Charlaquin
Goblin Queen (She/Her/Hers)
I think a non-spellcasting Artificer would fit fine in Eberron. It’s not like they wouldn’t be able to make scrolls, potions, wands, etc. with which to produce the effects of spells.That runs entirely counter to the conceits of Eberron, where the goddamn cook in the burger shop down the street is probably a Magewright knows Prestidigitation and Purify Food and Drink, and so do all of his competitors. Given that the Artificer will be releasing in either the final version of the WGtE or the upcoming as-of-now unnamed Eberron book being designed by Welch, it makes sense that the Artificer is a Magewright on steroids.
I think people get too worked up over "Spell Slots". They're just a mechanic, a means by which the character can do something. They don't mean "magical power". or at least, they don't have to. "Spells" and "Spell Slots" are a way of giving a variety of options for things to do in a given situation, and a limit on how to do them, without writing out a special mechanic just for this class to do the same. The pdf even says as much in the sidebar. You wanna cure someone, but don't want to be channeling "Divine magic"? Sure, you have a salve you can put on them that you've been working on. You want to cast "Disguise Self", but with no magic? Sure, you figured out how to do a hologram on yourself, either through advanced tech or Rune Magic or something similar.
This way, there's a huge list of effects they can do (spells) but a limit on how many times they can do them (spell slots). It's naturally upgraded as the character levels, it's on par with other classes in the progression, and most importantly, they don't have to recreate the wheel to give you "something unique". If you don't like spell slots, don't call them spell slots. Call them Artificer Slots or Gadget Uses or something like that, that just so happen to have the same functionality as Spell Slots.
Ugh. If there’s one thing I dislike more than a spellcasting Artificer, it’s a spellcasting Artificer that tries to pretend it’s not casting spells because it calls its spells something different. I don’t want the Artificer to be a spellcaster, but if it has to be out of some kind of adherence to the artistic vision of Eberron or whatever, at least have the decency to call those spells what they are. A sidebar saying “you can use thieves tools as a spellcasting focus and describe your spells however you want!” doesn’t actually make it any less of a spellcasting class. I can already describe my spells however I want, and no one ever actually describes their spells anyway. I’m not opposed to the idea of a spellcasting Artificer existing, but please at least give us a non-spellcasting option.
I also don’t buy the “this way they don’t have to recreate the wheel to give you ‘something unique’” argument. The wheel’s already been recreated and called Infusions.