Artificer?

[mattcolville]

A friend of mine wants to play an Artificer from Eberron in my non-Eberron D&D game.

Ok, so I don't care that it's a class from another setting. Big deal. If it means my player has fun, I'm in favor of it.

But this thing where they use Use Magic Device to create infusions makes no sense to me.

They can make items with spells in them without knowing the spells? They Use Magic Device to 'know' the spell? How is that an application of UMD?

It would be like someone using Scribe Scroll to make a scroll of Magic Missile in spite of the fact that no one who knew Magic Missile was involved in creating the scroll.

I have to have this wrong.

 

[whydirt]

AFAIK, you've got it right. It's just one of the perks of the class. Otherwise, the artificer would only be able to craft items that come from spells on their list, which seems to miss the point of building a class around crafting magic items.

 

[Umbran]

You do have it a bit wrong, or at least mixed up.

Artificers have a few "spells" they can cast each day. These spells are called "infusions". They are not normal spells, in that infusions can only be cast upon items. An Artificer cannot cast Bull's Strength upon his fighter friend. He must cast it upon a belt, making it a temporary Girdle of Giant Strength. These infusions come from a known list, and iirc UMD is not required to cast them.

Artificers can also create permanent magic items. In order to do that, they would normally need certain spells, like other spellcasters. But as already stated, Artificers don't have actual spells, and the infusions they know don't count. Instead, they have to make UMD skill checks to mimic the spellcasting for item creation. This creation of magic items costs XP (or points from the Arificer's crafting reserve). It is a little odd, in that an Artificer can scribe a scroll without having the spell. But then, unlike a normal spellcaster making an item, the Artificer can fail, by not making the skill check. If he fails, he loses both the time and the XP he was spending to make the item.

 

[shilsen]

They can make items with spells in them without knowing the spells?

Yes.

They Use Magic Device to 'know' the spell?

Yes. But only for item creation purposes.

How is that an application of UMD?

It's a class-specific application of the skill. No biggie.

I have to have this wrong.

Nope, you have it correct.

Personally, I have no problem with it. It's a fine class and the mechanics on it work nicely, so as a DM, I can come up with various ways to justify it, e.g. the artificer tapping into the nuts and bolts of magic without the study or natural ability or divinely-granted powers of the spellcasting classes.

 

[mattcolville]

It seems deeply contrary to the design of 3E. You can't take Scribe Scroll to make scrolls with spells on them neither you nor anyone you know, know. Even Sorcerers, who 'figure out' how a spell works without learning it from anyone, still need to know the spell to make an item with it.

 

[Bloosquig]

But a sorcerer could be considered to just be filling the item with his powers. They don't know how they do that anymore then they know how they throw a fireball. You could think of the artificer as studying more the E = MC2 of magic (with the skills etc.) rather then a wizards more specialized say hoodyhoo wiggle my fingers and *bang* magic missile or whatever. So to make a long post longer, a wizard concentrates on getting the item to do what he knows, the sorcerer makes the item do what he does, and the artificer makes the item understand that there are things he DOESN'T know but that he wants done.

That make any sense? No? My job is done then.

 

[Staffan]

The artificer class has been described as having an understanding of magic on a different level than regular spellcasters. Their magic skills are more fundamental, which means they're less practical but can be used for more things. You could think of a regular spellcaster as someone who knows how to use a computer, while the artificer knows how to program it. The regular spellcaster is limited to certain things (in my analogy, the software he has available), but can do them with relative ease. The artificer however, can do pretty much anything (because he writes his own programs), but can't do it on the fly in the same way a spellcaster does (because he has to write the program). It's not a perfect analogy, but it works for me.

 

[fuindordm]

It seems deeply contrary to the design of 3E. You can't take Scribe Scroll to make scrolls with spells on them neither you nor anyone you know, know. Even Sorcerers, who 'figure out' how a spell works without learning it from anyone, still need to know the spell to make an item with it.

But it also fixes a problem of 3e, i.e. "Where do all these items come from in the first place?"

Just kidding. But it does have two big advantages to any campaign:

a) An artificer can use any spell in the game through the magic items they create, allowing them to fill the role of any dedicated spellcaster that the party happens to be lacking. It therefore allows a wider variety of party compositions without mucking up the game balance.

b) An artificer can use any found item, which means that the unique magical treasures placed by the GM are more likely to stay in the party instead of being sold off for cash.

The trade-off for their enormous versatility? They burn through their resources quickly, even with their craft reserve; most of their infusions have long casting times (although the core class assumes that they have action points to spend to reduce these times to a standard action when really necessary); they need to succeed in UMD rolls both to make items and to use them. At higher levels they might need to succeed at two UMD rolls: one to emulate the requisite ability score, and the other to emulate having the spell on their class list. Getting the scrolls out is generally a move-equivalent action, so spellcasting at low levels is effectively a full-round action for them.

 

[Henry]

Matt, several things to remember about Artificers:

The UMD check is pretty high to create as well as use various items: about 20 + caster level. Even ekeing out every possible synergy bonus, skill focus, and feat usage, it's still just over a 50% chance to create, and just over a 60% chance to use. They also have to have an ability score high enough to cast said spell, or it's another UMD check.

All items created by an artificer are considered neither divine nor arcane. For wands and spell triggers, it doesn't matter, but for scrolls and similar items, they can only be used by people making a UMD check.

Also, in my personal opinion, DO NOT allow items which skill-boost UMD checks! I speak from hard experience that an artificer who can do this, WILL do this as soon as possible, and will never have to make another UMD check again.

As for the rationale, it is explained that an Artificer does not understand magic the same way; he's "kit-bashing" to make the items, and although they look the same, he really doesn't retain the knowledge to make or use the items concerned, and has to try every time he works with them. An artificer is a necessary part of Eberron's "magicology", but think of him more as a shade-tree mechanic who works on BMW's.