I don't mean the Wizard batman. That's too easy. I mean I wanna play a Gnome Grenadier with the Master Tinkerer racial feature and focus on utilizing alchemical items and a golfbag of weapons. So I'm going through, assessing what's there. I wanted to share it with you guys, and solicit your thoughts on what items are useful.
I also want to assess what effectively having "Weapon Proficiency: Everything" gives you, I want to discuss tactics involving these items/weapons, and what supporting choices (feats, etc) are recommended.
Right now I just have a list of the items going with some breif notes. Will discuss how the Hybridization Funnel and Alchemical Weapon change some of these, then list weapons, then get into tactics later.
Alchemical Remedies:
- ALCHEMICAL GREASE. Great for spellcasters, and also vs enemies with Swallow Whole. It's also something to apply if you think you're going to be captured. +5 to avoid/escape grapples is no joke.
- ALCHEMIST'S KINDNESS. Fluff item.
- ANTIPLAGUE. +5 to resist disease and/or allow a second roll to shake it off. Excellent if you know you're facing mummies or going into the sewers at low level.
- ANTITOXIN. +5 to resist poison. Not only is this preventive, it's curative. If you are poisoned, you can take this to better shake off the poison.
- BLADEGUARD. Make a weapon immune to rusting. If you're facing a Rust Monster, it's necessary. Otherwise, meh.
- FIRE WARD GEL. Give Fire Resistance 5 for 20 damage. If it didn't take a minute to apply I'd say it was really useful.
- FROST WARD GEL. Give Cold Resistance 5 for 20 damage. Same as above.
- MEDITATION TEA. +2 vs Mind-Effecting effects for 10 minutes. An excellent item, especially for Fighty McFighter. Fact: Bluff your party's fighter into thinking that drinking the tea will instantly attack/kill any of his party members. When the enemy Wizard commands him to "attack his allies" then he'll drink the tea.
- PADZAHR. When you get (Greater) Restoration this becomes useless. But I could see some situations, especially early level
- SMELLING SALTS. Always, always keep some of these. Give them to your monkey familiar to use on you/other people if necessary. It's cheap, it doesn't deplete, and when its useful it's golden. If someone drops your healer, you can use this to wake them up and let them use their standard action to heal themselves, for instance. Or just to negate a sleep spell.
- SOOTH SYRUP. +5 vs Nauseated / Sickened is nice but... too rare to bother buying it.
- SOUL STIMULANT. Eh. Temporarily negating one negative doesn't sound worth 300gp.
- TWITCH TONIC. If you ever fight a ghoul, you will thank the stars for this item. Otherwise, use Smelling Salts.
- VERMIN REPELLENT. Eh... Swarm Suits are better.
Alchemical Tools:
- ALCHEMICAL CEMENT. It's quick-drying cement for 5g! I'm sure there are uses. Like making cement shoes or encasing an object.
- ALCHEMICAL GLUE. Superglue for 20g. It has a million and one uses, the least of which is gluing doors and containers shut. Mix it with some artificial flavoring and make a dragon eat it to muck up its spell-casting and breath weapon. If you know that rogue you're escorting will break free of his manacles, glue them to him. Glue a warrior's sword to his scabbard or his platemail on and just wait for him to need to use the bathroom. Think like a prankster.
- ALCHEMICAL GLUE ACCELERANT. 20g This lets the above shennanigans work in combat time. This lets you do things like have the fighter pin someone and then glue them together. Or glue someone's feet to the floor. Or fill a burlap sack with glue and then throw it over someone's head... bonus points if it closes by pulling a string.
- ALCHEMICAL SOLVENT. 20g... It's something to keep on you just in case, but is largely useless.
- ARMOR OINTMENT. ...Meh? Lowers ACP by 1. If you absolutely need every possible bonus to that stealth check.
- BLACKFIRE CLAY. A fluff item, mostly. If you need heat but don't want light for some reason, such as if you're hiding and don't want the smoke to trail to you, then this stuff is gold. Otherwise, just keep one on you just in case. 20g for 10 uses isn't bad returns, however.
- BLOODBLOCK. Dedicated healers really don't need this.
- BUOYANT BALLOON. I'm not sure if this only works in water. It's one of those things you bring en-masse if you know you're going to need it (going underwater, retrieving treasure, et cetera). If it also works in the air, you can actually make some pretty hilarious traps with them.
- CANDLEROD. Sure. Just have the magic folk cast light.
- CASTING PLASTER. It's 5g, keep some on you just in case.
- CHILL CREAM. Its duration is too low to even be useful in the desert.
- DEFOLIANT. Excellent splash weapon vs plant creatures. Otherwise, it's one of those items you'll be glad to have every once in a while.
- EMBALMING FLUID. One of those things you'll be really glad to have that one time per campaign it comes up.
- FOAMING POWDER. A great tool in and out of combat. Take several pounds of powder, wrap it in a breakable flask of water, then throw it somewhere. Suddenly you have a growing patch of difficult terrain. You can also use it to do things like dam rivers.
- GLOWING INK. Combine with marker dye to make targets easy to see in the dark. Otherwise, fluff item.
- IMPACT FOAM. A wand of featherfall is cheaper.
- INVISIBLE INK. Great for political intrigue. Also for identifiers. "This ink only reveals when exposed to a cursed item," for instance.
- LIGHT DETECTOR. Used largely for what is said in the fluff.
- MARKER DYE. Mark enemies or items. Potentially in invisible or glowing dye.
- MENDING PASTE. A wand of Mending is cheaper.
- NUSHADIR. Here's one for GMs--fill a room with Nushadir water. Force DC 10 Fort saves every round or be nauseated. Otherwise, meh.
- RUSTING POWDER. Useful when you really have to Disable some Device and need that +5.
- SCENT CLOAK. Useful when you know someone is tracking you by scent. Otherwise... why?
- SMOKE PELLET. Have your familiar ready an action to throw this at an enemy who attacks or an ally who is attacked. This grants concealment, and delaying allows the smoke to be gone fast enough to not interfere with your party's actions. Great item, especially vs the BBEG.
- SMOKE STICK. Fog cloud, the item! Love these. You can provide concealment to hide. You can muck up attacks. You can make fast getaways. You can separate ranged attackers. A million and one uses.
- SUNROD. For when you don't have the Light spell.
- TINDERTWIG. I usually just use flint. But hey, they're cheap.
- WATER PURIFICATION SPONGE. Eh. Purify Food and Water is a thing. If you really need it, sure.
- WEAPON BLANCH. Amazing on ammunition. Meh on melee weapons. If you can use it on Pellet Grenades, it's cheaper to do so than to actually buy the metallic versions of them.
Alchemical Weapons:
- ACID. My personal bread and butter splash weapon, simply because it only costs 10 gold. IMO, everyone should carry some on them entirely for the sake of swarms.
- ALCHEMIST'S FIRE. The old tried and true. For people who aren't Alchemists, it's twice the damage (of acid) for twice the cost. It's straightforward damage with the possibility of also lighting things on fire. Non-Alchemists should keep a few of these on hand for spellcasters, swarms, et cetera.
- ALKALI FLASK. The ultimate anti-ooze for Alchemists. Other classes should skip this unless they -know- they are facing Oozes.
- BANSHEE BALLERINA FIREWORK. Automatic deafness, no save. It's great as a distraction, but the enemy's ability to move out of the squares and its 75g pricetag limits its usefulness.
- BOTTLED LIGHTNING. Less damage than an Alchemist's Fire, doesn't apply the Alchemist's Int to damage, and has twice the cost. Unless you need sonic / lightning damage, skip this.
- BURST JAR. Hybridization and Alchemical Weapon make this gold for Alchemists. Otherwise it's guaranteed deafness with a small chance to also stun. Keep a few on hand.
- FLAME FOUNTAIN FIREWORK. If it cost about 40 or less, I'd say go for it. Otherwise, it's really only useful low-strength characters who are in melee, or against creatures with massive (Natural) Armor and/or who are weak to fire.
- FLASH POWER. This is an amazing item, but throwing it against the ground is about the absolute last way you want to use it. Nothing stops you from wrapping them around ranged weapons (flasks or arrows, for instance) allowing you to add its effect to those weapons. Nothing stops you from setting it up before hand and then igniting the area with an alchemist's fire. You can even set it up as a trap, springing when someone walks on it, or in response to closing a door... opening a window, et cetera. It's best if you Sicken/Intimidate the foe first, but I wouldn't go through the trouble just to set this up, but it's a nice ancillary benefit.
- FUSE GRENADE. It costs 100g. Not worth it when Pellet Grenades exist and are more reliable.
- GHAST RETCH FLASK. They automatically apply the Sickened condition to the person hit and everyone around them for 3 and 1 round, respectively. They also have a small chance of nauseating the main target. This is a great set-up item to be nearly guaranteed to lower someone's saves, attack, damage, et cetera.
- HOLY WATER. Anti-Ghost. Otherwise, Alchemist's Fire is cheaper and more effective.
- ITCHING POWDER. There are cheaper options that are flat-out better.
- KEROS OIL. Maximum range of 5ft so you always provoke. Standard action to light it. Chance to harm yourself. Low damage. What's to like?
- LIQUID BLADE. Cool, thematic assassin weapon that's easy to conceal/hide/explain away.. I could see this used by the GM for that reason. Otherwise, meh.
- LIQUID ICE. You don't buy it for use as a splash weapon. You buy it for its use freezing liquids. Fighting enemies on a boat, and they are under water? Throw a Liquid Ice and turn all their squares into an ice cube (I'm not sure how this would actually function mechanically). In a trapped room with water flooding in? Throw a Liquid Ice and seal up the hole. Need to cross a river of lava? Throw a bunch of Liquid Ice to dam it up and force it to cool. Freeze the enemy's scabbard or their spell component pouch. Hell, make a bridge out of Ice. It has a million and one uses, few of them directly combat oriented. I wouldn't stock up on a lot of them, but I'd have a few.
- PAPER CANDLE FIREWORK. It's a 1gp distraction. That's very useful, but don't expect more from it.
- PELLET GRENADE. 50gp for a 3d6 damage fireball. I'll take it. They make for excellent mook-clearers up until ~level 7, especially if thrown en-masse. While Alchemists and Arcanists have better options, they make for great backups if the melee types find themselves stranded or the party is out of spellslots, etc. A group of four adventurers can, on average, instantly kill up to CR 3 enemies by using them all at once. Throw in an Alchemist with a Tumor Familiar also throwing one and you can go up to CR 4 or 5. Also, you can poison Pellet Grenades, allowing for one dose of poison to apply to everyone in the radius.
- SHARD GEL. Low damage, and more expensive than alchemist's fire. That said, you use them primarily to block charge lanes. This is particularly effective if done as a readied action. This can force the enemy to keep at a distance.
- SKYROCKET FIREWORK. I don't know what happens if they strike a surface or person early. Assuming that causes them to detonate, they are a good option to use in an ambush. Unless the enemies have Evasion / Fire Resistance, it's guaranteed to either blind or deafen them, and it's easy enough to light two or three of them at once.
- SNEEZING POWDER. See Itching Powder.
- STAR CANDLE FIREWORK. These are really best used as a trap or as an ambush. Pre-aim them at the enemy, or just set like 20 of them underneat the BBEG's chair. Set them all off at once. You can hypothetically kill anyone not immune to their damage if you set enough of them up... and hey, 100g gets you 20 (or 60) of them. Also, they're good for signaling.
- STARFOUNTAIN FIREWORK. They cost 500g... If it didn't have the random duration, I'd say it was brilliant. As with all fireworks, its best if you ambush someone or have someone stealthy set it up in advance.
- TANGLEBURN BAG. If you have infinite money, these are fantastic. Otherwise, hybridize a Tanglefoot Bag and an Alchemist's Fire or a Tar Bomb. Otherwise, see Tanglefoot Bag.
- TANGLEFOOT BAG. Excellent item. Entangled is a horrible condition. It limits mobility, prevents spellcasting, and debuffs AC and to-hit. It's expensive, so it isn't something to spam, but it's definitely useful.
- THUNDERSTONE. Burst Jars are normally the better option. However, Thunderstones are an AoE and basically can't ever miss. I'd give everyone one or two so you can spam them against an enemy caster or an enemy with Blindsight.
Herbs, Oils, and Other Substances:
- OIL. Good thing to dump on the floor and set on fire later. I've used it so many times at lower levels its not even funny. Can also be used to be slippery.
- BOMB LAUNCHER. I wouldn't spam them, but keep a few on hand for when you need to lob a bomb a great distance.
- WOUNDWEAL. A great, if situational poison. Definately something to put on a Pellet Bomb. DC 18 Fort Save is no joke until post-10.
- GOLDEN MAPLE LEAVES. +1 DC is potentially great. I'm not sure if it's worth the cost though.
- PESH. Addictive, but 15 Temporary Hitpoints can make the difference against a big bad early on.
- ALCHEMICAL COAL. These actually make for a great injested poison. Their breath weapons suck, however.
- ALCHEMICAL PRESERVES. If UMD works on alchemical items, then this is the reason your Barbarians take UMD.
- TAR BOMB. A cheap way to set people on fire.
- UNSTABLE ACCELERANT. It's 50gp for +1d6 damage (+1d6+1 at level 10), single use. Honestly? Meh.
Other Items:
- PSUEDODRAGON. Get one of these per person who doesn't have a familiar. Load them up with Touch Injections and have them ride around on your front-liners. Suddenly, buffing doesn't take actions.
Supporting Choices:
- MONKEY FAMILIAR. It can use items without taking away your actions! And it has a million and one other uses. Improved Familiar opens up other options.
- QUICK DRAW. So you can use all those items.
- GRENADIER. Being an alchemist lets you add your Int mod to damage. Being a Grenadier lets you apply offensive alchemical items to weapons, even the weapons of friends.
- HYBRIDIZATION FUNNEL. Combine two liquid-based splash weapons. It's absolute gold later on, and changes the game enough to get its own section down the road.
- POWER OF SUGGESTION. So many uses... it's not even funny. I'm not sure it does anything you can't already do with a Bluff or Disguise roll though.
You want to get the Gunsmithing Feat and churn out kegs of black powder at 100gp a pop. That's cheaper than the 112.5 per charge on a basic (caster level 5) Wand of Fireballs you craft yourself, does the same damage to the same radius, and has a 1 higher DC to save against. Plus you can do it (ca$h not withstanding) at level one. The keg is less portable, but can be set to blow things as you light the line of powder leading from it and run. You may want the ability to cast the Spark cantrip, and maybe an Unseen Servant or two to carry the kegs where you want them (blobs of force aren't technically suicide bombers, right?).
Of course, for a real 'utility belt' feel to the character, go for a halfling with the Well-Prepared Feat... 'An animal training harness for a winged monkey you say? I just so happen to have one right here in my pocket...'
Heretic Inquisitor of Korada or Irori, with the Black Powder Inquisition.
The Bestow Weapon Proficiency spell will cover any proficiency needs you desire.
Later, you can nab a Transformative Wizard Hook with the Guided enchantment, which will give you a light weapon of any kind, that you will automatically be proficient with, and can use wisdom for attack rolls and damage.
Nab a Hand Crossbow will Grappling Hook Bolts.
Stick a number of ranks into Craft:Alchemy.
This combo will give an unarmed combat feel, proficiency with firearms, powerful intimidation skills, a universal proficiency with weapons, stealth skills, and various of skills.
Two levels in the Thug Rogue archetype will empower your intimidation skills, and you can nab the Rogue Talent: Ninja Trick to pick up the Smoke Bomb Ninja Trick.
