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Alchemy Is Magic: Difference between revisions
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== Anime and Manga ==
* The 1711 immortals of ''[[Baccano!]]!'' were originally alchemists. At one point, a couple of them are seen reciting from the Emerald Tablet. They used alchemy to summon a demon to achieve the Elixir of Life.
* ''[[Fate/Zero]]'', and by extension ''[[Fate/stay night]]'', reveals that the Einzbern family specializes in alchemy, which is how they were able to produce homonculi and the Holy Grail's body itself.
* [[Busou Renkin]] is somewhat loosely based on alchemy; the title translates to "Arms Alchemy," but the transmutation of lead into gold and the Philosopher's Stone are explicitly mentioned as having failed.
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*** The alchemy of [[And Man Grew Proud|Xerxes]], an ancient city from before the founding of Amestris and Xing, was the precursor to Amestrian alchemy and Xingese alkahestry. Its power source is never fully explained.
*** The most recently invented method of alchemy was that of {{spoiler|Ishval}}, described as a combination of Amestrian and Xingese alchemy.
** It bears saying, though, that the Fullmetal Alchemist brand of alchemy is entirely different in methodology than real-life, especially Western, alchemy. In Fullmetal Alchemist, the transmutations worked on the principle of exchanging equal values of energy and matter in order to power the rituals. In real life, many alchemists believed that primal matter would eventually progress to gold, the most pure form of of matter. The goal of alchemical experiments, then, was to artificially speed up this process.
** Hiromu has [[Shown Their Work|shown her work]]. Fullmetal Alchemist includes various alchemical symbols: the cross and snake on Edward's cloak, armor-Alphonse's left shoulder, and Izumi's left collarbone is actually called a flamel (named after the famous real world alchemist Nicholas Flamel); the Oroborus tattoo the homunculi have, in alchemy, represents the snake eating itself-the [[Ultimate Lifeform|perfect being]]; as stated above, the Philosopher's stone was also the goal of many alchemists.
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' has some references to alchemy--at the end of Volume 21, ''[[Ken Akamatsu]]'' [[Shown Their Work|shows his work]] with a quite detailed depiction of the history of alchemy and its relationship with the 1,000,000 drachma 'ixir'.
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== Film ==
* Miracle Max in ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]''.
* In ''[[Star Wars]]'', there exists [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sith_Alchemy Sith Alchemy], a school of [[The Dark Side]] that combines the Force teachings of the Dark Jedi with ancient Sith Sorcery. It involves transmutation of weapons and creatures, as well as [[Necromancer|necromancy]] and (as mastered by Darth Plagueis) the ability to create life. It is considered by the Jedi to be the ultimate perversion of [[Sentient Cosmic Force|The Force]].
* ''[[Big Trouble in Little China]]''. Egg Shen mentioned Taoist alchemy. This may be what he used to create the potion he had everyone drink to improve their abilities before the fight with David Lo Pan's forces.
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* There are alchemists in the ''[[Belgariad]]'', although Belgarath, the world's eldest sorcerer, is rather dismissive of it: "If you want gold so bad, why don't you dig it up?" Senji, an alchemist who discovered sorcery by accident (making him immortal), actually discovered how to turn lead to gold, but the process costs more than the resultant gold... and is quite dangerous.
{{quote|'''Stunned alchemist:''' ''(recovering from an explosion)'' Too much sulfur. That's it. I put in too much sulfur...}}
* Albeit not too popular, Alchemy is also practiced on [[Discworld|the Disc]]. Most of the time, though, Ankh Morporks alchemists merely blow up their guild house instead of achieving anything.
** They have achieved all kinds of things when they've managed to put their goal of making gold aside for a few moments, such as film suitable for movie cameras. Cheery Littlebottom, the City Watch forensics officer is a trained alchemist, but left the guild. Through the roof. Like others before them, the Disc alchemists have discovered you ''can'' turn lead into gold, but only at the expense of a lot more gold than you're going to end up with. They also tend to believe that pretty much ''anything'' contains the secret to eternal life: "An alchemist would cut his own head off if he thought it would help him live longer".
* The ''[[Gentleman Bastard]]'' series has alchemy as a low-magic practice that's seen like a science, setting is as a contrast to the more flashy high magic of the Bondsmagi of Karthain. Alchemical stoves that use water as a fuel source are commonplace, as are alchemical blends of fruit, liquor, and animals (such as a hawk with scorpion stingers for talons and an accompanying venom sac).
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* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' has its own Alchemists' Guild, who claimed a magical pedigree back in the day but are basically viewed as charlatans and doddering old men in contemporary Westeros. They are feared and respected for one thing, however -- they know how to make wildfire (or "alchemist's piss," as it's more colloquially known), which is basically what happens when napalm and Greek fire have an unholy spawning. It's also hinted that they might not be lying about the magical pedigree; one alchemist says to Tyrion that it's become much easier to produce wildfire for some reason, {{spoiler|that reason, unbeknownst to him, likely being the reemergence of dragons}}.
* ''[[The Pendragon Legend]]'' features the dark riders as major antagonists who seek to complete the great work through black magic. That's not the focus of the novel however, but rather, the young scientist researching their history, and the history of the Pendragon family as well as their connection to the rosacrucian order and the freemasons.
* Harry uses alchemy occasionally in ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', usually when his regular magic isn't enough (which happens rarer and rarer as the series progresses). Making a potion involves six ingredients; a base, and something to stand in for each of the five senses. Then he performs a spell which makes the mess a potion.
* In ''[[The Wise Man's Fear]]'', this is lampshaded when discussing a fireproofing ointment. When the protagonist Kvothe (who works mostly with chemistry and the [[Magic A Is Magic A|unusually scientific magic of the setting]] expresses his doubts as to what alchemy can do (specifically, that nothing becomes flammable when mixed with water), his alchemist friend Simmon responds by throwing some water into the substance, which promptly explodes, leaving the usually know-it-all Kvothe to admit: [[Crowning Moment of Funny|"I know nothing about alchemy"]].
* In ''Sacre Bleu'' the Colorman uses the title pigment to extend his life for millenia.
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== Tabletop Games ==
* The tabletop RPG ''[[Pathfinder]]'' features alchemists as a base class. The flavor text tends to treat them as a combination of [[Mad Scientist]], [[Mad Bomber]], and [[Professor Guinea Pig]] and, indeed, most of their class features involve making magical bombs, using poisons, permanently modifying their own bodies to add things like [[Multi-Armed and Dangerous|extra limbs]] or [[Combat Tentacles|tentacles]], and drinking [[Psycho Serum]]. At 20th level, the class culminates in the alchemist making a "grand discovery," among which are the secrets of eternal youth (making alchemists the only class able to avail themselves of Type II [[Immortality]] without becoming undead) or the process by which one makes the [[Philosopher's Stone]] (which transforms large amounts of iron and lead into silver and gold and can be used to restore the dead to life).
* ''[[Promethean: The Created]]'' takes a ''whole'' lot from alchemy, turning the story of [[Frankenstein's Monster]] into an attempt to bring a person back from the dead that created a half-finished human powered by the fire of the universe. Prometheans have humors based on the classical elements, pursue Refinements based on the seven metals (as well as cobalt and bronze), and can create Athanors to further refine the fire that powers them.
** ''Second Sight'' gives us alchemy as a prospective science for thaumaturgists (read: humans who know magic but haven't Awakened). It comes in external and internal flavors and is primarily useful for extending one's lifespan.
** ''[[Mage: The Awakening]]'' also makes use of alchemy as a sub-branch of Awakened magic. Any mage with a good knowledge of Matter can roll a spell into a salve/ointment for later use, and it's possible to [[Unobtanium|perfect]] any one of the seven planetary metals.
* ''[[Shadowrun]]''. Alchemy is a branch of magic. In early editions it was a specific type of Enchanting used to refine raw materials into alchemical radicals (which have uses in creating other magic items).
* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]''. In early editions alchemy was used to create magical potions and other one-use items. Permanent magic items were made by wizards and priests using different techniques.
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== Video Games ==
* Baron Alexander in ''[[Amnesia: The Dark Descent|Amnesia the Dark Descent]]'' practices an extremely disturbing form of alchemy, subjecting people to horrible tortures to extract mystical ''vitae'' from their bodies, to extend his life and fuel a process to open a portal between the worlds.
* The entire [[Atelier Series]], which includes [[Atelier Iris]] and the [[Mana Khemia]] spin-offs.
* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' has an Alchemy skill that was originally used for producing soap. There's now unintentional alchemy - turning everything from platinum to {{spoiler|adamantine}} into iron goblets - but that is what we call a "bug".
* In ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' (which was based on the developers' own homebrew D&D setting) alchemy is portrayed as a sort of scientific magic; when you [[Item Crafting]] potions you're distilling the ingredients (using a pestal and mortar, retort, etc), however you appear to be extracting the "magic" from them rather than more mundane chemical compounds (some of the in universe literature even uses this to justify the [[Health Food]] trope; chewing certain foods releases their basic properties, but not as well as properly mixing them would).
* ''[[Golden Sun]]'', where Alchemy is the force responsible for people possessing [[Elemental Powers]], and which {{spoiler|the world ''requires'' in order to not [[The End of the World as We Know It|wither away into nothing]]}}.
* ''[[Haunting Ground]]'' gives us alchemists in search of Azoth which should grant them immortality. Golems and homunculus also exist around the castle.
* In ''[[Melty Blood]]'', Sion is a "mental" alchemist. While she does comment on how traditional alchemy is derived from seeking higher and higher levels of the physical (lead into gold, the body into the body eternal), her branch of alchemy seeks higher and higher brain capacity.
* ''[[Odin Sphere]]'' uses it for potion brewing, with effects ranging from healing draughts to napalm.
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