Can Alchemy-produced items be purchased like regular potions and items?

Question

I'm looking through the Adventurer's Vault, and there's an Alchemy section which lists items that can be produced by someone with the Alchemist feat, and lists the price of item recipes as well as the item production cost. Later in the book it lists consumable available for purchase.

Can the items in the Alchemy section only be obtained through the Alchemist feat, or can they also be purchased through normal means? For instance, can Alchemist's Fire be obtained by someone in a party in which no one has the Alchemist feat?

Answer 1

Alchemist Items have a rarity just like any other item

It might not be listed in the Adventurer's Vault but all items in 4e were overhauled to have an Item Rarity of Common, Uncommon, and Rare. Common Items can be easily found and purchased. The item rarity rules can be found in the free, downloadable Errata. (The Adventurer's Vault rarity updates are found in the last couple of pages, for instance.) You can look up an Item's rarity quite easily using the D&D 4e Online Compendium. To read the item description you would need an Insider account subscription, but you can find out the rarity without it: you can search freely, and Rarity is one of the columns.

Yes, anyone can purchase Alchemist's fire.

A quick search shows that Alchemist's Fire is common and thus they should be able to find and buy it. Use your judgement as a GM, a small rural village probably won't have it, but a bustling city should have it in stock somewhere.