D&D 5E Artificer Class, Revised: Rip Me A New One

RealAlHazred

Frumious Flumph (Your Grace/Your Eminence)
Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

Artificers are a vital part of Eberron, as a character archetype, a thematic element, and a way of maintaining verisimilitude for simulationists. The test rules presented for them in Unearthed Arcana are disappointing (x)- I say that while they are definitely an artificer, they aren't the Eberron artificer. As such, this is my take on the class. 
 
The introduction and design notes are in post #2, below(x); this post is the crunch. The only note I'm posting in advance is that basic item creation rules are present already (DMG p.128) - see Post #2 for more details on how this works with them.
 
I'm asking for harsh criticism on this - survival of the fittest, let's see how this survives. Hence, "rip me a new one".
 
 
See HERE for a nicely-formatted PDF of the entire class, with three Eberron-exclusive races (Warforged, Shifter, and Changeling) as a bonus.
 
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Artificer
 Hit Dice: 1d8 per artificer level (8+Con at 1st level, 1d8 (or 5) +Con per level after that.) Proficiencies:Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields.Weapons: Simple weapons.Tools: Thieves' Tools and one type of Artisan's Tools.Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom.Skills: You are proficient in three skills from the following list: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Sleight of Hand.
 
Multiclass: Requires Intelligence 13+; entering artificer gives proficiency in light armor, one skill from the class' skill list, and either Thieves Tools or one type of Artisan's Tools. Count 2/3 your artificer level when determining your multiclass spell slots. If you have a spell slot of the appropriate level, you can record spells of that level into your book of schema. Quick Build: You can make an artificer quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity and Constitution (in either order). Second, choose the Guild Artisan background. Third, choose the Light, Mending, and Emergency Repairs cantrips. Fourth, choose the Alarm, Sleep, and Unseen Servant spells. Equipment: You start with the following equipment, in addition to any equipment granted by your background:
  • (a) A light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) a shield
  • Scale mail and any simple weapon
  • (a) One type of artisan's tools, or (b) thieves' tools
  • A component pouch and a book of schema (spellbook)
  • (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) a scholar's pack
The Artificer
LevelProficiencyFeaturesCantrips1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th
1+2Spellcrafting, Infuse Arcane Device, Infuse Potions, Magecraft3--------------
2+2Spellcasting, Personal Weapon Augmentation32------------
3+2Artificers' Guild ability, Salvage Essence (Common)33------------
4+2Ability Score Improvement33------------
5+3Artificers' Guild ability, Salvage Essence (Uncommon)342----------
6+3 343----------
7+3Prolonged Augmentation343----------
8+3Ability Score Improvement3432--------
9+4 3433--------
10+4Sustained Augmentation4433--------
11+4Artificer's Guild ability, Salvage Essence (Rare)44331------
12+4Ability Score Improvement44332------
13+5 44333------
14+5 443331----
15+5Expanded Augmentation443332----
16+5Ability Score Improvement443332----
17+6Artificer's Guild ability, Salvage Essence (Very Rare)4433321--
18+6 4433321--
19+6Ability Score Improvement4433321--
20+6Infusion Mastery44333211
 
Spellcrafting
You specialize in the practice of infusing objects with magic, temporarily making them magical. 
 
Object Dependence
When you cast an artificer spell, artificer cantrip, or ritual from a book of schema, that spell requires an extra object as a material component, in addition to the spell's normal material components (even if the spell has none or you use a component pouch instead). You can perform these spells' somatic components while holding these objects. If the spell has a duration longer than instantaneous, targets of the spell must hold or wear one of its material components to benefit from the spell. Spells that target constructs use their body for this component.
 
CantripsAt 1st level, you learn three cantrips from the artificer list. You learn another cantrip from the artificer list at 10th level. Book of SchemaYou have a book of spell schema, which are magical blueprints related to linking magic to objects. Treat this as a spellbook containing detect magic, identify, and 3 1st level spells from any class. You cannot prepare or cast these spells using your spell slots, but other class features will reference these spell schemas instead. You activate or create magic items as if you were a spellcaster whose spell list includes the schema in your book. Ritual CasterIf a spell schema in your book has the Ritual tag, you can cast it as a ritual without using a spell slot. Spellcasting AbilityIntelligence is your spellcasting ability for artificer spells and spellcrafting, as you have to reverse-engineer and hack together an improvised version of a spell instead of casting it. Whenever you create a magical effect from a schema or cast a spell, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC and spell attack roll:Saving Throw DC = 8 + Your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier, or by item
Spell Attack Modifier = Your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier, or by item
 Acquiring schema of 1st level and higherEvery time you gain an artificer level, you add one new spell of at least 1st level from any class's list to your book of schema. You can also add a spell you find to your book, similar to the Spellbook sidebar (PHB page 114). Schema employ a different formulation than spells in spellbooks or ritual books, so a spellbook cannot supply a schema and vice versa; however, other schema, spell scrolls, and certain other magical writings can supply the appropriate information. You cannot learn a spell schema of any level for which you don't have spell slots. Craft ReserveWhen another class feature of yours creates a temporary magical device, its magic is sustained by your craft reserve. In effect, this sets a limit on how many magic tools an artificer can create, enhance, and maintain at once. Your craft reserve is equal to your artificer level plus your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1). Spent craft reserve recovers after the item it was spent to create is no longer magical and you finish a long rest, unless otherwise mentioned. MagecraftArtificers can imbue their tools with magic, causing them to behave perfectly for any task at hand. As an action, you can spend 1 point of craft reserve to add double your proficiency bonus with all ability checks you make with a specific tool for 1 hour. If you use magecraft on thieves' tools, you can attempt to disarm a magical trap with an Intelligence (Thieves' Tools) check instead of an Intelligence (Arcana) check. Craft reserve spent this way recovers after a short rest.Having this class feature allows you to complete twice as much work per downtime day spent crafting items. Infuse Arcane DeviceDuring a short or long rest, if you have artisan's tools and a component pouch available and aren't otherwise performing a task, you can create a device which acts like a spell scroll of any spell recorded in your book of schema, except that it cannot be copied into a spellbook. Doing so costs you 1 point of craft reserve per level of the spell, and you must supply any components the spell requires. These devices remain until used or until 24 hours have passed since they leave your possession.  Infuse PotionsDuring a short or long rest, if you have a vial of water and a component pouch available and aren't otherwise performing a task, you can spend one or more points of craft reserve to transform the water into a magic potion. The type of potions you can create are limited by your artificer level. The potion lasts 1 week or until consumed.  
LevelReservePotion type (see the Dungeon Master's Guide)
1st1Climbing, Growth, or Healing
3rd2Mind Reading or Greater Healing
5th3Invisibility, Superior Healing, or Water Breathing
7th4Resistance (one type from Weapon Augmentation or roll randomly)
 SpellcastingBeginning at 2nd level, you gain the ability to cast spells from the artificer spell list, using your Intelligence score. The Artificer table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, 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 + two-thirds your artificer level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of artificer spells requires time spent tinkering with spell components and jury-rigging together the spell's basic form: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.
 
Personal Weapon Augmentation
Also at 2nd level, as a bonus action, you can spend 1 point of craft reserve to infuse one weapon you hold with magic. For 1 hour or until the weapon is stowed, that weapon is magical, and you may use your Intelligence modifier on attack and damage rolls with the weapon. Craft reserve spent this way recovers after a short rest. You also choose one damage type from weapon augmentation. At 2nd level this choice is purely cosmetic, but the weapon deals bonus damage of the chosen type at 5th (+1d4), 11th (+2d4), and 17th (+3d4) level.
If you cast weapon augmentation on your weapon, you automatically gain the benefits of this ability, using the damage type chosen for that spell, for the spell's duration.
 Salvage EssenceAt 3rd level, you can spend a long rest disassembling the magic infused in a single identified magic item in your possession. When you finish the long rest, the item is completely mundane, but you also learn the formula to create that item. The complexity of a magic item is linked to its rarity, and you must be a minimum level before you can disassemble an item successfully as shown in the Artificer table. Artifacts, cursed items, and sentient items cannot be disassembled. Artificer's GuildAt 3rd level, you become affiliated with one of the loosely-organized artificer guilds: the Magitechnicians' Guild, the Spellforgers' Guild, the Alchemists' Guild, and the Golemists' Guild. Your choice grants you features when you choose it at 3rd level, and again at 5th, 11th, and 17th levels. Ability Score ImprovementWhen 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 two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase any score above 20 with this feature. Prolonged AugmentationAt 7th level, Weapon Augmentation and Armor Augmentation spells you cast now last up to 1 hour while you maintain concentration.
 Sustained AugmentationAt 10th level, Weapon Augmentation and Armor Augmentation spells you cast no longer require concentration. Expanded AugmentationAt 15th level, when you cast Weapon Augmentation or Armor Augmentation (using a shield), you can choose necrotic or radiant damage. Armor Augmentation using a suit of armor is now effective against magic weapons. Infusion MasterAt 20th level, casting artificer spells no longer breaks your concentration. If you are concentrating on an artificer spell, you can maintain all other artificer spells you cast until you stop concentrating.==========================================Artificer Guild features

Artificer guilds
[sblock] Magitechnicians' GuildInnovators and inventors who specialize in solving problems or discovering the secrets to building new items. Members of this guild are often nicknamed "tinkerers" due to the prevalence of rock gnomes among their numbers. 
  • 3rd: Inventor (Prototype is always prepared and doesn't count against your number of prepared spells. You can also cast Prototype by spending craft reserve equal to the spell's level instead of a spell slot. You can't spend more craft reserve than your highest level spell slot.) 
  • 5th: Breakthrough (You can spend a Hit Die while casting Prototype to cast it as an action instead of in 1 minute) and Salvage Savant (you can use Salvage Essence on items one step rarer than you otherwise could, including Legendary items at level 17.)
  • 11th: Prototype Mastery (Intelligence (Arcana) checks made when activating prototypes have advantage.)
  • 17th: Flash of Genius (If you roll a natural 20 on the Intelligence (Arcana) check and succeed on activating a prototype, the item remains magical and can be used again.)
Spellforgers' GuildMilitary engineers who focus on on personal equipment upgrades and direct combat skill. Due to the exploits of several dwarf spellforgers, this guild's members are commonly called "battlesmiths". 
  • 3rd: Proficent with martial weapons, and Augmentation Savant (You can spend 1 point of craft reserve instead of a 1st level spell slot to cast Weapon Augmentation or Armor Augmentation on items you wield. Craft reserve spend this way recovers after a short rest.).
  • 5th: Extra Attack. (Standard form of this ability, one extra attack during the Attack action.)
  • 11th: Tools of War (Magic Weapon, Magic Armor, and Elemental Weapon spells you cast behave as if they were 1 spell level higher.)
  • 17th: Advanced Augmentation (Armor and shields you wear can support two separate armor augmentations each. Personal Weapon Augmentation uses d6s instead of d4s for its bonus damage.)
Alchemists' GuildMakers of powerful and diverse potions, poisons, and explosives. This guild's members are primarily human, whose short lives and natural ambition lead them to adapt well to the risks of alchemy. 
  • 3rd: Proficient with artisan's tools (alchemist's supplies), poisoner's kit, and bombs, and Infuse Bomb (Add "bomb" to your Infuse Potion list for 1 craft reserve. Bombs deal poison (gas) or thunder (explosive) damage; acid, fire, radiant, or piercing (shrapnel) bombs can be made by consuming a flask of acid, alchemist's fire, holy water, or a bag of ball bearings, respectively. Throwing a bomb is a ranged weapon attack (if you made the bomb, you can use your Intelligence modifier on the attack roll instead) which can hit targets up to 20 feet away; they are considered magic weapons which deal 2d6+Int damage to their target on a hit and half damage on a miss, and half damage within 5 feet of your target (Dexterity save using your spell DC for no damage). You can spend more reserve during creation to increase the damage (+2d6 per extra point) so long as the total you spend doesn't exceed your highest-level spell slot. Unlike potions, bombs last until used, and craft reserve spent to create them returns after they explode and you finish a short or long rest. Bombs that aren't held explode if they take any damage.)
  • 5th: Measured Response (you can take a bonus action to take the Use an Object action to interact with non-weapon objects that you can hold in one hand – such as potions, flasks, or bombs. You can also use this bonus action to attack with a bomb or flask. You cannot use an object this way if it would cast a spell.)
  • 11th: Master Distiller (You can create any number of potions in the same short rest, craft reserve and materials permitting.)
  • 17th: Spell Flask (Using Infuse Arcane Device with a flask of water and a component pouch can create a spell flask, which holds a Self-range or Area spell recorded in your book of schema. Spell flasks function as arcane devices that can be used by anyone, even nonspellcasters, if swallowed (self-range) or broken/thrown (area) as an action - do not get these two mixed up. You cannot concentrate on spells from spell flasks. Area spells that emit from their caster must be thrown at your feet to function. Spell flasks dissipate harmlessly if they take damage.)
Golemists' GuildSpecialists in combating and supporting constructs, especially their assistant homunculi. This guild has seen increasing popularity since the rise of the warforged, both as subjects of research and as members themselves. 
  • 3rd: Homunculus (Over one week of downtime, you can create a homunculus (Monster Manual p.188) to aid you in adventuring. The homunculus is Small, deals 1d4 damage with its bite attack, has hit points equal to 4 * your artificer level, and uses your proficiency bonus instead of its own (+2). Commanding the homunculus telepathically is a bonus action. If uncommanded during combat, the DM controls it that round; it's loyal but not necessarily brave. Once commanded, it can deliver artificer touch spells for you as if it were a familiar (see the Find Familiar spell). If it is within 100 feet and is holding an arcane device or prototype you created, you can activate the item on the homunculus' behalf as an action (in addition to the bonus action needed to command the homunculus); the homunculus must use its reaction to make any attacks the spell requires. When you spend Hit Dice to recover HP, you can redirect any HP you would recover to the homunculus instead; at the end of any short rest where this happens, it also regains HP equal to your Intelligence modifier. If your homunculus is destroyed, you can construct a replacement with a week of downtime.)
  • 5th: Combat Construction (You can cast Repair Damage or Inflict Damage as a bonus action. Add an extra die to your Repair Damage, Inflict DamageMending Wave, and Disable Construct spells.)
  • 11th: Advanced Homunculus (Choose one of the following models for your homunculus. Given a week of downtime, you can change the homunculus from one model to another. Also, add your Intelligence bonus to the homunculus' poison DC).
  • 17th: Construct Dominance (As an action, you can make a melee spell attack against a construct and spend 1 point of craft reserve to force the construct to regard you as its master for 1 minute. Independent constructs behave as if charmed instead. Craft reserve spent this way returns after a short rest. As an action, a dominated construct's original master can attempt a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC to re-assert control. An independent construct who attempts this saving throw does so as a bonus action.)​
Advanced Homunculus models
[sblock]Iron Defender: Your homunculus is Medium, deals 1d8+2 damage on a bite, and gains a Strength score of 14, an AC of 16 (natural armor), and +1 hit point per artificer level. Its walking and flying speeds are both 30 feet.
 
Dedicated Wright: Your homunculus can contribute to item creation and magic item creation downtime activities as if it were another worker. You do not need to participate in the same activity, though if you both work on the same project, the homunculus contributes as much as two workers.
 
Furtive Filcher: Your homunculus gains the Halfling Nimbleness and Naturally Stealthy abilities (Player's Handbook p.28), and is proficient with Sleight of Hand and Stealth.
 
Expeditious Messenger: Your homunculus' fly speed increases to 60 feet, and you gain the ability to see through its senses with an action (as if it were a familiar). The homunculus can also relay your voice to its current location, provided it is within one mile of you.
 
Arbalester: Your homunculus has an integrated light crossbow, which is as poisonous as the homunculus' normal bite, and a quiver for 20 bolts. (You must supply any ammunition.) If adjacent to you when you cast a spell that uses your weapon or quiver as a component, the homunculus also benefits from that spell.
 
Packmate: Can hold up to 30 small items, such as potions or alchemical devices, within its body and can use or throw one such item as an attack. It can give a stored item to an adjacent creature (or retrieve and store a small item from a willing adjacent creature) as a bonus action.
[/sblock]
 [/sblock]==================Artificer Spells
Cantrips:1st Level:2nd level:3rd level:4th level:5th level:6th level:7th level:
Blade WardArmor Augmentation ©
Arcane LockDispel MagicFabricateAnimate Objects ©Blade Barrier ©Mordenkainen's Sword ©
Emergency RepairsCatapult ᴱCordon of ArrowsElemental Weapon ©Harden Construction © CreationDisable ConstructSymbol
Guidance ©Inflict DamageEnhance Ability ©Energy Ward ©Power SurgeObject ReadingMove Earth © 
LightPrototype
Find TrapsGlyph of WardingStone ShapeReconstructionTotal Repair 
Magic Stone ᴱRepair DamageHeat Metal ©Jumpstart Wall of Stone ©  
MendingShield
KnockLift Curse    
PrestidigitationShield of Faith ©
Magic Armor ©Mending Wave    
Resistance ©
Weapon Augmentation ©
Magic Weapon ©     
  
Shatter
     
  Synchronize ©     
Italics are a new spells, described below; blue-named spells are totally new (others have parallels in existing spells, as noted below; totally new ones are updates of old, unique, infusions). © requires concentration. ® has the Ritual tag (not used). ᴱ is from the Elemental Evil Player's Companion. 

Spell Descriptions
[sblock]Armor Augmentation
1st-level transmutation [Update of: the Armor Augmentation line of infusions]
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: M (a bit of powdered metal, artisan’s tools, and the armor or shield itself)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute or until the armor or shield is no longer worn
The touched suit of armor or shield is magically transmuted to protect its bearer. The touched item becomes magical and grants its wearer resistance to one damage type. If you touch a suit of armor, choose bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage; magical weapons ignore this resistance. If you touch a shield, choose acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage.
    At Higher Levels. For every spell level higher than 1st, this spell can affect an additional suit of armor or shield in range (which becomes another component). All targets must be the same type (armor or shield), and use the same choice of damage type.
 Disable Construct 6th-level transmutation (reference: Harm)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (artisan's tools)
Duration: Instantaneous
You cause a cascading failure in a construct that you can see. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 14d6 force damage, or half as much damage on a successful save. The damage can't reduce the target's hit points below 1. If the target fails the saving throw, its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the force damage it took. Any effect that removes a curse allows a construct's hit point maximum to return to normal.
 Emergency RepairsEvocation cantrip (reference: Spare the Dying)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (artisan's tools)
Duration: Instantaneous
You touch a dying construct that has 0 hit points. The construct becomes stable and regains one hit point. This spell has no effect on undead or living creatures.
 Energy Ward3rd-level abjuration (reference: Protection from Energy)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
For the duration, the object or willing construct you touch of Medium size or smaller has resistance to one damage type of your choice: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. If the target already resists that damage type, it has immunity to that damage type instead.
    At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or highter, you can affect a construct or object up to one size larger per slot level above 3rd.
 Harden Construction4th-level abjuration (reference: Stoneskin)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a diamond worth 100 gp, which is consumed when the spell ends)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
This spell hardens the substance of a willing construct or object you touch of Large size or smaller. Until the spell ends, the target has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage if it is a construct, or a damage threshold of 20 if it is an object.
    At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or highter, you can affect a construct or object up to one size larger per slot level above 4th.
 Inflict Damage1st-level transmutation (reference: Inflict Wounds)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (artisan's tools)
Duration: Instantaneous
Make a melee spell attack against a construct or object you can reach. On a hit, the target takes 3d10 force damage. This spell has no effect on living creatures or undead.
    At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d10 for each slot level above 1st.
 Jumpstart3rd-level conjuration (reference: Revivify)
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (diamonds worth 300 gp, which the spell consumes, and artisan's tools)
Duration: Instantaneous
This prevents animative energy from fading from a dying construct or magic item. When you cast this spell, choose emergency repairs or an emergency recharge.
    Emergency Repairs. If you touch a construct that has died within the last minute, that construct returns to life with 1 hit point per Hit Die it possesses. This spell can't restore any missing body parts.
    Emergency Recharge. If you spend the last charge from a magic item, you can cast this spell on it. Doing so restores one charge to the item. If the item has an effect that happens when its last charge is spent, that effect doesn’t happen (for instance, jumpstarted wands have no chance of becoming nonmagical).
 Lift Curse3rd-level abjuration (reference: Remove Curse)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
At your touch, all curses affecting one construct or object end. If the object is a cursed magic item, its curse remains, but the spell breaks its owner's attunement to the object so it can be removed or discarded.
 Magic Armor2nd-level transmutation (reference: Magic Weapon)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
You touch a nonmagical suit of armor. Until the spell ends, that armor becomes a suit of magic armor with a +1 bonus to Armor Class. You cannot target a shield with this spell.
    At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the bonus increases to +2. When you use a spell slot of 6th level or higher, the bonus increases to +3.
 Mending Wave3rd-level evocation (reference: Mass Healing Word)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (artisan's tools)
Duration: Instantaneous
A pulse of arcane energy echoes out from your position, causing up to six constructs of your choice that you can see within range to regain hit points equal to 1d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier. This spell has no effect on undead or living creatures.    At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the healing increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd.
 Object Reading5th-level divination (reference: Legend Lore)
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (incense worth at least 250 gp, which the spell consumes, and a jeweler's loupe worth 200gp)
Duration: Instantaneous
This spell targets an object or construct you touch. The spell brings to your mind a brief summary of the significant history of the target. This might consist of current tales, forgotten stories, or even secret lore that has never been widely known. The more information you already have about the target, the more precise and detailed the information you receive is, while the less renowned the target is, the hazier and less-detailed the information you receive is.
 Power Surge4th-level evocation [update of: the Power Surge infusion]
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: S, M (a copper piece, a disc of zinc, and the charged magic item itself).
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute (or 1 round after you no longer touch the item)
Arcs of lightning and a bright glow emanate from a charged magic item you hold or wear, providing dim light out to 20 feet and making noise clearly audible up to 100 feet away. While the duration lasts, you can spend your craft reserve in place of charges when you use the item. Each point of craft reserve counts as one charge. You regain craft reserve spent this way after a short rest.
    When the duration ends, reduce the item’s maximum number of charges by one for every point of craft reserve spent. If the item has more charges remaining than its new maximum, it deals 2d10 points of force damage per excess charge to its bearer and falls to its new maximum. If the item has zero or fewer maximum charges, it explodes, dealing 8d10 force damage to everyone within 10 feet of it (a Dexterity save halves the damage, but anyone holding or wearing the item has disadvantage on the save) and crumbles into ash. Otherwise, if the item endures, it recovers one maximum charge each dawn until it reaches its original maximum.
    This spell fails if cast on an item that requires attunement if you aren’t attuned to the item, or if the item is cursed.
 Prototype1st-level transmutation [update of: the Spell Storing Item infusion]Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Components: S, M (artisan’s tools, any material components of the chosen spell, a schema you've written for that spell, and the touched object itself)
Duration: 1 hour or until used
You infuse a small object with magic, following the 1st-level spell schema you used as a component. At any point during the duration, you can use the item to cast the schema’s spell; the item takes the place of any components (including verbal and somatic components), but loses its magic after afterwards. Using the item takes your action, or the chosen spell’s casting time, whichever is longer.
    Using the item carries a risk of failure. When you use the item, you must succeed on an Intelligence (Arcana) check (DC 10 + twice the slot level) to cast the spell. If you fail the check, a mishap occurs instead; by default, this deals 2d6 force damage to you, but alternative mishaps are possible (see Dungeon Master's Guide p.140 for a partial list of ideas).
    Attempting to cast a spell that interacts with a magic item's charges (such as jumpstart or power surge) on a prototype instantly causes a mishap, after which the prototype becomes nonmagical.  
    At Higher Levels. If you cast this spell from a higher-level spell slot, the schema can be of any spell up to that level. Treat the spell as if it were cast in a slot of that level.
 Reconstruction5th-level conjuration (reference: Raise Dead)
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a diamond worth at least 500gp, which the spell consumes, and artisan's tools)
Duration: Instantaneous
You return a dead construct to life, no matter how long it has been dead. The construct returns to life with 1 hit point, and can spend one or more Hit Dice to regain additional hit points during the process as if it had just finished a short rest.    This spell can't return a living creature or undead to life, and can't remove any lingering conditions or curses on constructs it repairs. It repairs superficial damage, but doesn't restore missing body parts. If the construct would be unable to survive without its missing body parts, the spell automatically fails. Similarly, although this spell can restore constructs whether or not they have souls, if a construct with a soul is not both willing and at liberty to return to life, the spell fails.
    Reactivating a construct from death is an ordeal. The target takes a -4 penalty to all attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks. Every time the construct finishes a long rest, the penalty is reduced by 1 until it disappears.
 Repair Damage1st-level evocation (reference: Cure Wounds)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (artisan's tools)
Duration: Instantaneous
A construct or object you touch regains a number of hit points equal to 1d10 + your spellcasting ability modifier. This spell has no effect on living creatures or undead.    At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the hit points restored increase by 1d10 for each slot level above 1st.
 Synchronize2nd-level transmutation [update of: the Suppress Requirement infusion]
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range:  Touch
Components: V, S, M (powdered gemstones worth 50gp, which the spell consumes, and a sprinkle of iron filings, a tuning fork, and the touched magic item itself)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour or until the item is no longer held or worn
You attune to an unattuned magic item you hold or wear. You are considered to meet the item’s special requirements for attunement and use (including optional requirements), if any. This item does not count against the normal limit of three simultaneously-attuned magic items, and when the spell ends, the item is no longer attuned to you.
    Using this spell on a cursed item causes it to attune to you normally, including counting towards the attunement limit and imparting the curse to you. If you already had three items attuned when you used this spell on a cursed item, one of them, chosen at random, is no longer attuned.
    At Higher Levels. If you cast this spell from a 3rd-level slot, it can attune another creature to a magic item they hold or wear.
 Total Repair6th-level evocation (reference: Heal)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (artisan's tools)
Duration: Instantaneous
A surge of arcane energy washes through a construct you can see, causing it to regain 70 hit points. This spell also reduces the target's exhaustion by one level and ends blindness, deafness, paralysis, petrification, stunning, and any curses affecting the target. This spell has no effect on living creatures or undead.    At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, the amount of healing increases by 10 and the exhaustion reduction increases by one level for each slot level above 6th.
 Weapon Augmentation1st-level transmutation [update of: the Weapon Augmentation line of infusions]
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: M (a bit of powdered metal, artisan’s tools, and the weapon itself)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute or until the weapon is no longer wielded
You infuse a melee weapon with elemental energy. Alternatively, you can infuse a quiver, and any ammunition present when you do gains the benefit instead. Choose acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage. The weapon is now a magic weapon which deals damage of that type in place of one of its normal damage types.
    At Higher Levels. For every spell level higher than 1st, this spell can affect an additional weapon in range (which becomes another component). All weapons use the same choice of damage type.

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RealAlHazred

Frumious Flumph (Your Grace/Your Eminence)
Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

This post used to include the first round of comments from Mellored's thread(x), where I originally pitched this (but I don't like threadjacking, so I moved to a new place). Instead, this explains my design process and discusses the class' effectiveness.
 
My design goals when putting this together (apart from remaining roughly on par with the other classes!) are as follows:
 
  • Artificers must be playable with the standard 5e assumptions about magic items, as well as in Eberron where lower-level magic items are more commonplace. Ideally, it's a seamless transition - no changes to the class involved. It should automatically adapt to how magic items are handled in different worlds, without seriously challenging the assumptions of those worlds. 
  • It has to "feel" like the previous editions' artificer did. This means a magical craftsman, mechanical tinkerer, and arcane improviser. Certain specific abilities won't be ported if they conflict with goal 1. (For instance, Metamagic Spell Trigger from the 3e artificer assumes commonplace purchasing of wands and freely available metamagic, neither of which are true in 5e, so out it goes.). I think that Keith Baker summed up what "defines" an Eberron artificer here, and largely, I concur. 
  • It should be as simple to play as any other spellcaster, and ideally presented, in its entirety, in around two to four pages of typesetting before artwork or tables, while still supporting a few different subclass options. This includes any new spells, so in fulfilling Goal 2 I can't create an entire new chapter to reflect their infusions. Existing rules will be used wherever possible as a result.
 
For Design Goal 1, I think this fits quite nicely, though it might not be immediately obvious, since most of the controls aren't explicit in the class text. They're mostly inherited instead from how the DM is already regulating magic items, but they still leave enough tools to fine-tune how the artificer works to just about any degree. Allow me a brief diversion to explain why.
Regarding magic item creation in 5e Standard and other settings
[sblock]I'd like to note that, in the DMG, magic item creation is a perfectly valid downtime activity, assuming you have a formula as well as the raw materials and downtime. (Check page 128; it's exactly as common a downtime activity as cavorting, spreading rumors, or buying a business - the last of which seems to be one of the default assumptions as to what higher-level characters spend all their vast wealth on anyway!)  
A formula, according to page 141, is written down (such as in a book or on a scroll, though its size isn't mentioned), and is one step rarer than the item it describes (although certain games with commonplace item creation might have formulas of the same rarity as their item). According to page 128-129, using a formula requires that a character have spell slots and can cast any spell the item produces (items that don't produce spells don't have this second requirement - anyone with spell slots and the appropriate formula can create a +1 sword or bag of holding). There's also a level requirement based on the item's rarity, as well as a GP cost (which also sets the time required) based on the same rarity. The DMG also includes this wonderful paragraph: You can decide that certain items also require special materials or locations to be created. For example, a character might need alchemist's supplies to brew a particular potion, or the formula for a flame tongue might require that the weapon be forged with lava. (Note: The Player's Handbook describes that potions of healing require an herbalists' kit to brew, for instance (in addition to the formula). This would be an example of one of these additional requirements.)
 
Expressed as a table, since the formula doesn't seem to be widely known, and adding in relevant details from other DMG sections, we can consolidate like this:
RarityFind LevelCraft LevelMarket ValueCreation CostDowntime
Common1st3rd50 - 100 gp100 gp4 days
Uncommon1st3rd101 - 500 gp500 gp20 days
Rare5th6th501 - 5000 gp5000 gp200 days
Very Rare11th11th5001 - 50000 gp50000 gp2000 days
Legendary17th17th50001+ gp500000 gp20000 days
Add to this the formula itself (usually one rarity level above the item it builds), and any requirements the formula contains. Qualified workers meet the Craft Level requirement, have spell slots, and can cast any spells that the item creates (often none). Note: If you use the Selling Magic Items system, the Creation Cost column is the item's base price (though Legendary items aren't saleable without a special quest), but it isn't always easy to get the full price back.
 
Additionally, page 135 suggests that the Market Value of consumable magic items be cut in half. It doesn't say if this should extend to the Creation Cost or Downtime, although this is probably a reasonable interpretation. Furthermore, you can split up the downtime between multiple people (so while one worker needs to spend over 5 years on making a Very Rare item, a team of five working together needs just 400 days to do it). The Cost to Create is spent in 25gp increments per worker per day, which matters if you can't create the item in one single batch of downtime days. (This is subtly different from the mundane crafting rules in the PHB, where you make progress in 5gp increments per worker per day but only actually spend half of that.)
 
 
That's all that the game says about formulas and item creation. Let's take a look at what that means for us.
 
The controlling factor here is that items require formulas to be built. There's no true example formulas, nor any way to place said formulas (i.e. they don't appear on treasure tables, although they do have a suggested rarity, which at least lets you set a market price for them if you want), in the game without DM fiat, so even though item creation is valid, the tools to do so are completely under total DM control. (Consider this an example of "Dummied Out".)
 
This artificer does include a system for discovering formulas based on what items you've already allowed in the game (in effect rediscovering the possibly lost ancient knowledge used to build the item in the first place), but before you bust out the banhammer on this ability (Salvage Essence) or the entire class, I'd like to say a few things.
 
  • You regulate which formulas are available exactly the same way you are already regulating the handing out of magic items. An item you aren't comfortable giving to the players is also unable to be crafted by the players. This happens automatically, without any specific work on your part that you aren't already doing for your world. If you're running a game where +1 swords are legendarily rare, the artificer won't be able to build them at all. If you're running a game where everyone uses a +1 toothbrush, artificers can build them as easily as their frequency in the world implies.
  • Powerful items that the team really wants to use right away are less than ideal choices to copy. Artificers only get the formula by dismantling (destroying) the magic item, and it takes a long time to build a replacement (and since the first one they build only replaces the one they dismantled, it takes two such replacements for the party to be "up" an item!). This lets you further moderate the desire to build items through time pressure - the players won't see salvaging as a necessary step so much as an investment, with time pressure being the risk. 
  • You can adjust the exact cost to create the item itself, although the game's suggestions for this are fixed for all items of the same rarity. The reason you'd do this is that this cost sets the amount of downtime required (one day per 25 gp spent per worker), and you also control how much downtime's available - so if you want a player to build an item, but don't want it available just yet, make it expensive enough so that they won't have it finished in time for the next adventure. (I personally wouldn't do this all the time, but if the players dismantle something that you didn't expect which would defeat the entire next adventure you've prepped, this is an easy way to save yourself the trouble of re-designing the whole thing without, say, stealing the item from them.)
  • Finally, and most significantly, a formula isn't a free ticket to construction - it's just the roadmap. Get creative - if you don't want your player making powerful items in his comfortable forge, add something exotic to the formula!
 
What do I mean by something exotic? A component or special requirement that forces the players to make tough decisions, or one that acts as an adventure seed. Maybe that magic ring really does need to be forged in the fires of Mount Doom, forcing an adventure - or two, since the rest of the party has to keep him safe while he works, and any place named Mount Doom probably isn't a safe vacation spot. Maybe it can only be crafted under the light of a full moon, forcing the player to wait a month between downtime days to build it. Maybe cloaks of elvenkind need the touch of elves to be built, so a gnome artificer might be unable to do it alone - and the elves might require him to prove his allegiance to elf causes before they agree to help. If your artificer is Good, have one of the raw materials be blood from the still-beating heart of a celestial - he'll think twice about making that, and (since he had to destroy the item to learn this, so now a potentially useful item is gone and he has to murder a celestial to make a replacement) he'll be more cautious about it in the future. Or, it might require a completely different magic item, for which the player doesn't have a formula (possibly, the item might be unique), to construct, forcing him to search for a different item... and maybe the only one people know about is locked deep inside your king's vault, forcing him to convince the king to let him use it, or to commit treason, break in, and steal it. 
 
 
Of course, for pretty simple items, nothing stops you from using a more basic formula, reserving the exotic stuff for items with unique effects or story significance either. In settings like Eberron, standardized magic items (I'm using that label instead of "common" because uncommon items are still manufactured en masse, but are naturally less common than the commons) have probably been thoroughly researched for centuries by House Cannith and the other dragonmarked houses. You throw the resources of many multinational corporations at something, and sooner or later you find out just the core elements of what makes it tick, and then you let the market do its thing. (Just as we learned the active ingredients in willow bark that let it numb pain and moved on to manufacture aspirin, really - one of the assumptions in Eberron is that, in a world with magic, society will learn to harness magic.) For this, the original, ancient, technique for making, say, +1 weapons will probably be rather exotic and traditional, but the mass-produced standardized versions have a way of doing it with purchasable components and replicatable procedures, which is reflected by a far simpler formula (one that's simple enough to reduce to something like "Able to cast Magic Weapon and 250gp in 'raw materials'", handwaving the details and possibly supplying Magic Weapon through an item anyway!). There could even be a proprietary item - a special Guild-owned forge, say - that makes standardized items cheaper to produce, meaning an independent craftsman could still build the items, but they wouldn't be able to compete with the Guild on the open market (indeed, the "market price" would reflect some lower price thanks to the Guild device, rather than the "true" cost of the item.) In fact, such an item did exist in 3e - it's where I got the name "schema" from! However, in Eberron, trade secrets and copyrights are a thing - if you reverse-engineer a proprietary standardized magic item and try to make your own copies without belonging to an appropriate guild, expect a knock on the door from the MPAA (Magical Properties and Artifice Agency, a wholly-owned for-profit subsidiary of House Cannith).
 
There's also the possibility, in either type of setting, for magic items to have multiple possible formulas. If an artificer disassembles two +1 weapons, he might find that one of them had a much easier-to-fulfil formula than the other. This puts a choice in his mind if you pass him a big item - let's say he was foolish before and dismantled that Nine Lives Stealer only to find he could never recreate it, and by the rolls of the dice, he manages to find another, obviously from a different maker. Does he risk dismantling it, on the chance that it might provide a feasable formula this time, even though he may very well never see another of its kind again?
 
However, in order to accommodate settings where permanent magic items exist but simply aren't being made (i.e. the technique isn't merely "lost, but rediscoverable" - it's not repeatable at all for whatever reason), Salvage Essence is always paired with another ability at the same level, so even in settings where salvaging is useless, players still have a steady progression of abilities.  This is written so that being able to build permanent magic items is not so central to the class to cause the artificer to fall apart without them! (It's kind of like playing a fighter in a setting without magic swords - losing something that the class does very well feels a little weird, but the class and all of its attendant math should still work just fine.)
[/sblock] 
For Design Goal 2, let's consider how well this hits all of Keith's defining elements.Show
[sblock]Simple weapons: Check. (There's even an emphasis on crossbows, the defining ranged simple weapon of the original artificer, since there's no better ranged weapons and no offensive cantrips (but Personal Weapon Augmentation allows cantrip-grade combat using that crossbow...).) (Elemental Evil does add in Magic Stone, giving them an offensive ranged cantrip, but A) Magic Stone has been an artificer spell before, and B) you're still picking up a "simple weapon" and imbuing it with magic to fight. I think that's fine.)Light and Medium armor and shields: Check. (There's also specific emphasis on shields, in that Armor Augmentation needs a shield to resist magical damage.)
The ability to disarm traps like a rogue: Check (proficient in thieves' tools like a rogue; there's also Magecraft to give it unique proficiency with magical traps (which are, in effect, magical objects similar to infusions), but doing so cuts into your budget for other magical toys. By comparison, a rogue with Expertise in thieves' tools can be as good as you with mechanical traps all day long at no opportunity cost, but has to use Arcana on magical traps instead. (However, Thief rogues are the best of all worlds, having expertise and being able to pick locks or disarm traps far faster, but I'm fine leaving this ability to the dedicated thieves rather than the more meticulous artificers.) Both classes are excellent at handling traps, but with slightly different focuses and opportunity costs).
An exceptional talent for making permanent magic items: Check (Salvage Essence, which automatically adjusts for different worlds' magic item availabilities in accordance with Goal 1, and is timed with other abilities so that you get a steady ability progression even if the world has no crafting at all)
Temporary magic items created on the spot, focusing on enhancing the abilities and equipment of the artificer and his allies (and, he refers to magic inventions a la Spell Storing Item here, as well as to the results of infusions at a broader level): Check (a tightly themed spell list, all of which use objects as required components, with Weapon Augmentation and Prototype being the two most generalizable. Reflavoring the scroll-creation mechanic into Arcane Devices and allowing these to be created over short rests also harkens to this ability).
The most useful and versatile infusions had long casting times unless the artificer spent an action point (so there was a rhythm between being a noncombat troubleshooter or being a hero): Partial Check (though because durations are shorter in this edition, this isn't quite as universal as before - it's mostly found in Prototype, wth the "hero mode" accelerator being the signature of the magitechnician.).
 
Also, just because it's often hard to see what isn't there, artificers deliberately lack a spellcasting focus. They have to use the components themselves to build the spells from first principles, instead of specializing in shortcuts and methods particular to one form of magic (like the arcane, holy, musical, or druidic focus). They can instead employ their component pouches, though, and I encourage players to come up with exactly what's inside those pouches - I think of it as whatever the magical equivalent of duct tape and paper clips would be.
 
The extra object component (typically artisan's tools, but it doesn't have to be) that many spells require isn't a focus in the 5e sense of the term - it's the object you're imbuing with magic (i.e. the leather belt used when you cast Enhance Ability becomes a ghetto Belt of Giant Strength), or the tools with which you imbue another object with magic (i.e. you use your tools to breathe magic into your buddy's sword when you make it a Magic Weapon). Incidentally, although a component pouch technically substitutes for the spell's listed components, these extra object components must be held or worn for the magic to work - and thus, the component pouch can't actually substitute for them even if it replaces the others.

[/sblock]
All of this is designed to reinforce the artificer as a "tinkerer" rather than a "spellcaster", even though it re-uses the basic spellcasting rules.
 As for Design Goal 3? Let's start with length.The core class, without the table, is under two pages long at default print settings. Adding in the table and the four Artificer Guilds takes it up to three and a half pages, with half a page including the spell list (and the brief form of most of the spells will still fit on this page, but spells are usually presented separately from the class - how long is the wizard or the cleric if you count all the wizard or cleric spells as part of the class?). And it'll get even shorter once columns are added.
 
Regarding the "simplicity" part of Design Goal 3, let's take a closer look.

Show
[sblock]The vast bulk of the class is similar to a highly-focused spontaneous spellcaster, but with 2/3 spell progression. The spells known are based off of 2/3rds of the sorcerer's, adjusted for evenness afterwards, but the artificer list is smaller than 2/3rds of the sorcerer list (40 spells compared to 113, before cantrips) and is more tightly focused on altering objects and constructs. A few of those spells got a slight power-up because of this limitation, but most didn't. Unless you're a construct or in a party of constructs (note: the Unearthed Arcana rules for warforged are ambiguous about whether they're constructs or humanoids), you'll spend most of your time considering the devices and objects around you in the world.
 
Quite a lot of the complexity instead comes from being able to select from multiple spell lists when building arcane devices or using Prototype. Neither of these can be employed in combat (unless you're a magitechnician, which specializes entirely in Prototype), and the default size of the book of schema (spellbook) is about half the scope of a wizard's, which limits the range of obscure spells you can pull out (especially without warning - a player who says he's building a device of Fireball for tomorrow is very different from a player who spontaneously pulls a Fireball out of nowhere). Both of these methods also have limits that prevent them from being your first recourse to every problem. You'll still turn to them when you've got a problem they'll solve, but being able to, occasionally, build exactly the right device to solve a problem is exactly what artificers are supposed to do. All the same, let's discuss those limitations.
 
Arcane devices have a limited pool of availability - craft reserve is used by several other features, and unlike prepared spells, you pay one point per level of the device you want to make, and the device goes away once used (similar to old-style fire-and-forget Vancian casters). They also  follow the rules for spell scrolls, which means that they use the table on Spell Scroll DCs and spell attack bonuses from the basic rules, and not your own proficiency / Intelligence. I've replicated that table here. The last columns are the effective wizard level and Intelligence that the scroll is effectively casting as, and what level the artificer has to be to build such a device. Level 8 and 9 arcane devices are impossible without some degree of multiclassing (which will leave you with very little in the way of craft reserve to spend on them). He also can't activate spell scrolls if he doesn't have the schema for that spell yet (and remember that he can't learn a schema from a scroll unless he's got a slot of that level, and he's a 2/3 delayed caster), although he can cheese it a bit if he knows Synchronize (a 5e version of the 3e Suppress Requirement infusion).
[UNKNOWN=pre]: Level Rarity DC Attack Wiz Lvl/Int Arti Lvl1 C 13 +5 1 / 16 2nd2 U 13 +5 3 / 16 5th3 U 15 +7 5 / 18 8th4 R 15 +7 7 / 18 11th5 R 17 +9 9 / 20 14th6 V 17 +9 11 / 20 17th7 V 18 +10 13 / 20 20th
This does mean that a 1st level arcane device is equally powerful if it's built by a 20th level genius rock gnome inventor or a 1st level neophyte dwarf apprentice. (Yes, you can make a stupid artificer. You'll perform just as well with your devices, but you won't have as many of them nor will your non-buff spells be as powerful. Using the Int-substitution in Personal Weapon Augmentation is optional, so you might find weapon-users who like the idea of magically enhancing their blades considering artificer (likely the Spellforgers' Guild), instead of multiclassing into a different caster or playing the blast-happy Eldritch Knight.) This is deliberate - for utility spells, you'll usually be able to whip up the perfect spell for the occasion if you have the schema (consider an arcane device a costly way of mimicking the Ritual tag and you'll have the right idea), but for combat spells, you won't be able to fall back on anything but your strongest arcane devices if you want to have a good chance of succeeding. If you want to use your Intelligence in combat, you'll not use your arcane devices and instead fall back on your spells - particularly Weapon Augmentation and Prototype (assuming you built a prototype or two in advance, or are a magitechnician). Speaking of Prototype, assuming 15 Intelligence to start and pumping it at every opportunity, here's what you can expect for its success rates. Prototype is one of the wildcards on the artificer, even with the dramatically limited possibilities in this version (its 3e predecessor, Spell Storing Item, really put it to shame, but could be easily broken), so knowing how likely it is to explode in your face is useful information.  For the standard artificer (if a success rate is too risky for you, then that's a way of saying "use an arcane device instead except under time pressure"):
LevelProfInt ModArcana1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th
1224  --------------
2224  65%------------
3224  65%------------
4235  70%------------
5336  75%65%----------
6336  75%65%----------
7336  75%65%----------
8347  80%70%60%--------
9448  85%75%65%--------
10448  85%75%65%--------
11448  85%75%65%55%------
12459  90%80%70%60%------
135510  95%85%75%65%------
145510  95%85%75%65%55%----
155510  95%85%75%65%55%----
165510  95%85%75%65%55%----
176511  100%90%80%70%60%50%--
186511  100%90%80%70%60%50%--
196511  100%90%80%70%60%50%--
206511  100%90%80%70%60%50%40%
 
For a member of the magitechnicianss guild (reminder: These guys specialize in Prototype. At 3rd, they get to cast it from craft reserve, using it more frequently. At 5th, they can occasionally use it in combat. At 11th, they get MUCH more reliable with it. At 17th, they have a small chance of getting an extra use out of it: this occurs 9.75% of the time assuming no disadvantage is present, and 5% of the time when disadvantage is present, assuming 20 Int by 17th):
 
LevelProfInt ModArcana1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th
1224  --------------
2224  65%------------
3224  65%------------
4235  70%------------
5336  75%65%----------
6336  75%65%----------
7336  75%65%----------
8347  80%70%60%--------
9448  85%75%65%--------
10448  85%75%65%--------
11448  98%94%88%80%------
12459  99%96%91%84%------
135510  100%98%94%88%------
145510  100%98%94%88%80%----
155510  100%98%94%88%80%----
165510  100%98%94%88%80%----
176511  100%99%96%91%84%75%--
186511  100%99%96%91%84%75%--
196511  100%99%96%91%84%75%--
206511  100%99%96%91%84%75%64%
 
All of these are rounded to the nearest hundredth, then expressed as a percentage (the actual number for an 11th level magitechnician's 1st level prototype is 97.75%, for instance).
 
 
These success rates are high, but low enough that it's still a gamble, particularly on your highest-level spell slots, which is usually enough of a deterrent to stop it from being exploited. Mishaps suck, but they're fun, especially if the DM has something suitably poetic or karmic in mind; the threat of having that happen keeps the risk at the forefront of your mind when you whip together some mad scientist's contraption using the Prototype spell.

[/sblock] 
 
 
 
Finally, some acknowledgements.
  • This couldn't have happened without Rampant. Although we argue throughout this thread, it's almost always productive, as this kind of criticism really points out the weak points in design.
  • AlHazred also supplied useful feedback, including the nicely-formatted spell descriptions.
  • Finally, Mellored (unintentionally) provoked me into doing this in the first place.
 
Feynman once said that "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool." Although he was speaking of science, it also holds true in game design, where the equivalent of an experiment is honest feedback and testing. I think this turned out quite well, but I don't want to fool myself. So go ahead: Rip me a new one.
 
 
 

RealAlHazred

Frumious Flumph (Your Grace/Your Eminence)
Originally posted by rampant:

Ok question why are you making it so hard for artificers to be useful? Spell storing item is supposed to be a basic ability for them and they have to make checks to use it? They pay for the spell slot twice onc ein actual spell slot and again in craft reserve, and they can't palm them over to allies? I've gotta say you'r emaking it hard for the artificer to be anything but an inneficient caster with far too much versatility. The artificer is a support class he's supposed to be opening new opportunities and options for not just himself but the party as well. I suggest half the cost of the craft reserve or making it one per stored spell. That way you;r still paying for a higher level spell via the spell slot but you're not eating half your craft reserve just to be level appropriate. Also ditch the extra check and let allies use the items. (maybe allies using the item can be a higher level thing as you learn to simplify the process but it needs to be in there)
 
Why do the scrolls only allow creation after a short rest? I don't quite get why you don't want them writing one up in the morning.
 
Weapon augmentation is still terrible, How about you can augment weapons with a special ability or a one of a selection of special abilities and they keep the augmentation as long as you leave the craft reserve cost on them, or until a long rest where it resets and you can apply abilities again. Shield/armor aug is less terrible but the daily cost of the craft reserve for a minutes action seems harsh in comparison to the other abilities you can spend craft reserve on and get it back as soon as the spell's expended. The ability to augment other people's weapons woudl be really nice since the base artificer is probably wasting time if he's swinging a weapon anyway. The way you got him set up he needs to do his damage via stored spells or buffed allies.
 
I think a spell book is the wrong way to handle schema. I would suggest a limited number of schema that increase as you level up, and fine draw them from other classes. Any spell list and the ability to learn an unlimited number is just plain terrifying. 
 
I'm not saying the artificer can't make-manipulate perma-items, I'm saying it shouldn't use the DMG items. Because htey're GM perview theyy're a poor choice for a class feature.
 
Ar eyou familiar with a game called Tephra? It's a steampunk rpg from cracked monocle and among the many brilliant bits of RPG technology is the most amazing crafting system I've ever seen. You choose a class of items you want to make (they have melee weapons, armor, shield, guns, turrets, bows, cross-bows, vehicles, three kinds of automata, vehicle armor, prosthetics, and on and on and on, seriously you can make just about anything including little vials of goo that come alive when you open them and do your bidding). The way it's set up all these items have basic stats (although some are more useful than others before upgrades are added) and you can add upgrades to them that you know froma  limited list. YOu can maintain some for free, but they fall apart if you don't maintain them personally (much like your craft reserve system btw), and you can make mor eif you have the gold, furthermore its cheaper to make them yourself so you get some economic potential by building things for sale rather just for the team. Anyway the idea is that you make items specifically designed as player features rather than DMG items which are by nature plot devices in 5e. Does this turn money into a way to gain personal power? Yes, yes it does, but that's gonna be a thing anyway.
 

RealAlHazred

Frumious Flumph (Your Grace/Your Eminence)
Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

rampant wrote:Ok question why are you making it so hard for artificers to be useful? Spell storing item is supposed to be a basic ability for them and they have to make checks to use it?They pay for the spell slot twice onc ein actual spell slot and again in craft reserve, and they can't palm them over to allies? I've gotta say you'r emaking it hard for the artificer to be anything but an inneficient caster with far too much versatility. The artificer is a support class he's supposed to be opening new opportunities and options for not just himself but the party as well.
Point. However, the check's verbatim from Keith, and it's based on how they worked in 3.5 as well (except there, it was much harder to pull off the Use Magic Device check at lower levels), and by all accounts the game it was tested in worked really well. His didn't have a craft reserve limit, but it was a spell (and cost a slot as a result).
 
The ability to use it in combat was something I was cautious about, since I've seen the infusion used to killer effect before. But I'd be open to moving the "Hit Die = 1 action casting" clause out of the magitechnician and into the main ability, and/or removing the slot cost in favor of a pure reserve cost, if I can come up with something better for the magitechnician. (Recall that this subclass emphasizes Spell Storing Item and would get the speed-up version of it at level 3, when SSI itself only shows up at 2.)
 
I also think you're assuming that having every single spell available with only a round of prep time in battle is "useful". I'm viewing it as "every spell you've learned is basically a ritual". Though both perspectives can be solved by removing the spell slot cost - something I'm leaning more towards anyway, especially after considering what a warlock dip would do here. (Incidentally, the most useful dips so far are bard and rogue, because of Expertise on Arcana. Since those were the two classes with Use Magical Scrolls / Use Magic Device traditionally, I'm pleased with this. Warlocks had it too, but they're already killer as a dip.)
 
If I'm not understanding you, please elaborate on why it's useless.
 
 

Why do the scrolls only allow creation after a short rest?
Because I cribbed the text from the Unearthed Arcana article and made minimal adjustments. My instinct would be to remove the "10 minutes" bit and just assume you're spending the short rest writing a scroll.
 
The reason they picked short rest? No idea. Probably to allow mid-dungeon crafting of any spell you know, which is sort of like the arty's Spell Storing Item, except entirely different.
 

Weapon augmentation is still terrible, How about you can augment weapons with a special ability or a one of a selection of special abilities and they keep the augmentation as long as you leave the craft reserve cost on them, or until a long rest where it resets and you can apply abilities again.
The idea of persisting the duration is interesting, and I'll play around with that tonight. I'm still leaning more towards just upping the duration to a flat one hour instead, and adjusting the craft reserve costs.
 
However, "special abilities" would require me to write up a list of appropriate ones and balance them against each other, since there are no prepackaged ones in this edition. I figured a small - but significant (see Elemental Weapon, which is a 3rd level spell, and you're getting a good chunk of the effect at level 1) - selectable energy type would be an appropriate compromise. I did, however, scale it up at 9th. (Scaling it further is something I might add to a subclass when I finish them, probably the combat engineer.) It can also stack fully with Elemental Weapon, and the augments don't require concentration to maintain.
 
I might try to come up with alternate augments to see how they'd fare, but I don't want the artificer to be everyone's superior at everything "if he's prepared" (and everyone's equal if he's forced to improvise), which is what happened in 3.5 because of the open-ended nature of Spell Storing Item and item creation, plus the use of buffstacks. Just as we can't pick up a Wizard and instantly assume to be God in 5e.
 

Shield/armor aug is less terrible but the daily cost of the craft reserve for a minutes action seems harsh in comparison to the other abilities you can spend craft reserve on and get it back as soon as the spell's expended.
Would changing the base duration to an hour do the trick? Likewise, I might lower the craft reserve cost. The idea here is to buff up as you need it, and have the buff last for the whole battle, not so much to "turn yourself into a walking Avatar of Death with a buffstack" bit, and I'm already concerned about buffstacks (since augments don't use concentration and can't be dispelled).

The ability to augment other people's weapons woudl be really nice since the base artificer is probably wasting time if he's swinging a weapon anyway. The way you got him set up he needs to do his damage via stored spells or buffed allies.
That's the magitechnican's route. Incidentally, I think the arty would be better suited for crossbows anyway - simple weapons, Dexterity attacks (and the artificer's using Dexterity for handling traps), and capable of being augmented easily. 
Incidentally, the regular artificer gets all the good tool-based party buffs as infusions as well. It's not all spell storing items nor augments (except at level 1, where his gameplay is largely that of a rogue who can elementally charge his weapon or magically guide his tools instead of having sneak attack and stealth).
 
 
I think a spell book is the wrong way to handle schema. I would suggest a limited number of schema that increase as you level up, and fine draw them from other classes. Any spell list and the ability to learn an unlimited number is just plain terrifying.
...This is kind of the opposite advice you're giving above. You want to make Spell Storing Item more useful, but here you want to pull it back. Putting the two together and you'd have a small number of spells that you can use that recharge every short rest - and that's the warlock.
 
The spellbook's also limited, I should say - you start with fewer spells and gain only one each level up, and you flat-out can't scribe a spell you don't have slots for into the book. The concern I'd have is that you can fit any class' spells into this, including exclusive spells (like Hex, Hunter's Mark, and the like).
 

I'm not saying the artificer can't make-manipulate perma-items, I'm saying it shouldn't use the DMG items. Because htey're GM perview theyy're a poor choice for a class feature. 
Ar eyou familiar with a game called Tephra? It's a steampunk rpg from cracked monocle and among the many brilliant bits of RPG technology is the most amazing crafting system I've ever seen. You choose a class of items you want to make (they have melee weapons, armor, shield, guns, turrets, bows, cross-bows, vehicles, three kinds of automata, vehicle armor, prosthetics, and on and on and on, seriously you can make just about anything including little vials of goo that come alive when you open them and do your bidding). The way it's set up all these items have basic stats (although some are more useful than others before upgrades are added) and you can add upgrades to them that you know froma  limited list. YOu can maintain some for free, but they fall apart if you don't maintain them personally (much like your craft reserve system btw), and you can make mor eif you have the gold, furthermore its cheaper to make them yourself so you get some economic potential by building things for sale rather just for the team. Anyway the idea is that you make items specifically designed as player features rather than DMG items which are by nature plot devices in 5e. Does this turn money into a way to gain personal power? Yes, yes it does, but that's gonna be a thing anyway.
I've seen similar, though not that particular example. The issue with that is it conflicts with goal #3. The reason I included #3 was entirely because I've seen stuff like this before - while it's appropriate to be central to a steampunk game, if the artificer isn't front-and-center (and even in Eberron, it isn't!), you've produced twenty pages of rules for one aspect of one class. It's also a colossal amount of work to design and test this - working within the existing paradigm is simpler and makes use of the work the devs have already put in. That's why Salvage Essence simply requires you to have the item you want to learn how to make - it uses every aspect of the rules that you were already using to regulate magic items, and applies them to regulating the creation of magic items as well. The system's already there, so I don't need to reinvent a fully-functional wheel (even if it's a wheel with plenty of degrees of freedom already). I mean, yes, they're plot devices in some settings, including the default - but 1) that means that you're only crafting items appropriate to the plot, and 2) only if the plot allows that item to be salvaged, using 3) the existing rules you were already using to fit the items to the plot. 
It's interesting to note that there are some parallels, though, even though I haven't seen it. The craft reserve system I'm using is actually modelled slightly more on Incarnum (from 3.5), while the Unearthed Arcana artificer uses Arcane Recovery as a similar resource - and both of these are apparently similar to Tephra.
 

RealAlHazred

Frumious Flumph (Your Grace/Your Eminence)
Originally posted by rampant:

OK we keep writing posts at the same Time please read my expanded post above.
 
For weapon augment Well Okay don't make it complex abilities save it those for the specialist maybe deal an assigned energy damage and +1 damage if you feel the need to tone a longer duration version down. For armor infusion instead of resistance you give them an amount of Temp base don level and the amount of craft reserve, and you get the craft reserve back if the temp HP gets wiped. FOr shields, I dunno I'll think on it.
 
 

RealAlHazred

Frumious Flumph (Your Grace/Your Eminence)
Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

rampant wrote:OK we keep writing posts at the same Time please read my expanded post above.
 
For weapon augment Well Okay don't make it complex abilities save it those for the specialist maybe deal an assigned energy damage and +1 damage if you feel the need to tone a longer duration version down. For armor infusion instead of resistance you give them an amount of Temp base don level and the amount of craft reserve, and you get the craft reserve back if the temp HP gets wiped. FOr shields, I dunno I'll think on it.
 
Done. Thanks for the feedback, by the way.
 
I didn't use an ablative / modular thing with the augments because of 5e precedent. Look at Stoneskin, which used to behave like this, where you'd track how much damage it absorbed. Now, it's simply resistance. (And, by the way, compare Armor Augmentation to it, and note the levels they appear. That's why I wasn't sure about the duration increase.) Temporary HP is also a generic solution that works in every case, while the artificer's always been more about picking a less-generic, more specific, perfect magical tool for the job - that's why it uses a type choice on the resists. (I can definitely buy the idea of augmenting team gear out of the magitechnician though.)
 
There's precedent for the type of thing you mention, but it's the Armor of Agathys spell - which is actually where I was going to look in the first place for design structure on better augments. 
 
"assigned energy damage"? Isn't that what it already does?
 
And how do these arguments change once infusions are taken into account? Especially because they can already be used on allies' gear?
 

RealAlHazred

Frumious Flumph (Your Grace/Your Eminence)
Originally posted by rampant:

Your argument concenring permanent magic items breaks down at one key point, It's not 'a perfectly functional wheel'. The current System is basically DM may I which makes the ability imposisble to evaluate because every DM is going to have a different 'wheel'. The potions avoid this because you automatically allow their creation as an assumed part of the class which makes the ability evaluatable.
 
Admittedly the tephra approach is a lot of work for 1 class, so don't make it for one class. Sure the artificer should be the one that does it best, but there's no reason you can't create sub-classes for the others to allow some access. I mean a rogue gadgeteer seems like fun, dwarven warriors have long practiced the art of scribing runes into their gear, and the druid-alchemist is practically a fantasy staple. Onc eyou have a coherent crafting system it won't be hard to price access to it, heck some of the lesser crafts may even be doable via feats.

I want the stored spells to be useful and open new options for both the ficer and the party. On the other hand I don't want them to be too versatile. In my experience the classes that give you trouble ar ethe ones with unbounded spell knowledge, or the ability to easily access an obscene number of spells for minimal or no opportunity cost. Divine casters like the cleric being some of th emost egregious offenders, and the 3e artificer being essentially the prime example. It wasn't that he could do any one thing better than any other class (although I'm sure they could if they tried) it was that you could do EVERYTHING just about as well as anybody else without trying hard. There was NOthing that an artificer couldn't do as well or bette rbecause he had the abilityt o craft items with any and every spell in the game. 
 
Another thing to look into is limiting how many differne thitngs each artificer can make. I mean Potions and scrolls are probably fine since they're pretty basic, and spell storing as a unique mechanic for the class is pretty slick, but consider does every artificer ever really have to know how rods and rings work? I'd think that maybe they'd have to choose at some point.
 
Edit: The sugegsted simple weapon augment was based on your idea, I just reduced the damage bonus since a longer duration might require a bit less bite. 
Edit: As far as the spell storing stuff, and the  weapon/armor/shield augments goes I'm not worryign about the infusions I'm trying to make the abilities in questions worth their bloody craft reserve cost.
 

RealAlHazred

Frumious Flumph (Your Grace/Your Eminence)
Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

Revisions made:
  • Spell Storing Item now uses craft reserve only, and can use spell slots if you're out of reserve. (Spell slots spent this way don't recover after a short rest the way craft reserve does - but this allows warlock/artificers to have some extra stamina with lower-level SSIs if you want.) Also, the core artificer got the "Hit Die for accelerated SSI" ability from the magitechnician. Note: Since your book of schema can only have spells of levels for which you have slots, you can't make SSIs stronger than spells you can cast. This includes multiclassing - a wizard 15 / artificer 1 can, hypothetically, derive a schema for an 8th level spell (even a non-wizard spell) and create SSIs of it, but he'll only have, at most, 5 points of craft reserve, so he'll have to spend his only 8th level slot to make it (and pass the Arcana check, which'd be DC 26 with at most a +10 bonus, or +15 if he somehow had expertise in there, if he didn't want it to blow up in his face. He'd be much more capable with lower-level SSIs, but they still take time to make).
  • Weapon Augmentation has been dramatically changed. It now basically transforms your weapon into a cantrip (Int-based attacks dealing elemental damage instead of the weapon's normal damage - it doesn't add damage at first, it just changes it) and is useful for serious combat (especially later on, if you maxed Int) or to strike at elemental vulnerabilities (at all levels - it's best used when you recognize there's a vulnerability to exploit, instead of having it simply be something you trigger automatically after a rest). Both Weapon and Armor Augmentation now last an hour as well. I'm definitely allowing team augments, but I'm not sure when they'll come online yet. The team version of weapon augmentation won't change the ability score used, but will change the damage type and add the extra damage at higher levels (as it's a "buff" for the teammates and a "cantrip 'n' buff" for the artificer).
  • Infuse Scrolls and Infuse Potions now only use craft reserve (and potions now clearly tie up craft reserve until used), and I removed the "10 minutes after a rest" clause. It's now assumed you're working on them while resting. (If a rest is interrupted, you don't "finish" it, so the scroll or potion remains incomplete.) This does strain credulity a bit if using variant rest rules from the DMG, though (where in a "superhero" game a short rest is one minute and a long rest is one hour, while a "gritty" game has a short rest of eight hours and a long rest of a week, and so on), but if you're assuming that, say, one minute is long enough for a monk to meditate to a sublime state of full ki, it shouldn't be hard to come up with a similar description of what's going on with an artificer's scrolls or potions.
  • Added and revised the Synchronize (a 5e version of "Suppress Requirement"; here it interacts with the attunement mechanic) and Power Surge (a 5e version of, well, Power Surge; it used to supply temporary charges, while here it has a similar but riskier function) infusions, which reflect an artificer's ability to tweak existing magic items a bit. (This was a good side effect of removing the "auto-learn" ability on infusions - niche abilities can be added without showing up on all artificers.) Power Surge has been tweaked a bit to carry an offensive function, if you're willing to overload and sacrifice a charged item like a grenade. (It isn't terribly efficient for this purpose (especially compared to an offensive caster or what I view the alchemist as doing), and works better at getting, well, a power surge out of a nearly-expended staff, though.) 
  • Removed Makeshift Wand; the subclasses no longer get a bonus cantrip, and I didn't want it stealing the thunder of your augmentation. When they aren't using jury-rigged spell storing items, artificers attack using magically enhanced weapons (particularly crossbows), not spells.
  • The Specialist Artifice subclasses got a bit more cleaned up (especially the magitechnician and the alchemist), but there's still a lot of work to do on them.
 

rampant wrote:Your argument concenring permanent magic items breaks down at one key point, It's not 'a perfectly functional wheel'. The current System is basically DM may I which makes the ability imposisble to evaluate because every DM is going to have a different 'wheel'. The potions avoid this because you automatically allow their creation as an assumed part of the class which makes the ability evaluatable.
Except each DM chooses the wheel that's appropriate for their game. Since this fits exactly the same parameters that they're choosing for their game, it'll plug into any of those wheels without too much of a hassle. (If the DM wants a lot of items but not a lot of crafting, for instance, then the formulas are hard to follow. This can be something like "The formula says I need a lightning-forged blade - but no one today knows how to do this. Sages inform me that the ancient Dhakaani civilization had figured out the secret of forging blades using lightning instead of fire, and that if records of this still exist, they might be found in the ruins of the ancient Library of Haruuk. My friends, I propose a quest.")
 
The only configuration that this doesn't adapt to is if there's a lot of items and a blanket ban on crafting. I've proposed a replacement for that (learning an extra infusion and a few free schema at those levels), which adjusts the artificer more into a temporary hacker who focuses on altering magic within items rather than creating them outright. And you're right, adjusting for this would also require blocking scroll and potion creation, or at least altering it so it's easier to regulate. I'll revisit that soon - good point!
 

Admittedly the tephra approach is a lot of work for 1 class, so don't make it for one class. Sure the artificer should be the one that does it best, but there's no reason you can't create sub-classes for the others to allow some access. I mean a rogue gadgeteer seems like fun, dwarven warriors have long practiced the art of scribing runes into their gear, and the druid-alchemist is practically a fantasy staple. Onc eyou have a coherent crafting system it won't be hard to price access to it, heck some of the lesser crafts may even be doable via feats.
This sounds like fun! It also sounds far outside the scope of this particular project, which is just creating an artificer, not an entire new magic system. If you want to port over Tephra's system or come up with a variant yourself, I'll happily include a plugin slot for DMs using both artificers and the gadget system.

I want the stored spells to be useful and open new options for both the ficer and the party. On the other hand I don't want them to be too versatile. In my experience the classes that give you trouble ar ethe ones with unbounded spell knowledge, or the ability to easily access an obscene number of spells for minimal or no opportunity cost. Divine casters like the cleric being some of th emost egregious offenders, and the 3e artificer being essentially the prime example. It wasn't that he could do any one thing better than any other class (although I'm sure they could if they tried) it was that you could do EVERYTHING just about as well as anybody else without trying hard. There was NOthing that an artificer couldn't do as well or bette rbecause he had the abilityt o craft items with any and every spell in the game.
That's why SSI takes so long to use and why I omitted the acceleration clause by default - they can't pull this out of their hat the way they could in 3.5. (The real "anything you can do" in 3.5 came from crafting wands, staffs, and wondrous items to emulate any spell at any caster level, and that's flat out not possible here unless the DM gives it the tacit OK by including such an item already. That's basically saying "No Staff of Power until the DM says it's OK to use a Staff of Power by giving out a Staff of Power or its formula.")
 

Another thing to look into is limiting how many differne thitngs each artificer can make. I mean Potions and scrolls are probably fine since they're pretty basic, and spell storing as a unique mechanic for the class is pretty slick, but consider does every artificer ever really have to know how rods and rings work? I'd think that maybe they'd have to choose at some point.
That's another possibility, but I don't see there being much fundamental difference between rings and rods - just as there's no fundamental difference between a cloak and boots. There's more difference between the ring and the rod (they're different classes of item, while the cloak and boots are both 'wondrous items'), but the game still handles all of them the same since there are no special blanket rules for rods and rings that separate them (apart from, say, their physical size).
 
I'll consider that for the next pass at item creation.
 

Edit: The sugegsted simple weapon augment was based on your idea, I just reduced the damage bonus since a longer duration might require a bit less bite.
I'm just not sure what that sentence meant, grammatically. As in, did you suggest dealing 1 point of energy damage, or converting all the weapon's damage into energy (instead of, say, slashing)? You could read it either way, and I think the latter is actually really cool (you don't upgrade the damage output - but you do hit exactly the right vulnerability or avoid exactly the right resistance, and you don't use it every fight since it's most useful against vulnerabilities).
 
Actually, this motivated me to change how augmentation works altogether. Now, in effect, it turns your weapon into a slightly stronger cantrip for a short duration, a few times a day (more frequently with Augmentation Mastery, but it also cuts into your SSI budget). This means you're literally attacking with a magically-augmented crossbow (or mace, if you prefer; quivers generally hold only 20 shots, which heated combat might deplete!), start to finish. Limited craft reserve early on (when there's no bonus damage beyond the switch to Int) means it'll probably be reserved entirely for hitting weaknesses, which feels appropriate to me. You can hit multiple elemental types or up the damage further by combining this with the Elemental Weapon (or Magic Weapon) infusion. It also agrees with my overall sensibilities that I prefer modifiers (i.e. advantage, resistance, etc) over bonuses (i.e. Bless, +X abilities) in 5e.
Edit: As far as the spell storing stuff, and the  weapon/armor/shield augments goes I'm not worryign about the infusions I'm trying to make the abilities in questions worth their bloody craft reserve cost.
I've upped the duration - which had the side effect of turning everything you can imbue with craft reserve (magecraft, SSIs, augments) into something that lasts an hour or until used, except for scrolls and potions (which use mechanics I didn't write) and the Power Surge infusion (which is necessarily limited, since it's supposed to be a desperation attack or a way to use a nearly-dead item sooner than normal.)
 

RealAlHazred

Frumious Flumph (Your Grace/Your Eminence)
Originally posted by rampant:

The problem with the artificer casting any spell wasn't just a matter of easy access, if anything this artificer has easier access than the 3e one to it's non-artificer 'spells' (infusions), making them actually learn them a la wizar dis a huge improvement, it's just that you're stepping down from Ao to Boccob. Part of the issue is combination and opportunity cost, especially when it comes to logistic spells, that's where the combos get out of hand, not to say that the combat spells that combo aren't scary as all ba'ator, but with 3e style spells comes 3e style opportunities for abuse. Then there's the inherent imbalance between classes like wizard and cleric vs. fighter and sorc, where the classes who don't pay opportunity costs have huge advantages in versatility. It's one of the things that really annoyed me when it crept back into 5e. Either everyone should have an extensive list of abilities they can learn freely or nobody should. It's not a game breaker right now because of how limited the individual class spell lists are, however the artificer you built doesn't operate under that restriction, and if new spells get produce, which they probably will, it'll get insane. 
 
I actually think that using the spell slots for stored spells was a good idea, I just htought that paying that much craft reserve on top of that was excessive. Going by pure craft reserve is one option but it does effectively give you unlimited daily casts. I was thinking spell slot + (half spell level +1 )craft reserve.
 
Ok why do you want armor and weapon augments to be daily powers because I keep wanting to see them as being similar to soulmelds where the power lasts as long as you put the points in it.
 

RealAlHazred

Frumious Flumph (Your Grace/Your Eminence)
Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

rampant wrote:The problem with the artificer casting any spell wasn't just a matter of easy access, if anything this artificer has easier access than the 3e one to it's non-artificer 'spells' (infusions), making them actually learn them a la wizar dis a huge improvement, it's just that you're stepping down from Ao to Boccob. Part of the issue is combination and opportunity cost, especially when it comes to logistic spells, that's where the combos get out of hand, not to say that the combat spells that combo aren't scary as all ba'ator, but with 3e style spells comes 3e style opportunities for abuse.
Those abuses were largely due to combinations of spells running at the same time, metamagic'd up the yin-yang, or reliably cast from items. None of these are possible in 5e (due to only sorcerers having metamagic, due to the Concentration mechanic, and, in this writuep, because you can't make a wand of something that you haven't already seen. You have to rely on Spell Storing Item, which is far from a given success in this edition!). Spell combos are only as good as the spells that form them, and in 5e, the spells are nowhere near as combinable as they were in 3e (though there's a few that are problematic - and if you're trying to get a specific spell out, SSI is not your best bet, since you're a few levels and several spell levels behind casters and it's far from guaranteed that you'll succeed).
 
Assuming my argument below regarding SSI's unreliabilty isn't convincing, I see two ways to address this. The first is to employ a preparation system - prepare 3/4 your artificer level + your Int mod schema, and those are the ones you can use with SSI. Since that's really limiting, this would be swappable with a short rest instead of a long one. The second is to add a hard level cap - the 3e SSI capped at 3rd level spells, for instance, but spells in 3e also scaled with level (which isn't true in 5e - here, like with 3.5 psionics, they scale with cost.). I'm leaning more towards the former, but honestly I don't think it's as big a problem, and adding a second level of spell choices and constraints A) makes the class play more complex, B) cuts into the artificer's creativity, and C) adds another constraint on top of the long setup time and the unreliability risk (and the book of schema, which I address next).
 
All the same, I'll do more research into what's exploitable using spells as is. I did look around a bit, and so far there haven't been any serious optimization breakthroughs (there were such breakthroughs very early on in 3e and 3.5!), at least not that I could find. A deeper dig is a good idea though.
 

Then there's the inherent imbalance between classes like wizard and cleric vs. fighter and sorc, where the classes who don't pay opportunity costs have huge advantages in versatility. It's one of the things that really annoyed me when it crept back into 5e. Either everyone should have an extensive list of abilities they can learn freely or nobody should. It's not a game breaker right now because of how limited the individual class spell lists are, however the artificer you built doesn't operate under that restriction, and if new spells get produce, which they probably will, it'll get insane.
That's only true for this artificer if you assume a spellbook is as easy to fill as the cleric lists are. It isn't. A 20th level artificer will have 23 schema, and at almost every level his strongest schema will be weaker than a sorcerer's strongest spells (since he's got delayed spell slot progression and can't learn a spell he lacks a slot for). A Wiz 19 / Artificer 1 could have 9th level schema, true, if he found and paid for them (and I should probably note that yes, he can copy wizard spells between his spellbook and his book of schema), but would have a devil of a time activating it (DC 28 Arcana check) and would lack the craft reserve for it (so it'd cost a slot like normal).
 
This does lend a minor solution, though - if schema aren't derivable from written spells, they become much harder to aquire. What if, say, you couldn't learn them from wizard spellbooks or other nonmagical spell writing, but only from other artificers' schema or from spell scrolls (the former due to format and notation, the latter getting a pass because it's magical)? That gives the DM similar control over what's available to artificers (through treasure hoards and through controlling the market), and it freely adapts to Eberron (where common scrolls can probably be purchased).
 

I actually think that using the spell slots for stored spells was a good idea, I just htought that paying that much craft reserve on top of that was excessive. Going by pure craft reserve is one option but it does effectively give you unlimited daily casts. I was thinking spell slot + (half spell level +1 )craft reserve.
Unlimited daily casts with a pretty large failure rate if you're trying something big, and the big stuff comes online slower than it does for other classes defined by their magic (though admittedly faster than paladins and rangers). The spell slot cost allows you to go overboard if you want, or allows multiclass artificer/spellcasters to build SSIs of their higher-level spells and still use them (but in this case, you won't get any more SSIs than you would spells anyway, and the SSIs are risky and unreliable).
 
The basic point holds, which is why I went with both reserve and slots at first, but I think it can be adjusted for this paradigm without too much work.
 
Incidentally, I keep referring to SSI as unreliable. Here's what I mean. The highest Intelligence anyone can start with under point-buy is 16 (high elf, tiefling, half-elf, human) or 17 (gnomes), both of which have a +3. Let's assume that you shoot for 20 Intelligence ASAP after that. What's your Arcana check result at each level, and how likely are you to succeed on the SSI check for each level of spell you could create? I'll give you two tables - one without Expertise / Spell Storing Expertise (a magitechnician ability), and one with it. Recall that SSI triggers off of the slot, so if you're trying to rig up an antipersonnel incendiary bomb (Fireball in a 5th level slot), you'll need to hit DC 20 and spend 5 craft reserve (out of 17, when you first get that slot), and that unlike 3e, there's no way to consistently boost a skill check beyond its normal bounds (i.e. no +10 Use Magic Device items affordable around level 7 or so - the best 5e has is stuff like Bardic Inspiration).

Show
[sblock]Without Expertise:
 
   1st DC:2nd DC:3rd DC:4th DC:5th DC:6th DC:7th DC:
LevelProfArcana12141618202224
125       
22570%      
32570%      
42675%65%     
53780%70%     
63780%70%     
73780%70%60%    
83885%75%65%    
94990%80%70%    
104990%80%70%60%   
114990%80%70%60%   
124990%80%70%60%50%  
1351095%85%75%65%55%  
1451095%85%75%65%55%  
1551095%85%75%65%55%45% 
1651095%85%75%65%55%45% 
17611100%90%80%70%60%50% 
18611100%90%80%70%60%50% 
19611100%90%80%70%60%50% 
20611100%90%80%70%60%50%40%
 
With Expertise (added in at level 3, when magitechnicians currently get it):
 
   1st DC:2nd DC:3rd DC:4th DC:5th DC:6th DC:7th DC:
LevelProfArcana12141618202224
125       
22570%      
32780%      
42885%75%     
531095%85%     
631095%85%     
731095%85%75%    
8311100%90%80%    
9413100%100%90%    
10413100%100%90%80%   
11413100%100%90%80%   
12413100%100%90%80%70%  
13515100%100%100%90%80%  
14515100%100%100%90%80%  
15515100%100%100%90%80%70% 
16515100%100%100%90%80%70% 
17617100%100%100%100%90%80% 
18617100%100%100%100%90%80% 
19617100%100%100%100%90%80% 
20617100%100%100%100%90%80%70%
[/sblock]You can immediately see that even with Expertise (something that I'm not completely sold on including, and can edit - perhaps Expertise only kicks in on SSIs of 3rd level or lower?), spells of "uncommon" levels (5th and higher - where slot recovery systems like Arcane Recovery and Pact Magic generally cap out), it's not a guarantee, and without it, it's a big gamble. Note that it still takes them two rounds to pull off the SSI, and even that costs them a Hit Die (especially significant at the lower levels and in parties without bards), and if it fails it doesn't just cost him the reserve or the spell slot (it actually blows up in his face by default, which can kill a low-level artificer and increases the demand for the healing a hit die can provide). And this is with the highest possible starting Intelligence under point-buy, and rushing to max it out at 8th (something that isn't always ideal if you're in a game with feats).
 
You like to harken back to lessons learned from 3e. Consider the extreme aversion to arcane spell failure - even a 5% or 10% chance of failure was enough to get people in a tizzy and try to develop even lighter armor, which WotC responded to by dramatically increasing the amount of classes who have a type of armored mage ability. Consider that those percentages are still 95% or 90% likely to succeed. Now look at the chance of success on the table, and remember that spell slots, in 5e, are even more precious. (Craft reserve gives you a couple extra higher-level equivalents before SSI starts tapping into your actual slots, yes, but craft reserve also powers your augments and may be tied up in your scrolls or potions.)
 
 
EDIT: I forgot to include Spell Storing Mastery at 14th, which is another ability I'm not wedded to (although I do think it needs some form of improvement to SSI at that level, the specific improvement doesn't have to be as written). I'll edit that in later. It's quite significant.
 
 
 

Ok why do you want armor and weapon augments to be daily powers because I keep wanting to see them as being similar to soulmelds where the power lasts as long as you put the points in it.
Did you look at the level 9 ability?
 
I also don't see them like soulmelds. I see the closest parallel being Sacred Weapon (which is a Channel Divinity option), except that ups the damage even further and is on a class with better weapons and Smites, or cantrips (which the artificer doesn't fight with), if you apply the SSI paradigm to them (i.e. you don't always have them available, but once you take the time to set it up by augmenting a weapon, you can fight like that as needed). Since it doesn't add damage until later, it's best used if the artificer has a significantly higher Intelligence than Dexterity (which won't necessarily be true at low levels) or if you're fighting a foe with an exploitable weakness (in which case, the artificer is magically building the perfect tool for the job on the spot, and exploiting a weakness is a way of fighting tactically - both of which appeal to me as fitting the "feel" of the artificer, i.e. Goal 2.)
 
I might borrow the Ironsoul Forgemaster idea for the Combat Engineer (...actually, I might just call that the Spellforged, Smithblade, or something similar, to avoid the word "engineer"; not to mention "combat engineer" in English actually refers to the people who set up bridges and explosives on real-world battlefields), but that's because it's the path that really focuses on Augmentation as its primary thing. Just like I wouldn't move Evocation abilities from Evoker to the core Wizard. (You'll note the four subclasses correspond to four core aspects of the artificer: SSI, Augmentation, Imbue Potions / Scrolls, and construct-only effects.)
 
...On an unrelated note, I'm probably going to rename it from "specialist artifice" to "artificer guild", in a manner similar to Bardic College. Just to drive home the industry theme a bit more and separate the subclass names from "prestige class style" naming conventions.
 
 
 
 
EDIT: Revisions made:
  • Schema are now no longer freely translatable with spellbooks. An artificer's schema cannot be copied into a wizard's spellbook, and a wizard's spellbook cannot supply an artificer's schema. You need other schema, spell scrolls, or an external source (i.e. recovered runes from ancient ruins or the like) to do that, which limits the ability to expand the book of schema beyond what you find through levelling up. This does limit what, say, a Wiz19/Art1 could put in his book of schema, to a point - the way Imbue Scrolls is written it won't work on wizard spells.
  • Weapon Augmentation has reminder text added to clarify what happens if you try to augment a weapon with two damage types.
  • Subclasses are now identified as Artificer Guilds, and the guilds have been named slightly differently.
  • The Spellforger's Guild (formerly the combat engineer) has a slight tweak to how Sustained Infusion works to better facilitate team play. It already got enough "selfish" benefits on its own equipment through Augmentation.
  • I noticed that anyone can disarm magical traps, so I changed the mechanics a bit to make magitechnicians possibly slightly better at it. (It's normally an Int(Arcana) check against what is usually DC 10+Spell level; here, it's an Int (Thieves' Tools) check against 15+Spell Level, but since it's a tool check, they can Magecraft it. They also no longer automatically set it off if they fail.)
  • Magitechnicians now only get Expertise on SSIs of 3rd level or lower. (The 4th-7th columns above should look like the first table's.)
  • Clarified that Weapon Augmentation, when it's moved to an ally (haven't settled on the level for that yet), won't change their attack stat. That's a property only the artificer benefits from.
  • Fixed a potential glitch in Synchronize when it could, under one interpretation, be used to de-attune a cursed item without breaking the curse.
  • Added Heavy Crossbow proficiency, to encourage crossbow use (it's a thematically appropriate weapon for Medium artificers). It's not on the list of starting equipment though (that's still a light crossbow).
 

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