| d4rkl1gh7 |
I don't strictly speaking get the bomb-only focus.
Did you forget mutagens?
Taking Feral Mutagen at level 2 and savaging a caster boss in 1 turn with my 3 attacks was pretty rad. The mutagen lasts 10min / alchemist level and, unlike potions, only requires your char to set up his brew-shop for 1 hour, no limitations on a "per day" basis.
You can always splash in the classic 1 level fighter to have access to 2h weaponry, get some extra feats like Improved Grapple and become the caster slayer of the party. I mean who cares about 5fs manoeuvers and spells, when the enemy caster is lying on the ground, with your enlarged and buffed-up alter-ego bashing his brains out with its claws?
And if you have access to additional books, there are nice feats to support this, like Eldritch Claws and Deadly Grappler. There are even things that enable you to pounce later on. At which point the BAB loss for Alchemist becomes +/- irrelevant, but you still have access to your occasional bomb on the side, healing etc.
In the meantime, your alchemist discoveries can't substantially improve mutagens until Greater Mutagen at level 12, so you can spend these on infusion and some other fluff stuff. Spontaneous Healing is absurd, so is Healing Touch, Madness Bomb seems sweet, too, or maybe some of the sonic effect bomb for better riot control. Extend potion comes to mind, as it leads to Eternal Potion, which is insane. If you have really no idea what to do with your discoveries, you can go off the deep edge with fluff stuff and take things like Elemental Mutagen, which can get funny at times.
All in all, the mutagen/melee alchemist build is pretty versatile, fun to roleplay and can really come through in some situations. If you're not the bombardier type, but want to mess with dangerous substances, it may be the thing for you.