I am currently in a discord Pathfinder group that, due to the way people join at any times and everyone is in different time zones, we can have multiple characters.
One of my characters is a Gun Chemist, at the moment, 4 levels of Gun Chemist and one level of Trench Fighter. I plan to get 2 more levels of Trench Fighter for Dex to Damage with my firearm, and 4 levels of Phantom Thief Unchained Rogue. (Those are for character flavor and being able to attack in melee if absolutely necessary.)
I'd like some feedback and some suggestions about my plan for feats and talents/discoveries.
What I already have:
Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Gunsmithing. (Bonus feat from being human.)
Frost Bullet discovery.
Rapid Reload and Amateur Gunslinger: Quick Clear. (Bonus feat from first level of Trench Fighter.)
Rapid Shot and Tanglefoot Bullet discovery.
What I'm looking at:
LV6: Deadly Aim. (Bonus feat from second level of Trench Fighter.)
LV7: Clustered Shot.
LV9: Brew Potion (Already have GM permission.) and Chemical Stability discovery. I also get a bonus combat feat here from Gun Chemist. But I don't know what to take.
LV10: Weapon Finesse. (Bonus feat first level of Rogue.)
LV11: Combat Swipe talent from second level of Rogue. Unsure of regular feat.
LV13: Alchemical Discovery and Feat here.
LV15: Feat and Rogue Talent here.
17: Feat and Alchemical Discovery.
19: Feat and Alchemical Discovery.
So yeah. Any thoughts?
Far shot is useful, especially if your gun is a pistol. Which I expect it is due to reload times.
If you're making potions then you might want additional traits in order to get accelerated drinker, if you don't already have that. I'm sure you can find another trait to fill out that feat.
Why combat swipe BTW?
You do like your Phantom Thiefs, don't you? Didn't you have Phantom Thief Swashbuckler stealing stuff once upon a time, too?
Your Gun Chemist looks pretty solid, though. Dex-to-DMG from Trench Fighter will definitely help.
A Paddle-Foot Pistol, to be exact. Far Shot could be useful when I can't get close enough for touch ac attacks.
I already have a combat trait, I'm afraid. Roving Range. It increases my range increment by 5 feet. I also have Indomitable Faith and Alchemical Adept. (House rule allowing a third trait.)
I took it for flavor. The character is basically Captain Cold.
And yes, I have another Phantom Thief character. But the Swashbuckler is a Dashing Thief. They're twins.
Cool, at least I'm not completely misremembering that/those character(s).
This is the Captain Cold build in action? Nice.
When Captain Cold freezes Johnny Quick's leg and kicks it out from under him is so legit. Definitely my favorite Captain Cold moment...
Yeah. I haven't been able to play them yet though. Due to there being two of them.
Leonard's been doing pretty well so far. Especially once he had enough gold for the Paddle-Foot. It was a little harder when he had to reload every other round. But I did a bunch of changes since I originally built him and the original plan doesn't really work any more.
I'm not sure when you hit alchemist 8 in this build but fast ordnance is a discovery you'll obviously want then. Infusion is a regularly useful discovery, and spontaneous healing is more convenient than some realise.
The snap shot rogue talent (via feat or otherwise) might be worth getting. It's not the same as the snap shot feat. Umbral gear is on my mental list as a fun thing to get if you can afford to spend feats/rogue talents on non-combat stuff.
Improved precise shot is something for you late game. Redirected shot is amusing if there's another, worse ranged combatant in the party.
Yeah, with combat faith and magic traits already and presumably enough background that regional traits are out, forget traits.
Have you considered the Spell Knowledge Discovery, Arcane Strike, Spell Cartridges, and the Gloves of Arcane Striking?
Spell Knowledge, pick a spell, any spell...
Arcane Strike speaks for itself and is required for Spell Cartridges.
Spell Cartridges is infinite ammo, yay!
Gloves of Arcane Striking means your force bullets do splash damage...
The Snap Shot talent looks pretty handy. And I forgot about Fast Ordnance. I get a nice amount of extra damage when using Frost Bullet so being able to do it twice a round is great. I'll be a level 8 alchemist at character level 13. Infusion will also be handy to help heal other characters with CLW extracts.
Umbral Gear does look fun. I'll keep it in mind.
I'll also keep Spell Knowledge in mind. Getting some extra spells is always handy. If I go with Spell Cartridges, I'll need this too. My GM has allowed alchemists that trade away Brew Potions to be able to take the feat again. But I highly doubt he'll allow it for Arcane Strike.
Improved Shot is now on the list. I'll have to check with I have the BAB, but it's on the list.
I'll have to see how Explosive Missile works with Gun Chemist. Since that archetype gives up bombs.
If you take Spell Knowledge, the GM has no grounds to deny you Arcane Strike... you earned it in full by learning an arcane spell and acquiring a legit CL. If they tell you no, they are just being difficult.
And once you have Arcane Strike, you can take Spell Cartridges. You earned it. Paid the price, in full.
Same with the Gloves of Arcane Striking... they cost gold, which must be paid, and it took a Discovery and two feats to get here...
I meant that they wouldn't allow alchemist levels alone to qualify for Arcane Strike. I would definitely need Spell Knowledge or a level dip.
Spell Knowledge is the only way it's worth it... as a dip would give ONE caster level... Spell Knowledge gives you a CL = Alchemist levels, therefore allowing Arcane Strike to scale with level.
Understood.
Holding off until later levels makes sense... unless you are hurting for ammunition now. The whole gimmick gets better the more CL you have pumping up Arcane Strike. And I don't know how you are spending your swift actions currently.
Having infinite force bullets doing force splash damage is never a bad thing, though...
And, Arcane Strike works with literally everything, so your dip into Rogue for just in case business still can see some benefits... in theory, Arcane Strike does not apply to stealing $#!+...
Nah, the only time I run out of ammunition is when I forget to craft more between missions.
Crafting bullets is one of the easiest ways to break the game outside of Druidic Herbalism... but that only works when you aren't shooting them (bullets, not Druids). Lol.
Yeah. I just gotta remember to not only craft, but also take out what I use.
Selling bullets seems difficult unless you first have a market of gun owners who also don't craft their own bullets, don't have easy access to equivalently priced ammunition, have deep pockets and deeper ammunition needs.
Not sure that's a lot of places in most campaigns where all of those pieces come together?
Better to just create an interdimensional diamond mining consortium...
If there's already guns...
Literally an ammo shortage due to the pandemic... bullets don't stop plagues... rednecks will ALWAYS buy bullets!
Lest we forget, people in Amerika had to be reminded on national news not to shoot at a hurricane...
I wasn't planning on selling bullets. It was more about making sure I had enough bullets for myself. I will be selling the potions though.
We're playing with downtime rules that allow for rooms and businesses. The plan is to open a bar and sell booze, with potions on the side.
Gunsmithing CAN be broken... I wasn't trying to imply that you would be attemtping to break it.
IF you wanted to break Gunsmithing, having infinite free force bullets would definitely free up the bullets you DO craft for selling, though...