The Potion Maker (Base Class Contest XXXI Winner, PEACH)

[Jormengand]

The Potion Maker

Image by Oblivimancer

Magic is always better in a bottle.

Potion makers do not cast spells normally, but instead create potions to cast them for them.

Adventures: Potion makers adventure for fame, fortune, rare ingredients, and the chance to try out their latest potions!

Characteristics: Potion makers can create potions of spells normally beyond the domain of a potion, allowing them to wreak havoc with their concoctions. They make an adequate replacement for a wizard or cleric.

Alignment: Any. While evil potion makers may choose to make poisons, good ones may make healing potions, lawful ones make protective ones and chaotic ones make explosives, this is not set in stone and potion makers should be encouraged to use all of the potions at their disposal.

Religion: Potion makers may worship deities of drink or magic.

Background: Potions are widely required for on-the-go magic. A potion maker may start off as a simple salesman of healing potions, brought to this trade out of their own or others' necessity. Alternatively, poisons are often used by criminal gangs.

Races: Any. From an orc voodoo shaman to an elf assassin, any image of a potion maker may suit you.

Other Classes: Potion makers are often treated as dedicated healers, a position which they nigh-invariably loathe (and would rather be lobbing bombs at things). They see other classes as new ways to test their potions, or simply as people - after all, such a diverse class can't help but respect practically all other traditions.

Role: Potion makers can be used to empower other classes with whom they adventure, or to get in on the action themselves. Or throw bombs. Anyone for bombs?

Adaptation: Potion makers are almost ubiquitous. They appear anywhere that potions appear, and even in a world without potions, they could simply be privy to an ability that no others have.

GAME RULE INFORMATION
Potion makers have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Intelligence is the most important ability score for a potion maker.
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d6
Starting Age: As bard.
Starting Gold: As sorcerer.

Class Skills
The potion maker's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int) Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points at First Level: (2 + Int modifier) x 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier

POTION MAKER

Level	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+0	+2	+0	+2	Brew Potion	3	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+3	Long Hurl +5ft	4	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+1	+3	+1	+3		4	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	+4	+1	+4		4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+2	+4	+1	+4		4	3	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+3	+5	+2	+5	Long Hurl +10ft	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+3	+5	+2	+5		4	4	3	2	1	—	—	—	—	—
8th	+4	+6	+2	+6		4	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
9th	+4	+6	+3	+6		4	4	4	3	2	1	—	—	—	—
10th	+5	+7	+3	+7	Long Hurl +15ft	4	4	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—
11th	+5	+7	+3	+7		4	4	4	4	3	2	1	—	—	—
12th	+6/+1	+8	+4	+8		4	4	4	4	3	3	2	—	—	—
13th	+6/+1	+8	+4	+8		4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	—	—
14th	+7/+2	+9	+4	+9	Long Hurl +20ft	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	—	—
15th	+7/+2	+9	+5	+9		4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	—
16th	+8/+3	+10	+5	+10		4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	—
17th	+8/+3	+10	+5	+10		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1
18th	+9/+4	+11	+6	+11	Long Hurl +25ft	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2
19th	+9/+4	+11	+6	+11		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3
20th	+10/+5	+12	+6	+12		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the potion maker.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Potion makers are proficient with all simple weapons, plus the hand crossbow, rapier, sap, shortbow, and short sword. They are proficient with light armour but not with shields; because the potion maker doesn't actually cast spells, they don't have a chance to fail to cast spells while wearing armour.

Brew Potion
Potion makers get the Brew Potion feat as a bonus feat at first level, and can use that feat, even if they don't meet the prerequisites.

Potion Making (Ex)
Potion makers are not spellcasters and do not cast spells, but they have a caster level and can create items and qualify for feats and prestige classes as though they did have spells and were arcane spellcasters, and prestige classes will advance their potion making. With the correct feats, they can create items other than potions the same way that a spellcaster does. Potions created by a potion maker are considered arcane.

A potion maker can spend the hour after resting to prepare potions, much as other casters may prepare spells. In this time, she may brew one potion for each spell given on Table: The Potion Maker (plus additional potions for having a high intelligence modifier), completely without regard for the usual gold, experience or time cost of doing so, although potions made in this way become useless after 24 hours. Similarly, if he chooses not to brew all of their potions at this time, it can brew a single potion later in the day by expending a spell slot of the requisite level. If they have more than one spellcasting class, he can only brew potions in this way using her potion maker spell slots. In order to make a potion using spell slots from another class, it must use the normal rules for creating potions and can only create potions out of spells which would normally be eligible for creating potions.

Potion makers can make potions out of spells which would not normally be eligible for being made into a potion, such as those of greater than 3rd level or those with targets which are not normally resolvable as potions. These are resolved in the following way:

Spells that target you: The target is the creature who drinks the potion, and it affects them as though they were you. (This should, incidentally, be possible anyway, as the drinker is considered the caster, but is included here for clarity). Examples: Divine Power, Transformation
Spells that affect an area centred on a point: You throw the potion as though it were a ranged splash weapon, but apart from that the usual effects of the spell apply from the point struck. Examples: Fireball, Flame Strike
Spells that affect a cone: You throw the potion as though it were a ranged splash weapon, but the effect is resolved as though you had walked onto the location that the potion hit, and cast the spell in the same direction as the movement. Examples: Burning Hands, Cone of Cold
Spells that affect a line: You throw the potion as though it were a ranged splash weapon, but the effect occurs on every square between you and the location hit, ignoring the normal range. (If you drop a potion of Lightning Bolt off a cliff, you may achieve many tens of times the 60 ft range, much good may it do you). Examples: Lightning Bolt, Wall of Fire
Spells that create things: You throw the potion as though it were a ranged splash weapon, and the created object appears where it hits. Examples: Create Water, Dancing Lights

When using a single-target spell, a potion maker can throw a potion at the target using the target's touch AC (Or flat-footed touch AC for an ally, who makes no attempt to dodge the spell) but it may hit another creature or object and if the potion maker misses completely, the spell is wasted. The impact of the potion and the breaking of glass invariably deals negligible damage, no matter how painful it might be!

On the other hand, drinking a spell that affects an area centred on a point, a cone or a line, or that creates things, has no effect.

Other spells which are not resolved in any of these ways have their own explanations. The save DC for a potion maker's potions is 10, plus the spell's level, plus the potion maker's intelligence modifier. Potion makers use the Potion Maker Spell List to determine what kinds of potions they can make.

Long Hurl (Ex)
At the levels given on Table: The Potion Maker, a potion maker treats the range increment of ranged splash weapons to be longer by the amount given on the table.

Potion Maker Spell List

Potions which affect a creature:

0lvl: Acid Splash, Cure Minor Wounds, Daze, Disrupt Undead, Flare, Inflict Minor Wounds, Resistance, Virtue
1st: Cause Fear, Comprehend Languages, Cure Light Wounds, Divine Favour, Doom, Endure Elements, Enlarge Person, Feather Fall, Inflict Light Wounds, Shield, Shocking Grasp, True Strike, Remove Fear
2nd: Acid Arrow, Aid, Alter Self, Bear's Endurance, Blur, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, Cure Moderate Wounds, Darkvision, Daze Monster, Eagle's Splendor, Fox's Cunning, Inflict Moderate Wounds, Invisibility, Owl's Wisdom, Protection Against Arrows, Resist Energy, See Invisibility, Spider Climb
3rd: Bestow Curse*, Create Food and Water*, Cure Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic*, Fly, Gaseous Form, Haste, Inflict Serious Wounds, Protection from Energy, Remove Curse, Remove Disease, Slow, Water Breathing, Water Walk
4th: Air Walk, Confusion, Crushing Despair, Cure Critical Wounds, Death Ward, Dimension Door, Dimensional Anchor, Dismissal, Divine Power, Enervation, Freedom of Movement, Greater Invisibility, Inflict Critical Wounds, Lesser Globe of Invulnerability, Neutralise Poison, Poison, Restoration, Polymorph, Spell Immunity, Stoneskin, Tongues
5th: Break Enchantment, Feeblemind, Overland Flight, Righteous Might, Slay Living, Spell Resistance, Teleport,
6th: Antilife Shell*, Disintegrate, Eyebite, Globe of Invulnerability, Greater Dispel Magic*, Greater Heroism, Harm, Heal, Heroes' Feast, Stone to Flesh, Transformation, True Seeing, Wind Walk,
7th: Banishment, Destruction, Finger of Death, Greater Teleport, Insanity, Regenerate, Sequester, Spell turning, Statue, Power Word: Blind,
8th: Greater Spell Immunity, Iron Body, Irresistible Dance, Polar Ray, Polymorph Any Object*, Power Word: Stun, Temporal Stasis
9th: Energy Drain, Freedom, Imprisonment, Power Word: Kill, Time Stop,

Oils

0lvl: Light, Mending, Purify Food and Drink
1st: Hold Portal, Identify, Magic Stone, Magic Weapon
2nd: Darkness, Knock, Make Whole, Spiritual Weapon
3rd: Daylight, Deeper Darkness, Explosive Runes*, Flame Arrow, Greater Magic Weapon, Keen Edge
4th: Fire Trap
5th: Transmute Mud to Rock, Transmute Rock to Mud
6th: Animate Object, Disintegrate
7th: Teleport Object
8th: Polymorph Any Object*
9th: Refuge

Potions which are thrown.

0lvl: Create Water, Dancing Lights
1st: Burning Hands, Floating Disk, Grease, Obscuring Mist
2nd: Fog Cloud, Sound Burst
3rd: Dispel Magic*, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Wind Wall
4th: Black Tentacles, Fear, Ice Storm, Shout, Solid Fog, Wall of Fire*, Wall of Ice
5th: Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, Flame Strike, Mind Fog, Wall of Force
6th: Acid Fog, Blade Barrier, Freezing Sphere, Greater Dispel Magic*
7th: Delayed Blast Fireball, Mage's Sword, Prismatic Spray, Reverse Gravity,
8th: Earthquake, Fire Storm, Greater Shout, Incendiary Cloud, Prismatic Wall, Protection from Spells, Sunburst, Mind Blank, Moment of Prescience
9th: Mage's Disjunction, Meteor Swarm*, Storm of Vengeance

For Bestow Curse, you need to decide what curse to apply when you brew the potion.
For Create Food and Water, you don't make any food but the potion acts as nourishment in its own right, so you may be able to share it between multiple creatures (as per the spell description).
For Dispel Magic and Greater Dispel Magic you need to decide whether you're using a targeted or area dispel when you brew the potion.
For Explosive Runes, you need to choose a message when you brew the potion if you want to throw it. You can choose the message on application if you do that. If you don't choose a message, the spell produces so many random glyphs and swirls.
For Wall of Fire, choose which side radiates heat when you throw it.
For Antilife Shell, the spell is centred on the imbiber or creature struck.
For Polymorph Any Object, you must choose the result of the spell when you make it, but can apply it to any object or creature and thereby determine its duration.
For Meteor Swarm, all the meteors land in the same place.

Sample Potion Maker

Ikari Colenzo
Genderfluid 5th-level potion maker
Medium Humanoid (Human)
Hit Dice:5d6+5 (22 hp)
Initiative:+2
Speed: 30 ft.
Armor Class: 16 (+2 Dex +4 Chain Shirt) Touch 12, Flat-footed 14
BAB/Grapple: +2/+1
Attack: Potion of shocking grasp +4 ranged touch (5d6 electricity) or shortbow +4 ranged (1d6)
Full Attack: 3 potions of shocking grasp +0^* ranged touch (5d6 electricity) or shortbow +4 ranged (1d6) or shortbow +2/+2* ranged (1d6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Potions, Long Hurl +5 ft.
Special Qualities: —
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +4
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Craft (Alchemy) +11, Heal +9, Knowledge (Arcana) +11, Profession (Apothecary) +9, Sleight of Hand +10, Spellcraft +11
Feats: Brew Potion^B, Point Blank Shot^B, Rapid Shot, Two-Weapon Fighting
Environment: Any
Organization: Any
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: Standard including chain shirt , potions, and shortbow
Alignment: Neutral
Advancement: By Class
Level Adjustment: —
* second attack with rapid attack; potion touch attacks require that each attack be made with a potion.
Typical Potions Brewed: Create Water X2, Mending, Purify Food and Drink, Shocking Grasp X4, Cure Moderate Wounds, Fog Cloud, Make Whole, Cure Serious Wounds, Fireball.

Ikari is interested in trading reagents, and tends to the injured at low prices (Spellcasting prices instead of potion prices). If engaged in combat, Ikari uses Fog Cloud to avoid combat and Shocking Grasp to defeat enemies rapidly, preferring to use Fireball to block off a path rather than offensively.

[Jormengand]

We now have a new picture for the class!

...and you know, some critique would be nice...

[Digitalfruitz]

Hey man, really cool class you got here. Do you think it might be a bit like the alchemist?

[Debihuman]

Your Sample potion maker is a tad off. First, it is missing the proper first half (Size, Type, HD, etc.) and then you make a few errors.
1. His hit points should be 22. 5x3.5= 17.5 +5 = 22.5 and you round down to 22.

2. His Dex is too low to qualify for Two Weapon Fighting Feat. Minimum Dex needed is 15 and his is 14.

Increase Dex to 15, This means his Initiative is +2; His AC is is 16 (+2 Dex, Chain Shirt +4), touch 12, flat-footed 14; and his Reflex save is +3. Some numbers are the same because Dex 14 has the same modifier as Dex 15.


2. TWF does not apply to the short bow because he is only wielding one short bow in BOTH his hands. A short bow is a 2-handed weapon and TWF requires you to have a weapon in each hand. This would work if he had 4 hands for example, but as a human, he's stuck with 2 hands.

Two-Weapon Fighting [General]
You can fight with a weapon in each hand. You can make one extra attack each round with the second weapon.
Prerequisite: Dex 15.
Benefit:L Your penalties on attack rolls for fighting with two weapons are reduced. The penalty for your primary hand lessens by 2 and the one for your off hand lessens by 6. See the Two-Weapon Fighting special attack.

Also, you cannot make iterative attacks with potions since each potion can only be thrown once. However, You can throw more than one potion at time. You can throw one potion in each hand with TWF and then you can throw an additional potion with rapid shot. That's 3 potions all at +0 ranged. The iterative attack with a bow means you can shoot more than one arrow at time. You still only shoot 1 bow but multiple times and using more than one arrow. After all, once you fired the arrow, you don't have it to fire again. Ditto with the potions. With a melee weapon, you actually use the same weapon to make the multiple attacks. With ranged weapons it's the ammunition that makes the attacks.

Here is the corrected statistics block in spoiler

Spoiler

Show

Ikari Colenzo
Genderfluid 5th-level potion maker
Medium Humanoid (Human)
Hit Dice:5d6+5 (22 hp)
Initiative:+2
Speed: 30 ft.
Armor Class: 16 (+2 Dex +4 Chain Shirt) Touch 12, Flat-footed 14
BAB/Grapple: +2/+1
Attack: Potion of shocking grasp +4 ranged touch (5d6 electricity) or shortbow +4 ranged (1d6)
Full Attack: 3 potions of shocking grasp +0 ranged touch (5d6 electricity) or shortbow +2/+2 ranged (1d6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Potions, Long Hurl +5 ft.
Special Qualities: —
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +4
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Craft (Alchemy) +11, Heal +9, Knowledge (Arcana) +11, Profession (Apothecary) +9, Sleight of Hand +10, Spellcraft +11
Feats: Brew Potion^B, Point Blank Shot^B, Rapid Shot, Two-Weapon Fighting
Environment: Any
Organization: Any
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: Standard including chain shirt , potions, and shortbow
Alignment: Neutral
Advancement: By Class
Level Adjustment: —
* second attack with rapid attack; potion touch attacks require that each attack be made with a potion.
Typical Potions Brewed: Create Water X2, Mending, Purify Food and Drink, Shocking Grasp X4, Cure Moderate Wounds, Fog Cloud, Make Whole, Cure Serious Wounds, Fireball.

Debby

Corrections made for rapid shot feat, and for treating potions as ranged touch attacks.

[Jormengand]

It has rapid shot; that's why she's making extra attacks with its shortbow even though they're only wielding one, and how he's getting her third potion attack.

[Debihuman]

Aha. That explains the additional attack. Fixed the stat block to include the rapid shot feat in attack lines. It still uses 3 potions but I broke it down by primary and secondary attacks because if you advance by class, the additional attacks from higher BAB come into play.

As sample characters go, this is pretty optimized. Complete Arcane page 73 allows you to use weapon finesse on touch spells (and since the potions are being treated as ranged touch attacks instead of thrown weapons.

How do you use a potion to make a ranged touch attack? Do you have to drink the potion first? You might want to mention that.

Debby

[Jormengand]

How do you use a potion to make a ranged touch attack? Do you have to drink the potion first? You might want to mention that.

You "throw a potion at the target using the target's touch AC (Or flat-footed touch AC for an ally, who makes no attempt to dodge the spell)". This not only strongly implies but outright states that you are throwing the actual potion (it also mentions that "The impact of the potion and the breaking of glass invariably deals negligible damage, no matter how painful it might be!", just in cast you weren't sure that the potion was being thrown).

[Debihuman]

Technically, the Full attack line could be written as:
Full Attack: 3 potions of shocking grasp + 0 ranged touch (5d6 electricity).

This assumes that throwing a potion is like throwing a splash weapon as stated above. Potions do not get iterative attacks. You can only throw each potion once.

Debby