Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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With the new 5.5e rules, could a level 5 artillerist create a repeating heavy crossbow, apply the Arcane Firearm sigil to it, then cast True Strike with it? Would all that damage stack? The way it's worded it seems like it would, at least by my reading.
Repeating Crossbow: "This magic weapon grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it when it’s used to make a ranged attack"
Arcane Firearm: "you can use Woodcarver’s Tools to carve special sigils into a Rod, Staff, Wand, or Martial Ranged weapon [the crossbow] and thereby turn it into your Arcane Firearm." and "You can use your Arcane Firearm as a Spellcasting Focus for your Artificer spells. When you cast an Artificer spell through the firearm [we're casting true strike], roll 1d8, and you gain a bonus to one of the spell’s damage rolls equal to the number rolled."
True Strike: "you make one attack with the weapon used in the spell’s casting [crossbow]. The attack uses your spellcasting ability for the attack and damage rolls" and "the attack deals extra Radiant damage when you reach levels 5 (1d6)"
So with an INT of 4 and a proficiency of 2, the Hit/DC is +7 (4+2+1), and the damage is 1d10 + 5 (4+1) + 1d6 + 1d8 = average 17
I suppose this falls apart if you aren't allowed to apply your arcane firearm to a weapon that is already magical. But then aren't rods, staffs, and wands magical already too?
Yep. You can do all that just fine. Heck, you can create a repeating pistol and get the same d10 damage, plus hold a shield. Or you can go all in, create a repeating hunting rifle (you are an artillerist, after all), and go 2d10+5+d6+d8. Convert it to radiant, and you've got laser beams! All of which is to say you're fairly comparable to a 5th-level berserker barbarian's two attacks with a +1 greataxe or an eldritch blast-focused warlock. Not as much as what 5th level wizards can do with their actions and those shiny L3 spell slots, but at least yours is a cantrip, yeah?
Yep, and then you’ve got your eldritch cannon doing some BA damage, along with a potential homunculus doing its own damage!
Yeah, I’m aiming for a ranged build so Extra Attack isn’t something I’ll ever get 😆
Repeating crossbow is great because I don’t have to worry about ammo. But it would work really well with an enspelled weapon too! That would get me up to six shots of a level 1 spell (like shield or Tasha’s caustic brew) which would be pretty cool.
The only potential quibble a DM might make would be whether the replicated magic weapon is worth 1 CP, to count as the material component of True Strike, since you created it for free. I would argue that it does count, since it’s an Uncommon magic weapon which you can keep (and could sell, although that might raise some ethical issues if the buyer isn’t aware that it might disappear at some point…), but I could see some disagreeing.
Actually, since you gain the Arcane Firearm feature at level 5, your proficiency bonus is in fact +3, so your to hit modifier is +8. 😊
Battlesmith uses INT for attack roles with their Arcane firearm and has extra attack I believe
Ah you’re right! Muahahaha
Artillerist also uses INT for attack rolls, but no extra attack.
Bit of a mix of terminology here.
Battle Smith gets "Extra Attack" at level 5 and can use INT for attack rolls due to their level 3 feature, "Battle Ready." Battle Smiths do not get the feature "Arcane Firearm" but they can use a magic ranged weapon INT based attacks as part of "Battle Ready," and that weapon can be a firearm. "Extra Attack" allows the Battle Smith to make two attacks when taking the "Attack" action.
Artillerist gets "Arcane Firearm" at level 5 and can apply it to a Rod, Staff, Wand or Martial Ranged Weapon (even ones that are already magical). The Artillerist does not get the feature "Extra Attack." The Artillerist cannot directly use INT for attack rolls unless it's part of a spell such as the cantrip "True Strike" which does not interact with the "Attack" action but uses the "Magic" action.
Main benefit for the Artillerist using a Repeating Weapon Heavy Crossbow is that it’s a +1 magic weapon. The free ammo might be helpful if your DM is strict about tracking ammo.
Yeah, you’re right. I was thinking of True Strike allowing you to use your spellcasting ability (Int-based) for the crossbow attack. But just a normal attack would be strength or dex.
Yeah, I got the specifics wrong, but this was meant to respond to someone saying that only Artillerist and Armorer could use INT for attack.
Well, thanks everyone for confirming that I should be able to stack true strike and arcane firearm onto a magic weapon. I'll think more about whether I want to use a repeating crossbow or an enspelled crossbow (and hey, I can change it every day anyway using replicate magic item!)
And as I think about it more, enspelled crossbow makes even more sense for my Artillerist since I don't get Extra Attack. And it would be truly powerful, too: Every morning I could re-create the weapon all loaded up with SIX charges of a level 2 spell. I could pass the weapon around to my entire party and give each one of them a homunculus. Or cast Web six times. The crossbow could become a shrink ray (Enlarge/Reduce)! Or perhaps Heat Metal? That kind of power is certainly worth having to carry a few crossbow bolts.
You can create a Spell-Storing Item, which is similar in o an Enspelled Weapon; but not until (I think) level 11. You can then store a level 1, 2 or 3 spell in it, which can be used a number of times up to twice your Intelligence modifier per long rest. It can be given to another creature, so I think you could give it to your Homunculus Servant to use. NB: Fireball would be an eligible spell…
Yep, you're right. I've given my DM a list of magical items I'd like to make using normal magical item crafting, and an enspelled crossbow is right at the top of my list! Hopefully that's something I can acquire sooner rather than later.
I guess since it's a magic object doing a magic attack, it uses INT just like all the other attack spells.
The "everyone in the party gets a Homunculus" doesn't work with the spell-storing item.
Only spells with a casting time of an action can be stored in the spell-storing item. The spell Homunculus Servant has a casting time of 1 hour. Making it not viable.
That said, you can still get into party wide Homunculus shenanigans by using an Enspelled Weapon or an Enspelled Staff with the spell, but those aren't immediately accessible through class features.
Basically, the Artillerist gets Arcane Firearm and Eldritch Cannon instead of Extra Attack. Fairly close in damage.
My Artillerist uses a Repeating Shot pistol so that he can have a free hand for a shield - so it's not just about tracking ammo. The +1 is also nice. It also flavors really well into the other spells they cast.
Put True Strike on any Artificer that isn't an Armorer or Battle Smith that uses a weapon so that you can use INT; definitely essential for an Artillerist.
True Strike is less interesting on Armorer or Battle Smith because it eats your Extra Attack (though it does come with some damage at level 5+) unless you need the Radiant damage.
Revisiting this once more as I have made a new calculation, where I compared a heavy crossbow + true strike + arcane firearm, compared to +1 wand of the war mage + fire bolt + arcane firearm.
At levels 3 and 4 (where an Artillerist does not have arcane firearm), the edge goes to the wand combo with a to-hit bonus of 6 and 7 vs the crossbow at 5 and 6. However the crossbow wins in average damage, with 7 (level 3) and 7.5 (level 4, assuming INT is 18) vs fire bolt's 5 and 5 at levels 3 and 4.
But once you hit level 5, things flip. To-hit difference remains the same at 6 for crossbow vs 7 with a wand, but the average damage of the crossbow grows to just 12 vs firebolt at 14 average.
There are other things to consider, of course. Firebolt only does fire damage, but the crossbow combo allows you to choose either piercing or radiant damage, which is pretty great if you're fighting undead. But perhaps the thing that tips everything in fire bolt's favour is that it leaves one hand free to hold a shield. That +2 AC bonus is nothing to sneeze at!
Have I got this right??