Have a Ranger looking to get some Arcane boost. Looking at Alchemist. ReadingMutagenBull's Strength it states the str boost is enhancement. Mutagen is Alchemical. Now am I cirrect in saying by RAW they stack. So two rounds of buff I have a +8 to str. Four_from a spell four from my mutagen?
If this is the question you meant to ask then the answer is: Yes they stack.
Yes, it will stack, but keep in mind your going to spend 2 turns buffing.
Combat (at least in my group) generally only lasted 3 to 4 turns. Spending half of them not attacking isn't great.
You're going to want to look at ways to speed that up, if you can.
Well even at level 1 a Mutagen lasts 10 minutes, so it's something you can pre-buff with.
If you really want to buff strength you can stack a few things:
Bull's Strength / Belt of Giant Strength = Enhancement bonus
Enlarge Person / Monstrous Physique / etc = Size bonus
Alchemsit = Mutagenic bonus
Barbarian / Bloodrager = Morale bonus
(There' at least one way to get a Sacred bonus, but I forget)
Of course just stacking Strength isn't usually as effective as leveling up and getting BAB, feats and class features. You don't need all of them, but the option is there if you want them.
It is also possible to gain inherent bonuses to Strength via the Abyssal or Orc sorcerer bloodlines. The Eldritch Heritage feat chain gives you +2 Str increases at 11th, 15th, and 17th levels, but you need a relatively high Charisma score to qualify for the needed feats. Variant multiclassing as a Sorcerer requires no investment in Charisma, but you get no Strength increase until 15th level.
The thing Bulls Strength does not stack with is a Belt of Giant Strength. By the time you have access to the extract (9th level), you should at least have a +2 belt, and a +4 belt a level or two away.
Here're the relevant stacking rules:
"Bonus Types: Usually, a bonus has a type that indicates how the spell grants the bonus. The important aspect of bonus types is that two bonuses of the same type don’t generally stack. With the exception of dodge bonuses, most circumstance bonuses, and racial bonuses, only the better bonus of a given type works. The same principle applies to penalties—a character taking two or more penalties of the same type applies only the worst one, although most penalties have no type and thus always stack. Bonuses without a type always stack, unless they are from the same source." CRB pg. 208
Bulls strength is in fact the required spell to create one.
That is not actually relevant. The crafting requirement is usually a thematicaly fitting spell, but mechanically, the properties of the spell are completely irrelevant.
Mutagen bulls strength and Barbarian rage strength however are all different types and do stack.
You were the one asking, not me.
If you are multiclassing for Alchemy, go Investigator... Will saves are important.
If you are multiclassing for Alchemy, go Investigator... Will saves are important.
Investigator takes 3 levels to get a Mutagen - unless there's an archetype that gets them at level 1?
Unless there is something super pressing for Ranger levels, I would take 4 levels of Investigator...
You still only lose one BAB, but +1/+4/+4 saves is better than +0/+2/+2... Swift Alchemy, 2nd level extracts, Studied Combat/Studied Strike...
I mean it's not bad but you're subbing out of Ranger.
+1/+4/+4 is good, but it's actually comparing to Alchemist-1/Ranger-3 (or something) which would be +3/+3/+1 (or +4/+4/+1 depending which levels).
Are the will-saves better than the fort-saves? Probably. You likely need the boost to Will more.
Is delaying your main class worth a 3* level dip? Maybe. It's a strong dip but it's a huge delay on your main class abilities. It pushes your 4th level spells back from level 13 to level 16 - that's probably an entire book of an AP.
You have to decide what you want.
Personally I love a little dipping, your character shouldn't be defined by their class levels, their levels should be defined by the abilities you want for your character. If you want some Inspirstion, Extracts and Studied Combat/Strike then go for it, but if all you're here for is the Mutagen there are easier ways to get it.