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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 6832049" data-attributes="member: 82106">I don't think this in any way shape or form contradicts what I said. I was addressing the design considerations around the relative weakness of the Alchemy subsystem. It HAS to be a poor choice as a matter of game design, otherwise it undermines AEDU. I'd note that your Wand solution has limitations as well, all the to-hits will be about 1 point less than normal, and you're paying for a permanent item (even if its a bit below-grade when you buy it, this still adds up). The effects you get aren't BAD, but they also aren't earth-shakingly good. In many cases the powers mentioned have secondary stat bonus effects that you won't get much of, etc. Not saying it isn't worth it, and it certainly is a decent way to reflavor existing material as Alchemy (I also hit on the "this is my spell book" fluff way back around 2008, my utility mage used that some). To make Alchemy a true option, on a par with other options, really does require that the making of the items be expensive enough to regulate their availability and use. Even then there's a sort of 'burst issue' where the Alchemist can stockpile his tricks and unleash them in a big nova (that just has to be regulated by action economy as much as possible). There could be other ways of balancing this as well, though they probably don't fit too well with 4e's tight regulation of game effects. For instance the ability to give away items to other characters, and even NPCs, or to sell/trade them, are positive mitigations. Negative mitigations could be things like instability (carrying around a lot of dangerous materials, could be hazardous), need for material components, perhaps unreliability (IE Alchemical items could have unpredictable effects, which could make their use problematic in many situations). Another option would be a cost, say for instance it requires the Alchemist to sac an HS to make an item. He can't get the HS back until the item has been used up (similar to the way certain rituals allow permanent effects). Overall I think the existing design of 4e's Alchemy isn't a bad balancing of design issues. Anyone can utilize it, and the costs are modest, but the effects are also limited.</blockquote>

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