Roleplaying the Alchemist

During Combat Encounters...

You lob bombs at your foes, harry your enemies, and support the rest of your party with potent elixirs. You might even use mutagens to warp your body into a resilient and powerful weapon.

During Social Encounters...

You provide knowledge and experience about alchemical items and related secrets, such as poisons and diseases.

While Exploring...

You keep an eye out for additional ingredients that you can turn into alchemical reagents, while giving advice on all things alchemical and mysterious.

In Downtime...

You experiment in an alchemical lab, brewing elixirs, making bombs, and furthering your alchemical knowledge.

You Might...

• Enjoy tinkering with strange formulas and alchemical reagents, often with a single-minded dedication and recklessness that gives others pause.
• Get a kick out of wreaking havoc with the alchemical concoctions you've made, and enjoy watching things burn, dissolve, freeze, and jolt.
• Endlessly experiment to discover new, more potent alchemical tools.

Others Probably...

• Think you're some kind of sorcerer or an eccentric wizard and don't understand that you don't cast spells; spellcasters who clumsily dabble in alchemy only heighten this misconception.
• Don't understand your zeal for alchemy, creativity, and invention.
• Assume that if you haven't caused a catastrophe with your experimentations, you inevitably will

Initial Proficiencies

At 1st level, you gain the listed proficiency ranks in the following statistics. You are untrained in anything not listed unless you gain a better proficiency rank in some other way.

Perception

Trained in Perception

Saving Throws

Expert in Fortitude
Expert in Reflex
Trained in Will

Skills

Trained in Crafting
Trained in a number of additional skills equal to 3 plus your Intelligence modifier

Attacks

Trained in simple weapons
Trained in alchemical bombs
Trained in unarmed attacks

Defenses

Trained in light armor
Trained in medium armor
Trained in unarmored defense

Class DC

Trained in alchemist class DC

Class Features

You gain these features as an Alchemist. Abilities gained at higher levels list the levels at which you gain them next to the features' names.

Your Level	Class Features
1	Ancestry and background, attribute boosts, initial proficiencies, alchemy, research field,alchemist feat
2	Alchemist feat, skill feat
3	General feat, skill increase
4	Alchemist feat, skill feat
5	Attribute boosts, ancestry feat, field discovery,powerful alchemy, skill increase
6	Alchemist feat, skill feat
7	Alchemical weapon expertise, general feat, skill increase, will expertise
8	Alchemist feat, skill feat
9	Alchemical expertise, ancestry feat, double brew, perception expertise, skill increase
10	Attribute boosts, alchemist feat, skill feat
11	Advanced vials, chemical hardiness, general feat, skill increase
12	Alchemist feat, skill feat
13	Ancestry feat, greater field discovery, medium armor expertise, skill increase, weapon specialization
14	Alchemist feat, skill feat
15	Attribute boosts, alchemical weapon mastery,explosion dodger, general feat, skill increase
16	Alchemist feat, skill feat
17	Abundant vials, alchemical mastery, ancestry feat, skill increase
18	Alchemist feat, skill feat
19	General feat, medium armor mastery, skill increase
20	Attribute boosts, alchemist feat, skill feat

Ancestry and Background

In addition to the abilities provided by your class at 1st level, you have the benefits of your selected ancestry and background.

Attribute Boosts

In addition to what you get from your class at 1st level, you have four free boosts to different attribute modifiers.
At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter, you get four free boosts to different attribute modifiers. If an attribute modifier is already +4 or higher, it takes two boosts to increase it; you get a partial boost and must boost that attribute again at a later level to increase it by 1.

Initial Proficiencies

At 1st level, you gain a number of proficiencies that represent your basic training. These are noted at the start of this class.

Alchemy

You understand the reactions between all manner of reagents and can concoct alchemical items to meet your needs. You can do this using normal reagents and the Craft activity, or you can use specially prepared chemicals that allow you to craft temporary items quickly and at no cost. Over time, you can create more and more alchemical items for free, and since each of them becomes more and more powerful, you advance in power dramatically, leaving behind those who don't understand your strange science.
You gain the Alchemical Crafting feat, and you can automatically identify alchemical items that you have the formula for.

Formula Book

An alchemist keeps meticulous formulas for every item they can create. You start with a standard formula book for free. The formula book contains the formulas for two common 1st-level alchemical items of your choice, in addition to any formulas you gained from Alchemical Crafting and your research field.
Each time you gain a level, you can add the formulas for two common alchemical items to your formula book. These new formulas can be for any level of item you can create. You learn these formulas automatically, but it's also possible to find or buy additional formulas in settlements or from other alchemists, or to select the Inventor skill feat so you can invent them .
As normal, having the base formula is sufficient when Crafting upgraded types of the item—you don't need to learn higher-level formulas. For instance, if you have the 1st-level formula for a minor elixir of life, you can create a minor, lesser, moderate, greater, major, or true elixir of life as long as you meet the level and other prerequisites. Items with type entries that have widely varied functions require separate formulas, but most alchemical items have a structure similar to elixir of life.

Advanced Alchemy

During your daily preparations, you spend some time to create alchemical items that can be used over the course of the day. You don't need to attempt a Crafting check to do this, you can use an alchemist's toolkit instead of an alchemist's lab, and you ignore both the number of days typically required to create the items and any alchemical raw materials requirements. You can Craft a number of alchemical items up to 4 + your Intelligence modifier. Each item must be in your formula book, have an item level equal to or lower than your level, and have the consumable trait. These items have the infused trait and remain potent for 24 hours or until your next daily preparations, whichever comes first.

Versatile Vials

You know how to prepare fast-acting chemicals into versatile vials, special items that can be used as bombs and be turned into other alchemical items by introducing special reagents. During your daily preparations, you can create a number of versatile vials up to 2 + your Intelligence modifier, which is also your maximum number of vials. If you're below your maximum number, you can gather reagents from the environment around you. For every 10 minutes you spend in exploration mode, you regain 2 vials; this doesn't prevent you from participating in other exploration activities.
Versatile vials are infused items, and are destroyed if not used by the next time you make your daily preparations. A vial you create is always the highest type you could Craft. See the sidebar for statistics on using a versatile vial as a bomb. You can also use vials for Quick Alchemy (see below) and your research field can add to the ways you can use a vial.
You can store all your versatile vials within your alchemist's toolkit, with no increase to its Bulk. Though versatile vials are physical objects, they can't be duplicated or preserved in any way.

Quick Alchemy

You gain the Quick Alchemy action to make the items you need on the fly.

Research Field

Your inquiries into the alchemical nature of the universe have led you to focus on a particular field of research. At 1st level, you choose your research field. This choice gives you more formulas, a special benefit, other abilities for your versatile vials, and other benefits as you level up.

Alchemist Feats

At 1st level and every even-numbered level thereafter, you gain an alchemist class feat.

Skill FeatsLevel 2

At 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill feat. You must be trained or better in the corresponding skill to select a skill feat.

Skill IncreasesLevel 3

At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill increase. You can use this increase either to increase your proficiency rank to trained in one skill you're untrained in, or to increase your proficiency rank in one skill in which you're already trained to expert.
At 7th level, you can use skill increases to increase your proficiency rank to master in a skill in which you're already an expert, and at 15th level, you can use them to increase your proficiency rank to legendary in a skill in which you're already a master.

General FeatsLevel 3

At 3rd level and every 4 levels thereafter, you gain a general feat.

Ancestry FeatsLevel 5

In addition to the ancestry feat you started with, you gain an ancestry feat at 5th level and every 4 levels thereafter.

Field DiscoveryLevel 5

You learn a discovery listed in your research field

Powerful AlchemyLevel 5

Alchemical items you infuse are particularly potent. when you create an infused alchemical item that allows a savingthrow, you can change its DC to your class DC.

Alchemical Weapon ExpertiseLevel 7

You’ve trained to more effectively wield the weapons youfind in your lab. Your proficiency ranks for simple weapons,alchemical bombs, and unarmed attacks increase to expert.

Will ExpertiseLevel 7

Your mental defenses grow stronger. Your proficiency rank for will saves increases to expert.

Alchemical ExpertiseLevel 9

Constant practice has increased the effectiveness of your concoctions. Your proficiency rank for your alchemist class DC increases to expert. In addition, when you gather reagents during exploration mode, you can regain three vials instead of two.

Double BrewLevel 9

You know your formulas so well that you can concoct two items at once. When using the Quick Alchemy action, you can create two items. These items don’t have to be the same. If you create two consumables, you have to expend a versatile vial for each one.

Perception ExpertiseLevel 9

You remain alert to threats around you. Your proficiency rank for Perception increases to expert.

Advanced VialsLevel 11

Your experience helps you improve your field vials with a benefit particular to your research field.

Chemical HardinessLevel 11

Imbibing alchemical compounds has strengthened your organs. Your proficiency rank for Fortitude saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Fortitude save, you get a critical success instead.

Greater Field DiscoveryLevel 13

You learn an incredible discovery that advances your understanding of your field, as described in your research field.

Medium Armor ExpertiseLevel 13

You’ve learned to defend yourself better against attacks. Your proficiency ranks for light armor, medium armor, and unarmored defense increase to expert.

Weapon SpecializationLevel 13

You’ve learned how to inflict greater injuries with the weapons you know best. You deal 2 additional damage with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you are an expert. This damage increases to 3 if you’re a master, and to 4 if you’re legendary.

Alchemical Weapon MasteryLevel 15

You’ve mastered full capability with your weapons. Your proficiency ranks for simple weapons, alchemical bombs, and unarmed attacks increase to master.

Explosion DodgerLevel 15

Your experiments taught you to fling yourself out of the way of sudden explosions. Your proficiency rank for Reflex saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Reflex save, you get a critical success instead.

Abundant VialsLevel 17

You’re permanently quickened, and can use the extra action only to use Quick Alchemy to create a quick vial. You can create only one vial with this action, even if you have double brew or a similar ability.

Alchemical MasteryLevel 17

Your concoctions are incredibly effective. Your proficiency rank for your alchemist class DC increases to master.

Medium Armor MasteryLevel 19

Your skill with light and medium armor improves, increasing your ability to avoid blows. Your proficiency ranks for light and medium armor, as well as for unarmed defense, increase to master.