Base Class: Artificer
The air shimmered with the faint hum of a thousand tiny wings as Artificer Velian knelt beside a fallen soldier. From the vents in their gauntlet poured a stream of glittering motes — brass-bodied insects no larger than a coin, their wings beating in precise, harmonious rhythm. They swarmed over the soldier’s wounds, weaving threads of golden light and soldering torn flesh with alchemical heat. Within moments, the soldier gasped, color returning to their face, as the swarm dispersed once more into the air like a living mist of cogs and sparks.
When the enemy line advanced, Velian rose and extended a hand. The swarm gathered at their gesture, forming a spiraling cloud that pulsed with pale energy before surging forward. The mechanical tide washed over the charging foes, chewing through armor joints and clouding vision with shimmering fragments. The air filled with the clicking chorus of a thousand tiny gears — the sound of invention unleashed upon chaos. To the soldiers who fought beside Velian, it was as if the battlefield itself had come alive to defend them — a whirring, brilliant testament to the union of artifice and will.
Artisan's Insight
3rd-level Clockwork Swarm feature
You gain proficiency with Jeweler's tools. If you already have this proficiency, you gain proficiency with one other type of artisan’s tools of your choice.
Clockwork Swarm Spells
3rd-level Clockwork Swarm feature
You always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Clockwork Swarm Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.
Clockwork Swarm Spells
| Artificer Level | Spell |
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3rd |
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5th |
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9th |
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13th |
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17th |
Clockwork Swarm
3rd-level Clockwork Swarm feature
Your tireless tinkering and mechanical insight have given rise to a living cloud of your own invention: a Clockwork Swarm. This autonomous swarm construct is friendly to you and your companions, and it obeys your commands. See its game statistics in the Clockwork Swarm stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) as well as your intelligence modifier in several places. You determine the swarm’s appearance — perhaps a shimmering vortex of golden gears, a cloud of beetle-sized drones, or a haze of floating brass spheres. Your choice has no effect on its game statistics.
In combat, the swarm shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the swarm can only make one attack and move up to half it's speed if you don't spend a bonus action to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or another action, such as Help, Dash, Disengage, Hide, Dodge, or Search. If you are incapacitated, the swarm can act freely with it's full action, bonus action and movement.
If the mending spell is cast on the swarm, it regains 2d8 hit points. If it has perished within the last hour, you can use your Jeweler's tools as an action to rebuild it, provided you are within 5 feet of it and expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher. The swarm reforms after 1 minute with all its hit points restored.
At the end of a long rest, you can assemble a new Clockwork Swarm if you have your Jeweler's tools with you. If you already have a swarm from this feature, the first one immediately collapses into inert scrap. The swarm also perishes if you die.
Clockwork Swarm
Huge swarm construct
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 20+ five times your artificer level (the defender has a number of Hit Dice [d8s] equal to your artificer level)
Speed 40 ft.
Saving Throws Dex +3 plus PB, Con +2 plus PB
Skills Athletics +1 plus PB, Perception +1 plus PB × 2
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non magical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, poisoned, frightened
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11 + (PB × 2)
Languages understands the languages you speak, cannot speak
Challenge N/A Proficiency Bonus (PB) equals your bonus
Vigilant. The swarm can’t be surprised.
Swarm Form. The swarm occupies a 15-ft (30 at levels 10+) radius. It can move through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain.
Bifurcate. The swarm can divide into two smaller swarms. Each half has half the hit points and half the damage pool. Swarms automatically recombine at the start of the artificer’s turn if adjacent.
Actions
Multi-Attack: the Clockwork swarm can make a number of attacks equal to half of the artificer's PB, the number and damage gets cut in half (rounded up) if the swarm splits into 2 groups.
Swarm Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., one target you can see. Hit: (lvl 3)1d6, (lvl 5) 2d6, (lvl 10) 3d6, (lvl 15) 4d6, (lvl 20) 5d6 + player INT mod magical piercing damage.
Swarm Push/Pull: One creature in the swarm. can be pushed or pulled up to 10 ft. in any direction the artificer chooses. Strength saving throw vs. artificer spell save DC to resist.
Bonus Actions
Reposition: the swarm can move up to it's speed as a bonus action.
Swarm Coordination: grant advantage to an ally attacking a creature inside the swarm.
Reaction
Interference Burst. The swarm imposes disadvantage on the attack roll of one creature it can see that is within itself, provided the attack roll is against a target other than the swarm.
Swarm Link
3rd-level Clockwork Swarm feature
You’ve developed a mental interface with your mechanical swarm.
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You can communicate telepathically with your Clockwork Swarm as long as it’s within 1 mile of you.
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You can see and hear through its senses until the start of your next turn (no action required to start or end this effect).
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While you are perceiving through the swarm, you are deaf or blind (you MUST pick at one) to your own surroundings.
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In addition, when you cast a spell that has a range of “self", or "touch" you can choose to have the spell originate from the swarm instead.
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Additionally, when you command your Clockwork Swarm to take an action using your bonus action, you can make a weapon attack or cast a cantrip as part of that same bonus action.
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You may use your Intelligence mod instead of Strength or Dexterity for the attack and damage rolls of magic weapons you are proficient with.
Swarm Tactics
5th-level Clockwork Swarm feature
Swarm Tactics. Allies inside the swarm radius at the start of their turn gain:
Healing: 1d4 + artificer’s Intelligence int modifier healed HP or temporary HP
Damage Boost: +1d8 to all attacks made against creatures in the swarm.
Fog Field: (# of uses equal to int mod). fog, heavily obscured for enemies, but allies see normally. Duration: 1 minute.
Sonar Recon + Extended Casting
9th-level Clockwork Swarm feature
Sonar Recon (Limited Use): As a special action, the swarm emits a sonar pulse within its confines and up to 30 feet outside of it's perimeter, the artificer and a number of allied creatures, up to its int mod, can see enemies in the swarm highlighted similar to faerie fire but the creatures get no save. this ability lasts until the end of the swarm's next turn. you can use this feature a number of times equal to double your intelligence modifier per long rest.
Extended Casting. The swarm can now deliver certain spells through itself.
When you cast an artificer spell of range self or touch, you can choose for the swarm to deliver that spell instead. In addition, you can now cast single-target artificer spells through the swarm, provided the target is within 45 feet of the swarm. The spell uses your attack roll and save DC as normal.
Perfected network
15th-level Clockwork Swarm feature
Perfected Network
15th-Level Clockwork Swarm feature
Your mastery over your creations has reached its pinnacle. No longer do you command a single Hive— your will resonates through an entire network of precision-engineered minds. Each construct acts as an extension of your own instincts, and the boundaries between you blur into seamless, perfect coordination.
Dual-Core Operation
At the start of a long rest, you can now maintain and command two Clockwork Swarms simultaneously.
Both swarms share your initiative count and act on the same command. When you use a bonus action to command your swarm, both can act using the same directive (such as Swarm Strike, Fog Field, or Swarm Push/Pull).
If either swarm perishes, you can use your Mending spell or your Tinker’s Tools feature to restore it as normal. If both are destroyed, you can only rebuild one at the end of a long rest.
Each swarm retains its full hit points, damage pool, and individual area of influence — they are true equals, not fragments of the same being. You can freely issue commands to either or both as part of your standard swarm command bonus action.
Unified Mind
Your consciousness now flows through your mechanical network.
When you cast a spell with a range of Self or Touch, it also affects your Clockwork Swarms. In addition, you can choose to cast a spell from the space of either swarm instead of your own.
While you and either swarm are within 100 feet of one another, you share sensory awareness — you can see and hear through their senses as if they were your own. You have advantage on Concentration checks made to maintain a spell affecting you or your swarms.
Perfect Synchrony
Once per short or long rest, you can enter a state of flawless coordination with your swarms, achieving true unity between mind and mechanism.
For 1 minute, you and your swarms gain the following benefits:
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Both swarms gain a +10 ft. bonus to movement speed and resistance to all damage.
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Both swarms are immune to the charmed, frightened, and incapacitated conditions.
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You can see and hear through both swarms simultaneously without becoming blinded or deafened and can speak through them in your voice.
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You have advantage on attack rolls and ability checks made against any target within the area of either swarm.
once you expend your daily use of this state you can enter it again by expending a spell slot/mana point.
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