[Senko]

I'm posting this in general not rules as I'm not planning to change any mechanics here crafting, maintaining, effects all are going to remain the same. The only thing is a fluff descriptor alteration so that instead of them always being a potion you drink/break/etc its can be anything the mage feels is thematically appropriate e.g. opening a medicine bag to trigger a healing spell, breaking a glass orb to trigger a grenade spell, lighting a cigarette to trigger an enhanced reflexes spell that sort of thing. I'm just wondering is there any heavy influence from past editions/novels that say's it must and can only be a potion?

[ScytheKnight]

Actually if anything "Potions" are discouraged by the 5E RAW...

[Mirikon]

Healing spells must be Command trigger, by RAW. So healing potions, or anything consumable, is right out. However, creating a talisman or something and having your buddy carry it so you can do a remote heal by issuing the command is perfectly fine. Other spells, when using the Contact trigger, would need to be contained in something (like a bottle or box) to keep them separate from your aura if you were going to carry them.

The exact nature of the preparation depends on the materials available, and your tradition. I've got a Shinto Mystic Adept that makes onmyodo talismans for her preparations, for instance.

[Senko]

Really . . . alchemy just got even more useless then. Thanks for the replies. So at least if you do try to make this work your not restricted to just potions.

[Kiirnodel]

There are actually a number of sources that reference a fourth trigger type for alchemical preparations: Destruction. It is mentioned a couple of times in the first mission printed for 5E, Splintered State, and I know I have seen at least one other time as well, although I can't remember off-hand.

This is a common concept in magical superstition and stories, a spell that is triggered by breaking the clay seals, potions that are imbibed, and other similar ideas.

So, yes, the rules don't support it as written, but in the setting of Shadowrun as a whole, it isn't world shattering or unimaginable.

Sadly, though, I can't make any suggestions for how to actually use it in the rules...

[Quatar]

Yes I really don't know what's so gamebreaking about healing potions or other potions. There are a (maybe the) classic item connected to Alchemy (aside from the whole lead to gold thing).

It's still only going to last a ridiculously short amount of time before it loses potency anyway.

[Hobbes]

There are a couple of items in Hard Targets that are useful for transporting Preparations if your GM is feisty about such things.  Alchemists Gloves and the pocket armor mod thingy that I forget the name... Cheap Armor mod, Bio-Fiber Pocket or something.  Anyway, if your GM isn't willing to hand-waive the hand-waiving a minor investment makes it a lot easier.

You make the prep, the trigger is whatever you want it to be, you handle it with gloves and drop it in the pocket.  No muss, no fuss.

Alchemy is so mechanically niche I don't understand why a GM would care if your Preparation is a Pocket Shot or a Post-it-note.  But if they do care, Hard Targets should address the issue.   If your GM still pushes back re-invest the Alchemy points into something else  ;  ) 

[Mirikon]

Yes I really don't know what's so gamebreaking about healing potions or other potions. There are a (maybe the) classic item connected to Alchemy (aside from the whole lead to gold thing).

It's still only going to last a ridiculously short amount of time before it loses potency anyway.

Other potions? Not a problem. Potion of Armor? No big. Potion of Euphoria? Go for it! Potion of Detect Enemies? Groovy. Potion of Heal? No. Why? Because having easy healing in the game dramatically alters game balance. Healing potions are a big thing in, say, D&D, because the game assumes you're going to have a certain level of healing available to you, and if you don't, things start getting very nasty, very fast. Shadowrun, on the other hand, assumes you're going to have a relatively low amount of on the spot healing available, and is balanced accordingly.

In and of itself, a healing potion isn't a big change. But it would be like taking one of the bottom pieces from a Jenga tower. Sure, it might work. But if everything doesn't go perfectly, it could all come crashing down.

[Dinendae]

Yes I really don't know what's so gamebreaking about healing potions or other potions. There are a (maybe the) classic item connected to Alchemy (aside from the whole lead to gold thing).

It's still only going to last a ridiculously short amount of time before it loses potency anyway.

Other potions? Not a problem. Potion of Armor? No big. Potion of Euphoria? Go for it! Potion of Detect Enemies? Groovy. Potion of Heal? No. Why? Because having easy healing in the game dramatically alters game balance. Healing potions are a big thing in, say, D&D, because the game assumes you're going to have a certain level of healing available to you, and if you don't, things start getting very nasty, very fast. Shadowrun, on the other hand, assumes you're going to have a relatively low amount of on the spot healing available, and is balanced accordingly.

In and of itself, a healing potion isn't a big change. But it would be like taking one of the bottom pieces from a Jenga tower. Sure, it might work. But if everything doesn't go perfectly, it could all come crashing down.

Really? How so? Most teams I've seen have a caster with some healing magic, and someone (maybe even that same caster) with a rating 6 medkit. Currently the rules are set up so that you can only do each type of healing once per time damaged (not per wound point). A healing potion would nix any healing spell, and is balanced (as mentioned previously) by lasting a very short time. In D&D those healing potions and healing spells all stack, allowing you to keep using them as much as you can (along with many other magical items such as wands of <healing spell> or scrolls of <healing spell>). Additionally, those magic items stick around until used up or they get destroyed somehow. Healing potions in D&D versus how they would be in Shadowrun is not even a close comparison at all.

[Senko]

As Dinendae said the only real difference is you needing to be able to touch them vs them drink a potion/open a medkit and that just swaps one set of problems for another. Given you can command trigger to remote heal anyone it just seems to introduce unnecessary restricitons on something that's already niche to me so the Sam who just got hammered now needs to call out "Medic" so the mage remote heals vs the sam risking another hit to rip open the medkit and trigger a heal spell. Either way once that healing is done you can't stack other healing on top of it.

[Hobbes]

Yeah, if its a minor wound either first aid or heal spell will clear it up quickly.  If its a lot of boxes you'll want to First Aid, then Heal.  It's not like a healing preparation of any sort is going to give you a third way to get back boxes.  The mechanical difference between creating a Command prep and a touch prep isn't significant. 

It's such a niche case where a touch prep is more useful.  You've got a wounded mundane that you've made preps for and activates it himself, verses a mage using a command prep.  Really a corner case when moving a mage action to a mundane will make that big a difference.

It does force the Mage to tag along for the run.  But Command preps can be activated from Astral, so, you can make a Heal Command prep for everyone in the team and have the Astral Mage activate them when needed.

tl;dr - Healing potions aren't going to break the game, in the end, they're still just Alchemy. 

[Mirikon]

There's a few basic reasons.

1. Preparations have no drain when used. Resisting drain has ALWAYS been one of the major limiting factors of magic in SR. Having to balance the needs of the moment against the very real possibility of knocking yourself out of the fight, and maybe the entire run, is a very real part of the game balance. Alchemy as it stands skirts this balance, but the limitations are such that it is still impossible to spam magical attacks. This helps, but doesn't completely solve the issues regarding magic in the field, especially with certain things.

2. Command preparations require the same action on the part of the caster as a spell, meaning you can set off a command preparation, or cast a spell, or attack, but not two or more of those things at once. Now, you want healing at range? Get a couple command preparations, plant them on your team, and set them off when you need to. Since you're still using your action to do that, the balance issues are minimal. But the point, Hobbes, is that it is the MAGE using their action to set off the preparation, not the sammy, meaning the mage can't throw a fireball, summon a spirit, or do any of the other innumerable things they can do to mess your life up until the next pass.

3. The risk of getting tagged while getting to injured team mates is part of the game balance, you know. That is second major limiting factor to healing in SR. This limit on healing helps shape the combat the way it is. Especially when considering scaling wound penalties. It is one of the fundamental conceits of the game system that separates it from D&D and other similar games, where a fighter can charge into a horde of enemies and rely on the healer standing safely 30' back to keep him from dying.

4. Restricting healing spells to command trigger prevents groups from just buying a dozen healing potions each and slugging them back one after another during a gunfight. Yes, the healing doesn't stack, but that's only taking into consideration the SAME set of wounds. You get shot, heal, and get shot again, that damage from the second shot can still be healed with a spell. Without the mage having to use an action to activate healing preparations, that can become very bad, very fast. And any of you who tries to tell me there aren't groups that wouldn't do this if they could to bull rush through encounters is either hopelessly naive or a dirty, dirty liar.

5. Geek the mage first. Another of the key limitations on magic in SR is that if you kill the mage, the magic stops. You kill the mage, not only can he not heal himself, but others can't use his healing preparations to bring him back into the fight. And that is not a small thing. Remember, if your team can heal up their mage like that, so can the Azzie corpsec with their blood mage.

6. For all the reasons that hackers can't stay in the van any more. The real reasons, not things like Noise.

tl;dr - While it sounds small, this kind of change affects a lot of things at a basic level. Being able to heal after each set of wounds without crippling drain penalties alone should be enough to make the point.

[Hobbes]

1. Alchemy doesn't avoid drain it moves when the mage has to deal with drain to a different time at a considerable cost of effectiveness.  Unless you've got a character that is massively specialized in Alchemy I doubt a Healing prep will get more than one or two boxes on a low essence character.

Edit: oh yeah, and Drain is actually higher on Alchemy, especially if you're comparing to a Limited Spell.

2.  I really question the value of moving an action from one player to another.  If the mage has some critical thing to do, they should do it.  If the target of the heal is unconscious then they couldn't have activated the Preparation anyway.  All a healing prep is going to do is remove a die of penalties, maybe two on a spectacular roll.  You'd have to come up with one heck of a convoluted set up where a Mage couldn't simply let the Samurai wait a tick while they did mage stuff. 

3. Command Preps can be activated at Range and from Astral.  Why does the mage have to run over to activate the Command prep, unless the mage is creating them and not passing them around.  Just sayin, no game play difference here other than the point I already gave you of shuffling actions around.

4.  NPC Alchemists are potentially unbalancing and should be handled with care.  You're absolutely correct on this point.  Personally I'd put Healing a few steps down from several other Spells abuse potential, but YMMV.  Bag full of Mob Control is particularly difficult IME.

5. The perception test to spot magic isn't going to ping the mage that said the magic word, a successful Perception test to spot active magic should ping the prep.  Contact or Command won't make a difference here.

6.  I've got a player using Alchemy preps Astrally.  He sacks out back in his high lifestyle apartment while the team does the stuff with the thing.  The rest of the team carries around a bunch of Preps he made, and he tags along Astrally.  Crap physical stats, Huge Mental Stats (Pixies are broken) and Astral Combat.  It works reasonably well.  If the mage doesn't want to tag along, they don't have too.  And I'm here to tell you Mob Control preps are considerably more challenging to deal with than healing preps. 

[Tecumseh]

I'm firmly with Mirikon on this one, largely for reason #4 that Hobbes agrees with. (I've been playing an alchemist for the last 18 months, so I am reasonably familiar with the limitations and the help that alchemy needs.)

As a GM, I don't want my players stocking up on ACME^TM Heal potions before a run for balance reasons and for thematic ones. The way that it's currently written - with a mage that needs to spend an action to trigger the Command preparation, either in person or tagging along via astral projection - is an important piece of balance that prevents the party from outsourcing their healing and drain to a third party.

Everything has a price; for healing, I want that price to be represented in party composition and cooperation. I don't want healing to be a problem that players can wave their credsticks at to instantly make it go away.