Ritual Alchemy is the tepid remants of the greatest of the mystic arts.

Ritual Alchemy isn’t a defined school in UA, even though it once was the pinnacle of trancendental achievement. It is now a collection of independent skill-rituals. It is unheard of in the American Occult Underground although many dukes falsely claim the title.

Ritual Alchemy is available but scarce in the European Occult Underground.

Alchemy is slow and encumbered by practical application because of the mounds of philosophy that discourage this. Avatars and adepts would rather stick to quicker rituals and schools for their sorcery, even though Ritual Alchemy is available to all.

It is believed the Seven Invisible Chairs (UA2, pg 205) still get dusty thrills from being the only cabal of alchemists left in the world.

It is believed the Reasoning Philosopher, the last alchemist archetype and last source of the rituals was removed from the Invisible Clergy during the late 1700s. His avatars and previous archetypes all came from alchemists and explorers into education and philosophy.

The last alchemist, after a succession of them – it was said the final ritual allowed an alchemist to ascend, renouncing the incumbent.

Of course, the statistically rapid changes of archetypes made alchemy a little more haphazard and confusing and dangerous when trying to use it as a predictable science.

Because the fundamental laws of alchemy changed with each ascendant, the notion of alchemy was discarded in favour of science; philosophy and symbolic texts where replaced by pure elements and periodic charts. Metallurgy and engineering became prominent, while all the obtuse theory was lost.

Ritual Alchemy

Each Ritual Alchemy skill is stand-alone and separate from the other. Each has three grades of accomplishment which are used through spending experience and not by charges.

Ritual Alchemy, like Old-school Thaumaturgy, need not be an obsession skill but it won’t hurt either.

The alchemist must learn each Ritual Alchemy as a separate Mind skill. The magick effect of Ritual Alchemy is also a separate Soul Skill.

Ritual Alchemy is intrinsically a slow process of self-discovery, and thus once the would-be alchemist has been taught the first 10% in the skill, further education is pointless, the novice alchemist must now go at it alone.

The Alchemy Working Soul skill is a percentage pool rather than a skill. The points from Soul-based Ritual Alchemy are removed from the point pool and spent on effects.

Ritual Alchemy (Mind-skill) Power level

01-33 Minor effect
34-66 Significant effect
67-99 Major effect

Alchemic Working (Soul-pool)
The alchemist can remove the points and place them elsewhere (on people and objects). Plus every time it is used for profanely mundane purposes, the magick degenerates and has to be built up again. Unfortunately the only practical use for Alchemy Rituals is for profane physical reasons.

Remember: Ritual Alchemy and the power levels is governed by the Mind stat. Alchemic Working is governed by the Soul stat. Regardless of the Alchemic Working pool, the alchemist cannot access higher powered effects until the Mind skill is high enough.

If the Alchemic Working falls below the Ritual Alchemy power level, the ability to use the higher power level Workings also is removed from the alchemist until he spends the experience to regain those levels.

The alchemist can “enchant” items to hold a portion of his Alchemic Working, by simply removing the points and “putting” them onto the object-to-be-enchanted. For others to utilize the Alchemic Working “enchantment” must roll a magick check as they would with Rituals. Using a minor power reduces the Alchemic Working by 10%; significant power, 30%; and a major power by 50%.

If the Alchemic Working pool is less that the ascribed Power Level, those powers cannot be used.

Wigging out
If the alchemist is mentally traumatised (failed madness checks), he temporarily loses power to access his Alchemic Workings. He must spend 5% off his Alchemy Working pool to restart the effects.

Azoth (Ritual Alchemy)
Azoth is the universal medicine, the salve by which the universe eases friction burns from its flux. By utilizing the philosophy behind Azoth, the alchemist can perform great healing; unifying contrasts, burning off fevers and sealing wounds.

01-33
The Alchemist can heal wounds by removing Working points and placing them into Wounds, healing the damage. By spending Working points equal to the current number of failed or hardened notches in a gauge, the alchemist can remove one off the Madness Gauge.

34-66
The Alchemist can increase one point of stat damage spending the Working as if it was experience.

67-99
The Alchemist automatically heals one wound point per round siphoning directly off Working until there’s none left or he’s healed. This continues to heal stat damage. The only time this slow regeneration won’t work is if the damage reduces the alchemist by three-quarters of his wounds in one go. The body and mind are too confused be trauma to access higher cognitive thinking.