Pathfinder 2E Preview: The Alchemist Remastered
Hurl poisons, potions, and concoctions of all kinds at your friends and enemies. Paizo has a new look at Pathfinder’s remastered Alchemist.
Pathfinder’s Player Core 2 is coming out very soon, and with it comes the final book in the Pathfinder Remaster Project, which updates Pathfinder 2e away from the OGL and into a universal Paizo system. It’s the same thing going on under the hood with Starfinder 2E if you’ve been following along there.
And today, we got a look at the Remastered Alchemist. Alchemists are Pathfinder’s chemical warfare specialists. You might be wondering, “How does the potion guy have so many bombs?” Well, the answer is alchemist’s fire and lots of it. Of course, caustic isn’t the only way to play an Alchemist. Here’s a look at how the new class might play.
Pathfinder: The Alchemist Remastered Preview
If you’re familiar with how Alchemists play in Pathfinder 2E, know that your pain has been felt. One of the core mechanics was getting to decide how many Infused Reagents you were keeping around for certain alchemical effects because the Alchemist, unlike D&D’s Artificer, isn’t just a spellcaster who casts spells with a different flavor.
But at times, that means a lot of weird complexity that, as often as not, leads to in-game frustration. Paizo is very aware of this:
The alchemist can craft chemical concoctions that can aid in all manner of situations. From deadly poisons to life-saving elixirs to explosive bombs, an alchemist can whip up the perfect item, provided they have the formula. The Core Rulebook version of the class had limited resources each day that could be used in multiple ways. However, while this was flexible, it created very complex decisions based on guesswork, which often ended up disappointing. We wanted to smooth out these choices while retaining the core functions of the class.
Now, you just make a number of alchemical items each day that you can hand off to your friends or keep for yourself. Handy stuff. But you also get a new resource: versatile vials.
An alchemist also has a number of what we’re calling versatile vials, which are small mixtures of fast-acting chemicals that can be easily turned into other consumables. On their own, versatile vials can be thrown as acidic bombs, and with the Quick Alchemy action, an alchemist can turn a versatile vial into an alchemical consumable they know the formula for; this item remains potent until the start of the alchemist’s next turn. Each research field presents a unique way for the alchemist to use their versatile vials. For example, a mutagenist can drink one of their versatile vials to temporarily suppress the drawback of one mutagen they are under the effects of. And a chirurgeon can hurl a versatile vial at a willing ally within 20 feet for some distance healing!
In addition to versatile vials and new combat specializations like Toxicology, there’s plenty of new stuff for Alchemists to look forward to. Including Alchemical Weapon Mastery at 7th and 15th level, allowing for more explosive damage on the battlefield. Keep an eye out for more in the upcoming Player Core 2!
