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Ladies, gentlemen and possibly AIs/computer-using household pets of the Homebrew boards (look, I can't tell from here), I need a little help over here. In a nutshell, inspiration has once again failed me. I'm making a class, but I don't have enough class features/spell-equivelants*.
So I need ideas. There is no need to attach mechanics to them, unless you want to. All I need is a concept - numbers can be stuck on to that later. I need class features based on, well, alchemy. I'll try to explain exactly what I mean by this...
1: While the system is D&D 3.5, this alchemy will in no way make use of the current alchemical items. Face it, at the end of the day, they're worthless and not so much a poor attempt as only part of what should have done. The wrong take on it, in other words. So while effects (even things which would be items normally) are fine, anything that ties directly into existing items is not. Incidentally, anything item-like will likely end up as a Formula (spell equivelant, sorta).
2: The types of alchemy I'm looking for are as follows. Basic stuff, such as might come from just being the only person in the world who knows a bit of chemistry, to full-blown Science/things which are clearly magical or cannot possibly work. Historical alchemy is excellent, if you can manage it - that is, abilities which may not work like, but reference alchemy as people used to think it worked. Lastly, as much as I hate to reference anime, FMA style on-the-spot transmutations are good, too, just as an ability that doesn't require preparation of any sort.
Did I miss anything? Probably. In any case, any ideas would be very much appreciated, and anyone who contributes an idea I use will be mentioned in the finished product. I'd call this a contest and hand out some sort of medal, but I couldn't draw to save my life, so.. >_>
Anyway, I'll be looking forward to submissions, if anyone can be bothered with helping me out. Thanks in advance!
Off the top of my head, perhaps some sort of "repellent" formula might be useful? Basically you whip it up for a certain type of creature, and it generally disgusts that type of creature enough to keep them away unless they're sufficiently motivated to attack you anyway. A rusting formula would also be neat; damages weapons and reduces the AC bonus of armor, perhaps?
You can impose all sorts of fun status conditions with alchemical mixtures. Some nasty concoction of weak acids that blinds people, or a gaseous mixture that swells up the throat and tongue so that the victim can't speak clearly, for one.
Also, I can imagine many uses for the ability to instantly transmute (for instance) water to ice, and vice-versa.
This isn't the first time on these forums someone has tried to come up with an alchemist class... can't remember if they were good or stank on ice, but go ahead and look them up using a google search of the site (put "site:www.giantitp.com" in front of your search words I believe) and see if you see anything you like...
Other than that (warning, good ideas hidden behind horrid formatting/communications skills follow):
Ok, I am sure I can come up with more if you nag me in PM, but here is a pair (or trio or quartet or...) of things...
First is... something that would probably be called "Hard Skin". No, it doesn't grant an AC bonus... well you could MAYBE make armor out of it if you used enough layers, but it would be very expensive and not breath well and not have any real benefits...
Comes in two versions now that I think about it.
It is basically sheet plastic... but with very high tensile strength.
The simplest thing to do with it is to make seamless waterskins out of it.
But the other think you can do is make a blanket linked with threads of the same "plastic" material so it stays the shape, even though it is filled with a liquid rather than stuffing.
What liquid? Well that is the other nifty substance. It is "normally" an extremely foul tasting substance that is a dull opaque gray in color. Add a bit of the right catalyst and it crystalizes and becomes mechanically (both in the sense of the rules, and in the sense of machanical engineering) rock... add the right OTHER catalyst and it reverses the reaction...
What would you do with this you ask? Well you fold up the blanket, pull the cork out of the corner, and add a bit of the solidifying catalyst and stuff it and the two bottles of catalyst in your bag of holding... they put a few ranks in "Craft(Oragami)" and use it to make whatever odd mudane item you might need... from a quick wall to fire from behind, to a chair, to a cocoon for that team mate who might still be under the BBEGs Dominate when they wake up after the rogue coshed them over the head. Sure the skin might get cut up if it gets exposed to combat, but a bit of Mending before you turn the stuff liquid again solves that problem.
Came up with that for a sci-fi setting...
Now take that same material, triple the cost, and make it immune to acid, throw it together with a mask of the same stuff with baffled breathing holes leading through a chamber filled with alchemically treated charcoal and walnut hulls and a few other choice goodies and you a M.O.P.P. suit to go under the fighter's full-plate... for an improved versiopn get someone to enchant it with at-will situationly triggered Mending so it seals up after every time you take slashing or piercing damage, and maybe Endure Elements so he doesn't boil inside it, and you are golden.
Metal eating acid or"liquid rust" -> Knock if you pour it into a lock...
Come to that the damaging grenade-likes probably just need scaling damage (which is technically possible I would think if you use half gallon wine bottles full of acid instead of 6 oz flasks....) and maybe a better damage to cost ratio.
What about alchemically empowered gold plating processes that render metal items immune to rusting effects and acid?
Two substances that when mixed emit pure oxygen at high concentrations could be cool (look up what happens when you put a lit cigarette on top of a pile of store-brand charcoal briquettes, and then pour liquid oxygen over top... hint: your bed of coals will be ready to cool over in literally a few seconds, although if you used an really cheap sheet metal grill, the grill itself will be slagged.).
Come to that, flame throwers and acid sprayers could have their place... shoot if you alter the rules on poison, or it is an evil character they could be hosing around contact poisons... even if it has a half-life of 3 seconds once in contact with air that is plenty... aerosol tips for the sprayer and one of the aforementioned chemical warfare suits and you start cranking it up to "Mustard Gas"... Evil? Probably... underpowered? I tend to think not.
I am going to stop for now before I scare people TOO much at once any more with the bits of trivia I have collected as a geek over the years.
Draco: I looked up some of the classes. While good - probably better than anything I can manage - they're also not what I'm looking for. As for your ideas... the plastic/rock/liquid stuff, while neat, is not something I could work in. However, I could use separate aspects of it as formulas. For instance, I could use the coccoon thing as a formula of its own, or the wall-making as a per-encounter (possibly per day) ability.
The gold plating sounds like another good (and rather low level) formula. Make it, pour it on metal, make it immune to rust/corrosion/whatever for a couple hours before it wears off.
There will be grenade-likes. The alchemist class I'm going for can blow stuff up. They just happen to be primarily support characters/swiss army knives.
As for mustard gas, gas formulas with horrific effects (or helpful ones, possibly) will also happen, but that's a good idea. Thanks
The chemical sprayer.. well, I don't know. I'm torn between giving that out eventually as a class feature, and giving them a bunch of throwing abilities instead. That is, throwing formulas at a longer range (a lot of them are thrown, though there are plenty of exceptions), or more accurately, or making ricochet shots, hitting multiple targets etc. I can't really fit both in, so I'm kinda torn, but I've certainly had the sprayer idea before.
Oh, and I can't seem to find anything on what the oxygen will do. I assume it's something incredibly fiery, but I'm not sure >_> Could I have an explanation?
Anyway, thanks for the help, both of you, these are great ideas. More ideas are always very welcome, though. Thanks again, and I'll look forward to seeing more. I might throw around some ideas of my own too, mostly just to see if it's a terrible idea or not.
P.S. I'm considering the hazard suit (the suit you mentioned) and the sprayer either as alchemist-only magic items, or as class features somewhat like the ones you see on a few classes on these boards and so on. What I mean is that you eventually gain the ability to make one of these things, but you don't just get one out of nowhere. You need to pay to create one.
One of the YouTube videos in question can be found HERE. The third grill gets totally slagged, although it does take two separate applications of LOX. Unless that is a fourth grill... I dunno.
Anyway, LOX will accelerate a pre-existing fire DRAMATICALLY. A similar effect can be seen in the webcomic "Tales of the Questor" on THIS page. Our hero isn't good at much but very minor magic, but one of the minor magics happens to be accelerating combustion. This is generally used in his culture as a prank to make small strips of paper act as fireworks. He ends up against an enemy that absorbs magic directed at it, and it doing badly until he is reminded that this foe is vulnerable to fire. He wraps his shirt around the base of a lit tallow candle to protect his hand, and points it at them. When he applies the combustion accelerating spell to the candle it makes for a decent single-shot flamethrower.
Also, let me put it this way... there is at least one substance I WANT to mention that is relatively easy to make, and which is great fun if used properly. It isn't illegal that I know of, but at the same time I don't want to mention what it is, or I might give people around here ideas, and they might end up misusing it, accidentally or on purpose.
One of the YouTube videos in question can be found HERE. The third grill gets totally slagged, although it does take two separate applications of LOX. Unless that is a fourth grill... I dunno.
Made a few edits above... so you might want to re-read.
Also, you still owe me a analysis of the proper GM usage of Empty Skins and/or Gut Snakes (see my extended signature).
I did look at those, actually. Just now, I admit, and.. well, really, I don't think I could write up anything for either of them. Plus, I haven't even DMed much combat in ages, so I'm all kinds of rusty. Sorry.
As for your edits, thanks for clearing that up. The oxygen, I mean. The other thing you're talking about.. well, I'm slow and have no idea what you're talking about >_> I also have a sneaking feeling that I don't want to know.
well, I'm slow and have no idea what you're talking about >_> I also have a sneaking feeling that I don't want to know.
The desirability of that depends purely on your wisdom score in resisting temptation. I, for instance, don't think I have the wisdom score to own a gun for self-defense, but I do have the wisdom score to stick to that self-analysis.
The desirability of that depends purely on your wisdom score in resisting temptation. I, for instance, don't think I have the wisdom score to own a gun for self-defense, but I do have the wisdom score to stick to that self-analysis.
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Brainstorming (a call for help)
