That’s all there is for Role Aids, but plenty of other people made cool stuff for D&D. Like Bard Games. Better known for Atlantis and Talislanta, the company’s first products were a trio of booklets that expanded the roster of existing D&D classes. The first was The Compleat Alchemist (1982, this edition 1983).

This wasn’t the first attempt at an alchemist class. At least two appeared in Dragon Magazine, the first in 1981. I’m sure other attempts exist. This is probably the most exhaustive. It is hampered somewhat by the system neutrality — there weren’t best practices for that sort of thing yet, so the language often feels vague. I also wonder, broadly, why there was such interest in Alchemists as a class when they always seemed a stay-at-home sort. Still, there is a lot of interesting (if likely overpowered) stuff here.

The book starts off with lists of ingredients and other components, which is a valuable resource on its own. Then you get the level specific abilities, which are…too powerful, though mitigated by time and cost. 1st level, alchemists can brew elixirs, 2nd level they get powders, 3rd is venoms. Things start to get interesting with 4th, when they can make a number of devices, including a rod of detection. Level 5 is talismans, level 6 is potions, 7 is dusts, 8 is solvents, 9 is gases. 10 is essences, which include elixirs of elemental power. Level 11 comes with the ability to create a number of constructs and level 12 allows access to the aqua vitae and the creation of artificial life. I would counsel limiting the number of magical substances an alchemist can create before allowing a player to roll one up, dang.

Still, this is a clever book. The abilities all build on each other, and there is an assumption that the creation of the many magic items is contingent on rare materials which provide the impetus for adventuring. I’ve seen far less reasonable first efforts!