A Few Alchemist Discovery Questions

[Epic Meepo]

Can an alchemist with the explosive bomb discovery choose to make a bomb that has a 5-foot splash radius instead of a 10-foot splash radius? Do explosive bombs that don't deal fire damage still set things on fire?

[Enchanter Tom]

Save DCs for all discoveries are 10 + 1/2 level + Int mod.

[Mirror, Mirror]

To add one more, why does the force bomb have a secondary effect when the equivelant sonic bomb does not? They do the same damage, but one seems to be blatently weaker.

[mdt]

Ditto.

It seems like an acid bomb that directly strikes a target should do acid damage over time, not catch them on fire. Sonics I just can't see being over time at all. Ice could continue freeze (reagent continues to freeze their body). So it seems to work for everything except sonic, but not if they catch on fire, which really doesn't make sense for a frost bomb.

Or is it you can't combine bomb effects?

[Warlord255]

Mirror, Mirror wrote:

To add one more, why does the force bomb have a secondary effect when the equivelant sonic bomb does not? They do the same damage, but one seems to be blatently weaker.

IIRC Sonic damage can affect certain items by bypassing their innate DR, but I could be wholly wrong.

The "Explosive Bomb" entry should probably have different effects based on the altered damage type.

[Mirror, Mirror]

Warlord255 wrote:

[IIRC Sonic damage can affect certain items by bypassing their innate DR, but I could be wholly wrong.

True for objects, but how often are you going to be blowing up objects, as opposed to, say, incorporeal undead?!

[Epic Meepo]

Enchanter Tom wrote:

Save DCs for all discoveries are 10 + 1/2 level + Int mod.

Ah, missed that one. I'll edit that question out of the OP.

[Warlord255]

Mirror, Mirror wrote:

Warlord255 wrote:

[IIRC Sonic damage can affect certain items by bypassing their innate DR, but I could be wholly wrong.

True for objects, but how often are you going to be blowing up objects, as opposed to, say, incorporeal undead?!

If objects includes, say, a creature's armor or weapons, I'd imagine it'd be extremely useful. Granted, it is fairly specialized... With discoveries so limited, I don't really think switching the damage type is worth spending a discovery on.

[lastknightleft]

mdt wrote:

Ditto.

It seems like an acid bomb that directly strikes a target should do acid damage over time, not catch them on fire. Sonics I just can't see being over time at all. Ice could continue freeze (reagent continues to freeze their body). So it seems to work for everything except sonic, but not if they catch on fire, which really doesn't make sense for a frost bomb.

Or is it you can't combine bomb effects?

Acid and frost are actually easier to get than sonic. I think the concussive bomb discovery should also deafen, that way it's = to the force bomb discovery.

[Caedwyr]

Mirror, Mirror wrote:

Warlord255 wrote:

[IIRC Sonic damage can affect certain items by bypassing their innate DR, but I could be wholly wrong.

True for objects, but how often are you going to be blowing up objects, as opposed to, say, incorporeal undead?!

Aren't bombs normally used for blowing up objects/killing people. Blowing up objects seems to be a rather ordinary use for a bomb.

[Jason Bulmahn]

Couple of quick answers...

Discoveries that change to an elemental type do not stack.. you have to pick one. That should be made clear...

The sonic discovery should cause deafness for 1d4 rounds on a direct hit unless the target makes a Fort save. This too will be added.

That is all for now.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

[Mirror, Mirror]

Jason Bulmahn wrote:

The sonic discovery should cause deafness for 1d4 rounds on a direct hit unless the target makes a Fort save. This too will be added.

Thanks for the FYI! I thought something was amiss...

[lastknightleft]

Jason Bulmahn wrote:

Couple of quick answers...

Discoveries that change to an elemental type do not stack.. you have to pick one. That should be made clear...

The sonic discovery should cause deafness for 1d4 rounds on a direct hit unless the target makes a Fort save. This too will be added.

That is all for now.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

w00t! called it :D

[Mirror, Mirror]

NEW QUESTION!

Do the extracts count as potions for the extend potion discovery? It would make sense, except that eternal potion could make Transformation permanent (earliest level 16).

But, since the alchemist is not really casting spells, they should be unaffected by the limitations of transformation...

[Draeke Raefel]

Mirror, Mirror wrote:

NEW QUESTION!

Do the extracts count as potions for the extend potion discovery? It would make sense, except that eternal potion could make Transformation permanent (earliest level 16).

But, since the alchemist is not really casting spells, they should be unaffected by the limitations of transformation...

I wouldn't think the extracts would count as potions. While they are somewhat similar, they are different enough to have different names :)

[Jason Bulmahn]

Extracts are not potions.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

[Zark]

I noticed the alchemist get spells like Fire Shield but I can't find any information that spell resistance applies to these 'spells'. What about bombs. Does spell resistance applies to the effects of the bombs?

[spalding]

Zark wrote:

I noticed the alchemist get spells like Fire Shield but I can't find any information that spell resistance applies to these 'spells'. What about bombs. Does spell resistance applies to the effects of the bombs?

Bombs are supernatural... technically so are extracts since they are described under the alchemy ability which is supernatural too. All supernatural effects don't worry about spell resistance.

However in the case that extracts are changed to spell like:

"The alchemist uses his level as the caster level to
determine any effect based on caster level."

Which is in the left column, fifth paragraph, last sentence of page 3.