Again, another question about Pathfinder.
This time it's about classes that can get Alchemist's Discoveries
without actual Alchemist levels. The Rogue is a good example with his Bomber Rogue Talent to use Alchemist's Bombs and get Bomber's Discovery to improve them.
Most of the time, when getting Discoveries from other classes than Alchemist, you have a text like
Treat your [insert class here] level as Alchemist level for determining the effects of discoveries and whether you are able to select one.
But absolutely nothing is mentioned about equivalent class levels in the case of Bomber's Discovery. Then : Can a Rogue take a Discovery that normally requires an Alchemist level with his Bomber's Discovery Talent, although nothing is clearly mentioned ?
Best Answer
A creature must meet prerequisites unless the creature's specifically told it needn't meet prerequisites
Pathfinder has been pretty clear throughout that a thing's prerequisites must be met before a thing can be taken. In this case, it's the rogue talents bomber and, subsequently, bomber's discovery. The latter doesn't say it eliminates the need for the creature to meet the prerequisites of the alchemist's discovery, so, sadly, the rogue must meet the discovery's prerequisites. This vastly limits the rogue's choices, putting out of reach for the typical single-classed rogue, for example, the alchemist discovery breath weapon bomb, which has as a prerequisite being a level 6 alchemist.
A possible house rule
In a high-level campaign featuring an increasingly marginalized rogue, this DM would consider a homebrew master talent like bomber's discovery that either waives one or more alchemist's discovery prerequisites or grants the rogue an effective alchemist level equal to his rogue level for the purposes of meeting an alchemist's discovery's prerequisites.