Confessions of a Quaffaholic - by Benibinolo

Hello, my name is Togusolo, and I'm a quaffaholic. Like many habits, my predilection came from my father, who as one of the first of many gifts, gave me 40 potions of True Sight. In a former life, I had been a hero, and thought I knew enough about potions. "This is kind of nice," I thought. "Now I won't need to loot misties for a little while.” I underestimated their power, and a beautiful journey began.

Welcome to my guide to potions. No, this isn't that recipe booklet you might hear about in Gloumewood, and it certainly isn't a walkthrough to your favorite out-of-the-way alchemists. This is simply a few suggestions for the magic impaired, on how a glass jar, a little diligence, and high standards can make even a single class warrior a virtual magic-user.

You can learn about modes and containers elsewhere, but I suggest you keep all your potions in a separate large container. I suggest this, because if you follow all my suggestions, you will be carrying around well over a hundred stones of quaffables, and you will want to be able to hold that container so you can pick up other loot.

Misties, seen as a potion of swirling mist-like substance are the detect invisibility potions that some mobs seem to carry, although they never seem to quaff them themselves. They are horrible, and a good quaffer wouldn't touch ‘em, for two reasons. First, they cast detect magic on you, and who really needs "..It glows blue!" spam, especially with that superfluous !. !? (I also hear the "..It glows blue!” spam messes with something called a "script" but I wouldn't know about that. Second, they are not true sight potions.

Potions of true sight give you detect invisibility and detect evil, just like misties, but no spammy detect magic. They also give you the all important sense life, which even mages cannot cast. You'll want this for all those sneaky mobs that use more conventional, nonmagical means of hiding, like thieves. Sense Life can also be quaffed with amber potions from Trellor, among other places, but why quaff two potions when you can quaff one. With True Sight potions lasting much longer than misty and amber potions, they also cause less quaffing mid battle, and thus less battle spam. You can find true sight potions in the Mystical Forest (if you have levitate) or in Dragmire. You could also get a friendly relative or townie to make a run for you. If you ever see a bag of full of true sight potions on auction for 999,999 gold, you know someone is imp-teleporting potions to a friend.

Green potions are the other major potions with which most players are familiar. These also load on mobs, although again, I've never seen one quaff. They cast a mid powered cure critical, which is good, and because they load everywhere all the time, it’s easy to loot them on the run, even in a form. Remember to be polite, though, and ask the other formies, especially the leader, if anyone else needs them. If you want to buy some, you can find shops in Dragmire and the Labyrinth. If you are a good person, you can also go to the Mystical Forest and purchase Pink potions, which cast a more powerful cure, but also dispel evil.

Swirlies, or small potion of swirling blue and white, cast word of recall, and are even carried by heroes. The weak level word of recall they cast can be a life saver in a firestorm. Purchased in the cleric quarter of the City of Medievia, they are easily accessible. For the true quaffaholic, though, I recommend heading to the Mystical Forest for glowing potions.

Glowing potions cast a higher-level word of recall than swirlies, which can be particularly useful in surprising situations. Unlike swirlies, glowing potions can recall you back to the cheese merchants from Stornaway and Xanthal. It might thus be wise even for clerics below the mid 20s to carry a couple of these. Whichever you prefer, ease or power, always carry a handful for friends too, even if you can cast word of recall and transport, as anyone you're formed with will be mighty appreciative if you can bring everyone home from Alcordia in a firestorm.

Potions of godlike protection, or godl's, cast armor and bless. Ever been in a form where the single class tank is always asking, "Can I get a bless/armor?” Don't be that guy! Buy godl's just east of recall in the City of Medievia. The armor spell they give can also help bring a mage's armor class to perfect, which makes the famous solo mage that much better.

Cloudy white potions can be purchased in Trellor, making them an easy get, and cast a weak version of strength. You might think this would be useful for when you drop your whackmaster from being plagued, poisoned, or weakened. It is not. The strength is usually not enough to compensate for the poison, and almost never for the plague. Instead, I recommend shimmering potions from the Mystical Forest, which cast a much stronger strength.

For those doubting the usefulness of a potion you may only quaff at those rare times, and suggest just carrying a light weapon as a backup, think of this. A dagger of venom does about ten points less damage, on average, than a magnificent sword of ice. Who wouldn't quaff a potion to do +10 damage?

Also in the Mystical Forest are deep blue potions. These cast level 25 spells of remove poison and remove curse, good things both, but wielding cursed equipment is rare, and we already have a "cure" for half of the strength damage from poison. I would still carry a couple of these, in case you are soloing and a nasty mob poisons you. It's very embarrassing to die by poison. Just be careful, because swirlies are technically "blue" too, and you don't want to recall by accident (which is another reason to use glowing potions over swirlies).

This ends the guide. Remember, potions are an easy way to turn even a new single-class warrior into a magic-wielding force. These aren't all the potions in the game, just some of my favorites for their power, availability, and convenience. There may be other places you can get these potions, and there may be better potions too. Keep an eye out, write down your favorite locations, and if find a new alchemist I may have forgot, drop me a mudmail.

Happy Quaffing!