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View Full Version : The prehistoric alchemist/engineer



Dr.Epic
2013-05-17, 08:54 AM
Basically I'm working on a romanticized stone age campaign setting. I have most of the classes figured out but one criticism I keep getting is alchemist is too advanced for the setting. I've been trying to come up with a better name like philosopher (several branches of science were once called natural philosophy), but I keep getting the same complaint: it's an anachronism to the setting. I'm just wondering how valid their complaint is: this is a romanticized stone age (humans living with dinosaurs) and in this setting some tribes have begun metalsmithing (though this is rare). I mean, it is still fantasy and not historically accurate. I'm just wondering what's the right word for a prehistoric scientist/engineer class that uses a combination of science (chemistry mostly) and magic? Does pyromancer sound any better?

Somensjev
2013-05-17, 09:16 AM
you could always try something like "witch-doctor" or "potion smith"

pyromancer would be someone who uses fire, so unless every alchemical thing needs to be over/near a fire for ridiculous amounts of time then that's probably a no

also, if you're DMing, then it doesnt matter what they say, you're pretty much the reality of the universe, your word is law, so complaints are useless

Just to Browse
2013-05-17, 09:55 AM
There really isn't anything... Then again, I don't know what you mean by "romanticized stone age" because everything in the stone age was pretty much devoid of hard science.

If there's some sort of magic class like shaman, have them brew quasi-potions, but that's about as far as you'll get. The genre kind of shoehorns you in.

geonova
2013-05-17, 09:56 AM
try shamanic brewer, just ritualize the heck out of the crafting process

Kiren
2013-05-17, 11:11 AM
I ask you, what is one of the most timeless and longstanding crafts of human history. Brewing. Who was sought after for ritual and medicinal cures within a tribal group, the shaman/medicine man. With a heavy dependence on reasources, how does a people defend their holdings, war. A prehistoric alchemist is especially useful in a fantasy setting where foliage takes on strong properties; one could brew spirits and medicines of potent effects for health or for war. Is is not to say that the alchemist knows how all this occurs because it is likely he or she does not.