How is the crafting part of Swift Alchemy useful in PFS?

[N N 959]

Was wondering how one leverages the crafting part of Swift Alchemy in PFS?

PRD wrote:

Swift Alchemy (Ex): At 4th level, an investigator can create alchemical items with astounding speed. It takes an investigator half the normal amount of time to create alchemical items. He can also apply poison to a weapon as a move action instead of a standard action.

[wellsmv]

you follow the alchemical crafting rules....

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/goods-and-services/herbs-oils-oth er-substances

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/craft

[YogoZuno]

...except crafting items is not allowed in PFS. Thus the OP's question - how is it useful to swiftly craft things when you can't craft them?

[wellsmv]

YogoZuno wrote:

...except crafting items is not allowed in PFS. Thus the OP's question - how is it useful to swiftly craft things when you can't craft them?

it scares me that you have 2 gm stars and cant read the FAQ or additional resouces....

crafting is allowed for a alchemist

http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fq#v5748eaic9os7

and investigator...

http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lghy?Year-of-the-Sky-Key-QA

[d20pfsrd.com]

I played in a game being run by someone about to get their 5th star and they didn't know how flanking worked- no lie.

[N N 959]

wellsmv wrote:

you follow the alchemical crafting rules....

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/goods-and-services/herbs-oils-oth er-substances

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/craft

Let me rephrase the question...

How does one leverage the crafting part of Swift Alchemy in PFS?

[Auke Teeninga]

You don't use the half the total time bit, except for the unlikely scenario you'll use craft alchemy during a scenario/module.

(You might use the He can also apply poison to a weapon as a move action instead of a standard action. bit.)

[Sebastian Hirsch]

N N 959 wrote:

wellsmv wrote:

you follow the alchemical crafting rules....

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/goods-and-services/herbs-oils-oth er-substances

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/craft

Let me rephrase the question...

How does one leverage the crafting part of Swift Alchemy in PFS?

The spontaneous alchemy rules on pages 4-5 of the Alchemy Manual are legal according to the additional resources page. Some of those only take 10 minutes, in this case swift alchemy would be useful.

[Darrell Impey UK]

Given a high enough craft skill (which all alchemists will have), and being allowed to up the DC to decrease the time, the standard crafting rules should let you punch out an alchemical item in under a day. Swift Alchemy would half that.

That said, having that much "spare" time during an adventure would be unlikely.

[The Fox]

It allows mixing extracts in 5 rounds instead of 1 minute. For alchemists, it also allows creating a mutagen in 30 minutes instead of 1 hour.

[Calareth]

It disappoints me that someone with 4 GM stars can be so rude. Reading documents does not equate to memorising every piece of them. Thanks for pointing out, despite the method.

I had never seen this particular clarification - I had thought crafting was out across the board. Good to know there is an exception. (I don't count the Gunslinger 'exception', since it still doesn't actually allow them to craft anything). Good to know.

[The Great Rinaldo!]

Sebastian Hirsch wrote:

The spontaneous alchemy rules on pages 4-5 of the Alchemy Manual are legal according to the additional resources page. Some of those only take 10 minutes, in this case swift alchemy would be useful.

Spontaneous Alchemy from Alchemy Manual is different from Swift Alchemy, which is an Alchemist and Investigator class feature (and the subject of the original question).

Off topic re: Spontaneous alchemy:

Spontaneous alchemy has the benefit of allowing you to make what you need when you need it, sometimes very quickly, at the cost of having to have a TON of ingredients and several (sometimes bulky) pieces of equipment available. It also ends up costing more than simply buying the items, but again sometimes flexibility is worth the price. I haven't tried making it work in PFS, though I just created a home game character that is going to try it.

The issue is generally time - during a scenario even crafting at half normal time is usually going to be out of the question, but not always. There are a few scenarios where the party is given "the rest of the day" to prepare, or has the ability to take a day for investigation during which the alchemist could conceivably make something simple while the rest of the group wanders around town asking questions.

The reduced price is nice, though, as it lets an alchemist buy any items he can Take 10 to make (or can make the rolls on with a GM present) at a huge discount between scenarios.

[Eric Clingenpeel]

A 7th level alchemist with a feat and trait can make an Acid in less than 15 minutes. They can make a durable arrow in 1 minute. It is quite possible to use Swift Alchemy during a scenario provided you are built for it.

[RocMeAsmodeus]

They can use it to make male enhancement pills to better facilitate all the weiner-waving going on here.