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Pathfinder’s Alchemist class offers everything from healing and support to blasting and striking. Here’s how to create the most effective one.
The Alchemist’s role in Pathfinder is as varied as it is reliable. Many of these powerful harnessers of explosive power rely heavily on their ability to craft bombs and experiment with mutagens, but there’s more to the Alchemist than the bombs they build. Despite their reputation for mad science and recklessness, Alchemists can also play the role of healer by brewing up useful potions. They can even focus their expertise to craft ones that buff and support the rest of the party.
Some Alchemist builds rely heavily on magic, so creating a strong Alchemist takes careful consideration from the start. Everything from the character’s race to how well their attributes have been built can impact how helpful they’ll be. Feats, traits and skills also factor heavily into constructing an Alchemist who can save the rest of the party from an early death.
Maximize an Alchemist’s Intelligence & Dexterity
Intelligence is a core factor when building an Alchemist since they rely on their ability to craft extracts that harness and store phenomenal magical power which can be thrown into the battlefield like a bomb. While the INT score is not as crucial to Alchemists as it is to caster classes like the Wizard, it is one of their two core attributes and should not be treated lightly when distributing points during character creation.
Because Alchemists tend to work from the sidelines and toss their creations from a distance, they are considered a range-based class. That means they rely heavily on their Dexterity score to get their creations where they need to be. Both DEX and INT should be no lower than 16 at the start. Since they have absolutely no need for Charisma, that stat can be dumped to seven to save points for what’s important.
Constitution, while not as important as DEX and INT, is another key factor for ensuring the Alchemist has enough hit points to survive when things go sideways. Any points that aren’t poured into the other two stats should be added to CON to make sure the Alchemist isn’t too squishy.
The Best Racial Options for an Alchemist
There are several outstanding racial choices for an Alchemist, but the ideal one is the Hobgoblin. Not only do Hobgoblins get +2 to both their DEX and CON, but they also get an additional +1/2 bombs per day. Ratfolk also make good Alchemists because they get +2 to INT and DEX — their most important stats. Because of their small size, they can move quickly (perhaps even undetected) to the perfect vantage point to launch fiery bombs into a crowd of enemies to quickly disperse it.
Other good choices include the Sylph, which also gains the +2 for DEX and INT essential for the Alchemist. However, aside from that, there isn’t much else this race has to offer an Alchemist. Humans get +2 to INT and an extra feat, which always comes in handy, while the Half-Orc also gets +2 INT and +1/2 bomb damage against their favored class.
The Best Alchemist Archetypes
There are a multitude of Alchemist Archetypes to choose from, and depending on how the player plans to use the character, it’s important to examine them carefully before choosing. That being said, the Vivisectionist is one of the most powerful options. It blends an intriguing set of Rogue-like abilities with magic and some seriously mad science. Vivisectionists can throw out powerful attacks that take advantage of the Sneak Attack bonus. To make things even weirder, they can mutate animals and empower them with magical abilities to fight enemies.
Another intriguing Archetype option is Beastmorph, which allows the Alchemist to experiment with the magic of polymorph to mutate into fantastical beasts with powerful melee abilities. They gain access to Beast Shape and, as they advance, the Beastmorph’s access to sense-based abilities like scent, darkvision and blindsense only grow more powerful.
The Best Feats for Alchemists
Feats are a great way to boost an Alchemist’s abilities, often giving them more range and faster shots. This make Extra Discovery an essential feat because it allows a character to make one additional discovery. Some require prerequisites, so be careful when looking through them. On the other hand, Extra Discovery can be taken multiple times, broadening the Alchemist’s knowledge immensely.
The power of a feat will also be dependent on the Alchemist Archetype. For example, Splash Weapon Mastery is excellent for bomb-happy Alchemists looking to spread the affected area of their blast damage. It increases the “splash zone” by a square to make sure additional adjacent enemies suffer the repercussions. Feral Mutagen is great for the Beastmorphing Alchemist because it inspires the inner-beast to come forth. There are also a number of feats specifically focused on an Alchemist who lives to poison their enemies, making the poisons as irresistible as they are deadly.
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