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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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.
Just to clarify something here: it is not possible to create an Enspelled Weapon using Replicate Magic Item, though there's no reason you couldn't craft one using the normal magic item crafting rules or acquire one through other means.
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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…
There are a LOT of shennanigans possible once the Spell Storing Item is available. Im not sure i like apl of it.
Everyone in party gets a homunculus, which each gets a free (no action from anyone) melee/range 30ft force damage attack? 1d6+4
That feels.... wrong....
I am feeling better about fireball knowing that artillerist doesnt get extra attack and cant use INT fot weapon attacks.
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” — Voltaire
Huh. But the eldritch cannon DOES use int. Well, technically spell attack and spell save dc. I thinks thats where i assumed int for weapons too. Very tricky sometimes...
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” — Voltaire
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.
This a good rule of thumb in general — for any class/subclass that doesn't get Extra Attack, what you get at about level 5 or 6 is essentially what you're getting instead of it and is meant to be of roughly equal relevance.
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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??
Are you comparing attacks using Wand of the War Mage, +1 against a mundane heavy crossbow? If so, that doesn't seem fair.
A Repeating Shot Heavy Crossbow is the same rarity and available via Replicate Magic Item at the same level as the wand, so that seems more of a fair equivalent than a plain crossbow, and it provides the same bonus to its attack rolls.
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D'oh! Yes, you're right. I'm glad I asked, because I definitely calculated wrong. This should be correct, and makes the crossbow the better option across the board:
The to-hit bonus is the same for each, with +6 at level 3, +7 at level 4 (assuming INT 18), and +8 at level 5 (due to proficiency bump from +2 to +3)
Damage at level 3 is 1d10+4 (average 7) for crossbow, 1d10 (average 5) for fire bolt
Damage at level 4 is 1d10+5 (average 7.5) for crossbow, 1d10 (average 5) for fire bolt
Damage at level 5 is 1d10+5+1d6(true trike)+1d8(arcane firearm) (average 17) for crossbow, vs 2d10+1d8(arcane firearm) (average 14) for fire bolt
Unfortunately, using a heavy crossbow (or light crossbow for that matter) means you can't equip a shield since both crossbows are heavy enough to require two hands to fire. Wand also has the benefit of being able to ignore half cover.
I suppose I'll have to figure out how to carry both, and switch out depending on the combat...