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We have a large party of seven going into Rise of the Runelords starting at level one.
The party will be:
- Half-Elf Wind Oracle with a bow (and only point-blank feat, so not very good at archery yet -- not a player with good system mastery.
- Half-elf magus -- strong player.
- Fetchling ninja -- strong player.
- Samsaran castery druid with a leopard -- new to Pathfinder.
- Half-orc bard with high strength and a battle axe -- intermittent player who only shows up half the time, but when she's there, she's fun. Little system mastery.
- Shaman -- no other information
I told the GM that I would fill in with what the party needed. The GM thinks we need utility arcane and thump, especially since the bard will only make half the sessions. I concur.
I *know* that a summoner could easily fit the bill, but with such a large party (many of them new to Pathfinder) I don't want to do anything to slow down gameplay. And summoners can slow things down.
So I'm thinking of a barbarian multiclass with either alchemist or investigator to do the Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde thing. A raw tribal personality that likes chemicals, likes poking into gross oddball stuff and likes treating drugging his fellow teammates.
In melee, I'd do rage and mutagens to kick ass.
All of Pathfinder's races are available. 20 pt buy with background skills. Maybe a half-orc intimidate build, but I could be seduced into considering another race if you can make a good case for it.
The first level is likely going to be barbarian, but after that I'm open. Which class should I favor? I've seen barbarian alchemists played by others, but I don't know whether barbarian should be a one level dip with the rest going to alchemist/investigator levels, or if it should be more half and half.
Give me your crazy-ass builds. Show me what's possible!
Investigator doesn't get mutagens and can't activate wands. That would be two reasons that Alchemist would work better than Investigator.
Out of curiosity, why no blood rager? If you go abyssal, you eventually enlarge while raging which is a nice buff and you can leave your spells for utility stuff. A Druid, shaman, oracle, and magus should be plenty of casting ability if they pick their spells together. Adding in the blood rager spell list should cover most if not all of the remaining bases IMO. Between a large raging character, a leopard with Druid support, and an archer to deal damage, I think you'd be fine for combat. Dedicated caster support should be icing on the cake!
You want Thump and Arcane Utility?
/joking
I do seriously suggest a Bloodrager. They can have some powerful thump, and be able to cast spells while raging.
I would suggest you clarify what kind of "arcane utility" you're looking for. This can range from Skill Monkey benefits to simple buffs, or just basic Wizard "Wish Sno-Cone Machine" shenanigans.
Ah! Missed it. You can use a talent to pick up Mutagens as an Investigator.
Edit to add:
Races:
Hobgoblin: +2 Dex, +2 Con, +4 Stealth
Merfolk w/Strong Tail: +2 Dex, +2 Con, +2 Charisma. Only move 15' on land.
Nagaji or Sulis if Bloodrager: +2 Strength, +2 Charisma, -2 Int.
The Sulis Bloodrager looks particularly strong with the negotiator (bonus to Diplomacy), Elemental Assault racials, and Energy Resistances.
You could go with a Synthesist Summoner, so that you will effectively still have just one character.
Also, there's no reason you can't make another Bard. The Archaeologist does well in combat, brings a lot of skills (can also cover trapfinding if your ninja isn't there for whatever reason), and better casting than the Bloodrager. Because that archetype buffs only itself (with a Luck bonus) you won't have redundant Bardic Performance abilities.
Since the party is lacking a full Arcane caster, you might just go Wizard. There should be plenty of damage between them, especially since they are all secondary casters (except the Ninja). There should be plenty of utility and buffing between them as well. They need an offensive caster who can debilitate enemies (and also bring utility). Plus, Rise of the Runelords has some great RP potential for Wizards in particular.
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My assumption is that bloodragers have a limited number of spells, and that those are mainly combat buffs. I thought that they wouldn't be able to help other party members fly or become invisible. I was looking for someone who could provide more than just self-buffs.
Am I wrong about this?
There is one very good reason not to go bard... I've played too many bards. I've got 5 bard characters, and several other characters that might as well be bards: an evangelist cleric, a singing paladin and a maestro sorc.
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Ah! Missed it. You can use a talent to pick up Mutagens as an Investigator.
Edit to add:
Races:
Hobgoblin: +2 Dex, +2 Con, +4 Stealth
Merfolk w/Strong Tail: +2 Dex, +2 Con, +2 Charisma. Only move 15' on land.
Nagaji or Sulis if Bloodrager: +2 Strength, +2 Charisma, -2 Int.The Sulis Bloodrager looks particularly strong with the negotiator (bonus to Diplomacy), Elemental Assault racials, and Energy Resistances.
Lashunta male might work as well -- +2 strength, +2 int, -2 wisdom.
On spells:
Fly: Bloodrager 3 (gets at 10th), Alchemist 3 (gets at 7th as do Investigators), Magus 3 (gets at 7)
Invisibility: Alchemist 2 (gets at 4th), Magus 2 (gets at 4th) -- Bloodrager doesn't get it.
Have to look at the spells you want and compare the three classes.
My assumption is that bloodragers have a limited number of spells, and that those are mainly combat buffs. I thought that they wouldn't be able to help other party members fly or become invisible. I was looking for someone who could provide more than just self-buffs.
Am I wrong about this?
There is one very good reason not to go bard... I've played too many bards. I've got 5 bard characters, and several other characters that might as well be bards: an evangelist cleric, a singing paladin and a maestro sorc.
Fair enough. Though the Archaeologist doesn't play at all like other Bards due to no Bardic Performance and no Versatile Performance - Perform doesn't even get used at all.
And yes, the Bloodrager's casting is so minor that he won't do anything but provide low level buffs, and even then only at higher levels. It's more for self-buffing, which the party already has plenty of.
Is the Ninja the face man, or is the party relying on the Bard player who only shows up half the time? If you're not hard up for feats, maxing out Linguistics and taking Skill Focus (Linguistics) and Orator can turn any Int-heavy character into the face man. Bonus for Investigators: They can use Inspiration on Linguistics without expending it. It just can't be applied to Gather Information or Intimidate In Combat.
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I think that the party may be relying on the bard... but I'm always the diplo / face person. It's a thing I'm good at, but maybe I shouldn't try to be face for this.
EDIT:
I love being the face, but I get crap for it all the time from this party. Is it petty that I'm thinking of letting them see how a party without a face manages?
You won't be able to do problem-solving with bloodrager casting, sorry to say. It can cast a few spells, but on the whole of it, it does arcane casting about as well as you'd expect a barbarian 4/Sorcerer 1/Dragon Disciple 10/Barb 4/sorc 1 to do. Which is to say not very.
Honestly, I think alchemist could do it with the infusion discovery, but you won't be as good at it as a wizard would. It could serve in a pinch if you have to.
If you go that route, I recommend the vivisectionist archetype. You don't need to go dex for that to work, neccesarily.
We don't know the details of the Ninja or Druid.
Based on past experience, the Druid will frequently wander off to do it's own thing and rarely buff any party members. The Ninja is likely to be powerful in combat and put themselves first. Neither player has a history of doing things that benefits other characters.
The Magus in question can be found here.
The Wind Oracle only took self-buffs, but that could change at higher level. That player tends to cooperate with the group but this character is being build to be an archer.
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What Bret said about the Ninja and the Druid's players is 100% true. So yes, I am looking to provide helpful potions and to kick ass.
I'll take a look at vivisectionist and see what that offers.
EDIT: Why is Vivisectionist being suggested? I see the sneak attack, but it otherwise seems a really, really evil archetype. What makes it one for me to consider for thump?
What Bret said about the Ninja and the Druid's players is 100% true. So yes, I am looking to provide helpful potions and to kick ass.
I'll take a look at vivisectionist and see what that offers.
EDIT: Why is Vivisectionist being suggested? I see the sneak attack, but it otherwise seems a really, really evil archetype. What makes it one for me to consider for thump?
Because you can just ignore the name. Say you're an Alchemist who's really knowledgeable about anatomy.
So lay out the mechanics for me. Why does this archetype work? Is it just the sneak attack on top of mutagens?
Yeah, that's pretty much it. Beastmorph can be combined with it to give you even better mutagens - On top of their normal effects, they act like Alter Self / Beast Shape I-III.
Alchemists as buffers have their pros and cons. On the one hand, once you spend a Discovery on Infusions you can give them out to party members for them to use at their discretion - Using their own action. While this is a disadvantage for multiple-target spells like Haste, it's great for single-target spells like Enlarge Person, as well as letting you hand out buffs that would normally be self-only, such as True Strike. It has the added benefit of not requiring you to actually go up to the target and touch them, if the spell normally requires it.
Yes, we're just after the sneak attack dice.
Basically, you want thump. Vivisectionist is a way to get it. It's MOAR DAMAGE, which is useful, because it means you have to spend less resources to keep your damage near that of a full-on d10 hd and full base attack warrior.
These resources you aren't devoting to damage can then be funelled into becoming a better 'spellcaster'.
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Wizard, wizard and wizard (for class recommendation).
Think your frontline is good enough. Shamans can provide condition removal at need. A little student of philosophy and bruising intellect, you can face with 7 cha. Arghh, the cheese! Damn it :P
Ninjas can face actually, they have decent cha. And tons of skill points.
Eh for an alch, I'd run the following:
Str 16, dex 14, con 14, int 14, wis 10, cha 10.
Lv 1: Toughness
Lv 3: Power attack
Lv 5: iron will
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Forgot to mention:
Lv 2 discovery: Feral Mutagen
Lv 4 discovery : Infusion
Lv 6 discovery : wings (good for flying yourself so you can either pounce/charge, or flank with the ninja)
Lv 8 discovery: combined extracts. Shield + Blur is just mean....
Another possible route to go for feats (more to do with fighting with a longspear) would be:
Lv 1: Combat Expertise
Lv 3: Gang up
Skipping Power attack altogether and trusting your sneaks to carry the damage (also - natural weapons are not so easy to enhance - no MW claws, and bites :P Power attack for damage on natural attacks is also not that great). With 3 other dudes in melee, you can't tell me that it's not possible for something to be threatened by at least 2 others. You could even use a longspear to poke from behind melee lines, though if you did that, you'd want Phalanx formation at Lv 5.
I don't think you would want the barbarian level. Or you would end up spending more feats on extra rage to keep the rage going.
I'd recommend a Half-Orc Alchemist with Variant Multi-classing Barbarian. VMC Barbarian really is the best VMC, and being able to stack some crazy high Strength Modifiers is very nice. Half Orc is good for getting some good weapons as well as free darkvision. Both Great Axe and Falchion are good for high strength builds.
Beastmorph Vivisectionist is a really good build, especially once you get pounce at level 6. But with as many people as you have, it's not terribly necessary. Keeping bombs is great for swarms, Undead, and stuff that's out of reach, not to mention some getting reflex saves for some interesting effects. The tanglefoot discovery is cool, and I'm a big fan of the Force Bomb discovery as well. Being able to trip with a Reflex Save is really, really nice on the big guys you'll run into, and Golems. I played a bomber Alchemist all the way through Serpent Skull, so if you go straight Alchemist, let me know and I'll give you some high level tips.
If you have a solid ninja, grabbing vivisectionist with Gang Up and Menacing weapons is cool. If you do grab a level of a martial class, or go half orc for a exotic weapon proficiency, grab a weapon with a x4 crit multiplier and have one of your crit-fishing buddies take Butterfly's Sting for severe damage. Longspear isn't a bad choice with this either, and you'll get reach as well.
Pick up Enlarge Person right away as it's actually just a standard action for you and with a reach weapon, you'll be able to hit from a long way off. Works pretty good even with people in front of you, especially since they'll be taking up some of the hits. Infusion is really nice for your buddies as well, and you can play back up healer with it.
Anyhow, here's a build for reference. If you go Beastmorph Vivisectionist, there's some suggestions in parentheses.
Half Orc Alchemist 1
18, 12, 14, 14, 10, 8
1. Toughness, or Combat Reflexes (for a reach weapon)
2. Tanglefoot Bomb (Feral Mutagen)
3. Rage! (+8 to Str when raging and with Mutagen)
4. Infusion
5. Power Attack
6. Wings
7. Rage Power: Witch Hunter (Lesser Fiend Totem)
8. Force Bomb (Spontaneous Healing)
9. Extra Rage Power: Spell Sunder (Strength Surge)
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Thanks for all your feedback.
I spent some time thinking about what I wanted to do with this character, story-wise, and then talked to my friend Kris, who is playing the half-orc Averakan Arbiter bard. I told her, "Hey, do you mind if my character is also from Averaka?"
She said, "Oh, sure. You can be my cousin or brother or something!"
"Actually, I was thinking I was more like your stalker. You turned me down for a date. No one ever turns me down, so I've been following you ever since."
[pause] "You want to do that?" [laughs] "Okay, you're on!"
Eddie wants to be an alchemist, and he's been experimenting with Craft Alchemy on both his animals and himself. He's got a Charisma of 8, no social skills, and he's covered in scars. He has no idea why *anyone* would want to turn him down on a date.
His first experimentation has been on his monkey familiar, Jekyll, who sports dragon wings. (Yes, I plan to say, "Don't make me release the flying monkey!" in gameplay.)
So, he's starting out with a level of Draconic Bloodrager so that he can start out with a winged monkey familiar that can feed him his potions and help him craft. Also, to help in the butt-kicking department.
His future levels will be either as a Beastmorph alchemist with a side business in bombs, or as a combined Beastmorph / Vivisectionist. Whether I go Vivisectionist or not, I've decided to keep the Vivisectionist fluff about self-experimentation.
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Edward H. Corkbiter
Male half-orc bloodrager 1 (Pathfinder Player Companion: Animal Archive, Pathfinder Player Companion: Familiar Folio 16, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 15)
NG Medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
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Defense
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AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 18 (1d10+8)
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +3
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Offense
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Speed 40 ft.
Melee cold iron greataxe +4 (1d12+4/×3) or
. . silver light mace +4 (1d6+3)
Ranged sling +3 (1d4+3)
Special Attacks bloodrage (6 rounds/day)
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Statistics
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Str 17, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 8
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 16
Feats Tribal Scars
Traits accelerated drinker, fate's favored
Skills Acrobatics +8 (+12 to jump), Craft (alchemy) +6, Intimidate +1, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Knowledge (nature) +3, Linguistics +3, Perception +4, Spellcraft +6, Survival +4; Racial Modifiers +2 Intimidate
Languages Common, Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Orc
SQ able assistant, dragon's flight, fast movement, orc blood
Combat Gear cold iron sling bullets (50); Other Gear studded leather, cold iron greataxe, silver light mace, sling, alchemy crafting kit[APG], backpack, belt pouch, blanket[APG], flint and steel, pot, soap, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 25 gp
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Special Abilities
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Able Assistant (Ex) A valet's master treats the valet as if it possessed the Cooperative Crafting feat and shared all Craft skills and item creation feats he possesses. This ability replaces Alertness.
Cooperative Casting
Your assistance makes item crafting f
Accelerated Drinker You may drink a potion as a move action instead of a standard as long as you start your turn with the potion in your hand.
Bloodrage (6 rounds/day) (Su) +4 Str, +4 Con, +2 to Will saves, -2 to AC when enraged.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Dragon's Flight (30 ft, average, 1 minutes/day) (Ex) Familiar can sprout draconic wings.
Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar.
Familiar Bonus: +3 to Acrobatics checks You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
Fast Movement +10 (Ex) +10 feet to speed, unless heavily loaded.
Fate's Favored Increase luck bonuses by 1.
Orc Blood Half-orcs count as both humans and orcs for any effect related to race.
Share Spells with Familiar Can cast spells with a target of "You" on the familiar with a range of touch.
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Valet familiar archetype removes alertness, grants familiar all your team work feats. So...if you wanted to take escape route, as long as your winged monkey is on your shoulder, you never provoke AOOs for movement.
Alchemists cannot take a lot of crafting feats that have a caster level requirement like craft wondrous, craft magic arms and armor without taking the feat Master Craftsman
Your monkey has a wt capacity of 5 lbs if he wants to remain flying.
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I just want help crafting potions and alchemical items. And yes, I am planning on eventually taking tumor familiar so that I can advance my winged familiar. It was the monkey wings, the rage, and the speed that were the draws here. Also the opportunity to pick up intimidate as a class skill.
The ability to have the monkey share teamwork feats is very interesting, though... I want Gangup (a non-teamwork feat with a feat tax of combat expertise) badly if I go Vivisectionist. Would there be any other teamwork feats that you might suggest?
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Gang up won't work even if your GM rules it as a teamwork feat, as monkeys are tiny and don't have reach so they don't threaten. Reach weapons don't help as double of no reach is still zlich. I heard these days 5 fting into someone's square provokes an AOO and familiars have half their master's hp, so I suggest not. I know, I know, I haven't been setting a very good example...
I went for valet just for the 1/h prestidigitation thing honestly, not for any intention to abuse teamwork feats.
The only way to give a tiny familiar reach is to use evolved familiar, which you don't qualify for due to your cha.
Try shake it off for teamwork feats - check with GM first if sharing your square counts as adjacent. It techically should.
If you plan to eventually take the tumor familiar, you should strongly consider giving your familiar the protector archetype. A familiar with fast healing 5 that can take half of your damage at level 5 is pretty helpful.
Valet and protector don't stack, you need to choose one. Besides, that's familiar abuse >.<
If the familiar is a tumor, then it's part of me. So, it's self abuse.
I can think of two ways to allow the Monkey to aid you with Gang Up. One is much more risky while the other is more resource intensive.
1. Monkey uses acrobatics.
You are up in melee. The monkey climbs down and uses Acrobatics to get into the opponent's space. Now it threatens the opponent and can use Aid Another to improve your chance of hitting (probably by trying to bite the opponent's ankles).
Risky, but animals get acrobatics as a class skill and Monkeys have good Dex. It currently has a +14 acrobatics with the one rank you put into it.
2. Long Arm on Monkey
The Long Arm spell is on both the Alchemist and Bloodrager spell lists. This means you can use a wand of it without UMD. Since it adds 5' reach to the target, it would allow the monkey to sit on your shoulder, stretch out it's arms, and Aid Another or Attack. Given the damage of a Monkey, I would suggest Aid Another.
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They do get mutagens... No bombs, but Mr. Hyde doesn't go for bombs. And their will save is far better.
EDIT:
At least, Quinn had mutagens when I played him. But you're right... I don't see them in the listing. Do they NOT get mutagens and I'm remembering this wrong?
Investigators DO get Mutagens, but they have to take them as an Alchemist Discovery using an Investigator Talent.
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Valet and protector don't stack, you need to choose one. Besides, that's familiar abuse >.<
Gang up is not a teamwork feat. It's pure combat.
I was asking about teamwork feats because of the monkey, to see if any might be helpful. Although using the monkey as a hp battery with protector archetype is tempting, I think that having a valet would give the familiar more of an Igor-feel. Besides, if it's being a hit point battery in battle it cannot also feed me my potions and extracts. And I REQUIRE service!
As for it being familiar abuse, I'm ALREADY experimenting on the poor thing. I gave it dragon wings. I made it a TUMOR that can merge WITH me. I force the poor thing to craft, feed me potions and probably groom my fleas.
(It might enjoy that last part.)
Golarian's version of PETA is probably already threatening to storm my lab with vats of boiling oil and pitchforks.
Although using the monkey as a hp battery with protector archetype is tempting, I think that having a valet would give the familiar more of an Igor-feel.
If you kept the tumor on your back, it could be your hump and make you an Igor. Probably not what you were wanting to go for though.
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Eddie is by far the grossest character I've ever created. You think a humpback would stop me? I was reading the tentacle and parasitic twin discoveries, but decided that they were impractical, no MATTER how TEMPTING they were from an aesthetic viewpoint.
But I've gotten snarky comments from my party about doing too many diplomatic support builds -- pretty little bards, oracles or sorcerers. Muahahahaha. No more!
Eddie is going to be a trip to RP!
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You do know that you can get him to fling stuff at people, no? In fact that monkey would be pretty good at it, being tiny and having decent dex, and your BAB. Better then you would actually.
Right, enough monkey business.
For some things you can do to yourself in the name of experiments:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo--- alchemist-discoveries/vestigial-arm-ex
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo--- alchemist-discoveries/preserve-organs-ex
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo--- alchemist-discoveries/mummification-ex
I think preserve organs and mummification is fine to take(mostly internal changes), but I don't know if you have any issues with walking into towns or inns after you grow 2 extra arms.
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Yes, the parasitic twin discovery required two vestigial arms, so I decided that it would just take too long to be practical. Mummification might get in the way of Eddie's sex life, so let's not do it. Preserving organs could be cool though, especially if I can keep them in jars.
Oh! Oh! I could give the bard my actual heart... preserved in formaldehyde. And who said that romance was dead?
Hmm, I maý in the minority but if you want to be an alchemist with some extra muscle, have you considered the Master Chymist PrC? I know PrCs don´t get much love, but I think it is quite good at what it does, especially if the DM substitutes the bomb damage progression for a partial sneak attack progression. You get full BAB, ok alchemy progression, bonus to attack and damage with natural weapons or simple weapons and a "Mr. Hyde" or Hulk persona for RP purposes.
Well, I find it quite fun that your mutagen sort of functions as a transformative rage. I did get the idea Eddie could be frustarated when, say, he was turned down on a date.
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I have two inspirations for Eddie here. The first of course was Edward Hyde, but the second is Eddie from Rocky Horror -- the jilted, unpleasant looking ex-boyfriend of Columbia who followed her all the way to the haunted castle infested by aliens. If Pathfinder had motorcycles, Eddie would ride on one.
I think this character will be a riot, and that Kris Honse's bard will have such fun turning me down. "What part of NO do you fail to understand?!"
Mort, You know, you're right. I'll probably have to shift Eddie's alignment to something a bit more neutral. And you are totally right about me wanting Alchemical allocation. Backwashing potions is gauche but effective, and so would work just great for Eddie.
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Eddie Feat & Discovery Plan
Level 1: Bloodrager -- Draconic Monkey Wings Familiar, Rage, Tribal Scars Feat (+1 Will Save), Fast Movement
Level 2: Alchemist (Beastmorph / Vivisectionist) -- Mutagens, Sneak Attack, Brew Potion, Throw Anything
Level 3: Alchemist (Beastmorph / Vivisectionist) -- Infusions, Combat Expertise
Level 4: Alchemist (Beastmorph / Vivisectionist) -- +1 Strength, Beastform Mutagen (additional +2 strength), 2d6 sneak attack dice
Level 5: Alchemist (Beastmorph / Vivisectionist) -- Tumor Familiar, Gang-up, 2nd Level potions
Level 6: Alchemist (Beastmorph / Vivisectionist) -- 3d6 Sneak Attack Dice
Level 7: Alchemist (Beastmorph / Vivisectionist) -- Wings Discovery, Feat -- ?
So I was looking at a feat and discovery plan for Eddie, seeing what things happened at each level, and I wanted your feedback. I think my path is fairly clear until level 7. I want Gang-up to make Sneak Attack more reliable.
Later discoveries desired: alchemical allocation (because it's gauche, and therefore fits Eddie's style.)
For future feats, I'm torn between Iron Will, Step-up, Escape Route (teamwork feat) or Extra Discoveries!
There's just so many possiblities here!
Hmm
Improved Dirty Trick?
If your attack is successful, the target takes a penalty. The penalty is limited to one of the following conditions: blinded, dazzled, deafened, entangled, shaken, or sickened. This condition lasts for 1 round. For every 5 by which your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD, the penalty lasts 1 additional round.
A blind opponent will usually take sneak attack damage.
By the way, isn't Alchemical Allocation a spell?
Alchemical Allocation is a lvl 2 extract. You don't need to take anything to gain it, beyond just getting lvl 2 extracts.
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I don't think you want improved dirty trick. Generally it is advised that you should have full bab, or have a way to pretend you have full bab (oracles, monks, magus) for the purpose of combat maneuvers as the CMD of monsters tends to shoot up the roof with their sizes. It would probably be better to take escape route, then use your flight to move yourself into flanking position.
Also, dirty trick is a waste of a standard action when you could be using positioning to deal all that sneak attack damage. Dead is the best condition to inflict on monsters.
Iron will is tempting as well. Alch have a poor will save, your wis is 10, fates favored and sacred tattoo will help some, yes, but may not be enough.
If I wanted to do a maneuver build, I'd probably use lorewarden.
Buy/Craft a couple 3rd level, long lasting buff potions. Every day spend two (or more if you want to share) 2nd level extract slots on alchemical allocation and drink them and then your potions, spitting them out slowly into the potion flask, maybe making lots of noise while doing so.
Two candidates would be Heroism and Stoneskin (i think thats the name). Long term buffs that will be quite helpful.
Alchemist is such a versatile, and fun class to play. Enjoy!