ottdmk's page

I started playing PFS games online during the Pandemic. I've really enjoyed the experience, for a number of reasons.

1) It's hard to get into a long running campaign. I'm lucky... I've been in two so far.

2) I got into my second long running group (we played through Extinction Curse and Outlaws of Alkenstar over a couple of years) because I met the GM through online PFS play.

3) Fitting in a 4-5 hour gaming session every now and then has been relatively painless.

4) I usually enjoy the plotlines.

5) I've "met" some genuinely imaginative, out of the box players. PFS tends to encourage trying out different concepts, ones that might not hold up over a long campaign but are really, really fun.

6) I enjoy GM'ing, and PFS Scenarios fit my GM'ing style quite well. I like bringing life to NPCs, but I suck at coming up with plots. Making homebrew campaigns is not for me.

I owe a lot to online PFS. I credit it with contributing significantly to my continued sanity during the height of the Covid pandemic.

Edited to add: While I realize it can contribute to "roll play", I like that PFS puts a lot of emphasis on Skill Checks and Recall Knowledge Checks. You don't want to neglect either Combat or Out of Combat abilities, no matter what you're playing, because both will definitely come up.

Though I do believe Shove technically does let you choose a direction, As long as the creature ends up further away.

That's always been my interpretation. Away on a diagonal is still away (as one example.)

No, the High DC at level 4 is 21 (20 at level 3). And High DC is what you generally face, spellcasters often even get closer to Extreme DC.

As pointed above, Caster Enemies usually use at least the High DC for their abilities. For their more signature abilities that often come with the debilitating effects, they sometimes even use the Extreme DC.

So, in 90% of the cases, the Item level of the specific elixirs requires you to roll nat20s to counteract.

This is absolutely not the case.

All Easytools Monsters isn't quite as comprehensive as it once was, but it's still a great starting point for most general trends. The Modal (or most common) Spell DC per Creature Level matches the High DC from GM Core. So, add +2 to all my numbers from my previous post.

Rolls of 11+ or 14+ are not the same as needing a Nat 20 90% of the time. Should Extreme DCs come into play, 15-16+, or 19-20. Still not Nat 20 90% of the time, especially as the Extreme DCs aren't supposed to be common until L15+... and even then, they're not especially common if All Easytools can be believed.

Now, is the capability provided by the Invigorating Elixir feat superior? Absolutely, as it should be. Investing three (possibly four, if you get both versions of Improved Invigorating Elixir) Class Feats should be considerably more potent than baseline Alchemical Items.

Still, having capability of removing conditions, even on a roll of 14+, basically for free... this is not a bad thing, in my opinion. Not something to be using on a regular basis, but good to have in the toolkit in case of emergency.

Back in the Core Rulebook era, my Bomber got hit with a Clumsy 2 condition, with a duration of 1 minute. Basically, a really annoying full fight Debuff. So I took a chance, spent a Batch on a Sinew-Shock Serum... and it worked. Made all the difference in that fight, and played really well into my Class Fantasy for Alchemist... the right tool, at the right time, always.

On a different topic...

Yeah, the healing from a Versatile Vial is completely underwhelming, even if it can be Ranged with no chance of missing. Only real use case, in Encounter Mode, is if you need to stabilize someone and you're out of better options.

Even out of Encounter Mode, adding 1 or 2 d6 to your Treat Wounds routine is pretty meh.

The only point where it gets interesting, is when Chirurgeons get their Advanced Vial ability at 11th.

Being able to heal to half at a rate of 40d6 hp (avg 140) per minute, for free, has a use case. I've been in situations where time between encounters is at a premium. Going to half for no resources that quickly... there've been times I would've liked that. At 12th level, with Greater VVs, it goes up to 60d6 per minute, or averaging 210.

Go to half with VVs, then throw in a Soothing Tonic to add in 50 hp over half in a just another minute... that's a lot of healing in a very short period of time.

Definitely not your usual set of circumstances, but I still find it interesting that the capacity is there.

So, in 90% of the cases, the Item level of the specific elixirs requires you to roll nat20s to counteract.

It's not quite that bad.

Bottled Catharsis and its counterpart, Surging Serum, got their mechanics smoothed out a bit over their APG versions, Focus Cathartic and Sinew-Shock Serum with the addition of an 8th level version.

2nd Level: Counteract Level 1, Check Modifier +6, can Counteract anything with a CL of 1 or 2 on a success. Typical DC of a CL1 effect is 15, meaning a 9 or better works. CL2 is 18, so a 12 would be needed.

4th Level: CL 2, CM +8. Counteracts CL2 or 3 on a success. CL2 still 18, so 10+. CL3 DC 20, so again 12+.

8th level: CL 4, CM +14. CL4 or 5 on a success. CL 4, DC 23, so 9+. CL 5, DC 26, 12+.

12th level: CL 6, CM +19. CL 6 or 7 on a success. CL 6 DC is 28, so 9+; CL 7 DC 31, so 12+.

Now, by this pattern, there really ought to be a 16th level version. There isn't. So, until L18, if you want to Counteract a L8 Condition, you need a Crit Success with this serum... which means a Nat 20.

18th level: CL 9, CM +28. CL 9 or 10 on a success. CL 9 is DC 36, so an 8+ will work. DC for CL10 is 39, so 11+.

So really, if you can use the at-level stuff, this isn't too bad. There are awkward levels, of course, because CLs increase on odd levels, and this Serum increases on even ones. So 7th and 11th levels, if you need to Counteract a CL 4 or CL 6, you'll need Nat 20s. It's worst for levels 15-17... yes, in theory, Greater Bottled Catharsis can Counteract CLs 8 or 9, but again, Nat 20s.

Invigorating Elixir will generally be better, because the Class DC - 10 formula will almost always be better, and (Class Level / 2, Round Up) for Counteract Level increases on the odd levels.

Contagion Metabolizer, the general anti-Disease/anti-Poison Elixir, is a bit more awkward. It only has three Tiers, not five... but its Counteract Level is (Item Level/2 round up), not (Item Level/2).

So the L5 version has CL3, meaning it works on a success for CLs 3 & 4... which generally will handle up to Level 9 when CL 5 shows up. The +11 check means a success on 9 (CL3) or 12 (CL4) before starting to need Nat 20s for CL5 at Levels 9 & 10.

Level 11, things start to work as expected again with Moderate. CL 6 and 7 on a Success, +19 on the roll is as strong as the L12 Bottled Catharsis... so rolls of 9 or 12 again. Gets awkward at 15th, just like Bottled Catharsis, but stays so for an additional level, because Greater Contagion Metabolizer is L19.

The advantage there being, Contagion Metabolizer finishes with a CL of 10, which makes CL 9 Counteracted on a Failed roll. The Modifier (+30) is also stronger.

I've currently only played my 10th Level Mutagenist under the PC2 rules. I'm looking forward to playing my 11th level Bomber later this month (if I can grab a spot when 6-09, The Power of Legends drops.)

So, Norm Waglan, my Mutagenist, has Int +5 but doesn't have Efficient Alchemy. So, 9 Advanced Alchemy Items a day. He also has an Alchemical Familiar, and usually will take Extra Alchemy & Extra Vial.

4 doses of Bestial Mutagen.
1 Darkvision Elixir
2 Antidotes
1 Antiplague
1 Soothing Tonic in case he's out of Versatile Vials.
1 Mistform Elixir

He has 7 regenerating Versatile Vials, with an additional once-per-day one from Jeeves (his familiar.)

I've only played him twice. However, the following regimen has worked quite well:
Every ten minutes: Cheetah's Elixir, Bravo's Brew, Eagle-Eye Elixir.

I'm not a huge fan of the "drink your regen limit every ten minutes" strategy, but I've gotta admit, it's effective.

Roll Initiative: Hit the Collar, take a point of Piercing, gain 10 temp HP from the Bestial.
First round of the fight: Combine Elixirs Soothing & Numbing Tonics, Stride or Raise Shield (usually Raise Shield).
Rest of the fight: Two Versatile Vials in reserve.

Last game, was able to pre Buff, which I find pretty rare usually. So, used the one-a-day to add in Chromatic Jellyfish Oil and burnt the final two Versatile Vials on Rainbow Vinegar and Iron Wine. Still spent the first round on Soothing & Numbing.

Errata gets incorporated when a book gets reprinted. At that time the PDF will be updated for no additional cost for those who own an earlier edition in that format.

I've been meaning to chime in on this for a while.

I think there's a real place for this Archetype.

I think it scratches a different itch than Warpriest. I played a Core Rulebook Warpriest for 20 levels through Extinction Curse. I did so partly because of the poor online reputation of the Doctrine, and I never regretted it. Loved the character & loved the Doctrine.

This would be different. There's a real psychological benefit, IMHO, to getting your Expert Proficiency with Strikes at the same time as everyone else. I imagine it will be most pronounced in 1-10 campaigns. I know the Warpriest player in my Abomination Vaults campaign has been eagerly waiting to catch up with the others at L7.

Not as strong a Spellcaster, to be sure, but I think that's ok. You still have four strong slots on top of your Battle Auras, and then there's the Creed Magic slots. To be honest, when I was playing Ellisar, my Warpriest, a lot of times I wasn't casting all that many spells in an Encounter.

Also, I like the mechanic. Put up a Bless (something Ellisar did a lot), and then start hitting things.. and starting at 4th the Emanation will increase 10'.

I like Empowered Onslaught as well. The idea that a Crit can start a slippery slope is pretty cool. Because with Bless, a Crit leads to an equal Status Bonus to Strike as Rank Six Heroism... For everybody in the party, including yourself. Which makes a second Critical just that much more likely... And that's Rank 9.

About the only thing I really don't like is that Aura Expertise doesn't play well with Empowered Onslaught if you only have one Aura up.

If this had been around when I played Extinction Curse, I might've chosen it. No regrets at all, but still, maybe.

"Sacrificing thralls... is there anything it can't do?" - To paraphrase a certain lich.

You're a bit off with Alchemist accuracy. The big thing is, Alchemists have Mutagens, and Mutagens help.

I have a Bomber in PFS, currently 11th level. With the Remaster rules, his accuracy compared to a Rogue looks like this:

-2: 13 & 14
-1: 2, 5, 6, 10
Even: 1, 3, 4, 11, 12, 16, 20
+1: 7, 8, 9, 15, 17, 18, 19

I tend to discount the -1 levels. I've played through them three times so far, pre-Remaster. It really doesn't make much of an impact.

So that leaves 13 & 14 as the only truly painful levels. Which sucks, but at least it's only two levels.

This reminds me of Raise a Tome. the L2 Magus feat. My Sparkling Targe Magus has that one; it's fun!

I take full credit. I upped my pledge by $31 (CDN) this morning.

:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

(But seriously, it's weird to think that if I didn't do that, on a whim, it would've finished just short.)

They broke $610,000 by eighteen dollars (Canadian)!!! Which means the campaign met the Multiclass Archetyping Stretch Goal!!!

Talk about every dollar pledged counting! Heck, I upped my own pledge this morning on a whim by $31! (Went from Early Bird Digital with a dice set to Digital Deluxe with three dice sets.)

While it is rather silly, by RAW you cannot just throw a Bomb at the ground. The definition of Strike specifies a Creature as the Target, and a Strike is how you Activate a Bomb.

It also occurs to me that things like the somewhat unique design space of Skunk Bombs may be why Paizo decided to end area Splash on a miss.

Hasn't Paizo been fairly clear that Starfinder 2e is only balanced internally? That while yes, the underlying rules are compatible, bringing content from one game to the other is not for the faint of heart?

I've written "An Alchemist's Guide to Alchemical Items", and I've included a section that deals with Alchemical Foods. Please download it... the Google Drive PDF viewer is definitely not the best.

I haven't updated it to Player Core 2 yet, and definitely not the Tian Xia Character Guide (which I don't own yet.) But it's reasonably complete. Hopefully you can find it useful. Feedback is always welcome.

And no matter how little investment the Alch has in bomb-throwing as a specialization, the comparison is clear.

Trip, you are putting way too much value on action compression here.

Yes, you are correct: with Quick Bomber, any Alchemist doing a Double Brew could make a Quick Vial Strike for free.

The question for Strength builds is: Why bother?

Let's take my 10th level Mutagenist as an example. He is now Dex +2. So, you're suggesting that it's worth it to trade my Alchemical Familiar (his original Level 1 Feat) for Quick Bomber.

As Norm is -3 behind where my Bomber was at 10th, the most likely outcome of this free Strike is a simple miss, at 45% (at-level Opponent, High AC, 0 MAP). Overall miss chance, counting critical miss, is 60%. So I've spent my 1st level Feat for the opportunity to do 2 points of Acid Splash, with a chance to do absolutely nothing with a roll of 1-3.

So no, Quick Bomber is not a feat tax. It's great if you're a Bomber... it may even be worth it if you're going Ranged but not using Bombs as your primary attack. For other builds, there are much better things to spend your 1st level Class Feat on.

I play two Alchemists in PFS. The first is a Bomber, and yeah, I have Quick Bomber (although I only took it at L5 through a Halfling Ancestry Feat.)

The second is a Mutagenist, who only just got Dex +2 at 10th level. He's thrown a Bomb maybe once in his entire career.

So, I'm deeply glad it's a Feat, not a Class Feature. I don't need anything in there that says "You should always be throwing Bombs!" No, with the Mutagenist, I prefer ripping things to shreds.

The archetype is stronger in some ways, weaker in others. The Core Rulebook archetype could, by 20th, make 40 Items each day, while the Player Core 2 version tops out considerably lower, and somewhere between four-seven of them have to be made with Quick Alchemy.

On the other hand, the Item Level progression in Core Rulebook was horrible, and topped out at 15, while the Items created with Player Core 2 can be your Level or lower.

The new archetype is strongest for someone who can keep a hand free (for Quick Alchemy) and wants to use an Elixir of some kind (Mutagen or other) every combat. There is a lot of potential there.

I have a flurry Ranger in PFS that uses a Clan Dagger with Doubling Rings. The Dagger has the Runes, and his main weapon is either a Short Sword or a Light Hammer. It's been a lot of fun.

I like the Clan Dagger for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it has Parry, and my guy has Twin Parry building towards Twin Riposte. Secondly, it has Bludgeoning. Thirdly, it's just thematic as anything.

Does that familiar versatile vial replenish along with the others?

Extra Vial: Your familiar accretes alchemical liquids in its body. Once per day, you can Interact when your familiar is adjacent to you to gain a versatile vial. You must have the versatile vials ability to select this ability.

Given the specific wording, I would say the answer is no.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but literally the only thing your research field is doing for you in your level 10 example is granting some temp HP which wouldn't stack with your numbing elixir.

Don't underestimate the strategic value of the the Mutagen Temp HP. Its a great buffer until you get the opportunity to use something like a Numbing Tonic.

Numbing is fantastic, but it can be rather impractical. It's a one minute duration Buff, which means that you basically cannot use it in advance unless you are positive that hostilities will ensue immediately after.

So, Levels One to Four, you carry your Mutagen in your hand and chug it. Now, you might have a Numbing in your other hand to activate in the same round. You might not. The 3 or 4 temp HP from the Mutagen will beat the 2 HP from a minor Numbing regardless.

Fifth level it becomes even more strategic. You activate a Collar on Initiative and gain the temp HP (usually 6.) If you take a hit between Initiative and your first Action, it's definitely served a good purpose.

I'll admit the Field Vial benefits leave something to be desired, at least until 17th. Although I keep having this picture in my head of having a VV in hand in order to pull off something ridiculous while under the effect of Choker-Arm Mutagen. I also keep thinking that a two-hand-free Build could get some mileage out of keeping a VV in hand to gain the Advanced Vials ability in an emergency.

Man, now that I think about it, it's a shame you can't use Combine Elixirs to combine a Quick Vial with an Elixir. I can definitely think of some situations that would come in handy.

So can versatile vials be used for their alternate function without quick alchemy first? If I'm playing a toxicologist, does that mean I can use a VV directly from my stash to poison an attack and then make a strike?

If so, that changes my mind quite of bit on them from what I saw on the YT vids that seemed to imply that you had to QA the item and them apply it and then strike

Absolutely. You can hold a VV in your hand and just use it for your Research Field ability for one action should you wish.

On the contrary, I think Mutagenist is probably the best at using Mutagens, largely because their priorities allow them to combine Mutagens with other Elixirs more than other Alchemists.

Take my 10th level Mutagenist. Remastered, he will have Combine Elixirs, and he will have the Versatile Vials available to use with that Feat.

Bombers want to keep most of their Vials for Additive Bombs. Chirurgeons want them available for healing Elixirs and tools. Toxicologists will be stopping outside every door to Poison up their blowgun darts and other weapons (I really like Pernicious Poison, and it's an Additive feat.) Mutagenists? They can prioritize improving themselves.

My 10th level guy will activate his Collar on Initiative for a 5 minute Bestial (yeah, Bestial will be coming out of his Advanced Alchemy pool) and some temp HP (which may come in handy if he's low in the Initiative order.) First round? Combine Elixirs for Moderate Numbing and Soothing Tonics.

13th level? Probably going to max out the Advanced Alchemy pool with four Sanguine Mutagens, which he'll use all day (Extend Elixirs). Bestial in the collar as usual. First round, Combine Elixirs for Numbing Tonic and a Blood Booster. Or maybe a Blood Booster and a Bravo's Brew. Or...

And if he needs to add in more, he'll be able to. Should be fun.

The Ronyon wrote:

Are there any scenarios were spending an action to negate the downsides of a mutagen is clearly worthwhile?

Quicksilver Mutagen makes you lose the use of one of your skills. If you absolutely need it then the action is worth it.

Now, the cases will be extremely rare. But honestly, I haven't understood the point of VVs: They seem always lackluster compared to actual items, whatever your Research Field.

Just a quick correction: you're thinking of Silvertongue Mutagen, not Quicksilver.

Negating Silvertongue's Drawback is a good way to go though. As this will likely be out of combat, that action economy won't matter too much. And avoiding Silvertongue's Recall Knowledge failure->Critical Failure Drawback is definitely a good way to go if you need to remember something.

You can probably not bother with Striking Runes, although a late game Alchemist (L15+) now has as good or (usually) better accuracy than anyone other than a Fighter or Gunslinger if they want it. I'm personally of the opinion that they'll clarify that Bestial will grant the extra 2 Deadly dice at Levels 11 and 17, but we'll see.

The reason you still want Handwraps and why you want to upgrade their Potency rune is Property Runes. For example, you can have my Mutagenist's Astral Rune over his cold, dead body... and he's a Mutagenist. He is incredibly hard to kill... Now, more than ever.

That is the official PFS ruling, yes: Anything not reprinted that isn't the core Class chassis is fair game.

However, in practical terms, Calculated Splash is dead. Newer Alchemist players won't even know it exists.

Looking at the Lie action, it seems to me that the time involved reflects the effort to make the lie convincing, not that lying itself is incredibly time consuming.

Also, I think there will always be ways around this. "Where is the girl?" "Where you'll never find her!" would, IMO, constitute a direct response to the question and could definitely qualify as not a lie should the person responding believe it.

Keep in mind that Alchemist Goggles are a +1-+3 bonus to Splash damage on a miss. While I'm glad they found something to replace the no-longer-needed Item Bonus to Strikes (as using lower tier Bombs is definitely in the past) the damage buff is lacklustre. As before, the main appeal is knocking the Circumstance Bonus from Cover down a notch.

It's been confirmed that Alchemist gets Expert Proficiency in Strikes at Level Seven, same as before.

Versatile Vials are Bombs. They have the Bomb trait. So when you use the Quick Vial version of Quick Alchemy, you are using Quick Alchemy to create a Bomb and hence Quick Bomber applies.

Wow. Maximum duration of any Quick Alchemy'd elixir is ten minutes. Which means any of the longer duration buffs is now competing for a slot of your tiny 5-13 daily item pool (depending on Int Mod and Feat Choices. 13 only possible if you take the unlikely step of grabbing an Int Apex.) That is really, really sad.

My 11th level Bomber would have 9 daily items under this system. Under the old system, I could easily make myself 8 doses of Greater Quicksilver a day and have tons of stuff left over. Not now.

Perpetual Infusions are gone. In its place is Quick Vial. So, instead of being able to make a Sticky Moderate Acid Flask when I have no other options, my guy would now do a Moderate Versatile Vial that does 2d6+Splash of Acid, Cold, Electricity or Fire. (Versatile Vial Bombs are 1 level behind normal Bombs. Greater Versatile Vial appears at L12.)

On the bright side, the Quick Alchemy section confirms that even Alchemists only need one formula for any Tier Item. So that is a lot of gold back in my pockets.

It's still a possibility that is impossible to ignore though. Unless I see that Perpetual Infusions has survived in some manner (I've been looking; I've seen nothing either way) I have to consider that they've now insured that a Bomber Alchemist can run out of Bombs in any encounter. Or possibly start an encounter with only two Bombs (I've been in situations where we barely got ten minutes to patch ourselves up and get ready for the next wave.)

I really wish Paizo could put the PDFs on sale at the same time they send out the advance copies. I understand why they can't, I just really wish they could.

Indications are that Quick Alchemy with Vials is unlimited, but each Research Field gets some special benefits from them.

Mutagenists, for example, can chug a Vial to repress the Drawback of a Mutagen until the end of your next turn. Weird. Not sure I like it.

Man, the more I think about it, the more I like Twirling Throw. Throwing things across the battlefield doesn't really fit with my vision of a Swashbuckler... not as a regular attack thing. Even throwing Swashbucklers should be closer to the action, IMHO. But a Finisher? Yeah, the big throw as a Finisher, that works for me. Very cinematic.

Looking forward to getting more details on Bravado. Why isn't PC2 here yet, again? *grin*

Other thing to remember is that activating a Collar of the Shifting Spider is a free Interact action. You need a hand free to activate the Collar.

My main concern since the PaizoCon panel can be summed up by this quote from earlier in the thread:

We just don't know how versatile those vials actually are.

Right now, we know these things:

1) They can be turned into Alchemical Items really quickly and you can replenish them during Exploration.
2) Any Versatile Vial can be thrown as an "acid bomb".
3) Each Research Field has their own specific way it can use them. Two examples were given: Toxicologists can make a Poison, Chirurgeons can make a Healing item.

So the first point, all well and good. The second point? Not a big fan of anything that reinforces the notion that all Alchemists use Bombs, and this does that. Still, not really a big deal.

It's the third one that worries me. It suggests that only a Toxicologist can turn a Versatile Vial into a Poison. Only a Chirurgeon can turn one into a healing item.

Now, I could be off base here. Maybe the Research Fields get to turn Versatile Vials into non-standard versions of those items. Maybe the Poison and the Healing Item are something specific, as opposed to a general Item from GM Core or PC2. But I'm still worried that post Player Core 2 my Bomber won't be able to Quick Alchemy a Contagion Metabolizer or similar Item any more.

My other concerns?

Is my Infused Reagents pool going to shrink? If so, by how much? I don't want to be using Versatile Vials for my combat mutagens... that's too slow. I want to have enough Infused Reagents to make sufficient Quicksilver Mutagens (minimum 4) each day, right from Level 1 (which I've done twice now.)

Are we keeping Perpetual Infusions under this new dual pool scheme? Renewable Versatile Vials are great, but without Perpetual Infusions you can still run out of Resources during any particular Encounter. My combat style relies heavily on Persistent Damage through the Sticky Bomb feat and my Pepetual Potency (Moderate) Bombs.

Double Brew? I use Double Brew to grab a bit of extra damage (and maybe an off-guard) when I don't have to move. This one largely ties back into the "do we keep Perpetual Infusions?" question.

I suppose what it boils down to is that I'm very unsure as to whether I can play my Alchemists post-PC2 as I have pre PC2. Which I don't think has been the case with any other Remastered Class, not even Witch. Witch gained some new things you could build around, but at the end of the day you didn't have to alter how you played a Witch. I'm not sure whether the same can be said for Alchemist... at least not yet.

I just wish PC2 would hurry up and get here so I'd know one way or another.

The fact that bomb splash no longer works on a miss by default suggests pretty strongly that they'll be getting some sort of accuracy bump.

This is, as yet, unclear. While Player Core has that explanation for Splash, GM Core maintains the version of Splash in use since Core Rulebook came out. So, another thing to look for in PC2: Which version of Splash does Paizo actually want everyone to use?

On the other hand: using a clan dagger is a very thematic thing for a Dwarf to do.

Yeah, that's the main reason I do it. The other reason is that it has Parry, meaning that Twin Parry is just as good as raising a shield.

That will come in quite handy when I eventually get Twin Riposte.

What worries me are the lines about each Research Field being able to do something special with Versatile Vials. Toxicologist can make a poison, Chirurgeon can make a healing thing.

It's sounding like they've crippled Quick Alchemy, and if that's the case, I am not going to be happy. One of the things I've absolutely loved about the Class is the ability to pull out anything I need if I have a Batch free.

Your guide is really well organized!

That was one of my goals, so thank you very much!

...the two separate rules about splash damage in the Player Core 1 and the Gamemaster Core are still in conflict and unresolved after the last round of Errata.

Indeed. I agree that should the Player Core version be the final one, it will likely be due to Alchemists getting a proficiency bump. However, I would miss the full Splash on Failed Strike we have now. It's been fantastic for my Bombers.

<stuff on bleed

I don't want to get too into the reeds here. I do, however, mention the Exsanguinating Ammo is a teamwork ammo for the most part.

Possibility of a section on Persistent Damage

I kinda like the idea. Not sure if this Guide is the right place for it though. Might save it for my next project, which I plan to do on Bombers.

Steelscour

Thanks for the catch! Haven't uploaded it yet but I've altered my blurb accordingly.

Soothing Tonics

While Soothing Tonics are not a favourite, (hence not Blue) they are a solid Green. My concern with Soothing Tonics as a healing tool in combat is the possibility of whack-a-moling a character to death. Popping up from Dying with 3 HP is very tricky. That's why I would use an Elixir of Life to bring someone back instead. Yeah, you could get unlucky, but at 5th at least the Elixir is guaranteed to start them off at 9 instead of 3. Every bit helps.

On the downside of the Concealed condition and Most form

I stand by my assessment, but you make a good point. I'll add a note about the potential downside to the entry.

On soothing vs numbing

I tend to look at it this way: you've supposed to be starting a fight at full health. Lesser Numbing Tonic (L5) will prevent 5 HP of damage. Moderate Soothing will heal 3 HP. So Numbing is 66% more effective. So yes, Soothing will work every round where Numbing won't... but it takes 2 rounds to heal what Numbing prevented in one. At 16th Level, Numbing is 400% more effective than the available Soothing. This settles down to 200% when Major Soothing arrives at 17th, before Numbing's lead increases to 250% more effective with True Numbing at 19th.

Hi all,

I thought about necro'ing the previous thread I made on this, but I figured it's been a while, and this is a BIG update, so why not go with a new thread.

Basically, I think I've finished... at least until Player Core 2 comes out.

So please, if you're so inclined, take a look and let me know what you think.

An Alchemist's Guide to Alchemical Items (Google Drive link)

Things like the Will-o'-Wisp make me love Revealing Mist all the more... especially when combined with Cat's Eye Elixir.

I'm mostly looking forwards to hints on PC2. Especially Alchemist... I'll admit to being a bit worried that they'll change my favourite class a little too much.

But I'm also looking forward to what they're doing with the rest of the PC2 classes.

I play a Sparkling Targe in PFS. I'll usually cast a Cantrip and go into Cascade on Round 1. Occasionally, if I need to move, I'll "Cheat" and cast Shield to go into Cascade.

The name "Come and Get Me" is already taken.

One advantage of Diverse Weapon Expert is that, as it is a Fighter Archetype feat, it applies to Fighter Resiliency. It's not a lot, but it's something.

As consumables, bombs can’t have runes etched onto them, have talismans attached to them, or benefit from runes granted in other ways (such as from spells or from items that replicate runes from other items).

For anyone who was wondering.

This has been an interesting discussion. Talk about an edge case.

A little harsh, but if your GM gave you access to Peshpine Grenades...

I've only recently started GM'ing regularly. I have a regular group going through the Abomination Vaults every 2nd Wednesday. I also GM PFS Scenarios where I can.

PFS is built around the likelihood of different leveled characters involved in the Scenario, and I find it accommodates that reality quite well.

For my AP campaign, I've made the conscious decision that all players will be at the same level. If a player misses a session, he still gets the XP the group earned. I do it this way to make things easier for myself, and I make no apologies. I've made it difficult enough for myself by allowing the group to grow to six players.

I wonder if giving a Toxicologist a Misfortune effect in one of their Field Discoveries would work? Have it so that if the vector works (target is injured, drinks the poisoned wine, breathes the cloud, etc.) the target has to roll twice and take the worse roll.

Too much?