Seriously, Guys: Alchemist

Make Things Happen with the Alchemist (Bad puns engaged!)

In a previous article, I mentioned Rich Howard's Alchemist class and that you should try it, but I wanted to further expand on that explanation, and let you guys know as of right now, it is on sale for $2.77. I did, in fact, take the time to review it because it is entirely worth it, like better than my content! (Probably shouldn't admit that) I know a lot of my readers are both players and GMs and I would hope you guys notice what I have about this class. To give you a break down, the class is an Intelligence-based, prepared, casting class with a focus on crafting with the following archetypes: Artificer, Herbwarden, Irezumi (Magical Tattoo Artist), Metamorph (Think Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Poisoner, Pyromancer, and Reanimator. Each alchemist shares the same spell list for cantrips-5th level, with each archetype getting bonus spells as well as dictating what 6th-9th level spells the alchemist will learn. As expected, you can craft one shot items that are imbued with spells and hand them out, so you can become the party's main utility guy as well as being a dependable caster. In the supplement itself, you are given guides as how to illustrate your casting. For instance, my poisoner Vindalas, tends to derive all of his spells from various natural poisons and imbue them with magic. So, when he wants to cast sleep, he throws a vial or pouch that has a vaporizing agent mixed with a potent poison derived sedative that has been magically enhanced. This creates an awesome effect of further fleshing out your character.

I have at this point played the Artificer, Irezumi, and Poisoner archetypes, all at varying levels which all independently feel different from one another. I have to say this class feels so much like full official 5e content, it is hard to ignore. The class makes fantastic use of existing mechanics and applies it forward in a very fun way. The use of flavor in the creation of your spells as an alchemist gives so much volume to your own personal story, as well as the flavor of the world. In doing so, the use of this class helps negotiate the meaning of the alchemist in the story as well as adding pieces of lore and material the DM may have not thought about, without risking violating the overall setting. Using the poisoner archetype again as an example, it actually uses basic poisons, and makes them fun and interesting. Statistically, I have not, since I started playing and DMing for 5e, seen the use of basic posions by players or have begun to see them take interest in doing so. On top of that, the available options do not interfere with a strict inclusion of magitech/magitek. An alchemist could via most of these archetypes, if not all, appear in any setting, from grimdark Sword and Sorcery style fantasy to high fantasy settings like the Forgotten Realms. That in itself is a testament in Mr. Howard's ability to find design space that exists in the system, work on it, make it fun to play, and make it universal. When I saw the Unearthed Arcana: Artificer, I tried it for two sessions and said, "No, I think I'll take the better one." and went back to this class. This is a must have for any DM or player who wants a crafting oriented class, and is looking for something balanced and unique.

I really can't recommend this enough, you can find the link to get your PDF copy of it here.

If you like Rich Howard's work, you can find more of it at Tribality and if you want to stay updated with the man himself, you can find him on Twitter.

Elsewhere in the Mage College

In other news, for those of you who haven't seen and would like to see some of my work get out there, the Duelist first draft is up for your review and feedback with a working changelog going with more being added, changed, and fixed daily. You can find the article concerning the first draft where you can comment on it, etc, here while you can get the draft in PDF form here.

Happy dueling, Arcanists!