This thread has nothing to do with the class features or balance but rather with the fluff behind the class.
Would you rather like to see the alchemist as having a magical aura that explains him coming up with his concoctions or have it simply be a result of super science?
I'd prefer the latter, myself. It seems wackier and evens the number just a small bit between spellcasters and non-spellcasters.
Regardless of whatever fluff you want to put on it, the class is based in MAGIC. The class creates magic-equivalent abilities & effects out of "chemicals and materials" at absolutely no cost. Call it what you will, but the idea that a character can concoct spells like Alter Self out of worthless chemical materials is just downright magic.
Regardless of whatever fluff you want to put on it, the class is based in MAGIC. The class creates magic-equivalent abilities & effects out of "chemicals and materials" at absolutely no cost. Call it what you will, but the idea that a character can concoct spells like Alter Self out of worthless chemical materials is just downright magic.
Well, SOMEbody hasn't been watching his MacGuyver!
Really though, I prefer the fluff the way it is. I've always viewed it, in a fantasy RPG, that magic sort of IS the science. Realistically, I don't think anyone's going to study chemistry when they could command the power of the universe through linguistics. So, I prefer alchemy as a very specific kind of magic. That being said, I think some of the aura stuff is a bit wonky.
Personally I'm going with Science! (of the sufficiently advanced variety). But in my campaign arcane magic pretty much is a science anyway.
Personally I'm going with Science! (of the sufficiently advanced variety). But in my campaign arcane magic pretty much is a science anyway.
I like mixing the two. I love the lore of certain incarnations of Merlin, where he's half engineer half wizard. After all science would not be distinguishable from magic in a fantasy setting anyway. Especially since alot of the alchemist's abilities are not the most flashy forms of magic, science could work just fine for fluff.
I picture the Alchemist like Cogline from the Terry Brooks Shannara Series. In that character he was a person who mixed a bit of magic with science and tossed around bombs like this class does. In fact I'd guess that this may have been the inspiration for this class. Is Jason a Terry Brooks fan?