ghanigan's page

If you have only one odd stat, then the bump at 8th (where one goes odd again) has no game effect unless it dovetails with a feat requirement.

Remember, you'll also be playing one full retirement series at 12th level, when you get the third stat-boost. You can play at least one adventure after that (Tomb of the Iron Medusa), and there is likely to be even more adventures available in the future.

If your character is not particularly gear-dependent, you might plan to pick up a tome or manual to raise a stat by 1 point, as well.

I could see Deadly Aim, Point Blank Shot, and such improving the regular damage. However, the splash damage is more of an effect and shouldnt be affected. Those fears only really seem to affect the person hit with the shot.

Not deadly aim, it specifically prohibits touch attacks from being modified by it's damage.

1. It takes a full-round action to use them (move to mix, standard to throw). Even the warlock can use his eldritch blast as a standard action.

2. Bombs are limited per day. The warlock could blast all day; why not the alchemist?

3. Fire damage is very easy to resist. Fire resist 30 is available from a 2nd-level spell. Again, the warlock didn't do energy damage and that class is a little on the weak side.

I would add that the bombs have such a limited range, presuming they're like other thrown weapons - 5 x range increment and take such massive penalties at that outer range (10' range increment for alchemist fire = -8 penalty to thown bombs out to 50')

So 5th level elf Mr. Alchemist standing next to 5th level elf Mr. Wizard decide they want to kill the Kobolds 50 feet away. Mr. Wizard drops a fireball on them and all within 20' must make a save of DC 17 (+4 int, +3 spell) or take 5d6 points of damage. Mr. Alchemist mixes a bomb and thows it with a bonus to hit of +7 (+4 dex, +3 BAB) at one of the kobolds and must hit an equivalent touch AC of 20 (AC 10, +1 size, +1 dex, +8 range increment) in order to do 3d6+3.

Mr. Wizard smiles knowing he made a better career choice as he thows a few magic missiles at the kobold boss standing 200 feet away the following round, while the Mr. Alchemist runs clinking all the way in order to close the gap with the big boss man.

Since I made one about the Inquisitor it seems fitting that there should be one for the alchemist as well.

And that's it. I really like the Alchemist and just think he needs some minor adjustments.

1. Change mutagens to alchemical bonuses so they stack with magic items. (bonuses via mutagen are comperably worse than GP based stat bump items, and don't stack with them)

2. Either dramatically scale up bomb damage to be more in line with comparable classes such as wizard/ranger/rogue, or make specialization in the bombs far more powerful via discoveries.

3. As an offshoot of the above point - enable energy substitution for bombs as natural progression instead of discoveries, and include more discoveries to enable alchemical eqivalents of "empower" or "admixture".

Gee - I should probably have added my thoughts to the above - or learned how the reply button worked.

I agree that the mutagen as an Enhancement bonus does not offer much as a class feature. At second level, the Alchemist gets a 4300GP stat bump item that only works 10min/level and causes 1d4cha damage. And it stays a 4300GP stat bump item unless he invests heavily from other class features into making the stat bump item marginally better stat bump item.

The issue is that the class feature is only a substite for a pretty small amount of money. It offers nothing more than the alchemist could get by buying a +2 belt and drinking a 300GP potion.

Were the bonus an alchemical one - then there would be a really good reason for the Alchemist to spend that action in combat, or just before combat, in order to give him that +2 to one of his physical stats, and it would also make the greater mutagen's more attractive around the time you could get the greater mutagen feature especially since at that time the character probably would already be able to afford a +4 stat bump item.

I thought you might look so i am asking several questions

Is power attack broken

is the bard rubbish

Dos the sorcerer work

Is the fighter class unbalanced?

Do buff spells work better now or in the past.

Whats your thoughts

Ps prestigue classes in my view do they work no

I'm not boggle - but I'll answer anyway.

No, power attack is not broken.
No, Bards are not rubbish.
No, Sorcerer's don't work, they're too pretty.
No, the fighter class isn't unbalanced.
No, buff spells do not work better now (on the presumption that "better" equals "more powerful")

But the question in my mind was not, "how can I best multiclass the bard", it was "how can I make a bard that is good in combat."

The answers tickle me because it would be like saying, Fighters are a great class for spellcasting so long as you take class levels in a more spell oriented class.

Perhaps our disagreement then comes from a position of semantics. I'm the friend that Welby had posted the build from, and I feel that the character developed is both a bard and also is good in combat.

It's been my observation that a common complaint in 3.5 has been that bards were considered to be severely underpowered. Observations here in regards to the uselessness of bards lends credence to this view (and I must say, I at one time shared some of those opinions). In response to this outcry I believe the designers at WOTC developed some combat orientated prestige classes that raised bards power levels, compared to other Martial orientated classes, up substantially.

Times have changed. Bards are no longer the guy in the back strumming a lute and only walking to the front of the party if there's someone who needs to be talked to. They can be bare chested courtblade spinning Wagner screaming whirlwinds of destruction who singlehandedly slays dragons with 3x the hit points, and still have the skill points left-over to charm the pants off the duchess.

And when it comes down to it - isn't that really what's playing a bard all about? ;-)

"Why is it so difficult to believe that I can be a samurai without having a class with the word "samurai" in the title?? Can there not be facets of life that are not defined soley by class?" - Miko Miyazaki

So let me get this straight...

Bard are a great class for combat so long as you take other class levels in more combat oriented classes.

Yeah I can see that.

As with most classes, combining classes and feats lead to a far more effective build than a straight class.

Mutts are usually stronger than straight class. Monks and Druids come to mind as exceptions.