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So i know the base damage for an alchemists bomb is 1d6+int mod. but is there any way to increase that to make vital-strike more worth the feats
I wanted to be a bit of a menace for my party by taking continuous bomb damage discoveries (like incendiary cloud at much higher levels) and combining it with explosive bombs and splash weapon master for like a 60ft radius of fun for the enemies to party in lol
I don't think Vital Strike works with bombs, as this feat specifically requires the 'Attack' action and bombs use their own special action (like how you can't use vital strike when charging or using other abilities that allow you to attack without specifically letting you take the 'attack' action).
Source
PRPG Core Rulebook pg. 136
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +6.
Benefit: When you use the attack action, you can make one attack at your highest base attack bonus that deals additional damage. Roll the weapon's damage dice for the attack twice and add the results together before adding bonuses from Strength, weapon abilities (such as flaming), precision based damage, and other damage bonuses. These extra weapon damage dice are not multiplied on a critical hit, but are added to the total. Source
Advanced Player's Guide pg. 26
Bomb (Su): In addition to magical extracts, alchemists are adept at swiftly mixing various volatile chemicals and infusing them with their magical reserves to create powerful bombs that they can hurl at their enemies. An alchemist can use a number of bombs each day equal to his class level + his Intelligence modifier. Bombs are unstable, and if not used in the round they are created, they degrade and become inert—their method of creation prevents large volumes of explosive material from being created and stored. In order to create a bomb, the alchemist must use a small vial containing an ounce of liquid catalyst—the alchemist can create this liquid catalyst from small amounts of chemicals from an alchemy lab, and these supplies can be readily refilled in the same manner as a spellcaster’s component pouch. Most alchemists create a number of catalyst vials at the start of the day equal to the total number of bombs they can create in that day—once created, a catalyst vial remains usable by the alchemist for years.
Drawing the components of, creating, and throwing a bomb requires a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Thrown bombs have a range of 20 feet and use the Throw Splash Weapon special attack. Bombs are considered weapons and can be selected using feats such as Point-Blank Shot and Weapon Focus. On a direct hit, an alchemist’s bomb inflicts 1d6 points of fire damage + additional damage equal to the alchemist’s Intelligence modifier. The damage of an alchemist’s bomb increases by 1d6 points at every odd-numbered alchemist level (this bonus damage is not multiplied on a critical hit or by using feats such as Vital Strike). Splash damage from an alchemist bomb is always equal to the bomb’s minimum damage (so if the bomb would deal 2d6+4 points of fire damage on a direct hit, its splash damage would be 6 points of fire damage). Those caught in the splash damage can attempt a Reflex save for half damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 the alchemist’s level + the alchemist’s Intelligence modifier.
Alchemists can learn new types of bombs as discoveries (see the Discovery ability) as they level up. An alchemist’s bomb, like an extract, becomes inert if used or carried by anyone else.
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If you want to do more damage with bombs, just throw more bombs. Vital strike requires BAB 6, which at the same time as you'll get that with an alchemist, you'll be able to take fast bombs, which is mutually exclusive in use to vital strike, which with rapid shot and the fact that you target touch (and will likely never miss), means you can throw 3 4d6+int bombs or you can throw one 5d6+int bomb. Even a modestly statted Alchemist by BAB 6 (level 8) will have 12 bombs a day, and depending on the campaign, the ability to guarantee on all but a nat 1 an average of at least 54 damage to a single target plus incidental splash damage three rounds whenever its needed is way ahead of where you need to be by level 8.
Vital Strike on the other hand can make your bombs marginally more impactful per bomb, but you won't get to greater vital strike to make them be +3d6 more effective, at the cost of a massive hit to DPR. The only things that can make vital strike more effective for a bomb is the mythic vital strike chain:
Regular Mythic Vital Strike would let you multiply your intelligence and other incidental buffs to damage by the vital strike multiplier (which again can only go up to x3 because you're not a full BAB class). Improved Mythic Vital Strike would let you multiply all the d6's, not just the first. But these are mythic feats for a reason, and not something you should ever have in a normal game because bombs are already strong enough in other ways, even if you don't take fast bombs.
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They do gain vital strike as its said "On a direct hit, an alchemist’s bomb inflicts 1d6 points of fire damage + additional damage equal to the alchemist’s Intelligence modifier. The damage of an alchemist’s bomb increases by 1d6 points at every odd-numbered alchemist level (this bonus damage is not multiplied on a critical hit or by using feats such as Vital Strike)" The bonus damage won't be multiplied as its well bonus damage and not base damage BUT the base damage (The 1d6+int) will be as its not bonus damage
Wouldn't be the first time the authors and/or editors didn't understand all the relevant rules (Seriously, the Alchemy 'formula list' is somehow full of spells that shouldn't actually work with the Alchemy class feature).
RAW:
Vital Strike specifically only works with the Attack action.
Alchemist bombs specifically don't use the Attack action.
Therefore, Vital Strike can't be used with Bombs.
Addendum: It's quite possible that Bombs were originally intended to be an Attack action but that created issues that resulted in the change to a special action and everyone just missed the fact that Vital Strike no longer worked with this class feature.
Yes, there is the funny RAW where regular bomb throws aren't technically an attack action but with Fast Bombs at least the argument can be made that "This functions just like a full-attack with a ranged weapon." and then would an attack action. But even assuming you have a gm that ignores the quirk for what is probably the RAI with bombs and vital strike, you're only ever getting an extra d6 per feat in the line short of the mythic variant.
There can also be the argument that vital strike shouldn't work on a weapon that doesn't hit quite so precisely, like how you can't put sneak attack on a bomb, but vital strike isn't quite precision damage either. But this is also irrelevant to the "can you even vital strike with a bomb by RAW" discussion.
Wasn't implying it would work with fast bombs, just that if you're looking for more damage output, fast bombs is far superior to vital striking with a single bomb.
Vital Strike is so often a trap option anyways, the real question is why go through the effort? What is your end goal here? Because, even with Greater Vital Strike [which an Alchemist never has the BAB to get] your Bombs do 4D6 base damage... wow. The investment is not worth the "reward".
Investing even more, in an effort to increase base damage to a point where Vital Strike might, MIGHT, actually pay off seems like an even bigger trap. Suppose there was a feat not unlike Accomplished Sneak Attack, but for Bombs... so you sink another resource into this nonexistent "Accomplished Bomber" feat, then dive into the Vital Strike chain... with Improved Vital Strike [and the nonexistent Accomplished Bomber feat] you have, what, 6D6 at level 15? So what? You spent a minimum of three feats, just to just to have a mediocre standard action attack? That late in the game...?
It might possibly be a better idea to take four levels of Underground Chemist UnRogue, then take the rest in Vivisectionist Alchemist...
Underground Chemist gets Chemical Weapons, which is essentially Alchemy and Throw Anything. It also gets Precise Splash Weapons, which allows Sneak Attack with, well, splash weapons. At level 2, take the Rogue Talent called Bomber, which gives you Bombs with damage equal to your Sneak Attack. Vivisectionist gives up Bombs for Sneak Attack, but its Sneak Attack stacks with the Sneak Attack you got from your Rogue levels... now you have full progression Sneak Attack and full progression Bomb damage. As both Rogue and Alchemist are 3/4 BAB classes, taking exactly 4 levels in Rogue, you don't even lose BAB going into Alchemist. Your saves get better... well, everything gets better, because Rogues kinda suck. Lol. You could probably set up Sneak Attack pretty easily with Invisibility, and the like.
At level 8, which is the earliest an Alchemist could ever consider getting Vital Strike, you would be looking like this:
BAB +6
Base saves +5/+8/+2
Bombs/Sneak Attack 4D6
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Vital Strike is so often a trap option anyways, the real question is why go through the effort? What is your end goal here? Because, even with Greater Vital Strike [which an Alchemist never has the BAB to get] your Bombs do 4D6 base damage... wow. The investment is not worth the "reward".
Investing even more, in an effort to increase base damage to a point where Vital Strike might, MIGHT, actually pay off seems like an even bigger trap. Suppose there was a feat not unlike Accomplished Sneak Attack, but for Bombs... so you sink another resource into this nonexistent "Accomplished Bomber" feat, then dive into the Vital Strike chain... with Improved Vital Strike [and the nonexistent Accomplished Bomber feat] you have, what, 6D6 at level 15? So what? You spent a minimum of three feats, just to just to have a mediocre standard action attack? That late in the game...?
To be fair, I don't think Vital Strike was ever intended to be a 'good' option: It's more of a "I will suck slightly less when I can only take the Attack Action" type of thing. Given the number of bonus combat feats a fighter gets, I'm guessing this feat tree was probably reasonably popular for them when the game launched, but as more feats were published, a lot of better options became available...
Once upon a time, there was a reason to take it regularly or even just to fill slots on a non-niche fighter build, but the way the game developed low BAB attacks stopped being attacks you would only sometimes hit on non-sub CR=APL enemies and thus even weapon specialization's +2 dmg per hit is worth more than ~3.5 damage on a single d6 damage weapon's hit in the turn.
For example, the iconic fighter at level 12 has +20 to attack or +18/+16 in his TWF chain with d8+10/d6+3 for a damage code. Average AC for a CR 12 monster is around 27. Granted he doesn't have vital strike because he's going TWF, but switch the s-sword out with a shield, and even that 4.5 damage on an average d8 can be more worth than taking a 40% and 15% chance to hit where if you miss you get nothing out of a full attack over your vital strike. (Note that .55% of d8+10 is just shy of 8 damage, but not every enemy is going to be below that 27 average AC, especially when several fights' CR will of course be above APL.
However, nowadays with your fancy 25 PBs and your swashbuckler/paladin/cavalier style level to damages, and your netbuilds, and so on, the typical *unbuffed* statline looks like +27 to hit after power attack/deadly aim around level 12 instead of +18.