Three suggestions for alternatives to potions

Potions are a lot of fun. Whether a Healing Potion, Potion of Giant Strength or Potion of Invisibility, it’s usually the cheapest magical item around, and for a simple reason – you can use it only once. After you drink it, it’s gone, and its effect is usually personal and temporary.

Potions provide an interesting tactical element. Which potions should I have on me? When should I drink them? These are interesting questions in every action heavy game. However, potions tend to suit only a specific fantasy setting, one that includes magic or alchemy in the style of the European Middle Ages. If you wish to enjoy potions in a different atmosphere – and especially in a different genre – you should turn them into something else, something that isn’t a liquid in a bottle.

It’s rare to find one-time abilities in a game that includes sci-fi elements, since we’re used to technology that works reliably and continuously. It’s still possible, though, so some of the following suggestions attempt to give legitimacy to one-use items in technology-heavy genres.

You can also take inspiration from the eponymous cyphers in the Cypher System. A cypher is the name given to any piece of technology that has a one-use effect. Unlike the classic potion, many cyphers have an area effect, rather than a personal one. In the suggestions below I chose to focus on effects that influence the character herself (like most potions do, although there are of course exceptions to the rule) but most of these suggestions can be used as for environmental effects as well.

Includes suggested potion variants for 5e.