I was pretty sure that Alchemist Bomb discoveries did not stack. That is, you couldn't make a bomb that had two simultaneous effects, but a more careful reading of the rules has me reconsidering this.
Specifically, Sticky Bomb reads
The effects of the Alchemists Bombs are persistent and continue to damage creatures for 1 round after the initial damage. Creatures that take a direct hit from a sticky bomb take the splash damage 1 round later. Bombs that have effects that would normally occur 1 round later instead have those effects occur 2 rounds later. An alchemist must be 10th level before selecting this discovery.Clearly this effect is supposed to stack with other bomb effects. Furthermore, some bomb effects are clearly not worth taking in comparison to other bomb effects, but would be worth taking if they could stack. Who would really take the Acid Bomb discovery to deal a one time bonus of 1d6 next round? Yes, yes, if a creature had a specific vulnerability to acid then you're the man, but how often is that gonna happen? Clearly, the discovery has very little utility in and of itself in comparison to the other bomb discoveries. If, on the other hand, it could be stacked, it becomes a decent discovery.
I think that, until the issue is clarified further, I'm going to recommend to my playgroup that we play with the bomb discoveries being stackable since it seems most consistent with the intention of the rules and does not cause a fair number of bomb discoveries to be comparatively worthless.
Sticky Bomb doesn't have an * next to it. It provides a flat buff to all your bombs.
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The odd one is Dispelling bomb, which does not have the * but probably should.
From the PRD:
Dispelling Bomb: When the alchemist creates a bomb, he can choose to have it dispel magic effects instead of deal damage. Creatures that take a direct hit from a dispelling bomb are subject to a targeted dispel magic spell, using the alchemist's level as the caster level. This cannot be used to target a specific spell effect. The alchemist must be at least 6th level before selecting this discovery.
So, in theory you could make a smoking dispelling bomb?
The odd one is Dispelling bomb, which does not have the * but probably should.
From the PRD:
Dispelling Bomb: When the alchemist creates a bomb, he can choose to have it dispel magic effects instead of deal damage. Creatures that take a direct hit from a dispelling bomb are subject to a targeted dispel magic spell, using the alchemist's level as the caster level. This cannot be used to target a specific spell effect. The alchemist must be at least 6th level before selecting this discovery.So, in theory you could make a smoking dispelling bomb?
Yeah you can.. but it doesn't matter how big the radius of the "splash" is.
The direct hit is the only thing that causes a dispel.
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The odd one is Dispelling bomb, which does not have the * but probably should.
From the PRD:
Dispelling Bomb: When the alchemist creates a bomb, he can choose to have it dispel magic effects instead of deal damage. Creatures that take a direct hit from a dispelling bomb are subject to a targeted dispel magic spell, using the alchemist's level as the caster level. This cannot be used to target a specific spell effect. The alchemist must be at least 6th level before selecting this discovery.So, in theory you could make a smoking dispelling bomb?Yeah you can.. but it doesn't matter how big the radius of the "splash" is.
The direct hit is the only thing that causes a dispel.
understood, but now you have a dispel on the direct target, and an area of fog cloud for every one else to deal with. Add stink bomb, poison bomb, or inferno bomb for more fun. At worse case you have a bomb that dispels magic on the direct target, then inflicts 6d6 to all targets in the 10' splash area each round for 16 rounds.
Dispel kills damage though.
Dispelling Bomb: When the alchemist creates a bomb, he can choose to have it dispel magic effects instead of deal damage.[...]
Clearly it eliminates all damage, including splash damage. And stacked extra effects would also not deal damage (though they could still inflict conditions).
Dispel kills damage though.Only for the direct impact, dispel says nothing about splash effects. As I said, I think that there was a typo and that dispelling bomb should have a "*" next to it. But without it, this would be a legal combo.
Actually it says nothing about either direct or splash. Only that it does not do damage if you use dispel.
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This still leaves combo like sonic dispelling bombs. you may not take the damage, but you have a chance to get deafened for 1 minute along with having spells dispelled. Or any of the other bombs with secondary effects, Force (knocked down), Frost (staggered), shock (dazzeled), poison (cloud kill), Smoke (fog cloud), and stink (stinking cloud).
This still leaves combo like sonic dispelling bombs. you may not take the damage, but you have a chance to get deafened for 1 minute along with having spells dispelled. Or any of the other bombs with secondary effects, Force (knocked down), Frost (staggered), shock (dazzeled), poison (cloud kill), Smoke (fog cloud), and stink (stinking cloud).
And that's perfectly fine.
You sacrificed a huge amount of damage, to randomly hit some buff on the guy. By level 6, you would be doing over 3d6 points of damage.
you have to remember, Dispel magic is a 2nd level spell typically, and you can't even target specific buffs when you throw those bombs.