Artificer (class)

"In this adventure we obey the laws of thermodynamics!" - Lord Wiggins Shadowcloak III

Masters of unlocking magic in everyday objects, artificers are supreme inventors. They see magic as a complex system waiting to be decoded and controlled. Artificers use tools to channel arcane power, crafting magical objects. To cast a spell, an artificer could use alchemist's supplies to create a potent elixir, calligrapher's supplies to inscribe a sigil of power on an ally's armour, or tinker's tools to craft a temporary charm. The magic of artificers is tied to their tools and their talents.

Class Description
Although this "school" of magic is not popular, and with artificers being generally scarce throughout much of Edra, a scant few have harnessed arcane magic as a form of science and attempted to deploy their knowledge and craft throughout society. Their knowledge of magical devices, and their ability to infuse mundane items with magic, allows them to create some marvelous projects.

Nothing excites an artificer quite like uncovering a new metal or discovering a source of elemental energy. In artificer circles, new inventions and strange discoveries create the most excitement. Artificers who wish to make their mark must innovate, creating something fresh, rather than iterating on familiar designs.

This drive for novelty pushes artificers to become adventurers. Many areas of the Eternal Empire have been explored, and thus artificers seek the frontiers of civilization in hopes of making the next great discovery in arcane research.

And yet, despite their dedication, they generally face criticisms from many who study the arcane or divine fields of magic. When the world features powerful archons, whose very presence radiates magical energy, enough even to change the very nature of the environment or people around them, what is the point in wasting time on contraptions, devices, and frivolities? These are the criticisms artificers must potentially face throughout the world of Edra.

Creating an Artificer
Since being an artificer is such a niche profession, many who pursue this path of science and discovery do so because they were introduced to the profession from someone. And since the concept of invention is nearly limitless, those who engage in this profession are often criticizing each others' works while at the same time trying to advance their own interests. This can be highly motivating, as the need to outdo and compete with one another in an otherwise unsupervised and niche field of work leads to some very interesting projects, as unique and wild as the eccentric inventors themselves. And yet, when rivals are unchecked, and conflict occurs, the results can potentially be disastrous.

Consider also the unique cultural heritages that influence or add to your unique style. Does being an elf mean your inventions have unique and marvelously carved woodwork, or elegant and exquisite metalwork? If you are a dwarf, will you insist on using only the rarest metals or gems? Whatever your choice, eccentricity is ironically common among artificers.

Professor

While some may naturally feel the call to pursue invention through artificing, most artificers began their path by being swept under the wing of a famous professor, lecturer, scientist, researcher, sage, or other intelligent teacher who was in the profession for many years themselves.

Consider who your professor was, and what was your relationship with them? Were they an aged person who waffled on about random theories not at all useful to the world, or were they an inspiring genius who pushed you to your greatest capabilities (and your greatest injury too...)? Consider working with your DM to develop your professor and your relationship to them, or roll on (or select from) the table below. Inspiring Invention

Every artificer's goal is to make their mark on the world through a wondrous magical invention. To a young and inexperienced audience, artificers are simply just magicians with flashy and unique devices. Their inventions may be usually be small in significance and scope, but nonetheless they can be just as inspirational as the grandest of sculptures and monuments, or at the same level of great magical artistry.

Consider what invention inspired you to pursue the profession of artificing. Was it some grand invention on display at a museum, or was it some small but simple device that couldn't help but make you smile constantly? Consider what invention inspired you to be an artificer, or choose (or roll) from the selections in the table below. Rival

Every artificer has a natural rival or competitor. Some are capable of finding or making this into mere healthy competition, leading to the occasional sharing of research and expeditions when the end goal is ultimately the same. Yet for some others, the rivalry is deep and bitter, leading to sabotage, bribery, and dangerous conflict.

Rivalry is also naturally an aspect of practicality. Areas of study have their own sets of leaders and followers, with all manner of incentives, both in terms of reputation and financial gain. Was your rival someone who had a mutual respect for you, yielding some elbow room in the same field as you while still trying to outdo you at every turn? Or was your rival bitter that you set foot into what they refer to as their own territory, leading to every conceivable conflict? If you cannot think of something one, feel free to choose or roll on the table below. Accident

It can often be argued that progress does not come without some measure of pain and sacrifice. "If you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs." Yet there is also sometimes a fine line between science and madness, and some accidents are anything but trivial. Are your scars carried physically, or emotionally?

In your pursuit of this profession, consider what burns, scars, scrapes, or even major injuries might have occurred along the way, and why. Did you get burned by some highly caustic acid, or were you significantly maimed, that an invention now makes up for? Or, did you only receive a minor scathing, while your peers and professor were not nearly so lucky? If you need help deciding, consider selecting or rolling for one of the options in the table below. Quick Build

You can make an artificer quickly by following these suggestions. First, put your highest ability score in Intelligence, followed by Constitution or Dexterity. Second, choose the guild artisan background.

Class Features
Class Features by Level Table: The following table lists all of the Artificer class features, including Spell Slots per Spell Level, by their class level. As an artificer, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points


 * Hit Dice: 1d8 per artificer level
 * Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
 * Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per artificer level after 1st

Proficiencies


 * Armour: Light armor, medium armor, shields
 * Weapons: Simple weapons
 * Tools: Thieves’ tools, tinker’s tools, one type of artisan’s tools of your choice
 * Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
 * Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Sleight of Hand

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:


 * any two simple weapons
 * a light crossbow and 20 bolts
 * (a) studded leather armor or (b) scale mail
 * thieves’ tools and a dungeoneer’s pack

Optional Rule: Firearm Proficiency

If your Dungeon Master uses the rules on firearms in chapter 9 of the Dungeon Master's Guide and your artificer has been exposed to the operations of such weapons, your artificer is proficient with them.

Magical Tinkering

At 1st level, you learn how to invest a spark of magic in objects that would otherwise be mundane. To use this ability, you must tinker’s tools, or other artisan’s tools in hand. You then touch a Tiny nonmagical object as an action and give it one of the following magical properties of your choice:


 * The object sheds bright light in a 5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5 feet.
 * Whenever tapped by a creature, the object emits a recorded message that can be heard up to 10 feet away. You utter the message when you bestow this property on the object, and the recording can be no more than 6 seconds long.
 * The object continuously emits your choice of an odor or a nonverbal sound (wind, waves, chirping, or the like). The chosen phenomenon is perceivable up to 10 feet away.
 * A static visual effect appears on one of the object’s surfaces. This effect can be a picture, up to 25 words of text, lines and shapes, or a mixture of these elements, as you like.

The chosen property lasts indefinitely. As an action, you can touch the object and end the property early.

You can give the magic of this feature to multiple objects, touching one object each time you use the feature, and a single object can bear only one of the properties at a time. The maximum number of objects you can affect with the feature at one time is equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of one object). If you try to exceed your maximum, the oldest property immediately ends, and then the new property applies.

Spellcasting

You have studied the workings of magic, how to channel it through objects, and how to awaken it within them. As a result, you have gained a limited ability to cast spells. To observers, you don’t appear to be casting spells in a conventional way; you look as if you’re producing wonders through various items.

Tools Required

You produce your artificer spell effects through your tools. You must have a spellcasting focus – specifically tinker’ tools or some kind of artisan’s tool – in hand when you cast any spell with this Spellcasting feature. You must be proficient with the tool to use it in this way.

After you gain the Infuse Item feature at 2nd level, you can also use any item bearing one of your infusions as a spellcasting focus.

Cantrips (0-Level Spells)

At 1st level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the artificer spell list. At higher levels, you learn additional artificer cantrips of your choice, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Artificer table.

When you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the artificer cantrips you know with another cantrip from the artificer spell list.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The Artificer table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your artificer spells. To cast one of your artificer spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

You prepare the list of artificer spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the artificer spell list. When you do so, choose a number of artificer spells equal to your Intelligence modifier + half your artificer level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

For example, if you are a 5th-level artificer, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With an Intelligence of 14, your list of prepared spells can include four spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell Cure Wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.

You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of artificer spells requires time spent in tinkering with your spellcasting focuses: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your artificer spells; your understanding of the theory behind magic allows you to wield these spells with superior skill. You use your Intelligence whenever an artificer spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an artificer spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.


 * Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
 * Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Ritual Casting

You can cast an artificer spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.

Infuse Item

At 2nd level, you gain the ability to imbue mundane items with certain magical infusions. The magic items you create with this feature are effectively prototypes of permanent items.

Infusions Known

When you gain this feature, pick four artificer infusions to learn. You learn additional infusions of your choice when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Infusions Known column of the Artificer table.

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the artificer infusions you learned with a new one.

Infusing an Item

Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch a nonmagical object and imbue it with one of your artificer infusions, turning it into a magic item. An infusion works on only certain kinds of objects, as specified in the infusion’s description. If the item requires attunement, you can attune yourself to it the instant you infuse the item, or you can forgo attunement so that someone else can attune to the item. If you decide to attune to the item later, you must do so using the normal process for attunement.

Your infusion remains in an item indefinitely, but when you die, the infusion vanishes after a number of days have passed equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1 day). The infusion also vanishes if you give up your knowledge of the infusion for another one.

You can infuse more than one nonmagical object at the end of a long rest; the maximum number of objects appears in the Infused Items column of the Artificer table. You must touch each of the objects, and each of your infusions can be in only one object at a time. Moreover, no object can bear more than one of your infusions at a time. If you try to exceed your maximum number of infusions, the oldest infusion immediately ends, and then the new infusion applies.

Artificer Specialist

At 3rd level, you choose the type of specialist you are. Your choice grants you features at 5th level and again at 9th and 15th level. Choose from one of the following specializations: Alchemist, Armourer, Artillerist, or Battle Smith.

The Right Tool for the Job

At 3rd level, you learn how to produce exactly the tool you need: with tinker's tools in hand, you can magically create one set of artisan's tools in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. This creation requires 1 hour of uninterrupted work, which can coincide with a short or long rest. Though the product of magic, the tools are nonmagical, and they vanish when you use this feature again.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Tool Expertise

Starting at 6th level, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses your proficiency with a tool.

Flash of Genius

Starting at 7th level, you gain the ability to come up with solutions under pressure. When you or another creature you can see within 30 feet of you makes an ability check or a saving throw, you can use your reaction to add your Intelligence modifier to the roll.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Magic Item Adept

When you reach 10th level, you achieve a profound understanding of how to use and make magic items:


 * You can attune to up to four magic items at once.
 * If you craft a magic item with a rarity of common or uncommon, it takes you a quarter of the normal time, and it costs you half as much of the usual gold.

Spell-Storing Item

At 11th level, you learn how to store a spell in an object. Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch one simple or martial weapon or one item that you can use as a spellcasting focus and store a spell in it, choosing one 1st- or 2nd-level spell from the artificer spell list that requires 1 action to cast (you needn't to have it prepared).

While holding the object, a creature can take an action to produce the spell's effect from it using your spellcasting ability modifier. If the spell requires concentration, that creature must concentrate.

The spell stays in the object until it has been used a number of times equal to twice your Intelligence modifier (minimum of twice) or until you use this feature again to store a spell in an object.

Magic Item Savant

At 14th level, your skill with magic items deepens more:


 * You can attune to up to five magic items at once.
 * You ignore all class, race, spell and level requirements on attuning to or using a magic item.

Magic Item Master

Starting at 18th level, you can attune up to six magic items at once.

Soul of Artifice

At 20th level, you develop a mystical connection to your magic items, which you can draw on for protection:


 * You gain a +1 bonus to all saving throws per magic item you are currently attuned to.
 * If you're reduced to 0 hit points but not killed out-right, you can use your reaction to end one of your artificer infusions, causing you to drop to 1 hit point instead of 0.

Artificer Specialties
Artificers have many interests outside of their profession, but generally for the spirit of adventuring fall into one of several specializations. Consider also how your specialization shapes your unique gadgets and devices, as well as your personality traits. An alchemist might have a series of unique fluids that provide power to armour or a mechanical limb, while an armourer may be constantly trying to incorporate unique metals or even natural armour from various monstrosities and beings found in their adventurers. Perhaps an artillerist would just naturally want to be louder than everyone else (after all, KABOOM!), and maybe as a battle smith you might insist on visiting every blacksmith in town to find out if there are any new techniques or methods of forging weaponry to be learned. Whatever your reasons or style, remember that eccentricity is ironically common among artificers!


 * Alchemist
 * Armourer
 * Artillerist
 * Battle Smith

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