[Moonshine Fox]

What would you all think the cost and availability of buying preparations from an alchemist contact should be? Thinking of starting at the availability same as the spell formula, and cost be base reagents plus an amount multiplied by potency.

[Mirikon]

Honestly, that's difficult to say. Part of the availability/cost of formulas is that they are a template that you can then do over and over and over again. But buying some preparations isn't like that. These are consumables, and not even ones that can sit on a shelf if you don't use them, like ammo.

I'd say your best bet would be to put it in line with toxins or drugs. That's your best parallel here. Eyeball the prices based on Force, how useful it is, and how likely its use is to bring down heat on the alchemist. Maybe 50 nuyen for a 'Heal' potion, going up to 1000 or so for a timed Fireball (because explosions tend to bring heat on whoever helped make them).

[firebug]

You'd have to take into account that they would all have to be "custom ordered", and the talismonger would have to put the work in to make them right when you need them, which for someone with a realistic work schedule would be very inconvenient.  Alternatively, you could buy a longer-lasting and more convenient one made via Fixation, but then it requires Karma...  So presumably it isn't something done lightly.

Also, you'd more or less have to have a biofiber pocket and go to the talismonger and have them place it in your pocket to be activated via contact trigger if you wanted something to use whenever you want.  Other options being a command trigger, which would be useless, and a timed trigger...  Very niche uses.

And related to what Mirikon said, if a preparation is used for a crime (like using a timed trigger as a bomb) then the talismonger will go to jail, almost certainly.  Especially since he couldn't be there to erase his astral signature.  Selling preps would be a nasty business, and most alchemists probably wouldn't do it, save for "I'll make you one as a favor because I trust you."  Not simply selling them.

[Hobbes]

I know somewhere there is a cost per hour for hiring NPCs.  I think its under the expanded repair rules of all things.  IIRC. 

Pretty much be charging for recovery time from the drain.  Anyway, that would be the minimum cost.  Might be some mark up depending on other factors.  Loyalty, perceived risk, ect, ect.  Should give you a ballpark.

And the whole "going to jail" thing is really silly.  First, preparations are legal goods to create and sell.  No crime committed.  Second, tracking down an alchemist is no where near as simple as folks presume.  Any practicing enchanter is leaving links all over the place, personally I'd presume they'd be taking precautions.  Wards, Barriers, Magic Lodges, Guard and concealment powers from Spirits, Masking or other metamagics to change signatures. 

Same as any gun runner hiring guards and putting locks and trackers on his inventory.   

[firebug]

You're forgetting that magic is not treated just like any other goods.  It is highly watched and has essentially "legal prejudice".  Also?  I don't care how many things saying you're allowed to sell stuff you get, if you sell a criminal a bomb and they use it to commit a crime, you're going to get repercussions.  Think about this logically.  You would need a license to know how to make Fireball preparations, a license to be awakened, a license to practice alchemy, a license to sell combat spell preparations, and they would need a license to own and use preparations.

You may not be breaking the law, but if they break the law using a bomb you made for them, you will get repercussions for selling a bomb to a criminal.  In the least, you will be watched by the law, and no talismonger who works with the shadows any amount wants this.  In real life, if a place sells alcohol to a minor with a fake ID, they still get in trouble.  I'm sure if you sell a gun to someone who has a fake permit, fake ID, or otherwise does not meet the legal requirements to purchase a gun, you as the seller will be punished as well.  Shadowrun would be worse about this, especially for magic, for anyone who isn't working through a corp (such as the suspicious number of Ares products on the street).

That said, it does seem like being behind a mana barrier (which is as simple as being in a magical lodge, and thus easily a rather high Force barrier...) would be enough to stop most attempts to find them.  However, I don't see how Guard would do anything, Concealment specifies Perception...  Masking is your aura, not your signature, and Extended Masking specifies "preparations in your possession" which also wouldn't include the signature, just the prep itself.  Flexible Signature is the one you're thinking of.  Flexible Signature and being behind a Ward would probably be enough, yeah.

[Moonshine Fox]

I know somewhere there is a cost per hour for hiring NPCs.  I think its under the expanded repair rules of all things.  IIRC. 

Awesome! I was thinking I had seen that, but figured it was something I remembered from 3rd.

And related to what Mirikon said, if a preparation is used for a crime (like using a timed trigger as a bomb) then the talismonger will go to jail, almost certainly.  Especially since he couldn't be there to erase his astral signature.  Selling preps would be a nasty business, and most alchemists probably wouldn't do it, save for "I'll make you one as a favor because I trust you."  Not simply selling them.

I'll admit, I'd figure most preparations would be things like healing salves or armor tonics rather then combat spells, but that's me. I figure that a talismonger would get some extra scrutiny and possibly hit with selling goods to those not licensed to possess them, but not with direct aiding and abetting.

[Facemage]

In my group my mage creates the preparations for the group. No need to use talismonger.

I think that you should forget healing potions. They works, but they are bad. Note that the healing order is
1. First aid, 2. Magic healing, 3. Natural recovery. If you drink a potion, the preparation heals typically 2-3 boxes damage. If you have leftover damage, you can anymore use only natural recovery. Which means that you have to suffer penalties during the rest of the run.

[Hobbes]

You're forgetting that magic is not treated just like any other goods.  It is highly watched and has essentially "legal prejudice".  Also?  I don't care how many things saying you're allowed to sell stuff you get, if you sell a criminal a bomb and they use it to commit a crime, you're going to get repercussions.  Think about this logically.  You would need a license to know how to make Fireball preparations, a license to be awakened, a license to practice alchemy, a license to sell combat spell preparations, and they would need a license to own and use preparations.

You may not be breaking the law, but if they break the law using a bomb you made for them, you will get repercussions for selling a bomb to a criminal.  In the least, you will be watched by the law, and no talismonger who works with the shadows any amount wants this.  In real life, if a place sells alcohol to a minor with a fake ID, they still get in trouble.  I'm sure if you sell a gun to someone who has a fake permit, fake ID, or otherwise does not meet the legal requirements to purchase a gun, you as the seller will be punished as well.  Shadowrun would be worse about this, especially for magic, for anyone who isn't working through a corp (such as the suspicious number of Ares products on the street).

That said, it does seem like being behind a mana barrier (which is as simple as being in a magical lodge, and thus easily a rather high Force barrier...) would be enough to stop most attempts to find them.  However, I don't see how Guard would do anything, Concealment specifies Perception...  Masking is your aura, not your signature, and Extended Masking specifies "preparations in your possession" which also wouldn't include the signature, just the prep itself.  Flexible Signature is the one you're thinking of.  Flexible Signature and being behind a Ward would probably be enough, yeah.

My point about "Legal" is that Talismongers are a legal occupation, unlike Human Trafficers or Gun Runners.  Able to operate as openly as any other SINless business owner.  They can have a permanent facility and take long term precautions as part of their overhead.  Really any Magical contact that is selling things they've created should be using common counter measures to Ritual Links, Search Power, or Astral Perception.  After all part of their business model is selling physical links to shady characters. 

Masking should work if you're trying to match a Signature to an Aura.  If the Aura is Masked, you should have to beat the Masking IMO.  I'll give you RAW it is unspecified.  Concealment power is a counter to the Search Power.  I thought Guard was too, but I may be mixing editions.  Flexible Signatures, Astral Barriers, Medicine Lodges, ect, ect.  All good things I would think common to the business of "selling magic stuff to SINless criminals".

The main risk to a Runner using an NPC preparation is that the NPC rats them out.  If that is because a Magic CSI team manages to track down the contact or their is a big enough reward offered up that the contact rats out the PCs it doesn't really matter.   

[Moonshine Fox]

In my group my mage creates the preparations for the group. No need to use talismonger.

I think that you should forget healing potions. They works, but they are bad. Note that the healing order is
1. First aid, 2. Magic healing, 3. Natural recovery. If you drink a potion, the preparation heals typically 2-3 boxes damage. If you have leftover damage, you can anymore use only natural recovery. Which means that you have to suffer penalties during the rest of the run.

Oh I know. Bandages, Bewitching, Bedrest. Combined with first aid that two or three boxes can be quite useful, though I'd prefer to have a mage in the group who can hit me with a good heal spell rather then a preparation.

[Facemage]

Oh I know. Bandages, Bewitching, Bedrest. Combined with first aid that two or three boxes can be quite useful, though I'd prefer to have a mage in the group who can hit me with a good heal spell rather then a preparation.

Great, I prefer also a good heal spells. In fact my mage have a heal spell, but not an alchemy version.