Due to the current campaign that I'm in, we're in the process of rebuilding the Je'daii Order. After reading the Dawn of the Jedi comics, they revealed that the Je'daii Order at the Temple of Science used alchemy to create items, armor, weapons, and most importantly mutated creatures like the Rancor-Dragon. The Rancor-Dragon had the body of a Rancor, but had a dragon's wings and tail to enable it to fly. To be able to fully represent the Je'daii Order and what it was capable of I'm looking for help in creating a Specialization Tree that enables a Je'daii to create new items, armor, weapons, and mutating creatures. The Je'daii used both the light and dark side of the force in balance to do the work, so it's not dark side focused on the alchemy. I'd really appreciate the help in this.

You could probably just take Artisan, switch up skills as necessary, swap-out the Slicing talents for something like Beast Wrangler or Expert Handler, and alter Master Artisan to reduce difficulty when crafting/altering something with alchemy as opposed to any/all Mechanics checks.

Too much focus for one spec. We've already got a generalist tech in the Artisan spec. We now have an armour focused tech in the Armourer spec in Keeping the Peace. The Healer focuses on Medicine so could be used for some kind of scientist, as could the Pathfinder, that is delving into genetics. The upcoming Special Modifications will have the Cyber spec. That combined with taking Artisan could simulate a Force cyberdoc. One spec combining all these elements would be too advantageous. The game already offers many options.

I see where you're coming from and agree with that. What about a spec for just altering animals?

I see where you're coming from and agree with that. What about a spec for just altering animals?

It's kind of a stretch, but taking Pathfinder and focus on raising Force rating could do the job in a pinch.

Take the "Animal Bond" talent and start with a silhouette 0 creature. Every even number of Force Rating, you can narrate upgrading your creature as instead performing "mystical Force alchemy" rituals to alter and mutate your creature.

If you're looking something personal then the Pathfinder and Beast rider specs may be what you want. If what you are looking for is some scientist/geneticist creating creatures then I think that faĺls more in the narrative.

None of that really sounds like PC-orientated stuff to be honest.

I'm not even sure that this game is a great fit for what you're trying to do, to be honest.

Shouldn't something like Alchemy just be a skill?

I wouldn't try to make an entire tree out of Cooking, either...

Shouldn't something like Alchemy just be a skill?

I wouldn't try to make an entire tree out of Cooking, either...

Well that would be a really good idea and simpler than a specialization tree.

I would more or less hand wave the mutation of animals thing. Developing an entire tree just to that doesn't seem like an effective way to do things. The rest, as others have pointed, is already done via other specializations.

I decided that an actual power would be a better way to do it.

This can be very simple. Make a custom Skill Knowledge (Alchemy). Use it just like the Knowledge (Cybernetics) skill that is found in the back of the Beyond the Rim Adventure.

Look at Dr. Cratala's cybernetic "enhancements" in the same book for idea's on extra flavor without replacing limbs.

You can treat Alchemy the same as cybernetics. Craft "Alchemical Enhancements" instead of cybernetic ones and but have them use the same rules. Strength enhancing arms are now Alchemical Muscle Augmentation. Gank Comlinks are now Telepathic Nerve Clusters. Subdermal Armor is now Alchemical Skin Hardening. You can also allow the Knowledge (Alchemy) skill to modify attachments to "Alchemical" armor/weapons rather than the Mechanics Skill. Things like monomolecular blade, or adding cortosis to armor, or even the superior attachment can be narratively described as Alchemical. Rather than using streetwise to find the attachements or cybernetics, you could describe using Knowledge (Lore) [replacing the usual negotiate or streetwise check] and spending the money on "regents."

Keep in mind, this is going to make Knowledge (Alchemy) a catch all skill. It will replace Mechanics and Medicine, whenever dealing with attachments and cybernetics that you declare as "Alchemical" so I would add and upgrade to the difficulty automatically at least once for experiments to have a chance to have "gone wrong".

Don't forget that you can only have a number of "enhancements" equal to brawn. That would work for Alchemical constitution as well as cybernetic rejection.

Once we have the crafting rules for Cybernetics from Special Modifications, you should be able to adapt it to the Knowledge (Alchemy) and Knowledge (Lore) Checks.

This can be very simple. Make a custom Skill Knowledge (Alchemy). Use it just like the Knowledge (Cybernetics) found in the back of the Beyond the Rim Adventure. Look at DR. Cratala's cybernetic "enhancements" in the same book. Treat Alchemy as cybernetics. Craft "Alchemical Enhancements" instead of cybernetic ones and have them use the same rules. Strength enhancing arms are now Alchemical Muscle Augmentation.

That's really ingenious and thank you.

You are very welcome. I edited it a little. Glad to help.

I've been thinking of this more and more and will probably put it in my game too. It is said that the Witches of Dathomir practice alchemy. Look at Maul and Savage. If used like cybernetics you could say that it worked like this. The Nightsisters made an assisted Alchemy check with Mother Talzin. Mother Talzin used Intense Focus (chanting) and then made the roll. She then gives Maul prosthetic legs. (A more litteral take on Alchemy being similar to cybernetics). Same for Savage's enhancements. They just added +1 brawn "cybernetics" (or maybe the legs agility or brawn enhancement too, he was very augmented)

I've been thinking of this more and more and will probably put it in my game too. It is said that the Witches of Dathomir practice alchemy. Look at Maul and Savage. If used like cybernetics you could say that it worked like this. The Nightsisters made an assisted Alchemy check with Mother Talzin. Mother Talzin used Intense Focus (chanting) and then made the roll. She then gives Maul prosthetic legs. (A more litteral take on Alchemy being similar to cybernetics). Same for Savage's enhancements. They just added +1 brawn "cybernetics" (or maybe the legs agility or brawn enhancement too, he was very augmented)

From what I know, almost all of the Force Using societies practiced alchemy at one point or another. The way the Je'daii practiced alchemy it was done humanely with no suffering on the part of the animal. I guess that's the key for determining if the alchemy is Light or Dark side is whether it's done humanely or not. Done humanely there would be no Dark Side points or Conflict involved, but if done inhumanely there would be Dark Side points and Conflict on the part of the character.

Here's the rules I've come up with. I didn't add in what success, failure, advantage, threat, triumph, or despair do when rolling for upgrades. Any help with that would be appreciated.

Force Alchemy: Animal Manipulations

A force user wanting to use Force Alchemy must have the Knowledge skill Force Alchemy. The minimum Force Rating required to alter an animal is 1.

Force Alchemy is the ability of a Force User to use the Force to alter an animal's physiology through the addition of increased mental or physical prowess, extra limbs, and other body modifications on the creature.

A Force User may select a creature that has a silhouette equal to their Force Rating or lower to begin the process. To tame the animal, the player rolls his Force Alchemy skill dice. For every success, the creature becomes more docile and willing to obey. For every two Advantage, the Creature's Silhouette can be increased by one. For every failure, the creature is more hostile and for every threat the size of the creature shrinks. A Triumph grants an automatic success with the skill and enables the character to alter a creature's base attributes by 1. A Despair reduces the Willpower of the creature by 1 and permanently makes the creature terrified of the character. For selecting the creature, the difficulty of the roll is Average. Environmental conditions and how the force user approaches the animal may add Boost or Setback Dice to their dice pool.

Once a creature is tamed, the character can begin the process of altering it to better suit their purpose. The character can select up to a number of upgrades equal to the creature's Brawn from the following categories: Physical, Mental, Flesh Sculpting, and Natural Weapons. Each category has a set of abilities that can be altered on the creature, so see the individual listing for more details.

For each upgrade, the character must roll their Force Alchemy skill against the difficulty of the upgrade plus the Setback or Boost dice from the treatment of the animal.

Physical

Armored Hide, Minor

The creature's hide has become armored and gains +1 Defense and Soak. The difficulty is Average.

Armored Hide, Major

The creature's hide has become armored and gains +2 Defense and Soak. The difficulty is Very Hard.

Physical Augmentation, Major

The alchemist can choose to increase the Brawn or Agility of the target creature by 2. The difficulty of the roll is Hard.

Physical Augmentation, Minor

The alchemist can choose to increase the Brawn or Agility of the target creature by 1. The difficulty of the roll is Average.

Increased Athleticism

The character chooses to increase the creature's Athletics skill by 1. The difficulty is Average.

Environmental Adaptation

The creature becomes adapted to an additional environment that it is not native to. The difficulty is Very Hard.

Radiation Resistance

The creature gains the resistance to all forms of radiation. The difficulty is Daunting.

Toxin Resistance

The creature gains the resistance to all toxins. The difficulty is Daunting.

Mental

Augmented Senses

The creature gains +1 to Perception and Vigilance skills. The difficulty is Hard

Fearless

The creature gains the Fearless trait. The difficulty is Very Hard.

Mental Augmentation, Minor

The creature's Intelligence or Willpower is increased by +1. The difficulty is Average.

Mental Augmentation, Major

The creature's Intelligence or Willpower is increased by +2. The difficulty is Hard.

Force Sensitivity, Minor

The creature gains the ability to sense the force and use it to a limited amount. It gains a Force Rating of 1. The difficulty is Hard.

Force Sensitivity, Major

The creature gains the ability to sense the force and use it to a limited amount. It gains a Force Rating of 2. The difficulty is Very Hard.

Flesh Sculpting

Additional Limbs

For every upgrade point the creature gains a pair of additional limbs such as legs or arms. The difficulty is Hard.

Size Alteration

The creature's silhouette can be decreased or increased by one for every three Advantages. The difficulty is Average.

Tail

The creature grows a tail and the length is determined by the alchemist. Long tails can be used as a natural weapon that does Brawn+2 Damage with Disorient and Knockdown Qualities. It takes two Advantages to activate each one. The difficulty is Average.

Wings

The creature grows wings that can allow it to fly. The creature's Brawn determines the Speed at which it can fly. The wings can be used as a buffeting attack to opponents to its front. The damage is Brawn+3 Damage with Knockdown quality. The difficulty is Hard.

Natural Weapons

Razor-sharp Claws

The creature gains razor-sharp claws on every hand. The damage is Brawn+3 and has the qualities of Breach (2) and Vicious (1). It takes 1 Advantage to activate each quality. The difficulty is Hard.

Razor-sharp Fangs

The creature gains razor-sharp teeth. The damage is Brawn+3 and has the qualities of Breach (2) and Vicious (1). It takes 1 Advantage to activate each quality. The difficulty is Hard.

Horns

The creature grows a pair of horns that can be used to attack with. The damage is Brawn+4 with the qualities of Breach (2) and Vicious (2). It takes 3 Advantages to activate each quality. The difficulty is Hard.

Stinger

The creature grows a stinger to their tail. The creature must have a tail for this upgrade to be used. The stinger does poison damage of 6 with a Critical Rating of 3. The difficulty is Average.

Venomous

The creature gains the ability to either secrete venom from its pores or from their fangs. The poison damage is 6 with a Critical Rating of 3. The difficulty is Average.

Costs

The costs for reagents is based upon the difficulty of the adaptation and modified by the the treatment of the animal. Harsher treatment is cheaper than humane treatment, but make the animal uncontrollable. Humane treatment increases the creature's loyalty and temperament.

Easy: 1,000 Credits

Average: 2,000 Credits

Hard: 4,000 Credits

Very Hard: 8,000 Credits

Daunting: 16,000 Credits

Inhumane Treatment: Half Cost, but adds 4 Setback Dice to the roll for the adaptation. Inhumane treatment also incurs a penalty of 5 Conflict for each upgrade.

Humane Treatment: Doubles the cost, but adds 4 Boost Dice to the roll for the adaptation. It also subtracts 5 Conflict for each upgrade.

Excellent. With just 200 XP or less, I can tame and alter a Rancor. Take THAT pathfinders!

To be fair, anyone with a high enough Cunning/Survival can tame a Rancor. Performing a force bonding with it is another matter entirely.

I'm sensing a Sith/Dr Moreau cross-over lol

The Planet of Darth Moreau.

Not exactly the replies I was expecting.

Alchemy is just part and parcel of being a force user in Star Wars. No sense in depriving them of the opportunity to craft their own creatures. I'm looking forward to making a Rancor-Dragon.