Unearthed Arcana New Unearthed Arcana: Revised Artificer

The Artificer Returns, and it's a better Beast Master than the Beast Master

ICYMI, enjoy! It's got two new subclasses, new spells, and some tweaks to multiclassing. Plus, you know, typos.

Now to the meat of the matter. The Battle Smith. Everyone's better at having pets than the poor Beast Master Ranger. Discuss!

 

[FlyingChihuahua]

Hex imposes disadvantage on ability checks, not saving throws. Its combat utility is mostly in impeding Dexterity (Stealth) checks for sneaky opponents, or Strength (Athletics) checks for grabby opponents.

You could also hex a spellcasting ability to futz with Counterspells

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Since artificers have cantrips (unlike rangers and paladins), I wouldn't be surprised if they errata'd artificer into the feat when the "for publication" version comes out. Of course, if they had said rangers and paladins get exactly two cantrips (spare the dying and true strike) [I didn't say they got two good ones, but both seem reasonable for rangers and paladins to have], they could have made the feat work for all casting classes.

It's not just lack of cantrips though, those classes have "signature spells" that are significantly above the curve for their level. That's what makes them such a popular choice for bards. To be fair, so does warlock, which is why I reckon it is such a popular choice for Magic Initiate.

Then their is the lore side. It doesn't make sense for someone to be able to use an Artificer spell if they have no tool proficiencies, so an Artificer version of Magic Initiate would have to either have tool proficiency as a prerequisite or come with it built in.

 

[Ancalagon]

Using a heavy crossbow and the arcane weapon spell should result in a petty decent ranged damage for the artificer...

... and this is where I "worry" a bit for the alchemist, because their improved cantrips sort of don't mesh with that, it competes.

 

[Al2O3]

Using a heavy crossbow and the arcane weapon spell should result in a petty decent ranged damage for the artificer...

... and this is where I "worry" a bit for the alchemist, because their improved cantrips sort of don't mesh with that, it competes.

I was going to argue that improved cantrips might remove some of the value of using the crossbow. However, the improvements to the alchemist don't really make it worth it for offensive cantrips compared to a magic crossbow. So I now share your concern.

In terms of power I would consider alchemist the one I like the least. I'm terms of theme, I think artillerist is the one in most need of improvement.

 

[Ancalagon]

I was going to argue that improved cantrips might remove some of the value of using the crossbow. However, the improvements to the alchemist don't really make it worth it for offensive cantrips compared to a magic crossbow. So I now share your concern.

In terms of power I would consider alchemist the one I like the least. I'm terms of theme, I think artillerist is the one in most need of improvement.

I would agree. The alchemist is full of flavor.

 

[Aldarc]

They obviously believe a +1d6 damage magic weapon in the hands of the artificer themself is not as powerful as a +1 to-hit / +1d4 damage magic weapon in the hands of another PC. Especially considering the artificer is more likely to lose concentration on it when they are the ones in melee taking the hits.

Thankfully though the Artificer has proficiency in Constitution saves.

The Artificer gives the Wizard some fairly strong options for multiclassing. So if this is close to the final version, I will be interested in seeing what the theorycrafters draft up for some Artificer/Wizard combos.

 

[tglassy]

The Artificer gives everyone a strong reason for multiclassing. Who wouldn’t want a guaranteed source magic items? Though, they mix with wizards best, perhaps, because of their Int focus.

 

[Aldarc]

The Artificer gives everyone a strong reason for multiclassing. Who wouldn’t want a guaranteed source magic items? Though, they mix with wizards best, perhaps, because of their Int focus.

If you plan on starting with Artificer, you gain proficiency in Con saves while also gaining a bunch of other proficiencies that help boost the wizard toolkit: e.g., medium armor, shields, tools, cantrips (guidance!), and some cleric spells (cure wounds). You could gain much of the same from a level in cleric, but the Artificer arguably synthesizes better due to Intelligence.

 

[Fenris-77]

Wizard for sure, but really any character that's filling the skill monkey role can probably get good mileage out if it. There's some fun stuff to be done there even with a light dip.

I actually really like the Alchemist. Sure there are a couple of things that compete rather than synergize, but that's true of other classes and I don't think it's a big enough deal to be a barrier to service. It's not really much different, IMO, from having multiple goodies competing for your BA every round, and that's all over the place in 5e.

 

[tglassy]

The 10, 18 and 20'th lvl abilities are actually very potent, though. It's one of the few times I've seen high level abilities that are so attractive, I don't WANT to multiclass.

10th level is "The Right Cantrip for the Job", allowing you to change your cantrips out with a short rest, something no other class can do at all. The Artilarist can do this at lvl 6 with his wand, but that's akin to Lore Bards getting extra Magical Secrets at lvl 6 while the rest have to wait until lvl 10. But still, being able to switch out your cantrips is pretty fascinating.

18th level gets you "Spell Storing Item" and oh man, this is a doozy. Pick any 1st or 2nd level spell and, assuming you have a 20 Int (which you do), you or anyone you give the item to can cast that spell 10 times! And every day you can pick a new spell, or just recharge the old one! And the item can be any item you can use as a spellcasting focus, so Infused Items work, effectively giving an enchanged item an additional spell it can cast 10 times a day.

There are so many applications to this, from a set of bracers that can cast Cure Wounds to a Cloak of Protection that can cast Invisibility. A Cloak of Protective Invisibility. And you can switch it up every day.

And lastly, that capstone is pretty beastly. It doubles the number of magical items you can attune to, and grants +1 to all saving throws for every magical item attuned. That's potentially a +6 on all saves, giving you a +12 on Int and Con saves. Have a Paladin in the party and you now have a +18 on Con and Int saves. Say hello to never failing another Con save again. In a High Magic Campaign, this will be amazing, as you can give out your created magic items to your party members, but in a Low magic Campaign, this is even better since you can just MAKE your own magical items to attune to.