An offshoot of Inhabit, the power of Flux was developed long ago as a way of affecting the skinlands. Alchemists tap into the very forces of Oblivion itself, staving off or advancing the power therein. Their control over the very composition of objects fine tune's itself as their powers grow, and eventually they can affect the objects on the other side of the shroud in ways none could. To them the very material nature of objects are subject to manipulation, and the cohesive and entropic energy residing in all objects can be manipulated to incredible effects.

The Alchemists were tinkers and repairmen long ago, working with their sister guild the Artificers. However, whereas the Artificers provided Stygia with much needed resources, the Alchemists were seen as eccentric craftsmen and dangerous shroud breakers, their art more crass than that of the Artificers. Shortly after the Mnemoi and the Solicitors were declared illegal by Charon, the council of thirteen guilds were drawn up, and the Alchemists found themselves on the outside. The Artificers continued to sponsor the smaller guild, thus benefiting from their talents and abilities while maintaining their seat of prominence in the council of guilds.

Alchemists are difficult to detect, and unlike mots guilds their parley with the shroud has not affected them physically. The only way in which an alchemist can be detected is to talk with one; Alchemists boast about their experiments, inventions, and even their arcanos with a near fanatical relish that often annoys those outside of the guild.

Flux, having been outlawed a thousand years ago (as opposed to the other guilds, which were outlawed only five hundred years ago) has fallen out of favor. The entire art is uncommon, and indeed the only non-Guild wraiths who might know it would be artificers.

Unless otherwise stated, the difficulty on all Flux challenges is equal to the local shroud rating. Flux does not work in the shadowlands.

Important note: all of the Flux Powers that affect the state of a material will not affect the temperature of the materiel or of the surroundings. For instance if someone uses Melt on a bar of metal they will get a pool of liquid metal like mercury. On the skinlands this will revert in a short amount of time to a blob of solid metal. In the shadowlands the effects are permanent. None of these powers require Embody to function on the other side of the shroud.

Grave Mold (W:tPG pg.151) - Alchemists can channel the decay of Oblivion through the shroud, casing mold to grow in any location. Although a simple art, it can be used for psychological impact. A card saying "Mold" should be left where this art is used successfully.

Class: Uncommon

Cost: Nothing

Challenge: Static Physical

Sense Fluxion (W:tPG pg.151) - The Alchemists guild can detect the usage of Flux, and track down the practitioners of the art. They may examine any object and attempt to determine if Flux was, in fact, used. If successful, the Alchemist can detect whether or not the art was used; each additional success will tell the Alchemist more details about who practiced the art.

Class: Guild

Cost: Nothing

Challenge: Extended Static Mental

Rot (W:tPG pg.151) - The alchemist may promote decay in an object. The first success decays the object; a second success destroys most objects. Objects thus destroyed may become relics if the alchemist wins a simple test. The size of the object may not be any larger than a book.

Class: Uncommon

Cost: 1 pathos

Challenge: Extended Static Physical

With this power the alchemist can alter the color or luster of a material. They could turn a blackboard white or make a piece of wood look like metal. Changing the luster means changing the surface texture of a material. For example metals have a metallic luster even though they can be many different colors, silver brown and black being common choices. Other examples of luster are glassy, chalky, oily or rough.

This power will not affect the physical properties of a material. Even if a chair looks like it is now made of steel it will still have all of the properties of wood, it will still break and if it is heated it will burn. (Assuming it is on the other side of the shroud.)

Challenge: Static Physical

Cost: None, if used on this side of the shroud

Source: MW

Difficulty: Shroud

Notes: Requires touching the material.

Strengthen (W:tPG pg.151) - Alchemists can not only weaken and destroy objects, but can significantly strengthen objects. Each success that the alchemist scores will add the physical trait "tough" to an object. While there is no limit to the number of the traits that can be added to an object, this art is not cumulative. Thus if one alchemist adds 4 physical traits to an object, another alchemist must score at least 5 successes just to begin to add traits to the object. Each success adds to the number of successes that must be scored to destroy the object via Rot or Decay.

Class: Uncommon

Cost: Nothing

Challenge: Extended Static Physical

This power will melt a solid of up to a liter in volume (Jason's note: about a half gallon). It will turn into a liquid of equivalent volume. If used in the shadowlands the change is permanent if used on the skinlands it is temporary in effect.

Challenge: Static Physical (Extended Static Physical on skinlands)

Cost: 2 pathos, 1 angst.

Source: MW

Difficulty: Shroud

Notes: Additional pathos can be spent to melt additional volumes of material at one pathos per liter. Each success in skinlands is one round the material will remain a liquid.

This power will alter the physical properties of a non-organic liquid. It can be made thicker or thinner, or it can be made caustic, like acid. Things like color and smell can also be changed.

Challenge: Static Physical

Cost: 1 pathos

Source: MW

Difficulty: Shroud

Notes: The acid form will cause one point of aggravated damage if poured over an individual. The whole volume must be used in this manner to cause the damage. If a small amount is used it will act as an irritant but is incapable of causing damage.

Decay (W:tPG pg.152) - At this level, the Alchemist has fine tuned her powers enough to promote a more rapid decay in objects. The power will promote rapid decay and destruction as Rot will, but the volume that may be affected has increased dramatically. At one success, something the size of a book may be affected. A car would require five successes. Even one success is, however, enough to destroy the object. Like Rot, a simple challenge is made for each object thus destroyed; if successful, the object becomes a relic.

Class: Uncommon

Cost: 2 pathos

Challenge: Extended Static Physical

Disease (BkLeg pg.53) - It is said that the Skeletal Lord himself developed this art, and that only his closest servants and advisors have been taught this art. For certain this art is unique, for Flux is not used on living beings by the Alchemists' Guild. If this art is used successfully, the target living creature (not wraiths o vampires) will be down one physical trait for a week from being sick. If proper medical care is not given, the duration may be longer. This art is almost never fatal.

Class: Rare

Cost: 1 pathos, 1 willpower, gain 1 angst

Challenge: Physical

With this power the alchemist can alter not only the surface qualities of a material but also the physical properties as well. Think of the proverbial turning lead into gold. It could change metal into glass. It can not change the phase of a material: solid to gas, solid to liquid, etc. The amount of material that can be altered is smaller: only about a handful of material per pathos spent. If used on an object such as a weapon use the number of traits the weapon possesses as an indicator of size. For each trait of the weapon using the power would cost one pathos.

Challenge: Extended Static Physical

Cost: 1 willpower + some amount of pathos based on the amount of material changed.

Source: MW

Difficulty: Shroud

Notes: One success is required for every aspect that is changed using is power. For instance changing a stygian steel sword into glass would require one to alter the surface qualities, one to make it brittle and one to make it transparent. The qualities that can be altered are: brittleness, density, color, luster, composition (in the skinlands), elasticity, shape.

With this power an alchemist can freeze liquids. It requires touching the liquid in question. If used on the other side of the shroud liquids will immediately begin to melt. Each success is one round that the material will remain solidified. In the shadowlands the change is permanent.

Challenge: Static Physical (Extended Static Physical in skinlands)

Cost: 2 pathos, 1 angst

Source: MW

Difficulty: Shroud

Notes: Additional pathos can be spent to solidify additional volumes of material at one pathos per liter.

Racing Corruption (W:tGW pg.132) - The alchemists can send the destructive power of Oblivion racing hazardously through the skinlands. Each success is one round that the power of Oblivion runs unchecked, with each subsequent round worse than the round before. On the first turn papers might fall off a table, while at the third turn light bulbs might suddenly burn out. By the fifth turn ceiling tiles are caving in and the entire room is falling apart, and all present risk taking a level of damage. Each turn after this the amount of damage taken per round doubles.

Class: Uncommon

Cost: 2 pathos, plus 1 pathos per turn

Challenge: Extended Static Physical

Puppet Theatre (W:tPG pg.152) - The Alchemists Guild have gleefully guarded this art from outsiders. With it, they may possess objects as a puppeteer would a person or an artificer a machine. Dolls walk across the room, doors open and close, and pencils stand up on point and write. The number of successes indicates how many objects may be possessed. All objects must be of a similar type, and cannot perform outside their nature (pencils may write, stab, erase, or roll, but not shoot guns). The physical traits of the Alchemist are divided evenly up among the number of objects possessed. The total number of objects that may be possessed is equal to the number of physical traits the Alchemist possesses.

Class: Guild

Cost: 2 pathos

Challenge: Extended Static Mental

This power can vaporize solid materials. By touching a solid such as a wall. The alchemist can completely vaporize it. Some materials may require additional successes to undergo this transformation, stygian steel and dark steel would both require multiple successes. In the skinlands the material will end up scattered on the winds as dust.

Challenge: Static Physical

Cost: 3 pathos, 1 angst

Source: MW

Difficulty: Shroud

Notes: Additional pathos can be spent to vaporize additional volumes of material at one pathos and 1 angst, per liter.

The power to turn liquids to gas and gases to liquids are well within the alchemists grasp at this level of ability. With the successful use of this power the alchemist can either boil a liter of liquid or can condense it from the vapor around him. Within the shadowlands the resulting liquid would be a plasm like material.

Challenge: Static Physical

Cost: 3 pathos and 1 angst

Source: MW

Difficulty: Shroud

Notes:

Automaton (W:tPG pg.152) - This power has two effects, both of which have the same cost requirement.

The Alchemist can assemble for herself a body of parts in the skinlands, made from whatever inanimate material is lying around. She can then inhabit this makeshift body, which will last for one scene. The body has all the physical traits that the Alchemist had, and any traits lost while inhabiting the automaton are regained when the Alchemist returns to the shadowlands. The body must obey the limitations imposed upon it by material composition; an automaton made of napkins would quickly disintegrate in the rain.

Alternately, the Alchemist can create a whirling cyclone of destruction that sucks up all objects in a general vicinity. Each success is one round that the cyclone can remain. The Alchemist may engage each target in the cyclone's sphere of effect in an extended physical challenge. Each success is one level of damage that is taken. The alchemist may engage as many target's as she wants to each round.

Class: Guild

Cost: 3 pathos, 1 willpower, gain 2 angst

Challenge: Static Physical, Extended for the cyclone.

The ability to create solids out of this air is now within the alchemists grasp. The usual form is that of a box or a large section of wall. This box is man sized (about 3 x 3 x6) and can be used to trap opponents similar to oubliette. The material created has properties similar to stygian steel. One round per success if used on the other side of the shroud.

Challenge: Static Physical (Extended Static Physical in Skinlands)

Cost: 4 pathos, 2 angst

ST required: Yes, if being used to trap another character.

Source: MW

Difficulty: Shroud