Aquachemist (Alchemist Archetype)
The alchemist class is a fun one, but it does have a major weakness. Aquatic environments prove to be the bane of its existence on account of the inevitability of water ruining the purity of their ingredients and concoctions. You can’t exactly open a vial underwater and expect it to not become a problem.
More merciful GMs might handwave this, but for those that don’t, there is the aquachemist.
As implied by the name, the aquachemist is an alchemist that specializes in working underwater.
They might be explorers from the surface, or members of aquatic races that need this archetype to do their work without needing to surface or invest in expensive pockets of dry air in order to mix and use their ingredients.
Though likely far-removed from the wider world of alchemical peerage, these scientists remain devoted to their craft, and may even have a few tricks that they impress with as well.
In order to protect their concoctions, all extracts and mutagens created by these alchemists automatically form a sealed skin around them, similar to the sureseal bladder item, ensuring that they remain safe until broken and sucked out by the user.
Throwing weapons don’t really work that well underwater, so instead aquachemists use the principles of buoyancy against their foes, crafting bombs that float up or sink down to strike at foes above and below, though their design makes them hard to throw on land. Additionally, the basic fiery bomb is replaced by a rapid blast of steam, ensuring they work normally underwater.
Finally, they also brew their mutagens with the ability to grant water breathing, ensuring that the aquachemist can survive under the waves even if they belong to an air-breathing species.
Looking to play an alchemist in an aquatic campaign? This archetype is probably extremely necessary for you to take, though while they have plenty of advantages at range with their bombs while in the water, you’ll probably want to at least partially build for melee as well for emergencies or fighting on land. You could also reliably do a support build since your extracts get protected from the water for free.
While this archetype might be considered niche by many within the world, particularly land-dwellers, these alchemists prove themselves with their passion for science, daring to delve into the unknown. There are few chymists who will have a greater understanding of the effects of salt water and organic poisons than them, not to mention oceanic biology.
Salavit Brew Works is a rare completely submerged alchemical laboratory owned by a water naga named Salavitari. His nagaji underlings specialize in brewing materials that react poorly on contact with air, including alchemist fire, which they produce in large quantities. Unfortunately, this makes them a very tempting target for a military seeking artillery.
Deeply fascinated by how some marine life is able to incorporate the venom of entirely different species into their own bodies, Doctor Beeldo, a locathah alchemist, seeks to find a way to incorporate the process into his people as a defense mechanism. However, the only thing he’s managed so far is poisoning his test subjects.
Rare among the leanan sidhe, Emberpond is a patron of the sciences, rather than the arts, inspiring great leaps in innovation at the cost of leaving her clients burnt out or dead. Recently, she has been targeting alchemists with an interest in the ocean, almost as if merely patroning progress is no longer her only goal.
