D&D 5e: The Artificer Class, Unveiled!

For the last many months, I've been working on how to create an Artificer class which would work under the D&D 5e rule set. With the advent of the new SRD, I was able to justify spending the additional time to attempt to polish and eventually publish my ideas.

As such, I'm happy to unveil the Artifice class for 5e on the DMs Guild website. You can download your copy for free (or you can chip in a donation if you feel like it).

Here's the link: Artificer Class

If you're coming to this site for the first time and you're interested in some of my thought process on how the class was developed, you can check them out here on the blog. Roughly, the development followed these steps:

1. The Overview of the Problem
2. Permanent Item Creation
3. Infusions and Class Features
4. Archetypes and Finishing Touches 

Of course, even after the fourth blog post, I worked for another few months (on and off) to refine the design. Ultimately, it needs some play-testing from new eyes to really get any remaining kinks out!

Please feel free to drop some commentary in the comments; I'm looking forward to updating this little labor of love.

In the meantime, if you do give it a quick read-through, don't forget to rate it!

D&D 5e: Solving the Artificer Problem (Part 4)

Many months ago, I began considering the problem of how to bring an Eberron-style Artificer class to life in 5e. I continued that line of thinking into how magical item creation might function, and then considered how to deal with infusions. As stated at the end of that third article, I think it's time to consider how the class's features will look, and to consider what a basic archetype might look like.

Let's take a look at a "generic" class chart (without any archetypes):

 

So, how to flesh this out? Let's start with the simple stuff:
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Class Features:
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: 
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: Thieves tools and one other tool set of your choice

Saving Throws: Intelligence, Charisma
Skills: Choose two skills from Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, and Religion, then two additional skills of your choice.

Infusion Magic: 

As a tinkerer and meddler in all things magical, you have learned how to create infusions of magical power. Through a unique and idiosyncratic combination of intuition, scholarly training, and observation, you've learned to infuse ordinary objects with magical power. In many ways, this allows you to mimic spells cast by more conventional magic users.

In order to create an infusion, you need to have bound yourself to an Artificer focus. This focus can be mundane or magical, but it must be present on your person to cast infusions. Infusions work in one of two ways; if the spell has a range of touch, it must be cast onto an item/object; if the spell has a range greater than touch, it is cast into or through your focus.

You may bind yourself to a new focus during a long rest; this removes your connection to any previous focus.

Use the Wizard spell list to learn your spells from.

Cantrips:
You know two Wizard cantrips of your choice from the Wizard cantrip list. You learn additional wizard cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown on the Warlock Cantrips Known table.

Spell Slots:
The Warlock table shows how many spell slots you have. The table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your slots are of the same level. To cast one of your Wizard spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest. Starting at 13th level, your spell slots become 6th level.


Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
At 1st level, you know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the Wizard spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Warlock table shows when you learn more Wizard spells of your choice of 1st level and higher with one exception: starting at 13th level, your spell slots become 6th level. A spell you choose must be a of a level no higher than what's shown in the table's Slot Level column for your level.

When you reach 6th level, for example, you may learn spells of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the wizard spells you know and replace it with another spell from the wizard spell list, which must also be for a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability:
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your Artificer infusions, so you use Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an Artificer infusion you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Artificer Insight:
In your experience dealing with magic and magical devices, you have discovered--whether through intense study, sheer luck, or repeated experience--how to use an infusion to mimic a magical spell you have witnessed, studied, or developed that is of a spell level you can cast (as an Artificer).

Starting at 2nd level, you learn two new spells of your choice from any spell list; you will cast these as infusions. Additionally, when you gain a level in Artificer, you may choose one of your spells learned from Artificer Insight and replace it with another spell of a level you can cast (as an Artificer).

You learn an additional spell of your choice at 7th (total of 3), 12th (total of 4) and 17th (total of 5).

Magical Item Creation:
Your insight into the nature of magic and its interactions with the physical world make you uniquely suited to creating a wide variety of magical items, both permanent and temporary, even if you lack the normally associated skill set. Use of this class feature is entirely up to DM discretion.

Starting at second level, you may create Spell Scrolls for spells you know. You may similarly work with other spellcasters to create Spell Scrolls for spells that they know. You may only create Spell Scrolls for spell levels which you know (or for levels of infusions you are able to cast). An Artificer may scribe a scroll for a spell without using up the source. For example, an Artificer may duplicate a scroll in his possession, may mimic a spell from a wizard's spellbook, or may scribe a scroll from a spell known by a cooperating and ever-present spellcaster who is assisting in the preparation and crafting of the scroll.

[Assume this description is much longer, banking off of the magical item creation discussion in the previous entry. See that article for details.]

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 Not bad! We've waded through the initial crunch, but now it's time to consider the third level and (likely) the archetypes. For our purposes, I'm going to start with thinking about the three possibilities I came up with in my last post on this subject and go from there:

• the Wandloren (an implement-focused Artificer who ekes additional life and utility out of magical wands, rods, and staves to make them more potent)
• the Tinker (a true jack-of-all-trades who dabbles in many skills and magics, rivaling the bard in esoteric knowledge), 
• the Mechanist (a magical craftsman who seeks to make machines, homunculi, and other golems or golem-like creatures)
• the Magewright (an artificer who seeks to become a better spellcaster through creation/use of magical grimoires and other implements) 

If we take the Wandloren as our "standard" archetype, then perhaps it will look like this:

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Artificer Archetype:

At third level, you choose an archetype to assume in the pursuit of magical knowledge: Wandloren, Tinker, Mechanist, or Magewright. The Wandloren is detailed at the end of the class description. Your archetype choice grants you features at 3rd, 6th, 10th, and 14th.

Ability Score Improvement: 

When you reach 4th level, and again at 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.

Artifice Mastery:

At 18th level, you have achieved such complete control over magic's interactions with the physical world that you have developed a few foolproof infusions which you may use at will. Choose a 1st-level Wizard spell and a 2nd-level Wizard spell that you know. You can now cast those spells as infusions at their lowest level at will without expending a spell slot. To cast either infusion at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal. 

By spending 8 hours in study, you can exchange one or both of the spells you chose for different spells meeting the same criteria.

Grand Artifice:

At 20th level, your well of inspiration becomes nearly limitless. You may draw on inner reserves of magical power by spending one minute in contemplation of the problem or challenges that lie before you. Regain all of your expended spell slots from the Infusion Magic class feature. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again.

Artificer Archetypes: 

The Wandloren:

As a Wandloren, you are a versatile spellcaster whose strength lies in creating temporary magical implements and in maximizing the potential of more permanent magical devices. You've devoted your life to the study of wands, rods, and staves. Even the simplest non-magic stick can instantly become a magical implement in your expert hands, so attuned are you to the pathways that magic takes through such objects.

Tempered Baton:

At 3rd level, you have learned exactly what differentiates an ordinary bar, baton, or stick made of metal, bone, or wood (or other suitable material), from a magically treasured wand. Once per day, you may attune yourself to a non-magical bar, baton, or stick, imbuing it with one spell of your choice from those you are capable of infusing. This attunement takes a minute, but is otherwise follows standard attunement rules. Though the device you've created functions exactly as a wand, it can only be attuned to you and will only retain its magic until you take a long rest. You may use your Artificer Focus as your tempered baton.

The spell you choose cannot have a casting time of greater than one action, must have a spell level of three or lower, and cannot have a costly material component.

The tempered baton you create has 1d3+2 charges, and becomes a simple non-magical object when the final charge is expended. Many Wandlorens have a favored object which they give a pet name and imbue each day. 

Implement Extension:

At sixth level, your control over wands and other magical implements has been greatly improved, coaxing even greater magics from your chosen wands. When you create your tempered baton, your creation has 2d3+2 charges. Additionally, any other single permanent magical wand in your possession is considered to have two additional charges per day (or other period, as specified by the wand). 

Instead of a wand, you may endow a rod or staff with one additional charge.

In addition, you recognize magic wands simply by handling them; even the briefest physical touch lets you know the wand is magical. If you handle a magic wand for at least one full round, you know the spell stored inside as well as how many charges it has, when it recharges, and any other conditions affecting the wand's use.

Strengthened Implement: 

At tenth level, you begin to use your own power to push the limitations of wands and other implements. When you create your tempered baton, your creation may store an additional spell of first level with its own 1d4+1 charges. 

In addition, your Implement Extension feature is improved: you may now endow a rod or staff with two additional charges, or a single permanent wand attuned to you and in your possession is considered to have three additional charges (per day or other period as specified by the wand).

Wand Virtuoso:

At fourteenth level, your level of control and expertise over wands becomes so extensive that wands cannot completely fail you. When you expend the final charge of a wand, roll a d20. On a roll of a 1, the wand is not destroyed, and on a roll of a 20, the wand regains one charge. This also applies to your tempered baton (which, on any roll but a 20, does lose its magical status granted by your Tempered Baton feature).

A Wand Virtuoso is capable of breaking the laws of magic as they pertain to magical implements. Your expertise in implement magic allows you to imbue a standard melee weapon--magical or nonmagical--as your tempered baton. You still need to attune yourself to the weapon to use the wand functions as usual, but can now cast spells while wielding the weapon, rather than needing to have a the wand drawn separately.

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Let's take a look at what this class progression looks like with all of these features in place:

...and there it is! A (preliminary) 5e Artificer. To stay true to the original, I tried to stress versatility over expertise.

Let me know what you think in the comments. I think this might be ready for play-testing! My early thoughts are this iteration of the class will be wildly powerful at the mid-tier, low-powered at the beginning, and will start to fall off by the highest tiers of play.

D&D 5e: Playing a Character (1st Tier)

Having played in a campaign for the last eight months or so, we're closing in on the end of the 1st Tier of adventuring (levels 1-4). As such, it's time to update my thoughts on making and playing a 5e character as someone who usually DMs.

Backgrounds:
Before, I posited that Backgrounds Matter, and I'm inclined to think that they still do--perhaps even more than before.

In our campaign, my Bard is a (not immediate) relative of the local dwarven ruling family. Our Ranger is a champion of his tribe. Our Cleric has a vendetta against a goblin, and our Monk is searching for some kind of cosmic balance.

My Bard and the Ranger both have definitive, vested interests in how things play out for our locales. When the local dwarven ruler is being overthrown by a popular rebellion, my character had to choose to support his family or join the dissenters (an easy choice for a loyal dwarf, but one that made for some difficult encounters and fun roleplaying). When the local tribes are threatened by a powerful magic-user, the Ranger used the party as both allies in the fight and a tool to try to convince other settlements to help his own. Both of us had a great time adventuring over the last few levels and had concrete reasons to do so.

On the other hand, our Cleric's ties are less solid. While still having some distant tie to the dwarven rulers (the same as any subject of the dominion), his greatest loyalty is theoretically to his deity and cause. I suspect that with most players this would be sufficient, though our Cleric is being played as a somewhat less religious sort, with the search for adventure and gold, combined with a fealty to the dwarven settlement and a citizenship in the human world, driving the character.

It's our Monk (whose player has played a Rogue for the last several campaigns she's been in) who is the least vested. Unlike the other three characters in the party, she hails from a monastery further south along the Sword Coast and set out for Icewind Dale (where the rest are from) in order to "restore balance." This vague directive came directly from her deity Silvanus--very cool!--but she has yet to "hear" anything else from him, and has not yet sussed out how best to "restore balance." In fact, almost everything the party does could, in some way, be construed to further that goal. As such, she's been feeling a bit adrift. (This listlessness is further fueled by her lack of personal attachment to anyone or anything in the region--why exactly should she stay with the party, anyway?).

I recognize the Monk's deity problem because I experience the same issue in the campaign I'm running as DM; there the Wizard is an acolyte of Oghma and started the campaign off with a divine vision...that just kind of petered out. There was very little fanfare even when she did complete her divinely inspired mission, and since then I've been at a loss as to how much Oghma should interfere. I was somewhat able to solve the issue by encouraging the party to hire a group of Oghmans to set up shop in their favorite town by building a Mage Guildhall. While not ideal, at least it gets the player's background back in the mix!

Unfortunately, I'm not sure how our DM will solve this issue for the Monk; she's not likely to encounter fellow monastics in the tundras of Icewind Dale!

Conclusion: 
Backgrounds do matter--more than ever. Integrating a background to the campaign is a joint effort of the DM and the player and it is crucial for the player's enjoyment that he/she put some energy into it and give the DM an idea of what he/she'd enjoy. Similarly, DMs need to periodically offer ways for characters' backgrounds to have bearing on the story being told--preferably in the way of a choice (as when my Bard had to choose between loyalty and popularity, or when the Ranger had to choose between doing what he thought was right, and doing what he was told.) The choices can be foregone conclusions but should at least appear to offer real choice.

"Apprentice" Levels:
The first few levels in 5e are supposed to go by quickly: characters have few resources, few hit points, and a very low experience threshold to reach. In short, it is my opinion that these levels should be surmounted quickly, with perhaps one or two key encounters per level. It's not that I don't think these levels are important, but rather that the party is so quickly out of resources at these levels that it's key to offer opportunities that are carefully tailored to resolve in a single encounter (rather than drag out over several related but draining encounters). Ideally, these encounters provide opportunities for the characters to try out their identities--to develop a personality, to orient toward a goal, to discern a sub-class, etc.

For example, in the campaign I've been running, back in the early parts of Hoard of the Dragon Queen, the Paladin had to stand up to an enemy champion who was most assuredly stronger than he was in mortal combat. The decision to do so gave the character direction, nobility, and an in-game goal to revenge himself on the enemy champion (since rather than kill the Paladin, he left him bleeding/dying and "shamed"). As a side note, Hoard does offer a few of these opportunities for early character development, but as an overall module I don't think it gets characters high enough fast enough for the exploits it requires of its characters.

In the campaign I'm a player in--so far--I feel like we've side-stepped a lot of these encounters. As apprentice level adventurers, given a sandbox of choices, we tended to choose the routes to success that were least deadly or most safe. While this did keep all of us alive, I think it also prolonged our initial level progression: rather than facing true danger and thereby earning true experience, we kept circumventing it and avoiding it. As a result, it took (I feel) more sessions to level up to 3 and 4 than it otherwise would have.

Mysteries, "Railroading," and Unveiling the Plot:
The idea of adventure as mystery, as puzzle, or as secret can be pretty compelling. I think some of the best campaigns I've run have revolved around the party trying to put a bunch of disparate clues together to figure out what's really going on.

Having said that, some of the least exciting campaigns I ran were the ones where so much information is hidden, so much is going on behind-the-scenes, or so much is left un-said, that the players have no reason to invest their characters in the adventure, the world, or the quest, and the characters themselves have no clear path to advance the story.

The more sandbox-y an adventure, the more prone it is to this kind of directionlessness. Some players, I know, love this kind of open world adventuring--it's why open-world RPG video games have become so popular--but I think this is deceptive: even in open-world RPGs, there are clearly delineated quests, and the better the game, the more clearly those missions are introduced or spelled out. The player(s) may not have to pursue the quest/mission, but it must be clear what the mission is (even if it's not clear what the mission "does" or who it is for).

One lesson I've learned from being a lowbie in this new campaign is that being left out of the loop sucks. It is important to make the PCs--even at low levels--simultaneously feel knowledgeable and curious. It's a tough balance, but a worthy one.

Conclusion:
When possible, design the first few levels with short, roleplaying-heavy, non-deadly encounters in order to give PCs a quick way to introduce their characters. These should be punctuated by a few nearly unavoidable encounters which allow for player choice within the encounters in order to reveal their characters' goals, personalities, and directions.

Given the constraints of our particular sandbox, I'm quite happy with how our DM handled it, and I look forward to attempting to improve on these lower level experiences the next time I'm in the hotseat of DMing for a low level party.

D&D 5e: Solving the Artificer Problem (Part 3)

In my first look at converting the Artificer into a 5e playable option, I considered how best to make it happen. After settling on Artificer as a 5e class (instead of a sub-class or archetype), I considered how to solve the problem of the Artificer being a permanent magic item craftsman in the Part 2. In this third installment, I'd like to consider the much fussier and probably less easily balanced art of Artificer "spells." In other words, how should infusions work in 5e?

In 3e, infusions (as cast by Artificers) had a few key characteristics that are worth remembering:

• Infusions are not spells, though they often mimic spell effects
• Infusions only go up to 6th level/circle; the Artificer was a hybrid class with a similar progression to a 3e Bard, where 6th tier spells are the cap.
• Infusions often have a casting time of one minute.
• Infusions often have costly material components or even experience point costs.

When we think about what "pitfalls" we might encounter when converting to 5e, a few things spring to mind:

• There are no more "6-circle" spellcasters. There are full casters (9 tiers/circles/levels), hybrid casters (5 tiers/circles/levels), and "faux" casters (4 tiers/circles/levels).
• Many of the original infusions were mimicking a system in which wizards/clerics buffed the party before combat with a variety of overlapping spells; this was a system without 5e's concentration rules.
• Many of the Artificer's spells reference Use Magic Device; a skill that no longer exists.
• At least in the playtest documents, warforged (usually the primary recipient/target of the Artificer's construct-related abilities) are now considered fully alive; healing spells cast on them are no longer halved in value, making Artificers less necessary in a warforged-heavy party. In fact, I'm not even sure that the "repair" line of spells/infusions is necessary in this environment.

So to reconcile these disparate pieces:

1. Should an Artificer be a full caster (9 levels of infusions) or a hybrid caster (5 levels)? (I'm assuming that an Artificer's infusions are more important to the class than an Arcane Trickster's few wizard spells, or an Eldritch Knight's offensive repertoire.)
2. Should infusions still be "separate" from spellcasting, or are infusions to be treated as spells that happen to only target items?
3. Should infusions continue to hold fast to the cost/experience model?
4. What replaces Use Magic Device, if anything?

Finally, since we're still dealing with just a base class (and not any archetypes yet) we can afford to allow the Artificer to be a tad underpowered compared with other classes; the gap can allow for some flexibility in the archetypes.

My first instinct tells me to try Artificers as hybrid casters, and to give them more infusions per day to compensate for them note being "full casters". After all, the Bard has been upgraded, why not the Artificer? Unfortunately, I think that ruins a very elegant system by adding another variable. Similarly, the original infusion progression is quite light; I think we either need to commit to Artificers being "full" spellcasters and assign them a full spell list (for example, give them access to Cleric spells or  Wizard spells) or commit to them using the hybrid progression. For now, let's consider the hybrid progression, but we'll assign them a single 1st level infusion slot at first level (hybrid casters don't start casting until second level).

If we stick to that idea, Artificers (under the current class model) will have light armor, simple weapons, no offensive spells, no cantrips, and only a scant few infusions per level even at the upper echelons of play.

All right, clearly that won't work.

On the other hand, if we assign a full spell list (say, the Cleric list), we're assigning a huge role (healing) that didn't exist in the 3e Artificer.  Of course, this did exist in 4e, so it's not entirely out of reach. If we make Artificers spellcasters, and give them the clerical spellcasting type (cleric spell list, cantrips, progression, and preparation procedure and number of spells), we're basically back to the Artificer as an archetype of the Cleric class. Not ideal!

Back to the drawing board.

This may be where the Warlock's unorthodox spellcasting can come in handy.  If we assume that Artificers are spellcasters, but that unlike Wizards (whose studies are formal, and whose manipulation of the Weave is based on training in an artful science) or Sorcerers (whose studies are of the self, and whose manipulation of the Weave is natural and based on the science of art), the Artificer is a muddled, idiosyncratic mimicry of other spellcasters--some science, some art, all based on research and observation (rather than tradition or talent).

Perhaps as a Wizard has a spellbook, a Cleric has a holy symbol, and a Warlock has a pact item, an Artificer could have an implement/weapon that is the focus of all spellcasting. For example, an Artificer doesn't "cast" Ray of Frost, but would rather be imbuing his staff, wand, or other implement with the power to cast it--and cast it. Cantrips become (for the Artificer) spells that are stored in the implement until needed by the Artificer, which can only be called forth by the Artificer.

An Artificer could have an implement (reminiscent of 4e) which could be the focus of most Artificer spellcasting. This particular object could be mundane or magical, but it is in some way bound to the Artificer (like attunement? short rest required to change implements?). In this way, the Artificer would not (for example) be casting  the spell straight out, but would actually be funneling magic through the implement.

Another piece of Warlock spellcasting that would probably make sense for the Artificer is the reset of spell slots each short rest rather than long rest. A smaller number of slots combined with the quick recovery of those slots means that Artificers are less likely to be able to break the new concentration rules because they won't have the means to do so (all at once, anyway).

Since this discussion is already well into deep water, let's finish out this theory and see where it takes us. For 5e:

• Artificers are spellcasters. They "cast" their infusions. For our purposes, Artificers casting spells is identical to casting infusions. (With the following restriction...)
• Artificers still may not cast spells directly, but rather must infuse an object with the spell. This can either be in the form of a "buff" (spell stays in the object) or in the form of a temporary magic item creation (as in the case of making a one-charge wand to cast magic missile).
• This will need some clarification down the line. Do Artificers both infuse and cast the spell from the focus item at the same time? Is there a delay?
• Artificers use the Wizard spell list to learn spells from.
• Artificers "know" certain spells from the Wizard list.
• Artificers use the Warlock progression for spells, with a few key differences.
• Artificers know their "Cantrips Known" from the Wizard list.
• Artificers know their "Spells Known" from the Wizard list.
• Artificers use the "Invocations Known" list to choose spells from any spell list. This functions like the Bard's "Magical Secrets" ability, but comes much sooner. 
• Similar to what is stated in the Warlock entry, one spell per Artificer level gained may be swapped out as the Artificer gains experience points/levels.
•  Spells learned must be of a spell level the Artificer is capable of casting.
• Artificers may choose to learn an additional cantrip, however only this cantrip may be changed out later. (Artificers cannot use this ability to learn a new cantrip then get rid of one they learned as a first level Artificer.)
• Artificers' "Spell Slots" and "Slot Level" mechanics function as a Warlock.
• Artificers may only cast spells if they have a spell slot remaining (except cantrips)
• Spell slots recharge after a short rest 
• One small change: beginning at 13th level, the Artificers spell slots become 6th level.
• Artificers use their implement as a focus for spellcasting.
• The implement may be a weapon, shield, or other handheld object.
• It may be magical or mundane.
• For the Artificer to cast spells, he/she must be attuned (as with a magic item, although this attunement doesn't count against the limit of three magic items. If, however, the chosen item must already be attuned in order to be used, that attunement must be done separately--and in that case counts against the total of 3).

Just a few more items to consider--the ones that break the bank, so to speak.

• Artificers ignore concentration. Because the Artificer is infusing an item with magic, once a spell is cast, it remains in the item and doesn't need to be concentrated on for the duration.
• After a short or long rest, any spells cast expire, even if their duration would normally be longer than that short/long rest.

 I am hopeful that the limited spell slots granted to an Artificer make this (concentration) less of an issue. Can an Artificer make four people invisible simultaneously? Sure, but only if they're 17th level or above, and even then they have no other magical powers until they've taken a rest (except cantrips). Can an Artificer heal? Sure, but only if they use one of their (total of) eight out-of-list spells on learning a healing spell. Can an Artificer cast fireball? Sure, but it'll use up one of the Artificer's scant few spell slots!


So let's return to our questions:

1. Should an Artificer be a full caster (9 levels of infusions) or a hybrid caster (5 levels)?
   An Artificer should be based on the Warlock model, ending with six tiers of spells, at drastically reduced spell slots.
2. Should infusions still be "separate" from spellcasting, or are infusions to be treated as spells that happen to only target items?
   Both. Infusions are spells, but Artificers still focus their castings through a particular implement item.
3. Should infusions continue to hold fast to the cost/experience model?
   Not for the moment. If we bring in some of the old infusions from the 3e class, it may be prudent to do so.
4. What replaces Use Magic Device, if anything?
   For now, since we're not using any of the old infusions, we don't need this skill. If (as in an archetype) we discover a need for this, it's possible that an Arcana skill will be functional.

To round things out, I think all we'll need are some archetypes. I'll try to consider one (or more) of those in a future post. For now, I think we need one that makes the Artificer more of an implement user (think of the old wand specialists), one that makes the Artificer more of a skill user (closer to a bard/rogue with a variety of skills and/or languages), and one that makes the Artificer more of a constructer (i.e. the old-school Artificer who used homunculi and build machines).

The last thing to be ironed out before we delve into archetypes (and therefore likely the topic of the next post) will be starting proficiencies and basic class features. Until then, please feel free to comment below with any suggestions for tweaking this "alpha draft" Artificer build!

D&D 5e: Solving the Artificer Problem (Part 2)

In the last post, I examined the problems with casting the Artificer as a subclass of one of the existing classes, eventually proposing that while that may be the most pleasing solution in terms of limiting game bloat, that it is not the best solution for the Artificer. Indeed, (I proposed) the best solution appears to be the exceptional one: the Artificer should be its own class.

After examining the first level abilities of the Artificer in the last post, we can continue to examine its other abilities. I'm going to set aside the much bigger question of infusions for now; we'll come back to it later.

Technically, I had left out the "Scribe Scroll" portion of the Artificer's first level abilities, but I'd like to address that alongside the general "Item Creation" extraordinary ability at second level.

 The basic outline is this: as Artificers level up, they gain the ability to craft magic items of each tier with greater and greater ease. The qualities to be considered are: the type (scroll, armor, weapon, wondrous, etc.) and the rarity (common, uncommon, rare, ultra rare). A third category may be the permanence of an item (one-use versus persistent), but that's often taken care of in the other two categories. 

• Item Creation: Starting at second level, an Artificer gains insight into the creation of permanent (both one-use and persistent) magical items. As the Artificer gains experience and  power, these insights become more numerous and more valuable. As with all magical item creation, it is up to the DM to outline the necessary parts/features required to create magic items.
• At 2nd, 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th, Artificers gain access to new rarities of item creation.
• At 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th, Artificers gain the ability to ignore one ingredient to the magic item recipe at the various levels of rarity.
• At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th, Artificers' item creation costs are discounted by 25% at the various levels of rarity.
• At 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th, Artificers gain the ability to ignore a second ingredient in the magic item recipes at the various levels of rarity. (Legendary-tier items cannot have more than one ingredient ignored.)
• These item creation bonuses apply only to item types for which the Artificer can craft.

Using the third edition progression as a baseline, the new item creation round-up might look something like this:

• Scribe Scroll: Starting at second level, an Artificer's close association with magical and pseudo-magical scripts gives him the ability to create magical scrolls. These scrolls may only be of levels for which the Artificer can cast infusions. [This will need tweaking as we deal with the infusions mechanics]. An Artificer may scribe a scroll for a spell which he has an existing copy or demonstration of only. For example, an Artificer may duplicate a scroll in his possession, may mimic a spell from a wizard's spellbook, or may scribe a scroll from a spell known by a cooperating and ever-present spellcaster who is assisting in the preparation and crafting of the scroll.
• Brew Potion: Starting at fourth level, an Artificer is capable of brewing magical potions and elixirs. 
• Craft Wondrous Item: At fifth level, an Artificer gains the ability to craft wondrous items.
• Craft Magic Arms and Armor: At sixth level, an Artificer gains the ability to craft magical arms and armor.
•  Craft Wand: At eighth level, an Artificer may begin crafting magic wands.
• Craft Rod: At tenth level, an Artificer may begin crafting magic rods.
• Craft Staff: At thirteenth level, an Artificer may begin crafting magic staffs.
• Forge Ring: At fifteenth level, an Artificer may begin forging magic rings.

We can abridge our earlier chart and add the new information to it:

With all of this in mind, there are a few things that still need to be discussed (or at least mentioned).

First, I've left out a few items on this original list: craft homunculus seemed somewhat unnecessary, as did the ability to take ten on a skill that doesn't really exist anymore. Retaining essences is an interesting idea, but I think it doesn't have a place in a magic item creation system that doesn't run on experience points. I also left out all discussion of metamagic feats and magical items. It seems to me that metamagic has been made the exclusive domain of the Sorcerer--one of the few things that has been given to a class that (at this point anyway) seems to be shunned in favor of the other primary spellcasting classes. Taking metamagic creation and giving it to the Artificer would just be mean.

Second, I removed all of the bonus feats. Those bonus feats are (in 5e lingo) the kind of specialization that should be left to archetypes. I'll have to develop a basic archetype for the Artificer, but until I do, I'm going to leave him without the bonus feats (or the "craft reserve").

Third, as you may have noticed, I bumped all of the item creation "feats" by exactly one level. 
I thought about bumping the earlier ones by two levels in honor of the first few levels of 5e being "apprentice" levels, but decided against it in order to preserve the elegance of the original design. The single-level bump still makes it so Artificers are not necessary for item creation, but rather strongly encouraged.

Fourth, while there are definite guidelines for magical item creation in the Dungeon Master's Guide, I'm giving DMs a lot of latitude with these rules. Nowhere does it spell out exactly what is needed to create a given magic item. For now, that's up to the DM--though I could see a system easily falling into place. (For example, maybe the costs in the DMG represent only the gold costs for magical powders and inks used in the creation of all magical items, but different rarities of magic item also call for different numbers of additional ingredients. A common potion of cure wounds might need only the base cost and two additional items; an uncommon potion of cure wounds might need three.) These requirements could easily be scaled by the DM to fit whatever level of magic is required for the campaign. (In this respect, I could even see Artificers in non-Eberron settings--just jack up the requirements per magic item. Having said that, I think it may be so punishing that it's not worth it for players to pursue it. More on that later.) A high-magic Eberron campaign might lower the number of ingredients required, while a "standard" campaign might find the numbers I propose to be functional. Each DM can calibrate by adding or subtracting ingredients across the board.

Fifth (and finally?), it should be mentioned that this entire (series of) post(s) is devoted to how to make a 5e magic-item-crafting Artificer. In a non-Eberron campaign, I am uncertain that such a class has a place. For example, I don't think I'll be allowing my own players to playtest this class in our Forgotten Realms campaign; it's not the right flavor/fit. If we accept that the Artificer is an Eberron-only (or at least, primarily Eberron-exclusive) class, a lot of the balance issues start to fall away in favor of the higher magic environment.

Next time, we'll tackle another piece of the puzzle. In the meantime, let me know what your own thoughts are on the initial magic-item-line of the Artificer's repertoire!

D&D 5e: Solving the Artificer Problem (Part 1)

Eberron's beauty lies in many things. To make that beauty accessible, I think we have to articulate two iconic components: the warforged race and the artificer class.

The warforged race is (comparatively) easy to shoe-horn into an existing campaign. Many, many, people have already made excellent--even exceptional--attempts to come up with appropriate ports for the warforged. One of them would likely suit anyone's game! As such, I think we can set the warforged aside and focus on the much more peculiar conundrum of the Artificer class.

At least three solid "hacks" of existing character classes have been put forward to address the void: Cleric, Warlock, and the "official" option--Wizard. Some have bandied about the idea of a Bard hack--promising, but I have yet to see anyone make the attempt.

I'm least partial to the "official" Wizard option.  Using a Wizard Tradition to create super-temporary magical effects just turns the Artificer into a wizard with a few delayed spell effects. This seems neither in keeping with Keith Baker's original vision for the class nor with a hearty sense of fun!

The Warlock option has some interesting merits, but it's still lacking the full flavor and it still seems weaker in many respects.

Baker's playtest-worthy hack is built on the Cleric chassis, using the idea of "Artifice" as a new cleric domain. This seems somewhat reasonable, particularly considering his list of features. According to Baker (as the inventor/creator of the Eberron), the 3.5 Artificer had several key features:

• "Simple weapon proficiency
• Light and Medium armor proficiency, proficient with shields
• The ability to disable traps like a rogue.
• An exceptional talent for creating permanent magic items.
• The ability to create temporary magic items using infusions. This system had some similarities to spellcasting. The basic list of infusion effects was very limited, focusing on effects to enhance the abilities and equipment of the artificer and allies and the ability to disable or repair constructs and objects… and the unique abilities I mentioned before.
• Many of the artificer’s most useful and versatile infusions had a base casting time of 1 minute; this could be reduced to 1 round by burning an action point."

The first three options are easily taken care of whether we "hack" an old class or jump-start a new one.

The last one is also easily remedied. Under the core rules, one might even use inspiration instead of an action point. (Though action points would be easily re-entered if the setting of the campaign is Eberron.)

The second to last one is fussy, but not insurmountable. Because the list is so limited, a dedicated look at the Artificer infusions list (combined with some soul-searching about the new concentration rules and how not to completely break them) may yield some positive results. Maybe we'll come back to this one.

The real humdinger is lodged squarely in the middle: "an exceptional talent for creating permanent magic items." In the 3.X universe where every item had a cost that was easily referenced, the formula used to help Artificers fulfill this function as magic item factories were stable and accessible. In the 5e universe where (at best) items belong to vague categories (common, uncommon, rare, etc.) with loose price ranges attached, this becomes more cumbersome.

I think that while the most elegant solution would be to create a bard sublcass (the jack-of-all-trades feel and utility spell list seem to mesh much better than the flashy, offensive spells of a wizard or the healing-heavy, divine-tempered list of a cleric), the exceptional solution may be the preferred one here: creating (re-creating) the Artificer as a new 5e base class.

If we model the Artificer on its 3e counterpart and simply update to to 5e, we can probably find a clear track to make it happen.

A look at the first level reveals the following:

• Artificer Knowledge was a great way for Artificers to have (what would now be) the Detect Magic ritual: (no spell slots required, but it also couldn't be done in a round). I think we can replace this with something similar:
• Ritual Caster: You have a "ritual tome" which mimics a wizard's spellbook with several key differences. You may only scribe new spells into it that have the ritual tag. These spells must be scribed from scrolls containing the spell (they are not learned from any other means). Even another Artificer's ritual tome cannot be used to gain additional rituals. Artificer ritual tomes use unique codes and cyphers to explain the way to mimic a spell in the idiosyncratic science of artifice, and is therefore uniquely useful only to the Artificer who scribed it. The artificer may scribe spells from any list (provided that they contain the ritual tag). When casting rituals from the ritual tome, the spell takes roughly twice as long as a normal ritual (i.e. initial casting time, plus twenty minutes). This additional time represents the difference between an active spellcaster manipulating arcane/divine energies to cast a spell and the artificers tinkered, ad hoc mimicry of those same energies. At first level, your ritual tome starts with Detect Magic scribed into it.
•  Craft Reserve was absolutely the way that Artificers were able to create any magic items without immediately falling behind the rest of their party in experience points. In a post-formula magic item creation environment, the role of this feature is less clear. More to come on this in later level discussions.
• Weapon and Armor proficiencies are a stickier wicket. Most people want to give Artificers the same proficiencies they had in 3e. That might be possible, but I suspect that they're going to have a lot going for them already. To counteract this, I'm going to start by proposing that Artificers are proficient with light armor and shields (but not medium armor), and all simple weapons. Racial backgrounds or multiclassing can still pick up some slack here for those who desperately desire the slightly heavier armor, but the base class will be that much less overpowered.
• Artisan Bonus is another throwback. Perhaps it can be combined with another former ability?
• Disable Trap would make a fine admixture.
• Tools: Artificers are proficient in thieves tools and one artisan's tool set of their choice.
• Infusions can possibly work the same way they do in 3e, with some adjustments for concentration rules and (of course) the actual porting of the infusions into 5e.

What are your own thoughts on this conundrum? Feel free to toss in a comment if you have something constructive to add! Look forward to Part 2 for how my 5e Artificer class shapes up in levels beyond the 1st.