Basic Information
The healing potion is a staple - indeed something between a trope and a cliché - of the fantasy roleplaying genre. It consists, as might be expected, of a potion which provides a one off burst of healing factor and essentially serves as hit points in a bottle. As might be expected, these work best in systems that operate a hit-point pool, but can be readily adapted to other damage systems. They also tend to be entry level kit and so only fix generic damage - any "specials" usually need something a bit stronger. In systems where the hit point pool can get very large (like "that RPG") there may be tiers of healing potions or just multiple shots in one bottle.
As noted under potion there may be significant thematic differences between different healing potions - especially in systems that don't automatically assume that the PCs know what that bottle they found in the ancient tomb contains - anything from something like a pint of small beer with herbs floating in it, to a bottle of processed troll blood that twitches occasionally to a shot-sized portion of oily, aromatic liquid in a crystal phial. Depending on who made it. Price should probably vary but equally probably won't. Dedicated cliché dodgers may also include alternatives to the drinkable potion, such as pills, ointments or charms with the same effect. Again, PCs may or may not balk at the bloated preserved leech charms the goblin kobylah makes for his tribe, even after they figure out that those are a) healing potions and b) a big chunk of the treasure.
Sources
Game and Story Use
- Traditionally a lifeline for PCs, especially when any cleric provided has run out (whether of spells, their own HP or the dungeon entrance). Often dominate low level treasure in starter dungeons.
- Which would make a certain amount of sense - if these things exist, they would surely be on a par with high end first-aid stores in any culture that can make them.
- In a magitek/dungeonpunk setting, the healing potion in a first aid box should be expected.
- Bit jarring when the character stops to do shots in the middle of combat, but there may be rules for that as well.
- Fantasy injectables are known but fringe - and will certainly make anyone with any medical knowledge cringe when they are deployed.