Apothecary overview

Creating an Apothecary
When you set out to create an apothecary, the most important
question is to decide your path of study. What is it that drives
you to seek knowledge? Are you working in the service of good?
Is your life dedicated to helping those in need? By studying
poisons, diseases, occult lore, and forbidden knowledge, do you
hope to help the sick and wounded? Perhaps you aim to save
someone you care about, or protect your kingdom or homeland
from the evils of this world. Or maybe your studies are more
dangerous in nature. Do you set out on adventure to test your
dangerous chemical formulae? Do you see each monster or
enemy as a test subject for your concoctions and spells?
All apothecaries share a search for knowledge, and dabble
in forbidden lore and occult practices. Although many in their
practice are happy to sell their services or potions in cities or
to well-paying nobles and kings, some are called to adventure,
setting out on the endless hunt for knowledge. Others work as
investigators and researchers. Many apothecaries see adventure
as a means to perform direct field research, perfect their skills,
and test the true potential of their theories.

Quick Build

You can make an apothecary quickly by following these suggestions.
h First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score,
followed by Constitution.
h Second, choose your character ancestry and background.
h Third, choose the poison needle* and spare the dying cantrips,
along with the 1st-level spells envenom* and healing word.
Apothecaries in Drakkenheim
Apothecaries can be found throughout the continent in
many forms. The term is broadly used to describe many
magic-adjacent professions found on the continent and the
vast array of possible fields of study is ever expanding.
The Amethyst Academy has departments of apothecaries
managing their labs and research centers. Within their many
schools and strongholds, they teach advanced sciences and using
magic to better understand the body and mind, and the various
modern medical practices that can be combined with magic to
save lives — or end them.
Not all apothecaries are mageborn. The broad term has been
used to describe several practices that combine herbal ingredients,
chemicals, and poisons with biological study to induce outcomes
similar to the effects of evocation or necromantic magic. Pathogenists
working in distant labs perform studies to create new
powerful strains of disease and poison. Chemists find ways to
surpass the potency of mageborn spellcasting with the right dose
of chemicals for their explosive and destructive results. Other
Mutagenists working with the mutating effects of delerium seek
to control and isolate the elements of mutation and apply them in
a more controlled manner. There are even reports of apothecaries
who are studying techniques to unlock the potential of the mind.
These Alienists have caused a stir amongst nobles, mages, and
clergy for their ability to tap into mental capabilities that mirror
magic, without requiring a mageborn’s lineage.
Secretive reanimators pursue grisly studies into the realms of
death and undeath, mimicking necromantic magic using little
more than new science and invention. There are apothecaries
working under the Sacred Flame as exorcists, channeling their
occult knowledge and research into helping rid holy sites of
undead, dispatch unwanted spirits, and remove terrible curses.
Apothecaries are found on every continent; whether mageborn
or not, many are skilled academics who have a keen mind
for pushing the boundaries of science. These researchers have
found themselves on the path of the apothecary, lending their
aid to cities and towns throughout the continent, and occasionally
bringing unique chemical warfare to the battlefield of
great wars.

Personality Traits

1 I often use big scientific words; I just can’t help but to embellish
my superior intellect.
2 I have a dark sense of humor. Often my jokes fall flat on those
who do not share in my macabre ideals.
3 I mutter to myself constantly. Years in the lab have meant that I
am accustomed to speaking mostly to myself.
Ideals
1 Science. To push the boundaries of mortal capabilities is a
reason to live, and a worthy legacy to leave behind.
2 Education. If I can share the great secrets I learn with others, the
world will be better for it.
3 Power. Mageborn think they hold all the cards, but the power
we can unlock through occult practice and advanced study will
surpass any silly fireball-throwing mage.

Bonds

1 I was laughed at for my passion for study. I want to prove to the
world how great science can be.
2 There are secrets of this world capable of unlocking vast mortal
potential — I will discover them.
3 My mentor was a great genius. I want to finish the work they started.

Flaws

1 Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to prove a hypothesis.
Sometimes those sacrifices are people’s lives. A worthy cost for
science, no?
2 I obsess over my theories and discovering occult lore;
occasionally it is all consuming.
3 I scoff at mages and their petty parlor tricks. They cannot
fathom the power we can wield if we simply seek it.

Personal Quest

1 I must collect blood samples of the five chromatic dragons in
order to perfect the ultimate concoction.
2 I will be the first non-mageborn to prove the potential of
scientific study and join the Amethyst Academy elite.
3 The falling star that struck Drakkenheim is sure to have
unfathomable potential for my study. I must collect a shard
from the source in the heart of the crater.

Apothecary
Level Proficiency
Bonus
Features Cantrips
Known
Spell
Slots
Slot
Level
Theories
Known
1 +2 Apothecary Magic, Occult Practice 3 1 1st –
2 +2 Esoteric Theories 3 2 1st 2
3 +2 Occult Practice Feature 3 2 2nd 2
4 +2 Ability Score Improvement 4 2 2nd 3
5 +3 — 4 3 3rd 3
6 +3 Occult Practice Feature 4 3 3rd 4
7 +3 — 4 3 4th 4
8 +3 Ability Score Improvement 4 3 4th 5
9 +4 — 4 4 5th 5
10 +4 Occult Practice Feature 5 4 5th 6
11 +4 Greater Formula (6th) 5 4 5th 6
12 +4 Ability Score Improvement 5 4 5th 7
13 +5 Greater Formula (7th) 5 5 5th 7
14 +5 Occult Practice Feature 5 5 5th 8
15 +5 Greater Formula (8th) 5 5 5th 8
16 +5 Ability Score Improvement 5 5 5th 9
17 +6 Greater Formula (9th) 5 6 5th 9
18 +6 Occult Practice Feature 5 6 5th 10
19 +6 Ability Score Improvement; Additional Greater Formula (6th) 5 6 5th 10
20 +6 Miraculous Recovery, Additional Greater Formula (7th) 5 6 5th 11

Class Features

As an apothecary, you gain the following class features:
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per apothecary level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution
modifier per apothecary level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: light armor, medium armor
Weapons: simple weapons, short swords, hand crossbows
Tools: any tool proficiency, plus another of your choice from the
following: poisoner’s kit, herbalism kit, or alchemist’s supplies.
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
Skills: Choose two skills from Arcana, History, Investigation,
Medicine, Nature, and Religion
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the
equipment granted by your background:
h a light crossbow and 20 bolts, a shortsword, or any simple weapon
h a component pouch or an arcane focus
h a scholar’s pack or a dungeoneer’s pack
h hide armor, any simple weapon, and two daggers
h A healer’s kit