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 powerpow er 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

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