Source: Spheres Apocrypha: The Harmacist
This scholar archetype is more interested in inflicting poison and disease than curing it.
The Harmacy Is Open
The harmacist gains the Alchemy sphere, choosing the (poison) package, in addition to the Incurable talent as bonus talents at 1st level. If the harmacist has the Alchemy sphere (formulae) package but not the (poison) package, they instead gain Master Chemist and the Incurable talent.
This replaces problem solver.
Malpractice Training (Ex)
The harmacist may use their Intelligence modifier instead of their Wisdom modifier when using the Heal skill. In addition, the harmacist gains Medical Malpractice (discipline) from the Equipment sphere as a bonus talent. The harmacist may use their ranks in Heal (up to a maximum of their harmacist level) instead of their base attack bonus from harmacist class levels when calculating their attack roll bonus when using weapons within the Medical Malpractice (discipline) talent, and may add a bonus to damage rolls made with these weapons equal to the harmacist’s Intelligence modifier in addition to the normal modifier. This bonus to damage is considered precision damage and is not multiplied on a critical hit.
This replaces medical training.
Stinkbombs (Ex)
The harmacist’s flashbangs explode into foul-smelling toxic fumes. These stinkbombs are identical to flashbangs in most ways, except they inflict 1d6 damage instead of 1d4 or 1d8, and they cause the sickened condition for 1d4 rounds instead of deafened and dazzled or blinded.
The penalties from the stinkbomb’s sickened condition increase by 1 for every 5 ranks in Craft (alchemy) the harmacist possesses. When using a stinkbomb to inflict the sickened condition on a target that is already sickened, the rounds stack when determining duration. This is a poison effect.
If the harmacist possesses the Specialized Venom talent from the Alchemy sphere, the harmacist may freely apply its effects to their stinkbombs. They may also do this in addition to adding an [explosive] effect.
This alters but otherwise counts as flashbangs, including for feat prerequisites, class abilities, favored class bonuses, or other archetypes that replace flashbangs.
Harmacist’s Knack
At 2nd level, the harmacist gains the poisoncraft knack and counts as having the poison use class feature when qualifying for feats and prerequisites.
The harmacist may not take the academic knowledge, cunning attacker, cunning socialite, or expert healing knacks. The harmacist has access to new knacks that may only be used by this archetype.
This alters scholar’s knack and replaces the knack chosen at 2nd level.
Harmacist’s Impositions
At 3rd level, whenever the harmacist would use their stinkbomb, they may expend martial focus to add the effects of any one (toxin) talent they know to the stinkbomb’s effects. Treat this as though the (toxin) talent were an [explosive] effect for the stinkbomb. A (toxin) used this way only affects the target of the stinkbomb, and uses the stinkbomb’s save DC rather than the harmacist’s Alchemy sphere DC. The duration of (toxin) talents or [explosive] effects that inflict the sickened condition stacks with the duration of the stinkbomb’s sickened condition.
The base Alchemy sphere poison can be used with this ability as if it were a (toxin) talent.
This replaces the material imposition gained at 3rd level.
Advanced Malpractice Training (Ex)
Starting at 5th level, whenever the harmacist would make an attack with a poisoned weapon or a poison or disease used as a splash weapon, they may use their ranks in Heal instead of their base attack bonus from harmacist class levels (up to a maximum of their harmacist level), and their Intelligence modifier instead of the ability score normally used when determining their attack roll bonus for the attack. This includes abilities such as the liquefying injections or deadly nightblade knacks. With at least 5 ranks in Heal or Craft (alchemy), whenever you apply any poison, Alchemy sphere or otherwise, to a weapon, the poison lasts for an additional number of strikes equal to your practitioner modifier. This stacks with the Lasting Application talent if used with an Alchemy sphere poison.
This replaces advanced medical training.
Self Care (Ex)
At 6th level, the harmacist gains a +1 bonus to saving throws against poisons and diseases, including magical diseases like mummy rot. This increases by +1 for every 3 levels above 6th. If they are suffering from a poison or disease, they may expend five uses from a healer’s kit and attempt a Heal check to attempt to cure themselves (and only themselves) as a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity, with a DC of 20 to cure a poison, 25 to cure a disease, and 30 to cure a magical disease. At 20th level, the harmacist becomes completely immune to poisons and diseases, including magical diseases.
This replaces the scholar’s knack chosen at 6th level and mastered imposition.
Malpractice Makes Perfect (Ex)
Starting at 9th level, the harmacist may use their twisted medical skills to inflict debilitating conditions on a target’s body and mind. As a standard action, the harmacist may make a melee touch attack while expending five uses of a healer’s kit to attempt to inflict the fatigued and shaken conditions on a target for 1d4 rounds (Fortitude save at a DC of 10 + 1/2 the harmacist’s level + their Intelligence modifier negates). At 14th level, the target is instead fatigued, shaken, and sickened, and the duration increases to 1d6 rounds. At 19th level, the duration increases to 2d4 rounds. Alternatively, they may inflict these conditions with a weapon from the Medical Malpractice discipline, dealing damage and the conditions with the same attack.
This replaces expert medical training.
New Scholar Knacks
The harmacist gains exclusive access to the following scholar knacks:
Academic Corruption
The harmacist adds half their class level (minimum 1) on all Knowledge checks and may attempt all Knowledge checks untrained. If the harmacist succeeds at a Knowledge check to identify a creature (or uses an ability with similar effects, such as the Scout sphere scout ability), the harmacist gains a +2 insight bonus to attack rolls with Medical Malpractice (discipline) weapons in addition to any other benefits of a successful check.
Deadly Nightblade
A harmacist with this knack gains a masterwork weapon specially modified with mechanical and alchemical attachments that allow it to produce a special poison. The harmacist must be proficient with the weapon in question, and it may be enchanted as a normal weapon of its type. If the weapon is enchanted, the weapon is also considered to have the virulent weapon special ability if it does not already have that ability.
As a move action, the harmacist can activate the weapon to coat it with a neurodegenerative toxin that is replenished constantly until it is deactivated as a move action. Alchemy sphere talents that affect poisons generally interact with this neurodegenerative toxin as if it were a (toxin) talent. Whenever a target suffers damage from this weapon while active, the target must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the harmacist’s class level + their Intelligence modifier) to avoid the poison’s effects.
On the first failed save in a 24-hour period, the target becomes confused for a number of rounds equal to the harmacist’s Intelligence modifier. On successive saves, they suffer 1 ability damage to all mental ability scores. This poison cannot lower mental attributes below 1.
If the weapon is destroyed, the harmacist cannot use the abilities granted by this knack until they spend 8 hours modifying another weapon of at least masterwork quality. They may only have one such modified weapon. The same weapon may not be used for both this knack and the lightning rod knack.
Special: If the harmacist has natural claw attacks, the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, or any combat sphere counting as an unarmed sphere, this weapon may take the form of a pair of alchemically-enhanced gloves or gauntlets to be used with the harmacist’s natural weapons or unarmed strikes.
Author's Note: Deadly nightshade poisons the weapon or its respective ammunition. Ranged weapons deliver poison with their ammunition; this ability does not allow you to poison a weapon more than once.
Invasive Procedure
The harmacist learns to intensely study a target, but their disturbingly-overt examination may put the potential victim on guard. When attempting a skill check to determine a target’s weakness, such as through Knowledge checks or scouting as a swift action (retaining the usual -5 penalty), they may use Heal in place of the usual skill. Against a target identified in this manner, they may use their Heal check at -2 in place of Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive checks, and Intimidate checks to improve a creature’s disposition. They may also use Heal in place of Intimidate to demoralize, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus to the roll instead of -2.
Note: If you have the Scout’s Eyes combat trait, its benefit also applies to scouting checks made with this knack.
Martial Malpractice
The harmacist gains a bonus (discipline) talent from the Equipment sphere, and may use their malpractice training, advanced malpractice training, and malpractice makes perfect class features with weapons from this discipline as if they were weapons from the Medical Malpractice discipline. Instead of choosing a new (discipline) talent, the harmacist may apply this knack to a (discipline) talent they already know but isn’t already being used with this knack. In this case they do not get a bonus talent. This knack may be taken more than once, selecting a new (discipline) talent each time.
Pathologist
The harmacist gains the Diseased Venom (toxin) talent as a bonus talent, and may use their ranks in Craft (alchemy) in place of their base attack bonus to qualify for plague feats. When the harmacist creates a disease through any means, they may add the lingering template to any disease they create. At 8th level, they may alternately add the incurable template. At 15th level, they may alternately add the lethal template.
Universal Venom
The harmacist gains Alchemy sphere Specialized Venom as a bonus talent. For the purposes of the Specialized Venom talent, the harmacist is treated as though they possessed 4 additional ranks in Craft (alchemy) when determining how many creature types they can select. At 10 ranks of Craft (alchemy), the harmacist’s abilities can bypass the immunities of creatures selected with the Specialized Venom talent to fatigue (and exhaustion) and being sickened (and nauseated), though not other immunities.
Worse Than the Disease
The harmacist’s diseases are particularly virulent, worming their way into the victim’s system so deeply that even avoiding them is a risk. When saving against a disease inflicted by the harmacist’s abilities, the target takes an amount of lethal damage equal to the harmacist’s ranks in Craft (alchemy) for each failed save, and half that amount of nonlethal damage for each successful save. This damage happens before resolving the effect of the disease.