PDA

View Full Version : Falconer alchemist- what do you think? (4e)



pirateshow
2009-03-14, 11:42 PM
Okay, so I'm working on my first PC for 4e. I've been DMing, and I've not got a good sense of if this is legal. I'd allow it as per the Rule Of Cool, but does it fit with RAW?

I'm thinking of a beastmaster ranger (likely human, for maximum versatility) with a raptor companion (because birds of prey are cool). This fellow will have the Alchemist feat, and his raptor's job will involve delivering many of his alchemical devices. Why get dangerously close enough to throw a vial of alchemist's fire when you could instead send your bird buddy on a bombing run? And he'll still have his combat powers to deal with anyone who pushes their luck and gets too close. The more I ponder this, the more I think it'll be way fun to play.

Thoughts? Feedback? So crazy it might just work?

Mando Knight
2009-03-14, 11:46 PM
I'd allow it... so long as your bird was carrying your Alchemist's Fire or whatever.

However, it's not quite as strong as if you used a Greatbow Ranger with your falcon functioning as your Quarry AWACS...

pirateshow
2009-03-15, 03:59 PM
That's the idea: the ranger would be carrying alchemical items and would send the bird off with one to deliver in the midst of the pack of Kobolds. Bird comes back, gets a new grenade, and goes off to start another party.

Tengu_temp
2009-03-15, 05:37 PM
Huh, funny thing, I always thought that raptor in 4e refers to, you know, the dinosaur. I blame WoW and its hunters.

Izmir Stinger
2009-03-15, 08:09 PM
Very cool idea. My thoughts:

Are you starting above level 1? Alchemical combat would be really expensive to maintain at low levels.

You need to be really confident in your ability to stand your ground, as your bird is going to be eating up all your move actions on his divebombing runs. Do you have a competent defender in the party?

Oh, and the bird should be an owl. I don't know why, it just seems to fit.

Kurald Galain
2009-03-16, 06:24 AM
This is a fun concept, but not a very effective one.

Why not? First, you're spending a lot of actions moving your raptor back and forth and giving him the alchemical stuff, whereas most of the action will take place well within throwing range. And, technically, animal companions can't use alchemical items anyway. So your best bet would be to treat the animal as fluff, just roll for the thrown-bottle attack as you normally would, and say that it's your raptor throwing the item.

Second, most alchemical items suck. They are designed to be (much) less effective than actual character powers.

Third, pretty much all alchemical items are far too expensive to use on a regular basis. Expect to fall significantly behind the rest of the party, who will likely use their money on permanent items.

Fourth, human versatility is not all it's cracked up to be. Having a third at-will sounds cool, but by the time you're level five or so you'll have so many different actions in combat (plus the alchemy you're supposed to be using) that this third at-will falls to the bottom of your list of priorities and is not going to see much use at all.


Overall, if you want this character to be effective, your best bet is to play an artificer with a familiar (there's a feat that gives you a familiar in Arcane Power, which comes out next month), or a plain wizard if your DM doesn't let you use Eberron classes. Then pretend that the familiar is actually a raptor, pretend that your spells are actually alchemical concoctions, and that you're not throwing them yourself, but your raptor is. Treat everything as fluff, because the crunch isn't meant to support exotic combinations.

Leon
2009-03-16, 06:38 AM
Sounds like a cool concept, i however don't really know much about the way things in 4e work but don't let it stop you from playing your ideal character - work with your DM to get a solution to any issues you come across