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!

 

[Ancalagon]

That wouldn't be how order of operations works.

5 times 5 plus 4 plus 2 is 31

Tell me, a level 5 character, how many times do you apply your constitution bonus?

 

[Kurotowa]

That wouldn't be how order of operations works.

5 times 5 plus 4 plus 2 is 31

Also there's no stated way to raise it's AC 15. It's not one of the traits that improves with Might of the Master, and it isn't called out as eligible for any sort of armor or defensive enchantment. But OTOH you can heal it with a Cantrip and revive it with a 1st level spell slot and 1 minute. So it's not a huge loss if it gets beat up a lot of the time.

 

[bedir than]

Tell me, a level 5 character, how many times do you apply your constitution bonus?

Well, that would be "1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per artificer level after 1st"

Which is distinctly not "equal to five times your level in this class + your Intelligence modifier + the iron defender’s
Constitution modifier"

 

[Kurotowa]

Tell me, a level 5 character, how many times do you apply your constitution bonus?

This isn't a character. Also by your method it'd get it's Con Bonus x 5 as a fixed amount instead of Con Bonus x 1 as a fixed amount, which isn't really any more like a character. You're not changing the scaling you're just front loading a couple dozen more HP.

But that aside, I think precedent is on bedir's side. It's "(text text text) + (text text text) + (text text text)" where each text sequence is calculated separately.

 

[Ancalagon]

This isn't a character. Also by your method it'd get it's Con Bonus x 5 as a fixed amount instead of Con Bonus x 1 as a fixed amount, which isn't really any more like a character. You're not changing the scaling you're just front loading a couple dozen more HP.

But that aside, I think precedent is on bedir's side. It's "(text text text) + (text text text) + (text text text)" where each text sequence is calculated separately.

This question was asked here about the homunculus, and there was agreement that the int bonus applies per level. It needs to be clarified.

 

[Ancalagon]

Is an ogre a character? How many times is its con bonus applied? Once per "level"...

 

[Kurotowa]

This question was asked here about the homunculus, and there was agreement that the int bonus applies per level. It needs to be clarified.

I definitely agree that clarification and better wording are desired. But the level argument is a red herring. Right now it's a choice between "(PC level x 5) + (PC Int Mod) + (Iron Defender Con Mod)" vs "(PC level x 5) + (PC Int Mod x 5) + (Iron Defender Con Mod x 5)". In neither case is either the Int Mod or Con Mod scaling with the PC's level.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Since the beginning D&D always has had got elements of arcano-tech or magic technology, but now the influence is stronger because we are use to the steampunk genre.

A lot of players love monster pets, for background for their characters and storytelling goals more than for munchkin's gameplay. I wonder about the idea of monster companion classes, like a second PC who also earns its own XPs pool to leveling up.

Sometimes I wondered about the return of the archivist (from "Tome of Horror") and warmage (complete arcane) and now I find they may be artificer subclasses. How would be an artificer subclass with incarnum soulmelds in magic (runic?) items? Maybe a mixture of the prestige class irosoul forgemaster and the runescribe class from 4th Ed.

* If Mystara come backs.... will we see an new videogame by Capcom?

 

[Kurotowa]

A lot of players love monster pets, for background for their characters and storytelling goals more than for munchkin's gameplay. I wonder about the idea of monster companion classes, like a second PC who also earns its own XPs pool to leveling up.

Well that's what the Sidekick UA rules from last December were for, weren't they? I mean, one of the examples given was a mastiff, but you could just as easily apply them to a pseudodragon or kobold or flumph. They're sort of an all purpose advancement system that's not as small as simple HD advancement and not as big as PC class levels.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Am I the only one who thinks that an intangible, flying, invulnerable spellcasting psychically attacking familiar is potentially abusable?

It aught to have some kind of vulnerability, such as Force Damage and Dispel Magic.