A liquid concoction that had a magical (or seemingly magical) effect on its drinker. Although potions are generally regarded as the stuff of fantasy, many would regard poison as a category of potion, and indeed, both words have the same origin (the Latin word potio, meaning a drink).

Potions in Knightmare were clue objects (with the exception of those that appeared as set dressing, e.g. on Hordriss' desk in Series 4, and Rothberry the apothecary's stall in Series 7). Coloured liquids in transparent or translucent containers, they tended to have labels (either on the container or as a tag) which hinted at their function (though again, there are exceptions: see definition below). Potions, like spells, were usually intended to magically extricate a dungeoneer from a tricky or dangerous predicament.

There follows a list of the potions that currently have Lexicon entries:

Poison (Series 2, 4, 5)
Unnamed 'Potion' (Series 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - see below)
"Etruscan brandy" (Series 4)
Impurity (Series 5)
SHIELD (Series 6)
Ugly Potion (Series 6)
True Sight (Series 6, Series 7)
Grimlock (Series 7)
Troll Wine (Series 7)
Healing Potion (Series 7)
Nightsight (Series 7)
Shadow (Series 7)
Goblin Juice (Series 7)
Stonepower (Series 7)
Dragonsbreath (Series 7)
Starclimb (Series 7)
True Seeing (Series 7)
Catnip (Series 7)
Speedwell (Series 7)
Fireproof (Series 7)
Homer (Series 7)
Freezer (Series 7)
Fast Backwards (Series 7)
Fearsome Potion (Series 8)
Sight (Series 8)
Invisibility (Series 8)
Trapdoor (Series 8)
Risky (Series 8)
flying potion (Series 8)
Fireball Brandy (Series 8)
fast potion (Series 8)
Beauty (Series 8)

As illustrated above, Series 7 featured more potions, both used and unused, than any other season.

Containers that held a substance that worked by scent or through the air (e.g. Sniff in Team 6 of Series 1's quest, Small in Team 3 of Series 4's quest, Paladin in Team 6 of Series 8's quest) are a grey area: if they worked without being drunk, arguably they were not technically potions. They were, for want of a better word, more like perfumes.

Knightmare gamebook The Sorcerer's Isle featured a so-called Potion of Rust, though it was not a drink as such.

[Earlier versions: 2007-11-09 17:57:34, 2006-09-07 16:26:03]

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On various occasions, a clue object potion was simply labelled 'Potion'. While this may seem unimaginative, it had unforeseen consequences in one quest.

Team 7 of Series 2 took a potion from the Level 1 clue room and gave it to Mildread, who said it would come in useful for flavouring her cooking, even though it was implied that she would have preferred a bone.
Team 11 of Series 2 had the option of taking an unnamed potion from the Level 1 clue room, but declined because they had misread the label as 'POISON'! The potion was an offering that would have appeased Lillith, and without it she did not let the team proceed. "If you can't read labels, then you can't read the writing on the wall," Treguard told them.
Team 1 of Series 3 also came across an unnamed potion in the clue room of Level 1, but decided to take it. Dungeoneer Gavin perished in quicksand before the opportunity arose to put the liquid to use. With no clue as to its function, perhaps this too was needed as a gift for someone else.One of the first clue objects seen in Series 6 (i.e. Level 1 of Quest 1) was a corked green bottle labelled 'POTION'. The team chose to leave it behind; though even if they'd picked it up, it may have remained unused, since the team completed the level using only one of their two clue objects.

Various unnamed potions were associated with Hordriss. He asked Team 1 of Series 5 to collect a sphinx's shin bone for him, as an ingredient for a potion he was concocting. He mentioned this potion again to Team 4 of Series 5, who gave him the sphinx bone they had picked up. One series earlier, Hordriss had asked Team 5 of Series 4 to retrieve a potion of his in Level 3. The potion he gave to Dickon during the following quest, although passed off as "fifty-year-old Etruscan brandy", was not formally named either, but at least its effect was seen.

Rothberry the apothecary, a man of potions by trade, dealt with various brews that lacked specific names. In Quest 4 of Series 8, a "put-me-down" and a "pick-me-up" were mentioned: Rothberry had confused the former with the latter, taken it, and ended up depressed.

[Earlier version: 2006-09-07 16:25:24]

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