If it doesn't have a cost AND if it doesn't consume the material. Small but important detail.
Consumption only matters for materials that have a cost. If there's no cost, the focus can be used instead.
"Casting some spells requires particular objects, specified in parentheses in the component entry. A character can use a component pouch or a spellcasting focus (found in chapter 5, “Equipment”) in place of the components specified for a spell. But if a cost is indicated for a component, a character must have that specific component before he or she can cast the spell."
"If a spell states that a material component is consumed by the spell, the caster must provide this component for each casting of the spell."
In the artificer spell list, there are no spells with cost-free components that are consumed. (That, in general, is pretty rare.) (yeah, I know the 25 ft of rope for Snare doesn't have a listed cost, because the cost varies by rope material.)
Alright, here is a topic for both flavor and mechanics: Sentient Foci.
Would you say that humonculi can be used as a substitute? Is the "heart" still the item or does the "body" become the item?
Relevant rules...
"...you can also use any item bearing one of your infusions as a spellcasting focus"
"The item you infuse serves as the creature’s heart, around which the creature’s body instantly forms."
The Homunculus doesn't work mechanically any different from other infusions if you use it as spellcasting focus. Of course nothing stops you from fluffing it as the Homunculus transforming into whatever spell you are casting through it and then transforming back into its original form in its original position. I think that's a pretty cool idea actually.
If the question is about using the pearl for the Identify spell then there's nothing in the Homunculus infusion that prevents you from building it in a way that provides you with access to its heart and there's also nothing that says you can't use a magically infused pearl for Identify in its spell description, so that's perfectly fine RAW as well.
The question was more of which entity counts towards the "item bearing the infusion" and I can see it being ruled either way, honestly.
The gem retains its "item" status since it is more inclosed rather than transforming into the item
or
Like you say, the body, because it is a part of the new form, is what counts as the "item". This is what I would prefer, and I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed since it is a targetable and destructible object, but hey.
Not that I've had a chance to play them yet...but my Artificer is a clown and their "spells" all come from mechanical objects. So, Poison Spray is from a gag flower on his clown suit, Shocking Grasp is a ring that stores kinetic energy, Grease is from a squirt bottle, etc.
P.S.: He's a Hobgoblin...which makes him a terrible clown...but he doesn't seem to mind or realize. Really want to play him soon!
P.S.S.: Love the descriptions in this thread! Lots of very creative folks!
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#OpenD&D #ORC
"...or you can find the secret tunnel that leads to the Vault of Dickish DM which is filled with 10,000,000 copper coins and a 5,000 pound solid gold statue of a middle finger that is too big to fit through the door."
Oh, dear... I just had the most horrendous idea...
You are taking a walk in the woods with your trusty flying mechanical cat when all of a sudden a couple of goblins pop out. You reach out and yank the cat out of the air by its tail, swing it around a couple of times and it vomits out Acid Splash. The goblins writhe in agony as the acid eats through their skin and you go about your business.
I am sure there are other such terrible ways you can flavor this and I kind of like it.
I do mine two ways. My Battlesmith is very much an arcane smith, they are mixing magic and metal, so I have divided my spells into two categories: those which can be readily replaced by some mechanical device and those which are just straight-up magic.
Mechanical Substitution These are spells like Grease or Fire Bolt. Grease is just me throwing a flask of grease at the floor while Fire Bolt is a hand catapult firing a hollowed BB filled with phosphorus. On a hit the BB dents and splits, letting the phosphorus come into contact with air and starting a fire. Mage Hand could also be one of those extender-grabby things but I didn't go there.
It's Magic These are spells like Cure Wounds or Feather Fall. Non-magic healing isn't instantaneous and while I can wear a parachute I cannot see to it that any random person within 60ft also has a parachute, so these are just magic. What I do instead is flavour the magic in accordance with my character's nature as an Artificer. Support spells come with a sense-impression of being powered by a very keen mind, so you think you hear the tick of a metronome, for a minute you think you see flashes of diagrams and charts, a brief understanding of air drag and biomechanical stresses, and then you realise that you're not falling as fast as you should be.
I've been kicking around the idea of a Phantom Rogue/Battle Smith combo. The backstory/flavor would be my character comes from a family of seers and has always been able to see spirits and many became his "imaginary" childhood friends. As he grew older he became fascinated with machinery and instead of going into the family business of fortune telling he apprenticed to an Artificer. As he learned to build more and more he found that his spirit friends could help him by inhabiting and powering his creations. His oldest friend, Watson, resides in his steel defender while matronly spirit named Mabel inhabits his armor and whispers encouragement to him. Spell effects and infusions will be various spirits he has met and befriended. I think it's a different angle and will be a blast to RP for me and the DM since he gets to play all my gear as NPCs.
I've been kicking around the idea of a Phantom Rogue/Battle Smith combo. The backstory/flavor would be my character comes from a family of seers and has always been able to see spirits and many became his "imaginary" childhood friends. As he grew older he became fascinated with machinery and instead of going into the family business of fortune telling he apprenticed to an Artificer. As he learned to build more and more he found that his spirit friends could help him by inhabiting and powering his creations. His oldest friend, Watson, resides in his steel defender while matronly spirit named Mabel inhabits his armor and whispers encouragement to him. Spell effects and infusions will be various spirits he has met and befriended. I think it's a different angle and will be a blast to RP for me and the DM since he gets to play all my gear as NPCs.
That is some awesome flavor.
Similarly, I am playing around with the idea of a Beast Master/Battlesmith to create a crazy old cat man, complete with Homunculi and Familiar. Because 4 pets is fun. Probably.
I've been kicking around the idea of a Phantom Rogue/Battle Smith combo. The backstory/flavor would be my character comes from a family of seers and has always been able to see spirits and many became his "imaginary" childhood friends. As he grew older he became fascinated with machinery and instead of going into the family business of fortune telling he apprenticed to an Artificer. As he learned to build more and more he found that his spirit friends could help him by inhabiting and powering his creations. His oldest friend, Watson, resides in his steel defender while matronly spirit named Mabel inhabits his armor and whispers encouragement to him. Spell effects and infusions will be various spirits he has met and befriended. I think it's a different angle and will be a blast to RP for me and the DM since he gets to play all my gear as NPCs.
That is some awesome flavor.
Similarly, I am playing around with the idea of a Beast Master/Battlesmith to create a crazy old cat man, complete with Homunculi and Familiar. Because 4 pets is fun. Probably.
That's a good spin, I really like the idea of a steel defender that is piloted by a familiar like a Gundam.
So, i'm taking a 2 lvl dip in artificer on my wizard(at 20 int having 6 additional lvl 1 spells prepared including cure wounds and sanctuary, as well as armor and shields is huge). I'm going to use one of my infusion to make clothes of mending and my spells are just going to be pulling random things out of my pockets since I can use my infusion as a focus. I've already themed casting cure wounds as pulling globs of medical salve out of a pocket.
So, i'm taking a 2 lvl dip in artificer on my wizard(at 20 int having 6 additional lvl 1 spells prepared including cure wounds and sanctuary, as well as armor and shields is huge). I'm going to use one of my infusion to make clothes of mending and my spells are just going to be pulling random things out of my pockets since I can use my infusion as a focus. I've already themed casting cure wounds as pulling globs of medical salve out of a pocket.
Wizard+Artificer is definitely one of the better ways to go for multiclass given the shared ability. That begs the question though, can the Artificer foci be used for non-Artificer spells? Looking at the Artificer Initiate feat, it specifies only spells that use Int. I don't see why a DM would rule "no" since it is not game breaking, but RAW I don't think so (at least for classes other than Wizard). Perhaps others could weigh in as well.
Wizard+Artificer is definitely one of the better ways to go for multiclass given the shared ability. That begs the question though, can the Artificer foci be used for non-Artificer spells? Looking at the Artificer Initiate feat, it specifies only spells that use Int. I don't see why a DM would rule "no" since it is not game breaking, but RAW I don't think so (at least for classes other than Wizard). Perhaps others could weigh in as well.
Raw, I think Artificer Foci are specifically for Artificer spells(with the exception of the artificer initiate feat tool).
That said several of the infusions an artificer can make are foci for other classes. For example there is a common magic item hat that says it can be a wizard focus as well as a few wand infusions. So you could use an infusion to make a combined foci (the foci is a wizard foci and can be used for artificer spells because it is an infusion)
Wizard+Artificer is definitely one of the better ways to go for multiclass given the shared ability. That begs the question though, can the Artificer foci be used for non-Artificer spells? Looking at the Artificer Initiate feat, it specifies only spells that use Int. I don't see why a DM would rule "no" since it is not game breaking, but RAW I don't think so (at least for classes other than Wizard). Perhaps others could weigh in as well.
Raw, I think Artificer Foci are specifically for Artificer spells(with the exception of the artificer initiate feat tool).
That said several of the infusions an artificer can make are foci for other classes. For example there is a common magic item hat that says it can be a wizard focus as well as a few wand infusions. So you could use an infusion to make a combined foci (the foci is a wizard foci and can be used for artificer spells because it is an infusion)
Ah ha. I see. That is indeed a good way to get around it. I don't have access to a lot of the items, so I was not aware of those sort of options.
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Consumption only matters for materials that have a cost. If there's no cost, the focus can be used instead.
"Casting some spells requires particular objects, specified in parentheses in the component entry. A character can use a component pouch or a spellcasting focus (found in chapter 5, “Equipment”) in place of the components specified for a spell. But if a cost is indicated for a component, a character must have that specific component before he or she can cast the spell."
In the artificer spell list, there are no spells with cost-free components that are consumed. (That, in general, is pretty rare.) (yeah, I know the 25 ft of rope for Snare doesn't have a listed cost, because the cost varies by rope material.)
Alright, here is a topic for both flavor and mechanics: Sentient Foci.
Would you say that humonculi can be used as a substitute? Is the "heart" still the item or does the "body" become the item?
Relevant rules...
"...you can also use any item bearing one of your infusions as a spellcasting focus"
"The item you infuse serves as the creature’s heart, around which the creature’s body instantly forms."
The question was more of which entity counts towards the "item bearing the infusion" and I can see it being ruled either way, honestly.
The gem retains its "item" status since it is more inclosed rather than transforming into the item
or
Like you say, the body, because it is a part of the new form, is what counts as the "item". This is what I would prefer, and I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed since it is a targetable and destructible object, but hey.
Not that I've had a chance to play them yet...but my Artificer is a clown and their "spells" all come from mechanical objects. So, Poison Spray is from a gag flower on his clown suit, Shocking Grasp is a ring that stores kinetic energy, Grease is from a squirt bottle, etc.
P.S.: He's a Hobgoblin...which makes him a terrible clown...but he doesn't seem to mind or realize. Really want to play him soon!
P.S.S.: Love the descriptions in this thread! Lots of very creative folks!
#OpenD&D #ORC
"...or you can find the secret tunnel that leads to the Vault of Dickish DM which is filled with 10,000,000 copper coins and a 5,000 pound solid gold statue of a middle finger that is too big to fit through the door."
Oh, dear... I just had the most horrendous idea...
You are taking a walk in the woods with your trusty flying mechanical cat when all of a sudden a couple of goblins pop out. You reach out and yank the cat out of the air by its tail, swing it around a couple of times and it vomits out Acid Splash. The goblins writhe in agony as the acid eats through their skin and you go about your business.
I am sure there are other such terrible ways you can flavor this and I kind of like it.
I do mine two ways. My Battlesmith is very much an arcane smith, they are mixing magic and metal, so I have divided my spells into two categories: those which can be readily replaced by some mechanical device and those which are just straight-up magic.
Mechanical Substitution These are spells like Grease or Fire Bolt. Grease is just me throwing a flask of grease at the floor while Fire Bolt is a hand catapult firing a hollowed BB filled with phosphorus. On a hit the BB dents and splits, letting the phosphorus come into contact with air and starting a fire. Mage Hand could also be one of those extender-grabby things but I didn't go there.
It's Magic These are spells like Cure Wounds or Feather Fall. Non-magic healing isn't instantaneous and while I can wear a parachute I cannot see to it that any random person within 60ft also has a parachute, so these are just magic. What I do instead is flavour the magic in accordance with my character's nature as an Artificer. Support spells come with a sense-impression of being powered by a very keen mind, so you think you hear the tick of a metronome, for a minute you think you see flashes of diagrams and charts, a brief understanding of air drag and biomechanical stresses, and then you realise that you're not falling as fast as you should be.
Kinda yeah, though I also pulled quite a bit from the vestigia in Rivers of London.
I've been kicking around the idea of a Phantom Rogue/Battle Smith combo. The backstory/flavor would be my character comes from a family of seers and has always been able to see spirits and many became his "imaginary" childhood friends. As he grew older he became fascinated with machinery and instead of going into the family business of fortune telling he apprenticed to an Artificer. As he learned to build more and more he found that his spirit friends could help him by inhabiting and powering his creations. His oldest friend, Watson, resides in his steel defender while matronly spirit named Mabel inhabits his armor and whispers encouragement to him. Spell effects and infusions will be various spirits he has met and befriended. I think it's a different angle and will be a blast to RP for me and the DM since he gets to play all my gear as NPCs.
That is some awesome flavor.
Similarly, I am playing around with the idea of a Beast Master/Battlesmith to create a crazy old cat man, complete with Homunculi and Familiar. Because 4 pets is fun. Probably.
That's a good spin, I really like the idea of a steel defender that is piloted by a familiar like a Gundam.
So, i'm taking a 2 lvl dip in artificer on my wizard(at 20 int having 6 additional lvl 1 spells prepared including cure wounds and sanctuary, as well as armor and shields is huge). I'm going to use one of my infusion to make clothes of mending and my spells are just going to be pulling random things out of my pockets since I can use my infusion as a focus. I've already themed casting cure wounds as pulling globs of medical salve out of a pocket.
Wizard+Artificer is definitely one of the better ways to go for multiclass given the shared ability. That begs the question though, can the Artificer foci be used for non-Artificer spells? Looking at the Artificer Initiate feat, it specifies only spells that use Int. I don't see why a DM would rule "no" since it is not game breaking, but RAW I don't think so (at least for classes other than Wizard). Perhaps others could weigh in as well.
Raw, I think Artificer Foci are specifically for Artificer spells(with the exception of the artificer initiate feat tool).
That said several of the infusions an artificer can make are foci for other classes. For example there is a common magic item hat that says it can be a wizard focus as well as a few wand infusions. So you could use an infusion to make a combined foci (the foci is a wizard foci and can be used for artificer spells because it is an infusion)
Ah ha. I see. That is indeed a good way to get around it. I don't have access to a lot of the items, so I was not aware of those sort of options.