Conail: I absolutely agree. That was just quick and dirty off the top of my head. It would require a fairly minimal amount of work to consolidate magical and non-magical preparations under one roof. The class would have to be fleshed out with more alchemy-related powers, otherwise it's a pretty crappy class. I would prefer a greater divorce from the existing spell-emulation system.
I would like to see something similar to what you're proposing, where the products of alchemy aren't really related to specific spells. I think one has to start by limiting the reach of magic, otherwise one ends up where the core rules sit, with alchemy as the neglected child. If a cleric can remove the poision instantly and with little cost or make a potion to handle it, why do we need alchemists? Unless they can crank out a potion that does a similar trick cheaper, there's no niche. One has to be carved out of the already fairly comprehensive magic that exists.
I liked how the (fairly old) computer game Darklands did alchemy. The different concoctions were formula clusters and usually had 3 different strengths you could learn. So there was a "tanglefoot" potion one could brew. The weakest formulae had a relatively low difficulty and cost, but was of short duration and area. The most powerful was harder to make and more costly, but would engulf a good portion of the battlefield in a sticky mass. Formulae could be bought from other alchemists or traded, much like spells for a wizard are treated.
I would have poisons nominally fall into the realm of the alchemist, since they need to be prepared with skill to not have them go bad or kill the preparer. Other, poison oriented classes would have access to that skill but would still be less skilled than an alchemist.
In any case, I think we're on the same page in what we want out of alchemy. I too want alchemy to play a greater role in my campaigns.
I would like to see something similar to what you're proposing, where the products of alchemy aren't really related to specific spells. I think one has to start by limiting the reach of magic, otherwise one ends up where the core rules sit, with alchemy as the neglected child. If a cleric can remove the poision instantly and with little cost or make a potion to handle it, why do we need alchemists? Unless they can crank out a potion that does a similar trick cheaper, there's no niche. One has to be carved out of the already fairly comprehensive magic that exists.
I liked how the (fairly old) computer game Darklands did alchemy. The different concoctions were formula clusters and usually had 3 different strengths you could learn. So there was a "tanglefoot" potion one could brew. The weakest formulae had a relatively low difficulty and cost, but was of short duration and area. The most powerful was harder to make and more costly, but would engulf a good portion of the battlefield in a sticky mass. Formulae could be bought from other alchemists or traded, much like spells for a wizard are treated.
I would have poisons nominally fall into the realm of the alchemist, since they need to be prepared with skill to not have them go bad or kill the preparer. Other, poison oriented classes would have access to that skill but would still be less skilled than an alchemist.
In any case, I think we're on the same page in what we want out of alchemy. I too want alchemy to play a greater role in my campaigns.
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