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Alchemist Kit for Mages v1.1

semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
edited May 2019 in General Modding
I've long dreamt of creating an Alchemist class, and with help from @kjeron, @subtledoctor, and @Demivrgvs, I've finally put it together.

The Alchemist kit has fewer spell slots than any other mage, but it can create unique potions very unlike the kind you find in the original games, plus several types of highly volatile grenades. This kit adds 34 new items with vivid descriptions and novel effects, from a sickening healing potion in the form of Vampire Milk...

...to a lovable lump of moss that can raise the dead...

...to weirder things like Elf Tendon Wands, Snake Lymph, Bonemeal Eyedrops, Blood Nectar, Fairy Oil, and apocalyptic 953-pound War Engines. All of the icons are taken from Icewind Dale 2 to give them a unique feel. Bear in mind that your Paladin may decline to use some of the Alchemist's less vegetarian options (as ingesting the blood of children is frowned upon in some circles).

I've taken the kit through BG1, SoD, BG2, and ToB, making sure the kit is balanced and bug-free. The Alchemist is a unique support character that can do a variety of different things, but getting the most out of the Alchemist's items costs hundreds of gold in the early game, and thousands if not tens of thousands of gold in the end game. But it's worth it.

Kit description:

Alchemists are mages who dedicate their lives to the study of chemistry and potionmaking. Some use their talents to sell potions and tonics, some turn their skills to adventuring, and others are motivated solely by the pursuit of truth. Alchemists are always searching for new ingredients to fuel their businesses and laboratories, and when the local economy falls short of their expectations, the Alchemist must set out on foot. Alchemists excel at making valuable brews and dangerous explosives out of whatever ingredients they can cobble together.

CLASS FEATURES:

Alchemical Genius:
- Can create potions and grenades at any time outside combat. Alchemists get additional benefits from their own potions.
- Can use Poison Weapon once per day at level 1. Gains an additional use of Poison Weapon every 4 levels after.

Alchemical Resilience:
- Immunity to poison
- 10% acid resistance per level
- 5% fire resistance per level
- Gains 1d6 hit points per level
- +1 to save vs. death and polymorph every 3 levels

Specialization:
- Can memorize 1 fewer spell per spell level compared to a generalist mage (an Alchemist cannot cast spells until level 2)
- -1 penalty to casting time
- -2 penalty to caster level
- Cannot gain most normal mage High-Level Abilities

CONCOCTIONS: Given the right ingredients, an Alchemist can concoct any manner of potions and brews. The process is similar to purchasing goods at a store, but the Alchemist can manage ingredients much more efficiently, making his or her concoctions much less expensive than a conventional apothecary's.

More experienced Alchemists can brew a broader variety of potions and manufacture stronger explosives. There is no limit on how many potions and grenades an Alchemist can create, provided he or she has the resources to make them.

POISON WEAPON: The same skills the Alchemist uses to create potions to soothe pain can also be used to inflict it. The Alchemist can apply a thin coating of poison to a weapon, directly injecting the toxin into the victim's bloodstream. Multiple strikes can further poison the target, but only one dose of poison can be applied to the weapon. Alchemists can develop deadlier poisons as they become more experienced.

For the next 2 rounds after using this ability, any creature the Alchemist attacks must make a saving throw or suffer poison damage for the next 5 rounds. The effects stack and vary based on level:

Level 1: 1d2 poison damage, plus 1 damage per round on a failed save vs. death at +4.
Level 4: 1d3 poison damage, plus 2 damage per round on a failed save vs. death at +3.
Level 7: 1d4 poison damage, plus 3 damage per round on a failed save vs. death at +2.
Level 10: 1d6 poison damage, plus 4 damage per round on a failed save vs. death at +1.
Level 13: 1d8 poison damage, plus 5 damage per round on a failed save vs. death.
Level 16: 1d10 poison damage, plus 6 damage per round on a failed save vs. death at -1.
Level 19: 1d12 poison damage, plus 6 damage per round on a failed save vs. death at -2.

The poison cannot be applied to a grenade.

High-Level Abilities:
- Use Any Item
- Regeneration
- Resist Magic
- Purity of Body
- Business Connections
- Extra Level 6 Spell
- Extra Level 7 Spell
- Extra Level 8 Spell

- Hit Die: d6

You can download the kit at the bottom of this post, as a .rar file or a .zip file. The most recent version is recommended for balance reasons, but if you like, you can download the less-balanced earlier version, which allows the player to sell normal potions to the Alchemist Workshop and has some un-nerfed items.
Post edited by semiticgoddess on
Mantis37CrevsDaakIllustairKamigoroshidunbarFlashburnGrammarsaladmegas_archonStefanOJuliusBorisovwoowoovoodoomf2112RaduzielZaghoul
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Comments

  • Mantis37Mantis37 Member Posts: 1,173
    Nice, might give it to Xzar next run through BG1 :).
    CrevsDaaksemiticgoddess
  • Neat! I agree, this is a good fit for Xzar.
    semiticgoddess
  • IllustairIllustair Member Posts: 877
    Looks very cool! I like the concept! Do you have a list for the potions? Can't say I like the children's blood though, and I'm not even a paladin.
  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    As I'm still playing v1.3 would I be able to get the BG2EE file to work in BG1EE?
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @dunbar: No idea. I'm unfamiliar with v1.3--I don't know if this mod is compatible. You'd just have to install it and see.

    But the only difference between the BG2:EE and BG:EE versions of the Alchemist kit is that they use a few different string references. Using the incorrect one just shows some weird strings when a character gets stunned; otherwise they're identical.
    dunbar
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    @semiticgod: Any chance you could also provide an IWD:EE version as well? The adventrous Alchemist could find many exotic compounds within the frozen wastes of Icewind Dale methinks. Like Yeti blubber, Yuan-ti glands or the legendary Verbeeg boogers.
    semiticgoddessGrammarsaladCrevsDaak
  • GrammarsaladGrammarsalad Member Posts: 2,582
    Very cool, very interesting concept!
    semiticgoddessKamigoroshiCrevsDaak
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @Kamigoroshi: I might wait until IWD:EE version 2.x comes out, just in case there are any 2.x oddities that may mess with the kit, or any new features that I may want to take into account.

    I may or may not tweak the items to suit the new environment. The Purified Ichor at least will need a new description, since it refers to taking blood from a Bhaalspawn. And there may be a need for re-balancing, since IWD:EE gameplay is so different from that of the BG saga.
    KamigoroshiCrevsDaak
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Confirmed: mage kits do not install properly on the current version of IWD:EE. I will need to wait until version 2.x comes out.

    @dunbar: This probably means the kit won't install on 1.3 in the BG games either. Let me know if you've found otherwise.
  • AWizardDidItAWizardDidIt Member Posts: 197
    This is fantastic semiticgod, nice work. Definitely giving this a look.
    semiticgoddessCrevsDaak
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    semiticgoddessGrammarsaladCrevsDaakAquadrizzt
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155

    You can add a Tome or Scroll or something, say, usable only by trueclass mages, which casts a spell which summons an invisible creature which has an override script which uses AddKit to apply the kit to LastSummonerOf, i.e. the person using the Tome. That's how we did mage, sorcerer, and multiclass kits before the 2.0 update.

    Why not use custom player scripts? The multikit mod does that and it works marvels.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    I actually used a custom potion to add kits before I learned to use WeiDu. However, when I tested that workaround, I saw random crashes when drinking certain Alchemist potions in IWD:EE, and I think it's because of opcode and engine differences.

    I didn't want to post an incomplete version of the kit where some of the potions had to be removed. I thought people would be disappointed.
    CrevsDaak
  • RangeltoftRangeltoft Member Posts: 83
    Started a run with this kit on my Charname, must say that I really like it sofar!
    Just reached level 4 and the new potions are great!

    @semiticgod this has quickly become one of my favorite kit-mods, very well done
    CrevsDaaksemiticgoddess
  • YoshYosh Member Posts: 16
    Wow, looks really cool. Gotta find a way to try this out on my next playthrough... hm, might even be a good fit for good old Jan Jansen... Anywho, good job :)
    semiticgoddessGrammarsalad
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    I just posted the updated version, fixing some bugs, rebalancing the kit, and making some of the potions more useful and interesting. The Alchemist is now a generalist mage rather than a Transmuter.
    KamigoroshiCrevsDaakwoowoovoodoomf2112
  • ZaghoulZaghoul Member, Moderator Posts: 3,938
    edited April 2017
    @semiticgod Looks interesting. I remember an alchemist from the early days of Dragon Magazine, this looks a bit more playable. :)

    But er,el rum, um,... how do you get breast milk from an undead female, I mean, don't they need to be pregnant AND/OR alive. Hehheh, just asking.

    Why has that got me thinkin bout the Pale Master's necro-niss? o:)
    Mmm, I want an alchemist NPC now.
    semiticgoddess
  • ZaghoulZaghoul Member, Moderator Posts: 3,938
    Now, if I could only combine parts of this class with parts of the Pale Master, I might finally have my old Death Master from The Dragon Magazine from back in the 80's ;)

    Imagination is good, definitely.
    CrevsDaak
  • ZaghoulZaghoul Member, Moderator Posts: 3,938
    edited May 2017
    @semiticgod it would be great if the alchemist could have his own special familiar, the homunculus. I think the process for the 2nd edition AD&D creation was the same as I remember for 1st. It first took an alchemist (to mix everythting together and mold), which we have here, a few wizard spells like mending, mirror image and wizard eye, which fit with the alchem being a mage kit (mending could be substituted out), a pint of the mages blood and some money (2k or something).

    Not overly powerful, bout the same as the other familiars, and his alignment matched his creator's. Anyway, remembered the process when I saw this new class. One of the few mage things that HAD to have an alchemist.

    Post edited by Zaghoul on
    KamigoroshiCrevsDaak
  • idleheimidleheim Member Posts: 4
    Awesome kit! Have always wanted to play an Alchemist as opposed to a standard mage and can't wait to play it out. Unfortunately, I think I've done something wrong! Started a playthrough, but every time I cast Alchemical Concoctions, a non-interactive plume of smoke appears and then is unsummoned, no storefront or dialouge appears. Am I able to do nothing at level 1? No other mods are installed, and everything appeared kosher on the weidu install. Please help!

    Again, awesome kit concept, and can't wait to fully test it out!
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @idleheim: The smoke indicates the creature has been summoned, but if it doesn't initiate dialogue, perhaps the script is wrong. Could you post your WeiDu here, just in case anything looks off?
  • idleheimidleheim Member Posts: 4
    Thanks for the quick response! Even did a clean install just to make sure my install wasn't naffed. But same deal, smoke pops up and nothing gets initiated :neutral: Grenades work great though!
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    No errors, then. Are you using EE v2.5? Installing it on BG:EE or BG2:EE, or maybe IWD:EE?

    Uninstall the mod and then install the updated kit, which is attached to the bottom of this post. I've made a few changes and last I checked (on v2.3!), this version was functional.
  • idleheimidleheim Member Posts: 4
    BG:EE, 2.5 version. And still no dice. It is through GOG Galaxy, but don't think that would affect it :/ I'll continue to putter around with it, see if I can make it work. Regardless, absolutely love the item descriptions and concept; well done!
  • JarinexJarinex Member Posts: 46
    I definitely want to try this kit next for my character. I’ll let you know how it goes eventually (gotta set up my install :D )
    semiticgoddess
  • RaduzielRaduziel Member Posts: 4,714
    @semiticgod

    Every time a wizard gains a kit he also gains an extra spell. So this "one less spell" is compared to a specialist (like a Transmuter) or to a generalist mage?

    Another thing: being a Transmuter, is he banned from learning and casting Abjuration? Does he gains the other specialist features?

    Thanks!
    semiticgoddess
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @idleheim: Have you run ModMerge? That may be it; all WeiDu mods require running ModMerge to install properly on BG:EE/SoD.

    @Jarinex: I look forward to hearing from you!

    @Raduziel: It seems that the description contains a typo... and it also seems I haven't released the newest version, as I intended to. Alchemists were only Transmuters in the earliest version of the kit; I made them generalists more recently because otherwise it wasn't possible to create an Alchemist in ToB (it forces you to choose transmutation spells at level where they don't exist). I originally gave them the Transmuter kit to keep them balanced; now they're balanced by weaker spells and fewer spell slots. To clarify, an Alchemist gets one less spell slot per spell level than a generalist mage, and two spell slots fewer than a specialist mage like a Conjurer.

    I have just posted the updated Alchemist kit, v1.1. I've slightly nerfed some items, removed the ability to sell potions to the Alchemist Workshop (which could give the player ludicrous amounts of gold if you have the "Give Potions to NPCs" component of SCS), and made some minor tweaks and fixes.

    Looking back at the list of items, I think I might run another Alchemist myself sometime...
  • ZaghoulZaghoul Member, Moderator Posts: 3,938
    I was just checking the class on BGEE 2.5, workshop disappears (BD Client), so only works on BGEE+SoD v2.3. Thats where I ran mine from and everything was indeed fine.
    Thanks for the update. Nerfing huh, we'll just have to see. Don' be messing with my elf tendon wand now. ;):)
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