So I started playing this game some days ago, read through the manual and found my way up pretty respectably (character development wise, still working on the fame). In order to get fame, I am aware I will have to become much more powerful, which includes the knowledge of alchemy and religion to use against the more powerful foes I may fight (satanism).


I have a character built with decent enough attributes to be a alchemist/priest hybrid (I'm aware some people will say that's not a good idea). I decided to start with Alchemy first, so I looked for towns until one had an Alchemists Lane in it.


The problem is, each one I go to, every time I try to go to the Alchemists Lane, it says I don't have any characters who know enough about alchemy to find one. This poses a problem, because I lack skill and getting training from an alchemist would help me increase my skill, and I did hear that you can increase your skill by making potions instead, but I lack any formulae except... I think it was Trueflight, but two of the ingredients for it I simply can't find. (If you happen across a list which explains where I may find such ingredients, please do let me know.)


I can't even get my foot in the door now, and it's irritating, I don't know what to do. I tried instead to search out Religion first, and figure out Alchemy later. It didn't go much better, I couldn't figure out how to get training in that either. (Found a Dom/Cathedral, but no options to receive training. Only got to talk to the priest about their Dom, nothing important.)



If someone could help me get on the right foot here of where I can learn Alchemy, as well as get formulas for it, and also receive religious training and saints, I'd appreciate it. I have never found any universities, and monks won't take me in due to my apparent 'reputation'. So what do I do? How can I receive training in these things, as well as saint and formula knowledge?



Thanks for reading, please reply whenever you can, by referencing material that answers my question, or answering directly.

It really pays to start with a decent to good Alchemy skill, since it's quite hard to improve by practice. You also need to combine it with Read&Write, Speak Latin, Religion and Virtue, the two latter for dealing with the clergy. Some skill can be practiced by tutors, but my guys said "wir sind doch keine nerds!" and refused to sit indoors and study, so I never tried that, but it's possible alchemy skill can be improved that way, although I doubt it.

As for universities, only a few cities have them, like Leipzig and Praha. But getting the scholars to deal with you is difficult as they will snub anyone not versed in Latin (other skills and reputation may also be a factor).

As for ingredients, the rarer ones seem to be regional. That is, some ingredients will be sold my most merchants in one part of the country, but will be very rare in other parts.
So it pays to be thorough and make a list of screencaps of what the different cities have to offer.

I'll do some bandit hunting in Leipzig and see if a large local reputation might get me a chance at a teacher. (Do they teach everything from Speak Latin, to R&W, and religious/alchemy?)


Thank you so much for telling me one of the cities that has a university in it. That was a huge help, now I just gotta push a little further and get them to teach my characters something. I hope a large local reputation will get me somewhere.

Sorry if my info is a bit off here, since I haven't tried it myself.
I had heard that university learning is very expensive compared to the learning from the local alchemist. I guess the expense is for convenience? Anyway, it might not matter when you get to the point where you earn more money than you can spend. :P

I'm pretty sure that if your alchemy isn't reasonably high to start with (~30), you will not be able to "find" an alchemist @ Alchemist Lane. So University or potion making are your only options to raise your skill to the point where you can find an alchemist to teach you. And yes, it is expensive, 90 pfennige a day (might vary by locale/rep). One exploit you might want to use is to save the game before you try to learn from the U -- the chance of increase is random, and you're only given seven days to learn before you have to go back to the university and beg for tutoring again. So you want to make the most of the opportunity. I just earned 4 points of alchemy in a week that way, which is quite critical for my team because they are all 20 yrs old.

To get into the University, you need some Speak Latin and luck. Rep probably helps, too, but I have gotten into University classes with 12 Speak Latin, so it isn't impossible. Note that intelligence and perception also affect your chances to earn an audience with the University administration. AFAIK, in v7 all universities teach everything -- Latin, Literacy, Healing, Alchemy, and Religion. This may not be the case, however -- what a university teaches may be randomized. I've only been playing this new version a couple of days, and my Nurnberg university teaches all disciplines. YMMV.

Now, as for practice instead of study: your first problem is that alchemical formulae are randomized in each game, so you won't get formula advice from other players. The point made upthread about regional distribution is important. You're not going to find Marsh Gas in the mountains, more's the pity. But IIRC, Trueflight is a pretty basic compound, so it should be relatively easy to find the necessary ingredients, although not necessarily in Saxony. Which ones do you need? Note that another thing randomized in each game is what stuff is sold in what cities. This extends to ingredients, weapons, armor, and everything. Bigger cities should have more stuff, but then again, Leipzig is not exactly a one-cow town, so if you can't find it there, it might not be available in your region. One word of advice, if you do manage to find your ingredients and start mixing: do it outdoors in a camp. There's a chance you'll blow the mix, and cause an explosion, and your local Inn does NOT appreciate it when that happens!

Lastly, it's no big deal to be a religious/alchemical expert. The problem is that you can only study one thing at a time! It's a good idea, anyway, to spread the Saints around a little, because each Saint call is going to deplete your Divine Favor. So it doesn't really help to have one guy know 50 saints and the rest of the crew none. Fortunately, DF is easier to replenish than it is to increase Virtue, but if you plan on using saints often, you'll need to use everyone in the party to call them.

You can find a list of the cities with cathedrals and/or universities in the cluebook, or at Darklands.net. Cathedrals are good only for donating relics, although you can hear Mass there as well.

-- Mal