I'm looking for advice on the viability of a Grenadier Alchemist tank. My DM came up with a fantastic half-dwarf race build, and has house-ruled the martial weapon proficiency to also include shield proficiency if I select the heavy shield with the grenadier's free martial proficiency.
I not only love the flavor of a half-dwarf with a heavy shield bashing away with an alchemically charged shield, but I looked into a shield attachment called a shield boss, and one of the varieties of shield boss, the breakaway boss, lets you attach an alchemical vial to the shield, so that when you bash with it, the vial also detonates, dealing direct hit damage.
This seems like an open invitation to alchemy damage stacking.
Thoughts?
What does this half-dwarf race grant?
It should be mentioned that we will be adventuring mostly in the deep jungle, and we will be tracking heat exhaustion from armor and such, so I'd prefer to stay away from heavy armor.
Here's the race:
Half-dwarf
Medium humanoid (dwarf, human)
Speed 30 ft.
+2 to any ability
Languages Common, Dwarven
Craftsman (Ex) +2 on Craft/Profession checks related to metal/stone.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Greed (Ex) +2 to Appraise checks to determine the price of nonmagical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones.
Hatred (one type, -Choose-) (Ex) +1 bonus to attacks vs chosen type/subtype.
Resistant (Ex) +2 to save vs poison and mind-affecting effects.
Stability (Ex) Gain +4 bonus to CMD vs bull rush/trip while standing on ground.
Stonecunning (Ex) +2 bonus to Perception vs unusual stonework. Free check within 10 feet.
My stats are (in order) 17, 16, 17, 17,14, 9. I rolled LIKE A BOSS.
So, you'll want to double-check with him that you can make and throw a bomb over that shield with just one hand.
If yes, it's a perfectly viable build
You can focus on the bombs, you can switch to infused javelins if you need range, or you can mutagen up, and enter melee with heavy shield and light weapon.
Check that you'll have access to the materials/equipment required to make alchemical weapons, or places where you can resupply, or the infused shield boss trick is going to run dry fast. The way you'll be using them that also requires a reliable supply of empty vials.
Assuming that's OK, get a hybridization funnel too.
Is there a melee weapon variant of the explosive missile discovery? It lets you infuse a piece of ammunition with a bomb, and then use a ranged weapon to deliver the attack.
Also, is it more worth it to shield bash with a shield boss splash weapon, or just have the shield formula and use ranged weaponry with raining arrows and the explosive missle discovery? Pros/Cons?