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Search these threads for 'alchemist builds' or 'alchemist guides'. Also Jiggy did a nice 'first time players' thread that I will try and find a link for you.
Play what you want to play and if int and dex are needed for your alchemist, they are the most important. A lot of people suggest having at least +1 in con regardless of class. I prefer not to dump stats, but they can be fun characters to play. Just remember where the penalties will hit you (str: encumbrance, con: hp, wis: will saves, cha: ...) if you do. If you do dump one of these you can choose a race to bring them back up, but most likely you will choose a race that adds to int or dex.
Venture-Lieutenant, Florida—Melbourne
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Starting equipment thou will want is some light armor, probably studded leather and maybe a buckler. Get a cheap ranged weapon and melee weapon to start with since your primary weapon is your bombs. Get some a couple of acid flasks for backup and holy water if you can afford it. Both are very effective in the hands of an alchemist since you get to add your Int to damage with them. Later pick up Liquid Ice, Defoliant and Alkyli for some variation.
Lava Gnomes make good Alchemist. I have worked one up to 12th level in PFS. Half-Orcs, Tieflings, Elves, Humans and Half-Elves (Bramble Brewer looks kind of fun) all make good Alchemists. You Int is more important than you Dex as you are going against touch AC so hitting isn'tt a problem. Int effects bomb DCs, damage, number of bombs, number of extracts, skills and some discoveries.
I usually recommend taking either Precise Bombs or Infusion as your first discovery as both will make the other players a lot happier.
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So far this is the character i have made.
any suggestions?** spoiler omitted **...
I'd drop your charisma a bit so you get a bit more con. Nothing sucks more than a dead character.
As you are going primarily int based, I would suggest mind chemist. Grenadier also works well if you want a more ranged weapon focus. Strangely mind chemists are the bomb and splash specialists in pfs and grenadiers are more xbow/bow specialists.
Splash weapon mastery is incredibly good for a alchemist. Extra splash area is awesome, as is control over misses and far shot. For example, alchemical weapons only have a range increment of 10 and your bombs 20, which is SMALL. For example in the last mod I think I tended to attack targets that were 30-50 feat away, and some as far as 100 feat away. So Splash weapon mastery reduced my penalties between 1 and 5. I don't think I ever attacked without a penalty for range in the entire mod. I also rolled some ones to hit and I was able to splash enemies for 8 damge due to my control over the misses. Lastly, it virtually always lets you hit targets with splash damage that are flanked without endangering party members. It was surprisingly effective, but then again I strictly am a splash weapon alchemist so I was using the feat each and every turn.
Long shot was very helpful as well, as it let me use alchemical weapons up to 100 feat and bombs up to 150feet.
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Click here.
to go to the thread from two days ago with 60+ posts on building an Alchemist...
My comments/suggestions are there.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Florida—Melbourne
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I'd drop your charisma a bit so you get a bit more con. Nothing sucks more than a dead character.So far this is the character i have made.
any suggestions?** spoiler omitted **...
I am sure he wants the 11 CHA so he can use his gnome spell-like abilities. If he is a Lava Gnome he gets Produce Flame, which at low levels is a nice backup when you run out of bombs.
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Yes 11 cha is great if you are a gnome. I would look at the Pryomaniac to get your bombs 1 level 1 higher in usage.
I would dump str and not dump con. After racial bonuses I would suggets you have 7 str then bump con to 14. Your gear is lighter too. So you do not need to carry as much.
I think a half-orc with an int bonus is a touch better at bombing. But gnome flavor is awesome.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Florida—Melbourne
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I am sure he wants the 11 CHA so he can use his gnome spell-like abilities. If he is a Lava Gnome he gets Produce Flame, which at low levels is a nice backup when you run out of bombs.I'd drop your charisma a bit so you get a bit more con. Nothing sucks more than a dead character.So far this is the character i have made.
any suggestions?** spoiler omitted **...
yes i wanted the gnome like abilities.
since this is my first ever RPG game character i thought it would be fun.
i am just unsure mostly about what gear is needed in the beginning as a starting character.also do not know if i am going to be support or ranged....but using wands and throwing bombs sounds really fun.
If you pick up the Infusion Discovery at second level you should be able to do both. I have a Lava Gnome Alchemist (Grenadier) in PFS that has reached 12th level and he uses most of his Infusions on other people as he simply doesn't need the buffs beyond his mutagen and Wings Discovery most of the time. The gnome favored class option for Alchemists helps make sure he doesn't run out of bombs, though once I got Fast Bombs and Rapid Shot at 8th it does still happen.
My starting stats were ST 5, DX 16, CN 14, IN 18, WS 7, CH 11. I DO NOT recommend these stats for a new player and would probably change them if I did it over again. The 5 Strength is actually not that bad. It just requires a lot of work to deal with. But the 7 Wisdom has almost gotten party members killed on several occasions thanks to Dominate. I ended up getting a +5 Cloak of Resistance, bumped my Wisdom to 8 at 12th and picked up Iron Will and it is still risky, so I tend to drink a lot of Potions of Protection from Evil. I hit on almost anything but a natural 1 and I can reroll that once a day thanks to the alternate racial trait, Eternal Hope.
I’m starting up an Alchemist as well, so I am in the same position as you.
Even though my experience so far with the class is little, I would recommend that you drop your STR before dropping your WIS. I am not a fan of stat dumping in general, especially with STR, but I think it’s better than dropping your WIS to 8. You will be taking a -1 on Will saves and will not receive your first +1 to Will until 3rd level. A low Will save can not only be lethal to yourself, but to your party members. I actually took Indomitable Faith and am afraid it still won’t be enough for me (no WIS modifier).
Have fun! I know I’m really looking forward to playing my Alchemist this Sunday. :)
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I think a half-orc with an int bonus is a touch better at bombing. But gnome flavor is awesome.Half-orcs and Tieflings can do more damage with their bombs, especially splash damage, but gnomes can get more bombs. Not quite sure which is better.Also gnomes have an additional +1 to hit and AC due to size. Doesn't seem like much but just hitting and just getting missed can mean a lot.
I went with half-orc for the weapon use and just rolled up a tiefling to see how the differences play out. Gotta say though darkvision at low levels is very useful.
Also, reduce person is great for small sized characters. In addition to the +2 to hit, you get to use tiny sized rules. These give you a large bonus to CMB, stealth, climb and swim. Plus, just being tiny itself has bonuses. Last session I was using a line of bricks I made as cover.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Florida—Melbourne
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I think a half-orc with an int bonus is a touch better at bombing. But gnome flavor is awesome.Half-orcs and Tieflings can do more damage with their bombs, especially splash damage, but gnomes can get more bombs. Not quite sure which is better.Also gnomes have an additional +1 to hit and AC due to size. Doesn't seem like much but just hitting and just getting missed can mean a lot.
I went with half-orc for the weapon use and just rolled up a tiefling to see how the differences play out. Gotta say though darkvision at low levels is very useful.
Lava Gnomes get Darkvision and a +1 level bump on fire bomb damage dice.
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isn't the CMB adjustment for tiny a penility? -2 I thoughtAlso, reduce person is great for small sized characters. In addition to the +2 to hit, you get to use tiny sized rules. These give you a large bonus to CMB, stealth, climb and swim. Plus, just being tiny itself has bonuses. Last session I was using a line of bricks I made as cover.I think a half-orc with an int bonus is a touch better at bombing. But gnome flavor is awesome.Half-orcs and Tieflings can do more damage with their bombs, especially splash damage, but gnomes can get more bombs. Not quite sure which is better.Also gnomes have an additional +1 to hit and AC due to size. Doesn't seem like much but just hitting and just getting missed can mean a lot.
I went with half-orc for the weapon use and just rolled up a tiefling to see how the differences play out. Gotta say though darkvision at low levels is very useful.
Dex to CMB and a -2 penalty. Most characters who go tiny have at most a 10 str, so it's all good there. For example, my alchemist's cmb goes up by 6 when Tiny.
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quick question as a gnome do my bombs do 1d4 damage or 1d6 ?
in other words does me being a small character affect the damage of my bombs?
Nope they are same. I can see the question as they are referred to specifically as weapons but nope the answer is small and medium characters bomb the for the same damage.
Dont shortchange your gnome. ;)|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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What equipment do you have already?
Some basics:
-Masterwork weapon
-Masterwork armor (or even mithral shirt, if your Dex is going to get that high)
-Boro bead (reuse one of your 1st level extracts)
-Backup weapon (a cold iron morningstar and silver dagger are good choices)
-Oil of magic weapon
- +1 Cloak of Resistance
- +1 armor
- +1 Ring of Protection
- +1 Amulet of Natural Armor
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Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento
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I went with mithral shirt, not just because of the high dex cap, but also the 0 armor check penalty, and the 1/2 weight (which helps a lot for keeping me lightly encumbered.)
If you have the animal archive and Bestiary 3, consider a (combat trained) giant gecko as a mount. You can ride on walls and ceilings, and can pretty much ignore pit traps. Also, one of the only mounts that can go wherever you go. Just don't forget to buy an exotic saddle. Also, it gives you a 40 ft move, and a free move equivalent action. And sitting at the top of the wall, firing down gives you +1 to hit for high ground (usually)
Explosive Bombs are great if you have enough int that your splash damage is going to hurt your enemies. Precise Bombs make your party happier.
Extra bombs come free, depending on your archetype. Grenadier gets Precise bombs for free, at level 2.
Explore your discovery list, find the ones you think you need first, and plan them out.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Florida—Melbourne
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I would recommend an investment in a Cloak of Resistance and regularly upgrade it. Alchemist Will saves are poor. Speaking from experience, when a flying alchemist who is hovering above the party with a "loadout of snake & nape" get's dominated, the party is going to be very unhappy.