AoT - Alchemist profession missing?

[Titus]

Am I just looking past it, or is the Alchemist profession listed for SOC 15-16 on page 10 not described in the book?

We were generating characters tonight for Age of Treason and one of my players wanted to choose the Alchemist profession. I told him I would ask on the forum and get back to him. I can make it up, but it would be nice to get the official version, if there is one.

 

[Simulacrum]

OK, there's the first erratum report...

Alchemist as an available profession in the SOC chart is an artefact. But given the detail in the book on alchemy it's an ommission not to have the previous experience available and there's no reason to disallow it. However this character needs a lot of equipment and cash to make use of his skills, which is a bit of a disadvantage. A small grimoire of useful but almost certainly non-combat spells taken using his Free Skill points can redress that a bit. There are a few moments in the provided scenarios where an alchemist character might identify a substance, provide back-up to a healer or find useful ingredients for later use, so even if a fish out of water this character may prove his worth.

Assuming your character is in the right SOC class, I would simply use the skills listed for Apothecary, substituting Craft (Alchemist) for Craft (Apothecary), and substituting a choice of two from Lore (Poisons), Lore (Potions) and Lore (Elixirs) for the two such skills available to apothecaries of Lore (Poisons) and Lore (Remedies).

 

[Titus]

OK, there's the first erratum report...

Alchemist as an available profession in the SOC chart is an artefact. But given the detail in the book on alchemy it's an ommission not to have the previous experience available and there's no reason to disallow it. However this character needs a lot of equipment and cash to make use of his skills, which is a bit of a disadvantage. A small grimoire of useful but almost certainly non-combat spells taken using his Free Skill points can redress that a bit. There are a few moments in the provided scenarios where an alchemist character might identify a substance, provide back-up to a healer or find useful ingredients for later use, so even if a fish out of water this character may prove his worth.

Assuming your character is in the right SOC class, I would simply use the skills listed for Apothecary, substituting Craft (Alchemist) for Craft (Apothecary), and substituting a choice of two from Lore (Poisons), Lore (Potions) and Lore (Elixirs) for the two such skills available to apothecaries of Lore (Poisons) and Lore (Remedies).

I came close to what you suggested. I was thinking about it earlier today, and came up with this:

Resilience +10% (alchemists are exposed to potentially dangerous substances)
Craft(Alchemy)

Choose three from the following:
Alchemist's Grimoire
Education
Lore(Elixirs)
Lore(Poisons)
Lore(Potions)
Pact(Deity)

I threw the grimoire and pact in as options to give a source of sorcery and divine spells if the player wants for potions. For the grimoire I was thinking spells along the lines of enhance, abjure, healing and maybe a defensive spell, no offensive spells. Pact was an afterthought.

The character has SOC 15 and has 3500 taskeens starting money. I did warn him that he probably won't have much opportunity to practice his alchemy while in the militia. I will explain the details of the alchemy rules and the potential expenses, and see if he still wants to do it. He may be looking beyond his character's militia service.

For equipment, do you use the alchemical tools from the Arms&Equipment book? Or do you assume the equipment in the cost of items? Or something else?

 

[Simulacrum]

For equipment, do you use the alchemical tools from the Arms&Equipment book? Or do you assume the equipment in the cost of items? Or something else?

For now I'd use that, as the price list in the core rulebook and A&E must be the default. For the record I think it seriously errs on the high side though (which is true of most categories when you compare prices to wage rates). It's OK perhaps if that is the cost to outfit a lab with a whole "class" of objects in different shapes and sizes. But if your PC decides he needs to quickly put together a "pop-up" lab tailored to one key operation, and asks the local craftsmen to produce what he needs, I'd not expect it to set him back more than a couple of hundred. It may take a up to a month to have all the pieces ready though.

For the record, I have worked up an AoT-specific price list, which will be included in the next book.

 

[Titus]

For equipment, do you use the alchemical tools from the Arms&Equipment book? Or do you assume the equipment in the cost of items? Or something else?

For now I'd use that, as the price list in the core rulebook and A&E must be the default. For the record I think it seriously errs on the high side though (which is true of most categories when you compare prices to wage rates). It's OK perhaps if that is the cost to outfit a lab with a whole "class" of objects in different shapes and sizes. But if your PC decides he needs to quickly put together a "pop-up" lab tailored to one key operation, and asks the local craftsmen to produce what he needs, I'd not expect it to set him back more than a couple of hundred. It may take a up to a month to have all the pieces ready though.

For the record, I have worked up an AoT-specific price list, which will be included in the next book.

I will be buying that book. Thanks for your answers and the suggestions.

The player is rethinking the choice, and I hope to see him at our weekly boardgame night to go over it more thoroughly. I may offer him a "portable lab" option. One that costs considerably less. Probably only work on one item at a time, where a full blown lab might allow him to have few things brewing at a time. A better equipped lab gives bonuses, too.

I am picturing him loading up a donkey with the portable lab and the half finished healing salve, before heading out to the next camp or fort. I like the image.