers, and flaming coals call for more distance from the subject. With our small tongs (1 gp), a mage can easily manipulate vials, beakers, and embers. With our large tongs (3 gp), a mage could well hammer out a shoe for his favorite horse, if he wished.

2 pairs of each size are required for a complete laboratory

Vent: This handy device was invented by a gnomish craftsman. The adjustable frame can be placed in a window, with the tip of the bellows pointing out. When a gaseous incident occurs in the laboratory, a nimble mage can pump the bellows to empty the room of the foul odor. The one-way valve in the bellows assures that the foul air goes out and does not return. (30 gp)

1 is required for a complete laboratory

Water Reservoir: Clean hands make for sure results. Water reservoirs not only clean hands but can cool overheated equipment and wash away acids. The top keg of our water reservoir is tapped into a shallow trough, tilted toward an open bucket on the other side. To dispense fouled water, merely lift the bucket and fling the liquid into the street. This reservoir is handy enough that some mages I know have even used it to begin bathing regularly. Our standard reservoir holds 20 gallons (20 gp), though we also sell 25-gallon (27 gp) and 50-gallon (37 gp) types.

1 20-gallon water reservoir is required for a complete laboratory.

rpg/arcydea/places/owlery/wizards.txt · Last modified: 2021/01/03 16:37 by 136.32.86.154

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