<font color = mediumspringgreen>Thanks for the tips, Sever, Stratos and Kyrvias. (I've been wondering what was in that east tower.)

Been trying out the new alchemy equipment. Equipped EVERYTHING except the skooma pipe, and tried to make some healing potions, using Saltrice and (forget herb name). Only have success about 1 in 6 tries (Alchemy skill was at about 19 and intelligence in the 60s at the time); and, despite the excellent lab equipment, the potions only have 4 or 5 points of healing. So, here is QUESTION #3: Why are my potions so crummy?</font>

Your intelligence, and alchemy skill effect your potions more than the equipment. Go to the mages guild and visit the Kajiit in the basement.... She might be able to teach you ;)

<font color = mediumspringgreen>O.K., thanks. I thought that my Alchemy and Intelligence determined my CHANCE of getting a potion; and the equipment and possibly ingredients determined the QUALITY. I noticed that the recipe called for "two or MORE of the following..." (emphasis added) and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't getting crummy potions because I was skimping on ingredients.

Yeah, I've unloaded enough moon sugar and skooma on that kitty in the basement to have her wrapped around my finger three times over. I've trained Alchemy with her about 20 times (over 10 of those since my initial lackluster experiments in potion making): think I'm in the high 30s. If things follow a pattern, I'd expect that Intelligence has more of an effect on my success than Alchemy. Well, I've been bumping that up, too: I think it is around 67.

I guess your character's level has no direct bearing on gameplay, other than each level gives you more HP? GAs and skills, only, determine your character's effectiveness?</font>

Youi were right before, but your alchemy skill effects all categories of potion making. Different tools just boost the effect. But, you always need a mortar and pestle to make htem. always.

And you pretty much hit the nail on hte head. I didn't level up until I had 70 raises... I could have leveled up 7 times...

But I didn't. Was just trying to see how it worked.

Ingredients have no bearing on potion quality but equipment and skill do. The biggest factor determining EVERYTHING potion-wise is intelligence. A little tip: The first two ingredients desired before you start any potions are Ash Yam and Bloat (or Netch Leather but it's harder to carry this around in large quantities ;) ). Get yourself to the Sadrith Mora, Wolverine Hall, Imperial Cult Services building to stock up on these ingredients. It's up to you to determine what intelligence stat is desired for a particular potion but when i make a non-specific restore magicka potion, i generally have an INT of 1500. That's right. Not a typo. What level of cheese is too much for you is up to you to decide. But i sincerely hope they've worked out a better system in Oblivion...


Character level determines what type of random creatures and random loot you'll pick up. Not much else.

<font color = mediumspringgreen>1500? Yikes! Does your potion quality go up in roughly direct proportion to your Intelligence; or is it logarythmic, square root, or some other non-linear relationship? What does an Intelligence of 1500 give you, in comparison to an Intelligence of, say, 100?

I've got plenty of Ash Yam, a few Netch Leather and maybe 1 Bloat. I figure the ingredients you mentioned boost Intelligence; but do you make a potion with them, or eat them with a fork, straight out of the can?</font>

[ 11-22-2005, 03:23 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

A potion of invisibility for 16 hours

[ 11-22-2005, 08:12 PM: Message edited by: Kyrvias ]

I don't know the exact math that goes into it, i only know that the ratio of potency/duration is fixed and it increases proportionately with intelligence. The apparatus and the quality of apparatus also has an effect, but when you're dealing in the 1000 INT bracket, the difference is negligible.

Make, say, three fortify intelligence potions then drink them. Then make three more and drink them and so on. This is how you become a level one god and it's almost a shame that it's the only way to enjoy potionmaking and enchanting (unless you love making useless potions and items). With the right ingredients, all your stats can be boosted in this way. But it's easy to spoil your fun doing this.

*Edit: I should point out that ultra high INT potions are really only needed for a character that makes all their potions at home to be carried around and consumed when needed. A specialised alchemist type character that carries potion making stuff with them shouldn't need to boost INT before making potions. In such instances, potions are made as needed.

[ 11-22-2005, 11:38 PM: Message edited by: Sever ]

Or to make oodles of cash :D

[ 11-23-2005, 10:46 AM: Message edited by: Kyrvias ]

Or, indeed, to make oodles of cash. ;)