So I've long not been happy with the random nature of the Alchemist feature Experimental Elixir. It doesn't really evoke the feel of learning through experimentation to me, and some of the elixirs (while useful) are kind of dull so I'd very much like increased options. Honestly what Experimental Elixir looks like to me is something like Artificer Infusions but for Potions. But balancing out a whole list of existing potions for Experimental Elixir choices kind of intimidates me. It'd be easy to just pick them by rarity but there are some super strong Uncommon potions out there. And by level 10 those can be fast crafted due to an Artificer's level 10 feature.
So after looking through various books I instead made a small list based on common magic items and a couple of poisons which would be thematically appropriate for an Alchemist.
Things remaining the same: Can still spend a spell slot to make additional elixirs. Elixirs prepared the previous day still expire at the end of a long rest. (Stockpiling potions seems to me better done with crafting anyway.) As an action, a creature can drink the elixir or administer it to an incapacitated creature. At level 9 the creatures get 2d6+INT hit points
Changes: Daily randomness removed. You pick what elixirs you want to prepare after a long rest. At level 3 you know 4 elixirs instead of 6. You learn one additional elixir as you reach certain levels. (6, 10, 14, 18) The number of elixirs you can prepare at the end of a long rest is equal to the number of infused items you can have active at once as shown in the infused items column for the Artificer. Some elixirs can be applied differently. (Perfume of Bewitching and Essence of Ether). Swiftness Elixir replaced with Agility which combines the effects of the Longstrider and Jump spells.
Level 3: 4 Elixirs known, can make 2 at the end of a long rest. Level 6: 5 Elixirs known, can make 3 at the end of a long rest. Level 10: 6 Elixirs known, can make 4 at the end of a long rest. Level 14: 7 Elixirs known, can make 5 at the end of a long rest. Level 18: 8 Elixirs known, can make 6 at the end of a long rest.
When you learn an elixir you can either select one or roll to select an elixir rerolling as needed if you roll an elixir you already know. When you level up you can replace an elixir known with another through the same method.
Healing. The drinker regains a number of hit points equal to 2d4 + your Intelligence modifier.
Agility. The drinker's jump distance triples and speed increases by 10 feet for 10 minutes.
Resilience. The drinker gains a +1 bonus to AC for 10 minutes.
Boldness. The drinker can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to every attack roll and saving throw they make for the next minute.
Flight. The drinker gains a flying speed of 10 feet for 10 minutes.
Transformation. The drinker's body is transformed as if by the alter self spell. The drinker determines the transformation caused by the spell, the effects of which last for 10 minutes.
Perfume of Bewitching. You can use an action to apply the perfume to a creature, and its effect lasts 1 hour. For the duration, the creature has advantage on all Charisma checks directed at humanoids of challenge rating 1 or lower. Those subjected to the perfume's effect are not aware that they've been influenced by magic.
Potion of Watchful Rest. For the next 8 hours magic can't put the drinker to sleep and the drinker can remain awake during a long rest and still gain it's benefits.
Truth Serum (Ingested) - A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell DC or become poisoned for 1 hour. The poisoned creature can't knowingly speak a lie, as if under the effect of a zone of truth spell.
Essence of Ether (Inhaled) - A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell DC or become poisoned for 8 hours. The poisoned creature is unconscious. The creature wakes up if it takes damage or if another creature takes an action to shake it awake.
Notes: So the above options shouldn't be too game breaking for an Alchemist at level 3. Warlocks get an invocation that allows them to stay awake through long rests around this time. And a Steel Defender cannot be surprised and is immune to exhaustion making them the perfect all night watchdog. Differences between Sleep and essence of ether is the area of effect (inhaled poison effects within a 5 foot cube vs 20 ft radius sphere of sleep spell), difference of immunity (poisoned condition vs the charmed condition), and a con save vs hp.
Major difference in the durations though. If it feels too strong consider a reduced duration and/or removing the poisoned condition when the creature is woken up.
It is admittedly a little weird for poisons to grant temporary HP (which would do for a level 9 alchemist) seeing as those are meant mostly to be used against enemies, however since the goal of essence of ether is to put a creature to sleep temp HP wouldn't interfere in a nonlethal take down, or say putting a creature to sleep for the purposes of performing surgery. And temp hp on truth serum... well. For certain forms of *ahem* interrogation it's a plus.
Might rule that the temp HP doesn't apply to poisons.
Basing things off of how infusions work should let this expand pretty nicely with additional options for elixirs but naturally I'd suggest picking level requirements for more powerful infusions as appropriate.
For example I'd put a Potion of Resistance at a minimum level requirement of 6. Which is when resistance armor becomes an available infusion. Even then that might seriously be pushing it since Protection from Energy is a 3rd level spell requiring concentration. So maybe I'd require a 3rd level spell slot for making additional elixirs beyond the ordinary number per long rest, maybe I'd require a higher minimum level requirement.
Or... maybe I'd chicken out on that aspect and just not include it as an Elixir option at all.
was absolutely fine before but more options = more fun, also temp hp damage ins not actiual damage, so it would actually help keep the target asleep
i would have prefered simply letting the artificer cast certain spells in the potion format, specifically they can make an potion of (spell) by expending an spell slot of the spells level or higher, to let an creature who drinks the potion have its effects without concentration
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i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
was absolutely fine before but more options = more fun, also temp hp damage ins not actiual damage, so it would actually help keep the target asleep
i would have prefered simply letting the artificer cast certain spells in the potion format, specifically they can make an potion of (spell) by expending an spell slot of the spells level or higher, to let an creature who drinks the potion have its effects without concentration
That's already part of the base class with spell storing item at level 11 and it's limited to levels 1 and 2. Or rather the concentration is done by the one holding the item. Doing that with potions as well would be a bit too similar in my opinion, and ignoring concentration outright might be too powerful.
It's not unbalancable with the right spells persay but I wanted to focus more on magic items/poisons rather than just replicating spells since magic items in general are one of my favorite parts of D&D.
That's a really good point on the temp hp. I hadn't thought of that, that really makes it a good boost... with the downside of giving an enemy who succeeds on the saving throw temporary hp anyway. Higher risk, higher reward I guess?
Why didn't you just make potions made per long rest scale with Intelligence modifier or Proficiency bonus? Not criticizing, just curious.
Scaling with intelligence modifier or proficiency bonus would make it scale outside of Artificer levels. So a level 3 Alchemist X Wizard multiclass would have gotten the same number of free elixirs per day as a single class Alchemist. Keeping it to the number of infusions makes one less number to keep track of while also allowing it to increase with character level.
I also did a houseruling for the experimental elixirs. I used your idea of tying them to the number of Infusions. The other thing I did (instead of changing the elixirs or omitting the random factor) was to make it so instead of every elixir disappearing after a long rest, the character could instead choose to “maintain” unused elixirs in lue of making new ones in the morning. So if they could make 4 free elixirs/LR and they have 3 leftover elixirs (both free random ones, or slot purchased ones) and would like to keep 2 of them, then the next morning instead of making 4 new random elixirs they could keep the 2 they want, and only make 2 more new ones at random.
I also give Alchemists the old Alchemical Homunculus if they take that infusion instead of the regular one. The last thing I did was give them a nerfed satchel back with only four options: fire, acid (both nerfed down to Cantrip level), smoke, and tanglefoot. And they only get a number of uses/LE = INT mod.
All that made it less bookkeeping, but still let’s them be more “alchemical.”
Could you give an example of what you did with an Alchemist Satchel? :)
I gave them a number of uses/LR=Int Mod. Each use costs an action but they can throw as part of that same action. Their choice of “alchemical fire,” “alchemical solvent,” “alchemical adhesive,” or “alchemical smoke.”
”Alchemical Fire” is like Acid Splash that does fire damage.
“Alchemical Solvent” is like sort of like a Cantrip that does between 1d4 and 4d4 acid damage and then half as much again on the next turn like a nerfed, Cantrip level Acid Arrow.
“Alchemical Adhesive” is basically a [Tooltip Not Found].
So I've long not been happy with the random nature of the Alchemist feature Experimental Elixir. It doesn't really evoke the feel of learning through experimentation to me, and some of the elixirs (while useful) are kind of dull so I'd very much like increased options. Honestly what Experimental Elixir looks like to me is something like Artificer Infusions but for Potions. But balancing out a whole list of existing potions for Experimental Elixir choices kind of intimidates me. It'd be easy to just pick them by rarity but there are some super strong Uncommon potions out there. And by level 10 those can be fast crafted due to an Artificer's level 10 feature.
So after looking through various books I instead made a small list based on common magic items and a couple of poisons which would be thematically appropriate for an Alchemist.
Things remaining the same:
Can still spend a spell slot to make additional elixirs.
Elixirs prepared the previous day still expire at the end of a long rest. (Stockpiling potions seems to me better done with crafting anyway.)
As an action, a creature can drink the elixir or administer it to an incapacitated creature.
At level 9 the creatures get 2d6+INT hit points
Changes:
Daily randomness removed. You pick what elixirs you want to prepare after a long rest.
At level 3 you know 4 elixirs instead of 6. You learn one additional elixir as you reach certain levels. (6, 10, 14, 18)
The number of elixirs you can prepare at the end of a long rest is equal to the number of infused items you can have active at once as shown in the infused items column for the Artificer.
Some elixirs can be applied differently. (Perfume of Bewitching and Essence of Ether).
Swiftness Elixir replaced with Agility which combines the effects of the Longstrider and Jump spells.
Level 3: 4 Elixirs known, can make 2 at the end of a long rest.
Level 6: 5 Elixirs known, can make 3 at the end of a long rest.
Level 10: 6 Elixirs known, can make 4 at the end of a long rest.
Level 14: 7 Elixirs known, can make 5 at the end of a long rest.
Level 18: 8 Elixirs known, can make 6 at the end of a long rest.
When you learn an elixir you can either select one or roll to select an elixir rerolling as needed if you roll an elixir you already know. When you level up you can replace an elixir known with another through the same method.
Notes:
So the above options shouldn't be too game breaking for an Alchemist at level 3. Warlocks get an invocation that allows them to stay awake through long rests around this time. And a Steel Defender cannot be surprised and is immune to exhaustion making them the perfect all night watchdog.
Differences between Sleep and essence of ether is the area of effect (inhaled poison effects within a 5 foot cube vs 20 ft radius sphere of sleep spell), difference of immunity (poisoned condition vs the charmed condition), and a con save vs hp.
Major difference in the durations though. If it feels too strong consider a reduced duration and/or removing the poisoned condition when the creature is woken up.
It is admittedly a little weird for poisons to grant temporary HP (which would do for a level 9 alchemist) seeing as those are meant mostly to be used against enemies, however since the goal of essence of ether is to put a creature to sleep temp HP wouldn't interfere in a nonlethal take down, or say putting a creature to sleep for the purposes of performing surgery. And temp hp on truth serum... well. For certain forms of *ahem* interrogation it's a plus.
Might rule that the temp HP doesn't apply to poisons.
Basing things off of how infusions work should let this expand pretty nicely with additional options for elixirs but naturally I'd suggest picking level requirements for more powerful infusions as appropriate.
For example I'd put a Potion of Resistance at a minimum level requirement of 6. Which is when resistance armor becomes an available infusion. Even then that might seriously be pushing it since Protection from Energy is a 3rd level spell requiring concentration. So maybe I'd require a 3rd level spell slot for making additional elixirs beyond the ordinary number per long rest, maybe I'd require a higher minimum level requirement.
Or... maybe I'd chicken out on that aspect and just not include it as an Elixir option at all.
was absolutely fine before but more options = more fun, also temp hp damage ins not actiual damage, so it would actually help keep the target asleep
i would have prefered simply letting the artificer cast certain spells in the potion format, specifically they can make an potion of (spell) by expending an spell slot of the spells level or higher, to let an creature who drinks the potion have its effects without concentration
i am soup, with too many ideas (all of them very spicy) who has made sufficient homebrew material and character to last an thousand human lifetimes
Why didn't you just make potions made per long rest scale with Intelligence modifier or Proficiency bonus? Not criticizing, just curious.
That's already part of the base class with spell storing item at level 11 and it's limited to levels 1 and 2. Or rather the concentration is done by the one holding the item. Doing that with potions as well would be a bit too similar in my opinion, and ignoring concentration outright might be too powerful.
It's not unbalancable with the right spells persay but I wanted to focus more on magic items/poisons rather than just replicating spells since magic items in general are one of my favorite parts of D&D.
That's a really good point on the temp hp. I hadn't thought of that, that really makes it a good boost... with the downside of giving an enemy who succeeds on the saving throw temporary hp anyway. Higher risk, higher reward I guess?
Scaling with intelligence modifier or proficiency bonus would make it scale outside of Artificer levels. So a level 3 Alchemist X Wizard multiclass would have gotten the same number of free elixirs per day as a single class Alchemist.
Keeping it to the number of infusions makes one less number to keep track of while also allowing it to increase with character level.
I also did a houseruling for the experimental elixirs. I used your idea of tying them to the number of Infusions. The other thing I did (instead of changing the elixirs or omitting the random factor) was to make it so instead of every elixir disappearing after a long rest, the character could instead choose to “maintain” unused elixirs in lue of making new ones in the morning. So if they could make 4 free elixirs/LR and they have 3 leftover elixirs (both free random ones, or slot purchased ones) and would like to keep 2 of them, then the next morning instead of making 4 new random elixirs they could keep the 2 they want, and only make 2 more new ones at random.
I also give Alchemists the old Alchemical Homunculus if they take that infusion instead of the regular one. The last thing I did was give them a nerfed satchel back with only four options: fire, acid (both nerfed down to Cantrip level), smoke, and tanglefoot. And they only get a number of uses/LE = INT mod.
All that made it less bookkeeping, but still let’s them be more “alchemical.”
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Could you give an example of what you did with an Alchemist Satchel? :)
I gave them a number of uses/LR=Int Mod. Each use costs an action but they can throw as part of that same action. Their choice of “alchemical fire,” “alchemical solvent,” “alchemical adhesive,” or “alchemical smoke.”
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