#brewkeeper

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Artificer Specialization: Brewkeeper

Hey folks! Hoped to have this out a lot sooner, but it’s been one of those months. Anyway, it’s here now, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It’s another Pathfinder prestige class conversion that I’ve had stashed away for a VERY long time, so it’s nice that I was finally able to dust it off and release it. Something fun about this particular subclass, for me at least, is the timing of…

Artificer Specialization: Brewkeeper

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Prestige Class Spotlight 7: Brewkeeper

Whether it’s a god of adventuring, hard work, alchemy, or simple merriment, there will always be those for whom the brewing of alcohol isn’t just a profession, it’s a labor of devotion.

The most skilled of these individuals become brewkeepers: sacred, or at least devout brewers of such divinely approved beverages meant to take the edge off and help people relax and enjoy themselves.

Blurring the disciplines of alchemy and divine magic, this profession demands only a mastery of brewing or chemistry, as well as some spellcasting or alchemical talent, as well as the knowledge of potion brewing and devotion to the associated god. In the Golarion Setting, this is Cayden Calian, however, I hardly see why this prestige class couldn’t be used with other appropriate deities.

 Regardless of whether they use divine, arcane, psychic, or even alchemical principles in their spells, these brewers have developed a way to infuse spells into their brews, creating drinks not unlike potions, but that anyone can drink without the limitations of the alchemist infusions. The only drawback is that they do not have much of a shelf life, losing their magical properties after a mere day.

As implied, however, they can make these brews of any potency of spell, and even alchemists continue to learn their art when pursuing this craft.

Regardless of their profession, these distillers find solace in the sacred act of brewing and drinking, and when imbibing any sort of magical concoction, they find their minds bolstered for a period of time.

Through clever use of magical brewing, they develop a reserve of homebrews they can add to their spells, extracts, and draughts to empower them in various ways by mixing them into the drink or using them as an additional material component.

These come in helpful variations, adding various metamagical alterations to the magic they add them to.

Or, they can be used in harmful ways, spreading them over an appendage used in a touch attack or mixed with a splash weapon to add various harmful effects to the attack, such as stunning foes, knocking them off their feet with a sudden alcohol rush, scrambling their senses, or simply forcing them into a state of violent nausea.

They can even add a bit of alcohol to a potion, using their mystic arts to allow the potion to function using their own mastery of the art, not just the original maker. Additionally, they can also infuse such potions with their own homebrews.

With mastery, they can even mix multiple homebrews at once safely. Such mastery also allows them to mix up their special draughts at a much faster pace.

This improves further once they have fully mastered the art, and they further improve by magical beverages warding them briefly against all forms of harm, not just mental ones.

This prestige class blends a bit of an infusion alchemist with extra added effects that they provide, making them useful support allies, providing buffs that the imbiber choses when to partake of. Furthemore they can also debilitate foes with bombs and touch attacks using the same pool of modifications. Obviously alchemist would benefit from the latter the most, and generally from the prestige class as a whole, but any buffing class can definitely make use of it.

 Like I was saying earlier, this prestige class was designed with devotion to Cayden Cailien in mind, but such a concept is too good to limit to just one god. After all, it is not just adventurers who deserve a hearty drink at the end of the day, though the idea of a traveling brewmaster (or adventuring chef) certainly has its appeal, if manga like Dungeon Meshii are any indication. Just remember as long as you keep the alignment component of this prestige class intact, that these brewkeepers would not condone irresponsible drinking, putting others at risk through reckless imbibement or destroying themselves slowly with alcoholism.

  Having developed a taste for alcohol in human lands, Ephirin the nagaji alchemist has decided to become a master brewer, bringing the joys of the substance back to her people. As such, she has begun wandering the lands, hoping to learn from the various alcohol brewers of the world, everything from the powerful stout of dwarves to the heady moonshine of the orc nations.

 Creating magical alcohols is not all fun and games, sometimes, to make the most exotic brews, one must take on dangerous monsters. Such is the case with Bottled Ghost Whiskey, which is made from water extracted from the misty, particulate body of a hungry fog ooze. The party has been commissioned by an expert brewkeeper to collect some, and his apprentice son is tagging along for that purpose.

 It is almost time for the Great Autumn Festival in the capital, and that means the great brewmasters are gathering to show off their prized brews and a few more experimental concoctions. The dwarven Steinhammer family will be there of course, as will the owners Dryad’s Kiss Orchard, and several major breweries. One newcomer is a psychedelia psychic by the name of Heisa, a hobgoblin whom has turned her back on the ways of her people, exploring sensation and the depths of the mind through alcohol.