How to Play an Alchemist

Alchemist Accessory

GBRV01 asked on Discord:

Can i nominate the Alchemist for the next guide? I find it the most confusing and complex class TBH

The Alchemist is far from our most taxing class, but there’s a lot to take in at level 1! In this guide, we’ll break down how to run an Alchemist, manage its resources, and roleplay your new Alchemist character.

How Bombs Work

Alchemists have a totally unique style of play: every turn they throw a Bomb at an enemy or a group. You have relatively high damage and at-will area of effect damage that you can burst whenever you like.

Every turn, the class asks you to make a couple of important decisions.

Attack or Save?

You can throw your Bomb with an attack roll, or you can use the Explode property, forcing each enemy in a 5-foot-radius Sphere to make a Dexterity saving throw. Your attacks use Dexterity for attacks and damage rolls, and your saves are based on Intelligence and add your Intelligence modifier to damage. Your explosions also deal half damage on a successful save, which gives you some guaranteed damage each turn!

Which Formula?

Your Bombs come in a wide variety of flavors called Formulas. Think about these like cantrips. Your normal Bomb deals 1d10 Fire damage and calls for a Dexterity saving throw, but other Formulas might have different damage and saves, and also apply additional effects. For example, a Cold Bomb deals 1d8 Cold damage and calls for a Constitution saving throw, plus an affected target has a −3 penalty to its attack rolls until the start of your next turn.

Generally, all Formula effects last for one round, so you’re choosing your preferred debuff every turn based on the situation presented.

How Big?

When you deal damage with your Bomb, you can also expend 1 or more Reagents to “Prime the Bomb” and magnify the explosion. Think about this like a Paladin’s Smite. You add 1d10 for each Reagent expended, and you can also expend the radius of the explosion by up to 5 feet for each Reagent expended.

Formulas change all of the Bomb’s damage dice (even as your Bombs deal more damage at higher levels), but they don’t change any bonus damage from Prime Bombs. So no matter what Formula you choose, you can always deal impressive damage if you expend a handful of Reagents.

Prime the Bomb whenever you want to catch a bunch of enemies in a blast or when you absolutely need to delete an enemy from the battlefield. But be careful, you only have so many Reagents, and you also need some for potions!

Managing Reagents

Reagents are a class resource that both empowers your Bombs and brews Potions, which means you manage this resource both in and out of combat.

Brewing potions takes 10 minutes, usually taking place during a Short Rest, so whenever you brew potions you’re making a decision about how much of your resources to devote to potions and how much to hold in reserve for Prime Bomb. Remember, you can regain a handful of Reagents once per day when you take a Short Rest! (This is much like a wizard’s Arcane Recovery.)

Which potion?

Think about your potions like prepared spells. At one time, you can only have a number of potions up to your Intelligence modifier, so choose them carefully! You can brew more potions as the day goes on, however.

How many?

I suggest devoting about half of your Reagents to brewing potions at the start of the day, and breaking down unused potions if you don’t have enough Reagents to go around. Remember that it’s always useful to keep a Potion of Healing or a Potion of Invisibility in your back pocket in case things get dire!

Discoveries and Builds

Starting at Alchemist level 5, you unlock a Discovery, a big decision about how you character plays. Every Discovery is worthwhile—pick whichever one suits your playstyle best. You can trade out your Discovery whenever you gain a level if you didn’t like your selection. Here are some of my favorites:

Alchemy of Restoration. If you’re the party healer, this one is for you. It doubles the uses of all of your Potions of Healing and grants you some additional types of restorative potions. Plus, you can brew two additional potions at once.

Combat Studies. If you want to get down and dirty with the melee characters, this one is for you. Better weapon and armor proficiencies, plus Bonus Action non-Bomb weapon attacks every turn. And you can expend your Reagents to deal extra Fire damage on a hit, like a cheap and cheerful Paladin smite.

Precision Explosives. If you keep blasting your allies with Bombs, pick up this Discovery. Not only does it give you a flat increase to your Alchemist Save DC, it also takes a page out of the Evoker Wizard playbook and lets you exempt your allies from your explosions. Your party will thank you!

Roleplaying an Alchemist

We’ve written the Alchemist around unstable, cutting-edge discoveries. You can be a mad scientist, a professional healer, an herbal naturalist, or an insidious poisoner. Here are some bonds, ideals, and flaws built for the Alchemist class specifically.

What do you want?

These are your bonds, things your alchemist feels compelled to do or say given the chance. Roll on the following table, or choose one of the options:

Alchemist Bonds

d6	Bond
1	They all said I was crazy. One day I’ll get the respect I deserve.
2	I once set an entire village on fire; I’m still paying off the debt.
3	Someone in my family has an incurable disease. I must discover the cure.
4	My laboratory is the most important place in the world.
5	A soldier once died after applying a poultice I made. I will never let that happen again.
6	My methods are more efficient than anyone else’s; I must convince other artisans to adopt them.

Why do you want it?

These are your ideals, guiding principles for your choices, and tend to reflect your alignment. Roll on the following table, or choose one of the options:

Alchemist Ideals

d6	Ideal
1	Innovation. Nobody ever says “old and improved,” now do they? (Neutral)
2	Precision. My work is much less dangerous if I don’t get sloppy about it. (Good)
3	Freedom. I need to do things my own way. (Chaotic)
4	Excellence. The only thing that matters is that you’re good at what you do. (Neutral)
5	Greed. I’m just here to get paid. (Evil)
6	Science. Logical, methodical inquiry is the best way to truth. (Lawful)

What gets in your way?

These are your flaws, the reasons you might make choices that hold you back or keep you from their goals. Roll on the following table, or choose one of the options:

Alchemist Flaws

d6	Flaw
1	I love watching things burn.
2	I often leave projects unfinished, sometimes for years.
3	I won’t settle for anything less than perfection.
4	I take every opportunity to point out inferior methods, and I don’t care how it makes anyone feel.
5	Something I made was used in a high-profile scandal; I must keep it a secret.
6	No one must ever learn that I stole rare and expensive reagents for my experiments.

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