Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana Introduces The Artifcer

I don't think anyone saw this coming!

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

http://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/1_UA_Artificer_20170109.pdf

Haven't read this thread yet, so forgive me if I'm repeating points others have made, but I want to get my first impressions on record before being contaminated ;-) by the hive mind:

This class is all right. I'd probably allow it at my table. It doesn't excite my powergamer instincts, but it's interesting and has a few tricks.

(1) I like the way they did the companion. The whole "you're assumed to have been working on it in your spare time" shtick may not seem important, but it helps set expectations just in case the Artificer turns level 6 right after having all of his possessions confiscated by a crafty lawyer or stranded on a desert island after going through a dimensional portal, and the DM says, "You can't have that companion--it was left back at home with all the rest of your stuff." Having that assumption explicitly stated up front makes me much happier with the class.

From a power perspective, it's too bad Giant Constrictor Snakes aren't eligible. I'd probably want a Giant Toad (for the restraining) or some kind of flying mount like a Giant Owl, but really anything could work well enough. Rhinoceros, polar bear, horse--whatever the player feels is cool.

I also find the "repair from 0 HP" part reasonable.

(2) Mechanically, the Artificer looks quite a bit like a Rogue/Bard hybrid. That is, he can deal Rogue-like sneak attack damage at either short range (Alchemist) or medium-long range (Gunsmith--although the Gunsmith is more MAD) while wearing medium armor (no shield, interestingly) and also heal or bestow buffs on other party members.

(3) Infuse Magic is the Artificer's single most interesting class ability. It lets you break the concentration limit on Haste; let other PCs cast self-buffs like Disguise Self, Expeditious Retreat, Blur, and Blink on themselves; and easily set up contingencies like a Revivify object which is usable by anyone in the party (including reviving you if you die). It's a bit unfortunate that a bonus action spell like Magic Weapon or Expeditious Retreat turns into an action spell which infused, but oh well, it's still good to have options.

(4) Goggles of Night are an extremely powerful item in the right circumstances (Underdark adventures in large-ish caverns). It prevents drow from exploiting their darkvision advantage against you, and allows you to similarly exploit your darkvision advantage against others. Probably best if you give it to the party Sharpshooter instead of using it yourself though. Ditto bracers of archery, though of course a Gunsmith might covet those too. Decanter of Endless Water is always fun, and Alchemy Jug has potential despite its limited uses; Hat of Disguise is awesome. Overall I like the fact that there's a curated list of items instead of some rarity-governed metric. Most of the items on that list are more fun than powerful, which is fine for adding character to the class.

(5) The fact that Artificers know Fabricate makes me happy.

(6) I foresee Dwarvish Artificers with Thundercannons becoming a thing at my table.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

Also, the damage scaling all at different intervals bothers me a lot more that i like to admit. they should just have an "artificer attack/alchemy dice" on the table like sneak attack, and all the damage modifiers referring to that. Single target effect just get a bonus on the initial damage if really wanted and be done.

I agree. If that's going to be consistent across sub-classes, then just make it a core class feature ala Sneak Attack.

I wish mechanical servant was a subclass feature, I don't see every artificer having one.

The design team is apparently unable to remember just a few months back when the released the revised ranger that there was two years of consistent negative feedback, and gave out a companion as a class feature that doesn't scale. Either rip out this abortion or make it scale, but right now all it's doing is being an opportunity cost that there isn't something else written there except for a few levels.

Yeah, I just don't get this need to use the MM creatures. It causes all sorts of headaches where you need to check compatibility and balance every time you create a new creature, and yet it's a core rule for not only beasts attached to class mechanics and spells, but fey, fiends, elementals, etc.

Just give us a few basic rules like size, damage, attacks, etc. and rules for how they scale and then add in, as a class feature, a chooseable bonus like choosing a "wolf" shape gives it the Pack ability or a "jaguar" gives it the Pounce ability, etc.

It's so much more convoluted and open to abuse when you just say, "CR X"

 

[Bacon Bits]

Admittedly I am filtering this through my years of DMing, but I think part of my "not very fond" is that I'm having problems seeing past the fact that they are getting magic items, for free, that most characters have to spend a good majority of their careers adventuring for.

Or maybe I'm just very stingy with magic items to my players...

It's really not difficult to de-item the class.

Step 1: Eliminate Wondrous Invention

Step 2: Introduce Alchemical Invocations, similar to Warlock Invocations

Gain 1 invocation at levels 2, 5, 10, 15, 20.

Step 3:

Alchemical Invocations:

Bag of Holding -- You may cast leomund's secret chest at will. You need not craft a chest, only you may use the box, and the box is kept in an extradimensional space instead of on the Ethereal Plan.

Cap of Water Breathing -- You may cast water breathing at will. If you cast the spell again before it expires, the previous casting ends immediately.

Driftglobe -- You can cast the light cantrip at will.

Goggles of Night -- You may cast darkvision at will. If you cast the spell again before it expires, the previous casting ends immediately.

Sending Stones -- You may cast the sending spell once per long rest.

Alchemist's Jug -- You may cast Drawmij's instant summons once per day and without any material components, but you may only produce: 8 oz acid, 1/2 once basic poison, 4 gallons of beer, 1 gallon of honey, .... Requirements: Level 5 Alchemist.

Helm of Comprehending Languages -- You may cast comprehend languages at will. If you cast the spell again before it expires, the previous casting ends immediately. Requirements: Level 5 Alchemist.

Lantern of Revealing -- You may cast see invisible at will; however, doing so causes you to glow as if you were affected by the light spell for the duration. Furthermore, every six times you cast this spell you must complete a special ritual which takes 1 action and consumes 1 sp worth of material components. Requirements: Level 5 Alchemist.

Ring of Swimming -- You may cast alter self at will, but may only choose the Aquatic Adaptation mode, and do not gain gills or the ability to breathe while underwater. Requirements: Level 5 Alchemist.

Robe of Useful Items -- You discover a lost adventuring party's belongings. You gain a dagger, a lantern, a steel mirror, a 10 foot pole, 50 feet of hemp rope, and a sack. Additionally, roll 4d4 times on the following table:

d100
01-08 100 gp
09-15 500gp
16-22 oil of arcane lock
23-30 1000 gp
31-44 A collapsable ladder
45-51 A riding horse with saddlebags is nearby. It is friendly.
52-59 oil of passwall
60-68 4 potions of healing
69-75 A rowboat is nearby. It is friendly.
76-83 A scroll containing one spell of 1st-3rd level
84-90 2 mastiff hounds are nearby. They are friendly.
91-96 Stale oil of passwall (half effect)
97-00 Portable ram is nearby. It is hostile.

Requirements: Level 5 Alchemist.

Rope of Climbing -- You may cast spider climb at will. Requirements: Level 5 Alchemist.

Wand of Magic Detection -- You may cast detect magic once each short rest. Requirements: Level 5 Alchemist.

Wand of Secrets -- You may cast find traps once each short rest, but only to a 30 foot range. However, in addition to traps, you find any secret doors. The wand does not distinguish between traps and secrets. Requirements: Level 5 Alchemist.

etc.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

Commanding the servant to attack doesn't take a bonus action. The servant obeys your orders, but acts on its own initiative and takes its own actions.

I am referring to:

• If you are the target of a melee attack and the servant is within 5 feet of the attacker, you can use your reaction to command the servant to respond, using its reaction to make a melee attack against the attacker.

 

[TrippyHippy]

It's an interesting idea, although I don't think I'll use it ultimately. I can imagine some good characters being appealing to to some who like a bit of magi-tech in their fantasy.

The other point I wonder is whether the Unearthed Arcana stuff will start collating into a book release at some point?

 

[TwoSix]

I am referring to:

• If you are the target of a melee attack and the servant is within 5 feet of the attacker, you can use your reaction to command the servant to respond, using its reaction to make a melee attack against the attacker.

Sure, but since your point was that the bonus action to reload the thunder cannon conflicted with the bonus action to command the servant to attack, that point isn't really relevant, right? It's about reactions, not bonus actions.

 

[Garresh]

So as many have noticed, the Wondrous Invention class feature is a bit all over the place. Most of the high level things are completely ridiculous, like a Ring of Jumping requiring level 20. The low levels are mostly okay, but there are some things still out of place, like items which cast 3rd level spells acquired at level 2.


This is an attempt to normalize the power level of the list, while preserving the core concept of the original list. Mostly this new list consists of level adjustments, but some additional magic items have been added, with a focus on "fun" or utility items. Items with combat effects have been avoided for the most part. I've also included a changelog of each change, and an expanded explanation section of why each change was made.

• 2nd Level: Cap of Water Breathing, Helm of Comprehending Languages, Heward's Handy Haversack, Ring of Jumping, Mariner's Armor(Any Light), Wand of Magic Detection
• 5th Level: Alchemy Jug, Bag of Holding, Boots of Striding and Springing, Goggles of Night, Lantern of Revealing, Ring of Swimming, Robe of Useful Items, Rope of Climbing, Wand of Secrets
• 10th Level: Chime of Opening, Decanter of Endless Water, Driftglobe, Eyes of Minute Seeing, Folding Boat, Gloves of Missile Snaring, Hat of Disguise, Saddle of the Cavalier, Sending Stones
• 15th Level: Bag of Beans, Bracers of Archery, Brooch of Shielding, Broom of Flying, Periapt of Wound Closure, Ring of X-Ray Vision, Slippers of Spider Climbing
• 20th Level: Apparatus of Kwalish, Eyes of the Eagle, Gem of Brightness, Gloves of Swimming and Climbing, Ring of Mind Shielding, Wings of Flying

Changelog:

Apparatus of Kwalish added at 20th
Bag of Beans to 15th from 10th
Bag of Holding to 5th from 2nd
Boots of Striding and Springing down to 5th, from 15th.
Driftglobe to 10th from 2nd
Goggles of Night to 5th from 2nd
Gloves of Missile Snaring to 10th from 20th
Gloves of Thievery added at 15th.
Hat of Disguise to 10th from 15th
Heward's Handy Haversack to 2nd from 10th
Helm of Comprehending Languages from to 2nd from 5th
Mariner's Armor(Any Light) added at level 2.
Periapt of Wound Closure added at 15th.
Ring of jumping to 2nd from 20th
Ring of X-ray Vision added at 15th
Saddle of the Cavalier added at 10th
Sending Stones to 10th from 2nd
Wand of Magic Detection to 2nd from 5th

Explanation of Level Changes:

• Bag of Beans is an oddity, as it has a lot of things of weird effects, marginal utility, or just things that need to be managed. I'm bumping this to 15 not because of any amazingly OP effects, but because it has the potential to give a DM headaches, and I'd rather put that towards the higher end.
• Bag of Holding is strictly superior to heward's handy haversake, so they are switched and brought closer together.
• Boots of Striding and Springing are basically jump boots, with the added bonus of not being slowed by heavy armor or encumberance. This is extremely situational, however.
• Driftglobe allows you to cast a 3rd level spell once a day, which allows you to dispel magical darkness. Far too powerful for a 2nd level character. Up to 10.
• Goggles of Night essentially equates to a Darkvision spell, which is 2nd level. While not amazingly strong, the always-on part makes this worthy of 5th level.
• Gloves of missile snaring are combat gear, but the somewhat situational nature of it means its probably okay to slide down to level 10.
• Hat of Disguise is awesome, but not level 15 awesome.
• Helm of Comprehending Languages is basically just a 1st level spell at will. It has some utility, but its really worth of the weakest tier.
• Ring of Jumping allows you to cast one of the least used 1st level spells at will. Such potency! Dropped to bottom level.
• Sending Stones provide a 3rd level spell, so they need to be bumped to 10th level.
• Wand of Magic Detection is essentially the warlock invocation, but tied to an item. Not game breaking, as the spell itself is a ritual anyways when cast by many.

Explanation of New Additions:

• Apparatus of Kwalish comes in at a time when its potency is not that important. What matters is that it's a tank.
• Gloves of Thievery are really nice, but they're a thematic fit for an artificer, so popping them in at 15 makes for a good high level perk.
• Mariner's Armor serves to flesh out the low level bracket, as it is basically a worse ring of swimming, but provides the option if wanted at a low level.
• Periapt of Wound Closure is another item with combat utility which doesn't directly boost any combat stats. It also has some thematic fitting. The idea of a pendant or magical construct sustaining you when you go down? That's pretty artificer to me.
• Ring of X-Ray Vision is rare, but situationally useful, and limited by your exhaustion. Seems a nice thematic addition at level 15.
• Saddle of the Cavalier definitely is a combat focused item, but its potency in a given campaign or build is incredibly variable. Even at its peak, it can be considered somewhat situational.

 

[TwoSix]

Also, the damage scaling all at different intervals bothers me a lot more that i like to admit. they should just have an "artificer attack/alchemy dice" on the table like sneak attack, and all the damage modifiers referring to that. Single target effect just get a bonus on the initial damage if really wanted and be done.

Yea, alchemist acid should do 2d6 upfront to keep pace with the rogue. Otherwise, seems pretty on-point.

Hmm, just noticed that alchemist acid and fire don't do stat modifier to damage, just a straight die roll. There's something for the feedback survey!

 

[unnatural 20]

The problem with the whole "Eberron is incompatible with 5e's core design" issue is that it completely misunderstands the idea behind Eberron's magic economy. Eberron's magic economy is not 4e's; it's not a bunch of magic weapon/armor emporiums designed to outfit hundreds and thousands of adventurers. The basic concept behind Eberron is that adventurers; and especially characters with PC classes and levels, are exceptionally rare. Eberron's magic economy is all about consumer goods and services, most of them constructed by Magewrights who are not all that magically powerful. All told, Eberron is actually a fairly low-magic setting; that magic is just broad-based. It would be more accurate to call it a wide-magic setting. And there's nothing in 5e's core design, especially not anything to do with attunement, that makes Eberron not work perfectly fine in 5e without a little bit of tweaking. Certain magic items (Siberys items, including some already in the DMG, like sending stones) require a true dragonmark to attune to and/or use. Done.

I'm not even utterly convinced you'd need rules for magic item creation in an Eberron Campaign book. Maybe if you felt it was necessary to have rules for PCs to be able to do anything that NPCs can do; but I myself am content with leaving magic item creation to the House Cannith NPCs.

Then again, one of my Eberron 5e campaign ideas revolve around a massive dragonshard shortage to explain the lull in the magic economy. I just don't think that's the only way to run Eberron in 5e.

This guy gets it. Would love to know more about your 5e Eberron.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Finally caught up.

This may be me being a little oblivious, but I've read it multiple times... How do you heal your robot servant? As a construct it can't be healed by healing magic, since it is immune to poison it is reasonable to assume potions won't be effective, there are no rules about repairing it to give it hp, just reviving it with 1 hp... so how does it regain hp? Does it die, and then just walk around with 1 hp until you can get to town and build a new one?

In addition to potential scaling issues, I think this needs to be addressed.

On the scaling issue though... I'm not really seeing it. Artificers can pump out really nice damage, so unlike the beastmaster, I don't think the assumption is that they are using this to help fight, more using it as a shield and a melee deterrant (this is one of the only classes I'm aware of that has 0 reason to be in melee ever, even wizards get Vampiric Touch)

I also agree medium and more humanoid shapes would be cool and they should totally have a clockwork builder subclass for minionmancy.


I'm also not enthused about Wondrous Invention, mostly for the higher levels. If one of my biggest bumps at 15th level is making a hat of disguise or boots of sprinting.... just what the heck? Those are relatively minor items to my recollection but that's my 15th level ability?

I think I would do it slightly differently, perhaps a modular item that can be remade and reconfigured. Give it a spell point pool and options for abilities. Perhaps a bit much for a class, but that lets you make some cool and unique items. Maybe break your item into multiple smaller pools or combine them into a single more powerful item. I think it would make them feel more tinkery and engineery.

Infuse magic is interesting, but I only glanced over the spell list so I don't know how cool it could end up being. I'd increase the time to 12 hours instead of 8. Makes it feel safer to spend the time breaking camp into making some charms for your friends and not worrying about them wearing off before they ended up needing them.

Huh... They don't get ritual caster which seems almost counter-intuitive to my tired mind. But then again, ritual combined with infuse magic... actually doesn't seem like it would break anything. I think they should totally get ritual caster, sure it's only a feat away at this point but if any class should have that ability the class that ritually infuses items with magic should be able to ritual cast.

Tanglefoot bag needs a buff, too weak as is.

You get all the formula's by the end of alchemist, and some of them are defintely stronger than others. Most of them take an action as well, and I think potentially allowing some more experimentation with this could be cool. Though, combine that with modular items and the page count for the class could start getting rather high.


Guns are cool, but after 3rd level you never use your standard attack again. Thunder Monger is just a straight up all the time boost. Even compared to the "Speciality" effects at later levels, unless a lot of enemies are grouped together, I'd almost never prefer a 3d6 cone with a save or a 4d6 line with a save to the 8d6+mod attack roll.

Also, all of those saves just tell you what they do if a creature fails the save. Indicating that a successful save deals 0 damage. That makes these really weak options, even for at-will attacks. Even the sun-soul at will bomb does 1/2 on a save doesn't it?

I'd also like the ability to craft runes onto things. That just seems like a very artificer ability, to add temporary runes to a mundane item. I guess infuse does that a little bit, but none of the spells make a sword flaming or other cool effects. Still, you can place a haste in someone's sword or armor, which is kind of cool I guess.

Very tired. Good night