Diving into The Interesting World of The Fantasy Apothecary

A mainstay of fantasy cities, apothecaries are helpful to adventurers and customers alike. This potion-shaped building fantasy apothecary sports blue walls and a purple trim. It has pink windows shaped like potions and a pink door. Above the door is a pink sign that says Treena's Potions & Herbs in red text. Sitting atop the shop is a large potion-sized sign. The bottle is pink but the contents inside are purple with floating pink bits. The shop is in front of a large forest with grass underneath it and a blue sky with several birds flying above it.
Picture of Sunfire

Sunfire

CONTENTS

The Premise

Many fantasy worlds have wild and unusual shops that use a different design than many others, leading them to easily stand out in a crowded place. One such is the fantasy apothecary, which is generally considered a staple of the genre due to it being one place where adventurers and other people buy strange and exotic potions that cure whatever ailments they have.

The fantasy apothecary is a common feature in many stories across all media. While it makes many appearances in novels, it does the same for video games and other visual forms of media. The latter is where it truly shines for viewers get to see it in all its odd glory, what with its overpowering fragrant aromas and the myriad of ingredients used for all of the potions it sells.

One reason why the apothecary is popular in fantasy is that it is so different than many other shops like the general store or bakery. Many apothecaries have a wild decor that sharply clash with its neighbors and their owners have colorful personalities that could make even the most reserved person blush scarlet red.

A fantasy apothecary is among the stops adventurers make when they either enter town or are about to depart. They, alongside with the residents of the town, stock up on both potions and the ingredients needed to make them should they need more. The shop sells all kinds of potions from those that simply recover health to those that instantly cure headaches or give them energy.

It plays an interesting role in the world. Due to what the potions it sells, the apothecary is considered the medieval version of a pharmacy in that these potions help cure customers of whatever’s ailing them. Unfortunately, some of these potions may have some side effects that might lead to another issue down the road.

This is article number ten in the various types of fantasy buildings series. If you want to check out any of our other articles on the website, you can find more on our blog page!

The Oddities of a Fantasy Apothecary

A fantasy apothecary and normal do not go together. Rather, the apothecary is known for its eccentric owner and strange decor that matches its owner’s taste. Despite it, the shop attracts a fair number of patrons who swear that its potions does the trick.

When a traveler enters town for the first time, he can spot the apothecary from afar. This is because the shop itself tends to have an unusual architecture. While most stores are either rectangular or square-shaped, the apothecary can be circular or oval. In some cases, it can be in the shape of a gigantic potion!

A constant flow of steam or other aromas billow out of its chimney or through its windows. Some aromas are pleasant to some people whereas others have a foul stench that permeate the air, making passersby scowl as they hurriedly walk past. The endless stream of aromas is one of the apothecary’s iconic hallmarks.

Fantasy cities are important in the genre. This image depicts a city with a castle on a hilltop above it. The city has both rectangular- and square-shaped buildings with a wavy roof on each one. The buildings come in four colors: light yellow, brown, light blue, and white. The roofs come in the following colors: dark blue, red, light black, and dark brown. Many of these buildings have windows and some have a visible door. The road itself runs down the middle of the image, swaying to the right and then the left, ending at the doorstep of the castle. The road also meets two others, one that runs to the left, and the other to the right. Behind the city is a grassy field with blades of grass scattered throughout. A river cuts through the field, meandering from the left edge to the right edge of the image. The castle itself is white with gray shadows. It has four red turrets and diamond-shaped windows. The sky above is a bright blue with two white clouds. Some birds are flying on the left side, above the castle, and the right side.

Moving into the inside, the decor is a reflection of its owner. Since many who own and manage apothecaries tend to be eccentric individuals who wear colorful clothes, the decor of the shop they run follow suit. Some apothecaries are wreathed in vivid pink, deep green, or another color.

Besides the color of the walls and floor, a fantasy apothecary has many objects you don’t come across in many other stores. Objects such as the eye of newts, crocodile teeth, and the blood of a bat populate the store, adding to its odd appearance. Customers experience a whole range of emotions such as disgust or curiosity as their eyes survey the objects.

Some apothecaries have a brewing station where their customers can brew the objects they just purchased into a cauldron available for them though the owners will ask that they clean them when they’re done. The brewing station lets customers experiment or fine-tune their potions right in the shop so they can grab whatever else they need to make it work.

The Potions a Fantasy Apothecary Sells

The reason why people, both travelers and locals, go to an apothecary is because it has something that will fix whatever ailment they have. Many fantasy worlds are teeming with dangers, from wild animals to barbarians, and the shop carries a wide assortment of potions that are designed to cure them.

There are many different kinds of potions — it would take forever to list every kind of potion — so only those that are the most likely to be used will be mentioned here. The most popular one, one that appears in many stories within the genre, is used to recover health. The health-replenishing potion is especially useful on the road when adventurers are far away from the safety of civilization though it can be used as a quick pick-me-up.

Besides health, energy-revitalizing potions are a mainstay in a fantasy apothecary. These powerful concoctions give people renewed vigor so that they can work longer or have more energy to do what they need to do. This type of potion is aimed at everyone though for those who have physically-demanding jobs like mining, this brew will work wonders for them! 

A glass with a cork on top that holds a red potion that heals the life of the user.

Not surprisingly, vicious beats with saliva dripping from their fangs roam the countryside. Some bites can prove fatal as their fangs are filled with poison. Fortunately, there are potions for poison or animal bites that can stop them before it becomes fatal though they need to be consumed within a period of time after being bit in order to work.

On the darker side of things, some potions can be used for evil. One such is the one that turns the user completely invisible. This concoction enables thieves and assassins to infiltrate the target and do their job without anyone being the wiser. However, due to this great power the invisibility potion is only effective for a specific period of time until its effects wear off and its user becomes visible once again.

There’s also a whole bevy of potions that a fantasy apothecary sells. Some make the user taller than normal, others turn them into other people or animals. Not every apothecary carries all the same concoctions so if there’s a certain one you’re looking for, you’ll have to do some searching until you find the right one. 

The Fantasy Apothecary’s Role in the World

With all the power simmering within the liquid confines of a bottle, a fantasy apothecary carries great power in the world, one that surpasses many other buildings. Whenever a customer buys a potion, especially for the first time, the shopkeeper informs him of the effects, both good and bad and that he can’t be held responsible for whatever bad effects arise. Ultimately, it’s the customer’s responsibility.

Since it sells potions that cure a person’s ailments, the apothecary is the medieval predecessor to the modern pharmacy. It is for this reason that many locals and travelers make a stop to this place whenever they have an illness or feel sluggish so that they can quickly get back to normal.

A red grassy field with a river splitting off into two. Red hills and a mountain are in the background. Above them is a green sky with oval clouds. The river represents how synopsis vs. summary wind up at the same destination.

Though the fantasy apothecary’s interior decoration may be off-putting and its owner is one of the most eccentric people in town, the owner is well-versed in brewing. Indeed, many people go in to ask him or her questions, confident that they’ll be answered.

Though it may not play a pivotal role in the story, it contributes to the world in a significant way. For instance, either the owner or his employees have the kn0w-how to brew concoctions that can change people’s lives but they need ingredients to make it happen. They have to collect them which means they have to travel abroad to grab them.

Some owners have a burning drive to forge new frontiers in potion-making. They wish to invent new ones that will take the world by storm and they dedicate countless hours in experimenting with different ingredients until they find just the right combination. In order to make it happen, they have to find and use rare, exotic ingredients typically found in hard-to-reach places or those teeming with danger.

Tying it all Together

There’s a reason why the fantasy apothecary appears in many worlds across the genre. Basically every town and major city in the world has one, enabling their residents to get a pick-me-up whenever they don’t feel good. Though they may find the owner a bit too odd for their taste, they can’t deny that the potions he sells aren’t effective.

The apothecary has a wild and unusual design that makes it stand out. The design accentuates its owner’s odd taste while making it abundantly clear what it is. People instantly know what it is when they see it from afar and they aren’t surprised that when they step in, the interior is equally as wild as the exterior.

Demonstrating his deep knowledge of brewing potions, the owner sells a wide array of concoctions, all of which does something different than the others. Some instantly restores health, others energy, and so on. Rarer ones focus on soothing wounds or drawing out poison from being bitten by a vicious beast.

The fantasy apothecary has a role in the world that no other building does. It is where people go to to buy a potion that will cure them of whatever’s ailing them. But to make it happen, the owner has to get his hands on the ingredients needed to brew them which means he has to do a fair deal of traveling throughout the year to keep his store full of supplies.

If you haven’t given much thought to including an apothecary in your world, there’s no better time to start than now!

Let me know what you think in the comments below. (Note: this is an account-exclusive feature).

If you don’t have one, you can register here. It only takes a few moments of your time!

Liked this article and want to subscribe? All you have to do is fill out the form below and that’s it!

Thanks for reading this and until the next time,

Sunfire

DON'T MISS A POST!

Subscribing means you receive:

  • notifications when a new post’s up!
  • our monthly newsletter!

You can always unsubscribe anytime.

Share

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Print
Subscribe
Notify of

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
Scroll to Top

Join US

Do you want to build the fantasy world you’ve always dreamed of?

Subscribe to receive notifications when a new post is out and for our monthly newsletter! 

You can always unsubscribe anytime.