WIZARD - ENCHANTER Alchemist Kit Description: This type of Enchanter specializes in the creation of magical and non-magical brews, mixtures, and concoctions with a variety of uses. Alchemists tend to be rather sedentary and are usually NPCs, but they can make effective adventurers when the need presents itself. They are if anything even more inclined toward tinkering and experimentation than are typical Enchanters, and their curiosity often gets them into trouble, though they are masters of careful preparation and can deal with any number of situations in which they just happen to have the perfect solution tucked away in their pocket. Spell effects are frequently accomplished by an Alchemist through the combination of unusual material components. The basis of their researches lies within elementalism and the interactions of the classical elements by the use of finely distilled and refined substances and reagents. They are not as inclined toward combat as other wizards, but they are expert analysts of unusual items and materials encountered throughout an adventuring life, especially in the areas of chemicals and poisons. They are frequently able to identify and counteract such deadly agents before they have a chance to work any harm upon an Alchemist's companions. Requirements: Alchemy requires a finely-tuned mind to understand its complexities and a good bit of manual skill in mixing precise quantities of materials, and hence requires at least a 14 Intelligence, 12 Dexterity, plus the normal 10 Wisdom required of Enchanters. Alchemists may be of any alignment and share the same racial restrictions as standard Enchanters. Weapon Proficiencies: As a standard Enchanter, but it should be noted that Alchemists sometimes devise and use blowpipes or slung globes of crystal or ceramic of various sorts to spray acid, poison, Greek Fire, or similar dangerous substances upon their enemies. Special Benefits: Alchemists are master scientists (some might say 'mad scientists') and skilled magical innovators. Their combination of magical and mundane skills grants them the following special abilities: Alchemical Analysis: An Alchemist's familiarity with all chemical and alchemical substances, poisons, and magical liquids and substances allows him or her to identify them through observation or experimentation, requiring 1d10 rounds, reduced by 1 round for every three levels of the Alchemist (rounding up; minimum of one round). The base chance of successful identification is equal to his or her Chance to Know Spells (though this base chance is halved if an Alchemist does not have access to his or her laboratory at the time the identification is performed), with a bonus based on the type of material being examined, as follows: Modifier Type of Substance 5 x level Common chemical, herb, acid, oil, preservative, blood, metal, etc. 4 x level Exotic/rare chemical, herb, acid, oil, preservative, blood, metal, etc. 3 x level Poison 2 x level Magical potion 1 x level Magical powder, dust, stone, etc. In addition to this modifier, an Alchemist can choose one of several methods to identify the substance in question, some of which carry a risk of being affected in the process of experimentation (though the chance to be affected should be reduced by an amount equal to the Alchemist's level, as he or she becomes more practiced and skillful at handling potentially dangerous substances): Modifier Method of Identification -20% Sight - no chance to be affected -10% Odor - 5% chance to be affected - Taste - 10% chance to be affected (20% if a substance that works by ingestion) +10% Effects - no chance to be affected, but must examine a creature or object affected by the substance in question The use of Alchemical Analysis will reveal the presence of a magical aura within a given substance without the need for detect magic. It is worthwhile to note that a potion of delusion will ordinarily appear as a beneficial potion of the appropriate type when subjected to Alchemical Analysis; however, an identification roll that succeeds by a margin of 50 or more allows an Alchemist to recognize a potion of delusion for what it is. A failed roll yields no information unless 00 is rolled, in which case the Alchemist comes up with an incorrect result. An Alchemist can try each method of identification only once upon a given sample; failure with that method indicates that the Alchemist will be unable to obtain accurate Alchemical Analysis of that sample using that method until he or she advances in level. Alchemical Applications: In addition to identifying potions and alchemical substances, at 5th level an Alchemist gains the ability to create magical potions through the use of special chemical processes and tedious distillation and brewing but without the need for exotic components (e.g., salamander scales for a potion of fire resistance). In order to brew potions in this fashion, an Alchemist must research the alchemical formula and process required for a given potion type, in a manner similar to spell research. Each potion has a 'level' equal to its x.p. value divided by 100 (rounded up; e.g., a potion of clairvoyance, worth 300 x.p., would be considered a 3rd level potion). An Alchemist cannot research a potion whose level is beyond his or her spellcasting ability. Magical dusts, powders, and the like should be considered equivalent in level to their x.p. value divided by 200 (rounded up; e.g., dust of disappearance, worth 1,500 x.p., would be considered an 8th level potion). Poisons, poison antidotes, acids, and similar substances can also be synthesized by the same process--consult the DM to determine the equivalent level of such a substance. All Alchemists can manufacture Greek Fire without difficulty. Research for a potion or oil formula requires two weeks of effort per potion level (doubled for non-potion dusts, powders, and the like; halved for non- magical poisons and substances), at a cost of 1d4 x 100 g.p. per week. At the conclusion of this time, the Alchemist should make a percentile roll as per his or her Chance to Know Spells, with a bonus equal to his or her level and a penalty equal to triple the potion's level. If the roll fails, the Alchemist has failed to learn that potion formula and cannot attempt to learn it again unless his or her Intelligence score increases. If it succeeds, the Alchemist has learned that potion formula. An Alchemist can learn a maximum number of formulae equal to the number of spells per level allowed based on his or her Intelligence score (non-magical substances do not count against this total). Once a formula has been learned, an Alchemist can manufacture that potion in the future without needing to repeat the initial research. Once a potion formula has been learned, an Alchemist can manufacture a dose of that potion by spending a week at work in his or her lab. The cost of materials expended equals 30-180 g.p. times the 'potion level' (note that both cost and time required are doubled for non-potion alchemical substances). At the end of this time, the Alchemist must make a 'learn spells' roll with a bonus equal to his or her level; success indicates that the potion is potent, but if it fails the potion will be inert and will do nothing if consumed. Since this roll is made secretly by the DM, prudent Alchemists will test their creations using Alchemical Analysis to be sure that they will be reliable. In addition to learning and manufacturing known potion types, it is possible for an Alchemist to perform research and invent entirely new potions, oils, and alchemical substances. Such work is long and complicated, identical in difficulty and requirements to standard spell research, and must be handled on a case-by-case basis. Note that in many ways an Alchemist's potion manufacture is more expensive than traditional methods using exotic ingredients, but it is precisely that lack of dependence upon such materials that makes an Alchemist's work profitable and stable in the long run. One final Alchemical Application is learned by an Alchemist upon reaching 10th level, allowing them to extract three doses of any potion, poison, or substance from two existing doses of it. Attempting this process requires 1d4 days of work in the Alchemist's lab and has a 5% chance of success for every level of the Alchemist. A successful roll produces an extra dose of the substance, but failure indicates that one of the two original samples has been destroyed. This ability can be done only once with a given sample of a substance; i.e., additional doses cannot be extracted from the same samples. Alchemical Expertise: Alchemists are masters of the Alchemy, Brewing, and Herbalism non-weapon proficiencies gaining a +1 bonus to these proficiencies for every five levels of experience (rounding up). In addition, when using the Alchemy proficiency to synthesize standard non-magical substances they measure the amount of time required in hours rather than days, costing 2 g.p. per hour spent in creating one of the listed substances. Beyond this mundane expertise in their field, Alchemists are able to use Alchemy spells of any level from all Realms of Magic without penalty, and when casting Alchemy spells an Alchemist need not use any verbal component. When researching Alchemy spells, an Alchemist treats them as if they were one level lower than their actual level for determining cost, difficulty, etc. In addition, each time an Alchemist gains a level of experience, his or her cumulative researches and expertise in matters of alchemy enables them to add a new spell of his or her choice from the school of Alchemy to their spellbook. When adding a spell through Alchemical Expertise, an Alchemist does not need to make a roll to learn the new spell, and in fact he or she does not even need to have a copy of the spell to be learned! All that is necessary is for the Alchemist to have seen the spell cast at least once and to spend one day per level of the spell experimenting in his or her laboratory (at a cost of 10-60 g.p. per day) to perfect the spell. This experimentation can be done only once at each experience level; an Alchemist cannot 'save' this spell acquisition from one level to the next. Quasimagical Creation: As a standard Enchanter, except that an Alchemist can learn to create only a small number of alchemically oriented magical items. It must be noted that the Quasimagical Creation processes for one of these items count against the total number of potion formulae that an Alchemist can learn in the course of his or her career (see Alchemical Applications). The items an Alchemist can create include the following: 500: eversmoking bottle, jar of preserving, Lorloveim's obsidian mortar and pestle 1000: crucible of melting, decanter of endless water, everbountiful soup kettle, Nefradina's identifier, thought bottle, Zwann's watering can 1500: beaker of plentiful potions, prism of light splitting 2000: mist tent 3000: alchemy jug, Mordrom's cauldron of air Spell Storage: As a standard Enchanter, except that an Alchemist stores spells within alchemical mixtures, potions, oils, powders, and the like, rather than crafted, finished items. As a result, items used for Spell Storage by an Alchemist can only be used once but cost only one-tenth normal. In all other respects, an Alchemist's Spell Storage ability functions in the same way as a standard Enchanter's. Special Hindrances: Alchemists are very single-minded in pursuit of their chosen specialty, and they are not as well-rounded as other Enchanters. As a result, they do not learn the skill of Enchantment Enhancement that other Enchanters possess. Similarly, the only magic that truly interests them is alchemy, and they lack the generalized Magic Sense that other Enchanters possess. Alchemists can never research spells other than spells of Alchemy. Finally, an Alchemist's focus on matters alchemical results in a reduced ability to understand and retain spells of other types. Hence, they suffer a -15% penalty to their Chance to Know Spell when attempting to learn non-Alchemy spells. In addition, the maximum number of spells an Alchemist may learn of each level is halved (rounding up, to a maximum of 10 of his or her Intelligence is high enough to normally allow knowledge of all spells). This limitation, however, does not apply to Alchemy spells. Example: An Alchemist with 16 Intelligence could normally learn 11 spells of each level, but with this limitation can learn only six spells of each level; however, Alchemy spells are exempt from this limit, so this Alchemist could learn up to five Alchemy spells (up to the normal maximum of 11) over and above the six spells normally allowed for an Alchemist. In addition to the above, Alchemists are even more dependent upon their laboratories and require even more specialized equipment than a typical Enchanter. Thus, the cost of creating and maintaining an Alchemist's lab is not based on his or her highest spell level, as an Enchanter's lab is, but rather upon his or her experience level. The effects of using an insufficient lab match those faced by an Enchanter. An Alchemist's lab can be used by an Enchanter and vice versa, but a lab of a different type should be treated as only half its true value, as much of the equipment contained therein is useless for someone of a different kit. Finally, Alchemists are even more sedentary and disinclined toward physical combat than normal wizards, suffering a -1 penalty to attack rolls with weapons or in weaponless combat, though not with spells. Required Proficiencies: Alchemy, Brewing, Herbalism Preferred Proficiencies: Appraising, Blacksmithing, Consume Alcohol, Cooking, Disease Resistance, Fire-building, Fungi Recognition, Gem Cutting, Healing, Herbalism, Identify Plant, Languages (Ancient), Magical Awareness, Metallurgy, Pottery, Reading/Writing ***DISCLAIMER*** As with all postings by me of classes or races, it should be noted that portions of the information contained herein were inspired by or derived from information in published works of TSR, Inc., and may contain references to those works, quotations or passages of text (especially in the area of 'Character Description', where applicable sections from TSR works were often carried over more or less intact into my campaign world), or particular powers or abilities invented by TSR staff writers. No relationship with TSR, Inc., is to be implied by this use, nor is any attempt being made to solicit profit or remuneration of any kind. I have read the TSR Online Policy document, and have tried to accommodate the stipulations contained therein. In instances where I have lifted an essentially complete class or race without significant alteration, I have not included these in my postings but instead have inserted a reference to the appropriate D&D sourcebook for those curious in including it in their campaign. Only variations that include a significant component of original work, alteration, or reformulation (including the compositing elements from various TSR sources into new combinations) of have been included in this set of postings. Jason Eric Nelson < tjaden@u.washington.edu >