Hunter's Alchemy

[Repinuj]

A 30 CP T3 skill for the hunter classes. Similar to how the magic fighter classes have Spellcasting.

Basically a modified Alchemy skill, with a curated potion list.

No transmutation
No affinity potions
No advanced Alchemy potions (except some oils)
No Invisibility, Invulnerability or Greater Invulnerability potions

Has access to the other basic potions, some oils, and some exclusive potions:

Combat Clarity
Flying
Healing
Lesser Invulnerability
Magic Recovery
Planar Protection
Regeneration
Strength
Water Breathing

Oil of Acid
Oil of Cold
Oil of Death *
Oil of Electricity *
Oil of Fire *

* Only has the semi-restricted oil of their class: Acid for VW, Death for Rev, Electricity for EH.

Access to three new hunter potions:

Shadow Wrap
Sixth Sense
Revealing Mist **

** A nerfed Reveal incense. Shows anyone invisible for the duration of the mist, but gives everyone in the tile a hefty defense bonus. Think filling the air with smoke to show the outlines of anyone invisible. After it ends, the invisible people go back to being invisible.

Instead of transmutation, has a bonus to finding ingredients, as fitting for a perceptive hunter:

Either an automatic ingredient search, similar to Void Walker's Initiate of the Shadow. But instead of hiding, you search. Limited to appropriate tiles like Forest, Boneland, Greenhouse, ect. And/or if feasible, limited to potions components.

Alternately, has harvest options at appropriate locations. Kind of like the Lightspeaker's Green Thumb.

Or, alternately, both. A lesser auto-search for a slow trickle of components while hunting, or higher-volume gathering by spending AP.

[erikune]

I've actually thought about this idea before - the idea of giving alchemy to a melee class - and I honestly have a hard time justifying doing so. The hunters, specifically, already have some of the best tools. Void Walkers get teleportation, invisibility, and hiding (in a game where hiding is excellent) while Revenants get to chase down anybody who dares to just die and can out-heal most damage auras, and Exalted Harbringers also exist. I assume. Giving them even more toys to play with just feels a bit unfair, and seems to be overcrowding abilities on the classes.

There's also the problem that you're talking about giving these classes an innate +15% to +25% to hit and +2 to +5 damage, not to mention a +2 active soak, in exchange for a bit of resource gathering. And, going by your recommendations, both Reveal and Sixth Sense for 1AP when wandering around. The hunter classes already get skills which do that anyway, with Void Walkers getting Enhanced Senses, Exalted Harbringer being able to remove invisibility, and Revenant already able to do both. If anything, expanding those abilities a bit (such as Demon Tracker + Hand of Zealotry removing invisibility from Transcendents) feels like it would be a better improvement than just giving them access to alchemy, which I found to be very useful.

[Repinuj]

The idea is that the classes seem a bit boring to me. Too one-track. This would give them some support ability, some flexibility, and even out the individual classes' shortcomings. With extra cost and effort. After all, it's not like those classes are likely to work with each other.

You say it'd give them 1 AP Sixth Sense, but the VW and all Myrms already have that. Also all casters. So it'd give the option to the EH (for non-demons), at the extra cost of using a potion (and 30 CP). Or other classes that are handed the potion.

The Rev already has a no-AP Reveal (for themselves), so this would give it to the VW and EH (for non-demons), with that extra cost.

Teleportation and Invisibility are not included in this potion list, and not relevant. Hiding is available to everyone, so this is an alternate way to get it, same as the Shadow Wrap spell, with alternate costs. Not sure why more choice would be bad. And if it is, why does Shadow Wrap, or any buffing spell, or any buffing potion, exist?

I feel it would also play into the whole lone ranger/hunter aspect. Oils would also incentivize non-innate weapon use.

Any bonuses to damage or accuracy this gives them are already available by getting potions from a faction. Their own or a shop. This just lets them make some themselves. Or forage for their allied alchemists, who would still be more efficient at making potions, with transmutation.

I skipped the affinity potions specifically to omit too much self-made buff. Guess I didn't consider the Strength+CC stack. That's +25% ToHit, but, again, available though potions made by others anyway. Max of +2 damage from Strength; I assume you counted Affinity potions for the extra damage buff.

The idea is more for a curated alchemy skill, though. The specific potion list isn't set in stone. Get rid of the Strength, or even the CC, if necessary. That leaves utility and recovery potions, oils, and hunter potions. And Lesser Invulnerability, which this way might actually see some use. I don't think it can be reasonably argued that making your own +2 soak potion is too much, when you can stack +9 from potions you can get elsewhere.

If Revealing Mist was implemented with the Defense bonus, it'd actually make it more hilarious having harder access to accuracy boosts, I suppose.

Actually, give the skill to the ES, too. So they can make Flight pots and travel over void. Oils would make guns slightly less bad of a choice, too. It'd fit their self-sufficiency schtick. Way of the Alchemist.

Just an idea to make the classes more interesting (to me). Not like I can force the addition.