Some Random Dood's page

I would like them to fix the alchemist class and mutagens.

Temperans wrote:

And yes for martial Legendary is the best, Master is okay, and Expert is bad. But guess what? It works the same way for casters. Yet martials are able to get Master spellcasting, but it is physically impossible for casters to get Master in martial things.

Except it doesn't work the same way. Every caster gets Legendary spellcasting. Legendary is baseline for casters.

Only one martial gets Legendary weapons. Master is baseline for martials.

That's why Caster/Martial gives Tier-1 weapon proficiency and Martial/Caster also gives Tier-1 caster proficiency

Is the alchemist the only martial that doesn't get master weapon proficiency? Did we ever get a reason why?

There are items like "Ring of Spell Knowledge" or "Page of Spell Knowledge" that grant additional spells to spontaneous casters.

Squiggit wrote:

The one downside to the +1 to item bonus solution is that it ends up relatively devaluing mutagens that don't give item bonuses.

Right now that's only Energy and Stone Body, but there will probably be more down the line.

what about this: you can choose either +1 to the mutagen's item bonus, or a +1 to your own AC at the cost of reducing your dexterity cap by 1?

That +1 to AC could also be used to offset the AC penalties many mutagens give you.

It's not difficult to reach the dex cap for light armor (+3). So I don't see that being of much use. Maybe just a flat choice between +1 to item bonus or AC.

Would you as a GM allow an alchemist player to be able to take Enhanced familiar like the other familiar based classes Druid, Sorcerer, and Wizard?

It's odd that they don't get that option, and I don't see anything wrong with allowing it. So sure, if I was running a game, I'd be fine with that.

Like I said, you only get three skills raised above Trained (unless you spread the increases around which means fewer skills at Master and Legendary). And you're not getting item bonuses for all your skills.

Why not? Most classes only have 3-5 skills they care about. And you can raise 3 skills to legendary. You could get item bonuses to multiple skills, or get other bonuses to skills. Plus you won't always be making level appropriate checks.

I think Trained with an OK-but-not-great stat should be the baseline for skill competence. You shouldn't need to hyperspecialize in something to have a better than 50% chance. Specializing should be what gets you from competent to awesome.

It's already been pointed out, but there are several types of bonuses, and you won't always be making level appropriate DCs. So the success rate of trained skills is closer to 50%.

For example, look at the TV show Leverage. The characters there are all what I'd call high-level rogues in Pathfinder terms (except maybe Eliot who might be a fighter or monk with some rogue dedication feats). They are all fairly competent in all aspects of pulling a heist - they can all pick pockets, fast-talk their way into a situation, pick a regular lock, and so on. But if you need to get into a super-secure place, you want Parker to pick that lock, not Hardison. And if you want to hack into the big mainframe, that's Hardison's job. And while Hardison can talk his way past a guard, Sophie is the one who can gain the trust of the mark.

So a specialist does better than someone who doesn't specialize in that area? I'm not seeing a problem here. Or is it that a specialist will auto succeed at something? Because part of the design philosophy of pf2 was that you can't auto succeed at level appropriate tasks any more.

Xenocrat wrote:

You left out item bonuses.

And if you don't care enough about a skill to raise it above trained at high levels you probably shouldn't be attempting high level tasks.

So, are you only supposed to use the 2-3 skills you can afford to raise to master/legendary? That seems terribly restrictive.

If we add in circumstance, item, and status bonuses, the success rate greatly increases to the point where a trained skill could succeed on a 7, maybe less. Sure you won't be fully buffed all the time, but if you cared about that skill, you'd probably have some kind of item bonus to it. And with that item bonus, you would succeed with a trained skill roughly half the time.

And not every check you make, will be level appropriate. So there will be varying degrees of success.

Now I have to wonder if you could take multi-class Sorcerer and use the Sorcerer Enhanced Familiar feat to get another two abilities. :)

Lol, sure why not. But honestly, why would you? Is 8 points not enough?

If you have "Enhanced Familiar", then your familiar starts with 4 ability points instead of 2. And then "Improved Familiar Attunement" gives you an addition ability point at 1st, 6th, 12th, and 18th levels. So by 18th level, your familiar would have 8 ability points. And you can change which abilities you have every day.

It's weird how someone can become more proficient with something they never used (like say light armor), but they never get any better with something they've used for over 10 levels (like say medium or heavy armor).

If someone goes out of their way to take a feat and gain medium/heavy armor, then their proficiency with it should raise alongside your proficiency with light armor. Same with weapons.

With things the way they are, there's no point in those weapon/armor feats even existing. You could even say they are a trap option. Though that may be going a little too far.

My gut assessment is that the alchemist is the weakest class in 2e so far. Atelier Paizo dropped the cauldron on this one.

Yea, just like the rogue and monk were in 1e.

As insult to injury, bombs and mutagen-enhanced attacks cannot even handle enemies resistant to non-magical attacks.

Mutagen I can understand. But how does that affect bombs, when they deal elemental damage?

Buffs have been reduced to 3 types of bonuses, circumstance, item, and status. So that should reduce the number of buffs people have up at any one time.

Awesome, thanks.

Did they just forget to remove this now obsolete clause from the field discovery?

I'd say that's the most likely possibility.

That implies that if you aren't an alchemist, you can't take the Alchemical Crafting feat to craft mutagens, but you could craft any other alchemical item?

The "typically" part is a bit vague, if they wanted this restriction, why not just saying "only alchemists have the expertise to craft mutagens"?

I think it's just weird wording. The alchemical crafting feat says you can now create alchemical items. No restrictions. And the section on alchemical items doesn't forbid it either.

A chirurgeon can use craft instead of medicine for any of medicine's uses. But all of those uses require healer's tools.

I had that exact same question. Given how much issues alchemists have with bulk as is having to have yet another 1 bulk item to just function seems punishing. Given you use alchemy crafting for the check my gut is they are using the alchemy kit instead of the healer kit but I couldn't find anything to confirm that.

Also there is a mutagen that boosts your medicine skill but does that bonus apply when using your alchemy crafting FOR a medicine check? If not it seems like the main people who would want that mutagen the chirurgeons have no use for it.

I would say no, because you are making a craft check, not a medicine check. But you could use a cognitive mutagen to gain a bonus on crafting checks.

They all have a lot of issues.

The current alchemist has a number of issues which I'd like to address. Bulk is the first that comes to mind. All alchemists have to carry at least 3 bulk of gear before we even think of picking up a weapon, armor or anything else you may want to carry.

Alchemist's Kit 2 bulk
Formula Book 1 bulk
Healer's Tools 1 bulk

Yes there are ways to avoid being encumbered, such as raising str, or taking the hefty hauler feat at lv3. But I don't think getting a pack mule or handing them to someone else would solve the problem because these are things you will want with you at all times. And what other class is required to carry around 3 bulk of items just to use their basic class features? Also keep in mind this is not including any weapons or armor.

The next issue involves the different research fields. At 1st level you can choose between Bomber, Chirurgeon, and Mutagenist. They all give you 2 formula's along with some other benefit. I'll go over these one at a time.

When you throw a a bomb with the splash trait, you can chose to deal splash damage to only your target instead of the usual splash area.

This is good because you can prevent your allies from taking splash damage. You will make use of this nearly every combat, so it's easily the best of the 3.

As long as you're trained in medicine, you can make a craft check in place of a medicine check for any of medicine's uses.

So basically this lets you use your int mod instead of your wis mod. It's a good bonus, which amounts to +2-4 on a medicine check. But you still need Healer's Tools on hand, which only worsens the bulk problem.

You can benefit from any mutagen, even if it wasn't specifically brewed for you. Whenever your proficiency rank for simple weapons increases, your proficiency rank in unarmed strikes increases to the same rank unless it's better.

Okay that first part does nothing. In the playtest a character could only benefit from a mutagen that was brewed specifically for them. This was removed in the final version, and now everyone can use any mutagen without issue. Now the 2nd part does eventually grant you expert proficiency in unarmed strikes, which is useful. But this doesn't happen until 7th level. So you gain no benefit from being a mutagenist until 7th level.

Your comfort in concocting items is such that you can

create three at a time. When using the Quick Alchemy action, you can spend up to three batches of infused reagents to make up to three alchemical items as described in that action. These items do not have to be the same.

Quote:

First I'd like to make it clear this is an ability you get a lv15. Ok so if you use 1 action and 3 reagents, you can create any 3 alchemical items that you know the formula's for. But anything made with quick alchemy becomes inert at the start of your next turn. So after making the items, you are left with 2 actions to use 3 items.

The only ways I can see this being of use are

1. An ally moves if necessary, takes one, and uses it. This takes 2-3 of their actions, and chances are they will have something better to do on their turn.
2. You somehow gain an extra action and use all 3 items yourself.
3. You take the Enduring Alchemy feat, which gives you an extra turn before items made through quick alchemy go inert.

So 2 out of those 3 uses are situational, and the 3rd requires you to take a certain feat. This feels very underwhelming for a lv15 ability.

{quote=Bestial Mutagen]Benefit- You gain an item bonus to Athletics checks and
unarmed attack rolls. You gain a claw unarmed attack with the agile trait and a jaws unarmed attack.
Drawback- You take a –1 penalty to AC and a –2 penalty to Reflex saves.

This also feels mediocre to me. If we compare it to a weapon of equivalent level, the mutagen grants +1 to hit, -1 to AC and -2 to reflex saves. It feels like the penalties outweigh the benefit.

Here are my suggestions on how to fix these issues.

Reduce the alchemist's kit to 1 bulk, and the formula book to L bulk. This drops the total bulk from 3 to 1.1, which is a lot more managable.

Have the mutagenist research path either increase the benefits from a mutagen by 1 or reduce a mutagen's penalties by 1. I feel this would make them more useful to the alchemist.

Alchemical Alacrity, change it so you can use one of the items you just made as a free action.

Those are the biggest issues I have noticed so far with the class.

At every even level you get a class feat. Now instead of choosing one from your own class, you can chose a dedication feat, such as fighter dedication. This gives you the benefits described in the feat. When you get your next class feat at lv4, you can take any fighter dedication feat you meat the requirements for such as basic maneuver. Basic maneuver lets you pick any 1st or 2nd level fighter class feat that you meet the requirements for, such as point blank shot.

You can take the Advanced Maneuver feat at lv6 and gain another fighter feat. But for the purpose of meeting it's requirements your fighter level is equal to half your character level. And since double shot is a 4th level fighter feat, you'll have to wait until ranger level 8 before you can get it.

Just noticed that the fighter sheet doesn't give you any space for class feats at levels 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16. The alchemist sheets say you get light armor master at 20, when it should be 19. And I'm sure there are other errors I'm not aware of.

Also there no black and white versions of these class specific sheets. So I would hold off on buying them until these issues are fixed.

If the pregen didn't have a ranged weapon besides your bombs, then that sounds like a shitty pregen. Even the basic alchemist kit comes with both a dagger and sling.

There is a lot of new stuff to learn, so it's easy to overlook something, and that could affect a persons enjoyment. But from what I've read in the book, the alchemist does look underwhelming. Though they could work as a support/debuffer at higher levels.

Nicolas Paradise wrote:

Pumpkinhead11 wrote:

Azurespark wrote:

Rycke wrote:

That's not really true about the alchemist. You only need the infusion discovery if you want others to be able to the alchemist's job for them. A cure light wounds extract does not heal you for 1d8+level. It allows you to touch someone and heal THEM for that amount.

Sorry what? Infusion clearly says it allows a non-alchemist to benefit from an infused extract.

** spoiler omitted **

Yes, it would allow someone else to use the spell Cure Light Wounds; like the person said.

When laying your hand upon a living creature, you channel positive energy that cures 1d8 points of damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +5)

An alchemist would not need Infusion to make that extract useful.

Yes they would see my above rules quote. Extracts always ONLY target the alchemist. All extracts change the target to you.

That reading makes no sense when you consider spells like deathwine or empower holy water , which can only affect specific objects, making it pointless for them to even be on the alchemists list if you use that interpretation.

Yes, there are some rather pointless spells on the alchemist's spell list. I don't know what paizo was thinking when they added those spells. Because as others have pointed out, the class write up contradicts the notion of allowing the drinker to cast the spell on another target.

p.s. thank you for providing a stat array PROVING our point that bulk is a pure TAX since it disallows any sort of customizability on your starting stats, since you're forced into 16 dex, 18 int, and 12 strength in all and every alchemist

How are you forced into taking an 18 in your main stat? Sure it's useful, but a 16 also works just fine.

I don't see what familiars, eidolons, and phantoms have to do with the trait in question. Because it specifically says "when YOU heal another creature", so you would only benefit from the trait if you are the one doing the healing, not your familiar, eidolon, or whatever.

Let's hope there is no actual fighting in the party. Because if it became a 2 vs 2, well the antipaladin/barbarian would likely win.

But bombs will get weaker once the arcane casters gets fireball etc.

A level 5 wizard could be able to throw 20ft. radius 8d6 fireballs (with spell specialization and mage's tatoo)

It's not that bombs get weaker, it's just that fireball can inflict a lot more damage. But a wizard has so many other things they could use that spell slot for, so they probably won't be throwing around too many fireballs. Then there is also meta magic you can add to the spell, or discoveries to modify your bombs.

I don't understand how a Rogue can keep up in damage with any other class even more now.

To put it simply, they don't. This is one of the reasons why people say the rogue is so bad and the weakest class in the entire game.

Well that might be a little harsh, it's possible, but would be incredibly difficult and require a very specific build. And honestly, the rogue has trouble just keeping up with the other classes, never mind excelling at anything.

How about a Headband that gives +6 Charisma or Intellect? They are not "that" expensive and would help me greatly. Also do I understand it right, that if you wear it non stop, that +6 will be counted as permanent bonus? As in it will increase the number of bombs per day I can throw and the amount of skill points I get per level?

When a bonus lasts for more than 24 hours, it becomes permanent. But once you lose that bonus (such as taking off that headband of int), you lose anything granted by it. So yes the increased int would give you more bombs per day, but if you took the headband off, you would lose the extra bombs until you have once again worn the headband for more than 24 hours.

And speaking of bombs, can someone specify how their range works? It states that they hit the target for my sneak dice and 5 feet radius around it. So am I to understand that from my initial target, it's one in each direction, or is it a 3x3? Also... The range in the book show the origin of the spell as a cross in the grid and the description of the bomb states throwing it at a square, not a cross between them. So how is it done actually?

Yes, a 5 foot radius would be 1 square in every direction around the target. It can also be considered a 3x3 grind with the target being in the middle and splash hits the 8 squares around it. That is assuming the target is medium sized or smaller.

One thing about Pathfinder is that you need to make sure you keep track of what the bonus types you gain from items, spells ect. since most bonus types don't add together (or stack as it is often called), instead your character gains the benefit of the higher bonus. In this case the bonuses from Trapspringer's Gloves and masterwork thieves tools stack, since the bonuses are competence and circumstance.

I think you made a typo there. Bonuses from multiple sources do stack, so long as they are different types, like in your example there.

But if the bonuses are of the same type, then you only gain the benefit of the higher bonus. So if you got a +2 and +3 and both are competence bonuses, then you would only benefit from the +3.

I thought the big 6 was a universal list that all characters would want.

Azurespark wrote:

ChaiGuy wrote:

Concerning magic items there is something known as the "big six" that is generally considered must have items in Pathfinder. For your character these would be: Magic weapons, Magic armor, ring of protection, amulet of natural armor, cloak of resistance, and belt of dexterity. You mentioned that point buy makes characters seem samey, but unfortunately the fact that most characters in Pathfinder spend the majority of their gold in these 6 item types does so more IMO, but then again it's never been too big of a deal for me.

I don't think that's quite right, because I'm positive the big 6 included both a belt of physical stat, and a headband of mental stat. The headband is sure to benefit everyone, even if you're not a caster.

You're right, I should've said "ability score increasing item's" rather than "belt of dex" since I was talking about the "big six" specifically. Eventually I'd imagine an item (headband?) of wisdom to help with will saves and perception (and other wisdom based skills) would be nice, but I'd imagine that dex takes priority for item based increase.

Oh yea, for a rogue, a belt of dex should take priority over a headband of wis or int.

Concerning magic items there is something known as the "big six" that is generally considered must have items in Pathfinder. For your character these would be: Magic weapons, Magic armor, ring of protection, amulet of natural armor, cloak of resistance, and belt of dexterity. You mentioned that point buy makes characters seem samey, but unfortunately the fact that most characters in Pathfinder spend the majority of their gold in these 6 item types does so more IMO, but then again it's never been too big of a deal for me.

I don't think that's quite right, because I'm positive the big 6 included both a belt of physical stat, and a headband of mental stat. The headband is sure to benefit everyone, even if you're not a caster.

On a side note, what's the idea of Touch AC? When is it used? It seems awfully low compared to other defences.

Some abilities and spells, such as an alchemist's bombs, or the shocking grasp spell, only need to touch the target to damage them, instead of piercing their armor. So these target a creature's touch AC, which is equal to 10 + dex mod + size mod + dodge bonus + deflection bonus. And monks can also add their wis mod to their touch AC.

Constitution boosts your fort save, not strength.

And I would suggest making a new topic for the next character.

NaeNae wrote:

I only have looked at a few books, and only partially, looking for what I need to make my rogue. Equipment, spells, things. I haven't even read the way combat works yet, although I have an overall idea. Still the various names of actions elude me.

All of that is super fair. It makes sense to start this way!

I am of the personal opinion that the Pathfinder Core book needs a nice, solid restructuring to make it more optimal for comprehension, but given how things currently are, you're doing well!

I think I'm more of the type who jumps straight into the deep end. My first character was a sorcerer, then a month later I made an alchemist, who I played up to 15th lv. Sure not every choice I made was great, but I learned a lot in doing so.

Crazy Tlabbar wrote:

Ooooo! What Skill Focus are you taking?

(hint:Bluff)
Tho if you feel strongly about it, or have a plan, there's also Acrobatics, Perception or Stealth.

I was thinking of Bluff actually, because it's the easiest way to guarantee a sneak attack. Although Acrobatics do have a lot of checks that might help me in combat.

But I am curious how skill focus works. It says that if i have more than 10 in a skill, it raises to +6. But does it mean that I have to put 7 points in a skill and it will be 13, because the +3 will trigger the raise, or will I need to push it to 10 to get the buff?

You need to put 10 skill points into it to get the buff. And you can't do that before character level 10.

Perception is the most used skill in the game, so that's always a good choice.

I only have looked at a few books, and only partially, looking for what I need to make my rogue. Equipment, spells, things. I haven't even read the way combat works yet, although I have an overall idea. Still the various names of actions elude me. I don't know what's the difference between standard action and atack action, or when can I move and when I cannot. I think I know when attacks of opportunity happen, but I am not trully sure. Although I looked into flanking and what it means.

Combat is a big part of pathfinder, so I would suggest reading that section. Pg 183 in the core rule book has an excellent list of the different actions you can take and if it will provoke an attack of opportunity (AoO) But I'll explain some of the basics. It's late so I'll try to keep this brief.

On your turn in combat, you have the following actions:

1 Standard action
1 Move action
1 Swift action
And as many free actions as your gm will allow

Making 1 attack, using an item, or casting a spell will typically take 1 standard action. Though some spells will take longer. You can also trade your standard action for another move action if you want. Which can be useful in certain situations.

You can move up to your normal speed as 1 move action. For a half elf in light armor, this is 30 ft, not counting any buffs or bonuses you would get elsewhere. You can also draw/sheath a weapon, or pull an item from a bag as a move action. And if you move no more than 5 ft, you can do so as a free action. Which is useful to get into flanking.

Some abilities like the paladins lay on hands, can be used as a swift action. But not every class has a way to make use of their swift actions. So I wouldn't worry about it.

A free action would be like taking the weapon from your right hand, and putting it in your left hand. Or dropping an item, or even speaking.

A full round action uses both your standard and move actions. The most common use of this, is to make more than 1 attack in a round, or a full attack. Some spells have a full round casting time.

A withdrawal, uses both your standard and move actions, and lets you move twice your speed. The difference between this and a double move, is that with a withdrawal, you do not provoke from moving out of that first square.

Their uniqueness comes from the highest amount of skills per level, which I intend to use.

You're not wrong...until you factor in class abilities. Assuming both have equal int, by level 2 a bard will have just as many skill points as a rogue, due to their versatile performance. Then for every 4 levels after that (6, 10, 14, 18), they basically get an additional 2 skill points per level.

Sorry to say, but the rogue doesn't have a single thing they excel at over another class. Everything they can do, another class can do just as well if not better.

Careful with Dirty Trick.

It uses Combat Maneuver Bonus, not a skill.
Rogues usually have bad CMB for their level.
You may find yourself using a maneuver that almost never works and that can get frustrating.

Another reason it's not advised, is that CMB uses your bab + str + size mod. So a medium sized rogue with an 11 str, won't have much success with it. Unless you take agile maneuvers to use your dex instead of your strength. But even then your success wouldn't be all that good with a 3/4 bab and no way to raise your hit.

I know you said you didn't want to change class, but please take a look at the slayer class, it's essentially a rogue with a better hit rate and damage.

Benefits:
Full BAB vs 3/4 BAB, so you hit more often
D10 vs D8, so you have more hp
Fort + reflex vs just reflex, so you will make your saves more often
Medium armor, shield, and martial weapon proficiency, so you will survive better and potentially do more damage
Studied Target, gives you bonuses to hit, damage, and several skills
Can take any rogue talent or ranger style feat you want, including minor magic, major magic, and even trap finding

"Drawbacks":
2 less skill point per level
sneak attack is 1-2 dice smaller than a rogue of equal level

I'll explain why these aren't really a problem. But first I want to mention something about saves.

Fort and will are the more important saves, because failing one could straight out kill you or a party member, or at least take you out of the fight for a while. But a failed reflex save usually just means you take more damage, which may or may not kill you.

Sure you would lose 2 skill points per level, but you really don't need to max a skill to be effective with it, so it's fine if it's say 2 points behind the max possible. And you can always use your favored class bonus to get another skill point instead of hp if you'd like. Another option is to get a Headband of Vast Intellect later on. What this does is, it gives you max ranks in any 1 skill for every +2 bonus on the headband, so a +2 headband gives you 1 skill, a +4 headband gives you 2 skills, and a +6 headband gives you 3 skills. Also I think there is a feat that gives you 1 skill point per level, but I forget what it's called.

Sneak attack can be very situational, even in the best of times, and you won't always be able to get it. So during those times you can't, the slayer has their studied target to do some additional damage. They will also just hit more often, so their damage is more consistent, and thus will contribute more during combat.

Sorry if I'm being pushy here, but I just see no real downside to this. You can play a slayer as a "thief and scoundrel with minor magical abilities which she uses to fool and mislead, aiding herself in the many heists she conducts" exactly as you would a rogue. And I think the slayers "studied target" ability could even help you with that.

EDIT: Here's a link to the slayer class. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/slayer

Your damage modifier is more important than the size of your weapon dice. So I'd try to get dex to damage somehow. The agile weapon property is one such way.

If you want to become good with ranged weapons, it is very feat intensive. You'd need point blank shot, precise shot, improved precise shot, rapid shot, and manyshot. Any less than that and you wouldn't do that much damage. Oh and you'd want a way to deal with DR, so add cluster shot to that list.

Feats are typically better than rogue talents, so I'd go with feats.

One of the issues rogues have, is they don't really have any class abilities that can boost their hit and/or damage. So you're left with flanking, and the weapon focus feat. Dirty trick might be able to help you, but that would require taking the combat expertise feat as well.

To be blunt, the Rogue is the weakest player class in the game. And the only benefit in playing one, is being able to write "Rogue" at the top of your sheet. There are several classes that can do everything a rogue does and more, such as Alchemist, Bard, Investigator, and Inquisitor to name a few. A Bard or Alchemist could fit your concept while contributing much more to the group, both in combat and out. So I'd ask your GM if you can make a new character.

synthesist summoner gets you +8 racial bonus to skills of your choice for evolution points as for my builds about 99% of them are rules legal they just aren't using crappy point buys or the terrible pfs rule set

Ok, a +21 to one skill is possible at 1st level, I'll give you that. But that requires a level of hyper specialization/optimization that 99% of players won't do.

Out of curiosity, what method do you use to determine stats? Because it sounds like your stats are typically higher than what most other people use.

Nixitur wrote:

Lady-J wrote:

dc 30 seems way to low a lvl 1 character can get that with a good die roll

If that character basically went all-in on Intelligence and Knowledge (Arcana/Religion), then and only then would they even have a chance and still a pretty slim one.

And consider that that's the same DC as learning useful facts about CR 20 creatures, so ones that are fairly rare and very weird. Compare that to going "I'm pretty sure that something should happen when we smash this guy's soul container." and a DC of 30 seems more than appropriate for this task.
Certainly, a DC of 50 as you propose is ludicrous. A DC of 50 is knowing fairly intricate details (three useful facts) about the Tarrasque. Liches and how to destroy them are small potatoes compared to the freaking Armageddon Engine.

not really dc 50 would be pretty moderate level, dc 30 is far to easy especially since people can get +17 to a skill fairly easily at around level 3-4(if you go all out you can potentially have 1-3 skill at +21 at level 1), the question isn't the dc of knowing if phylacteries exist its is this object a phylactery which would be a far more difficult dc to determine then the one to identify a lich

How would you get +21 to one skill, never mind 3, at 1st level? I've seen you make other absurd claims that people have called you out on, and none of them sound possible without house rules.

In my experience most people wouldn't have a bonus of more than +9 in any one skill at 1st level. But since the topic is about phylacteries, let's try to find the maximum possible bonus for knowledge arcana/religion.

+5 from ability score
+3 from class skill
+3 from skill focus
+1 from skill rank
+1 from a trait

So we've got a maximum possible bonus of +13 at 1st level. But that's nowhere near your claim of +21. And only towards one skill.

Now your claim of +17 by 4th level is more plausible. But even the most optimized characters would have difficulty reaching that with any knowledge skill.

I just want to thank everyone that has provided advice. So thank you.

I'm going to bed, so I'll keep this short for now.

If extracts don't function like potions, then what do they function as? Unless you have a way of "drinking defensively", it seems clear to me that drinking one, would provoke.

Wizard can be rather boring at first, since you would have so few spells a day. Where as with a fighter, you can always attack with your weapon.

Feral Mutagen is great, so is mummification. I'd suggest taking 10 lvs in alchemist to get pounce. Also the master chymist prestige class was made for that type of character.

Here's the stat block for a 15th lv beastmorph alchemist/master chymist I played in PFS. I'd say he is quite powerful and hard to kill off.

Any case anybody is curious, here is my lv15 alchemist/master chymist.

If you want to be more rogue like, take vivisectionist and trade the bomb discoveries for something else. And possibly drop the master chymist levels too.

Natural attacks don't get any iterative. So in a standard action you get 1 attack using whatever you want. But in a full attack, you attack with all your natural attacks. So in the above example with form of the dragon, you get 1 bite and 2 claws each at full bab. Then you get 2 wings and 1 tail attack at full bab -5. The -5 is because the wings and tail are secondary natural attacks, while the bite and claws are primary attacks.

You can take 10 on most skills whenever you are not in any immediate danger or distracted.