Alchemists
Alchemists create tools and substances from magical materials. Their craft serves on the battlefield and at the healer’s bench alike – turning rare reagents into munitions, tonics, salves, bombs, and even temporary constructs.
Special Features
Transmutation
Spontaneous creations are called transmutations and come in three broad types.
Permanent
Permanent transmutations require ample preparation and execution time. The resulting item is durable and behaves like a regular piece of equipment.
Volatile
Fast, combat‑ready workings cast on the fly. Their effects fade quickly (after one Phase, unless specified otherwise) and the product crumbles to dust afterward.
Construction
Constructions are a subtype of permanent transmutations, mostly encompassing the creation of golems and similarly complex structures.
Focus Gloves
Alchemists use focus gloves inscribed with alchemical runes to safely channel volatile transmutations. The gloves’ Armor Value (AV) equals the value of their mundane counterpart (e.g., cloth, leather).
Alchemical Schools
Mechanics
The creation of devices and constructs: everything from firearms and ammunition to golems and specialized tools.
Pharmacy
The brewing of poisons, remedies, and diverse chemical compounds.
Elements
Basic Elements
The four basic elements Water, Stone, Fire, and Air are the core of alchemy. Cores and dust of those elements are relatively easy to obtain by drawing them from ambient mana or slaying elementals.
Derivative Elements
There are countless derivative elements, but only the following two are stable enough to use offensively:
Ice: Water + Stone
Lightning: Fire + Air
Aether
Aether, known among wizards as "the Arcane", is understood by alchemists as the critical link between mass and elemental energy. Many devote themselves to its study, but few ever manage to grasp more than the very basics of its workings, since it seems to respond more to intent than any measurable factors.
Most alchemists grudgingly accept it as the unknowable foundation of their craft and simply rely on it behaving in accordance with their wishes and experience.
School Specialization (Proficiency Value)
Mechanics
Each point in Mechanics increases damage, DC, SA, and SD of all mechanical munitions and spells by 1. Additionally, the damage dealt by constructed golems is increased by 1.
Pharmacy
Each point in Pharmacy increases damage, DC, SA, and SD of all pharmaceutical munitions and spells by 1. Additionally, the DC of pharmaceutically caused status effects is increased by 1.
Golems
Alchemists are adept at creating golems, mechanical constructs with a wide range of customization options.
Golem Cores
Golems require artificial "cores", small computing units the size of a marble that essentially serve as the construct's brain. The artificial spirits inhabiting these cores are soul-bound to their creator, meaning that they can only be used by the Alchemist who made them.
Golem cores are universal, meaning that the same core could control a tiny or large golem. They can be reused as many times as the Alchemist pleases, as long as they are not destroyed.
Core Damage
Since cores are a golem's central processing unit, they occupy the Head hit zone, regardless of their actual location in the golem's body.
Whenever a golem takes a core wound, it must succeed on a CON save against 10 + [Total Wounds], or it is considered inoperable (functionally Unconscious) until the damage is repaired.
Core Destruction
Repairing a completely destroyed core takes as long as creating a new one, provided there are no pieces missing.
Core Generations
Golem cores range from simple models to highly complex supercomputers. They are the defining factor of the resulting golem's overall strength, represented by their creature level:
Core Mk. I: Level 10
Core Mk. II: Level 20
Core Mk. III: Level 30
Etc.
See: Golem Statblocks
Golem Sizes
Golems come in four standardized sizes: Tiny, Small, Medium, and Large.
Tiny
Tiny golems are usually insect-like – diminutive and nimble. They are mostly useless in combat due to their inherent fragility and inability to equip Golem Kits, but they can serve as reliable scouting tools.
Small
Small golems tend to be bipedal humanoids around the height of a dwarf, but spindly limbs and lack of armor plating give them an unsettling appearance.
Their role in combat is often that of an assassin, rapidly engaging soft targets from unexpected angles and then retreating to avoid destruction.
Medium
Medium golems are the most commonly used type, with a humanoid build, balanced attributes, and a variety of equipment options. In combat, they can serve as physical damage dealers, body guards, or highly durable distractions.
Large
Due to their immense ressource requirements, large golems aren't usually deployed in combat. Instead, their absurd strength and resilience are used for construction projects, logistics, and other manual labor.
Despite this, they are slow, but terrifying combatants best suited for perimeter defense, deterrence, and breaching fortified enemy positions.
Golem Control
Giving Orders
To give a golem new orders, an Alchemist must as a Free Action invest Concentration for the turn. This is only possible if the golem is within 20 meters of its creator.
Once given orders, the Golem will continue to follow them until it is rendered inoperable through damage or lack of fuel.
Order Complexity
The intelligence of artificial spirits inhabiting Golem cores depends on the core's generation. Better cores can follow more complex and less specific instructions.
Core Mk. I: TBI
Core Mk. II: TBI
Core Mk. III: TBI
Etc.
Golem Fuel
Golems require elemental energy to run. This is represented by their EN value. They are not picky eaters; any element type will do.
Refueling
To refuel a golem, the Alchemist must insert elemental cores or similar sources of elemental energy into its refueling port. The amount of EN restored depends on the grade of the fuel:
Dust: 1 EN
Core, weak: 10 EN
Core, normal: 20 EN
Core, strong: 40 EN
Idle Drain
Active golems steadily lose energy each day. For a tiny golem, this drain is 1 EN each day, increasing by 1 for each size class above tiny.
Golem Materials
Golems can be made from either Stone or Metal. Stone is much easier to obtain in large quantities, while highly expensive metal golems offer the following benefits:
Efficiency
When refueling metal golems, they regain twice the EN.
Resilience
Metal golems have Resistance Sharp.
Transmuted Weapons
Alchemist spells can create various ranged weapons. These weapons count as regular weapons, meaning they can be used in conjunction with combat skills and perks.
Proficiency
The Alchemist proficiency counts as weapon proficiency for transmuted weapons, including all bonuses this entails, e.g., an additional unmodified basic attack at Adept rank.
The Alchemist's Mechanics value counts as weapon proficiency value.
Attack Value
The attack value formula of transmuted weapons is as follows:
[Mechanics] + INT-MOD
Damage
The damage of transmuted weapons is entirely dependent on the used ammunition. They do not have base damage.