I'm really loving playing an artificer battle smith with a steel defender, Rambler, and a homunculus servant, Trognon. It got me wondering what everyone else had named theirs and described them. I'd love to hear the stories of your character friends and assistants.
I'll attach pictures to this post because I used Poe's StableDiffusionXL to create them.
Steel Defender, Rambler
When we lived in Kenya, we got a bull mastiff because intimidation. She was huge and muscled, but sweet and timid. Sweet and timid until she saw a small white dog that is, then it was all barbarian rage. When the opportunity came up for a steel defender, I knew I just had to make it her. Our experience in Nairobi tells me that the whole deflect attack thing actually works. She scared the bejeezus out of people just by sitting in the back of the car.
Homunculus Servant, Trognon
Trognon is French for core and mon trognon is an affectionate nickname for sons. It just made sense to me that a humanoid homunculus servant -- I KNOW it doesn't have to be humanoid -- built around a gem for a heart would be called Core or Trognon.
Trognon stands barely eleven inches high with short snow white hair that stands on end. Every feature is long thin and boney. His face is shaped like a crescent moon with a pointed jutting chin and high narrow forehead. His ears come to a sharp point beyond the top of his head and slant upward behind his head. His eyes are large elongated ovals that come to sharp points, especially on the outside. The irises are black. The eyebrows arch sharply above and are snow white, too. His cheeks are high and sharp, his lips thin and mouth, wide, and his nose arcs in a lumpy curve coming to a sharp point. His elbows and knees are sharp and knobby. His fingers long skinny knuckley protrusions hanging from his hands. Each finger is adorned by a large metal ring. His feet are long and narrow, his shoes even longer coming to a curling point with bells on them that only ring sometimes. He wears a plum waistcoat with light lavender paisleys. His dress pants are a dark purple and shoes a matching lavender. He wears no shirt but has a matching plum bowler.
Unfortunately, there is no picture of Trognon. The AI couldn't come up with a suitable image in a month of Sundays.
Let me know what your artificer's special friends are like.
This my lvl20 Artificer, Hjalmar Gunderson's homunculus Thiwee. In the shape of a little pug dog, he's gelatinous little ball of goo with perfect magical surface tension wrapped around a little arcane armature, built to resemble his childhood best mate. In true tragic nerdy form, Hjalmar has a lisp. So when I finally got to the level that the original Unearthed Arcana Artificer got their Mechanical Servant (level 7 I think ... yeah I've been playing this guy that long), his name was a joke reveal for my party mates. They all groaned thinking I've made the uninspired choice to name it Siri. I then got to grill them in character when they gave Hjalmar flack for it, because Siri is such a lame name, who'd honestly be caught dead speaking to something named Siri! His name is THIWEE!" Naturally, with the lisp, they both sounded the same and I had to spell it out. Siri went on to became the party mascot, healing people with licks to the face, peeing on enemies from above for acid damage and flying around with his rotor tail.
As a bonus, this is Owber, Hjalmar's childhood toy that he still carries around for good luck. In his later levels/toward the end of his quest, it became evident that the rest of the (reckless, danger and death prone) party members needed more healing and buffing than one artificer could give, so he taught himself the Tiny Servant spell and handed his Spell Storing Item, a jeweller's hammer, off to Owber to heal the party while Hjalmar focused on other things.
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Hjalmar Gunderson, Vuman Alchemist Plague Doctor in a HB Campaign, Post Netherese Invasion Cormyr (lvl20 retired) Godfrey, Autognome Butler in Ghosts of Saltmarsh into Spelljammer Grímr Skeggisson, Goliath Rune Knight in Rime of the Frostmaiden DM of two HB campaigns set in the same world.
Thiwee is indeed inspired. I love the art, too. Helicoptering tail. You could make that into a movie character or something. Does Thiwee bark? Yip? Howl? It seems to me that they should be able to make some kind of sound, right?
It's good to know that the artificer holds up through the higher levels. Sometimes you look at what you get with higher levels and think, maybe it's better to multiclass.
That's the thing about the artificer class, isn't it? It's made for roleplaying hijinks. Your homunculus servant has to constantly be pranking people or getting under foot or something, right? Your steel defender has got to be all moody and glowery and all kinds of menacing, right? There's just so much possibility there.
I've renamed all of my spell's Trognon's something or other because he'll be part of the casting of each of them just for flavor. So like Tasha's caustic cauldron will be cast by Trognon whipping out some pepto bismal looking yucky liquid, pouring it down Gnotz' gullet, and him projectile vomiting on the target.
It's good to know that the artificer holds up through the higher levels. Sometimes you look at what you get with higher levels and think, maybe it's better to multiclass.
No way, I've got nothing against multi classing but I would never advise or agree to multi classing out of Artificer! The capstone alone is worth it! Our final BBEG was a Great Old One eldritch horror style thing in the form of Kyuss, the Worm That Walks and holy moley, did those +19 INT saves (+24 with Flash of Genius if I was REALLY panicking) come in handy! Besides, it's like each level gives you ANOTHER cool thing that I found too good not to take. I was tempted many times to multi class for RP purpose, but each next class feature was just too good to pass up haha.
I've renamed all of my spell's Trognon's something or other because he'll be part of the casting of each of them just for flavor.
I did not name a single spell, even the normal names of spells, during combat or roll play because every single spell I cast was reflavoured as a gadget or doodad that I had made hastily the night before (during the long rest, RPed as Hjalmar never sleeping, instead stress tinkering to stop his friends dying insipid of their death wish). He barely even explained what the gadgets did, because they didnt understand or care but trusted him wholeheartedly.
Thiwee is indeed inspired. I love the art, too. Helicoptering tail. You could make that into a movie character or something. Does Thiwee bark? Yip? Howl? It seems to me that they should be able to make some kind of sound, right?
Thank you! I actually did THAT art by myself. And no, he didnt make any noise ... and I didnt realise that until you asked just now. I described him making a squelching, slopping sound, like a bowl of jelly when squished between your fingers whenever he died, but I never described him making a sound! He often had the big wide grin and bobbing tongue of a happy doggo, but no panting. Huh, well there you go.
In response to a statement you made in another thread in the Artificer forum, I do believe homunculi and steel defenders are able to make noises though. And welcome (back) to the class of Artificer! After a long time and editions away from DnD, it would look very different. Especially THIS artificer to the last one. Artificer is by far my favourite class (only just outweighing Monk, which is a weird choice too, I know) because of the sheer amount of choice and freedom available. I even love the Alchemist over MANY other subclasses, but Ive never been spotlight or DPS hungry, Im more about utility, buffing, options and RP.
Hjalmar Gunderson, Vuman Alchemist Plague Doctor in a HB Campaign, Post Netherese Invasion Cormyr (lvl20 retired) Godfrey, Autognome Butler in Ghosts of Saltmarsh into Spelljammer Grímr Skeggisson, Goliath Rune Knight in Rime of the Frostmaiden DM of two HB campaigns set in the same world.
My homonculus is a drone with DaVinci airscrews for rotors. It folds up as part of my artificer's gauntlet, and carries around my Artillerist canon turning it into a mobile flying gunship.
The homonculus's name is "Berty," short for "BRRRRRT", the sound an A-10 Warthog's gun makes.
I'm still working out the flavor of the spells when cast. I think most of them will involve the HS doing something. Gnotz will turn to him and say, do the book thing, and he'll hand Trognon a tome who will then fly over and dope slap whoever with it to cast sanctuary. That's what I'm thinking. You know, produce a tiny ambulance for Trognon to drive over to whoever to cast a healing spell.
I'm playing as a Battlesmith in a Western-themed campaign, and I've also willingly avoided taking the Homonculus Servant infusion mostly so that I don't have to keep track of two pets both in and out of combat.
Meet C.H.E.S.T.R., the Combat Handy Electric Sorting Trunk Robot. CHESTR is pretty obviously inspired by my love of Mimics, and its legs can collapse into the main body to appear as a mostly normal-looking treasure chest. Useful when taking public transportation, since it can just be stored with luggage. It moves basically like the Guardians from Breath of the Wild, but it attacks with the lid popping open and then a Lupin-style boxing glove on a spring pops out to punch my foes in the face. CHESTR very much has a kind of "Bender from Futurama" rule with the lid, where it can pop open and just pull stuff out as long as it's not too disruptive to the game. For example, when using my Magical Tinkering to play music, more often than not it's flavored as CHESTR's lid popping open to reveal an old-timey record player that produces the music.
It definitely has a Disc World vibe going on, too. Give it some teeth and millipede legs and there your go.
Where did you get the art? DId you make it yourself? It looks fantastic.
I just can't get over how many roleplaying opportunities there are for artificers. It seems so natural to individualize and eccentricize your characters with it. Rapidly becoming my favorite character class.
It's good to know that the artificer holds up through the higher levels. Sometimes you look at what you get with higher levels and think, maybe it's better to multiclass.
That's the thing about the artificer class, isn't it? It's made for roleplaying hijinks. Your homunculus servant has to constantly be pranking people or getting under foot or something, right? Your steel defender has got to be all moody and glowery and all kinds of menacing, right? There's just so much possibility there.
Honestly, Artificer is one of the better (and arguably best) classes when it comes to progression. The only levels where you don't get a new class feature or subclass feature are levels 13 and 17, but you get access to 4th and 5th level spells at those levels respectively. They're incredibly consistent.
I'm not that experienced with advancing characters very high up the level ladder, so sometimes I read what you get, which sometimes is just a little more of what you had, and I think, "Meh, a little disappointing." So, it is a good opinion to hear. I'm hoping I can advance my battle smith up past level ten.
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Howdy y'all!
I'm really loving playing an artificer battle smith with a steel defender, Rambler, and a homunculus servant, Trognon. It got me wondering what everyone else had named theirs and described them. I'd love to hear the stories of your character friends and assistants.
I'll attach pictures to this post because I used Poe's StableDiffusionXL to create them.
Steel Defender, Rambler
When we lived in Kenya, we got a bull mastiff because intimidation. She was huge and muscled, but sweet and timid. Sweet and timid until she saw a small white dog that is, then it was all barbarian rage. When the opportunity came up for a steel defender, I knew I just had to make it her. Our experience in Nairobi tells me that the whole deflect attack thing actually works. She scared the bejeezus out of people just by sitting in the back of the car.
Homunculus Servant, Trognon
Trognon is French for core and mon trognon is an affectionate nickname for sons. It just made sense to me that a humanoid homunculus servant -- I KNOW it doesn't have to be humanoid -- built around a gem for a heart would be called Core or Trognon.
Trognon stands barely eleven inches high with short snow white hair that stands on end. Every feature is long thin and boney. His face is shaped like a crescent moon with a pointed jutting chin and high narrow forehead. His ears come to a sharp point beyond the top of his head and slant upward behind his head. His eyes are large elongated ovals that come to sharp points, especially on the outside. The irises are black. The eyebrows arch sharply above and are snow white, too. His cheeks are high and sharp, his lips thin and mouth, wide, and his nose arcs in a lumpy curve coming to a sharp point. His elbows and knees are sharp and knobby. His fingers long skinny knuckley protrusions hanging from his hands. Each finger is adorned by a large metal ring. His feet are long and narrow, his shoes even longer coming to a curling point with bells on them that only ring sometimes. He wears a plum waistcoat with light lavender paisleys. His dress pants are a dark purple and shoes a matching lavender. He wears no shirt but has a matching plum bowler.
Unfortunately, there is no picture of Trognon. The AI couldn't come up with a suitable image in a month of Sundays.
Let me know what your artificer's special friends are like.
Huzzah!
Jack
This my lvl20 Artificer, Hjalmar Gunderson's homunculus Thiwee. In the shape of a little pug dog, he's gelatinous little ball of goo with perfect magical surface tension wrapped around a little arcane armature, built to resemble his childhood best mate. In true tragic nerdy form, Hjalmar has a lisp. So when I finally got to the level that the original Unearthed Arcana Artificer got their Mechanical Servant (level 7 I think ... yeah I've been playing this guy that long), his name was a joke reveal for my party mates. They all groaned thinking I've made the uninspired choice to name it Siri. I then got to grill them in character when they gave Hjalmar flack for it, because Siri is such a lame name, who'd honestly be caught dead speaking to something named Siri! His name is THIWEE!" Naturally, with the lisp, they both sounded the same and I had to spell it out. Siri went on to became the party mascot, healing people with licks to the face, peeing on enemies from above for acid damage and flying around with his rotor tail.
As a bonus, this is Owber, Hjalmar's childhood toy that he still carries around for good luck. In his later levels/toward the end of his quest, it became evident that the rest of the (reckless, danger and death prone) party members needed more healing and buffing than one artificer could give, so he taught himself the Tiny Servant spell and handed his Spell Storing Item, a jeweller's hammer, off to Owber to heal the party while Hjalmar focused on other things.
Hjalmar Gunderson, Vuman Alchemist Plague Doctor in a HB Campaign, Post Netherese Invasion Cormyr (lvl20 retired)
Godfrey, Autognome Butler in Ghosts of Saltmarsh into Spelljammer
Grímr Skeggisson, Goliath Rune Knight in Rime of the Frostmaiden
DM of two HB campaigns set in the same world.
Howdy Spike!
Thiwee is indeed inspired. I love the art, too. Helicoptering tail. You could make that into a movie character or something. Does Thiwee bark? Yip? Howl? It seems to me that they should be able to make some kind of sound, right?
It's good to know that the artificer holds up through the higher levels. Sometimes you look at what you get with higher levels and think, maybe it's better to multiclass.
That's the thing about the artificer class, isn't it? It's made for roleplaying hijinks. Your homunculus servant has to constantly be pranking people or getting under foot or something, right? Your steel defender has got to be all moody and glowery and all kinds of menacing, right? There's just so much possibility there.
I've renamed all of my spell's Trognon's something or other because he'll be part of the casting of each of them just for flavor. So like Tasha's caustic cauldron will be cast by Trognon whipping out some pepto bismal looking yucky liquid, pouring it down Gnotz' gullet, and him projectile vomiting on the target.
Huzzah!
Jack
No way, I've got nothing against multi classing but I would never advise or agree to multi classing out of Artificer! The capstone alone is worth it! Our final BBEG was a Great Old One eldritch horror style thing in the form of Kyuss, the Worm That Walks and holy moley, did those +19 INT saves (+24 with Flash of Genius if I was REALLY panicking) come in handy! Besides, it's like each level gives you ANOTHER cool thing that I found too good not to take. I was tempted many times to multi class for RP purpose, but each next class feature was just too good to pass up haha.
I did not name a single spell, even the normal names of spells, during combat or roll play because every single spell I cast was reflavoured as a gadget or doodad that I had made hastily the night before (during the long rest, RPed as Hjalmar never sleeping, instead stress tinkering to stop his friends dying insipid of their death wish). He barely even explained what the gadgets did, because they didnt understand or care but trusted him wholeheartedly.
Thank you! I actually did THAT art by myself. And no, he didnt make any noise ... and I didnt realise that until you asked just now. I described him making a squelching, slopping sound, like a bowl of jelly when squished between your fingers whenever he died, but I never described him making a sound! He often had the big wide grin and bobbing tongue of a happy doggo, but no panting. Huh, well there you go.
In response to a statement you made in another thread in the Artificer forum, I do believe homunculi and steel defenders are able to make noises though. And welcome (back) to the class of Artificer! After a long time and editions away from DnD, it would look very different. Especially THIS artificer to the last one. Artificer is by far my favourite class (only just outweighing Monk, which is a weird choice too, I know) because of the sheer amount of choice and freedom available. I even love the Alchemist over MANY other subclasses, but Ive never been spotlight or DPS hungry, Im more about utility, buffing, options and RP.
Anyway, carry on, as you were.
Hjalmar Gunderson, Vuman Alchemist Plague Doctor in a HB Campaign, Post Netherese Invasion Cormyr (lvl20 retired)
Godfrey, Autognome Butler in Ghosts of Saltmarsh into Spelljammer
Grímr Skeggisson, Goliath Rune Knight in Rime of the Frostmaiden
DM of two HB campaigns set in the same world.
My homonculus is a drone with DaVinci airscrews for rotors. It folds up as part of my artificer's gauntlet, and carries around my Artillerist canon turning it into a mobile flying gunship.
The homonculus's name is "Berty," short for "BRRRRRT", the sound an A-10 Warthog's gun makes.
DaVinci airscrews! Ha! I LOVE it. That made me laugh.
Jack
I'm still working out the flavor of the spells when cast. I think most of them will involve the HS doing something. Gnotz will turn to him and say, do the book thing, and he'll hand Trognon a tome who will then fly over and dope slap whoever with it to cast sanctuary. That's what I'm thinking. You know, produce a tiny ambulance for Trognon to drive over to whoever to cast a healing spell.
I'm playing as a Battlesmith in a Western-themed campaign, and I've also willingly avoided taking the Homonculus Servant infusion mostly so that I don't have to keep track of two pets both in and out of combat.
Meet C.H.E.S.T.R., the Combat Handy Electric Sorting Trunk Robot. CHESTR is pretty obviously inspired by my love of Mimics, and its legs can collapse into the main body to appear as a mostly normal-looking treasure chest. Useful when taking public transportation, since it can just be stored with luggage. It moves basically like the Guardians from Breath of the Wild, but it attacks with the lid popping open and then a Lupin-style boxing glove on a spring pops out to punch my foes in the face. CHESTR very much has a kind of "Bender from Futurama" rule with the lid, where it can pop open and just pull stuff out as long as it's not too disruptive to the game. For example, when using my Magical Tinkering to play music, more often than not it's flavored as CHESTR's lid popping open to reveal an old-timey record player that produces the music.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Howdy Trans!
It definitely has a Disc World vibe going on, too. Give it some teeth and millipede legs and there your go.
Where did you get the art? DId you make it yourself? It looks fantastic.
I just can't get over how many roleplaying opportunities there are for artificers. It seems so natural to individualize and eccentricize your characters with it. Rapidly becoming my favorite character class.
Huzzah!
Jack
Thanks :) Yeah, I did the art for it myself.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Honestly, Artificer is one of the better (and arguably best) classes when it comes to progression. The only levels where you don't get a new class feature or subclass feature are levels 13 and 17, but you get access to 4th and 5th level spells at those levels respectively. They're incredibly consistent.
I'm not that experienced with advancing characters very high up the level ladder, so sometimes I read what you get, which sometimes is just a little more of what you had, and I think, "Meh, a little disappointing." So, it is a good opinion to hear. I'm hoping I can advance my battle smith up past level ten.