![]() ![]() As per Weapons on Weapon Size, a reader could assume that an alchemist's fire flask is either a light weapon or a 1-handed weapon for the purposes of throwing while two-weapon fighting. That is, the rules say that an alchemist's fire (flask) weighs 1 lb., and that's all the game really says about what could possibly be a flask of alchemist's fire's volume. This makes computing the flask's volume from its listed weight problematic. ![]() For convenience, Pathfinder likes to measure in pounds whenever it can, using cubic feet when it must and liquid measures only by necessity. There can still be controversy, though, if you want it. Potions, it should also be noted, typically have no relationship to items created using the skill Craft (alchemy). The stoppered container is usually no more than 1 inch wide and 2 inches high." The typical vial for ink and potions, by the way, has negligible weight. I think that the GM may be conflating the alchemist's fire (flask) with a magic potion's Physical Description that, in part, says, "A typical potion or oil consists of 1 ounce of liquid held in a ceramic or glass vial fitted with a tight stopper. This also suggests that the error in the weight of an empty flask is due to a misplaced zero - it has been recorded as 1.5 lb instead of 0.15 lb.Īssume that the same flasks are used for alchemists fire and acid it means that you are delivering about 0.85 lb (13.6 oz) of those substances in each 1 lb flask. So 1 pint of oil weighs about 0.85 lb and the flask weighs 0.15 lb. I would suggest working with the value for Oil given that it makes sense and we have both weight and volume - while we do not know the details of "oil" in Pathfinder, a density of 0.8-0.9 is a reasonable assumption. The sensible conclusion is that there is a mistake in the weight of empty flasks. (I say magically because 1 pint of hydrogen would not give 1/2 lb of buoyancy in air.) The logical conclusion is that oil, acid and alchemists fire are all magically lighter than air and make a flask weigh 1/2 lb less than it would otherwise. To be clear, the damage that occurs at the start of each turn is damage from Alchemist's Fire, not damage from improvised weapon, so it's certainly not going to add the Dex modifier.Looking at Table 6-9 Goods and Services in the Core Rulebook we can see that: So at the start of the target's turn, you roll 1d4 fire damage, unless the target has expended an action to extinguish it on a previous turn. The fire damage does not occur until the start of the target's turn, ergo the damage roll from using it as an improvised weapon is irrelevant now. On a hit, the target takes 1d4 fire damage at the start of each of its turns. ![]() The important distinction comes here in the description of Alchemist's Fire: When attacking with a weapon, you add your ability modifier - the same modifier used for the attack roll - to the damage. The Dex modifier is added to the use as an improvised weapon because the rules on damage rolls state (PHB 196): On your turn when you throw the Alchemist's Fire (PHB 148), it is treated as an improvised weapon and deals 1d4+Dex bludgeoning damage (or whichever type DM chooses see PHB 148 for the rules for improvised weapons). He had an idea that his might be the intended interpretation, and I can't actually find anything anywhere that actually definitively rules either way. The whole Dex-to-ongoing-damage thing had always felt a bit off to both of us. So, is the idea supposed to be that the improvised range weapon deals 1d4+dex damage, and the target takes that same damage every turn, or is it that they take a re-rolled 1d4+dex every turn?įor context: I DM, and a player with a Fast Hands-using Thief just brought this up. On the other hand, there's no rule to explicitly say that it's rolled only once, and ongoing damage is usually re-rolled every time. Which feels more sensible than adding Dex to every roll, turn after turn. On the one hand, only once would make sense with Crawford's tweets Dexterity gets added to the damage it deals, because that damage is the one roll made for the weapon's damage, and the usual rule applies. Does the damage get re-rolled every turn, or only the once? But there's one thing that I haven't found any answers about, whether official, tweet, or even just accepted common practice. And Jeremy Crawford has tweeted a number of clarifications about how the damage works. Alchemist's Fire does things quite differently from other items, being an improvised weapon that must always use ranged attacks, and deals its damage on subsequent turns, not when thrown. ![]()
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