D&D 5E Potions in your game

[jgsugden]

I'm curious how potions occur in your games. In my games:

Drinking Potions: It is a bonus action for you to drink a potion and a (full) action for you to give it to someone else. You can hand it to someone else with a 'Interact with Object'.

Frequency Found: In my games, I average 1 potion per encounter. They tend to be congregated in enemies that can use them - and if they have a reason to use them they will. Though the average is 1 potion per combat, they are only found in about 1 in 3 of combats. So, they tend to be found in groups when found.

Random Tables: I use the same random table for potions throughout a campaign. Whether you're first or 20th level, my random table is the same, so you could find a legendary potion that grants a wish or raises an attribute in your first encounter... but it is highly unlikely. You're far more likely to have the wild Sorcerer tpk the group with a fireball mishap.

20% - Healing Potion (1 in 5)
18% - Lesser Common Potion (there are 5 of them, so 3.6% chance of each - 1 in 30)
18% - Greater Common Potion (there are 11 of them, so 1.64% chance of each - 1 in 60)
10% - Greater Healing Potion (1 in 10)
10% - Lesser Uncommon Potion (there are 14 of them, so 0.71% chance of each- 1 in 140 )
10% - Greater Uncommon Potion (there are 25 of them, so 0.40% chance of each -1 in 250)
3% - Superior Healing Potion (1 in 33)
3% - Lesser Rare Potion (there are 16 of them, so 0.19% chance of each - 1 in 525)
3% - Greater Rare potion (there are 24 of them, so 0.13% chance of each - 1 in 770)
1% - Supreme Healing Potion (1 in 100)
3% - Very Rare Potion (there are 31 of them, so 0.10% chance of each - 1 in 1000)
1% - Legendary Potion (there are 19 of them, so 0.05% chance of each - 1 in 2000)

34% of potions are healing. 66% are 'other potions'.

A campaign usually has about 12 or 13 encounters per level on average over 20 levels ... so 250 or so encounters. With that many encounters, PCs find roughly:

50 Healing Potions
25 Greater Healing Potions
9 of each of the 5 most common 'other potions'
8 Superior Healing Potions
4 of each of the 11 remaining most common 'other potions'
2 Supreme Healing Potions
1 or 2 of the 14 most common uncommon 'other potions'
1 of each of the 25 remaining uncommon 'other potions'
Half of the 16 most common rare 'other potions'
A third of the remaining 24 rare 'other potions'
A quarter of the 31 very rare 'other potions'
An eighth of the 19 legendary 'other potions'

Do othe DMs have their own potion system? I have a similar system for scrolls and other 1 use items, but it is more convoluted.

 

[Oofta]

I've started allowing healing potions as a bonus action with rolling for effect. If you take a full action, the potion is maxed out. So if you drink that healing potion as a bonus action it heals 2d4+2, take a full action it's 10. Giving a healing potion to anyone else still takes an action and you roll for effect.

Beyond that, potions are still an action and people rarely use them. I don't hand out all that many items, I do more reward with gold and have a curated magic mart. Most potions are available for purchase, but most people do not buy them.

Seems like some potions could make things swingier, which would just make combats more difficult to balance so there's not a lot of upside for me as DM. So I never felt the need to encourage more potion use, although I'd be open to discussing it if anyone asked about it.

 

[Weiley31]

The ONLY thing that I have down with potions, aside from the Bonus Action to use/Full Action to apply to others, is how they taste.

So, Healing Potions in my games taste like the various flavors of Mountain Dew. (And if I need to stick to specific flavors, then we go with Code Red, Voltage, Baja Blast, and Dark Berry Bash).

 

[jgsugden]

The ONLY thing that I have down with potions, aside from the Bonus Action to use/Full Action to apply to others, is how they taste.

So, Healing Potions in my games taste like the various flavors of Mountain Dew. (And if I need to stick to specific flavors, then we go with Code Red, Voltage, Baja Blast, and Dark Berry Bash).

For each potion I have a description with the color, thickness, flavor and any other characteristics (temperature, etc...)

None of them are flavored like Mountain Dew.

 

[DND_Reborn]

For my games:

Drinking Potions: depends on its location. Usually you would have to use your free object interaction to get the pouch in hand (from a pouch or backpack) and then your action to open it and drink it. IF for some reason you already have the potion in hand, you can use your free object interaction to open and drink it.

Frequency Found: Uncommon to very rare. Other than healing potions, most potion don't find their way into my game a lot, but magic items in general are less frequent in my games than in others as I understand it.

 

[DeviousQuail]

My games have tended to be magical enough to allow for purchasing of uncommon potions. Healing potions are by far the most used followed by potions of resistance. Anything after that is a rare find in a treasure hoard unless someone is dabbling in alchemy.

 

[James Gasik]

I've often wondered if anyone out there is still using "potion miscibility".

 

[DND_Reborn]

I've often wondered if anyone out there is still using "potion miscibility".

Oh, I do... the variant is in the DMG p. 140 for anyone whose interested and overlooked it:

 

[iserith]

I use the normal rules for drinking and administering potions.

I generally roll randomly for treasure in my games, so they appear when the dice indicate it. Sometimes the players have their characters brew potions as a downtime activity.

 

[aco175]

I tend to give out more potions in early levels where I want the PCs to use them when they do not have many magic items. Does not mean that they use them as I find players tend to hoard magic until they absolutely need to use them. I think most of the potions tend to be healing, 75%ish.

I play with drinking a potion is a bonus action to roll for healing and if you use your action it is full hp, I would like to add more potions to this like drinking a potion of invisibility as a bonus action lasts only for 1d4 rounds instead of 1 hour.