Pathfinder Alchemist help

[Nykidemus]

I'm starting up an Alchemist in a Pathfinder game here in a week or so, and I'm curious if anyone has any advice. The mechanics are so... different from anything else I've played. I'm not quite sure what to do with it.

I'm getting the general idea of a short range skirmisher type, using my Mutagen to buff Dex and throwing things at people?

Going the Mutagen specialization route and getting huge buffs to all your physical stats is rather tempting, but you still only have Simple Weapon prof and 3/4 base attack, so even with a +8 to str it seems like it would make a fairly mediocre meleeist.

The bombs are awesome, but the damage is fairly lacking compared to other dedicated ranged DPS classes. Some of the late game effects are really neat, like Cloudkill in a 20' radius whenver you bomb, but they dont crop up until lv 12+, and you have to dedicate all of your Discoveries to them.

I havent looked around at many of the Pathfinder specific feats yet. Old standbyes like Far Shot seem solid, since the bombs have a meager 20' range, but you probably wont need point blank shot, as you're only rolling to hit the square that the target is in.

What does one do for a backup roll when they're not throwing explosives? Some sort of thrown weapon seems like it would synergize best, as you have to keep your offhand free and thus reloading a crossbow gets in the way pretty bad.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist
A link to the class, for those who would like to comment but are not familiar with the system.

[Leon]

Having a Crossbow and a Morning Star as back up weapons is a good idea in general even if you don't use them very often.

Depending on what level your playing at and availability of items a Wand of Xyz spell would make for a good off hand attack option, just means you have to put a lil bit of your skill into UMD.

[Paul H]

Hi

Halflings make good Alchemists because of their high dex.

If you check the Pathfinder SRD: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/ you'll find some good traits & feats.

Check this out to increase Range Increment:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/comba...m-supple-wrist

If your HP are bit low, Toughness is a good feat at 1st lvl. (Don't forget you Favoured Class bonus: choice of either 1 extra HP or one extra Skill pT at each level)!

Cheers
Paul H

[Caphi]

You can actually take the mutagen line and parts of the smoke line at once. That makes a character... decent... at melee with the ability to drop smoke fields if necessary. The master chymist prestige class specializes in mutagen use and melee brawling (getting full BAB, among other things), but sacrifices a few extract levels and slows your discoveries; I would personally choose the fog over it, but you might as well give it a look.

[Paul H]

Hi

And I've seen a 2nd lvl Alchemist create a bomb in a bag of Alchemist Fire to do 5D6 Fire dam as a thrown improvised weapon.

Cheers
Paul H