Equipment

Now that the wizard has secured a suitable workroom, it’s time to get to the real business of setting up a laboratory. The equipment contained in a lab includes alembics, armillary spheres, beakers, bottles, copper kettles, crucibles, distilling coils, ladles, mortars, retorts, scales, specimens, tongs, vials, and weights of all description. In addition, specialized furniture such as workbenches, stands, braziers, cabinets, and tables with special surfaces must be purchased for the laboratory. Obviously, all these things can be quite expensive; equipping a laboratory is often the single greatest expense a wizard incurs in his career.

A wizard’s laboratory is customized to the character’s individual tastes and research goals, and is not particularly useful to another character. However, if a wizard inherits a lab from another character or is allowed to borrow one for a time, he can refit the lab for his own purposes for a cost of 1,000 gp.

Wizards’ laboratories vary wildly in scope, contents, and completeness. There are three varieties of laboratory, each with its own special purpose: alchemical laboratories, forges, and research laboratories.

Alchemical laboratories are intended for the creation of potions and nonmagical acids, solvents, glues, or pyrotechnical substances. As a result, the lab is equipped with glassware, burners, retorts, kettles, and all manner of devices designed for heating, agitating, or otherwise manipulating liquids and powders. An alchemical laboratory costs 2,000 gp; wizards who specialize in the school of alchemy, characters with the alchemy nonweapon proficiency, or mages who want to create potions at 9th level can make use of these facilities.

Specialist alchemists are assumed to begin play with an alchemical laboratory valued at 1,000 gp. Because of their special training and skills, this is sufficient for a 1st-level alchemist. However, the character’s requirements for rare and exotic materials increase as he rises in level; keeping the lab outfitted requires an expenditure of an additional 1,000 gp each time he rises in level. If the alchemist’s laboratory is up-to-date, he can use his special ability to create potions; if the lab is not up-to-date but still worth at least 2,000 gp, he may use it as if he were a normal wizard using a standard alchemical laboratory.

Forges are larger and more complex laboratories that include all the materials and equipment required for the production of magical items of all types, not just potions or scrolls. A forge includes all the materials found in an alchemical laboratory, as well as furnaces, anvils, and woodworking, leatherworking, or metalworking tools. A forge costs 5,000 gp and requires at least 600 square feet of space; in other words, a “small” building is not big enough to house a magician s forge.

The specialist artificer is assumed to begin play with a forge worth 1,000 gp. In order to keep his specialist wizard benefits, he must invest an additional 1,000 gp in the forge each time he rises in level. If the forge is not maintained properly but is worth at least 5,000 gp, the artificer can still use it for brewing potions or creating magical items using the normal procedures.

Research laboratories allow a character to conduct spell research. The research laboratory adds hundreds of rare and unusual specimens, samples, and texts to the wizard’s laboratory. Depending on the campaign circumstances, a laboratory suited for spell research can cost anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 gp, but if a wizard already has an alchemical laboratory or a forge, he can purchase the research laboratory for 50% of its normal cost. Similarly, building an alchemical laboratory or a forge after first building a research laboratory gives the character a 50% break on the costs of the second laboratory.

A research laboratory requires at least 400 square feet, above and beyond any existing facilities. A character with a forge and a research laboratory must have 1,000 square feet of room available to house his equipment, furnishings, work areas, and supplies.

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