Pathfinder Player Companion: Alchemy Manual (PFRPG)

Yay Damiel!

Also: "wish alchemy"? I wish to know more.

Herbalism instead of alchemy. Interesting.

O.O

Liz is God!

No but awesome timing Liz, love it! :)

Are we finally going to add to the alchemist the ability to make an alchemical construct?

Golem: Uh, Master I think the boiler is about to...
Damiel: Not now! I've almost got it....
Golem: But the boiler's about to...
Damiel: NOT NOW!
*Boiler next to golem explodes*
*Damiel covered in multi-colored soot looks at the golem*
Damiel: Not one word about this to anyone. Ever.

"Wish Alchemy"?! Also creating living oozes with alchemy.

Golem: Uh, Master I think the boiler is about to...

Damiel: Not now! I've almost got it....
Golem: But the boiler's about to...
Damiel: NOT NOW!
*Boiler next to golem explodes*
*Damiel covered in multi-colored soot looks at the golem*
Damiel: Not one word about this to anyone. Ever.

Have you seen, like, any other illustration with him in it? He kind of screws up everything. Always.

...Aww, sweetie. Just keep trying :)

Updated product image and description! (So yes, zergtitan!)

I really, really love this cover. I'd buy this anyway but the cover is so excellent.

Very nice cover!!

Well folks, this product has Dwarven Magic Ale as a new school of alchemy. It includes a drunken barbarian archetype.

I want for nothing ever again.

I'm enjoying that Craft Ooze is now a Feat that exists; I hope to see it continue getting expanded Ooze-crafting options as new Oozes are added to the game. I also like how the overall number of alchemical items has been expanding and now even includes some mythic ones.

Nifty.

Oh my. They found a way to introduce recipes written in alchemical formulae without losing any material or being overly complicated. Very nice addition!

Okay please someone please spoil this, the wait for mine to ship is killing me.

What do you want to know?

What do you want to know?

New rules for crafting a wide variety of alchemical items in mere seconds using specialized reagents and alchemical processes.

New ways to craft and use alchemical items ranging from the practical to the bizarre, such as a method to use herbalism in place of alchemy

Could you expand more on these than the examples they have given?

I hope the second one means you can craft more powerful versions of the existing alchemical items. Like a more powerful version of Alchemist Fire.

This looks really cool. I really liked the alchemist before this due to how many variants you could build, now this is gonna get even better! Can't wait for it to ship!

This looks really cool. I really liked the alchemist before this due to how many variants you could build, now this is gonna get even better! Can't wait for it to ship!

It actually focuses more on creating alchemical items than the alchemist's discoveries / extracts.

There are feats an alchemist can take and have a lot of fun with (the spontaneous alchemy system comes to mind, as does the Daggermark Poisoner feats), but most of the book doesn't care if you're an alchemist or not and there's actually very little alchemist-specific content.

Rub-Eta wrote:

This looks really cool. I really liked the alchemist before this due to how many variants you could build, now this is gonna get even better! Can't wait for it to ship!

It actually focuses more on creating alchemical items than the alchemist's discoveries / extracts.

There are feats an alchemist can take and have a lot of fun with (the spontaneous alchemy system comes to mind, as does the Daggermark Poisoner feats), but most of the book doesn't care if you're an alchemist or not and there's actually very little alchemist-specific content.

That's even better!

Unless there are feats and such that specifically help non-alchemists to get to the same level of creating alchemical items as an alchemist.

And if there are feats like that it only means you can play an alchemist with other classes as well!

Quote:

New rules for crafting a wide variety of alchemical items in mere seconds using specialized reagents and alchemical processes.

New ways to craft and use alchemical items ranging from the practical to the bizarre, such as a method to use herbalism in place of alchemy

Could you expand more on these than the examples they have given?

I hope the second one means you can craft more powerful versions of the existing alchemical items. Like a more powerful version of Alchemist Fire.

The first one uses specific alchemical reagents in certain recipes to allow you to make any alchemical item in far less time than the usual minimum of a day to a week. Most items listed in the book can be made in less than a day, some in as little as ten minutes! Alchemist's fire is one than takes only ten minutes with an alchemist's lab and the right reagents.

With the feat Instant Alchemy, you can do these recipes as a standard action if they normally take ten minutes, ten minutes if they would take an hour, etc.

With this rush and the requirement of pure reagents, this can result in it being very expensive and has a chance of a mishap—melting your equipment, exploding, or producing a toxic gas as examples of mishaps.

The second part is about different Golarion methods of alchemy, from orcs shamans and witchdoctors of Belkzen, to making Daggermark Poisons,
Pei Zin Herbalism, and Varisian Fireworks as examples.

A feat called Poison Focus does allow you to make more potent forms of poisons (Daggermark Poisons section).

For making more potent versions of current items, I suggest using the masterwork rules under the Craft skill entry would allow more potent damage levels (or just assign higher DCs to such items or both). Designing such items and the times involved, this book would still be very much of use.

The first one uses specific alchemical reagents in certain recipes to allow you to make any alchemical item in far less time than the usual minimum of a day to a week. Most items listed in the book can be made in less than a day, some in as little as ten minutes! Alchemist's fire is one than takes only ten minutes with an alchemist's lab and the right reagents.

With the feat Instant Alchemy, you can do these recipes as a standard action if they normally take ten minutes, ten minutes if they would take an hour, etc.

With this rush and the requirement of pure reagents, this can result in it being very expensive and has a chance of a mishap—melting your equipment, exploding, or producing a toxic gas as examples of mishaps.

It sounds like the changes for making alchemical items faster really aren’t all that beneficial for actual Alchemists, which is pretty disappointing.

Alchemists already get Swift Alchemy (cutting the time in half) and eventually Instant Alchemy where they can make items as a full round action, and that is done with no additional risk than your standard risk when crafting. Kind of strange they used the same name for the feat as the Alchemist ability (Instant Alchemy).

The second part is about different Golarion methods of alchemy, from orcs shamans and witchdoctors of Belkzen, to making Daggermark Poisons,

Pei Zin Herbalism, and Varisian Fireworks as examples.

A feat called Poison Focus does allow you to make more potent forms of poisons (Daggermark Poisons section).

Well, this isn't as relevant for me as our GM builds his own world. Although I guess depending on what additional items are made through these different Golarian factions (shamans, witchdoctors etc), our GM may allow them. Would be interested to see what new items there are. At the very least I can probably use/craft them for my PFS Alchemist.

For making more potent versions of current items, I suggest using the masterwork rules under the Craft skill entry would allow more potent damage levels (or just assign higher DCs to such items or both). Designing such items and the times involved, this book would still be very much of use.

Ok, so there are rules on designing more potent alchemical items in this book? Or do you just mean doing it on our own, making it Masterwork and figuring out how the potency changes?

If there are rules on it, I can see my GM using it, but otherwise it’s just homebrew on what to assign (for extra damage).

Well folks, this product has Dwarven Magic Ale as a new school of alchemy. It includes a drunken barbarian archetype.

I want for nothing ever again.

There's already a drunken barbarian archetype. It's in Ultimate Combat. It's called Drunken Brute. ;)

It sounds like the changes for making alchemical items faster really aren’t all that beneficial for actual Alchemists, which is pretty disappointing.

Alchemists already get Swift Alchemy (cutting the time in half) and eventually Instant Alchemy where they can make items as a full round action, and that is done with no additional risk than your standard risk when crafting. Kind of strange they used the same name for the feat as the Alchemist ability (Instant Alchemy).

Alchemists get almost 100 new items in this book, augmented homunculi as lab assistants, and some mythic rule support. So there is a lot in here, but they augment the Alchemist instead of giving him new abilities.

Well, this isn't as relevant for me as our GM builds his own world. Although I guess depending on what additional items are made through these different Golarian factions (shamans, witchdoctors etc), our GM may allow them. Would be interested to see what new items there are. At the very least I can probably use/craft them for my PFS Alchemist.

All of the material is easily adapted to home brew settings. If your GM won't allow the crunch it could be a problem, but I have always liked taking other people's ideas and running with them. At least the alchemical substances are there.

Ok, so there are rules on designing more potent alchemical items in this book? Or do you just mean doing it on our own, making it Masterwork and figuring out how the potency changes?

If there are rules on it, I can see my GM using it, but otherwise it’s just homebrew on what to assign (for extra damage).

Nope, that was just my suggestion. The masterwork rules are already in the CRB, and that is all that is there. How that gets interpreted by the GM is up to him.

For the record, the substances in the Thuvian Wish Alchemy section seem more what you are talking about. Artokus’s Fire is more potent Alchemist's Fire, which get's even more powerful when wielded by a mythic creature. Ignore the mythic sections of these alchemical substances and they work fine as just more powerful alchemical substances.

There are no rules for creating stronger versions of previously existing alchemical substances in this book.

Does it mention elvish cooking from Elves of Golarion (which used alchemy)?

I have a problem with Artokus's Fire: it shouldn't be mythic.

That description pretty much matches Greek fire, made in the real world by real people thousands of years before the quasi-medieval-renaissance time period of Golarion. Why should something so grounded in ordinary reality be "mythic"?

I have a problem with Artokus's Fire: it shouldn't be mythic.

That description pretty much matches Greek fire, made in the real world by real people thousands of years before the quasi-medieval-renaissance time period of Golarion. Why should something so grounded in ordinary reality be "mythic"?

Most likely because Greek fire was literally a mythic weapon for its time, a liquid fire that could burn in water and no one was able to duplicate. Sounds pretty mythic to me thematically.

Now what about the herbalism alchemy?

Something looks weird with the new poisons. Many of them have secondary effects, which I thought was something done away with Pathfinder. Was I wrong?

Let's deal with the mythic stuff first: you don't have to be mythic to create it and in non-mythic hands, it just acts like intense alchemical agents. A mythic wielder has to use it in order to imbue it with mythic power. The alchemical stuff is simply so well made it responds to the presence of mythic power. It can still be used by normal people.

The only alchemy mentioned in regards to Kyonin is alchemical archery.

The herbalism is Tian in origin, allowing the practitioner to use Profession (herbalism) instead of Craft (alchemy) so long as the alchemical recipes they use have plant based reagents (Alchemical Fire uses spirit wine and magnesium, for example. Spirit wine is one of the reagents that is plant based, so it could be made).

Something looks weird with the new poisons. Many of them have secondary effects, which I thought was something done away with Pathfinder. Was I wrong?

Nope. Blue Whinnis, Drow Poison, and others have secondary effects. They are just rare.

What is the new class archetype?

Drunken Rager (Barbarian Archetype). They gain a point pool when drunk that allows them different abilities (like staggering around and effectively gaining evasion instead of uncanny dodge).

I have a problem with Artokus's Fire: it shouldn't be mythic.

That description pretty much matches Greek fire, made in the real world by real people thousands of years before the quasi-medieval-renaissance time period of Golarion. Why should something so grounded in ordinary reality be "mythic"?

I'm pretty sure alchemist's fire is already supposed to be Greek fire, so Artokus' fire is more like napalm.

I'm assuming that the game effects of pesh as found in Dark Markets: A Guide to Katapesh have been overruled by the game effects found in the Gamemastery Guide.

I notice in the Alchemy Guide that two new forms of Pesh are listed: black pesh and golden pesh.

[1] The Inner Sea World Guide describes refined pesh as sticky black blocks. Is that what the stat block for black pesh represents?
[2] What form does golden pesh take?
[3] And what form does the pesh found in the Gamemastery Guide take? Is this raw pesh?

What is the wish alchemy stuff, if you don't mind spoiling more.

Drunken Rager (Barbarian Archetype). They gain a point pool when drunk that allows them different abilities (like staggering around and effectively gaining evasion instead of uncanny dodge).

Uhh... isn't there already a Drunken Brute barbarian archetype? Do they stack?

Drunken Brute exchanges fast movement out and so does Drunken Rager, so no they do not stack.

What is the wish alchemy stuff, if you don't mind spoiling more.

Artokus Kieran has lots of time on his hands due to his invention of the youth-granting sun orchid elixir. Thuvian Wish Alchemy is the name given to the collective works of Artokus and his assistants in the Citadel of the Alchemist.

While the big discoveries—like the sun orchid elixir—are beyond anyone who isn't a mythic alchemist, there are "lesser" materials that even mundane alchemists can make. These items are so pure they respond to mythic power and as such a mythic wielder can make these items function even better than their rather potent regular functions by infusing them with mythic power.

There are also a couple of items that are only of use to mythic creatures.

The motto of this alchemical technique? Distilled Fate and Bottled Glory.

The entry includes two 1st Tier Universal Mythic abilities that augment use of alchemical splash weapons.

Feros,

The additional items are nice, but I have the same issue as many as a lot of the alchemical items that require saving throws lose their effectiveness at higher levels, that is why I was hoping there were rules on augmenting these items.

Being an Alchemist, the damage-based alchemical items aren’t as bad, as I can add my INT modifier, but a 12 DC for Sneezing Powder is always going to 12. I wish they would have put rules in there to be able to raise that.

As for the current rules for Masterwork under the Craft skill, I really think that is more geared towards weapons and armor, as well as the tool kits, as Paizo already has clear rules on what the bonuses give you.

What does a Masterwork Alchemist Fire do? What about Masterwork Tanglefoot Bag? Yes, a GM can always take more time to make up numbers for that, but that can be time-consuming, as well as challenging in trying to keep it balanced.

Besides the fact, is someone really going to spend 300 GP for an alchemical (weapon) item for a one-time use? Even if you charged the minimum 50 GP (associated with the tool kits), would someone pay 70 GP for a Masterwork Alchemist Fire?

Not trying to completely put the book down, I will buy it either way as I am curious what new items were added. But I can’t say I’m not disappointed they haven’t addressed some of the older and ongoing issues with alchemy items losing their usefulness at higher levels.

I was about to make an Alchemist, but when I saw this I pushed it back till I get this shiped. However, is worth waiting? I mean: Is there any content that is aimed at early game or could be heavily used as foundations to new builds? Or is everything new stuff you can add to an already exsisting character?

Can't wait to get my hands on this book, my archer alchemist could really use some more options. Being a Kyonin native these "alchemical arrows" will fit right in with the backstory and playstyle!

They didn't add in anything to increase the DC of the alchemical items yet? Ah well, at least it sounds like there is something for making poisons useful. Might actually do something with the Poison Use ability for once, lol.

For those interested in increasing the DCs of items, if you're ok with third-party materials, Krazy Kragnar's Alchemical Surplus Shop pdf (available here at paizo.com) includes Alchemical Goad which does exactly what you're looking for.

For those interested in increasing the DCs of items, if you're ok with third-party materials, Krazy Kragnar's Alchemical Surplus Shop pdf (available here at paizo.com) includes Alchemical Goad which does exactly what you're looking for.

Krazy Kragnar's Alchemical Surplus Shop—all sales of alchemical items final, no refunds! :P

Feros,

The additional items are nice, but I have the same issue as many as a lot of the alchemical items that require saving throws lose their effectiveness at higher levels, that is why I was hoping there were rules on augmenting these items.

Being an Alchemist, the damage-based alchemical items aren’t as bad, as I can add my INT modifier, but a 12 DC for Sneezing Powder is always going to 12. I wish they would have put rules in there to be able to raise that.

As for the current rules for Masterwork under the Craft skill, I really think that is more geared towards weapons and armor, as well as the tool kits, as Paizo already has clear rules on what the bonuses give you.

What does a Masterwork Alchemist Fire do? What about Masterwork Tanglefoot Bag? Yes, a GM can always take more time to make up numbers for that, but that can be time-consuming, as well as challenging in trying to keep it balanced.

Besides the fact, is someone really going to spend 300 GP for an alchemical (weapon) item for a one-time use? Even if you charged the minimum 50 GP (associated with the tool kits), would someone pay 70 GP for a Masterwork Alchemist Fire?

Not trying to completely put the book down, I will buy it either way as I am curious what new items were added. But I can’t say I’m not disappointed they haven’t addressed some of the older and ongoing issues with alchemy items losing their usefulness at higher levels.

I actually agree that there was an opportunity here to put forward a method of upping the DCs or damage (or both) of alchemical items. A noticeable absence. It's a shame.

I wonder if it will have rules for crafting a grapple gun?

You would think they would just give the alchemist to have the DC of his items be the same DC as his bombs.

Drunken Brute exchanges fast movement out and so does Drunken Rager, so no they do not stack.

>_> This is my disapproving face.

You would think they would just give the alchemist to have the DC of his items be the same DC as his bombs.

Alchemical know how: your abilities with the alchemical arts are second to none and you know how to improve alchemical items on the fly. Whenever you use an alchemical item you can choose to use either the item's DC or the DC of your bombs whichever is higher. In addition, items with duration effects last for either the the listed duration of dice or the number of dice you roll for bomb damage (so a tangle foot bag lasts for 3d4 rounds instead of 2d4 rounds if thrown by a 5th level alchemist). Using this ability consumes a bomb from the alchemists daily allotment.

If you want to make it a discovery make it need like a level 2-4 requirement one.

There hope that helps people.

Can someone start spoiling some of the new alchemical items in this? The wait is killing me and from the looks of it they will not hit my inbox till after Easter.

mysticbelmont wrote:

You would think they would just give the alchemist to have the DC of his items be the same DC as his bombs.

Alchemical know how: your abilities with the alchemical arts are second to none and you know how to improve alchemical items on the fly. Whenever you use an alchemical item you can choose to use either the item's DC or the DC of your bombs whichever is higher. In addition, items with duration effects last for either the the listed duration of dice or the number of dice you roll for bomb damage (so a tangle foot bag lasts for 3d4 rounds instead of 2d4 rounds if thrown by a 5th level alchemist). Using this ability consumes a bomb from the alchemists daily allotment.

If you want to make it a discovery make it need like a level 2-4 requirement one.

There hope that helps people.

Is that from a book or did you just make that up?