I have a challenge, which relates to a build I want to play but cannot figure out.
A character who's main ability in combat is using non-standard weaponry and tools such as alchemist fire, fireworks, and other similar items.
Likely this will be an alchemist, I realize... But I want to see what people can come up with to optimize non-class-feature alchemical weapons and tools.
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First trick: Hybridization Funnel
Second trick: Full Pouch
Third Trick: Equipment Trick(Tanglefoot bag's Sticky Bomb)
With these, you prepare 2 liquid splash weapons (say alchemist fire and acid) into a single vial and when you throw it you can quickdraw a tanglefoot bag and attach it as well.
2 levels of Underground Chemist and you can quickdraw all of your alchemical items meaning you can full attack/two weapon fight. It also gives +Int to damage with splash weapons.
Medium channeling Champion would get their spirit bonus + seance bonus to damage rolls with splash weapons. The feat Spirit Focus and the armor enchant Spirit-bonded together increase your spirit bonus to +3 (+5 damage) for a single level dip.
A simple flask of acid is now doing 1d6+5+Int damage. Hybridization Flask to double that.
Runners-up: Alchemical Strike, Grenade Expert, Alchemical Pheromones, Tangleshot Arrow, and Ghast Retch Flask
Good show Firebug. A question: Is this build specific to Alchemist Fire and Acid? Is there variety in what it can use? I'd love to be able to use all different kinds of alchemical tools.
Pretty much the only restriction is that Hybridization Flask requires that it be a liquid splash weapon. I just used Acid and Fire because they are the most commonly known. So Acid, Alchemist Fire, Alkali Flask, Artokus's Fire(arguable), Brewed Reek, Desiccating Lubricant, Dragon's Gut, Elemental Brine, Holy Water, Liquid Ice, Lyddric Essence, Marker Dye, Mineral Acid, Nostalgia Oil, Noxious Aromatic (Flask), Shadowcloy Flask, Shard Gel (arguable), and Silvercloud Oil. Probably others as well, that was just a quick search. The arguable ones are 'gels' which are technically "a semisolid colloidal suspension of a solid dispersed in a liquid". So ask the GM.
Cheapest for damage is going to be using Acid and Alkali Flask, so 10 + 15 GP for 1d6 acid/ 1d6 acid damage.
Other thoughts: Blistering Feint with a Flame Fountain Firework.
Slipslinger style, Slipslinger Grenadier, and Slipslinger Bombardment will allow for full attacks at range with alchemical items thrown with the damage of a sling bullet. Unfortunately locked to halflings. Fortunately they get some support with warslinger (Only to basic slings), and a feat Well Prepared. Well prepared is awesome for this kind of golf bag character, even if it is 1/day.
Note that if you don’t want to be an actual Alchemist, the Underground Chemist Rogue archetype gives back what’s missing from VMC Alchemist (Intelligence to Damage that comes from Alchemist’s Throw Anything but not from the feat of the same name). This does eat a lot of feats, but lets you get Rogue Talents onto a character that wants to use Alchemical Weapons and eventually Bombs. Unfortunately the 15th level and 19th level abilities are semi-wasted at those high levels. Note that Underground Chemist also trades out any abilities (Evasion) that don’t work in Heavy Armor, so if you somehow get Heavy Armor Proficiency (such as by a martial dip), the only bad thing that wearing Heavy Armor does it hit you with Armor Check Penalties, so if you can find a way to mitigate those, go ahead and armor up. This could be useful for a Hellknight Rogue. It trades out Evasion for the above-mentioned Intelligence-to-damage ability plus adding half your Rogue level to Craft (Alchemy) checks, and trades out the 4th level Rogue Talent for being able to do sneak attack with splash weapons on the first attack per round. It also makes a few Alchemist Discoveries available in place of Rogue Talents (optional, not mandatory) starting at 10th level. I would say that normally an actual Alchemist would be better, but Underground Chemist Rogue VMC Alchemist might be able to claim its own niche.
Being an alchemist makes the alchemical strike feat work better which may matter. A grenadier alchemist can add alchemical items to weapons or ammunition (even dye arrows) in an alternate option to alchemical strike - getting both seems less than useful.
Get a Conductive ranged weapon like a sling or flask launcher on an alchemist, so you can channel bombs through the launched alchemical weapons.
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Explosive Missile + Conductive Weapon = 2 bombs for the price of 3. Useful if you are not going with Fast Bombs. My Grenadier (strength based) still used a Conductive Longbow with Tangleshot Arrows + alchemical weapon to add Ghast Retch Flask. So Bomb damage twice (with a 2 saves or staggered from frost bomb x2), auto entangle, auto sicken with a chance of nauseated.
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