Fixing the Alchemist
Revision by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
Welcome to Caverns and Creature’s Alchemist Revised!
The following content is unofficial material seeking to overhaul the Artificer subclass from the Artificer class presented in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.
This revision looks to address the following elements of the subclass:
Deliver on the fantasy of the artificer who brews varied potions to support for the party
Enhance its combat options to better match the competing artificer subclasses
Gain powerful features capable of competing closer to the full-caster classes in the upper tiers of play
Revised Alchemist
The following table denotes the features of this revised Alchemist subclass. Features in bold are new, features in plain text are unaltered from the original version, features with an * are altered versions of the original feature, and features struck through have been removed.
Alchemist Table
| Artificer Level | Feature | |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Tool Proficiency, Alchemist Spells, | |
| 5th | ||
| 9th | Restorative Reagents* | |
| 15th | Chemical Mastery*, Miracle Elixir |
Tool Proficiency
3rd level Alchemist feature
You gain proficiency with alchemist's supplies. If you already have this proficiency, you gain proficiency with one other type of artisan's tools of your choice.
Alchemist Spells
3rd level Alchemist feature
You always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Alchemist Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.
Alchemist Spells
| Artificer Level | Alchemist Spells | |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Healing Word, Ray of Sickness | |
| 5th | Flaming Sphere, Acid Arrow | |
| 9th | Gaseous Form, Mass Healing Word | |
| 13th | Blight, Death Ward | |
| 17th | Cloudkill, Raise Dead |
Potion Brewing
New 3rd level Alchemist Feature
You have a magical formula book containing recipes for brewing potions.
Brewing Potions. Over an hour as part of a long rest, you can brew different potions equal to your proficiency bonus using your alchemist’s supplies using the formula from your book. These potions and their effects last for up to 24 hours or until you brew potions with this ability again. If a potion has the DM choose an element of it during creation, you choose upon its creation instead.
Your book contains the formula for Potions of Healing, which you can create using your alchemist’s supplies instead of an herbalism kit. It additionally contains two additional formulas you can select from the Potion Formulas table you meet the prerequisites for.
Gaining New Formulas. At every odd level, you can add a formula you meet the prerequisite for from the Potion Formulas table to your formula book. Additionally, you can spend an hour and gold as part of a short or long rest copying a formula you’ve acquired elsewhere into your formula book.
The gold required to copy a formula for the first time is 50 for a common formula, 500 for an uncommon formula, 5,000 for a rare formula, and 50,000 for a very rare formula.
Spare Formula Books. You can copy a formula from your formula book into another book. Doing so takes 10 minutes, and has no additional costs to you.
Replacing a Formula Book. If you lose your formula book, you can use the same procedure as creating a spare formula book to copy all of the formulas you’ve obtained with this subclass into the new book.
Potion Formulas
The following potion formulas can be added to your formula book should you meet the prerequisites artificer level for it.
Potion Formulas Table
| Prerequisite | Potion |
|---|---|
| - | Oil of Slipperiness |
| - | Philter of Love |
| - | Potion of Animal Friendship |
| - | Potion of Climbing |
| - | Potion of Fire Breath |
| - | Potion of Growth |
| - | Potion of Poison |
| - | Potion of Resistance |
| - | Potion of Water Breathing |
| 5th level | Elixir of Health |
| 5th level | Potion of Clairvoyance |
| 5th level | Potion of Diminution |
| 5th level | Potion of Gaseous Form |
| 5th level | Potion of Heroism |
| 5th level | Potion of Invulnerability |
| 5th level | Potion of Mind Reading |
| 5th level | Potion of Greater Healing |
| 9th level | Potion of Flying |
| 9th level | Potion of Invisibility |
| 9th level | Potion of Haste |
| 9th level | Potion of Superior Healing |
| 13th level | Oil of Etherealness |
| 13th level | Potion of Stone Giant Strength |
| 13th level | Potion of Longevity |
| 13th level | Potion of Supreme Healing |
| 13th level | Potion of Vitality |
| 17th level | Potion of Sharpness |
Volatile Concoctions
New 3rd level Alchemist Feature
As an action while holding your alchemist’s supplies, you lob a volatile concoction at a creature within 30 feet of you. That creature makes a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, taking 2d6+ your Intelligence modifier acid, cold, fire, or poison damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a success. The damage dice increase as you gain levels in this class- 3d6 at 7th level, 4d6 at 13th level, and 5d6 at 17th level.
As a bonus action on your turn, you can augment any volatile concoctions you use that turn. Augmenting them in this way reduces their damage by 1d6 to add an additional effect. The additional effects can be any of the following:
Sculpted Blast. Your concoction explodes in a sculpted area; either each other creature within 5 feet of the target or each creature in a 5 x 15 ft. line behind the target makes a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, taking the attack’s damage on a failed save and half as much damage on a success.
Distracting Fumes. Each creature damaged by the concoction makes a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC, and has disadvantage on their next weapon attack roll on a failed save.
Smoke. Until the start of your next turn, the space the creature occupies becomes filled with black smoke, heavily obscuring the area.
You can add multiple augments as part of the same bonus action, each subtracting 1d6 from the damage dealt. You can’t add the same augment more than once to a concoction.
Chemical Burns
New 5th-level Alchemist feature
Creatures damaged by your volatile concoctions take 1d6 damage of the concoctions type at the start of their next turn. This bonus damage increases to 2d6 at 15th level. Additionally, you gain the following augmentations you can apply to your concoctions:
Blinding Reagent. Creatures damaged by your concoction make a Constitution saving throw, becoming blinded until the start of your next turn on a failed save. Creatures blinded this way or that pass the save become immune to this effect for 24 hours.
Sticky Fluid. Damaged creatures’ speed is halved until the start of your next turn.
Restorative Reagents
Adjusted 9th level feature
You may incorporate restorative reagents into your potions. When you brew a potion with your Potion Brewing feature, you can infuse restorative reagents into it.
Whenever a creature drinks a potion infused with restorative reagents, the creature regains hit points equal to 2d6 + your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1 temporary hit point).
If that creature regains more hit points than they have lost, it gains temporary hit points equal to the remaining hit points you would regain.
Chemical Mastery
Adjusted 15th-level Alchemist feature
You gain resistance to acid damage and poison damage, and you are now immune to the poisoned condition.
Additionally, you can augment your volatile concoctions in the following ways:
Paralyzing Toxins. Creatures damaged by the concoction make a Constitution saving throw, becoming paralyzed until the start of your next turn on a failed save. A creature that passes the save can take either an action, bonus action, or move on its next turn, and can’t take reactions.
Explosive Reaction. The concoction’s damage is increased by 14d6.
Once you augment your volatile concoction with one of these augmentations, you can’t augment it with the same augmentation again until you finish a short rest.
Miracle Elixir
New 15th-level Alchemist feature
As an action, you conjure and administer or throw a powerful, unstable miracle elixir using your alchemist’s supplies. Choose either rolling twice or rolling three times on the Experimental Elixir table.
If you rolled twice, choose one of the rolled effects. If you rolled three times, choose two of the rolled effects. The elixir becomes imbued with the chosen results. If you administer the elixir, either you or an ally you can touch drinks the elixir, gaining the effects. If you throw the elixir, choose a 5 ft. area within 20 feet of you to throw the elixir. Creatures within the area make a saving throw against your spell save DC or succumb to the effects of the elixir.
A creature affected by a condition can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect early on a success.
Miracle Elixir Table
| d20 | Effect | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The creature suffers the effects of the Slow spell for 1 minute, or until the start of your next turn on a successful save. | |
| 2 | The creature takes 100 acid damage, or 50 on a successful save. | |
| 3 | The creature is deafened, blinded, and stunned for 1 minute or until the start of your next turn on a successful save. | |
| 4 | The creature’s form shrinks for 1 minute as if under the Reduce effect of Enlarge/Reduce, and its maximum hit points are halved. | |
| 5 | The creature chooses the target of its attacks and abilities at random (which can include itself) for 1 minute, or until the start of your next turn on a successful save. | |
| 6 | The creature becomes Charmed by every creature it can sense for 1 minute, or until the start of your next turn on a successful save. | |
| 7 | The creature takes 10d6 fire damage at the start of each of its turns for 1 minute, or until the start of your next turn on a successful save. | |
| 8 | The creature subtracts a d12 from its attack and weapon damage rolls for 1 minute, or until the start of your next turn on a successful save. | |
| 9 | The creature’s Intelligence is reduced to 3 for 1 minute, or until the start of your next turn on a successful save. | |
| 10 | The creature applies a -10 penalty to their Strength score for 1 minute, or until the start of your next turn on a successful save. | |
| 11 | The creature gains a +10 to their Strength score for 1 minute. | |
| 12 | The creature’s Intelligence becomes 26 for 1 minute. | |
| 13 | The creature automatically passes Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws for 1 minute. | |
| 14 | The creature’s form grows as if under the effect of Enlarge/Reduce, and it gains 100 temporary hit points. | |
| 15 | The creature has immunity to acid, cold, fire, lightning, and poison damage for 1 minute. | |
| 16 | The creature adds a d12 to its attack and weapon damage roll it makes for 1 minute. | |
| 17 | The creature regains 15 hit points at the start of each of its turns for 1 minute. | |
| 18 | The creature gains resistance to all damage for 1 minute. | |
| 19 | The creature can teleport to a space it can sense within 120 feet of it as part of its movement each turn for 1 minute. | |
| 20 | If the creature died within the last minute, they’re returned to life with all of its hit points. Otherwise, it regains 600 hit points. |
Reasoning with the Redesign
Tool Proficiency and Alchemist Spells stay the same to keep the option in line mechanically with its counterparts.
Experimental Elixir is removed, and its core mechanic is replaced with a new feature at the option’s capstone. While it can be exciting early, the passive boons aren’t compelling for long, and its variance and costs don’t scale or line up with how most other options in the game can progress.
Potion Brewing is a new feature to give alchemists the ability to create single-use temporary potions from the DMG each long rest, with a growing formula book similar to a spell book.
Volatile Concoctions is better than a cantrip, worse than feat-empowered attacks, and gives Alchemists their big bump in damage per round while coming with flexible bonuses you can tinker with. This feature is in most need of revising and tinkering; the core mechanics I think have potential.
Alchemical Savant is removed; it improves an already weak feature you’re going to feel bad using in a way that isn’t meaningful enough. There isn’t anything worth salvaging here.
Chemical Burns adds persistent damage to your Volatile Concoctions and comes with two new augments to add variety to your round-to-round combat.
Restorative Reagents has been redesigned to work instead with Potion Brewing, and restores hit points in place of only granting temporary hit points.
Chemical Mastery has lost the means of casting Greater Restoration and Heal, and instead has two new explosive, once per short rest augmentations to improve your volatile concoctions
Miracle Elixir closes out the option with a splashy, high variance, high-powered ability that rewards risk-taking and quick thinking.
Thanks for checking this out; give it a spin, and let us know your feedback! Thanks for reading!
Thank you for visiting!
If you’d like to support this ongoing project, you can do so by buying my books, getting some sweet C&C merch, or joining my Patreon.
The text on this page is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.
‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
and are used according to the terms of the d20 System License version 6.0.
A copy of this License can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.