Nerdbuilding’s Alchemy Generator is a 180+ page compendium, filled with hundreds of ingredients and potion effects, which you can use to create over 400,000 custom potions, concoctions, or poisons, for your next TTRPG adventure!
Our Alchemy Generator is perfect for you then. Dive into our detailed tome to find a complex, and customizable system to create your own array of alchemical concoctions. With over 400,000 possible combinations, there is almost no limit to what you can create.
Interior mockup
The Alchemy Generator will be offered in 3 different formats. Initially in PDF format, then Paperback, and Hardcover options will be available, once we have achieved our funding for the artists. This is done to lower the initial campaign funding needs. Our hope is that everyone will be able to choose a format that best fits their needs, or tastes.
Initially in PDF Format
To achieve funding and make sure our artists are payed before the printers.
Paperback Edition
(Will be made available once funding is achieved). The Paperback will be offered as an "at-cost" addon for people who have already pledged, and a separate tier for new pledgers.
Hardback Edition
(Will be made available once funding is achieved). The Hardback will be offered as an "at-cost" addon for people who have already pledged, and a separate tier for new pledgers.
You can find more information in the "Stretch Goals" section
Artwork and Layout not Final
The book contains:
14 Chapters
182+ Pages *
Over 500 Unique Ingredients
Over 200 Different Effects
10 Different Environments
3 Different Types of Ingredients (plus poisons)
3 Distinct Types of Alchemical Creations (Potions, Concoctions, and Poisons)
2 Ways to conduct your Alchemical Pursuits
*Certain stretch goals will increase the length of the book.
The entire book is written from the perspective of a Grand Master Alchemist, and all descriptions are taken directly from his observational notes. You would be advised to acquire the ingredients in the manner prescribed.
Sample Pages (Artwork not final)
The Chapters:
The book is broken into 14 chapters. Two chapters go over how the ingredients are used, how the modifiers apply, and how the custom alchemy system works. Two chapters are devoted to the Primary and Secondary effects of the ingredients. Ten chapters are divided into the 10 primary environments where the ingredients are found.
The Ingredients:
The hundreds of ingredients found in this book are divided into Bases, Catalysts, Reagents, and Poisons. Each ingredient will have physical attributes such as taste, viscosity, aroma etc. The Catalysts will identify how they will modify the end product, depending on multiple prerequisites. Catalysts will also provide their own effects, albeit much weaker and more roleplay friendly. The Reagents are the stars of the system. They will provide the most powerful effects and utility. Poisons... well, be careful with the poisons, and how you mix them. They may become more deadly to you, than your enemies.
The Effects:
The effects are split into Primary and Secondary classes. Primary Effects are the most powerful, they could drastically enhance your character's abilities for a limited time, or provide a special utility for different situations. Secondary Effects come in many different forms, from soothing dry skin, to increasing the duration of a potion. They can be used to enhance the roleplay of your party, with simple concoctions, or you can dive into the world of alchemy and combine specific secondary effects with a primary effect and make a legendary potion that could turn the tide of a battle.
The Environments:
We have included 10 different environments that each have their own set of ingredients. As a DM, you can peruse the ingredients available in your party's location, and create custom potions for them, or you can allow your players to forage for the ingredients themselves. Not every effect will be available in every environment, you will either need to purchase exotic ingredients from a merchant, or travel to far off lands in search of the correct catalyst or reagent, to make the ultimate Potion.
We, as a team, love to fill tables, indexes and databases full of data, and information that can be used. We love to code logic trees and find relationships between mundane attributes for complex generations.
However, we are not artists. We have to search outside of our current team to find the visual flair projects like this deserve.
Although we were able to prototype a decent portion of the book, with custom artwork and stock art, we knew we would need help to bring the book to it's fully illustrated conclusion. That is why we are doing this Backerkit Campaign, to be able to pay artists to finish off the artwork. Every usable dollar will be funneled straight to the artists, in order to support them and bring you all, the best possible product.
We currently have three artists on board who we have working relationships with, and we hope to bring a few more artists on board once the funding goal is met. Naturally this falls into one of our challenges.
Kickstart your art-ventures over at PaperDemon! This addon gives you a few pre-made potions and a bundle of ingredients to use with your existing, or new character. A bundle of 20 virtual card imports for the VTT Roll20 that includes a mix of potions and crafting ingredients. These virtual pieces will have unique artwork like the artwork above. Draw your way to victory and excitement as you support our wonderful friends over at PaperDemon.
Although the book itself is fully functional, and usable on it's own, we have so many more expansions we would love to include with the book. Unfortunately, they add quite a bit more artwork. So, we have included them in our stretch goals, and the book will be updated according to the stretch goal that is reached.
$15K - The first "Goal" means that the campaign is fully funded to deliver the completed PDF version. Reaching this goal will also unlock the ability to order the different print versions of the book as an addon, or as a pledge tier for new backers. The print addons will be offered at cost, to cover the printing. Shipping and taxes will be collected separately, after the campaign ends. Estimated shipping costs can be found below.
$25K - Unlocking the second goal will add 10 pages to the book, enhancing the alchemy system. While the basic alchemy system is simple and fully functional, the enhanced system will bring in more details about alchemy skills, levels, laboratories and the specialized tools that you can include into your games.
$35K - The third stretch goal will unlock appendix "A." This appendix will add another 10 pages to the core book, offering a helping hand for the most ardent of alchemists by creating a quick guide to find the correct ingredients for each type of effect, and where to find them.
$45K - Appendix "B" will be the final addition to the core book, providing illustrations, and much more detailed information about the enhanced alchemy tools. This appendix will also include examples of laboratories that your characters can create, to assist in their alchemical endeavors. Along with the final addition to the book, VTT token packs will also be created as an addon, allowing you to bring the ingredients into your favorite virtual table top system.
$65K - Unlocks "Small Monster Alchemy." This companion PDF addon will delve even further into the numerous sources of alchemical ingredients, for the most hardened adventurers. All throughout the planes of existence, there are magical creatures, and monsters, that can be a source for some of the most powerful of all alchemical ingredients. This companion PDF will include 15 of the most common "small" monsters that your party may encounter.
$85K - "Full Monster Alchemy." The monster companion will be expanded to a total of 40 the most common monsters, with another ~200 ingredients to include in your potion making. This level will also unlock the print versions of this addon, for purchase. The "Full "Monster Alchemy" companion will be 120 pages of illustrations, ingredients and lore.
??? - If we get to this point, there are a few more things we could add on as stretch goals, but we have not even started working on those, and we do not feel it prudent to reveal them at this time.
Once the funding goal has been met, we will open up the ability to add on the physical versions of the book for the cost of printing. Shipping, taxes and fees will be collected in the pledge manager, after the campaign, to ensure you receive the most accurate shipping costs.
Shipping is not included in any pledge or addon price.
All shipping estimates are for shipments that will utilize a tracking number (Premium Shipping).
Shipping, taxes and fees will be calculated and charged separately in the pledge manager, after the campaign concludes.
For our customers in the EU, our printer utilizes the IOSS system for any orders that are valued less than 150 Euro:
They collect the Value Added Tax at the time of shipping purchase.
They then transmit their IOSS number and specify certain IOSS shipment methods to their printer for that order.
The order then is printed and shipped with their IOSS number on the package which should allow it to get through customs and be delivered with no further customs or VAT to the recipient.
We are a very small team of nerds who have a dream of elevating random generators to the next level, for gamers and worldbuilders alike. We do not use AI, we prefer to spend the extra time to create custom coded logic trees that will ensure our generations provide what is possible, not what is most likely.
Who is Nerdbuilding?
As previously mentioned, we form a small but dedicated team. Our unique connection began over 10 years ago in 2011, forged amidst the virtual realms of World of Warcraft. From that point forward, we've tackled numerous projects together, continuously learning and adapting in response to various challenges. The venture we are currently immersed in, Nerdbuilding, is the fruit of these years of exploration and determination. We started this project in 2021 and, since then, have devoted our efforts to evolve and refine our ideas. In the heart of our team, there's a skilled coder and a resilient veteran, both of whom display unyielding spirit in the face of their personal hurdles - she copes with blindness, and he with a disability sustained during his military service.
This is our first crowdfunding campaign. So there is no doubt in our minds that this is going to test us, as we figure out all the systems and nuances of an endeavor like this. However, people have been doing crowdfunding for years, so we don't need to reinvent the wheel. While we cannot promise that there won't be a hiccup or two, we can promise to be as transparent and upfront about challenges as they arise.
The content of the book is already finished, like we said above. So all of our attention and efforts can be applied to ensuring we head off any problems before they become troublesome.
The most prominent challenge we foresee right now is the artwork. We have three artists on board, and ready to begin their sections once funding is achieved. However, in order to get this book to the printer in a timely fashion we will need to bring on at least 2 more artists. Once we reach our funding goal, the ability to enter negotiations with new artists will become much more stable. We do not expect anyone to work without reasonable expectation of payment. In order to streamline the process, we have all artwork rubrics created and ready to send to artists.
Timeline:
Keeping in mind the coming holiday months, and the expected time required for finishing artwork, printer setup, printing, and shipping we have established the following timeline
Aug 1, 2023: Campaign Launch
Sept 1, 2023: Campaign Ends
Sept 15, 2023: Onboard Artists begin work
Sept 30, 2023: Additional Artists begin work
Nov 2023: Thanksgiving Break for artists
Dec 2023: Winter Holiday / New year's Break for artists
Jan 2024: Layout Finalizing
Feb 2024: Final Artwork Delivery
March 2024: Printing Setup Finalization / PDF Delivery / Other Digital Rewards Delivery
Late April 2024: Shipping of Physical Rewards (Planned)
May 2024: Rewards begin arriving! YAY!
We are eternally grateful for your support and your patience during this campaign.
Our printer has multiple locations where books will be printed from, decreasing the need for trans oceanic shipping on most orders.
We are very open to hearing any comments or suggestions you may have, concerning better methods and practices, so that we might continuously improve our environmental impact.
With AI becoming a more prevalent fixture in the TTRPG space, we want to establish our position on AI utilization.
Does it have uses? Absolutely! Given an ethically sourced, and controlled data set, AI can streamline a lot of conceptualization. So long as the end user and contributors are able to define the data sets, and control the uses of said data sets. We believe AI can assist with many worldbuilding tasks.
Should it be used for art? No. It's a short, simple, and fair answer. AI can only be derivative. It can only output what it has already seen. When it comes to artwork, we will strive to only use artwork from real artists. We have already been fooled by some AI users. Fortunately I do have some education in digital art that helps me identify AI artwork, especially when requesting source documents.
If there ever comes a time, where data set contributors are able to define the approved uses of their content, and be rightfully compensated, then we may revisit our stance on AI artwork.
Will Nerdbuilding integrate AI? In the future, I believe we will. One of our primary goals is that our users will retain full control over the data they import into our systems. With that goal in mind, we believe we can find a way to integrate AI into our generators, without compromising the integrity of our users data.
