They're spellcasters that specialize in crafting magical devices and items. They have reduced spell slots like paladins and rangers but make up for it with the ability to create a limited number of magic items and their subclass-specific inventions.
The artificer is a half-spellcaster, like the ranger and paladin, who specializes in the creation and use of magical items. They originated in the world of Eberron and have ties to Eberron's unusual system of 'Wide Magic'. They are assumed to produce all of their spells not by manipulating magic directly, but by creating special magical gadgets and trinkets that can control magic for them. This is reflected in the fact that all artificer spells have a Material spell component, even when the spell normally does not.
The artificer is a d8 hit die, medium-armored class, roughly equivalent to "Leather" classes in common MMO parlance. They're the only class in the entire game that can create magic items overnight, without any cost, through the use of their Infuse Item class feature. Using Infuse Item, they can temporarily imbue the powers of a magical item into a mundane base item, giving them the ability to change their equipment loadout or create key items for their party members. They are also the only half-casters in the game that emphasize magic over martial combat, and the only half-casters that gain default, base-class access to cantrips.
The artificer is one of the most versatile classes in the game; the answer to "what does the artificer do?" is different for every artificer. Armorers and Battlesmiths can be powerful frontline melee combatants or dangerous archers. Artillerists are good magical blasters, dealing area-effect damage from afar. Alchemists are not good at fighting, but have a number of unique options for supporting and buffing their party members. All artificers can share their Infused magic items if they so desire, though many artificers choose to use their infusions themself instead. Especially as artificers are also the only class in the game able to attune to more than three magic items. Their higher-level class abilities can eventually grant them up to six attunement slots, as well as special bonuses for being attuned to magic items.
Artificers are a pretty intricate, advanced option by the standards of D&D 5e. I don't recommend it for one's first class if the game seems confusing and daunting.
As the others said, the Artificer is the crafter class of 5e. They are an arcane half caster, the only half-caster in the game that is more spell focused instead of weapon-focused. This makes them have a d8 for hit dice, instead of the d10 that Paladins and Rangers have, as well as giving the base class only proficiency in simple weapons, instead of the martial weapon proficiency that Paladins and Rangers get. At the DM's discretion, you can also have proficiency with firearms, as they are the most "mechanical" of the weapons in 5e, and artificers are meant to be good at all-things mechanical.
Their magic, like Yurei said, is different from any other spellcaster in 5e. Their spells are not actually "spells" in the typical sense, they're more like inventions that can channel magical effects (imagine taser webs from Spider-man Homecoming or Iron Man shooting lasers). They also have infusions, which let them create temporary magic items and swap them out with any other they know when they finish a long rest.
There are currently 4 official subclasses of the artificer, and they all do very different things, and most of them can have very different ways to play them mechanically.
The first subclass is the Alchemist. This one is the least popular, due to the randomness of its potions and dependence on your spell slots to be able to use your main feature, but they're not unplayable. Basically, you get one free random potion a day, and can use some of your spell slots to choose a potion to make, instead of rolling the normal 1d6. Most of the effects of the potions are pretty good, but Alchemists are just not as good as any of the other subclasses.
The second subclass is the Armorer, which is also the newest one. There are two different options for playing an Armorer, having either Guardian or Infiltrator armor. Guardian Armor lets you punch people with thunder gauntlets, as well as being able to protect yourself from damage with temporary hit points. Infiltrator armor lets you be a little faster than usual, be more stealthy than you normally would be, and lets you shoot rays of lighting out of your armor. All in all, this subclass is basically the "Iron Man" subclass, allowing you to be a true armor master.
The third subclass is the Artillerist. They use their magic to create arcane firearms (basically wand-guns that increase your damage), craft turrets that can blast others or protect those around them, and make more explosive creations.
The fourth and final subclass is the Battle Smith. You are more like the typical half-caster than the other subclasses, gaining proficiency in martial weapons, the ability to use your Intelligence for attack and damage rolls for magic weapons, and the ability to create a [Tooltip Not Found], which is basically a medium-sized robot that can attack others and protect you and your allies.
Hopefully this helps you understand the Artificer a bit more.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
If Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles used DnD rules, Donatello is an Artificer. If The Marvel Universe used DnD, Iron Man would be an Artificer. If 80's action heroes, then MacGuyver would be an Artificer (his mullet being the most wondrous item of them all!)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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.
The core archetype for Artificer is the genius/mad scientist trope but transposed into a world which runs by magic rather than on scientific laws.
In-game they are an intelligence based alternative to wizards, in many ways more flexible because they can stand up to a lot more punishment but they do have to get full value out of that flexibility by comparison with the raw magical power of being a wizard. Often described as a half-caster they do get more magic than the other half-caster classes (Paladin, Ranger) and they also get a number of magic items they can make/change on a daily basis so I would regard them as more of a 2/3 caster class in practice. The key thing which I feel is true of them across all their sub-classes is a tendency to balance direct magic (spells) with magic item and constructs as helpers.
The style is quite distinctive and so different to other magical styles that "regular" people in the game world may not even realise it is magic, they may assume artificer magic to be clever inventions. So casting web spell might look like spraying sticky liquids onto the enemy rather than invoking obvious magic. You have enormous freedom to choose your own descriptions of how all this appears, which is a lot of the RP fun in playing the class.
The literature does say all that. The write-ups in Eberron: Rising and Tasha's Cauldron are where we got this information. None of what I spoke of in my attempt to explain artificers cannot be found in the sourcebooks for the class.
The literature does say all that. The write-ups in Eberron: Rising and Tasha's Cauldron are where we got this information. None of what I spoke of in my attempt to explain artificers cannot be found in the sourcebooks for the class.
They're spellcasters that specialize in crafting magical devices and items. They have reduced spell slots like paladins and rangers but make up for it with the ability to create a limited number of magic items and their subclass-specific inventions.
The artificer is a half-spellcaster, like the ranger and paladin, who specializes in the creation and use of magical items. They originated in the world of Eberron and have ties to Eberron's unusual system of 'Wide Magic'. They are assumed to produce all of their spells not by manipulating magic directly, but by creating special magical gadgets and trinkets that can control magic for them. This is reflected in the fact that all artificer spells have a Material spell component, even when the spell normally does not.
The artificer is a d8 hit die, medium-armored class, roughly equivalent to "Leather" classes in common MMO parlance. They're the only class in the entire game that can create magic items overnight, without any cost, through the use of their Infuse Item class feature. Using Infuse Item, they can temporarily imbue the powers of a magical item into a mundane base item, giving them the ability to change their equipment loadout or create key items for their party members. They are also the only half-casters in the game that emphasize magic over martial combat, and the only half-casters that gain default, base-class access to cantrips.
The artificer is one of the most versatile classes in the game; the answer to "what does the artificer do?" is different for every artificer. Armorers and Battlesmiths can be powerful frontline melee combatants or dangerous archers. Artillerists are good magical blasters, dealing area-effect damage from afar. Alchemists are not good at fighting, but have a number of unique options for supporting and buffing their party members. All artificers can share their Infused magic items if they so desire, though many artificers choose to use their infusions themself instead. Especially as artificers are also the only class in the game able to attune to more than three magic items. Their higher-level class abilities can eventually grant them up to six attunement slots, as well as special bonuses for being attuned to magic items.
Artificers are a pretty intricate, advanced option by the standards of D&D 5e. I don't recommend it for one's first class if the game seems confusing and daunting.
As the others said, the Artificer is the crafter class of 5e. They are an arcane half caster, the only half-caster in the game that is more spell focused instead of weapon-focused. This makes them have a d8 for hit dice, instead of the d10 that Paladins and Rangers have, as well as giving the base class only proficiency in simple weapons, instead of the martial weapon proficiency that Paladins and Rangers get. At the DM's discretion, you can also have proficiency with firearms, as they are the most "mechanical" of the weapons in 5e, and artificers are meant to be good at all-things mechanical.
Their magic, like Yurei said, is different from any other spellcaster in 5e. Their spells are not actually "spells" in the typical sense, they're more like inventions that can channel magical effects (imagine taser webs from Spider-man Homecoming or Iron Man shooting lasers). They also have infusions, which let them create temporary magic items and swap them out with any other they know when they finish a long rest.
There are currently 4 official subclasses of the artificer, and they all do very different things, and most of them can have very different ways to play them mechanically.
The first subclass is the Alchemist. This one is the least popular, due to the randomness of its potions and dependence on your spell slots to be able to use your main feature, but they're not unplayable. Basically, you get one free random potion a day, and can use some of your spell slots to choose a potion to make, instead of rolling the normal 1d6. Most of the effects of the potions are pretty good, but Alchemists are just not as good as any of the other subclasses.
The second subclass is the Armorer, which is also the newest one. There are two different options for playing an Armorer, having either Guardian or Infiltrator armor. Guardian Armor lets you punch people with thunder gauntlets, as well as being able to protect yourself from damage with temporary hit points. Infiltrator armor lets you be a little faster than usual, be more stealthy than you normally would be, and lets you shoot rays of lighting out of your armor. All in all, this subclass is basically the "Iron Man" subclass, allowing you to be a true armor master.
The third subclass is the Artillerist. They use their magic to create arcane firearms (basically wand-guns that increase your damage), craft turrets that can blast others or protect those around them, and make more explosive creations.
The fourth and final subclass is the Battle Smith. You are more like the typical half-caster than the other subclasses, gaining proficiency in martial weapons, the ability to use your Intelligence for attack and damage rolls for magic weapons, and the ability to create a steel defender, which is basically a medium-sized robot that can attack others and protect you and your allies.
Hopefully this helps you understand the Artificer a bit more.
If Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles used DnD rules, Donatello is an Artificer. If The Marvel Universe used DnD, Iron Man would be an Artificer. If 80's action heroes, then MacGuyver would be an Artificer (his mullet being the most wondrous item of them all!)
The core archetype for Artificer is the genius/mad scientist trope but transposed into a world which runs by magic rather than on scientific laws.
In-game they are an intelligence based alternative to wizards, in many ways more flexible because they can stand up to a lot more punishment but they do have to get full value out of that flexibility by comparison with the raw magical power of being a wizard. Often described as a half-caster they do get more magic than the other half-caster classes (Paladin, Ranger) and they also get a number of magic items they can make/change on a daily basis so I would regard them as more of a 2/3 caster class in practice. The key thing which I feel is true of them across all their sub-classes is a tendency to balance direct magic (spells) with magic item and constructs as helpers.
The style is quite distinctive and so different to other magical styles that "regular" people in the game world may not even realise it is magic, they may assume artificer magic to be clever inventions. So casting web spell might look like spraying sticky liquids onto the enemy rather than invoking obvious magic. You have enormous freedom to choose your own descriptions of how all this appears, which is a lot of the RP fun in playing the class.
Thank you all SO much. This class sounds so cool! Very much appreciated!
The literature does say all that. The write-ups in Eberron: Rising and Tasha's Cauldron are where we got this information. None of what I spoke of in my attempt to explain artificers cannot be found in the sourcebooks for the class.
I was being sarcastic :D
Well I stole your face!
But yeah, Artificers are probably the class I play the most often, much to my chagrin. They are just so much fun to flavor and adjust on the fly, Cindrellic.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
The literature does say all that. The write-ups in Eberron: Rising and Tasha's Cauldron are where we got this information. None of what I spoke of in my attempt to explain artificers cannot be found in the sourcebooks for the class.
I was being sarcastic :D
Well I stole your face!
But yeah, Artificers are probably the class I play the most often, much to my chagrin. They are just so much fun to flavor and adjust on the fly, Cindrellic.
WOW so cool! Thanks you all so much! I HAVE to get this class!
Most people say is an engineer or a character that make guns and stuff, but that is a boring and very much focused explanation
The artificer isnt just that nad it can be explained in a way that dont make it look like tony stark in the middle-earth
The Artificer is a magical artisan who craft magical items
That's it. Thats the explanation, is an artisan who can use magic and imbue magic into the objects it creates, using its intellect it deconstruct magic like the Wizard does, but instead of going full caster, it goes full artisan and creates items and grant them the magic so the items mostly do the magic instead:
it can be a seamstress that put magic runes or spells into the dresses it sews, so even looking fashionista, is harder than steel
it can be a woodcarver/toymaker who make uppets of wood and put some magic so they move by themselves and then give them to kids once a year to make them happy
It can be a blacksmith which parents were a witch and a blacksmith, so it learns from both and now it can forge swords and shields grabbed with magic spells on it
It can be a leatherworker who knows the primal magic from studying it in books and now it knows how to retrieve the magic from magical beasts into a leather armor made from the hide of such beasts to help the wearer of the armor
it can be a potion maker who likes to experiment and even now and then make new types of potions
See? there, it doesnt "need" to be a modern engineer making "steampunk constructs" or iron.man suits or guns, it can be, but it doesnt need to be, it can perfectly fit any setting, because EVERYTHING the artificer can make, it is already on the manuals (phb/dmg) as usual magial items that the most partys encounter, considering that the DM is actually following the guidelines and giving them magical items in the right levels, and for this, the artificer is a good guide, since from lv2, it can create magical items that grant +1 to the weapon/armor and some special effects
Constructs? yeah, like a wood puppet son or a magical living armor that move by itself, similar to the familiar of the wizard but imbued in an object, it doesnt need to be a "robot"... Guns? you mean the modified crosbow that shoots ballbearings instead of bolts, which charges with the magical dust that is imbued with the Catapult spell Laser beams? no, is magical beams, like the wand of firebolts the wizard has Mechanical suit? no, is a magical armor, like the one of the paladin that can be don-off as an action Flying boots? isnt that already in the dmg as a magical object? Infinite ammunition? i mean, is magical, isnt? A cannon? you mean the magical object that cast special spells modified and that need material components, like the one that casts catapult or burning hands or shield. it even has imbued a familiar so it can move by itself too, it sneezes fire!
As i said, the artificer is just an artisan, you can focus what type of artisan as you want, and since is like that, it can fit ANY setting you want, not just eberron
I am so confused. What is a artificer?
A New DM up against the World
What, in specific, is confusing you about the class?
Please do not contact or message me.
a lot in general. What is it's class, and what does it do?
A New DM up against the World
They're spellcasters that specialize in crafting magical devices and items. They have reduced spell slots like paladins and rangers but make up for it with the ability to create a limited number of magic items and their subclass-specific inventions.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
The artificer is a half-spellcaster, like the ranger and paladin, who specializes in the creation and use of magical items. They originated in the world of Eberron and have ties to Eberron's unusual system of 'Wide Magic'. They are assumed to produce all of their spells not by manipulating magic directly, but by creating special magical gadgets and trinkets that can control magic for them. This is reflected in the fact that all artificer spells have a Material spell component, even when the spell normally does not.
The artificer is a d8 hit die, medium-armored class, roughly equivalent to "Leather" classes in common MMO parlance. They're the only class in the entire game that can create magic items overnight, without any cost, through the use of their Infuse Item class feature. Using Infuse Item, they can temporarily imbue the powers of a magical item into a mundane base item, giving them the ability to change their equipment loadout or create key items for their party members. They are also the only half-casters in the game that emphasize magic over martial combat, and the only half-casters that gain default, base-class access to cantrips.
The artificer is one of the most versatile classes in the game; the answer to "what does the artificer do?" is different for every artificer. Armorers and Battlesmiths can be powerful frontline melee combatants or dangerous archers. Artillerists are good magical blasters, dealing area-effect damage from afar. Alchemists are not good at fighting, but have a number of unique options for supporting and buffing their party members. All artificers can share their Infused magic items if they so desire, though many artificers choose to use their infusions themself instead. Especially as artificers are also the only class in the game able to attune to more than three magic items. Their higher-level class abilities can eventually grant them up to six attunement slots, as well as special bonuses for being attuned to magic items.
Artificers are a pretty intricate, advanced option by the standards of D&D 5e. I don't recommend it for one's first class if the game seems confusing and daunting.
Please do not contact or message me.
As the others said, the Artificer is the crafter class of 5e. They are an arcane half caster, the only half-caster in the game that is more spell focused instead of weapon-focused. This makes them have a d8 for hit dice, instead of the d10 that Paladins and Rangers have, as well as giving the base class only proficiency in simple weapons, instead of the martial weapon proficiency that Paladins and Rangers get. At the DM's discretion, you can also have proficiency with firearms, as they are the most "mechanical" of the weapons in 5e, and artificers are meant to be good at all-things mechanical.
Their magic, like Yurei said, is different from any other spellcaster in 5e. Their spells are not actually "spells" in the typical sense, they're more like inventions that can channel magical effects (imagine taser webs from Spider-man Homecoming or Iron Man shooting lasers). They also have infusions, which let them create temporary magic items and swap them out with any other they know when they finish a long rest.
There are currently 4 official subclasses of the artificer, and they all do very different things, and most of them can have very different ways to play them mechanically.
The first subclass is the Alchemist. This one is the least popular, due to the randomness of its potions and dependence on your spell slots to be able to use your main feature, but they're not unplayable. Basically, you get one free random potion a day, and can use some of your spell slots to choose a potion to make, instead of rolling the normal 1d6. Most of the effects of the potions are pretty good, but Alchemists are just not as good as any of the other subclasses.
The second subclass is the Armorer, which is also the newest one. There are two different options for playing an Armorer, having either Guardian or Infiltrator armor. Guardian Armor lets you punch people with thunder gauntlets, as well as being able to protect yourself from damage with temporary hit points. Infiltrator armor lets you be a little faster than usual, be more stealthy than you normally would be, and lets you shoot rays of lighting out of your armor. All in all, this subclass is basically the "Iron Man" subclass, allowing you to be a true armor master.
The third subclass is the Artillerist. They use their magic to create arcane firearms (basically wand-guns that increase your damage), craft turrets that can blast others or protect those around them, and make more explosive creations.
The fourth and final subclass is the Battle Smith. You are more like the typical half-caster than the other subclasses, gaining proficiency in martial weapons, the ability to use your Intelligence for attack and damage rolls for magic weapons, and the ability to create a [Tooltip Not Found], which is basically a medium-sized robot that can attack others and protect you and your allies.
Hopefully this helps you understand the Artificer a bit more.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
For a pop culture referencing approach:
If Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles used DnD rules, Donatello is an Artificer. If The Marvel Universe used DnD, Iron Man would be an Artificer. If 80's action heroes, then MacGuyver would be an Artificer (his mullet being the most wondrous item of them all!)
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.
If only the literature in either Eberron or Tasha's said all of this...
The core archetype for Artificer is the genius/mad scientist trope but transposed into a world which runs by magic rather than on scientific laws.
In-game they are an intelligence based alternative to wizards, in many ways more flexible because they can stand up to a lot more punishment but they do have to get full value out of that flexibility by comparison with the raw magical power of being a wizard. Often described as a half-caster they do get more magic than the other half-caster classes (Paladin, Ranger) and they also get a number of magic items they can make/change on a daily basis so I would regard them as more of a 2/3 caster class in practice. The key thing which I feel is true of them across all their sub-classes is a tendency to balance direct magic (spells) with magic item and constructs as helpers.
The style is quite distinctive and so different to other magical styles that "regular" people in the game world may not even realise it is magic, they may assume artificer magic to be clever inventions. So casting web spell might look like spraying sticky liquids onto the enemy rather than invoking obvious magic. You have enormous freedom to choose your own descriptions of how all this appears, which is a lot of the RP fun in playing the class.
The literature does say all that. The write-ups in Eberron: Rising and Tasha's Cauldron are where we got this information. None of what I spoke of in my attempt to explain artificers cannot be found in the sourcebooks for the class.
Please do not contact or message me.
I was being sarcastic :D
Thank you all SO much. This class sounds so cool! Very much appreciated!
A New DM up against the World
Well I stole your face!
But yeah, Artificers are probably the class I play the most often, much to my chagrin. They are just so much fun to flavor and adjust on the fly, Cindrellic.
Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
WOW so cool! Thanks you all so much! I HAVE to get this class!
A New DM up against the World
So, the equivalent of "I cast gun"?
Most people say is an engineer or a character that make guns and stuff, but that is a boring and very much focused explanation
The artificer isnt just that nad it can be explained in a way that dont make it look like tony stark in the middle-earth
The Artificer is a magical artisan who craft magical items
That's it. Thats the explanation, is an artisan who can use magic and imbue magic into the objects it creates, using its intellect it deconstruct magic like the Wizard does, but instead of going full caster, it goes full artisan and creates items and grant them the magic so the items mostly do the magic instead:
See? there, it doesnt "need" to be a modern engineer making "steampunk constructs" or iron.man suits or guns, it can be, but it doesnt need to be, it can perfectly fit any setting, because EVERYTHING the artificer can make, it is already on the manuals (phb/dmg) as usual magial items that the most partys encounter, considering that the DM is actually following the guidelines and giving them magical items in the right levels, and for this, the artificer is a good guide, since from lv2, it can create magical items that grant +1 to the weapon/armor and some special effects
Constructs? yeah, like a wood puppet son or a magical living armor that move by itself, similar to the familiar of the wizard but imbued in an object, it doesnt need to be a "robot"...
Guns? you mean the modified crosbow that shoots ballbearings instead of bolts, which charges with the magical dust that is imbued with the Catapult spell
Laser beams? no, is magical beams, like the wand of firebolts the wizard has
Mechanical suit? no, is a magical armor, like the one of the paladin that can be don-off as an action
Flying boots? isnt that already in the dmg as a magical object?
Infinite ammunition? i mean, is magical, isnt?
A cannon? you mean the magical object that cast special spells modified and that need material components, like the one that casts catapult or burning hands or shield. it even has imbued a familiar so it can move by itself too, it sneezes fire!
As i said, the artificer is just an artisan, you can focus what type of artisan as you want, and since is like that, it can fit ANY setting you want, not just eberron
I don’t even know why you guys bothered. It’s like riding motorcycles, if they don’t know, they can’t understand and those who know can’t explain it.
it’s the best class there is if he doesn’t get it, he can go away and go play a snooty Tootie wizard with lice his beard.
I’m kidding by the way, most everybody else explained it already. 🤣