Can Artificer invent non-magical items that are not in rule books?
Can I play an inventive Artificer in 5e? She loves making things and is really good at turning ordinary martial into something very useful. Below is the list of items I want her to make in the game.
Foldable Handcart
Doubles the weight that the user can carry. The handcart is very light and can be folded into a normal backpack. This item can only be used on flat surfaces or gentle slopes.
Magic Hand
Totally non magical. Allows user to expand their item interaction by 5ft.
Rollershoes
Increasing users' moving speed by 10ft. When the user receives damage they must make a DC10 Dex saving throw. On a failed save, they will be knocked prone. If someone uses this item without a practice that is more than one day long, they must make DC13 saving throw every turn. On a failed save, they will be knocked prone.
Grasping Gun
Using an attack roll to throw a hook rope to the target.
All subject to DM rulings. It should be noted that you don't need to be an artificer to make non-magical items. Also, is there any particular reason you want these to be explicitly non-magical? Typically items that surpass normal function are treated as magical, even if no magic was used to create them. A particularly well crafted weapon becomes a magical +1 weapon just through the skill of the smith.
Thank you for your advice. But there are several reasons that I don't want to use magic item crafting rules.
First, I really prefer to make these gadgets as normal adventuring gear. Also magic item crafting rules require too much time and cost. I mean, what kind of Artificer needs one week and 50 gp to make a handcart! I hope to make as many tools as possible, so this is a bit inconvenient.
Second, I feel regarding these simple items as magical is too stretching. Magic hand isn't too complicated than a hand crossbow. And roller shoes are just … a pair of shoes with wheels! If we admit them as magical then our home center will be a magic item shop. And we can beat a werewolf with a Japanese nail clipper with a magnifying glass!
Sorry. Maybe I'm too picky. And as you said, the DM's ruling is everything. I'll discuss with them if they can accept my ideas.
The point behind crafting is that it is done in downtime, not just some side activity you can do on a normal adventure. So, if you are playing through a pre-written one, you are always moving, always adventuring, always searching, always fighting, that is the point of the story. Once you complete said story, you speak with DM of how much downtime there is and you do all your crafting then.
Even making simple life changes like these items, can go far distances in the end. Foldable handcart has to be magical, because you are basically making a mini-bag of holding and completely changing its overall structure from one type to another. That is massively life changing.
Magic hand, even though it says magic hand in the name, it also can't be non-magical. Either you have some creature that is just a hand, like the adam's family or its magical, because its a hand, but not living or its a mage hand of sorts. Even then, also a massive life changing thing and you are more or less describing mage hand, just instead of 5ft it is 30ft. Allowing anyone to have it, even at 5ft, it pretty huge, especially if there is no weight to how much the hand can do by itself.
Roller shoes, sure, that can be not-magical. You create the tools to create roller shoes is perfectly sound and provide some negative drawbacks at least. Question is, what happens when fighting starts? If you say, they collapse into your feet, then they become magical. Otherwise, your answer is, you kick off your shoes or fight on roller shoes. Which, as DM, I would argue saying they get disadvantage on attacks if so, because they need to balance and attack.
Grasping gun is also perfectly fine as non-magical. Kind of a long distance grapple effect.
Point is, a lot of ideas one would have, they can see themselves how it isn't magical, because of the real world, but in DnD, it is different. Anything that can't simply be two things woven, melded, melted, stitched, etc together, is then magical by nature.
Absolutely anyone of any class can make absolutely anything -- with DM's permission. The DM will tell you what it requires.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
The point behind crafting is that it is done in downtime, not just some side activity you can do on a normal adventure.
Logically, why not? It's another point, for me, where RAW makes no sense.
If an artificer happens to have a bag of holding to bring all the necessary equipment needed, why can't a character make at least some progress in any side activity? Obviously taking part in any side activity could have consequences like making noise or detracting from a character's other abilities like keeping watch on the surroundings but, otherwise, plenty of options may be possible.
Characters can do other activities like read on a normal adventure and, in parallel to this, surely they can also, within their potentials for endurance, craft.
People with the appropriate skill have always been able to get out the knitting. Some other crafting may require more set-up and pack-up time for any session but, within limits, logically some opportunities might be made available.
Can Artificer invent non-magical items that are not in rule books?
Anyone can invent things. However, in the cases of the items you've mentioned, they are copies of item ideas from our world.
Anyone, if DM permits, may have invented similar items in a d&d world in which case it may just require a history check (possibly with a lowered dc because of artificer specialist area of interest) to know of various options.
Magic Hand Totally non magical. Allows user to expand their item interaction by 5ft. (A litter picker type grabber might be considered possible)
Rollershoes (I'd say these would typically be surface dependent and not particularly suited for wilderness and dungeon adventures or any location with occasional bits of gravel. Any dex checks for things like to remain standing would, at the very least, be at disadvantage).
Grasping Gun Using an attack roll to throw a hook rope to the target. (and potentially use dex / stealth rolls to not damage fragile objects of not to make noise in the effort.
I mean, what kind of Artificer needs one week and 50 gp to make a handcart!
RAW, the kind of artificer that is trying to make things using non-magical means. A DM may permit some measure of speed up but a simple non-folding handcart may be lighter than a folding one and fit more easily in a bag of holding. A folding, non-magical handcart, of a similar handcart weight, might be really fragile.
Can I play an inventive Artificer in 5e? She loves making things and is really good at turning ordinary martial into something very useful. Below is the list of items I want her to make in the game.
Ask your DM! The crafting rules in D&D are so loose as to be practically non-existent; we have guidance for certain things like brewing potions and poisons, and not really much else, while we have spells and abilities that can make standard items, and even the section on downtime activities in the Dungeon Master's Guide isn't super useful, so a lot is still left up to your DM.
Personally I'm of the opinion that anything reasonable should be allowed, the DM and player just need to negotiate a price in components and time to complete the work; this isn't limited to an artificer, though with the sheer amount of tool proficiencies an Artificer can get they're certainly well suited to it.
For my Gunfighter sub-class (reworked Critical Role Gunslinger) I went insane on coming up with a firearm crafting system; in that, upgrades have specific costs and times, but you can make a roll (Intelligence + Tinker's Tools check) for every hour to see if you complete more than an hour's work, and can get advantage for repeating something you've already done, or other bonuses for having an assistant, a workshop, high quality tools etc. (still subject to some DM interpretation).
It really depends how detailed you want to get with it; if you want to keep it simple just agree a cost and time with your DM for an item, and what it will do, then decide how you want to to divide that up amongst any downtime/long rests you get until it's done.
One other thing I'd say is; try to avoid springing ideas on the DM in the moment. It's good that you've got a few ideas in mind already as this lets you discuss them outside of actual gaming sessions, and then all you need to do is say "I spend six hours of my downtime working on my folding handcart". While you will sometimes come up with new ideas, or decide you need a trap or whatever during gameplay, it's good to have in mind some generic items you can use as a basis to quickly come up with rules, rather than trying to homebrew all new items on the fly. Also, be open to tweaking item rules, especially quick in-session items, as you might come up with something that seems reasonable at the time but then find it doesn't work quite as you (or the DM) expected.
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.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Can Artificer invent non-magical items that are not in rule books?
Can I play an inventive Artificer in 5e? She loves making things and is really good at turning ordinary martial into something very useful. Below is the list of items I want her to make in the game.
Foldable Handcart
Doubles the weight that the user can carry. The handcart is very light and can be folded into a normal backpack. This item can only be used on flat surfaces or gentle slopes.
Magic Hand
Totally non magical. Allows user to expand their item interaction by 5ft.
Rollershoes
Increasing users' moving speed by 10ft. When the user receives damage they must make a DC10 Dex saving throw. On a failed save, they will be knocked prone. If someone uses this item without a practice that is more than one day long, they must make DC13 saving throw every turn. On a failed save, they will be knocked prone.
Grasping Gun
Using an attack roll to throw a hook rope to the target.
All subject to DM rulings. It should be noted that you don't need to be an artificer to make non-magical items. Also, is there any particular reason you want these to be explicitly non-magical? Typically items that surpass normal function are treated as magical, even if no magic was used to create them. A particularly well crafted weapon becomes a magical +1 weapon just through the skill of the smith.
Thank you for your advice. But there are several reasons that I don't want to use magic item crafting rules.
First, I really prefer to make these gadgets as normal adventuring gear. Also magic item crafting rules require too much time and cost. I mean, what kind of Artificer needs one week and 50 gp to make a handcart! I hope to make as many tools as possible, so this is a bit inconvenient.
Second, I feel regarding these simple items as magical is too stretching. Magic hand isn't too complicated than a hand crossbow. And roller shoes are just … a pair of shoes with wheels! If we admit them as magical then our home center will be a magic item shop. And we can beat a werewolf with a Japanese nail clipper with a magnifying glass!
Sorry. Maybe I'm too picky. And as you said, the DM's ruling is everything. I'll discuss with them if they can accept my ideas.
The point behind crafting is that it is done in downtime, not just some side activity you can do on a normal adventure. So, if you are playing through a pre-written one, you are always moving, always adventuring, always searching, always fighting, that is the point of the story. Once you complete said story, you speak with DM of how much downtime there is and you do all your crafting then.
Even making simple life changes like these items, can go far distances in the end. Foldable handcart has to be magical, because you are basically making a mini-bag of holding and completely changing its overall structure from one type to another. That is massively life changing.
Magic hand, even though it says magic hand in the name, it also can't be non-magical. Either you have some creature that is just a hand, like the adam's family or its magical, because its a hand, but not living or its a mage hand of sorts. Even then, also a massive life changing thing and you are more or less describing mage hand, just instead of 5ft it is 30ft. Allowing anyone to have it, even at 5ft, it pretty huge, especially if there is no weight to how much the hand can do by itself.
Roller shoes, sure, that can be not-magical. You create the tools to create roller shoes is perfectly sound and provide some negative drawbacks at least. Question is, what happens when fighting starts? If you say, they collapse into your feet, then they become magical. Otherwise, your answer is, you kick off your shoes or fight on roller shoes. Which, as DM, I would argue saying they get disadvantage on attacks if so, because they need to balance and attack.
Grasping gun is also perfectly fine as non-magical. Kind of a long distance grapple effect.
Point is, a lot of ideas one would have, they can see themselves how it isn't magical, because of the real world, but in DnD, it is different. Anything that can't simply be two things woven, melded, melted, stitched, etc together, is then magical by nature.
Absolutely anyone of any class can make absolutely anything -- with DM's permission. The DM will tell you what it requires.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Logically, why not? It's another point, for me, where RAW makes no sense.
If an artificer happens to have a bag of holding to bring all the necessary equipment needed, why can't a character make at least some progress in any side activity? Obviously taking part in any side activity could have consequences like making noise or detracting from a character's other abilities like keeping watch on the surroundings but, otherwise, plenty of options may be possible.
Characters can do other activities like read on a normal adventure and, in parallel to this, surely they can also, within their potentials for endurance, craft.
People with the appropriate skill have always been able to get out the knitting. Some other crafting may require more set-up and pack-up time for any session but, within limits, logically some opportunities might be made available.
Anyone can invent things. However, in the cases of the items you've mentioned, they are copies of item ideas from our world.
Anyone, if DM permits, may have invented similar items in a d&d world in which case it may just require a history check (possibly with a lowered dc because of artificer specialist area of interest) to know of various options.
Magic Hand Totally non magical. Allows user to expand their item interaction by 5ft. (A litter picker type grabber might be considered possible)
Rollershoes (I'd say these would typically be surface dependent and not particularly suited for wilderness and dungeon adventures or any location with occasional bits of gravel. Any dex checks for things like to remain standing would, at the very least, be at disadvantage).
Grasping Gun Using an attack roll to throw a hook rope to the target. (and potentially use dex / stealth rolls to not damage fragile objects of not to make noise in the effort.
RAW, the kind of artificer that is trying to make things using non-magical means. A DM may permit some measure of speed up but a simple non-folding handcart may be lighter than a folding one and fit more easily in a bag of holding. A folding, non-magical handcart, of a similar handcart weight, might be really fragile.
Ask your DM! The crafting rules in D&D are so loose as to be practically non-existent; we have guidance for certain things like brewing potions and poisons, and not really much else, while we have spells and abilities that can make standard items, and even the section on downtime activities in the Dungeon Master's Guide isn't super useful, so a lot is still left up to your DM.
Personally I'm of the opinion that anything reasonable should be allowed, the DM and player just need to negotiate a price in components and time to complete the work; this isn't limited to an artificer, though with the sheer amount of tool proficiencies an Artificer can get they're certainly well suited to it.
For my Gunfighter sub-class (reworked Critical Role Gunslinger) I went insane on coming up with a firearm crafting system; in that, upgrades have specific costs and times, but you can make a roll (Intelligence + Tinker's Tools check) for every hour to see if you complete more than an hour's work, and can get advantage for repeating something you've already done, or other bonuses for having an assistant, a workshop, high quality tools etc. (still subject to some DM interpretation).
It really depends how detailed you want to get with it; if you want to keep it simple just agree a cost and time with your DM for an item, and what it will do, then decide how you want to to divide that up amongst any downtime/long rests you get until it's done.
One other thing I'd say is; try to avoid springing ideas on the DM in the moment. It's good that you've got a few ideas in mind already as this lets you discuss them outside of actual gaming sessions, and then all you need to do is say "I spend six hours of my downtime working on my folding handcart". While you will sometimes come up with new ideas, or decide you need a trap or whatever during gameplay, it's good to have in mind some generic items you can use as a basis to quickly come up with rules, rather than trying to homebrew all new items on the fly. Also, be open to tweaking item rules, especially quick in-session items, as you might come up with something that seems reasonable at the time but then find it doesn't work quite as you (or the DM) expected.
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.