I am just starting a new game playing a Greek-themed Centaur Artificer, with the intention of going the Armorer route at level 3. Our DM is allowing us all to have a feat at level 1, basically because we all think the feats are cool. I will most likely select a feat at each ASI option as I level up.
I read through the 'Best Feats' thread, which had a lot of generically good feats but I found a lot of them are not really suited to this type of character, particularly as I intend him to be a melee combatant. I've got a list of some of the options I'm looking at below and was curious to get some feedback from more experienced Artificers.
Piercer - my character will be using a spear and shield, I had the idea of making a version of the Pole of Collapsing that turned the spear into a lance that would be particularly cool for a Centaur to use. Both of these are piercing weapons and the ability to reroll a d12 on the lance could really help improve the average damage.
Polearm Master/Sentinel - this would be my feats at level 1 and 4 together, I don't know which one would come first. Being able to hit someone as soon as they get within 10 feet of me and freeze them there, in addition to using my high AC body to block for squishier party members, seems quite strong and appropriate for my character but it means I don't get another from this list for quite a while.
Keen Mind/Shadow Touched/Fey Touched - my Intelligence score is an odd number and I feel like I should bump this up at level 4 if not level 1. Keen Mind is probably most character appropriate but extra spells are always helpful.
Shield Master - Again, I'm going to be quite tanky and being able to knock others away from me or other party members will be nice, especially when eventually combined with Thunder Gauntlets.
Mobile - this is a really handy feat, my previous Monk character had it and it was great but I can see a lot of uses here too. Being able to hit and run can maximize my use of a lance and hoof attack bonus action, will also be fun with Thunder Gauntlets if enemies have to chase me or take disadvantage against everyone else.
Heavy Armor Mastery - this wouldn't be available until level 4 because I won't get proficiency with heavy armor until I get the Armorer subclass, would help me tank better.
Ritual Caster - I know that Artificers can already use Rituals but being able to pick up any Wizard rituals would add a lot of options and it seems fitting for an Artificer.
Any thoughts?
Edit: And now I feel like an idiot because between when I started this last night and posted it today, someone posted a nearly identical thread. Sorry about that.
The Armorer doesn't have the Battle-Ready feature so you can use your Intelligence only to attack with the Thunder Gauntlets or the Lightning Launcher. Moreover, the Arcane Armor feature ignores the Strength requirement. The Armorer seems to be a subclass design to dump Strength and focus on Intelligence at the cost of the limitation to use the special weapons. Polearm Master and Piercer are not good feats in this case. Battlesmith is a better option if you want to play with a spear. Maybe you can have a look at the Forge adept from Exploring Eberron (not official content) which has the Battle-Ready feature too and no pet.
For minmaxing and theme, Polearm and Sentinel would be the "safe" way to go, with Mobile and Shield Master close behind.
But that is boring. Ritual Caster or Magic Initiate to gain the best spell in the game, find familiar, is always going to be my answer.
I certainly see the benefits of Find Familiar but I don't know that it would be appropriate for my character to have one. Maybe if I could flavor it as a mechanical creature, like the Homunculus Servant infusion, it would make more sense. In general, I'm not looking to get too "min/max" with this character but I would like to be effective while keeping to the flavor of the character as I see him. Maybe just taking Sentinel first then a +1 Intelligence at level 4 and either Mobile or Shield Master later once I get a better idea of how he plays.
The Armorer doesn't have the Battle-Ready feature so you can use your Intelligence only to attack with the Thunder Gauntlets or the Lightning Launcher. Moreover, the Arcane Armor feature ignores the Strength requirement. The Armorer seems to be a subclass design to dump Strength and focus on Intelligence at the cost of the limitation to use the special weapons. Polearm Master and Piercer are not good feats in this case. Battlesmith is a better option if you want to play with a spear. Maybe you can have a look at the Forge adept from Exploring Eberron (not official content) which has the Battle-Ready feature too and no pet.
Strength is actually my second highest stat, I get the advantages of min/maxing that with the Armorer I'm just not really interested in doing it. The character background has him trying to live up to the example of his father, a famous soldier, but he is much more interested in intellectual pursuits and becoming an Armorer is his way of still doing that. I looked at Battle Smith and I really wasn't interested in having a sidekick, I like the idea of this Centaur covered head to hooves in gleaming plate mail better. My DM said that we could only use official content so the Forge Adept would be out (although it does sound cool so I may look at it for some ideas).
For minmaxing and theme, Polearm and Sentinel would be the "safe" way to go, with Mobile and Shield Master close behind.
But that is boring. Ritual Caster or Magic Initiate to gain the best spell in the game, find familiar, is always going to be my answer.
I certainly see the benefits of Find Familiar but I don't know that it would be appropriate for my character to have one. Maybe if I could flavor it as a mechanical creature, like the Homunculus Servant infusion, it would make more sense. In general, I'm not looking to get too "min/max" with this character but I would like to be effective while keeping to the flavor of the character as I see him. Maybe just taking Sentinel first then a +1 Intelligence at level 4 and either Mobile or Shield Master later once I get a better idea of how he plays.
Minmax more in the sense that those are generally considered "the best" for a front-liner, for both mechanical benefits and flavor. Those absolutely fit the character you described (I pictured them as a hoplite of sorts), and they just so happen to be the power picks.
That said, Find Familiar is just my personal bias, so take that as you will. Could be a companion spirit from your fey typing, or even as simple as a stray cat you pick up. It is certainly mechanically strong, but sometimes you just want a pet to hang out with that doesn't stay dead when killed.
Healer. Just to lean into being the Centaur for Disease Control. :)
Seriously though, being a battle medic is great. If your party is 4th level you'll be able to heal each of them for 1d6+8 damage per short or long rest. Better healing than cure wounds and it doesn't cost a spell slot, just an action. Better than a basic healing potion and it doesn't cost 50 gp, 1/10 of a healer's kit costs a mere 5 silver.
The scaling isn't amazing, but there is some scaling. How much you heal depends on how many hit dice the target has, 1d6+4+number of hit dice. If you are healing a 10th level character with 10 hit dice your bandages do 1d6+14. That's like a Cure Wounds upcast to third level. And it still costs only 1 action + 5 sp.
A feat is a heavy cost, but you'll save so much on healing potions on the back end.
If your seriously looking at a magic initiate feat you might want to consider one that allows you to take zephyr strike. While most folks seem to get all excited about the one time advantage and speed boost it grants the real strength is the immunity to to opportunity attacks - especially for a tanking centaur - that horse body is good for multiple opportunity attacks each round and zephyr strike kills that nicely.
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I am just starting a new game playing a Greek-themed Centaur Artificer, with the intention of going the Armorer route at level 3. Our DM is allowing us all to have a feat at level 1, basically because we all think the feats are cool. I will most likely select a feat at each ASI option as I level up.
I read through the 'Best Feats' thread, which had a lot of generically good feats but I found a lot of them are not really suited to this type of character, particularly as I intend him to be a melee combatant. I've got a list of some of the options I'm looking at below and was curious to get some feedback from more experienced Artificers.
Piercer - my character will be using a spear and shield, I had the idea of making a version of the Pole of Collapsing that turned the spear into a lance that would be particularly cool for a Centaur to use. Both of these are piercing weapons and the ability to reroll a d12 on the lance could really help improve the average damage.
Polearm Master/Sentinel - this would be my feats at level 1 and 4 together, I don't know which one would come first. Being able to hit someone as soon as they get within 10 feet of me and freeze them there, in addition to using my high AC body to block for squishier party members, seems quite strong and appropriate for my character but it means I don't get another from this list for quite a while.
Keen Mind/Shadow Touched/Fey Touched - my Intelligence score is an odd number and I feel like I should bump this up at level 4 if not level 1. Keen Mind is probably most character appropriate but extra spells are always helpful.
Shield Master - Again, I'm going to be quite tanky and being able to knock others away from me or other party members will be nice, especially when eventually combined with Thunder Gauntlets.
Mobile - this is a really handy feat, my previous Monk character had it and it was great but I can see a lot of uses here too. Being able to hit and run can maximize my use of a lance and hoof attack bonus action, will also be fun with Thunder Gauntlets if enemies have to chase me or take disadvantage against everyone else.
Heavy Armor Mastery - this wouldn't be available until level 4 because I won't get proficiency with heavy armor until I get the Armorer subclass, would help me tank better.
Ritual Caster - I know that Artificers can already use Rituals but being able to pick up any Wizard rituals would add a lot of options and it seems fitting for an Artificer.
Any thoughts?
Edit: And now I feel like an idiot because between when I started this last night and posted it today, someone posted a nearly identical thread. Sorry about that.
You pretty much nailed it.
For minmaxing and theme, Polearm and Sentinel would be the "safe" way to go, with Mobile and Shield Master close behind.
But that is boring. Ritual Caster or Magic Initiate to gain the best spell in the game, find familiar, is always going to be my answer.
The Armorer doesn't have the Battle-Ready feature so you can use your Intelligence only to attack with the Thunder Gauntlets or the Lightning Launcher. Moreover, the Arcane Armor feature ignores the Strength requirement. The Armorer seems to be a subclass design to dump Strength and focus on Intelligence at the cost of the limitation to use the special weapons. Polearm Master and Piercer are not good feats in this case. Battlesmith is a better option if you want to play with a spear. Maybe you can have a look at the Forge adept from Exploring Eberron (not official content) which has the Battle-Ready feature too and no pet.
I certainly see the benefits of Find Familiar but I don't know that it would be appropriate for my character to have one. Maybe if I could flavor it as a mechanical creature, like the Homunculus Servant infusion, it would make more sense. In general, I'm not looking to get too "min/max" with this character but I would like to be effective while keeping to the flavor of the character as I see him. Maybe just taking Sentinel first then a +1 Intelligence at level 4 and either Mobile or Shield Master later once I get a better idea of how he plays.
Strength is actually my second highest stat, I get the advantages of min/maxing that with the Armorer I'm just not really interested in doing it. The character background has him trying to live up to the example of his father, a famous soldier, but he is much more interested in intellectual pursuits and becoming an Armorer is his way of still doing that. I looked at Battle Smith and I really wasn't interested in having a sidekick, I like the idea of this Centaur covered head to hooves in gleaming plate mail better. My DM said that we could only use official content so the Forge Adept would be out (although it does sound cool so I may look at it for some ideas).
Minmax more in the sense that those are generally considered "the best" for a front-liner, for both mechanical benefits and flavor. Those absolutely fit the character you described (I pictured them as a hoplite of sorts), and they just so happen to be the power picks.
That said, Find Familiar is just my personal bias, so take that as you will. Could be a companion spirit from your fey typing, or even as simple as a stray cat you pick up. It is certainly mechanically strong, but sometimes you just want a pet to hang out with that doesn't stay dead when killed.
Healer. Just to lean into being the Centaur for Disease Control. :)
Seriously though, being a battle medic is great. If your party is 4th level you'll be able to heal each of them for 1d6+8 damage per short or long rest. Better healing than cure wounds and it doesn't cost a spell slot, just an action. Better than a basic healing potion and it doesn't cost 50 gp, 1/10 of a healer's kit costs a mere 5 silver.
The scaling isn't amazing, but there is some scaling. How much you heal depends on how many hit dice the target has, 1d6+4+number of hit dice. If you are healing a 10th level character with 10 hit dice your bandages do 1d6+14. That's like a Cure Wounds upcast to third level. And it still costs only 1 action + 5 sp.
A feat is a heavy cost, but you'll save so much on healing potions on the back end.
If your seriously looking at a magic initiate feat you might want to consider one that allows you to take zephyr strike. While most folks seem to get all excited about the one time advantage and speed boost it grants the real strength is the immunity to to opportunity attacks - especially for a tanking centaur - that horse body is good for multiple opportunity attacks each round and zephyr strike kills that nicely.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.