For whatever reason I want a playable level 14 alchemist (maybe he will be my back up, maybe a super NPC,...)
Things that won't change, even if you think they are silly:
- Race: Elf
- fights with a two-handed sword (maybe a longsword, two-handed) never with unarmed attacks (Style)
- composite longbow and the explosive missile discovery
- Greater Mutagen Discovery
- 25 Point Buy,
- Charisma not lower than 8
- likes Bombs just as much as his big sword
- needs good saves
- 14 levels of Alchemist, no multiclassing
-
I am interested in:
- starting stats (other than Charisma)
- 5 Discoveries, Feat Selection
- Gear
- extracts
Questions besides the build-advice: Can an alchemist take Item Creations Feats as other spellcasters? I think he can, so I would take two Item Creation Feats (Wondrous Items, W&A) to take advantage of WBL.
Maybe someone has an idea for such a character or do you think a good melee build with a two handed weapon is not possible with the class?
Thanks in advance
Are you thinking of taking any Archetypes? Because either Grenadier or Ragechemist could help a lot depending on whether you want a slight emphasis on Bombs or Melee.
Also, I'm 80% sure Alchemists can use their extracts to qualify as spells for the purpose of crafting.
I don't know how well a 2h build would do. Mine uses natural attacks (feral mutagen) for melee and bombs for range and I think I've been doing pretty good. Using a weapon 2h would do more damage per hit than a natural attack (claw or bite), but your "to hit" on your iterative attacks would be lower.
For extracts, some of the ones I prepare often are, shield, barkskin, alchemical allocation, ablative barrier, false life (or greater), displacement, heroism, freedom of movement, universal formula, delayed consumption. I would suggest at least learning the remove blindness/deafness/curse/disease formulas along with the restoration/lesser restoration formulas. Also leave 1 slot open per lv if you can, just incase you or your party needs one of those or something else, it also wouldn't hurt to know the cure wounds formulas.
Discoveries, honestly there are so many good discoveries it can be hard to choose. I would suggest fast bombs if you want to throw more than 1 bomb a round. Force bombs are nice, the target falls prone if their fail their save, both require alchemist lv 8. Maybe look into preserve organs and mummification? Mummification would give you immunity to 2 types of damage (frost and non lethal), and 2 status conditions (paralysis and sleep). Wings could also be useful.
Feats, power attack, iron will, possibly improved iron will, toughness and extra discoveries.
I don't really like playing elves in melee because of the con penalty. But I'd probably go with something like this (including the 3 stat increases, 2 into str, 1 into con).
str 18
dex 16
con 14
int 16
wis 10
cha 8
For equipment, a belt of physical might (dex and con), headband of int, cloak of resistance (the usual stuff), celestial armor if your aiming for a high dex otherwise a mithral chain shirt, your weapon of choice with probably a +2 or 3 enhancement (or equivalent bonus).
I would also suggest grenadier as it will net you proficiency with the elven curve blade or any other 2 handed martial weapon of your choice for all your 2 handed needs :) not to mention the bonus feats and abilities strongly support a melee/ranged bomber.
If melee really interests you the Master Chymist is an interesting choice and doesn't change bomb progression
|
One thing I love with Alchemists going melee or ranged is they have so many options to use their bombs. My personal favorite is using a weapon with the Conductive property, which is a +1 enhancement that allows you to expend 2 uses of your bombs to apply bomb damage to your weapon soooo you can either have a bomb go off in their face and splash all around you and NOT on you or allies OR apply that property to a bow and you now have a bomb that can go across the field turning yourself into a kind of stinger missile launcher =D Either way its pure goodness
If your heart is set on melee with a martial weapon, grabbing proficiency with the nodachi is by far your best choice: 1d10 with 18-20 crit range (15-20 with improved crit or keen). However, I will warn you that your damage output will probably never compare to that of a barbarian, fighter, paladin, or ranger who is using this same sort of set up.
If you're focused on using bombs, I would instead encourage you to try to stick with ranged attacks instead. With your current build, you would need to have good stats in Dex, Strength, Con, and Intelligence, and needless to say, you're spreading yourself pretty thin if you do that.
If you go for the 'bomb thrower', then all u really need is dex, intelligence, and maybe some Con. If you want a melee character, then you really should consider vivisectionist, and then invest in Strength, Con, Dex with a minimum of 12 in intelligence (assuming you start level 1). You can basically use your 'increase attribute' progression to raise you intelligence appropriately throughout the campaign (or just buy a headband of intelligence).
In my experience though, if you're wanting to make a melee alchemist, it's almost always better (in my opinion) to go for multiple natural attacks. The reason is because your iterative strikes will more than likely never hit (granted, you might hit 2...but your third strike is VERY tough to land). With natural attacks, you don't have to worry about iterative strikes at all (though it will require a lot of gold to invest in the AoMF).
I am always for feral mutagen, so how about the best of both worlds? Have multiattack and a one handled weapon. Use two hands on the weapon for standard attacks, and then one handed and use the natural attacks for full-attacks. This will allow you to have four fairly reliable attacks. You can also get through DR, get simpler enhancements, and still have a free hand for whatever you need. Plus, if somehow you decide that it is not socially acceptable to grow huge fangs when trouble hits (stopping a daring raid on a fancy dress ball?), you still have options.