I can see many of you going “Yes!” But I really am torn.
I can certainly see the benefit of Stink Bomb, having your enemy (or enemies) nauseated is downright awesome. However, what’s not so awesome is nauseating your party members.
It would be one thing if I played my Alchemist in a home game. I could devise a strategy with my friends that we would use from session to session. But as my Alchemist is for PFS, it is a lot more of a hassle. Most times will have completely new parties, and having to say “I’m an Alchemist with Stink Bomb” and having to explain strategy each session is a bit of a pain, nevermind some may not even like having to deal with it.
What do you (the consensus) suggest? Is it worth it getting Stink Bomb, even with the drawbacks? If so, how do you suggest handling it? One thing I thought about was making Antitoxins and handing them out at the beginning of the scenario to party members who have poor Fortitude saves. Although that of course comes out of my pocket and can add up, even with 1/3 the cost.
What does everyone think? Is Stink Bomb worth it? And if so, do those of you who have played Alchemists, and have taken Stink Bomb, have tips on how you’ve handled it?
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Chris- you only exclude those squares from splash damage. Not from the effect of the smoke/stink bomb.
Just act first. Bump your initiative any way you can. Use your stink bombs as much for battlefield control as for immediate debuff. You can cut off escape or flanking routes.
It doesn't have to be your go-to move, but when used early on mobs it can end a fight before it even begins. Running away at half-speed is no fun.
I already have Precise Bomb.
But unfortunately this does not work. Precise Bomb only excludes the squares with splash damage. The status effects (smoke, stinking cloud, poison cloud, etc.) from the bombs are not affected by Precise Bomb.
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If you have Precise bomb (which you should! ^_~) you can exclude 1 square per point of intelligence modifer from the splash.
Precise Bombs only works on splash damage, and the cloud created by Stink Bomb is completely separate from the splash of the bomb itself, this doesn't work at all.
Ninja'd!
I thought it was 1 round per level. I dont have an alchemist myself but have played with one who was very liberal with the stink bombs. They are a very powerful AoE debilitate but, especially for PFS, I myself wouldn't use them. Anything, even very very small, that requires others changing tactics just doesn't seem to quite go over well - keeping charge lanes clear, trying not to block ranged allies, keeping in range for buffs, etc. Maybe our area is just very hack and slash, but why worry about setting up stink clouds when you can just cleave charge or whatever and the fight barely lasts into round 2 as it is?
Smoke bomb lasts for rd/level. Stink bomb only lasts for a round.
After melee, aim at the ground near your targets, not the actual targets.
So what you are saying is move the bomb to where it is only doing splash damage and not hitting party members.
Sure, I can do that, but then my bombs aren't being used at full effect (no direct damage). Also, if I move the bomb to the extent where it doesn't affect party members, the effectiveness in hitting the enemies will be significantly less, as well due to my allies and enemies will be intermingled.
I wasn't going to use Stink Bomb constantly, but it's probably going to come down to actually using it in very sparingly situations, or at times, like StrangePackage said, when I can act first and no one else has engaged the enemy yet.
I'll need to decide if those very sparingly times is worth burning up two discovery/feat slots for it.
So what you are saying is move the bomb to where it is only doing splash damage and not hitting party members.
Sure, I can do that, but then my bombs aren't being used at full effect (no direct damage). Also, if I move the bomb to the extent where it doesn't affect party members, the effectiveness in hitting the enemies will be significantly less, as well due to my allies and enemies will be intermingled.
I think Sitri was talking about aiming your Stink bombs at the ground near your targets so only your opponents and not your party are in the area of effect after combat has begun. It's also dead easy to hit the ground.
Not sure about this but I'm assuming that the Stink Bombs do no damage because their effect has been changed to nauseate in a foggy clouded area as opposed to doing explosive, fiery damage. Can anybody clarify if this interpretation is correct?
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I think you should take this, and I think it's great. Some players will do fine.
To be a team layer, whip up some antitoxin, and hand it out at the beginning of each adventure. You look generous, and it notifies players 'there will be poison'. Cuts down on the complaining if you catch someone on accident. "Did you drink the antidote I gave you?"
Recognize that it's not an awesome strategy for every combat, and you should be fine. The crowded tavern fight filled with civilians? Bad choice.
And remember, stink bomb is WAY versatile.
It's a cloud effect, so it blocks line of sight.
It's no good to stay in, so iit denies terrain to your enemy
It forces your enemies where YOU want them
If you actually nauseated someone, even better.
I took a lot of extra discovery feats with my alchy and stink bomb was one of them. It really depends on the situation sometimes it will be worthwhile to forego damage and take a few people out of combat for a few rounds. If there is only one person I am fighting and they are in melee, I tend to prefer frost bombs (or force next level).
Also, you still get the damage and splash on stink bombs, but it still splashes the normal distance instead of the entire radius of the cloud.....well according to a FAQ on pfsrd that has a broken link....d20
They won't always be the best choice, but they can be absolute game changers. With both mine and a friends alchemist, I have seen stink bombs take what was looking like a potential TPK and turn it into a deathless victory on several occasions.
I think you should take this, and I think it's great. Some players will do fine.
To be a team layer, whip up some antitoxin, and hand it out at the beginning of each adventure. You look generous, and it notifies players 'there will be poison'. Cuts down on the complaining if you catch someone on accident. "Did you drink the antidote I gave you?"
Yes, this is what I was talking about in my first post (for the thread). Thought about making antitoxins ahead of time and handing them out, although it can start to become a bit pricey, even at 1/3 the cost.
Recognize that it's not an awesome strategy for every combat, and you should be fine. The crowded tavern fight filled with civilians? Bad choice.
And remember, stink bomb is WAY versatile.
It's a cloud effect, so it blocks line of sight.
It's no good to stay in, so iit denies terrain to your enemy
It forces your enemies where YOU want themIf you actually nauseated someone, even better.
All very good points. I just am afraid it's going to be more detrimental than helpful in a PFS setting.
Now another question, what about taking Poison Bomb or Plague Bomb instead? I don't think I need all three of them. Also, the spells those bombs are based on the cloud actually moves per round, does this happen with Poison Bomb and Plague Bomb as well?