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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6932434" data-attributes="member: 6787650">5E already doesn't really do "X/day" balance, so you're not really losing much if you build yourself around some other kind of balance. For example, if you make an alchemist who's really good at turning gold into devices/potions, and each of those potions is somewhat equivalent to a 1st-level spell (e.g. crossbow bolts that light 2d8 fires in a 5' square when they hit), then the Alchemist becomes someone who is good at the same kind of thing as a Necromancer: increasing the offensive punch of a small/medium-sized army. Not necessarily someone you'd want as part of your PC dungeon crawling party, but maybe someone who you want on your side when you're going to war.If the effectiveness of the alchemist's devices scales, but scales sub-linearly, then the alchemist has interesting tradeoffs to make. E.g. you can swap out 2d8 fiery crossbow bolts for 3d8 bolts, but it increases the cost from 50 gp for 20 to 500 gp for 20, and 4d8 is 5000 gp. There will definitely come a point of diminishing returns where it's cheaper to recruit more troops instead of trying to increase the quality of the troops you've got.Likewise, maybe you allow your alchemist/artificer to produce armor which is heavier and better than regular armor, but ridiculously non-cost-effective. If triple-weight Adamantine Plate Armor gives AC 20 (vs. 18 for regular plate) but weighs 1000 lbs., and is unmanageable without a daily dose of weight-cancelling Pixie Laughter Lubricant (1000 gp per hour materials cost, plus the pixie laughter; also negates falling damage for that hour) then again the alchemist/artificer has kind of an interesting niche--but it isn't one that fits into the X/day paradigm, it's more like the paradigm used by Planar Binding/Planar Ally or a warlord. (Not the Warlord kind of warlord. I mean one who employs armies.)</blockquote>

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