HOJO: A DnD Alchemist Build!
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Stats
14Dex, 14Con, 18 Int, 12 Wis
Size Small
Feats
Level 1 Feytouched(INT Gift of alacrity)
Level 4 Artificer Initiate
Getting a Tan: Concept and Ideas
Rest Casting Elixir
Here’s the text for Experimental Elixir
Beginning at 3rd level, whenever you finish a long rest, you can magically produce an experimental elixir in an empty flask you touch. Roll on the Experimental Elixir table for the elixir's effect, which is triggered when someone drinks the elixir. As an action, a creature can drink the elixir or administer it to an incapacitated creature.
Creating an experimental elixir requires you to have alchemist supplies on your person, and any elixir you create with this feature lasts until it is drunk or until the end of your next long rest.
When you reach certain levels in this class, you can make more elixirs at the end of a long rest: two at 6th level and three at 15th level. Roll for each elixir's effect separately. Each elixir requires its own flask.
You can create additional experimental elixirs by expending a spell slot of 1st level or higher for each one. When you do so, use your action to create the elixir in an empty flask you touch, and you choose the elixir's effect from the Experimental Elixir table."
By making potions during your long rest you can have potions and your spell slots back with your finish, simply because your “current” long rest isn’t your “next” long rest.
Grapple Flight and the Homunculus Servant
A creature with a flying speed can not only grapple but can pull people into the air while doing so, this is an okayish tactic when dealing with opponents, but, when grappling an ally this can mean free flight. In our case, because we are small(thanks to Custom lineage) our homunculus will be able to grapple us for free flight at the cost of half-speed giving us Prema-concentration-less flight at artificer level 2. Additionally, while in flight you can go prone giving a disadvantage to ranged attacks that come your way. With you and the homunculus both in the air, you being prone & the homunculus being able to dodge for free this setup becomes extremely hard to hit.
Question: “What about Weight?” Jeremy Crawford explains weight rules don’t apply to grappling
Alchemical Magic Missile
Just like the old trick of Hexblade Curse + Magic missile, the use of Alchemical Savant ability, combined with Awakened Spellbook with a damage type of our choice(picking up absorb elements as a wizard should cover our substitution needs), and cast through our alchemist supplies thanks to the Artificer Initiate feat we can replicate the same damage multiplier effect of adding our INT modifier to every single dart., giving us the single target damage that we desperately need.
Spell Wrought Tattoo Infinite
“Produced by a special needle, this magic tattoo contains a single spell of up to 5th level, wrought on your skin by a magic needle. To use the tattoo, you must hold the needle against your skin and speak the command word. The needle turns into ink that becomes the tattoo, which appears on the skin in whatever design you like. Once the tattoo is there, you can cast its spell, requiring no material components. The tattoo glows faintly while you cast the spell and for the spell's duration. Once the spell ends, the tattoo vanishes from your skin.
The level of the spell in the tattoo determines the spell's saving throw DC, attack bonus, spellcasting ability modifier, and the tattoo's rarity, as shown in the Spellwrought Tattoo table.”
The bolded section here is important as it clearly shows we can cast Spell Wrought Tattoo doesn’t disappear until the duration of the original spell is up, meaning we can cast it multiple times. This is a tactic we will be using alot with Gift of alacrity as we can give our entire team an initiative boost off of one tattoo.
Experimental Elixirs
How to use Elixirs
The name of the game is precasting, the small value that the potion brings isn’t generally worth an action, however, if you’re able to drink a few before the fight that extra advantage will definitely come in handy!
Healing. The drinker regains a number of hit points equal to 2d4 + your Intelligence Modifier
Not very useful until you get Restorative Agent allowing you to effectively receive up to 24hp per potion on average.
Swiftness. The drinker's walking speed increases by 10 feet for 1 hour.
Because of Swiftness’s long duration, its effect can be quite useful. If grapple flying with your homunculus that 10ft speed boost should help to reduce the impact of half-speed.
Resilience. The drinker gains a +1 bonus to AC for 10 minutes.
Short duration, however, a nice buff if you can manage to use it before a fight
Boldness. The drinker can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to every attack roll and saving throw they make for the next minute.
Insanely short duration, it’s very likely you won’t have time to use this before a fight, as for during a fight, it might not even be worth it to do so.
Flight. The drinker gains a flying speed of 10 feet for 10 minutes.
Another short duration with a very slow movement speed, and we are already flying. However, any amount of fly speed and be impactful, if you manage to pass this to one of your allies before the fight, the fight could become significantly easier for them.
Transformation. The drinker's body is transformed as if by the Alter Self spell. The drinker determines the transformation caused by the spell, the effects of which last for 10 minutes.
This ability is mostly fluff, have fun with it!
Level Progression
Alchemist: Levels 1-6
Infusion loadout:
Replicate magic item(Spell Wrought Tattoo Gift of Alacrity)
Homunculus servant 5e
Level 6 + Infusion Loadout:
Replicate magic item(Spell Wrought Tattoo: Gift of Alacrity)
Replicate magic item (Pipes of haunting)
Homunculus servant 5e
At levels 1-4 we are mostly giving our group a bonus in initiative via Spell Wrought Tattoo, casting Firebolt, and being virtually unable to be hit due to Grapple Flight; additionally, we can keep our regular move speed while flying by giving our homunculus servant a Swiftness potion, and if we get lucky we can precast some potions before the fight giving us or a party member a boost.
At levels 5-6 we are doing boosted firebolt damage due to Alchemical Savant, and locking down encounters via the spell web or/and pipes of haunting. Also with leftover spells, we might be able to make a few extra potions for the day.
Lastly, we pick up Artificer Initiate picking sanctuary as our free spell to cast, and our alchemist supplies as our focus.
Order of Scribes Wizard: Levels 7-8
(Thanks Wells & Tressed from the TTB discord for the suggestion)
Wizard spells: Level 1: Shield, absorb elements, Find familiar, Unseen servant
On our first level of wizard, we pick up the shield spell for protection and find familiar allowing us to use Find Familiar without needing a spell tattoo. At level 8 we finally become a scribe wizard allowing us to use a powered up version of magic missile
Level 9 and Beyond
Tier 3 we get more options, idea one should stick with Order of Scribes until level 12 allowing you to get the ability Manifest Mind and some quite helpful level 3 spells. Afterward, one should continue with Alchemist for more infusion slots, Flash of Genius, a spell of ring storing, the Restorative Reagents ability, and an increasing amount of useful infusions.
Ending
I just want to say thank you to everyone reading my guides, I got a lot more coming sign up to the free new letter for more!