Low Magic Alternatives: Full 20 level Class, The Scholar (alchemist fans, apply here)

[Capn Charlie]

Well, in my continuing quest to strip enough magic out of dnd so that it feels like pulp fantasy, I have hit upon an alternative caster class to help fill the need for wizards, bards and healers.

If you liked The Godsman, prepare to love.... View attachment scholar.pdf

Kind of like a cross between a warlock and an alchemist, the scholar can be a party's main caster replacement in a world without bards, clerics, sorcerers, warlocks, or wizards.

The scholar is heavy on support, able to pass out potions in dungeon, while laying down nukes or those oh so precious heals. Right now, it is heavily skewed against strong healing, and the alchemist side seems a little strong. The Guild Mystic path is... shall we say a long way from wizard. I have one of these guys running in my weekly game, and the flavor seems spot on so far. He runs and hides and takes occasional crossbow pot shots, and shines the most out of combat.

Questions or concerns?

 

[AverageCitizen]

I like it. I think my tastes would have scholars on par with casters in terms of power, even if some of that strength comes from relatively mundane strength. Did you aim for comparable strength?

Also, rather than limit the number of healing salves a character can have (by limiting the shelf life) you might limit the number of times a character can benefit from them per day, such as they must be used during a short rest. I.e., there is only so much medicine can do for a particular injury. That way if a player wants to stock up on them, he can, but it doesn't get out of hand in terms of survivability. It just means that if the militia gets torn into by a monster he'll be ready.

 

[nomotog]

I am not sure I understand the rules regarding supplies. Like can you craft your discoveries only once?

 

[Capn Charlie]

I am not sure I understand the rules regarding supplies. Like can you craft your discoveries only once?

The intended gameplay is that whenever you take a long rest you produce an amount of items equal to your level plus int bonus. The guild then doesn't allow you to do this again until you've gone out and used them... this part is really sticky with no good way to write it that isn't ridiculous. Like, the potions losing viability if you drop them, or something like that.

I like it. I think my tastes would have scholars on par with casters in terms of power, even if some of that strength comes from relatively mundane strength. Did you aim for comparable strength?

Also, rather than limit the number of healing salves a character can have (by limiting the shelf life) you might limit the number of times a character can benefit from them per day, such as they must be used during a short rest. I.e., there is only so much medicine can do for a particular injury. That way if a player wants to stock up on them, he can, but it doesn't get out of hand in terms of survivability. It just means that if the militia gets torn into by a monster he'll be ready.

The alchemist side seems balanced against a normal caster fairly well, due to damage output.

As for the healing salve, your mode mirrors the healer feat pretty closely, and is good, but I wanted to be able to brute force heal, to an extent. Note that this class is balanced towards a gritty game, where healing is harder to come by than damage output.

 

[Einlanzer0]

Neat concept. I'll post some thoughts shortly.

 

[Inchoroi]

If I were to do something like this, I'd have the potions be prepared using the spellpoint variant from the DMG; you just have them prepared, and each has a shelf-life, etc. However, you'd have to be careful what potions you use, so you could sell them as an alchemist could.

It'd take a shitload of work, though, to make all of that and then make it balanced.

 

[TheConflicted]

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I love low-magic settings and this looks great. Two things, though.

1: the 18th level apothecary feature says 'regain' twice.

2: There are several instances where it says 'may' instead of 'can', which isn't how 5e words stuff and sometimes confuses players. My players, anyway.

Regardless, though, this is really cool. Thanks for the awesome material to work with. I love your Godsman and Magician as well.