Alchemist (5e Background)

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Alchemist[edit]

The use of alchemy walks a fine line between that of science and magic. Alchemy utilizes formulas with strict values and carefully weighed portions, compared to how free magic can be. An important thing to note is that alchemy is best realized in settings where magic is not too predominant and common. Too much magic makes alchemy secondary, as one can conjure gold rather than laboriously try and synthesize it. Alchemists often were employed by various nexuses of power to do miraculous things, like transmutation. The ability to change materials from one into another, usually an entirely different element, is something many alchemists seek in their studies. Many other goals also do exist, like finding eternal life or manufacturing artificial forms, like homunculi.

Alchemy also covers more mundane uses, including medicine. Many alchemists could accurately define or detect certain elements and even concoct tinctures and poisons out of minerals. Alchemists do often require a lot of materials, be it lab equipment or formula ingredients. They are thus less efficient than an arcane scholar in many ways, but they are more meticulously trained to deal in something like the scientific method. Many a time, alchemists might run into doubt regarding their profession, be it due to religious stigma or persecution from rivals.

So, what kind of alchemist are you? Do you work for a wealthy nobleman or even a governmental agency? What is your goal as an alchemist, and what is expected of you by your superiors? Do you want fame for your work? Do you maybe seek a rare ingredient on your adventures? Or, maybe you need political cover due to some scandal regarding your discoveries? What have you discovered and learned through your work? Have you perhaps perfected a formula that your teacher never finished? Or maybe you found a new element to the medieval alchemic quartet of fire, water, air, and earth?

Skill Proficiencies: Arcana and Medicine

Tool Proficiencies: Alchemist's Supplies

Languages: One language of your choice

Equipment: Alchemist's Supplies, a book on alchemical formulae, common clothes, and a belt pouch with 10 gp

Alchemy Type[edit]

In seeking their magnum opus, an alchemist decides on a specific field of study, no different than how a scientist may choose to specialize in an area of their expertise. What does your alchemist character study in particular?

d6 Specialization
1
2
3
4
5
6


Feature: Experimenter[edit]

Based on your previous experiments, you can easily identify the uses of any component you acquire after examining it with your alchemist's supplies during a long rest.

Suggested Characteristics[edit]

Alchemists pride themselves on making more effective concoctions, you will always strive and spend your spare time trying to make yours more effective.

d8 Personality Trait
1 I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
2 I've been called a tad bit crazy.
3 I'm not the best around other people.
4 I refuse to lead, I'm more of a follower.
5 I will not follow, only lead.
6 I will not let others think me a fool.
7 I will do anything for more research.
8 I don't like being looked at.
d6 Ideal
1 Goodwill. If you don't use your knowledge to help others, then why do you even have it? (Good)
2 Money. I don't care what I'm being told to do; if you can pay, I can do it. (Neutral)
3 Power. I got into the trade for one reason; the feeling of the foolish being destroyed by my concoctions. (Evil)
4 Ethics. There are certain lines that science was never meant to cross. (Lawful)
5 Freedom. Laws restrict and corrupt the pure, free-flowing fount of knowledge. (Chaotic)
6 Knowledge. I simply want to unlock the secrets of chemicals and how they work. It's a passion of mine. (Any.)
d6 Bond
1 My family is impoverished, and I send money I make from my work back to them.
2 I never forget the faces of my customers, and consider them to be friends.
3 I have a rival who is a greater alchemist than I. I constantly seek to best them.
4 My notes on my greatest discovery were stolen, and I must find them before they fall into the wrong hands.
5 I have a great interest in teaching, and am constantly seeking out new students.
6 The one who taught me my trade still lives; I respect them above all else, and will defend them to the death if they require it.
d6 Flaw
1 My creations have been used for unspeakable evils. I can never forgive myself.
2 All of my work with my chemicals may or may not have ever so slightly addled my mind a tiny bit.
3 Ever since I got this job, I've been suffering from violent, destructive intrusive thoughts.
4 I've developed an addiction to one of my substances, and I need to make it whenever possible.
5 I have severe chemical burns from working on a chemical that required use of (X component here). I refuse to work with it, and have a phobia of it.
6 I don't do well in groups, and will go off on my own without asking others first.
5.00
(one vote)

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