D&D 5E Best alchemist build

[Todd Roybark]

I'm not a fan of Coffeelock....but if anyone should be allowed, thematically to be imbibing stimulants to Keep Awake for a Night, while mixing a metric ton of "the good stuff" to give to your friends, it is an Alchemist.

(Side note, college students make friends with chemistry majors...it has benefits )

Spells gained by Racial Traits are technically "classless" and not bound by the spell casting foci requirements of spells gained by multi-classing. If a character is trained in magic use via taking levels in a particular class, I will generally allow the PC in question to use their spellcasting focus for the spells gained from the Racial Traits.

The entire concept of the Svirfneblin Abjurer using the at will Non Detection spell gained from the Svirfneblin Magic feat to trigger the Adjurer's Arcane Ward class feature, lends support to this.

It does not strike me as untoward to rule that a tiefling Alchemist has learned how to enhance the power of their Hellish Rebuke power through arcane formulas and rituals. The Hellish Rebuke power can easily be flavored like all Artificer spell use, as being channeled through a use of their tools...maybe it is a hurled vial of napalm, etc.

It was a minor power up, regardless, even if you don't agree that it is RAW. Though I think it is perfectly w/in the bounds of RAW.

 

[Ancalagon]

My apologies for asking this basic quesiton- I'm a bit out of touch with WotC's publications at the moment - where are we, version wise? Has an official alchemist been published? In what book?

 

[Ashrym]

My apologies for asking this basic quesiton- I'm a bit out of touch with WotC's publications at the moment - where are we, version wise? Has an official alchemist been published? In what book?

Eberron: Rising from the Last War

It's an artificer subclass.

 

[NotAYakk]

My apologies for asking this basic quesiton- I'm a bit out of touch with WotC's publications at the moment - where are we, version wise? Has an official alchemist been published? In what book?

Yes, the alchemist is an artificer subclass in the 5e eberon sourcebook, rising from the last war. It is generally viewed as lackluster compared to the other two subclasses, battlesmith (gish+pet) and artillerist (blaster+turret).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yes, the alchemist is an artificer subclass in the 5e eberon sourcebook, rising from the last war. It is generally viewed as lackluster compared to the other two subclasses, battlesmith (gish+pet) and artillerist (blaster+turret).

Largely because DMs seem to give artillerist turrets a free ride...

The battlesmith needs to use it's infusions for itself, and is therefore less effective in the support role.

 

[Ancalagon]

Thank you. I'm not that interested in Eberron, but the alchemist as a character concept is one dear to my heart (and one that is very hard to do right: Alchemists and resources - a hard nut to crack - posting this in the faint hope someone cracks the problem).

I thought that the first attempt at the alchemist was interesting (the potion thrower!) but too much power was invested in the pet robot and it didn't really fit. The second version fixed that (and I'm ok with the homunculus, it thematically fits an alchemist) BUT it has this really weird two means of attacking and neither are great (magical crossbow or cantrips) - I don't understand why fire was not included in their list of damaged boosted cantrips - alchemist fire, hello?

I don't know if it's worth buying a whole book just for a sub-class...

 

[Ashrym]

Thank you. I'm not that interested in Eberron, but the alchemist as a character concept is one dear to my heart (and one that is very hard to do right: Alchemists and resources - a hard nut to crack - posting this in the faint hope someone cracks the problem).

I thought that the first attempt at the alchemist was interesting (the potion thrower!) but too much power was invested in the pet robot and it didn't really fit. The second version fixed that (and I'm ok with the homunculus, it thematically fits an alchemist) BUT it has this really weird two means of attacking and neither are great (magical crossbow or cantrips) - I don't understand why fire was not included in their list of damaged boosted cantrips - alchemist fire, hello?

I don't know if it's worth buying a whole book just for a sub-class...

If you use DD Beyond you can buy just the subclass cheap and the base class rules are included.

Xanathar's goes with the class as well because there are magic item there that can be used for infusions, expanded info on using tool proficiency, and more on item creation. Plus some artificer spells are there too.

 

[Slyascooper]

Just a mental exercise I'm working on. What is the best single classes alchemist build that people have come up with so far?
Can anyone come up with an effective way for it to be good at anything? It's definitely not unplayable but for the life of me I can't figure out how to make it shine. Even as a healing and recovery focused character it feels

On its own, the Alchemist is underwhelming imho- my latest build however makes the Alchemist just a touch more interesting.

I started the build with the intention of creating an Alchemy focused Witcher- with a lower priority on spells (Witcher Signs), and Swordsmanship

I came relatively close to my goal- I didn't get the spells I wanted and he isn't exactly a Witcher, but the build is cool

feel free to offer suggestions:

Dr. Jeremiah Kalkstein (The Alchemist)

Alchemist 13/ Totem Warrior Barb 7
Background: Cloistered Scholar
Skills:
-Medicine
-Investigation
-Arcana
-History
-Nature
-Perception or Athletics, whichever you like better (barbarian)

at Level 1:
STR-14
DEX-8
CON-14
INT-16
WIS-12
CHA-8

End Game:
STR- 19
DEX-8
CON-18
INT-19
WIS-12
CHA-8

Race: Variant Human- Poisoner Feat Variant

Feats:
Great Weapon Master
ASI: Str +2, Con+2, Con+2

Artificier:
The Alchemist Elixir is excellent for utility, allowing us access to Alter Self, which gives us:
-A free disguise in the form of Polyjuice Potion
-Tawny Owl/Gillyweed (Water Breathing Potion)
-Natural Weapons (good for defending yourself in a pinch- the idea of turning into a pseudo werewolf is DAMN COOL IMHO)

Infusions:

-Perfume of Bewitching (for social encounters)

-Bead of Nourishment

-Goggles of Night (flavored as a night vision potion, similar to Cat in the Witcher series)

-Gauntlets of Ogre Power (Instead of investing in strength, I put my ASI into Con- it only makes sense that the Alchemist would have a juiced up body. The highest score my strength ever got was 16 from ASIs that's it.

-Headband of Intellect (Brain perfromance enhancing potion- most of your spells are going to be support oriented so Spell Save DC isn't really going to be an issue. Your main damage output comes from your Greatsword and your poison.)

-Cloak of Protection (flavored as a defensive potion that makes your skin tougher)

-Periapt of Wound Closure (flavored as a regen potion similar to Swallow in The Witcher)


Spells:

I wont mention all my spells, but here are a few of my favorites for a build like this:

-Enhance ability (Performance Enhancing Potions)

-Lesser Restoration (Anti-Toxin, etc.

-Protection from Poison (Anti-toxin, kind of redundant but it's up to you if you wanna take it)

-Cure Wounds (healing potion)

-Tasha's Caustic Brew (acid gun, good for melting doors)

-Web (web grenade)

-Firebolt (small grenades)

Took Barb to get several supernatural abilities like:

-"Rage" (imbibing this potion puts you in a rage like state, increasing your speed, strength, and defenses, at the cost of your mental clarity.)

-Unarmored Defense (Prolonged use of the Rage potions renders your skin permanently stronger to a limited degree.

-Danger Sense (Faster reaction time due to mutations, this is good for making up for your 8 in DEX)

-Totem Spirit (Either take Bear or Eagle for stronger defense or increased mobility)

-Aspect of the Beast (Eagle. Due to your mutations you have enhanced vision, you can really take whatever you want, I think Eagle is just really cool and it will probably help when conducting investigations)

-Feral Instinct (The Alchemist is very sensitive to his environment, his senses are extremely honed thanks to his mutations)

Notes:
-It's crucial that you clear up the rules for crafting poisons with your DM, if the DM were to allow you to create poisons such as Purple Worm Poison, or at the very least, Wyvern Poison, you could potentially deal just as much damage as your Rogue or Paladin which is hella cool imho
-Ask your DM if he could allow you to pick from the Elixir list instead of rolling, the idea of randomizing what potion you get is kinda dumb imho
-Ask your DM if he could allow for the poison save DC from the Poisoner Feat to scale with your spell DC or with your Proficiency Bonus so that it stays relevant even until late game.
-If I really wanted to push the Poisoner angle, I'd multiclass into Conjuration Wizard 2 just to get the Minor Conjuration ability- which, depending on your DM, could grant you access to unlimited poison provided that you've familiarized yourself with the poison you want to conjure.

Summary:
Pros:
-Lots of out of combat utility
-Tanky as naughty word
-Decent Healer
-Lots of damage (provided that the DM is generous with his poison rulings)
-Very Knowledgeable character
-Very Flavorful


Cons:
-Not much in the way of offensive spells
-Concentration is a problem
-Decent damage, nothing too outrageous
-Low Dex
-Leans more towards the flavour and roleplay aspects of DnD

Can anyone come up with an effective way for it to be good at anything? It's definitely not unplayable but for the life of me I can't figure out how to make it shine. Even as a healing and recovery focused character it feels anemic.

 

[Slyascooper]

On its own, the Alchemist is underwhelming imho- my latest build however makes the Alchemist just a touch more interesting.

I started the build with the intention of creating an Alchemy focused Witcher- with a lower priority on spells (Witcher Signs), and Swordsmanship

I came relatively close to my goal- I didn't get the spells I wanted and he isn't exactly a Witcher, but the build is cool

feel free to offer suggestions:

Dr. Jeremiah Kalkstein (The Alchemist)

Alchemist 13/ Totem Warrior Barb 7
Background: Cloistered Scholar
Skills:
-Medicine
-Investigation
-Arcana
-History
-Nature
-Perception or Athletics, whichever you like better (barbarian)

at Level 1:
STR-14
DEX-8
CON-14
INT-16
WIS-12
CHA-8

End Game:
STR- 19
DEX-8
CON-18
INT-19
WIS-12
CHA-8

Race: Variant Human- Poisoner Feat Variant

Feats:
Great Weapon Master
ASI: Str +2, Con+2, Con+2

Artificier:
The Alchemist Elixir is excellent for utility, allowing us access to Alter Self, which gives us:
-A free disguise in the form of Polyjuice Potion
-Tawny Owl/Gillyweed (Water Breathing Potion)
-Natural Weapons (good for defending yourself in a pinch- the idea of turning into a pseudo werewolf is DAMN COOL IMHO)

Infusions:

-Perfume of Bewitching (for social encounters)

-Bead of Nourishment

-Goggles of Night (flavored as a night vision potion, similar to Cat in the Witcher series)

-Gauntlets of Ogre Power (Instead of investing in strength, I put my ASI into Con- it only makes sense that the Alchemist would have a juiced up body. The highest score my strength ever got was 16 from ASIs that's it.

-Headband of Intellect (Brain perfromance enhancing potion- most of your spells are going to be support oriented so Spell Save DC isn't really going to be an issue. Your main damage output comes from your Greatsword and your poison.)

-Cloak of Protection (flavored as a defensive potion that makes your skin tougher)

-Periapt of Wound Closure (flavored as a regen potion similar to Swallow in The Witcher)


Spells:

I wont mention all my spells, but here are a few of my favorites for a build like this:

-Enhance ability (Performance Enhancing Potions)

-Lesser Restoration (Anti-Toxin, etc.

-Protection from Poison (Anti-toxin, kind of redundant but it's up to you if you wanna take it)

-Cure Wounds (healing potion)

-Tasha's Caustic Brew (acid gun, good for melting doors)

-Web (web grenade)

-Firebolt (small grenades)

Took Barb to get several supernatural abilities like:

-"Rage" (imbibing this potion puts you in a rage like state, increasing your speed, strength, and defenses, at the cost of your mental clarity.)

-Unarmored Defense (Prolonged use of the Rage potions renders your skin permanently stronger to a limited degree.

-Danger Sense (Faster reaction time due to mutations, this is good for making up for your 8 in DEX)

-Totem Spirit (Either take Bear or Eagle for stronger defense or increased mobility)

-Aspect of the Beast (Eagle. Due to your mutations you have enhanced vision, you can really take whatever you want, I think Eagle is just really cool and it will probably help when conducting investigations)

-Feral Instinct (The Alchemist is very sensitive to his environment, his senses are extremely honed thanks to his mutations)

Notes:
-It's crucial that you clear up the rules for crafting poisons with your DM, if the DM were to allow you to create poisons such as Purple Worm Poison, or at the very least, Wyvern Poison, you could potentially deal just as much damage as your Rogue or Paladin which is hella cool imho
-Ask your DM if he could allow you to pick from the Elixir list instead of rolling, the idea of randomizing what potion you get is kinda dumb imho
-Ask your DM if he could allow for the poison save DC from the Poisoner Feat to scale with your spell DC or with your Proficiency Bonus so that it stays relevant even until late game.
-If I really wanted to push the Poisoner angle, I'd multiclass into Conjuration Wizard 2 just to get the Minor Conjuration ability- which, depending on your DM, could grant you access to unlimited poison provided that you've familiarized yourself with the poison you want to conjure.
-On top of all your "potions" you can use your Alchemist Tools in your downtime to research potion recipes, brew decoctions, craft poisons, create grenades, etc etc. I hope your DM's generous

Just a mental exercise I'm working on. What is the best single classes alchemist build that people have come up with so far?
Can anyone come up with an effective way for it to be good at anything? It's definitely not unplayable but for the life of me I can't figure out how to make it shine. Even as a healing and recovery focused character it feels anemic.

Summary:
Pros:
-Lots of out of combat utility
-Tanky as naughty word
-Decent Healer
-Lots of damage (provided that the DM is generous with his poison rulings)
-Very Knowledgeable character
-Very Flavorful


Cons:
-Not much in the way of offensive spells
-Concentration is a problem
-Decent damage, nothing too outrageous
-Low Dex
-Leans more towards the flavour and roleplay aspects of DnD

 

[Zardnaar]

The correct play with alchemist is not to play them.

Pretty much worst class in the game.
They're bottom tier in class ratings and there's notuch you can do to fix them.

If you want to play support play a cleric, bard or druid and focus on doing that.