The Artificer Class | 5e Dungeons and Dragons | Web DM
Vložit
- čas přidán 9. 12. 2020
- We're talking about the ARTIFICER class! We spent a long time thinking and researching about our latest D&D Class video, and here it is! Learn how to play your artificer with any subclass including those in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything!
Support our sponsor! Use the code WEBDM and get 25% off your yearly World Anvil subscription: www.worldanvil.com
For more on Tasha's Cauldron subclasses, supplements, and more, become a Web DMN at / webdm
Sign up for our mailing list: eepurl.com/gDXzGr
Listen to Web DM Talks, our New Podcast! Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
RSS: www.spreaker.com/episode/4142...
Thanks for watching! Don't forget to subscribe, comment & share. New episodes every Wednesday.
#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #dmtips #rpg
Check us out on Facebook - bit.ly/2oGKLOg
Twitter - / webdmshow
Instagram - web_dm
Written & Hosted by Jim Davis and Jonathan Pruitt
Produced and Directed by Emma Lambert
Edited by Brandon Fraley
Web DM was created by Travis Boles, Jonathan Pruitt, and Jim Davis
Complete 5e Classes Playlist: bit.ly/2oGuhG1
New to 5th Edition D&D? Check out this playlist - bit.ly/2pbZN1K
Art by Thomas Tanner www.thomastannerart.com
Music by John Branch -branchoutguitar.com
Web DM Theme by Kyle Newmaster - kylenewmaster.com
Motion Graphics & Logo Design by Ryan Wieber - ryan-w.com - Hry
Thanks for watching! Use the code WEBDM and get 25% off your yearly World Anvil subscription: www.worldanvil.com Get our FULL discussion of Tasha's Subclasses and WAY MORE: www.patreon.com/webdm
Do you want to touch it?
“That’s how you get Arcane Eye.” Pruitt, you mad Pungeon Master, you!
The level 20 ability feels less like artifice than proper soul magic. As in "I put a part of me in every magic item I infuse, so recalling that small part of my soul saves me from death"
So Voldemort???
Artificers confirmed evil, then. That was fast
I like the image of an artificer reactively expending the magic in the infusion to create a momentary high powered arcane shield to keep themselves from going unconscious.
@@abcrasshadow9341 sauron did this with the ring way before.
I would roleplay it as most self interested inventors act: "I can't die yet, I've got so much more to do!"
Another good ancient Greek artificer example: Deadalus
Very true! The dude designed a non-Magical item with flying speed, and that wasn't even his most complex build. (he also sets a great precedent for artificers being able to fashion really intricate effects at a cost, e.g. Weakness to Radiant DMG).
He made a labyrinth
@@goldengaruda8935 and the wax wings
Playing Hades I see
@@mysticwizard1943 actually I haven't haha, is he in that?
My friend is playing a battle smith gnome named Screwdriver and he actually rides around on a little robot raptor, sometimes it's a tank, and shoots guns. It's amazing.
On the one hand, it’s a bummer it took them 5/6 years to add another class to 5th Edition, especially one as unique as the Artificer. On the other hand, it’s a huge breath of fresh air and one of my favourites thematically.
The artificer has been around a while. Only Eberron players ever use it sadly. Personally I prefer that setting over Forgotten Releams as it's unique and players don't have preconceived ideas on how the setting should be. I find my players really enjoy exploring somewhere that's not a common setting in fiction and they get really inventive with it. Sure, it's not something for everyone, but if you set something on X'endrik, the reaches or the wastes you can 100% keep the magetec low if that's a problem with the setting.
I often hear many whine about the setting, but it wasn't an issue when it was where the videogame D&D online was set.... just sounds like people just want medieval fantasty in d&d only and while that's fine, it can be very restricted sometimes.
Why isn’t Magic Missile an artificer artillerist spell? Armorer gets it, but all I want to do is fan the hammer of my arcane firearm with a 4th level Magic Missile spell...
Actually, anything that gives you a beam of flame, can be used to make a magic flame thrower... 😉 Its how I introduced my new players to an NPC (to help them start their first adventure) and to get them interested in the class. We've had feild medic artificers, botanists, a photographer who takes photos that suck out your soul and all sorts since (I check all homebrews before they're in game) they're an amazing class to play normally for the imagnitive but even more creative to homebrew.
Unfortunately you'll have to just blast people with scorching ray for now
I would personally swap Armorer's Magic Missile with Artillerist's Shield.
Homebrew it.
Your table is Law, and nobody can tell you your idea of fun is wrong.
Well, unless you like stealing cars and setting fire to animals, that is...
At level 10, in Eberron at least, it only costs about 100 gp and a few hours to make a wand of Magic Missle as an artificer. If you use Xanathars crafting rules in addition to the Eberron crafting rules.
When I saw Artificer’s using mundane items infused to cast spells, I immediately thought of using Artificer to play a Witch. It has a lot of the flavor that 5e Hags have, so the transition is pretty easy.
Yeah I'm doin that right now but it doesn't work super well, because at the end of the day you still cast spells just like everyone else.
As an engineer, I find the Artificer the easiest class to RP (and Dwarf the easiest race). All about solving those problems and making cool stuff. Sometimes it's freeing to play a class that would probably be perfectly fine not adventuring; they could just go back to their main profession, but whatever the quest happens to be is a "problem" and the Artificer has the tools to solve it, in a very matter-of-fact "just doing my job" kind of way.
Im an elevator mechanic. I second your sentiment here
www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Engineer_(5e_Class)#Tier_3 currently using this in a campaign and want it as a subclass
@@joshuastephens8569 that website needs to regulate it's contents. A lot on there is unbalanced.
I’m an aircraft mechanic and this class is hands down my favorite to role play and interact with the world with.
My newest character mixes my personality with a bit of Scruffy the janitor from Futurama.
I assume you all don't solve problems like "what is beauty?" since that falls under the purview of philosophy, but instead solve practical problems?
Perfect class for the archaeologist who decides to refurbish all the dungeons the party trailblazed through.
I really like the "I read an eldritch tome" feature from the haunted background serving as the inspiration of artifice, with the motivation for refurbishment being akin to the obsession with aliens in the first couple seasons of Agents of Shield.
This dungeon has great bones... I'll see myself out.
Now I know what I'm doing with my archeologist fighter. Thank you sir!
Perfect timing on this. Making my first Artificer right now. Making a goblin battle smith that made a larger version of himself as a steel defender and he endlessly bullies it.
Regarding the note of integration of an artificer in a campaign world you don't have to make your artificer steampunky your alchemist artificer could be a witch like character, your artillerist could use totems & wands instead of cannons & guns, your battle smith & armorer could go a similar flavor route as the rune knight using runes on their armor & the steel defender instead of being this robot thing could be a miniature golem, an alchemical creation similar to a homunculus, in my opinion artificer can fit almost any world as long as you change the looks & flavor of the abilities to suit the world
I always am amused by Pruitt's pop culture/music references -- "Becky with the good hair" (I forget which ep that was in but it was within a few weeks of "Lemonade"), Wu-Tang Clan, I know there are others but I can't remember right now... I'm never prepared for it in this setting and am always tickled.
I think “Becky with the good spells” is from there Low Magic games video.
Jeremy Crawford himself confirmed haste's extra object interaction works with Spell Storing item. My Armorer is Thunderwaving after most attacks.
I've got a subclass to start working on now: re-animator, the necromantic artificer.
Great idea!
Mecha-Flesh Golems
I don’t trust online homebrew and did my own version. A warforged artificer/necromancer who transferred his soul into a machine this was due to me not wanting to make art for a character so I based it off of a 40k necron. The DM allowed me to buff my creations
*The SCP Foundation has entered the chat*
My artificer’s tools are a set of crochet hooks and a drop spindle. I will make my amigurumi warrior happen
The armorer artificer has the possibility of being three kobolds in a trench coat
Oh gods I love this. Like three triplet Kobolds that take turns being the head and tells people that they’re a dragonborn. xD
This is hilarious.
I am thinking of a Tabaxi infiltrator Armorer. Thinking of snake eyes or any other cyber ninja
@Jake Nolan YES! I was thinking something like Maxie, Moxie, and Bob so I can tell you’re a person of taste and refinement. Lol
Moe, Larry, and Curly are their names.
Just reskin artificer as a traditional Enchanter if no steampunk feel allowed.
Exactly. It's not called "The Machinist" or "The Scientist". It's the Artificer. They use artifice to put magic into items. And that's a foundational idea in fantasy, regardless of tech level.
If a dwarf etches runes onto a battleaxe, that's artifice. If an elf weaves thread into a cape, that's artifice. If an alchemist mixes powders and distilled water into an elixir, that's artifice. If a kabbalist sculpts a humanoid figure from mud and stamped the name of God onto its forehead to animate it as a golem, that's artifice. It's all in keeping with high fantasy tropes.
there is the alchemist, which is much more of a potions and wands kind of thing, and there are two semi-official subclasses, the forge adept and the maverick, that focus on a personal magic weapon and a more casty artificer respectively
I'm currently playing a battle smith, and making a rope themed character. Crossbow + rope of climbing + block and tackle + armor of magical strength + net = pinatas!
Pruitt brings up an interesting point framing mcguyver as an artificer. On one hand you have jim's idea of someone who knows reality so intricately that they can use every day objects that specifically interact to accomplish fantastic feats, but with the mcguyver idea its kind of the opposite, someone who knows what they need to do so well that they can use anything thats around to accomplish something specific
I've been playing in that vain. My character Max Gyver is always asking the DM what mondaine objects are around her. Then after some down time I pull out a hacked up device with those objects as an infusion. Pretty sure I'm the annoying player of the group. Useful but annoying.
I always imagined "Right tool for the Job" to be a tiny dip into alchemy and conjuration to make your tool sets from random materials. Like you use your current tools to make an alchemist circle and prepare a rock and transmute it into the wrench you need.
Now that you mentioned it, artificer is now rivaling the bard for being the optimal party “ mom” character.
I have an artificer that is more literally the party mom. She is a dwarf mom with a Minnesota accent that casts spells onto candy and suck that she pulls out of her purse of holding.
@@dunker-roo9552 do artificers have prestidigitation? I feel like that’s almost must have for a parties mom
@@Spiceodog yep they get prestidigitation
I like to think artificers are like magic batteries, and spells that they cast through objects, is like a flashlight through a magnifying glass
Hey this is a clever and cool way of thinking of this. Thank you very much for your insight. Friend.
I have to see how it looks like in practice, but I think there's potential for battle smith to be a great reflavor/homebrew option for an arcane puppeteer a la Kankuro and Sasori from Naruto.
Reflavor the steel guardian as your puppet, and try out the ability to cast your spells or conduct your attacks from the puppet's location. Spells can function as traps and tools that you've built into the puppet and are triggered by the connection between the spellcaster and magical plates or triggers on the puppet.
Fit it with sharp blades, flamethrowers, sticky goo, oil/grease, medical salves... I don't know how problematic disjointed spellcasting could be, but the potential of a puppeteer class seems strong here.
I actually do want a puppeteer subclass. The main tool they use can be Weaver's Tools as well.
YAY THANK YOU!!!! I have been waiting for this and for a week that has been really hard this is perfect.
Tell us what you think!
Hey, I hope your next week is a better one!
The other concept I'm excited to try out is the armourer stealth version as a 'symbiote' character. Taking inspiration from characters like Venom or Blue beetle. The character themselves is smart, but the magic and weird shit comes from the alien/abberant ooze that clings to them
When I see artificers, I think of Patrick Rothfuss' world.
Yeah I use his rules for magic for most of my artificer flavour.
Soul of artifice = the concept of the alar that breaks your mind to maintain something that isn't true in reality to be true. Ending the alar gives enough mental flexibility back to stop you loosing consciousness. This is a scientific alternative to the soul feel of horcozus.
One of the best examples of a perfect symmetry spell.... Heat metal... It's the perfect reproduction of heating a wax doll to burn someone.
The concept of the Alar, being linked to the infusions is honestly perfect because those are the things that break down when the artificer dies. The delay is just reality taking its time to realise there's something there that shouldn't be (think hitch hikers guide to the galaxy concept for flying)
Back during the Force Grey streamed games Ashley Johnson played a cleric that flavored her spells casting as various mechanical inventions and I thought that was the coolest shit in the world. And obviously as showcased by that she was a Cleric you can do it with any class, but having a class and subclass that reinforces that theme and has that mechanic built in RAW is really appealing.
I like the flavor of the Artificer, but usually just do it as a Wizard
Thats mechanics and concept working together. Its all it takes honestly. Completely different from artificer its an awesome idea.
Your artificer gets a list of spells they can prepare. An artificer cannot build a machine mid combat to do something. Hence why you prepare it.
You forget that even if you are using mundane materials, you are still doing physics defying things. Hence you are still doing magic. Verbal components can be parts of the things you need to recite to activate the spell, somatic components are you mixing two vials, because the result is too unstable to have premade.
Since you are doing magic, people can counterspell you. Disrupting the magic you were infusing on your object.
I once played a Warforged Artillerist who had some half plate and a huge shield. His Eldritch Cannon would stick on his shoulder, blasting gouts of flame as he strode forward into swathes of enemy, blasting them with thunder and lightning. He was as close as I've ever come to playing the terminator in dnd and it was lots of fun.
Even if a subclass is built with one thing in mind, with a bit of creativity and daring, you can do a lot more than you'd think
Boots of the Winding Path + Booming Blade + Thunder Gauntlets = 6th lvl Tank made of cheese. Call that Boomtube Protocol
The Artificer, the character who believes in those famous truths:
- "Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
- "Sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from technology."
- "Any technology, no matter how advanced, is magic to those who don't understand it."
Exactly as I see it. There's no need to see the 'spells' cast as magic. Also no reason for the world to know it's not magic.
Per the construction of magical items, something I've been doing with our High Elf artificer, is taking the Week times and turning them into 40hr work weeks, giving me an hour number. Then, it becomes whittling away hours. By simply working weekends and late shifts (only has to trance for 4 hours!) things get done a bit quicker. Adding in weekly rolls to see if he has a break through to shave bonus hours. And cutting some times on items that seem a bit more common in the world, etc.
Hey Pruitt, I just made a self sufficient pharmacist out of a alchemist artificer. Human healer feat at lv 1 clan crafter background for tool proficiency and Prodigy feat at 4th lv for skills and tools. In total He can use glassblowers tools to make his own vials, Leatherworkers tools to make satchels for transport, alchemists and healers kits to make the health potions. For skills I focused on nature and medicine so he could find and use ingredients needed for medicine or healing potions.
Battle Smith makes a great basis for a Frankenstein style character
Noone said the Steel Defender had to be made of steel eh?
"This is reversed"... I love the Artificer, but THAT is a great point.
"Unless you prepare them in advance" - I had the same thought, too. It's almost like the Artificer could have used the original "spells prepared" rule, where you have to prepare three uses of this spell, two of this, etc.
This. I've never liked Vancian spellcasting, but this is a class where it actually makes a lot of sense and could be a lot of fun.
I had the precasting idea for it too! -Although I could see that not being super fun to play. -I also thought that it was really weird that they had the full access spell preparation mechanic like the cleric/druid instead of the wizard's spellbook -formulas as a Learned array.
@@elliotbryant3459 what you do i you prepare supplies so they can be activated a bunch of ways, but you only have enough for (X) number of uses. Like you have a bunch of chemical reagents, but what bottle they are in and how long you shake them changes the effects, or " I have a 3 magical crystals and if I resonate them at frequency A the explode, but at frequency B they heal you a bunch
I have the impression that most GMs generally handwave spell components as much as possible.
So a class that explicitly has to spend time preparing it's gimmicks beforehand might feel more punishing for some players to play than all the other casters classes.
@@ViccVegaa023 well you're right about spell components, and you're right that what I'm proposing would be more limiting for players (which is why they moved away from it as a general rule for spellcasters), but the two are not related - preparing spells isn't related to whether those spells require components.
40:18 I imagine it works like a horcrux. The artificer retrieved a portion of their soul imbued into the item
I play an alchemist. I reflavor my spell slots as catalyst potions. Then flavor my prepared spells when I prepare them based on the reflavored spell slot.
I want an Artificer that is like a Wild Magic Sorcerer. You make something and need to roll on a table to find out what happens.
"Mad tinkerer" perhaps
the alchemist has a random effect alchemy jug
I like the idea of a druid artificer who carries around plants that act as magic items
you can make a art. that works like a druid (sorta, just without the wildshape that is, unless you homebrew it) he could be the sorceror version of druid. rather than getting his power through study he is just naturally gifted with powers over nature. kinda what i'm going for with my character.
I had a similar idea for a elven scholar who uses his study of fungi to create mushroom based items and magical effects
Artificer is really fantastic if you're looking for a class to come up with creative solutions with. It encourages you with stuff like doubled proficiency bonus with certain tools, and tool proficiencies. For instance my dm planned a fight at sea where we'd sink into the water if we got paralysed, but I'd made everybody life jackets with my carpentry tools proficiency.
I play an alchemist artificer that's a chef. All my flavour is like shooting firebolts out of frying pans and flavouring Tasha's caustic brew as summoning a stream of caustic arcane curry from a saucepan. Its really whatever you can come up with as long as the dm is cool with.
Lol. Excellent RP fun there to be had. Well done.
This video is an example of why your channel is one of my favorites on D&D on CZcams.
Y'all got me really wanting to play an artilerist
Artificer is my favorite class now. I love flavoring spells and abilities.
I have an alchemist and I flavor his spells similar to Honey Lemon from Big Hero 6. He has a mechanical alchemist kit and he can enter a formula he needs when casting and it produces a vile by mixing materials prepared at the beginning of the day. That way it can happen in one action.
My armorer is actually an artificer rogue multiclass and I am a high tech spy that using the infiltrator armor to help with sneaking and combat. The armor is a sleek power suit and not a full iron man like suit.
Two of my favorite ideas I've seen in my campaign are: A battlesmith that has to visit different rune forges made by the ancient giants along with an Artificer that uses the spirits of the deceased and puppets for spells and infusions
I'm actually working on my own TTRPG and in the default setting for it, I have an entire class dedicated to using the spirits of the deceased to power spells and magic items. That's really cool that you've seen someone doing that with Artificer!
Not rely hard to imagine how the final ability works.
1. You iron man it. The orc chieftain slams his axe into you but instead of blood and viscera oil and gears spray everywhere as you force one of your inventions or armor pieces to take the lethal blow
2. Defribulator. You go down in combat and u built a failsafe into your creations to jolt you with minute healing magic to keep you alive
3. In your mad scientistness you actually found a way to attach your soul to your inventions. They are like horcruxs now. Before you die they need to be destroyed. The runes you inscribed in them flare and shoot the pieces back into you as they get torn apart
Soul of Artifice gives me a Harry Potter horcrux feeling, like you have to kill all the items to kill the person
Artificer, Lich? Same thing.
"They're the same picture!"
"The more I'm passionate about something, the more those little details matter."
A+
24:25 Necromancers have been looking for that greater variety of Necromancy damage spells for 5 years now Jim, don't hold your breath, or Pruitt might have to get out his Jumper Cables.
Going to be DMing for an artificer for the first time. As always your conversations ask the questions that get me thinking!
You guys are the absolute best at breaking down and simplifying/thoroughly explaining complex mechanics and properties in this game. This is my favorite channel for long in-depth discussions. Thank you for your time and knowledge guys.
Thunder gauntlets, booming blade, and boots for the winding path are the dream team
Having played a alchemist (Eberon based) I loved to cast grease then have the creature fall prone then throw a vile of alchemist fire. DIY fireball, as long as grease is flammable in your DMs world.
Small-sized battlesmith with a lance riding their construct. Glorious.
I understand the appeal of having the Artificer PC being "the only one". It's cool, it's gratifying. It takes the game world by surprise. Being the one person who can do unprecedented things - rather than being one of many instances of the same things - is not to be undervalued.
That said, I have different priorities. Namely, as a DM, _I want to be able to use the Artificer too._
I love the idea that the PC Artificer is cool and all, but they aren't the only one out there. They could meet, befriend, or fight another Artificer. One that took even the same subclass in radically different directions. I love the idea of the world being in a state of radical change, where the PCs' innovations are being competed with by others, or where society is in upheaval.
I also think that many people fixate overmuch on the trappings of the Artificer, and not on the thematic breadth it can occupy. A creation doesn't need to have moving parts to be artifice. It doesn't need to be powered by steam or electricity to be artifice. Craftwork is among the oldest traditions known to us, both mundane and magical. It's a consistent trope in traditional high fantasy, the act of making magic items. It's internally consistent that some people would just be especially good at that.
I like the idea that while some Artificers are on the cutting edge, some are inheritors of crafting traditions both rich and ancient. There might be few dwarf Wizards, but _many_ Dwarf Artificers. Dwarf warriors marching into battle wearing plate mail forged in the workshops of master smiths, imbued with mountain magic. In rural locations, cunning folk preserve the secrets of magical brewing, baking, weaving, and wood carving, passed down for generations. That Masonic-esque lodges initiate junior craftsmen into the secret techniques held by the elites of their order. Calligraphers that infuse poetry and secret missives with arcane power, around which the fate of royal courts and nation states turn.
If I'm being honest, seeing Artificers only as machinists and gear-tuners is restrictive and boring. It can be so much more.
YES.
Of course, I have one who is definitely closer to a Steampunk Inventor with a glove that he tinkwrs with and has different effects from electricity to shooting acid from a vial, as well as little mechanical constructs that he uses to cast other spells.
But then there's my Cleric/Artificer multiclass who mostly uses magic cloth that he weaved himself before he was given divine magic (Grave Cleric who follows Anubis, and his magic cloth are like loose bandages on arms).
THANK YOU
I have a goblin NPC that I was originally going to make into a wizard, but I think artificer works well for her. She won't have any major impact on anything, it's just for flavor fun.
I made a goblin infiltrator armorer into a mecha anime character. With a little ignoring the 2 weapon fighting's rules, I was allowed to dual wield 2 pistols (that never run out of ammo and shoot magic bullets), I got the extended armblade (rapier) and I use the weightless aspect of my armor to overcome my low str to carry all my junk. The ability to be an armored stealth guy is also kind of fun too.
my one big gripe with artificer: Why the Seven levels don't Artificers have the spell "Knock"?
Why at lvl 20 Artificers learn how to make horicruxes, of course...
Without having looked at the class, when i hear you talking about it, i get a similar feeling as that of how the Hags are described in Volo's guide, in that they produce strange esoteric items as single use spells, kind of similar to spell scrolls.
Artificer and warlock are my favorite 5e classes because of the customization that they allow that is just not there in the rest of 5e. 5e is built on not letting you mess up. It's hard to do a character wrong. But you can build a bad Artificer or a bad warlock. And that is a wonderful experiment for people looking to make a character feel like their own
Blood hunters is you use them have a similar feeling of customisation and risk reward that the artificer and warlock have and you can clearly see where mercer took influence for its design
Mine's a wood carver, raised alone by trees he's learned to infuse his carvings with magic. my "tool" that i use for the castings are figurines i carve, for vocal spells i speak to them in sylvan before using them. it's such an adaptable class it can fit in any world if you play it right. (the wood i carve with is a chunk of "heartwood" that regrows itself after i use it (since artificer doesn't need actual materials to do his magic) gonna go alchemist since it fits my character so well. once he gets used to violence ill learn to use my skills to set stuff on fire and melt people.
Artificer is my favorite class by far because of the tangible grip you have on the world. My girlfriend plays one in my game (battle smith) and I play one in hers (alchemist), and we’re constantly finding fun new ways to build and enhance things
Some house rules I'd consider:
-remove all Verbal components from Arty spells, replace them with Material and/or Somatic. Honestly, I'd even go so far as to say every Arty spell should have both Material and Somatic components, since they're quickbuilding gadgets.
-as you said, no counterspelling them.
-new skill: engineering (I actually already have this), in this case used similarly to Arcana in relation to Arty spells and effects.
I love that they made a follow up on the artificer!
If it helps with imagining the artificer spells play mine as an arsenal of gadgets I prep in the morning each just needs to be charged with the srtificer arcane power for it to do its job. Then you can state a command to it or turn knows on it etc
Been using WA for my writing for the last 10 months, highly recommend it!!
My sort of Forgotten Realms justification for the artificer is that all of these magical items that are being found in these long forgotten ruins and civilizations from calamity past were created by artificers. It's a lost art like astrology and such, the player character who becomes an Artificer is rediscovering these abilities and sciences among others who've been working to rediscover them over the years since the Spellplague and other events.
The Artificer: Izzet a fit? Probably in Ravnica.
Eberron would like to know your location.
Yes dad
More probably Boros. Almost all artificers and smiths in Magic are mono-white, with some red forge-themed ones thrown in.
Depending on your access to flight(race, spell, magic item/infusion) thornwhip can be quite powerful.
thornwhip already can potentially squeeze out the effectiveness of your parties area of effect control/damage spells, by targeting a creature to pull into those areas.
The additional flight means that due to the distance pulled, it’s just enough if you target a creature from overhead that they immediately fall and take an additional 1d6 bludgeoning damage. This slightly increases damage, and automatically probes the creature unless they can reduce that fall damage specifically. This means they will have to spend half their movement on their turn just to stand up, if they can.
Rope of climbing to get up to ledges available at 2nd level.
Winged boots, boots of striding and springing, gloves of swimming and climbing, ring of jumping, and slippers of spider climbing available at level 10.
Boots of levitation available at level 14.
Quite a few spells available to the artificer from level 5 to support this vertical strategy.
Not even taking into account other party features or composition.
binge watching you guys. THis is all so good. Thanks.
My go to artificer idea is B113. A warforged armorer who is his armor. More importantly B113 has been inactive for an unknown amount of time and in that time the memory of who made them and for what purpose have been lost. They are therefore driven to find out what their intended purpose is. The spell selection pulls double duty as hints towards that true purpose as the act of casting for B113 is the activation of predesignated features within their construction. I also plan on having this warforged have no alignment to start with and instead allow the actions of the party define who they eventually become.
I have a Druid / Artificer character who's a biomancer. All of his infusions and spells are magically altered organisms that he's sculpted into an arsenal of living items (a beetle shield, armor composed of interlocked arthropods, a frog with a stomach that serves as a Bag of Holding, etc).
I like the idea of an Alchemist preparing their spells in the morning, by making all of the poyions and salves that they then use when they cast. I really really like the flavour of this, and also how it doesn't break the rules of the game.
I prefer to see it as they prepare the base, and then add the final ingredients when they use the spell (to take into account the fact you have limited Spell Slots). The Spell Slots are how many vials you have prepared to mix.
So many props lol XD the amount of effort y'all put into these intros is amazing
I have always seen the artificer not as a guy that "prepares spells" every morning. I see him adjusting and resupplying thing like grenades that explode and throw out webs. Or he has a "caster gun" that has a copper shell that is inserted. When he squeezes the trigger the gun rotates and a chanting noise rises from the weapon and boom fire ball flies out of it. Feather fall can be a canister he throws at the ground that creates a big cloud of green vapor that rises up and slows the fall of the targets. It just works. And counter spell and dispel magic shorts the item during activation or breaks the weave of the item.
Me, a Person who has 2 separate artillerists: lol stick go boom & rock give health while I'm behind cover.
also, if you want a Jarvis, be 14th level Armourer, then get a Docent.
Also, I made a Villain named "Techno Goblin" who was a battle smith that used his steel defender as a Mech suit. he'd climb inside it at shout obscenities in goblin as his mechs torso would spin around to give disadvantage on against against him.
Excellent video guys!
I've been waiting for this!
THANK YOU!!!
THIS IS MY FAVORIT!!!
I’ve been waiting for this for so long. :D Also, perfect intro gents, as always!
I feel like Jim Davis wants to play a game in which an artificer would have to spend hours in-game searching for very specific ingredients, which is usually not fun or enjoyable. I just took away 30 gold from each town I stopped in and that represented me gathering supplies, then I just described how I used the spell. He enjoys a good nitpick so he does.
Excellent video! When you factor in their subclasses Artificers seem more like 2/3 casters than mere 1/2 casters to me. I'm thinking of making an artificer whose tools come to life when held by them, somewhat like the enchanted objects in Beauty and the Beast or maybe clockwork versions. So any verbal or somatic spell components would have to be performed by the animated objects. I think this would sufficiently solve the problem of making the magic they use different enough to distinguish them from other casters without changing the mechanics of how their spells work.
This also fits the mechanic, which apparently is intended, that Artificers can perform all their spells even when both hands are full since they all require material components to cast (tools or infused items) and tools or infused items count as both focus and material component so you can have a weapon and shield equipped and still cast spells without having to drop one or put one away even if a spell normally has no material component or a material component with a gold price. Might seem like a small feature but it does provide them with a unique advantage over other magic users and gives them more freedom to chose feats other than war caster.
I like the idea of a Githzerai artificer, like someone who was a master at "making something out of nothing" back on Limbo and has to try and make do on the material plane.
There was an artificer tortel that i played that themed all the infusions and magic as spirits and tokens and runes. With flying totems that summoned energy of the world. It was alot of fun the painters tools were used to draw the quick symbols to cast spells.
The main quick change I would make with the alchemist is aloe them to creat (better) potions with infusions following the same magic item rarity. I wouldn't even care if they replaced some of the other infusions. I feel like alchemists should be primarily making potions to help the party.
I don't know why but I was reminded of BlazBlue when you mentioned techno bable as verbal semantics. The magic that they use in that series is basically just lots of complicated code words and sequences to access the power sealed inside of the tools they use. Weird tangent but I neat.
The ancient greeks of antiquity had automatons. When the dutch sold clocks to the japanese, within a few years they had stripped the gears out to make robots that could write (karakuri puppets). The main thing stopping us from having engines before we hit the current era was just access to coal. No coal, no petroleum, no fuel source good enough to make the mechanisms we'd already figured out run efficiently. You get that in many industries, we actually had all the mechanisms set up hundreds of years, then found that last piece and it looks like we had a revolution. But nah, we'd had the design for a while, just needed a material to withstand it/the fuel to run it/the means of production to make it practical.
Artificer fits so well in a Spelljammer setting. You can just go buck wild with it. I made a Thri-Kreen Artillerist wielding a Laser Bazooka for an Eldritch Cannon and re-fluffed his Broom of Flying into a Hoverboard. His Arcane Firearm is carved to look like a sawed-off shotgun which he fires hypodermic slugs and grenades through in order to deliver most spells. Went Pact of the Genie warlock 2 level dip, and said he trapped the thing inside a cube of force kind of like the Tesseract so he could use it as a battery to power his experiments.
My only issue is when I ran a battlesmith artificer is that it felt like I stepped on everyone's toes by being good at everything but excelling at very little.
In my brain, I've registered Spell Slots as fancy batteries, each battery is of a certain strength, I have to invent some science for it but that's what you gotta do when they're not giving information, Basically, I have devices that have little slots for these vials where the energy is transferred, then the vials have to recharge, sorta like the liquid becomes slightly unstable then the energy is removed and they become normal. So when you dispel magic, you're essentially dispelling the magic running through the device, counterspell just re-routes the direction of the energy, like a bullet bouncing off a wall
I've always played it Verbal Components just means casting this spell makes noise.
Fireball's verbal component is "Take cover!"
It kinda is, as in the description of verbal components it does call out that it isn't the words that are important
@@TheCinderfang But game mechanically the sound is the important part not that it's coming from your mouth.
This way of addressing the problem only real breaks down when the silence spell is added to the mix. But personally I would just rule artificers can cast in a silenced zone.
@@jackh3427 yes, the sound is important not the words. Specific tones in the words are important not the words are magic. I like to think of it as the wirds are uses as a mnemonic for people learning the verbal components.
@@TheCinderfang Arcane Sonic Resonance. The sounds create a series of ripples in the Weave shaping magic and aiding in the shaping of magic.
A few go to ways to flavor Artificer spells: An Alchemist carrying a set of vials of improvised potions that they administer when they use touch spells. An Artillerist loading up their Arcane Firearm with appropriate magical ammunition. If you use an Infused Item as a focus think of it less as channeling magical energy through the item and more as you have already heavily modified the item when you infused it, and you've also tricked it out with all of the gadgets used to produce your spells.
But considering that, as Jim brought up earlier, the Tony Stark gadgeteer type character doesn't necessarily fit in every setting, the fact that the Artificer's mechanics CAN be interpreted as being a straightforward magic user with just a bit more focus on imbuing magic into items, is in some ways a benefit. (And just a reminder, nowhere in the rulebook does it say the Steel Defender is a robot; it's a CONSTRUCT (a fairly broad category) whose appearance is up to the player.)
Infusions, Spell-Storing Item, and the bonus attunements, are enough to set apart the Artificer as the magic item specialist as a game mechanical niche. The flavour is flexible, and that's generally a good thing. Not that I don't get where Jim is coming from, but...
I’m playing a 14 year old artificer in a friends adventuring high school campaign! So fun!
That sounds super fun!!!
When I played an alchemist artificer I had a lot of fun reflavoring spells into different solutions and potions and the like with my DM, Detect Magic was a solution they'd rub into the lenses of their goggles and wore off when it dried, grease was an thick, expanding substance that had the same properties as the grease in the spell.
Artificer always reminded me of the Engineer from torchlight II. I've had a concept I havent gotten to play yet of you are like an eccentric waterdeep noble maybe on the fringes and your part of this underground society of nobles spanning the continent who devout their time and money into tinkering and "science" I call her Lady Ensworth.
I have a very permissive DM and he let me play one that was basically a mech pilot from like a Gundam-ish type homeworld that ended up crashing her mech on the planet that the D&D campaign was on and her goal was to try to fix up her mobile suit up so that she could be able to go home and like leveling up kinda represented her getting more and more of the stuff in her mech online, like those things can go through space
In my opinion, the way dnd presents magic in their main settings (which is how wizards thematically aligns all the classes for good or for ill) is that magic is produced because, essentially, the correct sequence of actions combined with understanding, plucks at the weave and produces certain magical effects. Most people use esoteric chants and gestures and weird materials. Artificers fiddle and tinker (somatic) with the device they constructed using various tools (material) and probably throw a truncated or similar chant to imbue the magic into the device which then expels the desired effect
Played UA artificer for tomb of annihilation. Was a great utility character. Most fun was outside combat. Combat was still strong (played artillerist) via bonus action cannon work. DONT GIVE UP INFUSIONS. Keep your artificer infusions. The roleplay aspect Jim talks about (lacks imagination), example TOA has a whole magical gear room, how could artificer using magic to make gears go be bad/unfit roleplay... Definitely appreciate these guys tho. Super awesome
I've played a Mark of Making Battle Smith who got his hands on a Tome of Clear Thought to boost his INT to Reed Richards levels. Super fun to play, made it more like Forge from the X-Men who just made things intuitively and then had to reverse engineer things to figure out how he did it. Looking forward to playing each archetype because I have full on characters planned for each of them.
I played a Battlesmith once that I had flavored to have found this ancient techo-magic sword that transformed them into a more powerful form (yes they are Shera and any “power-up” effects were just flavor). Me and my DM also worked out that the sword could “level up” along with me if I spent time tinkering with it, so that I could keep using it a higher levels instead just making a better one. It was a really fun character.
I would argue that artificer spells are more difficult to counterspell than spells cast by other classes for the following reason.
Assumption: when a spell is being cast, other creatures don't automatically know which spell is being cast (XGE p.85).
Using counterspell is always a gamble - the user can only use the information they can perceive: the presence or absence of verbal, somatic, or material components, and perhaps the distance from which the target is casting their spell. If they're lucky, the counterspell user may see an iron bar (Hold Person) or a bit of fleece (many illusion spells), but sometimes the material component is replaced by a focus. If the focus is stowed before the casting, then we can be sure that the spell requires no material component. [Using this knowledge to decide whether or not to counter a spell may be considered metagaming, but one could argue that a mid-level wizard who knows two dozens spells would know a thing or two about material components in the universe.]
For the artificer, all spells require a tool all the time, whether the spell normally requires a material component for other classes or not. This removes the most obvious piece of information that users of counterspell can use to interrupt the right spells at the right time. Not only that, but one could argue that nonverbal spells such as Catapult or Catnap could be misinterpreted as simply hammering away with carpenter's tools, or knitting with weaver's tools. I think the power lies in the skill of the player in describing how they prepare for and execute spellcasting.