Alchemists

[RoseMiriel]

Could the master alchemist, get the survival skill to gather herbs? Or the background alchemist feat has it for a option?

[Lockonnow]

well you could pick a feat with it

[RoseMiriel]

Ooo that’s right forgot about that!=^^= still seems odd alchemist / healers don’t know how to pick herbs.

[Lockonnow]

survival is not the Alchemits way but it is teh druid or the rangers way

[RoseMiriel]

Yes a alchemist isn’t a good tracker. They should understand safe herb gathering though. Perhaps craft alchemy should also work for gathering herbs.

[Rhifox]

Alchemists are not herbalists or village healers. They are wealthy philosophers, mages, and scientists with access to expensive laboratories and exotic reagents. An alchemist is far more likely to purchase ingredients rather than harvest them themselves. To use MMO lingo, they are a crafting profession, rather than a gathering one.

Now, there is something to be said for making more use of the Profession (Agriculture) skill for harvesting plants, as that skill also covers gardening and growing herbs, and is a class skill for all characters. But Survival (living off the land, tracking, etc) is not appropriate for the master alchemist class or background.

[paragon_nemesis]

Yes a alchemist isn’t a good tracker. They should understand safe herb gathering though. Perhaps craft alchemy should also work for gathering herbs.

While I do feel where you're coming from on it being a challenge for a player who would want to harvest their own ingredients. There's a huge difference between identifying items with labels/already distributed/ dried out and ready for usage.

Have you ever foraged in real life? There are an abundance of items that appear to be safe, but are actually poisonous. Below I added some of the most basic examples I've seen in person. Depending on what you're looking at. A lot of things can act as dopplegangers to other things that are not poisonous.

Are you able to pick out what's poison and what's safe from these pictures alone without looking anything up? If so, you're ahead of people and animals that have died from some of the items below.

This would also not constitute someone trained in using the items out of bottles/beakers to be able to recognize a plant in person. Good examples of this could be found in the kitchen. You have spices, but would you be able to effectively identify and harvest them yourself in person with no training in what they look like? You just know how to gather oregano/mint/parsley/thyme, ect.

I agree with Rhifox on the Profession (Agriculture.) Farmers/Gardeners are always trained/learn their profession to an adequate level, especially in their area of expertise, or by their location.

But I would say alchemist doesn't = survivalist by any means, or even herbalist.

Maybe there's a happy medium in there somewhere, but outright giving them survival doesn't really make sense, I would say.

[RoseMiriel]

I do garden and forage=^^= though I don’t know those plants hehe! I forage mushrooms mostly and I eat poke though there is lots to learn!

Yes your right I see what you both mean but a alchemist could also take interest in self foraging for sure survival doesn’t fit.=^^=

[Fire Wolf]

Maybe a feat could be added that allows the character to use half or less of their invested alchemy ranks, not counting gear or other bonuses, in place of survival for harvesting plants?

It could allow alchemists to specifically study to identify their ingredients at the price of a precious feat slot, if that's appropriate for that particular character, without grouping in a bunch of survival skills they wouldn't have. At one half, or fewer, invested points, survival would still be the superior option like it should be.

I don't know if such a thing is possible to do or not, but that's the idea I've got.

[DaloLorn]

It's a little tricky, because it's not always Survival. We'd need to think a bit more carefully about it all.