Hello everyone! I'm about to start playing in a new campaign with some close friends, and I decided I wanted to delve into the world of Artificers. Currently, I have a Level 3 Half-Orc Battle Smith Artificer that wields a heavy crossbow and has command over his Steel Defender. After working out this characters backstory details, and knowing how well Artificers and Fighters work together as a multiclass option, I was thinking of potentially multi-classing into Arcane Archer (I know that the details for AA say that it's an elven technique and that RAW, it's limited to shortbows and longbows, but my DM has allowed me to use all the same class features with the crossbow my character has.) I think they would work nicely together, with the Fighter giving the Archery fighting style, Second Wind, Action Surge, and a couple Arcane Shot options to help switch up my combat options, they both use INT as a central stat, and I think it could easily be flavored as more inventions my Artificer has created by studying ancient elven practices and finding a way to manifest them in a more modern way.
What I'm having trouble with is deciding when to start multiclassing, and how much of a dip into AA I should take. Right now, I'm planning on getting to Level 5 in Artificer before taking 4 levels in Arcane Archer Fighter, and then returning to Artificer for the remaining 11 levels, but I'm open to other suggestions! What would y'all do?
That was the other option I was considering. I have no idea how long this game will go, because it’s in a homebrew world, so this may all end up just being theorycraft, but I’ll definitely look into dipping into Fighter after level 7
Oh, this sounds like a cool idea! Even from a roleplay point it can be really easy to explain the arcane archer stuff with weird artificer gadgets like tracking arrows or exploding ones!
I've done this with an Alchemist. I went Fighter directly after 3. I basically played those 3 fighter levels as a Xbower who made potions. I kept a slot for healing word but otherwise my cantrips were mainly support ones at the time-I did however use Bonfire. made for nice area denail/punish, and i made fair use of Elixirs. Though it was a fair slog all things considered.
Honestly I've made several alch/multiclasses but it never felt worth it while doing it. So I've ended up going "i'll wait until we start at level 6 game"
but for a battle smith. I'd wait until 5 I think, when you get multi attack. Because at that point your power does jump slightly, you get more use out of sharpshooter if you have it, and that boost of Archery style helps that and consistency. It does postpon lv 9 and the lv 7 features, but no matter what thats occuring. but having that second attack will help sure up and help you fit in a "ranged fighter" mode with it.
Lv 7 and 6 is pretty big. but you'll have to give stuff up eventually regardless. So it just depends if you want the utility of those two levels first, or the "character concept" of the arcane archer arrows.
Thank you for the insight! Your Alchemist sounds awesome. I'm still a little torn between waiting until after level 7 vs. jumping in after level 5, but the DM and I may try to work it into the narrative so that it feels a little more organic, so that could occur at either of those level thresholds.
Its not like you have to shot gun them all at once either. Can interweve them a bit to buil the story up more. The more fighter the mor BS, learning to interweave the two resulting in the archer~
I'd like to do that somtime with that alchemist. Except I'd like a gun. Just for the rule of cool of alchemical bullets. Still thinking about doing it, but using it just to flavor cantrips and spells.
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Hello everyone! I'm about to start playing in a new campaign with some close friends, and I decided I wanted to delve into the world of Artificers. Currently, I have a Level 3 Half-Orc Battle Smith Artificer that wields a heavy crossbow and has command over his Steel Defender. After working out this characters backstory details, and knowing how well Artificers and Fighters work together as a multiclass option, I was thinking of potentially multi-classing into Arcane Archer (I know that the details for AA say that it's an elven technique and that RAW, it's limited to shortbows and longbows, but my DM has allowed me to use all the same class features with the crossbow my character has.) I think they would work nicely together, with the Fighter giving the Archery fighting style, Second Wind, Action Surge, and a couple Arcane Shot options to help switch up my combat options, they both use INT as a central stat, and I think it could easily be flavored as more inventions my Artificer has created by studying ancient elven practices and finding a way to manifest them in a more modern way.
What I'm having trouble with is deciding when to start multiclassing, and how much of a dip into AA I should take. Right now, I'm planning on getting to Level 5 in Artificer before taking 4 levels in Arcane Archer Fighter, and then returning to Artificer for the remaining 11 levels, but I'm open to other suggestions! What would y'all do?
That was the other option I was considering. I have no idea how long this game will go, because it’s in a homebrew world, so this may all end up just being theorycraft, but I’ll definitely look into dipping into Fighter after level 7
Oh, this sounds like a cool idea! Even from a roleplay point it can be really easy to explain the arcane archer stuff with weird artificer gadgets like tracking arrows or exploding ones!
I've done this with an Alchemist. I went Fighter directly after 3. I basically played those 3 fighter levels as a Xbower who made potions. I kept a slot for healing word but otherwise my cantrips were mainly support ones at the time-I did however use Bonfire. made for nice area denail/punish, and i made fair use of Elixirs. Though it was a fair slog all things considered.
Honestly I've made several alch/multiclasses but it never felt worth it while doing it. So I've ended up going "i'll wait until we start at level 6 game"
but for a battle smith. I'd wait until 5 I think, when you get multi attack. Because at that point your power does jump slightly, you get more use out of sharpshooter if you have it, and that boost of Archery style helps that and consistency. It does postpon lv 9 and the lv 7 features, but no matter what thats occuring. but having that second attack will help sure up and help you fit in a "ranged fighter" mode with it.
Lv 7 and 6 is pretty big. but you'll have to give stuff up eventually regardless. So it just depends if you want the utility of those two levels first, or the "character concept" of the arcane archer arrows.
Thank you for the insight! Your Alchemist sounds awesome. I'm still a little torn between waiting until after level 7 vs. jumping in after level 5, but the DM and I may try to work it into the narrative so that it feels a little more organic, so that could occur at either of those level thresholds.
Its not like you have to shot gun them all at once either. Can interweve them a bit to buil the story up more. The more fighter the mor BS, learning to interweave the two resulting in the archer~
I'd like to do that somtime with that alchemist. Except I'd like a gun. Just for the rule of cool of alchemical bullets. Still thinking about doing it, but using it just to flavor cantrips and spells.