Hi guys this saturday we want to reanimate our pathfinder group and i want to play an Alchemist. But my problem is that there two paths for the alchemist on the one hand the i throw bombs like a maniac way or the i go melee in my crazy ass mutagen form way. But i want both xD dont get me wrong i dont want to have an overpowered char with no limits. I just want to throw bombs with my halforc alchemist and when it is going too hot in the fight i want to say ok f#/" this sh'*t i dont wanted to do this but now meet my big brother ;)
My questions are:
Can u advice me how i can build my main stats?
Is it viable or will i go down with two hits and do zero damage when i go the middle way?
And is it a good choice too take the Master Chymist Prestige Class at higher level? I just love the roleplay character here to have an Alter Ego with another alligment.
Thx for your help
It depends a lot on how many stat points you have, and how powerful everybody else in the group is going to be. You won't be as good at either as a specialist, obviously, but it's possible to play as a switch hitter.
You can have middlish stats for Str, Dex, Con, and Int and tanked Wis and Cha scores. That will get you what you need to do melee (Str, Dex, Con), ranged (Dex), and alchemy in general (Int). You probably won't be amazingly high at any of them, but if they're all 14ish you can do okay. Your mutagen will help considerably. Fits pretty well for a half-orc as well.
Important stuff for the ranged game would be Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, and the Precise Bombs discovery. Tanglefoot Bomb, Stink Bomb, and Force Bomb are powerful bomb modifiers that you can pick up relatively quickly.
Melee alchemists generally want feral mutagen, vestigial arms, and wings. Alchemists get a good selection of defensive buffs, so they can scrap in melee decently - remember also that you can wear armor without any arcane spell failure chance, so a dip that gives you armor proficiency can be kinda tempting. I'd recommend barbarian, considering you're playing a half-orc that will go to melee if pressed - you can rage at that point and it will help your melee abilities a lot, and you probably won't be there for very long.
All alchemists want something like Iron Will or other ways to boost Will saves.
Barbarian (Drunken Brute) 1/Alchemist (Beastmorph) 7
Str 14
Dex 13 +2 racial
Con 15 +1 at 8th
Int 15 +1 at 4th
Wis 10
Cha 8
Class Abilities
Rage (7 rounds/day)
Drunken Brute (drink a potion as a move action, drink booze to not spend rounds of daily rage)
Bomb 4d6+6 10/day, DC 15 for negative effects (low DC due to relatively low Int, so don't count on your bomb's secondary effects - if you're doing a dedicated bomber max out your Int, includes bonus from alchemist favored class option for orc)
Brew Potion
Mutagen (when you use your mutagen, you get +4/-2 stats, +2 natural armor, a claw/claw/bite routine and your choice of two of: climb 30', fly 30' (avg), swim 30', darkvision 60', low-light vision, and scent)
Throw Anything
Discovery (feral mutagen)
Poison Use
Discovery (precise bombs)
Discovery (wings)
Feats
1 - Point Blank Shot
3 - Precise Shot
5 - Iron Will
7 - Power Attack
Equipment
Mighty Composite Longbow (for long range attacks, bombs are short-range weapons)
Mithril breastplate (proficient with medium armor, keeps 30' speed)
Lots of potions
Admixture Vial (mix two extracts into one)
Really nice advice SteelDraco big thanks from here but it seems to me that this more a melee focused build. I think of my upcoming alchemist more as a wicked bombthrower who takes his mutagen just when it is his last choice. Do u think i can dump Strenght to 12 and boost Int for it or is the melee aspect then not viable anymore. And what do u think of the Master Chymist Prestige it will boost my melee damage a bit and i really like it or is it a bad choice?
You can drop Str for Int, sure. Prepare a Strength mutagen and keep your barb rage rounds, and you'll be fine. You can drop feral mutagen and just use a greataxe or something if you'd prefer, but feral mutagen is a really solid melee combat option, especially if you're boosting Strength quite a bit with mutagen and rage. Since they're all primary attacks, you get a lot out of that.
Dropping, say, Power Attack, Iron Will, feral mutagen, and wings will get you a lot of space to take bomb-related discoveries. I'm playing a bomb-focused botanist alchemist at 7th in Serpent's Skull right now that has the following discoveries:
Infusion
Tanglefoot Bomb
Smoke Bomb
Stink Bomb
Precise Bombs
Scrap Bomb (reflavored as Thorn Bomb, a burst of thorns that does piercing damage and a bleed effect, the goblin requirement was ignored)
He's fairly effective at dealing damage and utility effects. See if your GM will allow Ability Focus (bomb) if you want to focus as much as possible on bombing - the effects can be pretty debilitating if they fail them, especially Stink Bomb and Tanglefoot Bomb (great against flyers).
Whats a botanist ?
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I want to go like this any thoughts about it? I do not like Babarian that much is there a way around it or is my damage to low without the rages per day?
Race:Half Orc
Ability Purchased
STR 14
DEX 14
CON 12
INT 18
WIS 10
CHA 8
Total Points: 20
Or switch Str with Con ?
2nd: Tanglefoot bomb or Precise bomb
4th: Acid bomb, or infusion
6th: Acid bomb, frost bomb, or explosive bomb
7th: Two Weapon Fighting or Rapid Shot
at level 8 i want to go in the Master Chymnist Prestige Class from the Advanced Players Guide page 267