#beastmorph

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Retrograde Revision 6: Beastmorph

(art by Andres Agostini on Artstation)

And it’s time for another round of me going back to my earliest posts and redoing them to my current standard of quality, and this time we’re looking at the beastmorph archetype for alchemist!

This was the first alchemist archetype I covered on the blog, and it’s baffling to thing that was over 10 years ago. How my life has changed since then.

In any case, today’s subject taps into the classic mad scientist trope of “turn yourself into a hybrid of man and beast”, which is always a classic. However, unlike most fictional mad scientists, the abilities granted by the archetype don’t transform you permanently, (though that could be fun to explore using a modification of the lycanthropy corruption, hmmm…)

Instead, as we’ll seen see, this archetype is all about adding powerful additives to mutagens to give the imbiber animal features!

So let’s get down to it, shall we?

When these alchemists brew and prepare mutagens, their formulas call for ingredients that result in the them gaining minor bestial features that grant additional abilities, though at first only one and drawing only from what could be granted by a simple humanoid-mimicking polymorph spell.

Over time though, the number of abilities they can gain from a single dose, as well as the depth of those abilities grows greater and greater, granting more and more animalistic abilities.

The archetype also has a short list of recommended discovery, namely those that cause the imbiber of a mutagen to grow claws, improve the mutagen itself overall, those that improve bodily health and regeneration, and of course grow various permanent extra limbs like tentacles or wings.

A mutagen that grants various abilities from the alter self and later beast shape 1, 2, and 3 has a lot of potential to be very versatile, giving the user the full use of their physical faculties while still gaining the mobility and combat powers. (the only disadvantage being you don’t get the powerful damage dice natural attacks or the advantage of size from true polymorph). Important caveat here though: you have to decide what powers the mutagen is going to grant when you originally brew it, but that’s what the infuse mutagen discovery is for, letting you craft multiple mutagens with different forms for different situations. Another discovery that is pretty much required is feral mutagen, because you need natural attacks to use certain abilities like grab, constrict, rake, and so on. Needless to say, this archetype leans pretty heavily into a melee combat build, with bombs providing ranged support when out of mutagens, and extracts meant to buff and complement the build.

There are a lot of ways you can play this sort of alchemist. Maybe they seek to find perfection in the animal kingdom, or maybe they think one specific animal is really neat, or maybe they seek the unifying factor behind all animal life? How do they view their transformative mutagens? Maybe they view them as a minor apotheosis, or maybe they’re just useful means to an end?

Terror grips the town of Gardenvale, for during the night, villagers are abducted one by one, each by a different, horrific beast-man. Meanwhile, the local surgeon has become a shut-in, obsessed with finding a cure for his dying wife’s illness. None have begun to suspect that the two events may be connected.

The touch of a chaos beast is a debilitating curse, trapping the victim in a constantly-changing, unstable form. However, the creature formerly known as Sven Lamplighter has discovered a way to temporarily achieve a semi-stable form, even though conventional magical wisdom dictates it should have no effect. Tragically, Sven has gone mad during his time under the curse, and can no longer remember what traits define a member of the halfling race. Now he wanders the tunnels of the city in a semi-amorphous form, with strange appendages and growths.

Vryynaz hates her drider body, and she hates her people for transforming her. Every night, she experiments with new and interesting shapes, but she dreads the time when her mutagens and extracts run out, and her body reasserts itself, deepening her hate. She may prove a valuable, if unstable ally in bringing down the drow city, if not exactly trustworthy.

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Beastmorph (Alchemist Archetype)

Our first alchemist archetype, and it’s a doozy! The alchemist’s mutagen has already a strong theme of personal transformation, and the beastmorph takes that to the next level. Science fiction is rife with stories of men and women who, due to design or accident, infuse themselves with the essence of various animals, beasts, and insects. Even more disturbing than these examples are those who not only use science to alter themselves unpredictably, but seek out that rush of power again and again.

  Rather than learning how to construct alchemical items with speed, or learning how to master and resist poisons, beastmorphs focus all their efforts on adding animalistic traits to their mutagens. As they grow in understanding, they can add more abilities from a wider pool (All drawn from the alter self and beast shape spells) Planning is required, as the beastmorph must decide which abilities to take every time they craft a new mutagen. This archetype lends itself to builds primarily focused on polymorph effects, taking various useful forms with polymorph extracts, while preparing a beastform mutagen with traits they predict they’ll need in the near future. Naturally, discoveries that enhance or alter the mutagen class feature are highly recommended.

  I like to imagine the various ways that a person becomes involved in this highly unstable form of alchemy. While there are no stats for it, this particular archetype lends itself to the idea of dabbling in things not meant for mortals, even more so than a normal alchemist. Was it desperation to find a cure or a solution to a dire problem? Maybe it was an interest or obsession with the various adaptations that many animals have that humanoids do not? Perhaps they discovered it by complete accident, and grew addicted to the act of transformation?

    Terror grips the town of Gardenvale as during the night, villagers are abducted one by one, each by a different, horrific beast-man. Meanwhile, the local surgeon has become a shut-in, obsessed with finding a cure for his dying wife’s illness, none have begun to suspect that the two events may be connected.

  The touch of a chaos beast is a debilitating curse, trapping the victim in a constantly-changing, unstable form. However, the creature formerly known as Sven Lamplighter has discovered a way to temporarily achieve a semi-stable form, even though conventional magical wisdom dictates its should have no effect. Tragically, Sven has gone mad during his time under the curse, and can no longer remember what traits define a member of the halfling race. Now he wanders the tunnels of the city in a semi-amorphous form, with strange appendages and growths.

  Vryynaz hates her drider body, and she hates her people for transforming her. Every night, she experiments with new and interesting shapes, but she dreads the time when her mutagens and extracts run out, and her body reasserts itself, deepening her hate. She may prove a valuable, if unstable ally in bringing down the drow city, if a little on the unstable side.