Chris Crumpler |
Just throwing out some ideas here. I'm about to start a new home-brewed campaign that deals with a lot of wilderness exploration. I had the idea of an alchemist who is always looking for exotic ingredients. But a bomb-chucking, Mr. Hyde-type mad scientist concept doesn't really fit my campaign feel, so I'd rather not use the alchemist class.
So I thought of another class (druid or wizard, perhaps,) who just has lots of ranks in craft: Alchemy. I'm looking for advice or insight on how to make this work with feats and such.
This is not an "optimized" campaign, so any helpful insights on how this is a combat-weak build are not what I'm looking for. I want a good roleplaying character concept.
What say you?
Lord Foul II |
Well
1) you could try to take an archetype that removes the bomb class feature like vivisectionist and replaces mutagen with the thing that increases mental stats (I forget how to spell it)
2) play a wizard or something else int based that has a flavor text relating to more scholarly exploits because
3) see if your dm will let you use some of these http://www.realmshelps.net/magic/items/alchemy.shtml
http://www.realmshelps.net/magic/items/alchemycharms.shtml
http://www.realmshelps.net/magic/items/magicplants.shtml
Lord Foul II |
Next there's flavor/background/RP stuff
You could play a sort of bookish fellow who wants to record and document the various magical and alchemical uses of flora, fauna and mineral and discover and document entirely new wonders
A member of the local assasian's guild who wants a leg up on his competition and wants to use various alchemical reagents to strengthen himself and his poisons
An entrepreneurial cad who wants to find these valuable plants and other reagents and plant them to farm and sell them at a massive upcharge
Baval |
My advice is to use lots of third party. Better Adventuring Through Alchemy, A Necromancer Grimoire: The Wonders of Alchemy, and the 3.0/.5 book Alchemy and Herbalists are some of my recommended books, but there are a lot more. Third party developers have put a lot more love into alchemy than Wizards/Paizo did.
The Necromancers Grimoire: Secrets of the Herbs books are also very fitting for a mundane alchemist, even if the effects are relatively weak
AwesomelyEpic |
My first thought was to sarcastically say Investigator, because it's technically not an alchemist. But, to actually answer your question, you could play a half-elf alchemist with the Bramble Brewer racial archetype. Although it is an alchemist, it is very wilderness-themed, so I feel like it would work.
As for fluff, you can say that this alchemist is searching for rare and exotic ingredients from the wilderness, so they they can experiment with nature.
Joey Cote |
I had a female tiefling fighter with the mutagen warrior archetype with the vestigial wings trait. She took up alchemy because she heard it was possible for those that mastered alchemy to create brews that could do wonderous things. And the one thing she wanted, to make her wings fully functional. She might have trained as a alchemist (class), but she grew up among the guard of Sigil, and she enjoyed getting in the middle of conflict.
Take a fairly high int for the extra skill points and for the bonus to both craft and knowledge skills. No one expects a fighter to be smart and well versed in knowledge.
You can take master alchemist feat at 5th to greatly reduce creation times for alchemy.
Splash weapon mastery lets you hit an extra square with your splash weapons and adds 10' to each range change. You might not want to be a bombs alchemist, but having some bang bang and the ability to use it well can be very helpful.
Quick draw is really nice for throwing splash weapons if the gm is willing to extend the feat to them.
avr |
The alchemical items introduced in the alchemy manual have recipes for their creation listed. If your GM is willing to work with you then you might be able to find the required reagents or suitable substitutes out in the wilderness. If they're not forget that idea, by RAW you can only buy the reagents. There are some feats to improve your ability at making those items.
Drahliana Moonrunner |
Just throwing out some ideas here. I'm about to start a new home-brewed campaign that deals with a lot of wilderness exploration. I had the idea of an alchemist who is always looking for exotic ingredients. But a bomb-chucking, Mr. Hyde-type mad scientist concept doesn't really fit my campaign feel, so I'd rather not use the alchemist class.
The alchemist class isn't locked into that mode of play, especially with archetypes.
zainale |
my alchemist (grenadier) emulates green arrow or hawkeye and most the time turns his bombs into arrows that do elemental damage and is heading towards creating a shotgun with the directed blast ability. he uses his extracts as cure potions and alchemy to create alchemical things he can coat his arrows in.
Fruian Thistlefoot |
Vivisectionist Alchemist
Inspired Blade Swash 1/ Viv Alchemist
Investigator
Inspired Blade Swash 1/Empiricist Investigator X (AkA Swashigator)
Both very skill-y and very rogue like. None Have bombs but you still get extracts to chug which you can flavor up if you like. You can easily Build them not to become some crazy Hyde beast but more a refined science with the grace of a Rapier (or other weapon). They won't be the strongest combat style character but will be effective in most situations with the utility, skills, and half decent combat abilities. I would say the Str Based builds are more combat capable while the dex builds tend to be better in the skills department.