The Artificer is a great class but it doesn’t get enough love from Wizards of the coast. As such there are a number of ability interactions and exploits that have not been addressed since Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything came out. Here is a list of ones I know about in no particular order. Let me know if you have any problems not on the list as well as what you think the correct interpretation is.
“Spellwrought Tattoo” In an update to replicate magic item infusions they changed the rules to say that any common rarity magic item could be created as an infusion with the exemption of scrolls and potions. However in the same book as the artificer is the new item spellwrought tattoo. A cantrip and level 1 spell as a spellwrought tattoo is a common rarity item and works differently than a scroll. Does this mean that it could be created as an infusion and if so what spells could you create? Could you get a casting of any level 1 spell or just artificer spells? There has been no word on this from @JeremyECrawford so hard to tell.
“Arcane Propulsion Armor” This infusion is troublesome due to how it interacts with the armorer’s arcane armor. Both have a gauntlet weapon “thunder quantlets” that does damage on a hit. The question is do they stack or do you only use just one? Considering it is a level 14 infusion adding a d8 damage to a weapon and making it ranged doesn’t seem overpowered. Since it also an armor infusion it works with level 9 armor modifications which means you can also infuse it again with say radiant weapon or enhanced weapon. Like before Norwood from Jeremy Crawford.
“Spell-Storing Item” The level 11 class feature allows an artificer to store up to 10 castings of level 1 or 2 spell in a spell focus or weapon. However the book does not mention if the level one spells can be upcast to level two.
All of these are likely to be "ask your DM" situations as some of the Artificer rules (Armorer especially) aren't the clearest and we've got no clarification.
This one's a bit tricky, as the tattoo is basically a scroll, which is disallowed, so your DM might want to exclude it for the same reason, that and it avoids having to answer what spells you can choose from. 😝 I suspect they didn't think of this item when they were writing the rule, or different people were working on each.
For this one I think strictly speaking you'd have gauntlets that you can choose to use either as thunder gauntlets or as propulsion armor gauntlets, but like you say for a 14th-level infusion it's hardly overpowered to combine the effects, and I expect many DMs would be fine with it (I would).
By default if a magic item allows a spell to be cast it's always cast at the lowest level of the spell – you can't upcast the spell unless the item says it does, or gives you the ability to do so (e.g- spending more charges). Here's the relevant rules if you want to refer to them. It's also worth noting that because you don't know a spell granted by an item (unless it so says so), this means you can't upcast using spell slots of your own.
But like I say, ask your DM if you have any concerns (or maybe you are the DM?), as some of these can easily be interpreted more or less generously depending upon how strict the campaign is about other rules.
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All of these are likely to be "ask your DM" situations as some of the Artificer rules (Armorer especially) aren't the clearest and we've got no clarification.
I suspect they didn't think of this item when they were writing the rule, or different people were working on each.
But like I say, ask your DM if you have any concerns (or maybe you are the DM?), as some of these can easily be interpreted more or less generously depending upon how strict the campaign is about other rules.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.