Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in- Marketplace
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in
With the new 5.5e rules, could a level 5 artillerist create a repeating heavy crossbow, apply the Arcane Firearm sigil to it, then cast True Strike with it? Would all that damage stack? The way it's worded it seems like it would, at least by my reading.
Repeating Crossbow: "This magic weapon grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it when it’s used to make a ranged attack"
Arcane Firearm: "you can use Woodcarver’s Tools to carve special sigils into a Rod, Staff, Wand, or Martial Ranged weapon [the crossbow] and thereby turn it into your Arcane Firearm." and "You can use your Arcane Firearm as a Spellcasting Focus for your Artificer spells. When you cast an Artificer spell through the firearm [we're casting true strike], roll 1d8, and you gain a bonus to one of the spell’s damage rolls equal to the number rolled."
True Strike: "you make one attack with the weapon used in the spell’s casting [crossbow]. The attack uses your spellcasting ability for the attack and damage rolls" and "the attack deals extra Radiant damage when you reach levels 5 (1d6)"
So with an INT of 4 and a proficiency of 2, the Hit/DC is +7 (4+2+1), and the damage is 1d10 + 5 (4+1) + 1d6 + 1d8 = average 17
I suppose this falls apart if you aren't allowed to apply your arcane firearm to a weapon that is already magical. But then aren't rods, staffs, and wands magical already too?
Yep. You can do all that just fine. Heck, you can create a repeating pistol and get the same d10 damage, plus hold a shield. Or you can go all in, create a repeating hunting rifle (you are an artillerist, after all), and go 2d10+5+d6+d8. Convert it to radiant, and you've got laser beams! All of which is to say you're fairly comparable to a 5th-level berserker barbarian's two attacks with a +1 greataxe or an eldritch blast-focused warlock. Not as much as what 5th level wizards can do with their actions and those shiny L3 spell slots, but at least yours is a cantrip, yeah?
Yep, and then you’ve got your eldritch cannon doing some BA damage, along with a potential homunculus doing its own damage!
I dont think TrueStrike works with ExtraAttack though,
So youd be giving up the "repeating" part of the equation
If you go with the Armorer subclass, your arcane armor comes with built in weapons that use INT for tohit and damage rolls, and can work with extra attack.
If you use any other subclass, i think you have to pointbuy your dex to be high enough to use for attacks. Or use truestrike and make one weapon attack
Artillerists do not have an Extra Attack feature, so unless you're multiclassing that probably doesn't matter much.
pronouns: he/she/they
Yeah, I’m aiming for a ranged build so Extra Attack isn’t something I’ll ever get 😆
Repeating crossbow is great because I don’t have to worry about ammo. But it would work really well with an enspelled weapon too! That would get me up to six shots of a level 1 spell (like shield or Tasha’s caustic brew) which would be pretty cool.
The only potential quibble a DM might make would be whether the replicated magic weapon is worth 1 CP, to count as the material component of True Strike, since you created it for free. I would argue that it does count, since it’s an Uncommon magic weapon which you can keep (and could sell, although that might raise some ethical issues if the buyer isn’t aware that it might disappear at some point…), but I could see some disagreeing.
Actually, since you gain the Arcane Firearm feature at level 5, your proficiency bonus is in fact +3, so your to hit modifier is +8. 😊
Oh that hurts! So armorer is the odd subclass. Huh
Ah! Getting fireball on the artillerist spell list makes a LOT more sense now.
So the goal with repeating crossbow is just to not keep track of ammo? It still doesnt get a bonus action attack and you cant use ranged weapons for an opportunity attack/reaction. Or am i missing something.
Armorer and Battle Smith are the official Artificer subclasses with an Extra Attack feature. The third-party Forge Adept subclass has it too.
You also don't need a free hand to load it, meaning you can use the Hand Crossbow version in conjunction with another one-handed weapon (since it's Light, you can make a bonus action attack with it after attacking with a different weapon with your Action).
It's a decent ranged option for the Battle Smith subclass. And, as I have to remind people surprisingly often, you do not have to use any of your replicated magic items yourself. You can give it to someone else in your group who can make multiple attacks.
pronouns: he/she/they
Ah, its a workaround to the one-attack-per-action limit by squeezing in a light attack on the bonus action.
But you can only use ReplicateMagicItem(repeating xbow) only once, so youd need a different weapon in the other hand? But it would also need to be light and single handed.
So..... a returning dagger?
"you do not have to use any of your replicated magic items yourself"
I dunno. It seems like my replicate magic item advancement is always outpaced by the magic items my party finds in a dungeon or buys at a shop
I dont have much that is better than what the party already has
Battlesmith uses INT for attack roles with their Arcane firearm and has extra attack I believe
Ah you’re right! Muahahaha
Artillerist also uses INT for attack rolls, but no extra attack.
Battle Smiths are able to use Intelligence for attack and damage rolls with any magic weapons, and have an Extra Attack feature. They don't have an Arcane Firearm; that's an Artillerist feature.
pronouns: he/she/they
Bit of a mix of terminology here.
Battle Smith gets "Extra Attack" at level 5 and can use INT for attack rolls due to their level 3 feature, "Battle Ready." Battle Smiths do not get the feature "Arcane Firearm" but they can use a magic ranged weapon INT based attacks as part of "Battle Ready," and that weapon can be a firearm. "Extra Attack" allows the Battle Smith to make two attacks when taking the "Attack" action.
Artillerist gets "Arcane Firearm" at level 5 and can apply it to a Rod, Staff, Wand or Martial Ranged Weapon (even ones that are already magical). The Artillerist does not get the feature "Extra Attack." The Artillerist cannot directly use INT for attack rolls unless it's part of a spell such as the cantrip "True Strike" which does not interact with the "Attack" action but uses the "Magic" action.
No, Artillerists do not have any feature allowing them to use Intelligence for weapon attack rolls.
pronouns: he/she/they
Main benefit for the Artillerist using a Repeating Weapon Heavy Crossbow is that it’s a +1 magic weapon. The free ammo might be helpful if your DM is strict about tracking ammo.
Yeah, you’re right. I was thinking of True Strike allowing you to use your spellcasting ability (Int-based) for the crossbow attack. But just a normal attack would be strength or dex.