Alchemist

[teaman]

Maybe base it off the cleric class and consider the following:

1. Create a custom spell list that gets rid of any divine sort of spells and swap those out with magic user spells that could be created with a thrown potion. Even some things like Charm Person might be accomplished with fumes.
2. Eliminate the Turn Undead ability, but allow them to use edged weapons.
3. Still keep the spells per day restriction, but instead of praying they spend time in the morning preparing their fresh concoctions. Those things don't keep more than a day like mayonnaise in the sun.
4. Some adventuring hooks might include finding new potion components and rare elements. All the chemical reactions and distilling are done offstage during down time.

Just my thought. Heck, might even try to whip up a class like this myself.

[burgerbabylon]

I want to put an alchemist together myself. Just getting into the game so gonna play it a bit before I try to break it but something that might be interesting to incorporate is the health risks. Historically alchemists inhaled allot of toxic fumes because they didn't know any better. Maybe it should come with a constitution penalty or a risk of taking damage every time they create something. Then they never really knew what they had so the effects of new potions and poisons could be unpredictable in game. If they start playing around with gunpowder there's the potential for dealing out some mad damage provided they don't blow themselves up. It'd be a cool specialty class that could get big payoffs but offset with risks. New healing potion? Maybe it's poison. New acid? Maybe you just invented magic steroids and turned a little goblin you threw it at into a incredibly buff troll. New magic resistance potion, great that's exactly what it is, but you gave yourself black lung making it. Etc.

My ideas anyway

[Dimirag]

There is an alchemist on the core rules, although not a class, but can be used as a starting point for one:

They can create potions the same way as Magic Users do.
A MU must be at least 7th Lvl to be able to create potions.
Success chance = 15% plus 5% per level of the spellcaster, plus the spellcaster's full Intelligence -10% per spell level.
Material required = 50 gp per spell level, per day.
Time required = 1 week plus one day per spell level (or equivalent).
-An Alchemist can do it from 1st Level -

Minor Potions:
At double chances and half cost and time, Alchemist can create Minor Potions that work as regular ones but with halved values (duration, damage, effect, etc)


They can investigate new potions at double cost and time.
-I'm not finding rules for MUs researching potions, maybe they can't (they are stuck with existing potions and formulas).


They can't create magic items, but, they can help a MU in the creation of some of them.
-Alchemists can create alchemical metals and alloys.

Ideas for New Special Abilities
-Mixology: Alchemists, at higher levels alchemist can combine 2 potions into one combining both effects.
-Potion Identification
-Lesser Poison creation: by working with dangerous materials, Alchemist learn to do some poison, but these lack the real lethal power of common poisons.
-Inner Alchemy: Alchemist are able to "hold" in their bodies the effect of a couple of potions after drunk.

I would really like to replace the spellcasting with some special ability (specially if maintaining the spell per day table) that lets them being useful while adventuring.

[Solomoriah]

An Alchemist should be able to produce potions having 1st level effects at 1st level, 2nd level effects at 3rd level, and so on. The GM would have to rule on the "level" of a potion that does not reproduce a known spell. OR, you could provide "potion lists" like the spell lists of magic-users. Researching a potion then becomes a simple matter of researching a spell.

[Zanobious]

So i created a character recently who has the Secondary Skill Crafting, Leather (from the Secondary Skills supplement on the Download section). One can assume that the tools required for this can be quite bulky and would require a mule or a cart to move it around the known world. Now, there is a 75% probability that the items would be seperated from the character due to having to "enter the small entrance in the cave wall, climb the cliff side wall, etc..."
SOOOOO.... I have the Basic kit that i use for travelling, which is still bulky, but only 25% so of the complete kit and can be carried in a backpack. He has the complete kit in his home town which he uses as a base of operations. He uses his forraies to gather supplies and materials for his various projects.

Anyways. Thanks for reading! Hope this gives you some ideas!

[Dimirag]

I'm slowly (reeeaaally slowly) working on this class...

For the moment it works like this:

The class works different alchemical products (potion, poisons, metals, acids, oozes, and whatever the GM thinks), each product is knows as a "family" and each specific product has its own spell-like formula.

It has 2 main areas: Adventuring and Downtime

It has 4 skill most of which works while on Downtime

Analyze: Used while adventuring to know what an unknown product can do. Its has a chance of success, unless an alchemy kit is used (each kit contains an amount of uses) or the formula is known.

Produce: The creation of products, requires a sample or knowing the formula. Has a chance of success unless the sample has a spell-like level equal or less than half the alchemist's level round up.

Divide: The alchemist can divide a product into smaller quantities which results in lesser effects. Has a chance of success.

Combine: The alchemist has a chance of combining two or more products of the same family resulting in a product with all the effects united.

On the adventuring side is where I'm having issues. The class, as is it now, probably could work for a quasi-class, leaving the adventuring side to the primary class.

Now, in order to be a full class, the alchemist should be viable, not requiring external consumables, one way is to let the alchemist cast spells with transmutation/transmogrification effects, as a sub-magic user it's not out of place, but I'm not sure it gives the right feeling...