Is this correct?
If you start as a "competent" alchemist, it says you "either work for a very skilled master or own a small laboratory."
All well and good, but even a "simple" magic lab costs 1500 gm, and you don't start with that much, even living on the street. So is a "free" lab just a perk of taking alchemy at 26+ SP at character creation, or is that just wishful thinking? Do you ignore the bit about owning a lab and assume you start as an apprentice?