The Alchemist

Class Summary
Converted Class:  Immune to  Convert The Alchemist is a Support class that belongs to a Neutral faction with the objective to survive until the end of the game. This class excels with potions, using them to both heal and kill.

While playing with the Alchemist, you must decide if they are worth the risk or not. Statistically speaking, Alchemists are more beneficial to the Blue Dragon faction than bad guys. In fact, early game, they can be trusted very well since Blue Dragon automatically starts with the majority and the Alchemist wins when someone else wins.

Only start to distrust Alchemists late-game, especially if Blue Dragon starts to lose. Bad guys can privately whisper Alchemists, when winning, to try to "unofficially" convert them.

However, Alchemists are people too, and have families and friends that love them and who would be sorely grieved if they were killed. So think twice before executing an Alchemist. If a homeless Alchemist knocks on your door and begs for nourishment, clothing, or shelter, show them hospitality. For it is written: Note: Other Neutral factions won't necessarily assist you, as their objectives are their own.
 * Be not forgetful to entertain Alchemists: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.



Mechanics

 * You cannot use Emerald Potion on The King.
 * If you use Stoneskin Potion and then later that night use one of your night abilities on a target who The Sorcerer targets with their Circle of Death, you will survive.
 * If a Court Wizard empowers you, you can heal or attack someone even if they are imprisoned by The Prince or guarded by a Mercenary. This is because Empower guarantees that support classes visit their target.

Strategy

 * You win if you simply  Survive . Given the fact that Emerald Potion is limited, you may want to use it on the losing faction. If the Blue Dragon is losing, help the Unseen/Cult eliminate the Blue Dragon. If the Unseen/Cult is losing, help the Blue Dragon eliminate the Unseen/Cult.
 * Knowing when to and who to use Crimson Potion on is important. Using it for the winning faction can be a massive game changer and can help you gain the trust of that faction.
 * Although it's to your advantage to convince the Blue Dragon faction that you're The Physician, you're better off letting the Unseen / Cult know that you're a neutral Alchemist so they know they don't have to kill you to win. Depending on the court, it may simply be safe to announce that you're The Alchemist, since currently (with the King's Allies ability removed) there's no special reason why a Neutral Killer would claim to be a neutral role like yours, and most courts would prefer to keep someone who can cure poison and bleeding around even if you might side against them in the long run.
 * Even if you've previously claimed The Physician, it might be beneficial to announce that you're actually The Alchemist late in the game, especially once you've proven yourself by healing. Keep in mind, however, that Unseen and Cult might still attack you to prevent you from healing people they've poisoned or bled, since removing all healers doubles the rate at which they can kill.
 * It is arguable whether using Stoneskin Potion earlier or later is better, but if a Neutral Killer is present, it may be better to use it during the early nights of the game. In 16-player games, there will always be One Neutral Killer present.
 * Early on, you should take the opportunity to heal any poisoned people you can in order to prove yourself. This both makes it easy to claim to be The Physician if possible, and ensures that you can at least avoid falling under suspicion of being a neutral killer if accused by the King. Additionally, it will be hard to claim to be The Physician in the future if you let a poisoned person die.
 * You may need to use a Stoneskin Potion after you whispered the King as the enemy faction might target you or mistaken you for being a person giving leads to the King.
 * Your goal is to survive until the end of the game; therefore, it's to your advantage to end the game as quickly as possible.
 * You have to balance your desire to successfully impersonate The Physician by healing people (or confirm yourself as a healer, at the very least) with your desire to end the game quickly by letting people die; remember that while heals can convince people you're on their side, they also make the game last longer and increase the risk that you'll run out of Stoneskin potions, get killed, or get executed before it ends.
 * Under some circumstances, it may be advantageous to use the Emerald Potion near-blindly in order to end the game as fast as possible - after all, you don't particularly care which faction wins. You can also afford to take educated guesses that, for instance, The Knight with Cold Steel cannot; if you happen to get a vital member of the Cult or Unseen, you've sped up a Blue Dragon victory, and if you hit a Blue Dragon member instead...  well, the game will still end sooner.  In particular, you should keep track of the number of Stoneskin potions you have left at the rate at which people are dying - when it gets near the end of the game, you might want to just start killing and shielding repeatedly to end things quickly. However, if you killed someone early in the game with your Emerald Potion, beware that the faction you targeted may antagonise with you.
 * However, exert some caution with the Emerald Potion. It carries a risk of getting killed by The Knight Defend, The Hunter's bear or getting identified as a killer by The Observer or The Drunk.  For this reason, it's usually best to save your attacks with them for late in the game when most protections are gone, and to aim them at targets who are unlikely to be protected.

Lore: Potions of Life and Death
The Alchemist serves as a tool of the Kings treasury. Tasked with turning unknown metals into gold her job entails a great deal of chemistry. However she cares not for his benefactor instead devoting himself entirely to her work not caring who provides materials. Allegedly stealing from both the assassin and physician, it does not matter to her if the means justify the ends. Sometimes she seems to help us while other times…

Her job is absolute and a few pieces of misplaced nightshade over the castle will help her to uncover the secrets of the universe. Some of heard whispers from her lab mentioning “youth” and “immortality”, which does not sound too dangerous until you realize she keeps no rodents to experiment on. Of course it never hurts to have allies. Sometimes she will use her spare deposits of medicine to spare those who she may… rely on later.

Why does she do this? Some say that she wishes to please the King with the gold she will one day produce perhaps she wishes to court him with her ill gotten magic or perhaps she is simply in love with the idea of gold, herself. Either way the court would do well to steer clear of her as she is far more unpredictable than even the Unseen.

--Reported by Loremaster Magnasword2

Lore: Alchemical Apathy
“...I have a passion that is not shared by many. I love the smell of a freshly brewed healing potion just as much as I love to watch a poison take effect. I once aspired to be a doctor, but I could never focus on just one type of potion to make.

I loved to see the eyes go blind just as much as I liked to see the writhing of a creature as its organs shut down. There is merit in healing though, as seeing a creature go from being at the Reaper’s door to full health is just as amazing a feat. People say I’m a monster for watching a man suffer, but then praise me as if I was a god for saving another. I do not see the difference, both are just subjecting a body to different alchemical substances and seeing what happens.

I don’t pretend to use my substances to support one group or another, I just watch to see what I can do with simple ingredients, and gain more knowledge of what one human is able to do to another. Then why stop at humans?...”

--Ripped log page discovered by Loremaster Ashe

Announced
May, 2016