Does anybody foresee a problem with allowing alchemist characters to qualify for Item Crafting feats by using their levels in alchemist as caster levels?
From what I hear, alchemists can technically do that. They have a caster level, so they can take the feats.
From what I hear, alchemists can technically do that. They have a caster level, so they can take the feats.
They cannot. From the Advanced Player's Guide FAQ:
Alchemist: Is an alchemist a spellcaster for the purpose of crafting magic items other than potions?
As written, no, alchemists are not spellcasters, and therefore can't select feats such as Craft Wondrous Item.
The design team is aware that this creates some thematic problems with the idea of an alchemist creating golems and so on, and plan to examine this in the future.posted March 2013
The devs later on said that alchemists count since they have caster levels, but that did not get reflected in the FAQ.
The devs later on said that alchemists count since they have caster levels, but that did not get reflected in the FAQ.
It's sort of a moot point anyway.
An Alchemist gains Brew Potion as a bonus feat.
An Alchemist can take Master Craftsman in games where the feat is allowed (i.e. not PFS), thus allowing them to take Craft Magic Arms & Armor and Craft Wondrous Item.
An Alchemist can take the Promethean Disciple Discovery to gain Craft Construct as a Bonus Feat.
They lose out on Scrolls, Wands, Rods, Rings, and Staves, but they hit Wondrous Items, Magical Gear, Potions, and Constructs.
Doesn't seem like it really needs to take the others, honestly.
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The devs later on said that alchemists count since they have caster levels, but that did not get reflected in the FAQ.
Ooooh, neat. Since it did not get reflected in the FAQ, can you point me toward any source for that?
An Alchemist can take Master Craftsman in games where the feat is allowed (i.e. not PFS), thus allowing them to take Craft Magic Arms & Armor and Craft Wondrous Item.
Master Craftsman is really pretty terrible. Since (without house rules) it only allows you to craft magical items using a single Craft or Profession skill, you're still very limited in what you can craft.
For Craft Magic Arms & Armor, you're basically looking at Craft Armor, Craft Weapons, and Craft Bows. If you pick Craft Armor, you can't craft any magical weapons. If you pick Craft Weapons, you can't craft any magical armor, bows, or arrows. If you pick Craft Bows, you can't craft any magical armor or weapons that aren't bows. In any of these cases, you're leaving a good chunk of what Craft Magic Arms & Armor does for a normal caster on the table, and you're spending an extra feat to do it.
Craft Wondrous Item is even worse, as there isn't nearly as much overlap between various wondrous items that you'd actually want.
Yeah, I admit that the alchemist is thematically a mess. I houseruled alchemists as having extraordinary abilities instead of supernatural abilities. I thought it was ridiculous that alchemy is distinctively not magical and yet they made the alchemist a magical class. It pissed off one of my players because he wanted to play an alchemist that wanted to prove that science can conquer magic.
The devs later on said that alchemists count since they have caster levels, but that did not get reflected in the FAQ.It's sort of a moot point anyway.
An Alchemist gains Brew Potion as a bonus feat.
An Alchemist can take Master Craftsman in games where the feat is allowed (i.e. not PFS), thus allowing them to take Craft Magic Arms & Armor and Craft Wondrous Item.
An Alchemist can take the Promethean Disciple Discovery to gain Craft Construct as a Bonus Feat.
They lose out on Scrolls, Wands, Rods, Rings, and Staves, but they hit Wondrous Items, Magical Gear, Potions, and Constructs.
Doesn't seem like it really needs to take the others, honestly.
What book is "Promethean Disciple" in? I can't find it.
Yeah, I admit that the alchemist is thematically a mess. I houseruled alchemists as having extraordinary abilities instead of supernatural abilities. I thought it was ridiculous that alchemy is distinctively not magical and yet they made the alchemist a magical class. It pissed off one of my players because he wanted to play an alchemist that wanted to prove that science can conquer magic.
I think Paizo was going going for the mystical type of alchemy like Paracelsus and Nicolas Flemal rather than the early scientist type.
Promethean disciple is in occult adventure.
You could try having a GM who rules that Alchemists DO count as casters, since obviously the devs have failed to "examine this in the future".
Worked well in my group.
You could try having a GM who rules that Alchemists DO count as casters, since obviously the devs have failed to "examine this in the future".
Worked well in my group.
That's what my original post was about. Is there some kind of game-breaking loophole that I'm not seeing?
You could try having a GM who rules that Alchemists DO count as casters, since obviously the devs have failed to "examine this in the future".
But they did examine this. Alchemists can now make flesh golems and homunculi and robots and etc.
That's what my original post was about. Is there some kind of game-breaking loophole that I'm not seeing?You could try having a GM who rules that Alchemists DO count as casters, since obviously the devs have failed to "examine this in the future".
Worked well in my group.
My apologies if I was unclear. In the first 11 levels of a Shattered Star game, we found no problems. It just made an already buffing-oriented character even more effective/flavorful in his support role.