Human (variant) Battle Smith / Wizard (School of Conjuration). You take the Keen Mind feat at 1st level. This gives you a potential INT of 18 at 1st.
You can use your 2nd level Minor Conjuration ability to instantly, as an Action, summon up non-magical devices you have designed. With Keen Mind, you can recall these devices easily, especially if your are Proficient with the Tools needed to design them in the first place. As long as you conjure up such a device once per thirty days, you will alsys have it in memory for future uses.
Great for all kings of uses.
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Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
Human (variant) Battle Smith / Wizard (School of Conjuration). You take the Keen Mind feat at 1st level. This gives you a potential INT of 18 at 1st.
You can use your 2nd level Minor Conjuration ability to instantly, as an Action, summon up non-magical devices you have designed. With Keen Mind, you can recall these devices easily, especially if your are Proficient with the Tools needed to design them in the first place. As long as you conjure up such a device once per thirty days, you will alsys have it in memory for future uses.
Great for all kings of uses.
Perhaps I'm missing something, how do you get an 18 Int at lvl1? Is this not in point buy?
Would you start as a War Magic Wizard or Artificer first? I suspect Artificer for Con save proficiency. What would be the level progression? I’m curious to know because I was thinking of doing something similar in a campaign soon.
Artificier after the release seems a bit underwhelming, especially considering that it's strength is in meta gaming where you could possibly create some magical items giving you or the party a mechanical bonus. That at the cost of actual in-game capability to cast spells or have a feat doing the same. It works fine, but only if the pace of the game and the amount of magic items found or given by dm are playing to your strengths. If you can buy or find a +1 sword or bag of holding at 2.lvl (which you possibly can), the main feature of the class becomes irrelevant (you still can only do 2 enchantments at lvl 4, f.ex). And without the items the class becomes less then a cleric or fighter. Basically the amount of spell slots is so low yiu can't even use it in a fight.
But fixing the artificier with multiclassing into or dipping into a caster slows the progress and so well needed crafting feat significantly :(
I first thought about dipping into life cleric for some 1lvl spell slots for healing spells and a heavy armor proficiency but this means delaying the useful enchantments and the 2. attack.
Dipping into the wizard gives also way to small advantage as a pure wizard have much more powerful spells.
Human (variant) Battle Smith / Wizard (School of Conjuration). You take the Keen Mind feat at 1st level. This gives you a potential INT of 18 at 1st.
You can use your 2nd level Minor Conjuration ability to instantly, as an Action, summon up non-magical devices you have designed. With Keen Mind, you can recall these devices easily, especially if your are Proficient with the Tools needed to design them in the first place. As long as you conjure up such a device once per thirty days, you will alsys have it in memory for future uses.
Great for all kings of uses.
Perhaps I'm missing something, how do you get an 18 Int at lvl1? Is this not in point buy?
This is my bad. The DM allowed us to take a +2 to a single stat instead of two +1 bonuses.
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Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
Personally, I would take Artificer 1st. Then 2 levels of wizard *War Magic) starting at either 2nd level or 4th level depending on how soon you want you infusions and archetype.
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Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
my favourite is having artificier for 2 levels to gain repeating shot and then go all the way on gunslinger while playing as wood elf (for stats) or half elf (for more fitting thematic). and try to get bad news (2d12) as quickly as possible so i can shoot with it every turn having basically double advantage due to elven accuracy and dead eye shot while getting even more damage by using sharpshooter feat
my favourite is having artificier for 2 levels to gain repeating shot and then go all the way on gunslinger while playing as wood elf (for stats) or half elf (for more fitting thematic). and try to get bad news (2d12) as quickly as possible so i can shoot with it every turn having basically double advantage due to elven accuracy and dead eye shot while getting even more damage by using sharpshooter feat
Sounds fun, my only issue is I'm gonna be running this on AL tomorrow so gunslinger is a no go for me. I like the combo of it though.
my favourite is having artificier for 2 levels to gain repeating shot and then go all the way on gunslinger while playing as wood elf (for stats) or half elf (for more fitting thematic). and try to get bad news (2d12) as quickly as possible so i can shoot with it every turn having basically double advantage due to elven accuracy and dead eye shot while getting even more damage by using sharpshooter feat
Sounds fun, my only issue is I'm gonna be running this on AL tomorrow so gunslinger is a no go for me. I like the combo of it though.
You could substitute gunslinger with Battle Master, would use a heavy crossbow instead with the Precision Attack, Pushing Attack, and Trip Attack Maneuvers
I'm wondering if there is an interesting multiclass with Battle Smith and Eldritch Knight. Anybody gamed one up yet? I suspect a tanky mctank build could work.
I'm wondering if there is an interesting multiclass with Battle Smith and Eldritch Knight. Anybody gamed one up yet? I suspect a tanky mctank build could work.
That wouldn't really be worth it, overall you would loose caster levels by doing that, just getting to both subclasses would make you a 2nd lvl caster at character lvl 6. If you went full artificer you'd be loosing out on 1 1st lvl slot, and 2 2nd lvl slots. Artificers by themselves can be pretty tanky if you horde your infusions mine at 5th lvl has an 18AC.
How does AL handle crafting items? I think adventures with downtime activities are where Artificer's really shine. If you are going Artillerist two level dip for Evocation wizard helps progress spell slot levels a little faster and helps with your AOE casting. Divination also helps with the support role the Artificer is in. Just depends. If it wasn't AL I would suggest Forge Cleric as a 1 to 2 level dip since you get flavorful abilities, you can double down on defense, and you get heavy armor proficiency.
Edit: You can also get all the low level ritual spells in your spellbook to save you some space when picking spells for Artificer.
The idea would be to make a really tanky melee character rather than a caster who dips into combat every so often. The EK is already a great tank in the mid-game, I bet that the right MC with Artificer could make it stronger. Starting off with heavy armor and prioritizing INT over STR are two of the synergies.
I generally design for level 12, because that's where most games hit their most intense phases.
Right, but even then you need to really hit 7 in Fighter to make EK worth it bc before that you just get spellcasting and weapon bond at 3. It just wouldn't work to get something tanking that just going pure Battlesmith. Every level you take outside of Artificer weakens your Steel Defender. If you want to MC and get tankier, you would definitely go Fighter, and as long as you have a str of 15 you will get Plate armor (making your possible ac 20 [Plate + Shield], 25 with shield spell). But the best you could get is tankier tricks that you can find in Battle Master maneuvers or take a small sized race to going Cavalier so you mount your Steel Defender, gain a bonus for the class and can mark a melee target for disadvantage on attacks that arent against you.
Doing this would give you 8 lvls of Artificer Battlesmith and 4 lvls of Fighter for prolly the best combination you could hope for. This way your Steel Defender is completely ****** and you get some of the Tankier parts you get from just being a Fighter
I mean if you have a decent WIS you can take one level in cleric to pick up heavy armor proficiency. You could also just use an ASI to get heavy armor proficiency through a feat. If you go the feat route you may delay maxing your INT but you don't delay your class features or casting as compared to going fighter. Heavy armor + Enhanced defense or if you have a good dex you can take medium armor master so you can still have a great AC and you can stealth. Reaching level 10 as an artificer boosts a lot of your infusions from a +1 to +2. I just built an Artificer using point buy and High Elf as a race and starting out at level one you get 16 INT, 16 DEX, 14 CON. You can use first ASI to boost INT to 18 and use second ASI to get Medium armor master. Then at level 10 with enhanced defense infusion you can have an AC of 22 through half-plate and shield. At the same time you aren't gimping any of the artificer abilities that key off level.
I'd come to the conclusion that 4 EK/8 arty is indeed the best level split. The reason to pick EK over battlemaster is mostly to conserve some spell slots and pick up some wizardly cheese like Find Familiar. The real benefits come from the fighter base class.
I was going to be running 2 different artificers in 2 different campaigns. One will ultimately be a 14th level Art and a 1st level fighter taking Archery and utilizing crossbow expert and sharpshooter.
The 2nd may be a 5th level Art, 1st level fighter (utilizing the same trick as above) and 2 levels in war wizard for that free semi shield/save feat plus more spell slots.
hmmm perhaps alchemist with a dip into death cleric for reaper with a race like high elf or human variant for wizard initiate picking up toll of the dead. reaper would allow you to hit an additional target within 5ft of the original target; sadly it would only effect toll of the dead, chill touch, and inflict would if you can get it so im not sure a 1lvl dip is worth it. but it would do (2d8 or 2d12 + int X 1-2 targets) for toll of the dead at lvl 6
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Human (variant) Battle Smith / Wizard (School of Conjuration). You take the Keen Mind feat at 1st level. This gives you a potential INT of 18 at 1st.
You can use your 2nd level Minor Conjuration ability to instantly, as an Action, summon up non-magical devices you have designed. With Keen Mind, you can recall these devices easily, especially if your are Proficient with the Tools needed to design them in the first place. As long as you conjure up such a device once per thirty days, you will alsys have it in memory for future uses.
Great for all kings of uses.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
Perhaps I'm missing something, how do you get an 18 Int at lvl1? Is this not in point buy?
Would you start as a War Magic Wizard or Artificer first? I suspect Artificer for Con save proficiency. What would be the level progression? I’m curious to know because I was thinking of doing something similar in a campaign soon.
Arti, not just for con save but also for medium armour and shield proficiency.
Artificier after the release seems a bit underwhelming, especially considering that it's strength is in meta gaming where you could possibly create some magical items giving you or the party a mechanical bonus. That at the cost of actual in-game capability to cast spells or have a feat doing the same. It works fine, but only if the pace of the game and the amount of magic items found or given by dm are playing to your strengths. If you can buy or find a +1 sword or bag of holding at 2.lvl (which you possibly can), the main feature of the class becomes irrelevant (you still can only do 2 enchantments at lvl 4, f.ex). And without the items the class becomes less then a cleric or fighter. Basically the amount of spell slots is so low yiu can't even use it in a fight.
But fixing the artificier with multiclassing into or dipping into a caster slows the progress and so well needed crafting feat significantly :(
I first thought about dipping into life cleric for some 1lvl spell slots for healing spells and a heavy armor proficiency but this means delaying the useful enchantments and the 2. attack.
Dipping into the wizard gives also way to small advantage as a pure wizard have much more powerful spells.
This is my bad. The DM allowed us to take a +2 to a single stat instead of two +1 bonuses.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
Personally, I would take Artificer 1st. Then 2 levels of wizard *War Magic) starting at either 2nd level or 4th level depending on how soon you want you infusions and archetype.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
my favourite is having artificier for 2 levels to gain repeating shot and then go all the way on gunslinger while playing as wood elf (for stats) or half elf (for more fitting thematic).
and try to get bad news (2d12) as quickly as possible so i can shoot with it every turn having basically double advantage due to elven accuracy and dead eye shot while getting even more damage by using sharpshooter feat
Sounds fun, my only issue is I'm gonna be running this on AL tomorrow so gunslinger is a no go for me. I like the combo of it though.
You could substitute gunslinger with Battle Master, would use a heavy crossbow instead with the Precision Attack, Pushing Attack, and Trip Attack Maneuvers
you totally can and if you want to go more crazy with that you can always take faerie fire spell as artificier
I'm wondering if there is an interesting multiclass with Battle Smith and Eldritch Knight. Anybody gamed one up yet? I suspect a tanky mctank build could work.
That wouldn't really be worth it, overall you would loose caster levels by doing that, just getting to both subclasses would make you a 2nd lvl caster at character lvl 6. If you went full artificer you'd be loosing out on 1 1st lvl slot, and 2 2nd lvl slots. Artificers by themselves can be pretty tanky if you horde your infusions mine at 5th lvl has an 18AC.
How does AL handle crafting items? I think adventures with downtime activities are where Artificer's really shine. If you are going Artillerist two level dip for Evocation wizard helps progress spell slot levels a little faster and helps with your AOE casting. Divination also helps with the support role the Artificer is in. Just depends. If it wasn't AL I would suggest Forge Cleric as a 1 to 2 level dip since you get flavorful abilities, you can double down on defense, and you get heavy armor proficiency.
Edit: You can also get all the low level ritual spells in your spellbook to save you some space when picking spells for Artificer.
Your secret is safe with my indifference - Percy
The idea would be to make a really tanky melee character rather than a caster who dips into combat every so often. The EK is already a great tank in the mid-game, I bet that the right MC with Artificer could make it stronger. Starting off with heavy armor and prioritizing INT over STR are two of the synergies.
I generally design for level 12, because that's where most games hit their most intense phases.
Right, but even then you need to really hit 7 in Fighter to make EK worth it bc before that you just get spellcasting and weapon bond at 3. It just wouldn't work to get something tanking that just going pure Battlesmith. Every level you take outside of Artificer weakens your Steel Defender. If you want to MC and get tankier, you would definitely go Fighter, and as long as you have a str of 15 you will get Plate armor (making your possible ac 20 [Plate + Shield], 25 with shield spell). But the best you could get is tankier tricks that you can find in Battle Master maneuvers or take a small sized race to going Cavalier so you mount your Steel Defender, gain a bonus for the class and can mark a melee target for disadvantage on attacks that arent against you.
Doing this would give you 8 lvls of Artificer Battlesmith and 4 lvls of Fighter for prolly the best combination you could hope for. This way your Steel Defender is completely ****** and you get some of the Tankier parts you get from just being a Fighter
I mean if you have a decent WIS you can take one level in cleric to pick up heavy armor proficiency. You could also just use an ASI to get heavy armor proficiency through a feat. If you go the feat route you may delay maxing your INT but you don't delay your class features or casting as compared to going fighter. Heavy armor + Enhanced defense or if you have a good dex you can take medium armor master so you can still have a great AC and you can stealth. Reaching level 10 as an artificer boosts a lot of your infusions from a +1 to +2. I just built an Artificer using point buy and High Elf as a race and starting out at level one you get 16 INT, 16 DEX, 14 CON. You can use first ASI to boost INT to 18 and use second ASI to get Medium armor master. Then at level 10 with enhanced defense infusion you can have an AC of 22 through half-plate and shield. At the same time you aren't gimping any of the artificer abilities that key off level.
Your secret is safe with my indifference - Percy
I'd come to the conclusion that 4 EK/8 arty is indeed the best level split. The reason to pick EK over battlemaster is mostly to conserve some spell slots and pick up some wizardly cheese like Find Familiar. The real benefits come from the fighter base class.
I was going to be running 2 different artificers in 2 different campaigns. One will ultimately be a 14th level Art and a 1st level fighter taking Archery and utilizing crossbow expert and sharpshooter.
The 2nd may be a 5th level Art, 1st level fighter (utilizing the same trick as above) and 2 levels in war wizard for that free semi shield/save feat plus more spell slots.
hmmm perhaps alchemist with a dip into death cleric for reaper with a race like high elf or human variant for wizard initiate picking up toll of the dead. reaper would allow you to hit an additional target within 5ft of the original target; sadly it would only effect toll of the dead, chill touch, and inflict would if you can get it so im not sure a 1lvl dip is worth it. but it would do (2d8 or 2d12 + int X 1-2 targets) for toll of the dead at lvl 6