Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Artificer Class, Revised: Rip Me A New One
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="RealAlHazred" data-source="post: 6749952" data-attributes="member: 25818"><p><strong>Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:</strong></p><p></p><p>It requires less math than I think you seem to think it does, and adjusting it in either way introduces more problems than it solves. </p><p>1) Artificers have traditionally been more magical than the half-casters (who feel like warriors with spells rather than spellcasters with weapons), on par with bards - but I don't want to go the route that the 5e bard did and go with a full caster. The delayed spell level access is <em>huge</em> when it comes to how this class is balanced - full spellcasting would cause the artificer to race ahead of the full casters in the "supply top-notch magic" department (a big problem with the original artificer, and one I really don't want to repeat), and half-casting would force me to redo the entire schema rules because only the half-caster spell lists were designed with slow spell progression in mind. As it stands, it gets spells on a delay, but not an insurmountable one; it can supply the perfect lower-level spells for any situation (craft reserve and time depending), but it can't pull out effects on par with the specialist casters' top-end spells. That's exactly what I was hoping for, and 2/3 happened to hit the spot rather sweetly. (I originally started with 3/4, but that proved a little hard to manage.)</p><p> </p><p>2) The game already uses thirds with Eldritch Knights and Arcane Tricksters - and the actual tables those classes use is <em>not</em> actually 1/3. It gives you the slots of a 1st level caster at level 3, as expected, but then gives you a 2nd level caster's slots at level 4, then 3rd and 4th level spellcaster slots at levels 6 and 7... you're getting spells at every level divisible by 3 and every level immediately after that. (By means of comparison, the artificer's slots are the standard spellcaster slots, skipping level 1 and every 3 levels after that.)</p><p> </p><p>3) The actual calculation of 2/3 comes in exactly <em>two</em> places - both when you level up. You make <em>one</em> calculation - two-thirds your new artificer level - and use that for multiclass spell slots (if applicable) and spells prepared. That's done once. It's not touched again until you level up. Actual gameplay only ever uses halving as far as fractions are concerned. Incidentally, this is exactly the same logic behind proficiency bonuses - your proficiency bonus is actually your level, divided by 4, rounded up, added to 1, but no one complains about that because it's listed in a table. (Ironically this is exactly the same justification as THAC0, except the math is done for you by the designer instead of by you.)</p><p> </p><p>If it helps, I can do the same thing the Eldritch Knight and Arcane Trickster did, or proficiency bonus did, and put spells prepared (the one place where the 2/3 factors in apart from multiclass slots, and multiclassing is a separate optional module from this class) in a column. I didn't do this originally because it might bring in more confusion, since the spells-prepared limit is 2/3 your level,<em> + your Int modifier</em>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Incidentally, I never said this before, but I did try to keep the amount of "systems" specific to the artificer to a minimum. It all boils down to craft reserve in the end, similar to inspiration, wild shape, or channel divinity uses. I find it's helpful to have a list of "standard" devices and potions that you keep and refill as needed (similar to how prepared spells worked in older editions), changing it when the situation demands it and your rest cycle allows. This also helps you budget enough free reserve for effects like Personal Weapon Augmentation, Magecraft, and unforeseen uses of your guild features.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Revisions made:</strong></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Object Dependence allows you to perform somatic components with the extra objects it requires. This should allow artificers to work on their own weapons while still using a shield.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Alchemist's Master Distiller ability now allows any number of potions to be made during one short rest, as long as you've got the vials of water and the craft reserve to make them. This lets 11th+ level alchemists rely far more on their bombs (which are created using the Infuse Potions ability), which is kind of a signature point of the Alchemist's Guild playstyle.</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RealAlHazred, post: 6749952, member: 25818"] [b]Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:[/b] It requires less math than I think you seem to think it does, and adjusting it in either way introduces more problems than it solves. 1) Artificers have traditionally been more magical than the half-casters (who feel like warriors with spells rather than spellcasters with weapons), on par with bards - but I don't want to go the route that the 5e bard did and go with a full caster. The delayed spell level access is [i]huge[/i] when it comes to how this class is balanced - full spellcasting would cause the artificer to race ahead of the full casters in the "supply top-notch magic" department (a big problem with the original artificer, and one I really don't want to repeat), and half-casting would force me to redo the entire schema rules because only the half-caster spell lists were designed with slow spell progression in mind. As it stands, it gets spells on a delay, but not an insurmountable one; it can supply the perfect lower-level spells for any situation (craft reserve and time depending), but it can't pull out effects on par with the specialist casters' top-end spells. That's exactly what I was hoping for, and 2/3 happened to hit the spot rather sweetly. (I originally started with 3/4, but that proved a little hard to manage.) 2) The game already uses thirds with Eldritch Knights and Arcane Tricksters - and the actual tables those classes use is [i]not[/i] actually 1/3. It gives you the slots of a 1st level caster at level 3, as expected, but then gives you a 2nd level caster's slots at level 4, then 3rd and 4th level spellcaster slots at levels 6 and 7... you're getting spells at every level divisible by 3 and every level immediately after that. (By means of comparison, the artificer's slots are the standard spellcaster slots, skipping level 1 and every 3 levels after that.) 3) The actual calculation of 2/3 comes in exactly [i]two[/i] places - both when you level up. You make [i]one[/i] calculation - two-thirds your new artificer level - and use that for multiclass spell slots (if applicable) and spells prepared. That's done once. It's not touched again until you level up. Actual gameplay only ever uses halving as far as fractions are concerned. Incidentally, this is exactly the same logic behind proficiency bonuses - your proficiency bonus is actually your level, divided by 4, rounded up, added to 1, but no one complains about that because it's listed in a table. (Ironically this is exactly the same justification as THAC0, except the math is done for you by the designer instead of by you.) If it helps, I can do the same thing the Eldritch Knight and Arcane Trickster did, or proficiency bonus did, and put spells prepared (the one place where the 2/3 factors in apart from multiclass slots, and multiclassing is a separate optional module from this class) in a column. I didn't do this originally because it might bring in more confusion, since the spells-prepared limit is 2/3 your level,[i] + your Int modifier[/i]. Incidentally, I never said this before, but I did try to keep the amount of "systems" specific to the artificer to a minimum. It all boils down to craft reserve in the end, similar to inspiration, wild shape, or channel divinity uses. I find it's helpful to have a list of "standard" devices and potions that you keep and refill as needed (similar to how prepared spells worked in older editions), changing it when the situation demands it and your rest cycle allows. This also helps you budget enough free reserve for effects like Personal Weapon Augmentation, Magecraft, and unforeseen uses of your guild features. [b]Revisions made:[/b] [LIST][*]Object Dependence allows you to perform somatic components with the extra objects it requires. This should allow artificers to work on their own weapons while still using a shield. [*]The Alchemist's Master Distiller ability now allows any number of potions to be made during one short rest, as long as you've got the vials of water and the craft reserve to make them. This lets 11th+ level alchemists rely far more on their bombs (which are created using the Infuse Potions ability), which is kind of a signature point of the Alchemist's Guild playstyle. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Artificer Class, Revised: Rip Me A New One
Top