A 6 level caster pet class whose pet isn't advanced by any other class seems like the worst possible candidate for multiclassing. Adding preservationist isn't a bad idea though, you and your homunculus can rapidly cover the battlefield with summons when you want to nova that way. Actually, add the infusion discovery and cheap constructs could do that part for you while you and your homunculus do other stuff. A dash of UMD so that you can buff the summons might be an idea there.
I'm guessing she was referring to Boon Companion letting other companion types stay relevant with multiclassing. The homunculus seems to work best as a ranged scout. The alchemist is mostly relegated to martial combat with buffs from infusions.
Generally speaking it's possible for classes with animal companions and mounts to stack their effective levels together for the purposes of the AnC/mount. This won't be possible for the Promethean Alchemist; almost no other class will advance the homunculus. Evangelist may be an exception but you ddon't get enough out of it that that PrC matters. Boon Companion won't work without special pleading with the GM either as Melkiador notes. Multiclassing hurts your 'pet', the homunculus.
On the other hand, full, 9-level casters may be able to get enough benefit out of a prestige class which advances their casting that they can afford to lose other class features. As a 6-level caster you don't want to lose casting, but you can't afford to make it the sole focus of the character. So this doesn't work well either.
Nova or novaing refers to expending character resources very fast in order to gain a disproportionate advantage. If for example you have 4 tiny animated objects (crafting price 125 gp each, if you can manage the spellcraft DC to make them) each with an infused summon monster extract and they all drop them at the same time, that's a nova IMO.
Is that clearer?
that feat makes no sense you get the Homunculus Companion (Ex)
At 1st level, a promethean alchemist gains the service of a homunculus companion.
there is no lvl deficiency like with rangers.
That feat is also useful for multiclassing. For instance, a druid may want to take a few levels of some other class, but they don't want their companion to lag behind in levels.
The main takeaway is that you probably don't want to multiclass when taking this archetype. It's similar to how you don't usually multiclass a summoner.
Frankly, I think the concept of the Promethean is cool, but mechanically the homunculus seems really weak and very expensive in terms of what you trade for it. It has some neat tricks, but in general I don't think it is even as good as a regular animal companion.
Anyone can get an full level animal companion for the cost of three feats. Mutagen and Bombs are worth way more than three feats.
If I wanted a combat pet alchemist, I would probably just go with tumor familiar and a mauler familiar. Using feats for an animal companion would be a feasible option as well.
Basically, I think there are better ways to achieve the theme of this archetype than taking the archetype. If you really want to build constructs, construct rider is a better choice in my opinion, although it isn't great either.
for a two lvl dip into mutagenic mauler as your first two lvls you gain a mutagen a feat, flurry attack, and access to the prestige class master chymist for alchemist. you keep gaining extracts and better damage with natural and simple weapons and more mutagens per day. what you lose for all that is 2 lvl 6 extracts. i do not know if the prestige class counts as an alchemist.
Any class levels that aren't Promethean Alchemist won't count on the homunculus advancement table.
So if you dip mutagenic mauler for 2 levels, at your third level (Promethean Alchemist 1) you have a 1 HD homunculus. Pretty useless. When you are 6th level, MM2/PA4 you will have a 3HD homunculus. If you go into master chymist, the homunculus will stop advancing as well.
Basically you are making the thing you traded everything else away for totally useless.
What is it that you like about Promethean Alchemist, what are you wanting to make happen? Perhaps we can suggest a better way.
Anyone can get an full level animal companion for the cost of three feats. Mutagen and Bombs are worth way more than three feats.
While probably true, the Variant Multiclass option basically gives you each of those for a feat each.
If you have an extra lenient DM, maybe he will let you take a secondary class of alchemist with the archetype. In the case of this archetype, I'd probably allow it, since you're already so far off the base.
you can always pick brew potion back up later in lvl
Actually you can't. Alchemist doesn't qualify for the Brew Potion feat as they don't have a caster level.
Anyone can get an full level animal companion for the cost of three feats. Mutagen and Bombs are worth way more than three feats.While probably true, the Variant Multiclass option basically gives you each of those for a feat each.
If you have an extra lenient DM, maybe he will let you take a secondary class of alchemist with the archetype. In the case of this archetype, I'd probably allow it, since you're already so far off the base.
It costs 5 feats total to go that route if you are going to level 20. Granted, the mutagen and bombs are a great deal (although the bombs are weaker than an alchemists, and you have less of them and can never throw more than one a turn) but the other 3 feats are a pretty bad trade for feats. Overall, alchemist VMC isn't a bad one, but it isn't fair to say Mutagen and Bombs only cost two feats.
I think you are a rarity in letting an alchemist of any type take the alchemist VMC.
I think you are a rarity in letting an alchemist of any type take the alchemist VMC.
That limitation is mostly there to keep you from doubling down on abilities you are already focused on. In this case, there is no doubling down.
besides you can always add HD to a construct with Building and Modifying Constructs.
I don't believe you can add HD to a homunculus companion via the regular craft construct or homunculus rules. Although both a 'homunculus companion' and a 'homunculus' have similar names, they are actually different things.
"The means for creating this special homunculus are more exotic than normal and require investiture of the promethean alchemist's own life essence into the homunculus."
i will be relegated to healing the party anyways so might as well make my character some sorta fantasy doctor. and nothing is stopping me from picking up tumor familiar at 6th lvl.
If that is the job you are planning to do, I would suggest not being an alchemist. While they can work ok as a backup healer, they really don't enough spells and a high enough spells for their level to be relied on (although they can wield the CLW wand, covering out-of-combat healing.) They also have terrible action economy for emergency healing, since they have to pass out an infusion and then the recipient has to drink it.
I'm still not exactly sure what you are looking for, either mechanically or as flavor. I get that you want to 'create life' but that is fairly vague.
If you really think you need a homunculus, I think the Homunculist is a better archetype. It has a homuculus familiar, instead of a homunculus companion, but I don't see anything preventing that familiar from having an archetype, like mauler. 1/2 your HP will probably be close to, if not better than, the no con bonus on the homunculus companion, and all you give up for that archetype is familiar and poison uses, and you get evolution points for your familiar. That makes it a more customizable and 'unique' life form.
what would you suggest to make the archetype stronger, Dave Justus?
I'm not sure what you mean here. Changing the archetype seems beyond the scope of this discussion. I think the 'strongest' choices with this archetype would definitely not be multiclassing. Really though I can't think of any thematic build I would want to make where this archetype would serve me better than some other choice. It gives away powerful class features for a mediocre companion.
besides you can always add HD to a construct with Building and Modifying Constructs.I don't believe you can add HD to a homunculus companion via the regular craft construct or homunculus rules. Although both a 'homunculus companion' and a 'homunculus' have similar names, they are actually different things.
I'm not sure if that matters. The homunculus is still a construct.
The rules for modifying constructs.
Any construct you create can be modified, and the homunculus text constantly refers to you as the creator. The issue is that the construct has to be inanimate or non-functioning. But also from the linked page, "At any time, a construct's creator can deactivate a construct under his control with a touch and a standard action." And of course, you actually have to pay for all of those modifications which is quite expensive.
Tiny constructs you may like:
Animated Manacles; this is the 125 gp crafting cost I was thinking of, though it may read that you have to use the (HD+CP)*1000 cost which makes them non-viable.
Clockwork Spy; note that the minimum caster level is a prereq you can ignore for +5 DC. It does work out to a rather high Spellcraft check though, admittedly. Crafting cost 1250 gp.
Either of those should be able to carry and use vials.
besides you can always add HD to a construct with Building and Modifying Constructs.I don't believe you can add HD to a homunculus companion via the regular craft construct or homunculus rules. Although both a 'homunculus companion' and a 'homunculus' have similar names, they are actually different things.I'm not sure if that matters. The homunculus is still a construct.
The rules for modifying constructs.
Any construct you create can be modified, and the homunculus text constantly refers to you as the creator. The issue is that the construct has to be inanimate or non-functioning. But also from the linked page, "At any time, a construct's creator can deactivate a construct under his control with a touch and a standard action."
From the first line in your link:
"Standard constructs can be modified to enhance their base abilities"
It is certainly a construct, but it also has very different rules for advancement than any other, and is referred to as a ' special homunculus' with exotic creation methods in the text. To me that seems to pretty clearly say that the homunculus companion rules replace and supercede the regular crafting rules.
You could choose to read "standard construct" that way, but it could just as easily be referring to the fact that you are improving the "standard" abilities of a given construct. And an unmodified Promethean Homunculus could be considered the standard Promethean Homunculus, since it hasn't been modified yet.
Or "standard construct" could just be flavor text, as anytime a construct is modified in any given way, it would no longer be "standard", and thus you could never add more than one modification to any given construct.
Could a wyrwood with craft construct enhance its offspring in the same way, adding up to 50% to its HD?
Since the cost to create (not to restore) a homunculus companion is zero gold and at least one class level, I have no idea how you'd plug it into the hit dice modification formula anyway. It may be a standard homunculus companion, but it's definitely not a standard homunculus and won't use that cost IMO.
Yeah, the increase HD modification probably doesn't work. I was more thinking of the other upgrades.
Zainale referred above to using the HD increase to keep up the HD after multiclassing, so I thought that was what you meant. I agree the other stuff looks like it would work better.
Actually you can't. Alchemist doesn't qualify for the Brew Potion feat as they don't have a caster level.you can always pick brew potion back up later in lvl
yes yes you can its call spell knowledge its in discoveries. here i will just copy and paste it here for you.
Spell Knowledge
Select a single spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list that is at least 2 levels lower than your highest-level extract known. You can prepare and cast this spell as an arcane spell.Brew Potion (Item Creation)
You can create magic potions.
Prerequisite: Caster level 3rd.at thirteenth lvl an alchemist can create 5th lvl extracts and that means at that lvl or later an alchemist can take the discovery spell knowledge. and be able to caste a third lvl spell thus the alchemist can take brew potion.
I suppose you're right, I guess I should have specified that alchemist doesn't NATURALLY qualify for Brew Potion. But then again you'd only be able to make potions out of the actual spells you know, which doesn't really seem worth it.
This does bring up an issue you don't notice until you actually try to build one of these characters. Most alchemist discoveries deal with bombs and mutagens. This leaves the archetype with a really short list of options to choose from.
This does bring up an issue you don't notice until you actually try to build one of these characters. Most alchemist discoveries deal with bombs and mutagens. This leaves the archetype with a really short list of options to choose from.
I've made quite a few alchemist characters myself, and I've noticed this problem as well. If you pick an archetype with a theme you really like that happens to give up bomb or mutagen, then you're stuck with "weird" discoveries since you're locked out of most of them. Promethean Alchemist can't even get mutagen back without multiclassing, which irreparably harms its primary feature. It's an unfortunately interesting archetype that really can't do much but sit around being interesting.
When I wanted an alchemist with a homunculus servant, I took a good archetype and then just choose the Promethean Disciple discovery.