a wizard and barbarian duo who do arcane science, mythbuster style.
the barbarian often takes the role of the test dummy, because if you can survive falling at terminal velocity then ostensibly you can survive almost anything. if the barb does actually die, the wizard marks it as a notable experiment and then drags what's left of the barb's body off to a temple for resurrection.
one of the wizard's primary focuses is testing out alternative material components, acknowledging that most spell components are based off of common sayings ('a penny for your thoughts' being the explanation for a copper piece being used in the Detect Thoughts spell) or old wives tales (carrots being used for Darkvision). For example, they try out replacing sulfur with powdered sugar in the spell Fireball, since powdered sugar is extremely flammable and easier to acquire.
The scientific ethics council hates them.











