The Alchemists of Achaea

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Alchemist lore and origin

Alchemists are an ancient cabal. They began their work quietly in ancient Seleucar, content to ignore and be ignored by the Empire. They operated from a hall named the Cauda Pavonis, profiting from transmuted minerals and tonics sold to the elite. Over time, as cheaper remedies replaced their wares, respect for the isolated order dwindled. The leader of the cabal made the fateful choice to depart from society. They used their combined talents to displace the Cauda Pavonis to a fold in the ether: the space between planes.

In the late sixth century after the fall of the Seleucarian Empire, a great alchemical imbalance threatened the world. Forged by Phaestus and tainted by Twilight’s hand, the planet Nurazar wreaked havoc across Sapience. The cabal resurfaced. With the help of Achaeans, Nurazar was destroyed and balance restored. The Alchemist class returned to the world.

In the Year 802, Tlalaiad the Genesis unlocked the ancient Wellspring of Hashan, the culmination of a bargain between the Court of Shadows and the Tsol’teth. Access to these latent energies granted the powers of Sublimation, an alternative alchemical field to Formulation, available to Alchemists friendly to the Court of Shadows.

The class today: scholars, ritualists, and chemists. Alchemists work from laboratories, mix compounds, and dispense both healing and death depending on the situation. The skill set is denser than most. The class is one of Achaea’s most cerebral.

One important constraint: Alchemists cannot train in cities that have accepted the forestal classes (Sentinel, Druid, Sylvan). Eleusis, the forest commune, is closed to Alchemists. This is the only hard city-class mutual exclusion in the game.

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Signature combat identity: transmutation, humours, and the homunculus

Three things make an Alchemist an Alchemist.

The first is transmutation. Alchemy is the manipulation of ether and the alchemical energies that flow through it. Through Symbology, an Alchemist draws on latent energies to direct the power of the alchemical primes (salt, sulphur, mercury) and metals (lead, iron, tin, copper, silver, gold). The capstone is Aurification: encasing another being completely in gold. Vitrification turns flesh to glass. Phlogistication burns enemies from the inside out. The transmutation toolkit is some of Achaea’s most thematic combat content.

The second is humourism. Physiology is the study of biological processes. An Alchemist trained in Physiology can manipulate the humours, the vital fluids, of others. Wrack, Truewrack, Diffusion, Saturation, Effusion: each ability lets the Alchemist control more humours simultaneously, building toward Reave (catastrophic organ failure, instant death). Humourism is countered by ginger and antimony, so opponents who prepare correctly can mitigate the attack. Players who don’t prepare lose.

The third is the homunculus. From a properly equipped laboratory, an Alchemist takes a sample of their own flesh and germinates it into a homunculus, a small creature physiologically and ethereally bound to its master. The homunculus has eyes, ears, mouth, arms, legs, hands, torso, throat. Each body part can be controlled at distance. The homunculus assaults opponents, scouts, speaks for the Alchemist, prevents enemies from escaping. It’s a permanent companion, and like the Baalzadeen for an Apostate or the hyena for an Infernal, it carries the class’s signature flavour.

Add Formulation, the compound-brewing skill that produces phials of intoxicants, corrosives, incendiaries, monoxide, toxins, the capstone Philosopherstone, and you have a class that fights at three layers: transmutation through Symbology, humour manipulation through Physiology, and applied chemistry through Formulation.

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The three skills of an Alchemist

An Alchemist commands three skill sets: Alchemy, Physiology, and Formulation. A fledgling Alchemist gains Alchemy and Physiology; Formulation is granted upon embracing the class. Hashan-aligned Alchemists may swap Formulation for Sublimation, an alternative field.

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Alchemist Houses and cities

See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.

Alchemist is unrestricted by alignment but not accepted in Eleusis. The forest commune’s acceptance of Sentinel/Druid/Sylvan classes excludes Alchemists by mutual rule. 14 Houses across the other five cities + cityless.

House	City	Notes
The Krymenian Academy	Hashan	Hashan academic House. Often the Alchemist’s natural home, especially for Sublimation practitioners.
The Somatikos	Hashan	Hashan body-discipline House.
The Vashnarian Shield	Cyrene	Cyrene guardian House.
The Virtuosi	Cyrene	Cyrene artistic House.
The Discurean Outriders	Cyrene	Cyrene explorer/academic House.
The Dawnblade	Targossas	Targossan martial House.
The Harbingers of Redemption	Targossas	Targossan succour House.
The Dread Legates	Mhaldor	Mhaldorian military House.
The Insidium	Mhaldor	Mhaldorian rites House.
The Esoteric Consortium	Ashtan	Ashtan martial House.
The Savants of the Wheel	Ashtan	Ashtan academic House.
The Nemesian Vanguard	Ashtan	Ashtan front-line House.
The Grand Merchant Collective	(cityless)	The trader House.
The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering	(cityless)	The Jester-founded House.

To check current House availability in-game: HOUSE LIST ALCHEMIST.

A note on the Hashan path: Alchemists friendly to the Court of Shadows can replace Formulation with Sublimation, an alternative alchemical field. The two skills don’t overlap. Sublimation is about energy alignment and substantiation, where Formulation is about compound amalgamation. The choice is permanent under most circumstances.

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What an Achaea Alchemist might look like

Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what an Alchemist can look like across three of Achaea’s 14 playable races. These are illustrative examples. Any race can play an Alchemist (subject to the Eleusis city exclusion).

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How to roleplay an Alchemist in Achaea

The Alchemist roleplay anchor is the laboratory. Your character lives between bench and battlefield. You don’t memorise spells; you crystallise primes from minerals, distill phials, grow homunculi, study the four humours. The work is visible. Players who lean into the lab aspect, describing reagents, naming their homunculus, treating their workspace as a real place, get the strongest character moments.

The second anchor is the Cauda Pavonis itself. Even Alchemists who don’t live in Hashan are part of a wider scholarly community whose home is folded into the ether. Your character is a member of an order. That order has history.

A few practical notes:

Mhaldor or Targossas? Yes. Despite the scholarly framing, Alchemists fight effectively for either side of the Good/Evil axis. A Mhaldorian Alchemist reads as the cold theorist of cruelty; a Targossan Alchemist reads as the sanctioned researcher of life and death. The class is alignment-neutral in lore.

You will be unwelcome in Eleusis. This isn’t optional; it’s mechanical. If forestal RP appeals to you, pick a forestal class instead.

Combat is precise and slow to build. Humour manipulation takes turns of setup. Compound brewing happens before combat. The homunculus needs positioning. Alchemists reward patience and preparation more than reflex.

If you want a class with deep scholar-of-life-and-death roleplay, mechanically demanding combat, and a clear “I work in a lab between planes” identity, Alchemist delivers.

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Other classes to consider

Three classes worth a look if Alchemist is on your shortlist (or browse all 21 Achaea classes for the full comparison):

Magi: Achaea’s Elementalist

The mage cousin. Both classes are scholar-mages with workshops and crafted foci, but their mechanics differ. Magi work with elemental forces and crystal vibrations; Alchemists work with humours, transmutation, and compounds. Magi also has the wider city pool (16 Houses vs. Alchemist’s 14).

Pariah: The Accursed Sorcerer

The death-magic cousin. Where the Alchemist transmutes life chemistry, the Pariah masters death itself through Charnel. Both share a “dark scholar” aesthetic, but the Pariah’s identity is much more outcast and tomb-coded.

Sylvan: The Viridian Forest Mage

The forestal elementalist. If you want elemental/transmutation combat but Alchemist’s Eleusis exclusion is a problem, Sylvan is the answer. Different lore, different mechanics, but the closest “scholar of nature” alternative for someone who wants forestal alignment.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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