Artificer

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Overview & Creation

A gnome sits hunched over a workbench, carefully using needle and thread to wave runes into a leather satchel. The bag shudders as she completes her work, and a sudden, loud pop echoes through the room as a portal to an extradimensional space springs to being in the bag’s interior. She beams with pride at her newly crafted bag of holding. A troll growls in hunger as it looms over a dwarf, who slides a long, metal tube from a holster at his belt. With a thunderous roar, a gout of flame erupts from the tube, and the troll’s growls turn into shrieks of panic as it turns to flee. An elf scrambles up the castle’s wall, Baron von Hendriks’ men close behind her. As she clambers over the battlements, she reaches into her satchel, pulls out three vials, mixes their contents into a small leather bag, and flings it at her pursuers. The bag bursts at their feet, trapping them in a thick, black glue as she makes her escape. Makers of magic-infused objects, artificers are defined by their inventive nature. Like wizards, they see magic as a complex system waiting to be decoded and controlled through a combination of thorough study and investigation. Artificers, though, focus on creating marvelous new magical objects. Spells are often too ephemeral and temporary for their tastes. Instead, they seek to craft durable, useful items.

Cunning Inventors

Every artificer is defined by a specific craft. Artificers see mastering the basic methods of a craft as the first step to true progress, the invention of new methods and approaches. Some artificers are engineers, students of invention and warfare who craft deadly firearms that they can augment with magic. Other artificers are alchemists. Using their knowledge of magic and various exotic ingredients, they create potions and draughts to aid them on their adventures. Alchemy and engineering are the two most common areas of study for artificers, but others do exist. All artificers are united by their curiosity and inventive nature. To an artificer, magic is an evolving art with a leading edge of discovery and mastery that pushes further ahead with each passing year. Artificers value novelty and discovery. This penchant pushes them to seek a life of adventure. A hidden ruin might hold a forgotten magic item or a beautifully crafted mirror perfect for magical enhancement. Artificers win respect and renown among their kind by uncovering new lore or inventing new methods of creation.

Intense Rivalries

The artificers’ drive to invent and expand their knowledge creates an intense drive to uncover new magic discoveries. An artificer who hears news of a newly discovered magic item must act fast to get it before any rivals do. Good-aligned artificers recover items on adventures or offer gold or wondrous items to those who possess items they are keen to own. Evil ones have no problem committing crimes to claim what they want. Almost every artificer has at least one rival, someone whom they seek to outdo at every turn. By the same token, artificers with similar philosophies and theories band together into loose guilds. They share their discoveries and work together to verify their theories and keep ahead of their rivals.

Creating an Artificer

When creating an artificer character, think about your character’s background and drive for adventure. Does the character have a rival? What is the character’s relationship with the artisan or artificer who taught the basics of the craft? Talk to your DM about the role played by artificers in the campaign, and what sort of organizations and NPCs you might have ties to.

Quick Build

You can make an artificer quickly by following these suggestions. First, put your highest ability score in Intelligence, followed by Constitution or Dexterity. Second, choose the guild artisan background.

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Class Features

Magic Item Analysis

Starting at 1st level, your understanding of magic items allows you to analyze and understand their secrets. You know the artificer spells detect magic and identify, and you can cast them as rituals. You don't need to provide a material component when casting identify with this class feature

Tool Expertise

Starting at 2nd level, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses any of the tool proficiencies you gain from this class.

Wondrous Invention

At 2nd level, you gain the use of a magic item that you have crafted. Choose the item from the list of 2nd-level items below.   Crafting an item is a difficult task. When you gain a magic item from this feature, it reflects long hours of study, tinkering, and experimentation that allowed you to finally complete the item. You are assumed to work on this item in your leisure time and to finish it when you level up.   You complete another item of your choice when you reach certain levels in this class: 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level.   These magic items are detailed in the Dungeon Master's Guide.  

• 2nd Level: bag of holding, cap of water breathing, driftglobe, goggles of night, sending stones
• 5th Level: alchemy jub, helm of comprehending languages, lantern of revealing, ring of swimming, robe of useful items, rope of climbing, wand of magic detection, wand of secrets
• 10th Level: bag of beans, chime of opening, decanter of endless water, eyes of minute seeing, folding boat, Heward's handy haversack
• 15th Level: boots of striding and springing, bracers of archery, brooch of shielding, broom of flying, hat of disguise, slippers of spider climbing
• 20th Level: eyes of the eagle, gem of brightness, gloves of missile snaring, gloves of swimming and climbing, ring of jumping, ring of mind shielding, wings of flying

Infuse Magic

Starting at 4th level, you gain the ability to channel your artificer spells into objects for later use. When you cast an artificer spell with a casting time of 1 action, you can increase its casting time to 1 minute. If you do so and hold a nonmagical item throughout the casting, you expend a spell slot, but none of the spell’s effects occur. Instead, the spell transfers into that item for later use if the item doesn’t already contain a spell from this feature. Any creature holding the item thereafter can use an action to activate the spell if the creature has an Intelligence score of at least 6. The spell is cast using your spellcasting ability, targeting the creature that activates the item. If the spell targets more than one creature, the creature that activates the item selects the additional targets. If the spell has an area of effect, it is centered on the item. If the spell’s range is self, it targets the creature that activates the item. When you infuse a spell in this way, it must be used within 8 hours. After that time, its magic fades and is wasted. You can have a limited number of infused spells at the same time. The number equals your Intelligence modifier.

Superior Attunement

At 5th level, your superior understanding of magic items allows you to master their use. You can now attune to up to four, rather than three, magic items at a time. At 15th level, this limit increases to five magic items.

Mechanical Servant

At 6th level, your research and mastery of your craft allow you to produce a mechanical servant. The servant is a construct that obeys your commands without hesitation and functions in combat to protect you. Though magic fuels its creation, the servant is not magical itself. You are assumed to have been working on the servant for quite some time, finally finishing it during a short or long rest after you reach 6th level. Select a Large beast with a challenge rating of 2 or less. The servant uses that beast’s game statistics, but it can look however you like, as long as its form is appropriate for its statistics. It has the following modifications: • It is a construct instead of a beast. • It can’t be charmed. • It is immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition. • It gains darkvision with a range of 60 feet if it doesn’t have it already. • It understands the languages you can speak when you create it, but it can’t speak. • 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. The servant obeys your orders to the best of its ability. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own. If the servant is killed, it can be returned to life via normal means, such as with the revivify spell. In addition, over the course of a long rest, you can repair a slain servant if you have access to its body. It returns to life with 1 hit point at the end of the rest. If the servant is beyond recovery, you can build a new one with one week of work (eight hours each day) and 1,000 GP of raw materials.

Soul of Artifice

At 20th level, your understanding of magic items is unmatched, allowing you to mingle your soul with items linked to you. You can attune to up to six magic items at once. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to all saving throws per magic item you are currently attuned to.

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Starting Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a handaxe and a light hammer or (b) any two simple weapons
• a light crossbow and 20 bolts
• (a) scale mail or (b) studded leather armor
• thieves' tools and a dungeoneer's pack

 

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Spellcasting

As part of your study of magic, you gain the ability to cast spells at 3rd level. The spells you learn are limited in scope, primarily concerned with modifying creatures and objects or creating items.

Spell Slots

The Artificer table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know three 1st-level spells of your choice from the artificer spell list. The Spells Known column of the Artificer table shows when you learn more artificer spells of your choice from this feature. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots on the Artificer table. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the artificer spells you know from this feature and replace it with another spell from the artificer spell list. The new spell must also be of a level for which you have spell slots on the Artificer table.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your artificer spells; your understanding of the theory behind magic allows you to wield these spells with superior skill. You use your Intelligence whenever an artificer spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an artificer spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your artificer spells. See chapter 5, “Equipment,” in the Player’s Handbook for various arcane focus options.  

Artificer Spell List

1st Level alarm cure wounds disguise self expeditious retreat false life jump longstrider sanctuary shield of faith   2nd Level aid alter self arcane lock blur continual flame darkvision enhance ability enlarge/reduce invisibility lesser restoration levitate magic weapon protection from poison rope trick see invisibility spider climb   3rd Level blink fly gaseous form glyph of warding haste protection from energy revivify water breathing water walk   4th Level arcane eye death ward fabricate freedom of movement Leomund’s secret chest Mordenkainen’s faithful hound Mordenkainen’s private sanctum Otiluke’s resilient sphere stone shape stoneskin

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Subclass Options

Artificer Specialists

Artificers pursue a variety of specializations, The two most common ones, alchemy and engineering, are presented here.

Alchemist

An alchemist is an expert at combining exotic reagents to produce a variety of materials, from healing draughts that can mend a wound in moments to clinging goo that slows creatures down.

Alchemist’s Satchel

At 1st level, you craft an Alchemist’s Satchel, a bag of reagents that you use to create a variety of concoctions. The bag and its contents are both magical, and this magic allows you to pull out exactly the right materials you need for your Alchemical Formula options, described below. After you use one of those options, the bag reclaims the materials. If you lose this satchel, you can create a new one over the course of three days of work (eight hours each day) by expending 100 gp worth of leather, glass, and other raw materials.

Alchemical Formula

At 1st level, you learn three Alchemical Formula options: Alchemical Fire, Alchemical Acid, and one other option of your choice. You learn an additional formula of your choice at 3rd, 9th, 14th, and 17th levels. To use any of these options, your Alchemist’s Satchel must be within reach. If an Alchemical Formula option requires a saving throw, the DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier.   Alchemical Fire.As an action, you can reach into your Alchemist’s Satchel, pull out a vial of volatile liquid, and hurl the vial at a creature, object, or surface within 30 feet of you (the vial and its contents disappear if you don’t hurl the vial by the end of the current turn). On impact, the vial detonates in a 5-foot radius. Any creature in that area must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d6 fire damage.   This formula’s damage increases by 1d6 when you reach certain levels in this class: 4th level (2d6), 7th level (3d6), 10th level (4d6), 13th level (5d6), 16th level (6d6), and 19th level (7d6).   Alchemical Acid. As an action, you can reach into your Alchemist’s Satchel, pull out a vial of acid, and hurl the vial at a creature or object within 30 feet of you (the vial and its contents disappear if you don’t hurl the vial by the end of the current turn). The vial shatters on impact. A creature must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d6 acid damage. An object automatically takes that damage, and the damage is maximized.   This formula’s damage increases by 1d6 when you reach certain levels in this class: 3rd level (2d6), 5th level (3d6), 7th level (4d6), 9th level (5d6), 11th level (6d6), 13th level (7d6), 15th level (8d6), 17th level (9d6), and 19th level (10d6).   Healing Draught. As an action, you can reach into your Alchemist’s Satchel and pull out a vial of healing liquid. A creature can drink it as an action to regain 1d8 hit points. The vial then disappears. Once a creature regains hit points from this alchemical formula, the creature can’t do so again until it finishes a long rest. If not used, the vial and its contents disappear after 1 hour. While the vial exists, you can’t use this formula.   This formula’s healing increases by 1d8 when you reach certain levels in this class: 3rd level (2d8), 5th level (3d8), 7th level (4d8), 9th level (5d8), 11th level (6d8), 13th level (7d8), 15th level (8d8), 17th level (9d8), and 19th level (10d8).   Smoke Stick. As an action, you can reach into your Alchemist’s Satchel and pull out a stick that produces a thick plume of smoke. You can hold on to the stick or throw it to a point up to 30 feet away as part of the action used to produce it. The area in a 10-foot radius around the stick is filled with thick smoke that blocks vision, including darkvision. The stick and smoke persist for 1 minute and then disappear. After using this formula, you can’t do so again for 1 minute.   Swift Step Draught. As a bonus action, you can reach into your Alchemist’s Satchel and pull out a vial filled with a bubbling, brown liquid. As an action, a creature can drink it. Doing so increases the creature’s speed by 20 feet for 1 minute, and the vial disappears. If not used, the vial and its contents disappear after 1 minute. After using this formula, you can’t do so again for 1 minute.   Tanglefoot Bag. As an action, you can reach into your Alchemist’s Satchel and pull out a bag filled with writhing, sticky black tar and hurl it at a point on the ground within 30 feet of you (the bag and its contents disappear if you don’t hurl the bag by the end of the current turn). The bag bursts on impact and covers the ground in a 5- foot radius with sticky goo. That area becomes difficult terrain for 1 minute, and any creature that starts its turn on the ground in that area has its speed halved for that turn. After using this formula, you can’t do so again for 1 minute.   Thunderstone. As an action, you can reach into your Alchemist’s Satchel and pull out a crystalline shard and hurl it at a creature, object, or surface within 30 feet of you (the shard disappears if you don’t hurl it by the end of the current turn). The shard shatters on impact with a blast of concussive energy. Each creature within 10 feet of the point of impact must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be knocked prone and pushed 10 feet away from that point.  

Gunsmith

A master of engineering, you forge a firearm powered by a combination of science and magic.

Master Smith

When you choose this specialization at 1st level, you gain proficiency with smith’s tools, and you learn the mending cantrip.

Thunder Cannon

At 1st level, you forge a deadly firearm using a combination of arcane magic and your knowledge of engineering and metallurgy. This firearm is called a Thunder Cannon. It is a ferocious weapon that fires leaden bullets that can punch through armor with ease. You are proficient with the Thunder Cannon. The firearm is a two-handed ranged weapon that deals 2d6 piercing damage. Its normal range is 150 feet, and its maximum range if 500 feet. Once fired, it must be reloaded as a bonus action. If you lose your Thunder Cannon, you can create a new one over the course of three days of work (eight hours each day) by expending 100 GP worth of metal and other raw materials.

Arcane Magazine

At 1st level, you craft a leather bag used to carry your tools and ammunition for your Thunder Cannon. Your Arcane Magazine includes the powders, lead shot, and other materials needed to keep that weapon functioning. You can use the Arcane Magazine to produce ammunition for your gun. At the end of each long rest, you can magically produce 40 rounds of ammunition with this magazine. After each short rest, you can produce 10 rounds. If you lose your Arcane Magazine, you can create a new one as part of a long rest, using 25 GP of leather and other raw materials.

Thunder Monger

At 3rd level, you learn to channel thunder energy into your Thunder Cannon. As an action, you can make a special attack with your Thunder Cannon that deals an extra 1d6 thunder damage on a hit. This extra damage increases by 1d6 when you reach certain levels in this class: 5th level (2d6), 7th level (3d6), 9th level (4d6), 11th level (5d6), 13th level (6d6), 15th level (7d6), 17th level (8d6), and 19th level (9d6).

Blast Wave

Starting at 9th level, you can channel force energy into your Thunder Cannon. As an action, you can make a special attack with it. Rather than making an attack roll, you unleash force energy in a 15-foot cone from the gun. Each creature in that area must make a Strength saving throw with a DC of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier. On a failed saving throw, a target takes 2d6 force damage and is pushed 10 feet away from you. This damage increases by 1d6 when you reach certain levels in this class: 13th level (3d6) and 17th level (4d6).

Piercing Round

Starting at 14th level, you can shoot lightning energy through your Thunder Cannon. As an action, you can make a special attack with it. Rather than making an attack roll, you cause the gun to unleash a bolt of lightning, 5-feet wide and 30-feet long. Each creature in that area must make Dexterity saving throws with a DC of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier. On a failed saving throw, a target takes 4d6 lightning damage. This damage increases to 6d6 when you reach 19th level in this class.

Explosive Round

Starting at 17th level, you can channel fiery energy into your Thunder Cannon. As an action, you can make a special attack with it. Rather than making an attack roll, you launch an explosive round from the gun. The round detonates in a 30-foot radius sphere at a point within range. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier. On a failed saving throw, a target takes 4d8 fire damage.

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