Druglord (Pathfinder Alchemist Archetype)

Druglord Alchemist

This is an archetype of the Alchemist class.

Druglords are alchemists devoted to creating and crafting potent chemical substances which have strong physical and mental effects on those who consume them. He uses this talent both to create powerful narcotics and to enhance his own extracts. A true master of drugs, a druglord can make the meek strong, and likewise make the strong into little more than broken shells of their former selves. He uses his addictive and potent concoctions to control those around him and achieve his own ends. Many characters he meets come to depend on the druglord for their fix, and through addiction, become slaves to his will. Druglords are directly responsible for the well-being of those who imbibe his narcotics and elixirs, and whether they spend their time in bliss or agony is completely up to his discretion.

Druglord Alchemist

Alchemical Addiction: Whenever a character imbibes a substance that a druglord has modified with a narcotic boost, she must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 the druglord’s level + the druglord’s Intelligence modifier), or become addicted to that particular narcotic boost. Each day, a character that is addicted in this way must consume a dose of the narcotic boost to which she is addicted, or begin to suffer from withdrawal. A character that goes 24 hours without consuming at least one dose of the narcotic boost to which she is addicted becomes fatigued until she receives at least 1 dose of the narcotic boost. A character that goes 72 hours without consuming at least one dose of the narcotic boost to which she is addicted becomes exhausted, instead. These effects cannot be cured by normal or magical means for as long as the character remains addicted. Only ending the addiction or consuming a dose of the narcotic boost in question can end the effects of withdrawal.

If the character consumes at least one dose of the narcotic boost to which she is addicted, she is immediately cured of all withdrawal symptoms associated with that narcotic boost. For each week that the character goes without consuming any doses of the narcotic boost to which she is addicted, she may make another saving throw (at the same DC) to end the addiction. She gains a cumulative +2 bonus on this saving throw for each consecutive week that she has gone without consuming any doses of that narcotic boost. If the save is successful, the character is immediately cured of her addiction.

The druglord is never at risk of becoming addicted to his own narcotic boosts, although he can potentially become addicted to the narcotic boosts of other druglords.

Narcotic Extracts (Su): Extracts created by a druglord have an additional narcotic component which offers certain benefits and causes a nearly instant addiction (see the alchemical dependency class feature). When he creates an extract, if that extract has a duration of 1 hour/level or less, the druglord may choose one of the following narcotic boosts to add to the extract. When consumed, the extract has additional effects based on what type of narcotic boost was chosen. Additionally, the character that imbibes the modified extract may become addicted to the narcotic boost that was added (see alchemical dependency, below). The benefits and drawbacks of a narcotic boost continue to affect the imbiber for the duration of the consumed extract. At 1st level, the druglord can add the following narcotic effects to his extracts.

Euphoria: This narcotic boost causes the imbiber to become incredibly happy, as she is filled with pleasant sensations. The imbiber gains an alchemical bonus equal to 1/4 the druglord’s alchemist level (rounded down, minimum +1) on saving throws made to resist fear effects. Further, the imbiber becomes more susceptible to positive feelings, and any morale bonuses that the imbiber is currently benefiting from are increased by 50% (rounded down, minimum increase of +1). On the other hand, however, the imbiber becomes highly suggestible, and suffers a penalty on all saving throws made to resist charm effects equal to 1/4 the druglord’s alchemist level (rounded down, minimum penalty of -1). The imbiber also suffers a -5 penalty on all Sense Motive checks, and the DC of any Bluff or Diplomacy check made against the imbiber is reduced by 5.

Paranoia: This narcotic boost causes the imbiber to become hyper-alert, and increases the speed at which she thinks. This has the effect of making her more perceptive and aware, but also makes her more imaginative and prone to expecting danger at all times. The imbiber gains a bonus on all initiative, Perception, and Sense Motive checks, as well as on all saving throws made to resist charm effects, equal to 1/4 the druglord’s alchemist level (rounded down, minimum 1). On the other hand, however, the imbiber becomes panicky and suspicious, suffering a penalty on all saving throws made to resist spells and effects with the fear descriptor equal to 1/4 the druglord’s alchemist level (rounded down, minimum penalty of -1). Further, the imbiber suffers twice the normal penalties for being shaken, frightened, panicked, or cowering, and the duration of any effect that imposes one of those conditions on her is doubled.

This ability replaces the throw anything class feature and modifies the alchemy class feature.

Infusion: At 1st level, a druglord gains the infusion discovery.

This replaces the brew potion class feature.

Narcotic Mutagen (Su): A druglord can add narcotic boosts to mutagens that he creates. He can choose any one narcotic boost that he knows to add to a given mutagen at the time that the mutagen is created. The narcotic boost applies the same penalties and drawbacks that it does when applied to an extract, and the effect lasts for the duration of the mutagen’s effects.

This ability replaces the brew potion class feature and modifies the mutagen class feature.

Alchemical Narcotics: Beginning at 2nd level, a druglord can prepare narcotic boosts as standalone alchemical items, without needing to mix them into an extract or mutagen. Treat these as alchemical items with a market price of 75 gp, which cause those that consume them to gain the benefits and drawbacks for the associated type of narcotic boost for 10 minutes. A character that consumes one of these narcotic boosts may become addicted, as normal, but the saving throw DC to resist becoming addicted is only 11. Further, any aspects of the narcotic boost that depend on the druglord’s alchemist level are treated as though he had an alchemist level of 1.

If desired, the druglord can make a more potent version of the narcotic boost as a standalone alchemical item. In this case, the duration of the effect is equal to 10 minutes per alchemist level that the druglord possesses, the saving throw DC to resist addiction is equal to 10 + 1/2 the druglord’s alchemist level + the druglord’s Intelligence modifier, and any effects that rely on the druglord’s alchemist level use his actual alchemist level at the time that the item is made. This increases the market price of the item to be equal to the druglord’s alchemist level x 75 gp, and increases the cost in raw materials and the time required to create it accordingly.

This ability replaces the poison use class feature.

Potent Drugs (Ex): Beginning at 3rd level, the druglord learns to create drugs whose effects are difficult to resist. Whenever the druglord creates a drug with the Craft (alchemy) skill, the saving throw DC to resist becoming addicted to the drug is equal to 10 + 1/2 the druglord’s alchemist level + the druglord’s Intelligence modifier, or the drug’s normal DC, whichever is higher. Additionally, whenever the druglord creates a drug with the Craft (alchemy) skill, he can choose to have the drug’s effects last either half as long as normal or twice as long as normal (or for the normal amount of time, if desired).

This ability replaces the swift alchemy class feature.

Improved Narcotic Extracts (Su): At 6th level, a druglord gains access to the following narcotic boosts.

Fury This narcotic boost causes the imbiber to become enraged, and creates a chemical reaction in the body which temporarily stimulates muscle growth and efficiency. The imbiber gains a bonus on all weapon damage rolls equal to 1/3 the druglord’s alchemist level (rounded down). Additionally, the imbiber gains a bonus on all Strength checks and all Strength-based skill checks equal to 1/2 the druglord’s alchemist level (rounded down). The imbiber also becomes consumed with a wild and uncontrollable rage, however. When the imbiber first consumes the narcotic boost, and every minute thereafter, she must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the druglord’s alchemist level + the druglord’s Intelligence modifier) or fly into a rage. If she fails this Will save, she must attack the nearest living creature to the best of her ability, regardless of whether that creature is normally an ally or enemy. While raging in this fashion, the imbiber may make a new Will save at the beginning of her turn each round to regain control. If she succeeds, she may act as she chooses, but is nauseated until the beginning of her next turn. Regaining control in this way does not prevent the imbiber from needing to continue making Will saves every minute.

Mania This narcotic boost causes the imbiber to become infused with frenetic energy, increasing the speed with which her body and mind react to stimuli. This narcotic effect grants the imbiber a bonus on all initiative checks equal to 1/2 the druglord’s alchemist level (rounded down), as well as a dodge bonus to AC equal to 1/3 the druglord’s alchemist level (rounded down). The narcotic boost also causes the target’s metabolism to go into overdrive, which has a number of negative side effects. First, if the target is affected by any poisons at the same time that she is affected to the narcotic boost, then each round she is affected by the poison an additional time. This occurs regardless of the poison’s normal frequency, and does not impact the poison’s normal frequency in any way (for example, a poison with a frequency of 1/round for 6 rounds would affect her twice each round for 6 rounds for a total of 12 times, while a poison with a frequency of 1/minute for 10 minutes would affect her once per round plus an additional time every minute for 10 minutes, for a total of 110 times). If the imbiber is affected by any diseases, they are affected in the same way, except only once per hour, instead of once per round. Finally, the target’s body shakes and spasms, imposing a penalty to CMB and CMD equal to 1/3 the druglord’s alchemist level (rounded down).

This ability replaces the swift poisoner class feature.

Master Narcotic Extracts (Su): At 10th level, a druglord gains access to the following narcotic boosts.

Catatonia This narcotic boost causes the imbiber to enter a trance-like state where she loses awareness of her surroundings and retreats almost entirely within herself. The imbiber becomes immune to charm and fear effects. Additionally, any Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate check made against the imbiber suffers a -5 penalty. The narcotic boost has the unfortunate side effect of causing the imbiber to lose a certain amount of awareness of her surroundings, however. She suffers a -5 penalty on Initiative checks, as well as on Perception and Sense Motive skill checks. Finally, she is denied her Dexterity bonus to AC for the duration of the narcotic boost’s effect.

Fugue This narcotic boost deadens the imbiber’s nerves and removes her sense of pain. The imbiber gains an amount of damage reduction equal to 1/3 the druglord’s alchemist level (rounded down). Additionally, the imbiber gains a bonus equal to 1/4 the druglord’s alchemist level (rounded down) on all saving throws made to resist pain and death effects. The narcotic boost has the unfortunate side effect of making the imbiber weak and sluggish, however, and the imbiber suffers a -4 penalty to Strength and Dexterity for the duration of the narcotic boost’s effect.

This ability replaces the poison immunity class feature.

Designer Drug: At 20th level, a druglord gains the designer drug grand discovery.

Designer Drug Whenever the alchemist makes a drug using the Craft (alchemy) skill, he may choose to modify the drug such that it does not deal ability damage to the character that consumes it. Additionally, if the alchemist is capable of creating narcotic boosts, then whenever he makes a narcotic boost he may choose to have it only grant its beneficial aspects without causing any negative side effects, or, alternatively, he may choose to have it only impose its negative side effects without granting any bonuses or benefits. Finally, the alchemist knows how to create highly addictive drugs, and whenever he makes a drug or a narcotic boost, he may choose to increase the saving throw DC to resist becoming addicted to the drug by +5.

This ability modifies the grand discovery class feature.

Original Source Necromancers of the Northwest: Insidious Intentions

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