Hall of Summoning - Alchemist Orientation

The five students in the Hall of Summoning stood before their tables, waiting for their instructor to come in. Various chemicals and liquids unknown to the new Alchemists bubbled in flasks, vials, and beakers placed on the table in front of them. One of them, Kelvin, looked annoyed, as his tapped his foot with impatience. Only the smallest of candles providing the lighting about the room. The reason for that was obvious, even to all these novice Alchemists. 

Just as Kelvin could bear it no longer, the doors to the Hall of Summoning suddenly slammed open. A short, hunching figure hobbled into the room, his body completely covered with a very large brown coat, his face hidden as a result of the darkness as well as a brown cap atop his head. Kelvin thought he noticed something protruding from the bottom of the coat but he couldn't be certain. The figure in the coat reached the instructor's desk, and it was then that he began to speak.

"Sorry heeee...Ahem. Sorry I'm late." Coat said, his voice sounding nasal and high-pitched.  "I'm getting older, and it's getting tougher for me to move around. My name is Skivven Hargist. I'm the alchemist in-...my word. There's only five of you?" Skivven paused for a moment, as he looked about the room. He was met with the blank stares of the only five in the room. "Hem...How sad. Apparently, the ability to dominate nature is lost on this generation of heroes, it seemed? Hm? Hahahaha..." He continued to laugh to himself. Everyone of the students found this to be odd, especially Kelvin. Who is this guy? He wondered.

"Well, now that I've introduced myself, why don't we begin? Who can tell me what Br and Ba stand for..."

Welcome to the Alchemist Orientation. When the Advanced Players Guide was first announced, I can tell you that I immediately wanted to play the Alchemist. The idea of magic without magic, mixing chemicals to create formulae, and yes, even the Jekyll/Hyde portion of it excited me. But enough about me. That's not what you're here for. It's to take a gander at the Alchemist Base Class*. So let's get started.

Alchemists have Simple Weapon Proficiency, as well as a proficiency with bombs. Bombs, as you'll find out, is a very important part of the class. They also have Light Armor proficiency, but are unable to use shields. Alchemists have strong Fort and Reflex Saves, but weak Will Saves. They have a d8 Hit Die(HD), 3/4s Base Attack Bonus Progression and gain 4 + int modifier skill ranks per level. Their Class Skills include Appraise, Craft, Disable Device, Fly, Heal, Knowledge (Arcana and Nature), Perception, Profession, Sleight of Hand, Spellcraft, Survival, and Use Magic Device.

The defining feature, and the feature for which the class is named, is Alchemy. Not to be confused with the Craft Skill, Alchemy is essentially the Alchemist's ability to use extracts. It should also be pointed out that Alchemy gives the character a bonus on all Craft: Alchemy checks equal to the character level of the Alchemist. Also, Alchemists can use Craft: Alchemy to identify potions, the same way other spellcasters would need to detect magic, and then roll a Spellcraft check. The actual "spells" of the Alchemist come from little vials of liquid that he has created known as Extracts. Though they look like potions, they act very different. Extracts can be dispelled, they cannot "normally" be passed to other characters, and they only last a single day before becoming inert, and thus useless. The most important thing to take out of this is that Alchemists are NOT spellcasters. For purposes of feat selection, such as Craft Wondrous Items,  Alchemists cannot choose these feats. So remember that before you try to grab Arcane Strike with an Alchemist.

Like spellcasters, Alchemists can only use a certain number of extracts per day. However, you can leave some of those slots open, as in you do not need to prepare an extract before you go out to adventure for the day. You would do this because Alchemists can make extracts in the field, as the making of an extract takes only 1 minute. While prepared spellcasters can do this as well, it takes them at least 15 minutes to prepare spells, and as we all know, you may not have 15 minutes in the middle of a dungeon. Just as an example, an Alchemist may need to leave a slot open so that they could create a Comprehend Languages extract, to read that scroll written in Draconic that no one understands.

Learning new extracts as an Alchemist is similar to how Wizards learn new spells. The Alchemist must spend an hour per spell level, a page in his formulae book per level, and the gp cost per level. Confusing a bit, isn't it? Alchemists are the same as spellcasters in most of the ways that matter, and yet they are not spellcasters. I had to do a double-take through all the information to wrap my head around that one.

The next part of the Alchemist class is an ability that needs no explanation. The Bomb. Thus the reason for the random weapon proficiency. The Alchemist can make their level + intelligence modifier bombs per day. They have to be used the same round they are created. The making and throwing of a bomb is combined into a standard action, and they have a range of 20 feet. At every odd level, the damage dice of a bomb grows by 1d6. So 2d6 at 3rd level, 3d6 at 5th, and so forth. And as bombs should, they do deal splash damage to all opponents one square adjacent to the location of the bomb. Throwing a bomb is a ranged attack, and as such it provokes attacks of opportunity**. Also, at first level, Alchemists gain Brew Potion as a bonus feat, using their class level as their caster level, as well as Throw Anything.

The students all watched their experiments on the table before them. Their concoctions boiled and bubbled as the liquids continued to drip into the beaker. Some of them had already moved onto the next phase, using an open flame. Kelvin was one of them. His eyes kept glancing over to instructor Skivven, who moved about the classroom, watching the bidding alchemists work on the assignment he had given them.

As Skivven moved behind Kelvin, the student "accidentally" fell forward knocking his own flame with the chemicals into the instructor's coat.

"Gah!!" Skivven cried out, as the entire coat began to catch fire and spread. He begun to spin wildly about, throwing the coat off his body. What was under the coat surprised everyone. Except Kelvin.

"I knew it! You're a rat! A dirty little rat!" Kelvin shouted at the instructor, pointing at him while everyone stared. Skivven's dark fur and long tail were displayed for the world to see. Though it was difficult for the students to tell, everyone knew the instructor was angry. Skivven's eyes flashed with fury, as he glared at the rebellious student.

"So what if I am?" He asked. "You're hee..here to learn about alchemy, aren't you? I could spit fire from my mouth, and light that stupid rag you call hair from the top of your head!" As the instructor shouted back to Kelvin, he advanced slowly but surely on the student. Kelvin began to shrink back the closer Skivven got to him. "You want to see what happens when you provoke a dirty little rat?" Skivven removed the cap from his head, revealing himself completely. Long grey whiskers protruded from his "cheeks". His incisors were bared, as Skivven seemed to grin at the unruly student in front of him. He reached into his cap, and pulled out a small vial filled with green liquid. He pulled the stopper off, staring into the eyes of his student, who was crumbled up into a ball in the corner at this point. He poured the liquid into his waiting mouth, which Kelvin could swear seemed to be foaming at this point. Kelvin could bear it no longer, as he watched the instructor's transformation right before his eyes. He screamed.

Another very flavourful part of the Alchemist class is the Mutagen ability. This powerful concoction takes about an hour to brew, and as usual, Alchemists can only keep a single vial of the stuff active. Any attempt to make another or to pass it on will render the previous dosage inert. When the alchemist brews the mutagen, he chooses a physical ability score to enhance. Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution. However, the alchemist must pay a price, as he will take a penalty to Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma.*** He gains a +4 alchemical bonus to the chosen stat, a +2 natural armor bonus to his AC, and a -2 penalty to the affected mental stat. The effects last 10 minutes per Alchemist level. Non-Alchemists, don't try to drink this stuff. You have to roll a fort save, and if you fail, you'll be nauseated for the next hour.

At 2nd level, and every even level after that the Alchemist gains a new Discovery. These discoveries are essentially just decent bonuses that make your Alchemist a bit more effective at what he decides to do. For example, remember that comment I made about how Alchemists are "normally" unable to pass their extracts onto their team mates for consumption? Well, there's a Discovery for that. Keep in mind, unless the Discovery specifically states you can take it more than once, you cannot. Also starting at 2nd level, Alchemists gain Poison Resistance and Poison Use, which makes them gain a +2 bonus to all saving throws against poison, and they cannot accidentally poison themselves when applying poison to a weapon, respectively. Poison Resistance increases to +4 at 5th level, and +6 at 8th level. When they hit level 10, they are completely immune to poison.

At 3rd level, the Alchemist gains Swift Alchemy, which cuts the time to make alchemical items(such as Alchemist's Fire) in half. It also allows them to apply poison to weapons as a move action, as opposed to a standard action. At 6th level, they gain Swift Poisoning, which turns the application into a swift action. Then, at 14th level, the Alchemist gains Persistent Mutagen, which gives them an hour per level to remain affected by the mutagen, compared to the previous 10 minutes per level. At 18th level, the Alchemist gains Instant Alchemy, which gives him the ability to make alchemical items as a full-round action, as long as they have the materials required as well as succeeding at their Craft: Alchemy check. Poison application becomes an immediate action****.

As you can see, most of the mechanical growth of the Alchemist class comes from the Discoveries they gain every 2 levels. In fact, their Capstone ability is Grand Discovery. This gives them two discoveries from the Discovery List, but it also allows them to choose a single Grand Discovery from it's own list. These are very powerful discoveries indeed. For instance, Eternal Youth stops the Alchemist from Ageing, and removes all penalties from ageing altogether.

"Hmmm...Well I suppose that's enough for today. Congratulations class...You've just finished the very first Alchemy class. Now, if we can just go on without any more pointless interruptions-" Skivven glared over at Kelvin, who sat flustered but quiet at his table. "Perhaps we could actually learn a few things. Now next class, we'll be going over alchemist's fire, so I'd suggest wearing something that doesn't catch fire very easily, hm? Hehehehe...You're dismissed. Have a good day everyone." All five of his students rose from their chairs and began to gather their things. "Except you, Mr. Kelvin. I'd like a word with you." Kelvin looked up at the instructor, sighed, and slunk back into the chair. Skivven waited until everyone else had left the Hall, before turning his attention to Kelvin.

"What's wrong with you, my dear boy? Didn't your mother teach you any respect for the other races?" Skivven asked, looking at Kelvin with concern as he paced about the front of the classroom. Kelvin stared down at his table for a moment, searching for an answer.

"Where I grew up...being human meant being superior to all the other races. Halflings, Elves, Dwarves, Rats...It didn't matter. There's a reason we dominate the lands. At least, that's what I was always taught...Sir." Kelvin made sure to add that in at the end.

"If I teach you nothing else while you're here, I want you to have respect for those who are unlike you. I understand, my people have a stereotype about them that is not completely unjustified...But what I want you to understand is that not all deserve their racial stigma. After all, you are human, and we Ratfolk see you as hairless surface dwellers who propagate worse than we do, hehe... That is why you dominate the lands, in our eyes. But when I look at you, dear boy, I don't see that. I see someone who is confused and frankly just a bit naïve, but otherwise isn't a bad person. You deserve a chance, and that's what I'm going to give you. I hope you'd be willing to do the same for me." Skivven turned towards Kelvin, who opened his mouth to speak. The instructor simply shook his head, and pointed out towards the door. "Enjoy the rest of your evening. Study the notes I've given you. Dismissed." The student nodded, gathered his belongings, and left the room. Skivven smiled, shook his head, and turned to the blackboard, cleaning away his lessons.

*While the classes found in the Core Rulebook are known as Core classes, the one's listed in the Advanced Player's Guide are known as Base Classes. The idea behind the seperation of classes is that Core classes are considered to be much more commonly found throughout a fantasy world as opposed to the base classes presented in the APG.

**There are a few tricks that can be done with splash weapons. For instance, instead of targeting the creature you want to hit, who may have a decent touch AC, you could instead target the square he is standing in. The location carries with it an AC of 5, much easier to hit most of the time. Keep in mind, because you're not directly attacking the creature, it will only be subject to splash damage. There are a few more tricks, but we'll go over those another time.

***The Bonuses/Penalties for the Mutagens are as follows. Strength/Intelligence, Dexterity/Wisdom and Constitution/Charisma. As soon as you choose which bonus you receive when you make the mutagen, the penalty you receive is also locked in place.

****There are various types of actions, that we will briefly touch on really quick for those of you who aren't 100% sure about all of them. First we have the standard action, which is probably the most important one, as it's the action that allows you to swing your sword, cast your spell, and so forth. The move action, which includes, but is not limited to, moving, drawing or sheathing weapons, picking up or digging through your bag to find items. Swift Actions don't really pop up much unless you have a class ability or a feat that uses them, such as the alchemist's application of poison with Swift Poison. A normal turn in initiative consists of a standard action, move action, and swift action. Move Actions can be used in place of a standard action, but not the other way around. Free Actions are actions that are considered so short, so menial, that they do not take up any other action, such as talking, or taking a quick look at something(perception check). The most commonly used Free Action is the 5-foot step. There is also the Immediate Action, which functions similar to a swift action, but it can only be used once per round, and it takes up the swift action until your next turn. The really important thing to note about Immediate Actions is that they can be done whether or not it's your turn.

Sorry this update took so long to bring out. Haven't had a day off since I've written the last one, and with my renewing interest in Starcraft II, well... I promise it won't be too long until the next one. Leave me a comment, let me know what you liked and didn't like. See you next time, everyone.