Making a Grenadier Alchemist

[5w337x7007h]

I'm trying to build a former-military alchemist who became a mercenary for hire. His aim is to make a tidy sum for retirement since his former bosses decided to cut out the retirement fund for soldiers.

Using this build, Mad Bomber (http://zenithgames.blogspot.com/2014/01/mad-bomber-alchemist-build.html), but I'm not sure if I should stick with the Half-Orc or try for a different race, like Tiefling, or Vanara. What would you guys recommend?

I'd appreciate any advice because I'm making this my backup in Rise of the Runelords.

I'm going to modify the 'recommended' stats though because the build is too much bomb, not enough military, so I was thinking of stats like this.

Str 10, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 10. I have no aversion for negative stats, but I don't intend on becoming a liability by getting dominated and bombing the party to hell and back.

[N. Jolly]

I'm trying to build a former-military alchemist who became a mercenary for hire. His aim is to make a tidy sum for retirement since his former bosses decided to cut out the retirement fund for soldiers.

Using this build, Mad Bomber (http://zenithgames.blogspot.com/2014/01/mad-bomber-alchemist-build.html), but I'm not sure if I should stick with the Half-Orc or try for a different race, like Tiefling, or Vanara. What would you guys recommend?

I'd appreciate any advice because I'm making this my backup in Rise of the Runelords.

I'm going to modify the 'recommended' stats though because the build is too much bomb, not enough military, so I was thinking of stats like this.

Str 10, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 10. I have no aversion for negative stats, but I don't intend on becoming a liability by getting dominated and bombing the party to hell and back.

First of all, check out the guide in my sig.

Second of all, Tiefling will do you better than Half-Orc, even the base stat placements are just amazing. The tail is also an easy decision since you're not using fiendish sorcery, I like a lot of their other racial adjustments, and they have the same favored class bonus for if you're looking to do a lot of bomb damage, which the grenadier certainly is.

[5w337x7007h]

Yeah I was looking at that Prehensile tail and the darkvision, and resistances, and the darkness 1/day. Stats would be adjusted then, to reflect the benefits.

So lets try this build.
Tiefling Alchemist (Grenadier) 12 (current level of group)
Str 10, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 8

1 - Point-Blank Shot
2 - Precise Bombs (C), Smoke Bombs
3 - Precise Shot
4 - Stink Bomb
5 - Rapid Shot
6 - Frost Bomb
7 - Two-Weapon Fighting
8 - Fast Bombs
9 - Weapon Focus: Bombs
10 - Force Bomb
11 - Improved Critical: Bombs
12 - Explosive Bombs

EDIT: How's that look?

[Andreaz]

Looks good. Try the entangling bomb, it's great to shut down shooters and casters. Once you start firing more than one per round you are looking at the potential to entangle and stagger at once, on top of high damage.

Quite the pigeon.

The crits may be wasted, by the way. I think they don't apply to the full bomb damage.

If you have little use for your swift action, get arcane strike, it applies to all your bomb damage (even the splash) and you qualify for it.

[5w337x7007h]

Yeah, on the bomb damage I'm thinking it works like this...

Bombs get 1d6+Int initially. The damage of an alchemist's bomb increases by 1d6 points at every odd-numbered alchemist level (this bonus damage is not multiplied on a critical hit or by using feats such as Vital Strike).
Example: 11th level Alchemist throws a bomb and lands a critical hit; The bomb regularly does 6d6 of damage, of which 5d6 is considered a bonus. The bonus damage isn't multiplied on a crit so the bomb only does 7d6 of damage.

So lets try this.

1 - Point-Blank Shot
2 - Precise Bombs (C), Smoke Bombs
3 - Precise Shot
4 - Stink Bomb
5 - Extra Discovery: Explosive Bombs
6 - Frost Bomb
7 - Two-Weapon Fighting
8 - Fast Bombs
9 - Extra Discovery: Extend Potion
10 - Force Bomb
11 - Extra Discovery: Eternal Potion
12 - Infusion

I'm looking at eternal potion for things that will definitely save me in the long run, like Spell Resistance, Fly, Greater Invisibility, or even Stone Skin. On another note, tanglefoot bomb doesn't seem as effective as it could be in the campaign I'm in, since most of the enemies will be Large or larger. and Tanglefoot bags only affect creatures of large size or smaller.

Is there any way I could design this character to match Krieger from the Archer series?

[Rainshine]

Eternal Potion requires Alchemist 16. Maybe pick up Splash Weapon Mastery?
I'm also a fan of Sticky Bomb. Or go the Tumor Familiar way, because it's awesome

[5w337x7007h]

Mkay, how about replacing eternal potion with splash weapon mastery, and follow it up with improvised weapon mastery. I can think of several ways to use bombs as melee weapons without actually hurting myself.

[Roncorps]

Splash weapon mastery is a must (with a range of 20 feet, getting far shot help and with touch attack, the -1 per increment is nothing). And Blinding bomb kick ass. I'm playing a gnome grenadier in Wrath of the Righteous (only path that make Holy Bomb worth taking) and when I'm not blinding the boss, I'm dazzling all the splashed mobs. At 21 DC, it's pretty effective. And with 19 bombs each day, there more to throw than I can think of.

[5w337x7007h]

I know that giants have stronger Fortitudes, so I don't know how effective blinding bombs, or even tanglefoot bombs would be as the campaign goes on. From what I remember RotRL tends to be giants+ for the latter half of the campaign.

[N. Jolly]

As opposed to frost bomb, I'd go void bomb, it's basically the best 6th level bomb discovery, and maybe even just the best bomb discovery in the game. Even though it's listed in the Drow section, bombs don't have racial prereqs, so this should be fine to select.

[5w337x7007h]

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo---alchemist-discoveries/void-bomb-su

It does require that I be drow, sadly. My GM is pretty persnickety about drow, especially since he's old-fashioned about it. He even outright insulted my half-drow character in another campaign. Called her half-useless since she was a half-breed. Meaning the only useful part was her drow blood and gender.

I'd have to explain which lore I'm following, why I'm on the surface instead of in the underdark, and how I managed to get fungi from the underdark, or how I managed to grow it on the surface.

[N. Jolly]

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo---alchemist-discoveries/void-bomb-su

It does require that I be drow, sadly. My GM is pretty persnickety about drow, especially since he's old-fashioned about it. He even outright insulted my half-drow character in another campaign. Called her half-useless since she was a half-breed. Meaning the only useful part was her drow blood and gender.

I'd have to explain which lore I'm following, why I'm on the surface instead of in the underdark, and how I managed to get fungi from the underdark, or how I managed to grow it on the surface.

The archives of nethys description disagrees:

Void Bomb (Su)* (Monster Codex pg. 32): By combining the spores from strange fungi with slivers from extradimensional voids, some drow alchemists create bombs that cause bursts of gravity capable of crushing those inside. Void bombs deals 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage, plus 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage for every 2 alchemist levels beyond 1st, instead of 1d6. A creature hit by the bomb must succeed at a Reflex save against the bomb’s DC. If it fails, it is knocked prone and can’t get up for 1 round. If it succeeds, all of its movement speeds are reduced to 5 feet for 1 round. Other creatures within 5 feet of the bomb’s target take no damage, but must succeed at a Reflex save against the bomb’s DC or have all their movement speeds reduced to 5 feet for 1 round. An alchemist must be 6th level before selecting this discovery.

While Drow are mentioned in the description, there is nothing in the text of the requirements which state Drow is needed (where it could state "a drow alchemist must be 6th level before selecting this discovery"), and since it would be the only bomb discovery that has such a needless caveat, I would consider the PFSRD in error. Also in the actual Paizo PDF (which shares the same text as the archives of nethys), drow is also not listed as a prereq for this ability, further proving that the PFSRD is in the wrong here. I'd continue on to state this since Grenadier is reprinted here in the Hobgoblin section, but isn't made a hobgoblin archetype, it's a general archetype.

Really, it's silly for it to have this requirement anyways, although from the sounds of your GM, if there's any text giving it exclusively to Drow, they're going to listen to that, which is a shame since Void Bomb is hands down the BEST bomb discovery in the game, and racially limiting it like this is silly. I'd play a drow and then get polymorphed into a tiefling if that's what it took to make it work.

As for explaining the flavor, no other ability needs you to do that, so I don't see why they'd flip out that you aren't able to get the special fungi. Just tell them you found a substitute for it, and if they say no, start keeping tabs on their weapon sharpness/spell component pouch/etc.