D&D 3E/3.5 Got any cool 3e Alchemy rules?

[wizardoftheplains]

Would like to know if there are any good 3e alchemy rules out in the marketplace?
I used to have a great book in the 80s that detailed alchemy (elixers, dusts, etc.) by can't remember what it was called. Any new (crunchy) books out there?
Thanks,
g.

 

[Azure Trance]

Alchemy?

Bastion Press has one out, I think. Atlas Games has alchemy in their hodgepodge of different magic (Herbalism, Astrology, etc) in Occult Lore. I'm pretty sure books like Magic of Faerun or Relics & Ritual series would have some tidbits on Alchemy. I'm pretty sure I saw a bonanza source somewhere but I can't for the life of me remember right now ...

 

[FungiMuncher]

Let's see. In addition to what Azure mentioned, there's also an Alchemist core class in the Swashbuckling Adventures campaign setting book, and a Tinker core class in the Magic sourcebook, both by AEG.

If you're just looking for lists of stuff to make with the skill, Bastion Press' Alchemy & Herbalists is pretty good. Spells and Spellcraft by Fantasy Flight Games also has some items and new rules.

I think the book you were refering to is "The Compleat Alchemist" by Bard Games. Got it right here.

Did the research on all this because I replaced Wizards in my campaign with Alchemists, and wanted to make them just as versatile.

FM

 

[The Sigil]

FWIW, for my money, the best Alchemy book out there is Bastion Press' "Alchemy and Herbalists" - green cover. I think they have a small preview in PDF format called "e-Alchemy" at their site, www.bastionpress.com as well.

--The Sigil

 

[Morrus]

The first issue of the EN World PLayer's Journal will have a large alchemy article in it, too!

 

[Psion]

FWIW, for my money, the best Alchemy book out there is Bastion Press' "Alchemy and Herbalists" - green cover.

They have some munchkinny stuff in one of their PrCs (+5 DC for transmutation and illusion spells for one of the classes), but if you get into the meat of the book it is sort of interesting.

 

[Conaill]

Just have to put my own vote in AGAINST Bastion Press' "Alchemy and Herbalists".

It seems to me that most people who are praising it to high heaven have only used it as a DM. For a DM-run NPC, you don't really care all that much about how all the mechanics fit together, or how balanced everything is.

But once you start looking at this book from the point of view of a player who wants to make an alchemy-focused PC, things start to unravel very quickly. Sure there's lot of flavorfull "fluff" in there, but the actual rules absolutely suck! There's contradictions left and right. They added a Caster Level to alchemical creations. You wind up needing a whole host of new feats to do anything useful. Officially, a lot of these are "optional", but then you might as well ignore them in the first place.

Another problem is that the alchemical and herbal preparations listed are absolutelu not balanced with any other published source, including the PHB/DMG or any other WotC published alchemy! If you lok at the free e-Alchemy download on BP's website you'll notice they went as far as to rework the standard PHB alchemical items with ridiculously low craft DC's. I sent a few emails back and forth with the author, and it became clear that (1) he didn't even know you can (and most PC's will) use "take 10" on Alchemy craft skills, making DC's like 10 or 11 totally ridiculous, and (2) they intentionally worked "in a vacuum", making no attempts to balance anything with other sources.

I've been collecting alchemical rules and preparations from various sources for a while now (so far, I've got a collection of well over 200 published 3E alchemical concoctions), so I had high hopes for this book. I probably also dug into this book deeper than most casual readers. I must say I have been terribly disappointed in how it worked out, and - much as I would like to have a book dedicated to alchemy and herbalism - I've decided not to touch this one with the proverbial 10 foot pole!

PS: I've had a similar experience with BP's "Pale Designs: A Poisoner’s Handbook". Just the fact that they modified some of the original DMG poison prices should have clued me in...

 

[Conaill]

Ok, so that was a little negative. Let me give you some advice you can use...

My most fertile sources for new (and failry balanced!) alchemical preparations are:

- Dragon magazine: if you know someone with a subscription, try to borrow issues 279, 280(!), 285, 291, 298, 300 and 301(!). There's a few items in other issues, but these cover about 70 interesting and useful items. (280 and 301 alone cover almost 50)

- Spells & Spellcraft, Kingdoms of Kalamar PHB, Quintessential Elf and Wizard, van Richten's Arsenal, Tome&Blood and Traps&Treachery all have some nice new alchemical items

- Green Ronin's new Drow sourcebook "Plot And Poison" has a number of new alchemical items and poisons. However, it also has a nice rule of thumb for pricing new alchemical items that duplicate spell effects. Essentially, the market price comes out to 2.1 times the market price for the equivalent magical item .

- Stormkeep has a good online list of Alchemical Concoctions, including Dragon #280 and a bunch of home-brewn ones (unpublished, but very well-balanced).

- Crystal Keep also has an excellent online list in their Index of Equipment, including from Dragon issues and many of the sources I listed above.

 

[johnsemlak]

The Netbooks of Classes 2 (a free PDF available at www.fancc.net ) has a varient alchemist core class. Probably best as an NPC, IMO.

 

[Omega Lord]

Well, there are some rather nifty alchemy rules in the Ravenloft supplament VanRichten's Arsenal Vol. 1. The only problems are that they have some campaign specific effects (ie powers checks, innocence, etc.) however those could be converted. The 2nd problem is that each formula (there are at least 15) reqires a feat . Personally I houserule this to a feat for all effects in a school of alchemy. You could reduce it even further if you wanted. The effects range from healing something like 3d8 damage to creating improved alchemical clones of a person to taking a recently deceased persons soul (!) and injecting it into another persons body (or even a recently dead body). Very interesting and thought provoking rules IMHO, they just need a few fixes.