In Final Fantasy XII, the Research Notes are a series of notes that appear in eight monster entries in the Bestiary of the Clan Primer.
Adamantite[]
- Gained by defeating Adamantitan
Before the advent of alloys made by Man, adamantite was for many years the strongest metal known. Even today its quality and strength are peerless, save for a handful of rare alloys. That is why they tell of the fool who swallowed a shard of adamantite, only to have it cut its way out of his belly. A salutary tale, to be sure!
Ambrosia[]
- Gained by defeating Necrophobe
The Athenaeum, one of the few respectable institutes of research into Ivalice's past, has released notes on the effects of the rare substance known as ambrosia. Though liquid, the ambrosia collected from the creature known as the necrophobe is so light as to be almost vapor. All ancient records agree on its fantastic efficacy in the healing of wounds and the prevention of aging. According to the new report, however, it is the powerful hallucinatory effects of this substance that create these perceived benefits.
Damascus steel[]
- Gained by defeating Bune
Engrave naked steel with this special pattern, work magicks into the steel over several days, and it will transform into the never-rusting alloy known as Damascus steel. This tempering process works only with steel, and is utterly ineffectual when applied to other metals. This is due to the presence of the power of Earth within steel, and being neither too abundant nor too sparse, and accounts for the recent rise in metal's price.
Foul Liquid[]
- Gained by defeating Great Malboro
The question of how exactly malboros produce their infamous bad breath has puzzled researchers for generations. A situation made all the more frustrating by the knowledge that understanding the production process would be the first step toward creating a neutralizing agent, not to mention adapting the stench for military use. However, years of painstaking inquiry have revealed only that the noxious fumes emanate from the foul liquid that constitutes the creature's saliva: a substance which can be manufacted by no means known to man.
Mystletainn[]
- Gained by defeating Golem
Those vines and other parasitic plants that attach themselves upon the golem draw from them their hatred and thus grow eventually becoming mystletainn, a word meaning "stricken by catastrophe" in the language of the woodland peoples. It is widely believed that without the proper purifications, mystletainn calls misfortune upon its bearer, and has the power to kill with magicks. So do those who approach golems unwarily, and carry home what they find, condemn themselves to a grisly, ensorceled death, bewailing their fate with their final breaths.
Orichalcum[]
- Gained by defeating Deidar
A certain kind of metal is always used when making statues of protection. This orichalcum is a curious metal indeed, ever burning with a cold flame. That it appears as a flame, in fact, has led to the belief that orichalcum has no true substance...but combine an incandescent flame with the cool-burning flame of the metal, and the energy given off as a result will be quite real enough to convince even the stubbornest skeptic. This is the power that moves the statues.
Putrid Liquid[]
- Gained by defeating Malboro Overking
Completed phase three of inquiry into nature of putrid breath. Unable to annul stench, though have developed several deodorant solutions of passable strength, and three fragrances withal, such as may be marketable with further refinement. Indeed, three of my most experienced researchers have joined a small venture marketing these scents, and so spend their days mixing, culling, and sniffing. They have even achieved some measure of financial success with a particular fragrance derived from putrid liquid, the public being none the wiser! I know not if I will see them in my laboratory again.
Scarletite[]
- Gained by defeating Emeralditan
The oldest chronicles relate the properties of a rare metal called scarletite. In an age when men lived under the watchful guard of the gods, the gods granted them scarletite, for they were favored of their creators. Modern alchemy has to date failed to reproduce this metal, lending credit to the theory that the gods did exist, and are not merely the inventions of a devout imagination. Only by mixing with other metals and lowering the purity of this substance may it be worked with modern tools.