Alchemist (4e Class)

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Alchemist

“	Twas not just a homunculus that hath been wrought, but an odd mix of something like a bow and tonics which rendered the opposition all but burned and lame.	”
—Fayn Uyurin, Alchemyst Epics

Class Traits

Role: Controller. One who draws on arcane and alchemical formulae to inflict conditions on opponents

Power Source: Arcane. Tinkering with potions, tinctures, as well as weapon design leaves you with a higher sense of understanding of how to manipulate and augment yourself and the battlefield to your favor.

Key Abilities: Intelligence, Dexterity, Constitution

Armor Proficiencies: cloth, leather, hide

Weapon Proficiencies: simple and military ranged weapons, crossling, throwing hammer, spiked chain, alchemy weapons (you have a +2 to damage with weapons that have this property)

Implements: When you use an alchemist power that has the Implement keyword, you can add the bonus of your Weapons Jack weapon.

Bonus to Defense: +2 Reflex

Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + Constitution score

Hit Points per Level Gained: 5

Healing Surges per Day: 6 + Constitution modifier

Trained Skills: Dungeoneering or Arcana.  From the class skills list below, choose 4 more trained skills at 1st level. Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Heal (Wis), History (Int), Insight (Wis), Nature (Wis), Perception (Wis)

Build Options: Tactical alchemical weaponmaster, trickster alchemical weaponmaster

Class Features: Weapons Jack, Enhance Weapon, Synthesis

Alchemical weaponmasters are swift and clever pieces on the chessboard. They operate as necessity forces them to invent new techniques of survival, not just combat. Using these tactics, they aim to outmaneuver, outlast, and outsmart opponents. Their weapons are often oddly configured to perform more than their intended function. If nothing else, alchemical weaponmasters are resourceful. They are able to lay traps for those whom they know they cannot take on in a full-frontal assault. They skulk about the battlefield as scouts for allies, and formulate new alchemical tinctures to aid allies and debilitate enemies. They are true team players who can run the field in a pinch.

As an alchemical weaponmaster, you handle both offensive and tactical responsibilities. The weaponmaster part makes you a jack of all trades of a variety of weapons, differing you from the artificer leader class. You could be at the front lines, slashing away at enemies with an alchemically enhanced sword. Or you could be slinging alchemist fire and potions from afar, away from the line of danger. You constantly need to adapt yourself to the situations that call for it, throwing healing items to allies when needed, or weakening opponents when the going gets tough.

While they are an arcane class, the alchemical weaponmaster channels their powers through things like potions and weapons, making them a bit more martial than even an artificer. Unlike typical arcane classes, the weaponmaster's weapon is their implement for powers with the implement keyword. In addition, the class uses a unique rule called the alchemy implement. This is a very experimental piece of equipment that allows the weaponmaster to maximize their use of potions. Often times, this can double as an arcane implement or weapon.

Take up your bow, staves, and swords with your alchemists tools and wreak some havoc!

Alchemical Weaponmaster Overview

Characteristics: Alchemical weaponmasters use unorthodox means through weapons and alchemy to get the job done, whether they are front liners or supporting characters.

Religion: Religions don't factor too much into alchemy, which is a bit more scientific. Alchemical weaponmasters like to think and tinker, rather than ponder existential questions deeply. For the religious minority though, Ioun is a great choice to help reach the peak of mental perfection.

Races: While they are called weaponmasters, strength is not necessarily what they need. They rely on wit and speed more often. What you'd want is a race that is familiar with the flavor of alchemy. Sturdy or dexterous races are also viable, like the homunculus.

Creating an Alchemical Weaponmaster

Generally, there are two kinds of alchemical weaponmasters: tactical and trickster.

Tactical Alchemical Weaponmaster

Tactical means maneuvering as needed to ensure the best outcome in a battle for you. This means shifting roles and supporting heavy hitters as well as making some headway yourself sometimes.

Suggested [[4e Index (4e Other)#Feat|Feat]]: Attack Recharge

Suggested [[4e Index (4e Other)#Skill checks|Skills]]: Dungeoneering, History, Diplomacy

Suggested [[4e Index (4e Other)#at-will powers|At-Will Powers]]: transmute length, resourceful cycle

Suggested [[4e Index (4e Other)#encounter powers|Encounter Power]]: battle step

Suggested [[4e Index (4e Other)#daily powers|Daily Power]]: calculation

Trickster Alchemical Weaponmaster

The trickster weaponmaster is one who toys with opponents, dealing them conditions and debilitating them while staying clear of direct line of fire. They are wily and great at supporting front liners.

Suggested [[4e Index (4e Other)#Feat|Feat]]: Master of Poisons

Suggested [[4e Index (4e Other)#Skill checks|Skills]]: Acrobatics, Streetwise, Thievery

Suggested [[4e Index (4e Other)#at-will powers|At-Will Powers]]: jarring strike, potion of elements

Suggested [[4e Index (4e Other)#encounter powers|Encounter Power]]: mind warp

Suggested [[4e Index (4e Other)#daily powers|Daily Power]]: weapon burst

Ability Scores

Your Intelligence is your primary means of survival, followed by Dexterity, making you a paragon of reflexes. Constitution is a tertiary stat that remains important for prolonging survival.

Feats

Alchemical weaponmasters benefit from feats that augment their ability with weaponry to increase their damage and effectiveness on the battlefield. As you gain levels in this class, you will eventually become specialized in certain weapons, so weapon-specific feats may come in handy. Alchemy feats definitely are needed to craft materials for use, and feats that augment them as well are also appreciated, like the Alchemy[1] and Creation Mastery[2] feats. There is a custom feat for this class that is an example of an enhancement to using alchemical items detailed in the Feats section below. Initiative boosting feats help ensure they can set the field for allies before opponents can act. And you'll probably want some enhancers for survivability since this capitalizes so much on reflex that it neglects will.

Equipment

Alchemical weaponmasters need to start out well equipped to be able to do much of anything from lower levels forth. Simple light armors will suffice, like cloth. If you're willing to splurge and get leather, be sure to have enough left over for some alchemical reagents and, of course, weapons you can capitalize on. Weapons for your use will generally be beneficial if they are ranged, so you can keep some safe distance away from heavy battles and whittle away at opponents. Special kinds of weapons that capitalize on your use of alchemical concoctions are a bonus, which are homebrew mostly. Weapons for the weaponmaster are their arcane implements. You do also need an alchemy implement. But you hopefully never need to spend too much thought on that thanks to the option below:

You can spend 75 gp (or 75% of your starting gold if you do not use the amount given in the PHB) to start off with a either a crossling, which is a hybrid of a crossbow and a sling or a alchemist bow. These two options are considered alchemy implements in addition to arcane implement if you use them.

Class Features

Every alchemical weaponmaster has the following features.

Weapons Jack

You can't just focus on having some wand or orb when there are more efficient options. You need to maximize your efficiency with weapons!

Benefit: By spending 1 hour of meditation with a chosen weapon, you forge a special bond with the weapon. While using this weapon, it also counts as an arcane implement for your arcane powers. You can forge a bond with a different weapon using the same meditation process (for instance, if you acquire a new weapon that has magical abilities). If you forge a bond with a different weapon, the old bond dissipates.

Synthesis

You are more confident in your alchemical items than the blade of a smithy.

Benefit: While not in combat, you can spend five minutes to replace the head or blade of any thrown object with an alchemical item that is typically thrown. The new item uses the original thrown item's ability for attacks, but the alchemical properties for effects. People not proficient with alchemical items take a -2 to attacks with the new item. Alternatively, while in combat, you may spend a whole turn to do this. Weapons altered this way are given the alchemy property.

Enhance Weapon

The deadliness in your expertise lies in augmenting weapons to be more useful and potent than they normally would be without your touch. You know how to change a weapon for the better, similar to a smith who polishes up diamonds to show their untapped potential. At the end of an extended rest, you can create up to ten weapon enhancements that last until the end of the next extended rest. At 16th level, you can create 13 enhancements. The weapons you enhance with these enhancements gain the alchemy keyword for their duration.

The effect of a weapon enhancement is determined at the time of use, not at the time of creation. When you use a weapon enhance power, he expends one of the enhancements created during the last extended rest.

Powers

An alchemical weaponmaster's powers are called spells, drawing from the arcane power source. Like the artificer, they are able to utilize the arcane properties of formulas in various chemical mediums. But this class can also use some martial exploits, focusing on training the body to perform great feats. The list for these powers is here.

Unique Abilities

The introduction of the alchemical weaponmaster also introduces a new keyword: Alchemy.

Alchemy

This is an optional tack-on specification of the arcane keyword. It is applicable only to this class but is more flavor than actual mechanics. It refers to the use of manmade arcane products like elixirs and potions as opposed to just spells, and also feats of transmutation like in "Fullmetal Alchemist." The keyword concerns the following alchemical categories:

• Oil: Applied to other objects (typically weapons), granting them temporary properties or powers.
• Volatile: Explodes or expands when the vial is shattered or broken, often dealing damage of a specific type.
• Curative: These items aid in healing or in overcoming adverse and debilitating effects.
• Poison: A toxin that hampers or harms a creature
• Other: Some items do not fit into the other alchemical categories.

Heroic Tier

Level	Feats Known	Class Features and Powers
1	1	Class features, racial traits, gain 1 feat, train starting skills, gain 2 at-will powers, 1 encounter and 1 daily attack power
2	+1	gain 1 utility Power and 1 feat
3		gain 1 encounter power
4	+1	Ability score increase, gain 1 feat
5		gain 1 daily attack power
6	+1	Utility Power, gain 1 feat
7		gain 1 encounter attack power
8	+1	Ability score increase, gain 1 feat
9		gain 1 daily attack power
10	+1	Utility Power, gain 1 feat

Paragon Tier

Not settling for just the path of a hero, you go onward to become a paragon of what an alchemical weaponmaster can be. The normal weaknesses do not impede you any longer, as you become an ideal of what can be achieved with a bit of thinking and a lot of concocting.

Level	Feats Known	Class Features and Powers
11	+1	Ability score increase Paragon Path Features Paragon Path encounter Power 1 feat
12	+1	Paragon Path utility Power 1 feat
13		replace 1 encounter attack power
14	+1	Ability score increase gain 1 feat
15		replace 1 daily attack power
16	+1	Paragon Path Feature gain 1 utility power gain 1 feat
17		replace 1 encounter attack power
18	+1	Ability score increase gain 1 feat
19		Replace 1 daily attack power
20	+1	Paragon Path daily Power gain 1 feat

Epic Alchemical Weaponmaster

Legends speak of how with a single prick of your bow that you put dragons to sleep with your powerfully crafted substances. Healing and harming are both easily within your grasp. The battlefield is but a projection of your mind for you to control with your supreme mental capacity.

Level	Feats Known	Class Features and Powers
21	+1	Ability score increase Epic Destiny Feature
22	+1
23
24	+1	Ability score increase Epic Destiny Feature
25
26	+1	Epic Destiny Power
27
28	+1	Ability score increase
29
30	+1	Epic Destiny Feature

Paragon Paths

Epic Destinies

Feats

Official Feats

• Alchemist^EPG87
• Creation Mastery^Dragon405

Alchemical Weaponmaster Feats

Heroic Tier Class Feats

Name	Description
Alchemist Sniper	You gain greater expertise in your usage of alchemical weapons on a new way.

Paragon Tier Class Feats

Name	Description

Epic Tier Class Feats

Name	Description

Other Feats

• attack recharge
• master of poisons
• venomous strike
• Tunnelrunner

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1. Adventurer's Vault, p.21
2. Dragon 405