So this is my initial look over, and what I'm intending to do with my Alchemist playtest character:
First thing I noticed is Intelligence is prime to this guy even more so than it is for wizards. A wizard can get away with having a 14~16 Int at level 1 (yes he can!) so long as he realizes what he is doing and stays away from both melee casting (no duh) and save throw based spells (easy to do). The Alchemist doesn't really have that option his bombs and infusions are both Int based as is his bonus damage on splash weapons. If I intend to use my mutagen regularly I'll want a decent Cha too so the damage I take to it doesn't hurt so much. This doesn't really leave too much for other stats however there is room. Depending on point buy I would probably go with the following:
20 Point Buy
10 Str 14 Dex 13 Con 18 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha
25 Point Buy
10 Str 14 Dex 13 Con 20 Int 10 Wis 10 Cha
The Dex and Int means I can rely on my bombs, while I have enough Cha to actually make use mutagens when I want to at 20 points, I'm probably not going to rely on them nearly as much with the 25 (not that I intend to at all).
Now I have decent Skills and skill points at least and with the 25 point buy (our normal point buy locally) I'll end up with at least 9 skill points a level meaning I'll grab skills as follows:
Perception, Disable Device, Heal, Knowledge(Arcane), Craft(alchemy), Use Magic Device, Sleight of Hand, Survival, and Knowledge(nature)
Honestly spellcraft really isn't going to be my thing, and we aren't sure yet how crafting magical items is going to work with the Alchemist...
In a lot of ways he's really looking like a rogue right now, and if he had trapfinding would be as much.
I'll probably put the favored class bonus into HP, the d8 and slight Con bonus means I'll start with 10 HP and gain an average of 6.5 a level if I don't take toughness.
Discovery wise I'll probably go with the following:
Infusion (4th level) -- There are plenty of good extracts I would like to share and this would let me do it. Basically turns me into a potion factory but, as you'll see later, I don't think that's a bad thing really.
Force Bomb (8th level) -- This would allow me to hit those ghosts when I want to, and give me a different energy type than fire, which is important -- too many things are immune to fire for it to be my default. I would like to grab other types of bombs, but honestly I just will not get enough Discoveries to do it at low levels and force bomb will have the benefit of possibly tripping my foes too.
Enhance Potion (12th level) -- yeah yeah potions stink but let me ask you something... if I can buy a potion of say barkskin at its cheapest price, and then use it at it's highest benefit with a much longer duration why not? Potions are handed out like candy way too much since most DM's know they'll be used quickly to little effect... might as well change that if I can.
Extend Potion (12th level) -- Again by increasing the duration of that potion I can get much more out of it than normal... paying minimum price for a potion of barkskin and getting 2x my caster level in duration out of it, and +5 bonus out of it sounds good to me.
Eternal Potion (16th level) -- Right so now that Potion of shield of Faith? Yeah it lasts for ever. +5 deflection bonus for the rest of my life on the cost of a single level 1 potion... makes your ring of protection look down right pathetic doesn't it?
Sticky Poison (20th level) -- No it's not for me, it's for the fighter, now his weapon has a poison that will last for 13 rounds... and each hit increases the DC... and this is good.
Madness Bomb (20th level) -- Lets lower that wisdom shall we? Granted the effect degrades the more it is used, however it is still a nice effect.
Fast Healing OR Philosophy stone (20th level) -- Really depends on what that stone does...
Formulae:
(1st) Cure Light Wounds, Expeditious Retreat, Enlarge Person, Shield, Detect Secret Doors, Endure Elements
(2nd) Resist Energy, See Invisibility, Lesser Restoration, False Life, Delay Poison, Darkvision
(3rd) Nondetection, Tongues, Arcane Sight, Gaseous Form, Displacement, Water Breathing
(4th) Restoration, Death Ward, Spell Immunity, Freedom of Movement, Greater Invisibility, Stoneskin
(5th) Overland Flight, Spell Resistance,
(6th) Heal, Beast Shape 4, Elemental Form 3, Transformation, True Seeing
With Infusion discovery the Alchemist has something that no other caster really has -- the ability to make others buff themselves. If the alchemist has this discovery and hands out his extracts then others can use them when they need them leaving the Alchemist to do what he wants on his turns. He can also let his allies benefit from spell effects that are normally personal only (like shield, false life, arcane sight, overland flight). I doubt that the extract list is complete yet however there are enough good spells on the list to make it worthwhile IMO.
So the real question is what feats to take. It's important since these feats will determine what I can actually do in combat. With this build I will probably go with ranged combat probably focusing mostly on the bombs:
Point blank shot, Quick Draw, Precise Shot, Toughness, Iron Will, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus(Alchemy)
Depending on a few questions I might consider Improvised weapon mastery, and rapid shot.
I am wondering about using alchemical items as improvised weapons to deal damage in addition to their normal effects... with the throw anything feat it really looks tempting for the Alchemist to attempt.
