So one thing I'm running into a bit of an issue with is the spells that require concentration (Like Enlarge/Reduce, Heat Metal, Invisibility Etc.)
How do you tackle this on your artificer? do you have a certain way to project this matter into your gear? ignore it for the sake of the character being played?
Currently working on my first Artificer and I'm finding this to be quite the pickle.
Thank you in advance for the help!
(Quick Edit)
Thank you for the help with this! overall the DM and I decided to follow the Concentration ruling for the spells requiring it, and had my inventions fit the convention of the matter.
There's the mechanic of how concentration gets interrupted and there's the roleplay of interrupting the concentration.
The mechanic isn't any different for the artificier than any other character class. You roll a constitution saving throw, right? If you take damage, you are usually required to make a saving throw. You DM can adjudicate other disruptions, but damage is the most common one.
Since your concentration check ignores any buffs or debuffs, then there is no way to increase your constitution to help with the check. I suppose you could look for a way to gain advantage on the ST.
I think allowing your homunculus servant to cast the concentration spell, as long as it is a touch spell, could circumvent the vulnerability of having their concentration interrupted.
The issue in this case was more around do you actually have the same rules for concentration applied to your spells (technically inventions)? It didn't initially make a ton and a half of sense as an invention wouldn't technically require you to keep your focus for it.
The DM and I resolved this and I looked into it a bit further and found most folks just playing their invention around the concentration spell. (I.E. having the invention bug out on a failed Concentration save.)
My DM and I figured it out after a while. The baseline issue was less how concentration spells function and more on does an Artificer invention have to follow this rule. Long story short we did follow the rule so my inventions were more centered to make the concentration rules come into play naturally.
This is something I've thought about a lot with my character. It's forced me to think about how, exactly, his spells work, and what "concentration" means for someone who isn't actually casting traditional magic.
My character wears a gauntlet that is pretty obviously just a Powerglove, and when he casts a spell that requires concentration, he needs to constantly maintain it. Adjust knobs, flip switches, move sliders... he needs to constantly be doing something to keep the spell active, or else the battery overheats, or the spell structure collapses on some harder to define level... the important thing is, if he gets hit too hard or is otherwise distracted, he fails to make a crucial adjustment and the whole thing collapses. In general I try to play his equipment as being very difficult to use, requiring intimate knowledge of his equipment to utilize, mostly to explain in-game why he can't just hand his gun over to someone else and let them cast all the same spells he does.
It has led to a few problems where some fun idea for how a spell should work gets discarded, because it's not something you can logically maintain concentration on in the way I described. For example, I felt like Heroism would make sense as a medicine injection, but that didn't really make sense as something you have to actually keep concentration on. So I reflavored it as a little "sticky bomb" looking tech widget that attaches to the target and release waves of energy that suppress fear and provide temp HP. I felt like I had a bit more freedom for spells that only have a range of self. For example, I took inspiration from One Piece and Chopper's Rumble Balls for the Alter Self spell... where it takes the form of a single large pill that he swallows whole that is formulated for his specific genes, but it also tastes terrible and gives a constant stomach ache, so he has to concentrate on just not vomiting up the damn thing.
Hey There Folks,
So one thing I'm running into a bit of an issue with is the spells that require concentration (Like Enlarge/Reduce, Heat Metal, Invisibility Etc.)
How do you tackle this on your artificer? do you have a certain way to project this matter into your gear? ignore it for the sake of the character being played?
Currently working on my first Artificer and I'm finding this to be quite the pickle.
Thank you in advance for the help!
(Quick Edit)
Thank you for the help with this! overall the DM and I decided to follow the Concentration ruling for the spells requiring it, and had my inventions fit the convention of the matter.
Not sure what the unique problem with artificer concentration here is. Are you playing an armorer/battlesmith frontliner?
When she takes a big enough hit to drop concentration, my artificer's gear sparks and malfunctions, dropping the spell.
Howdy Fetil!
There's the mechanic of how concentration gets interrupted and there's the roleplay of interrupting the concentration.
The mechanic isn't any different for the artificier than any other character class. You roll a constitution saving throw, right? If you take damage, you are usually required to make a saving throw. You DM can adjudicate other disruptions, but damage is the most common one.
Since your concentration check ignores any buffs or debuffs, then there is no way to increase your constitution to help with the check. I suppose you could look for a way to gain advantage on the ST.
I think allowing your homunculus servant to cast the concentration spell, as long as it is a touch spell, could circumvent the vulnerability of having their concentration interrupted.
Huzzah!
Jack
The issue in this case was more around do you actually have the same rules for concentration applied to your spells (technically inventions)? It didn't initially make a ton and a half of sense as an invention wouldn't technically require you to keep your focus for it.
The DM and I resolved this and I looked into it a bit further and found most folks just playing their invention around the concentration spell. (I.E. having the invention bug out on a failed Concentration save.)
Thank you though for asking and take care!
Thank you Jack!
My DM and I figured it out after a while. The baseline issue was less how concentration spells function and more on does an Artificer invention have to follow this rule. Long story short we did follow the rule so my inventions were more centered to make the concentration rules come into play naturally.
Thank you for your advice on this!
Thank you for the tip on this! essentially what I ended up doing for my artificer!
This is something I've thought about a lot with my character. It's forced me to think about how, exactly, his spells work, and what "concentration" means for someone who isn't actually casting traditional magic.
My character wears a gauntlet that is pretty obviously just a Powerglove, and when he casts a spell that requires concentration, he needs to constantly maintain it. Adjust knobs, flip switches, move sliders... he needs to constantly be doing something to keep the spell active, or else the battery overheats, or the spell structure collapses on some harder to define level... the important thing is, if he gets hit too hard or is otherwise distracted, he fails to make a crucial adjustment and the whole thing collapses. In general I try to play his equipment as being very difficult to use, requiring intimate knowledge of his equipment to utilize, mostly to explain in-game why he can't just hand his gun over to someone else and let them cast all the same spells he does.
It has led to a few problems where some fun idea for how a spell should work gets discarded, because it's not something you can logically maintain concentration on in the way I described. For example, I felt like Heroism would make sense as a medicine injection, but that didn't really make sense as something you have to actually keep concentration on. So I reflavored it as a little "sticky bomb" looking tech widget that attaches to the target and release waves of energy that suppress fear and provide temp HP. I felt like I had a bit more freedom for spells that only have a range of self. For example, I took inspiration from One Piece and Chopper's Rumble Balls for the Alter Self spell... where it takes the form of a single large pill that he swallows whole that is formulated for his specific genes, but it also tastes terrible and gives a constant stomach ache, so he has to concentrate on just not vomiting up the damn thing.
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