I didn't mean to say you can't do that. Just that if you don't like it there's no need to. So saying everyone has a big problem with the Artificer's spellcasting because of that kind of preparation makes no sense. If you do that, it's something you decided for yourself.
That being said, preparing your spells physically beforehand creates some potential narrative issues. Prepared physical objects can be stolen/taken away, given to others (where you then would have to explain why only you can use them for some reason) etc etc. At the end of the day Artificer spells are still spells, not magical items. That's what infusions are for. Not to mention that while the spell slot system is less flexible than the usual mana system, it's still flexible so you never know for sure how many of a given spell you are actually going to cast over the day, just how many you could cast at best if you don't cast any of the others. So if you have three level 1 spell slots do you prepare physical objects for two Grease and one Catapult? What if you happen to want to use Catapult twice because of an unexpected situation then? Or do you prepare three of each? Why can't you suddenly use the other items you build in the morning anymore after using any random three of those?
Here as well, I'm not saying it's not possible or that it's bad. Just that it comes with a whole narrative baggage you have to think about how to explain because it's something not supported by the actual mechanics of the spellcasting feature. All it does is add a material component mechanically which gets replaced by the tools as spellcasting focus, period.
the best way to deal with the spontinaity of casting a spell is more to have these objects as intangibles in a way. You may have flavor wise prepared some before hand. But the object doesn't actually manifest as what it is until you pull it to use it. So you don't pre plan that you only have two grease and a Catapult. But in your spare time or as morning prep your tinkering little devices together without clear explanation out of them. And then when you go to use them you already have them prepared for that Grease spell, or for Catapult, or for your Cure spell for the day by pulling them out of your bag, pocket, pouch, or whatever as actually part of you using the spell to make it work. Having them already prepared but indistinct overcomes that issue that some have with being a tinkerer but at the same time gives them the more spontaneous casting style that exists in 5e.
That's basically the same as doing it on the fly just with the added step of physical preparation though? It also still leaves the issue with it being a physical object that can be stolen, lost, given to others etc etc. Fact is, no matter how you do it it always requires some suspension of disbelief one way or another. So this solution of building stuff beforehand is not a solution at all, just a different way of doing things with its own set of additional problems.
Keep in mind that other spellcaster's items can still be stolen, lost, given, etc. I am under the impression that those items would simply not work for anyone else and generally only done to "disarm" them. Deciphering a wizard's shorthand? Stealing someone else's faith? Might as well become a warlock yourself. Why should the Artificer be treated differently?
The spellfocus can be stolen, yes. That's not the point though. The other user was talking about a physical representation of the spells. That would be similar of stealing the spells itself.
Just imagine this situation: You RP that your Artificer gets up early and uses their time to build all kinds of little trinkets and what not as your explanation of their spellcasting later the day. Some hours later your character's bag of trinkets gets stolen but luckily not their bag of tools. Now mechanically they can still cast spells of course, but narratively? Narratively you bound their spellcasting to a bunch of trinkets without function that your character now doesn't have with them anymore. That's the narrative baggage I was talking about. It's something you decided to add on your own. It's not part of any mechanic. Artificer spellcasting only LOOKS like its trinkets and similar that produce the effects and requires tools as focus (which mechanically replaces said physical component you'd otherwise have to carry around even!), but it's still just regular spellcasting mechanically. Infusions and the spell-storing item are the actual physical trinkets you carry around with you.
I'm repeating myself but here I go, I'm not saying it's a terrible idea to RP things like that. It's quite fun actually. However it comes with narrative baggage because you add something that's not supported by the mechanics. That's not a bad thing either, just something you should keep in mind and figure out how to handle beforehand. If you're resolute you'd refrain from casting any spells until your character gets their bag of trinkets back in the above example. And to get back to the very reason this argument started, since this whole RP explanation and narrative baggage is something a player decided for themselves, it's.simply.wrong. to claim that it's some sort of inherent big problem with the Artificer's spellcasting for most people. The Artificer's spellcasting is mechanically not in any way or form different from other classes spellcasting except that they all have an added material component, which gets ignored by you being required to use your tools (or infusion) as spellcasting focus anyway. No physical trinkets prepared beforehand required or anything.
Dude, it’s just fluff. You might as well be going on about how it’s easier to steal a long sword with a gem carved to look like a skull for the pommel than a long sword with a boring, standard-looking pommel on it from a fighter. What a player says the thing looks like doesn’t intrinsically change the mechanics of the thing. There is a great deal of leeway built in when it comes to non-mechanical rules in this game. It’s been explained several times that people are only looking to describe things in an interesting way for their own edification without changing anything mechanically.
On a similar note, I imagine that when my divine soul sorcerer casts spells, the spell effects are bright, cheery, have a sense of warmth, create a pleasant odour and there are generally “nice” effects of utterly no mechanical consequence in addition to what the spell states. OTOH, when my aberrant mind sorcerer casts the same spells, the spell effects are shadowy, creepy, feel cold, create a sense of foreboding and there are generally “not nice” effects of utterly no mechanical consequence in addition to what the spell states. I don’t even describe these every time I cast the spells, I just know in the back of my head that my divine soul’s magic, while mechanically identical, is different than my aberrant mind’s magic. That’s all people are talking about here.
I gave up try when I got flack after already giving ground that people are going to play the way that works best for them and that the table DM is the ultimate arbiter for any issues.
You produce your artificer spell effects through your tools. You must have a spellcasting focus—specifically thieves’ tools or some kind of artisan’s tool—in hand when you cast any spell with this Spellcasting feature (meaning the spell has an ‘M’ component when you cast it).
So artificer spells are just about always tied to a physical object in the world, that object is the tools they use. That means that if the only tools you have on your person are for instance your theives tools, and someone steals them, then you can't cast any spells with an 'M' component until you get a hold of some tools that you are proficient with.
I haven't run through the entire spell list to see how many Artificer spells have a Material component but it's a very large chunk of them. So imagine the scenario where the party is captured or arrested and their gear is taken. Unless they have hidden a tool on them, an artificer won't be able to cast most of their spells until they get their tools back. Just like any spell caster can't cast V spells if they have a gag.
If the DM decides to do something to rob you of your abilities, they probably can. They could just as easily have an NPC steal the contraption you made to cast your spell with, or have an NPC steal your tools.
Honestly, having your spells prepared as physical objects probably makes you a little safer. Let's say you and your DM agreed that the prepared item equals the spell slot. I said earlier my character has a mechanical mouse she uses to cast Create Bonfire with. If an NPC saw me do that, and decided to steal the mouse I might not be able to use that spell, but I'd still be able to use all my other spells. On the other hand if it's the tools that matter, and an NPC sees me use them, and steals all my tools, then I can't cast 90% of my spells.
The only advantage to the tools is that most artificers will have more than one kind of tool on them, so if one set of tools gets stolen, they could fall back on another. Unless of course again they've had all their equipment taken.
Minor correction: per the "Update"/rewrite of the class in Tasha's Cauldron, the artificer spellcasting feature automatically adds a Material component to every single spell the artificer casts as an artificer. Any character using the artificer spellcasting feature must provide a material component, and per the rules for artificer spellcasting this means they must utilize a spell focus - either their tools or one of their infusions.
This adds extra value to the Prosthetic Limb as an artificer infusion, since prosthetic limbs cannot be taken against the artificer's will and always count as a usable spellcasting focus. How a specific artificer wishes to fluff that is up to them, and it does consume an infusion slot for an otherwise null-value item (plus you have to, y'know...lose an arm), but in strictly mechanical terms it's a possibility to consider.
I didn't mean to say you can't do that. Just that if you don't like it there's no need to. So saying everyone has a big problem with the Artificer's spellcasting because of that kind of preparation makes no sense. If you do that, it's something you decided for yourself.
That being said, preparing your spells physically beforehand creates some potential narrative issues. Prepared physical objects can be stolen/taken away, given to others (where you then would have to explain why only you can use them for some reason) etc etc. At the end of the day Artificer spells are still spells, not magical items. That's what infusions are for. Not to mention that while the spell slot system is less flexible than the usual mana system, it's still flexible so you never know for sure how many of a given spell you are actually going to cast over the day, just how many you could cast at best if you don't cast any of the others. So if you have three level 1 spell slots do you prepare physical objects for two Grease and one Catapult? What if you happen to want to use Catapult twice because of an unexpected situation then? Or do you prepare three of each? Why can't you suddenly use the other items you build in the morning anymore after using any random three of those?
Here as well, I'm not saying it's not possible or that it's bad. Just that it comes with a whole narrative baggage you have to think about how to explain because it's something not supported by the actual mechanics of the spellcasting feature. All it does is add a material component mechanically which gets replaced by the tools as spellcasting focus, period.
the best way to deal with the spontinaity of casting a spell is more to have these objects as intangibles in a way. You may have flavor wise prepared some before hand. But the object doesn't actually manifest as what it is until you pull it to use it. So you don't pre plan that you only have two grease and a Catapult. But in your spare time or as morning prep your tinkering little devices together without clear explanation out of them. And then when you go to use them you already have them prepared for that Grease spell, or for Catapult, or for your Cure spell for the day by pulling them out of your bag, pocket, pouch, or whatever as actually part of you using the spell to make it work. Having them already prepared but indistinct overcomes that issue that some have with being a tinkerer but at the same time gives them the more spontaneous casting style that exists in 5e.
That's basically the same as doing it on the fly just with the added step of physical preparation though? It also still leaves the issue with it being a physical object that can be stolen, lost, given to others etc etc. Fact is, no matter how you do it it always requires some suspension of disbelief one way or another. So this solution of building stuff beforehand is not a solution at all, just a different way of doing things with its own set of additional problems.
Keep in mind that other spellcaster's items can still be stolen, lost, given, etc. I am under the impression that those items would simply not work for anyone else and generally only done to "disarm" them. Deciphering a wizard's shorthand? Stealing someone else's faith? Might as well become a warlock yourself. Why should the Artificer be treated differently?
The spellfocus can be stolen, yes. That's not the point though. The other user was talking about a physical representation of the spells. That would be similar of stealing the spells itself.
Just imagine this situation: You RP that your Artificer gets up early and uses their time to build all kinds of little trinkets and what not as your explanation of their spellcasting later the day. Some hours later your character's bag of trinkets gets stolen but luckily not their bag of tools. Now mechanically they can still cast spells of course, but narratively? Narratively you bound their spellcasting to a bunch of trinkets without function that your character now doesn't have with them anymore. That's the narrative baggage I was talking about. It's something you decided to add on your own. It's not part of any mechanic. Artificer spellcasting only LOOKS like its trinkets and similar that produce the effects and requires tools as focus (which mechanically replaces said physical component you'd otherwise have to carry around even!), but it's still just regular spellcasting mechanically. Infusions and the spell-storing item are the actual physical trinkets you carry around with you.
I'm repeating myself but here I go, I'm not saying it's a terrible idea to RP things like that. It's quite fun actually. However it comes with narrative baggage because you add something that's not supported by the mechanics. That's not a bad thing either, just something you should keep in mind and figure out how to handle beforehand. If you're resolute you'd refrain from casting any spells until your character gets their bag of trinkets back in the above example. And to get back to the very reason this argument started, since this whole RP explanation and narrative baggage is something a player decided for themselves, it's.simply.wrong. to claim that it's some sort of inherent big problem with the Artificer's spellcasting for most people. The Artificer's spellcasting is mechanically not in any way or form different from other classes spellcasting except that they all have an added material component, which gets ignored by you being required to use your tools (or infusion) as spellcasting focus anyway. No physical trinkets prepared beforehand required or anything.
Dude, it’s just fluff. You might as well be going on about how it’s easier to steal a long sword with a gem carved to look like a skull for the pommel than a long sword with a boring, standard-looking pommel on it from a fighter. What a player says the thing looks like doesn’t intrinsically change the mechanics of the thing. There is a great deal of leeway built in when it comes to non-mechanical rules in this game. It’s been explained several times that people are only looking to describe things in an interesting way for their own edification without changing anything mechanically.
On a similar note, I imagine that when my divine soul sorcerer casts spells, the spell effects are bright, cheery, have a sense of warmth, create a pleasant odour and there are generally “nice” effects of utterly no mechanical consequence in addition to what the spell states. OTOH, when my aberrant mind sorcerer casts the same spells, the spell effects are shadowy, creepy, feel cold, create a sense of foreboding and there are generally “not nice” effects of utterly no mechanical consequence in addition to what the spell states. I don’t even describe these every time I cast the spells, I just know in the back of my head that my divine soul’s magic, while mechanically identical, is different than my aberrant mind’s magic. That’s all people are talking about here.
Let me step in on this. Intangibles cannot be stolen. Your required Focus in your artisan tool can be stolen requiring you to gain another before you can cast any spells. But intangible "preprepped" objects cannot be stolen. Because despite the work being done on them they do not exist. They are the shrodingers cat of inventory items. They both do and don't exist until you stick your hand into your stuff and pull it out. They don't even have a necessarily set form. You could reach into the bag for the cat and decide that the spell you want is more dog shaped and thus when you pull it out it's a dog. This is why I specifically labeled them as Intangibles. So the work is there but it's undefined and it can't just be taken from you because it's not there to take. Somebody stealing your trinket bag does not mean they stole your spells. Or can use your spells. They wouldn't even know what they were if they were tangible.
And an artificer that even works in such ways probably doesn't have all these things just shoved into a single bag. One's likely in a pocket. Another is considered a tool and is in with it's artisan tool. One might be on their bandalier. etc etc etc. This can easily be applied to cover that narrative dissonance your suffering even if that bag is stolen. Your getting far too hung up on physical and rigidly prepared and not considering that actual words that I said.
Sorry but I won't bother taking that post apart anymore. As I said, I'm done. Really not worth the effort just to get my point across.
I am fully aware of your point. I took it in mind when I made my post. The last time you took my post apart you ignored key things that I said. I reiterated on those. I am aware you have a major focus on physical objects being STolen. The Intangible nature of such items because they are merely narrative manifestations of the spells and not actual objects answers this. It even answers your attempt for them to be stolen.
And others have answered the issue of the ST really wanting to take your spells or even turn them against you by pointing out that if the ST really wants to take them from you it's easily done and much easier than stealing a bag of trinkets. Intangible or not. And the issue of others using them has been answered by the mention that they can easily be things only you can understand and use. Which is in the flavor of the Artificer and actually the nature of several items that the Arfiticers make for themselves. Infusions actually being the only acception and they are still kept powered by the Artificer by the nature of them.
Minor correction: per the "Update"/rewrite of the class in Tasha's Cauldron, the artificer spellcasting feature automatically adds a Material component to every single spell the artificer casts as an artificer. Any character using the artificer spellcasting feature must provide a material component, and per the rules for artificer spellcasting this means they must utilize a spell focus - either their tools or one of their infusions.
Would you be kind enough to point out where that is mentioned? I am unable to find it.
Would you be kind enough to point out where that is mentioned? I am unable to find it.
"Tools Required"
"You produce your artificer spell effects through your tools. You must have a spellcasting focus—specifically thieves’ tools or some kind of artisan’s tool—in hand when you cast any spell with this Spellcasting feature (meaning the spell has an “M” component when you cast it). You must be proficient with the tool to use it in this way."
It is rather uncanny how lost an artificer is without their tools. I recently had a classical "You wake up again in a prison cell, all your equipment is gone." I literally couldn't use any of my class features exept the skill proficiencys. Yureis Idea with the Prostetic Limb isn't bad at al but a pretty high investment for that one case to me.
One could make a case for retaining Gloves of Thievery, as well. "These gloves are invisible when worn". use them as an Infusion, then ask your DM "did they find my gloves?" when you get the "you wake up in a cell with no stuff".
One could also do up their hair with picks, clips, and pins that constitute a set of jury-rigged thieves' tools. Let your hair down in the cell and get to work. You may end up at disadvantage because of the crappy nature of the tools, but disadvantage is better than nothing.
And if the DM is a ball-buster and says "nothing means nothing, you are stripped absolutely clean, there isn't even any lint under your nails"? Well, that's when you show off why you're an artificer in the first place and fall back on being inventive. Inspect the cell - are there any dead mice or other small animals? If they've been dead long enough to dry out and desiccate, their bones might make for a single basic pick attempt. Look for wood splinters, see if any are sturdy enough to crack you out. If the DM does the old "there's a high window, barrowed and too narrow to escape through" bit, see if there's anything out there within reach.
Heh...and if all your inventiveness is shot down, and the DM insists that there's absolutely nothing you can use to improvise some tools or get out of your cell? Then lean back in your chair, snag a slice of pizza, and say "OKay. Wake me up when the plot train reaches the station and I'm allowed to play again."
Yea my DM was pretty clean with the stuff I tried at first :D My girl wears a pair of boots with a secret compartment with a dagger in it - gone. She wears decorative glasses(she doesn't need them, she just likes to look smart) - I thought I could use those as lockpicks - nope they are gone, you are all wearing only sacks and everything else was stolen. Sounds pretty ball-busting as I say it, but we could escape out of the cells pretty fast (we are a party after all) thanks to the Aberrant Mind sorc (I was so focussed on getting tools to pick the lock that I first looked for anything that could be used to lockpick on the sleeping guard before just taking his keys :D) and we got a bit of stuff from then on so I could do some of my stuff then. Was quite a bit of fun anyway :)
Artificer features that don't strictly require tools or a magic item to use:
Flash of Genius - so whatever ability checks you need to make can still be boosted also those of your party (provided they are in range and can be seen).
Spell Storing Item - though it specifically requires a simple or martial weapon or an item you can use as a spellcasting focus, and if you had the latter you'd already be set for spellcasting.
Infuse Item - Oddly enough nowhere in the description of this feature does it require you to have tools on hand. Further once you infuse an item it can be used as a spellcasting focus. Convenient for scenarios in which you've just woken up (completed a long rest) in an unfamiliar location with none of your regular items available.
It's not without issues though. The item required is specific to the infusion but hey if you have a bucket or a chamber pot handy in your cell then I'd say you could probably infuse an Alchemy Jug, or make the argument that you could improvise the bucket as a helmet and apply Helm of Awareness. If you happen to be wearing boots, then you could potentially have Boots of the Winding Path. If you're wearing nothing but a potato sack... well that's a single piece cover all (hopefully) item of clothing which sounds like a robe to me and thus suitable for the Mind Sharpener Infusion and if it doesn't qualify as a robe... pop the seams at the edges with your teeth and convert it into a poncho which is essentially just a cloak of another name and apply Cloak of the Manta Ray, or take the sack off and infuse the sack as an especially humble Bag of Holding.
Would you be kind enough to point out where that is mentioned? I am unable to find it.
"Tools Required"
"You produce your artificer spell effects through your tools. You must have a spellcasting focus—specifically thieves’ tools or some kind of artisan’s tool—in hand when you cast any spell with this Spellcasting feature (meaning the spell has an “M” component when you cast it). You must be proficient with the tool to use it in this way."
I see. Thank you. I did read that, but I misinterpreted it as the normal "focus = substitute" clause.
It helped me when I read it like so: "You must have a spellcasting focus in hand when you cast ANY spell with this Spellcasting feature (meaning the spell has an “M” component when YOU cast it)"
Or as the others have mentioned, using certain infused items or Arcane Armor, this mostly gets nullified.
Also worth noting that 7 of 71 (if I counted right) non-cantrip spells actually consume the material, with Identify and Summon Construct being the only examples of having a cost, but not getting consumed. Good to know.
Or if you find a dead rat polymorph into a pickle and make a rat mech
Property of rick sanchez earth dimension c137
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My homebrew is terrible and really unbalanced and does literally nothing to explain the rules please don't look at it it's stuff like instantly killing someone and making their corpse a clone of you like a simulacrum but completely normal.
Also worth noting that 7 of 71 (if I counted right) non-cantrip spells actually consume the material, with Identify and Summon Construct being the only examples of having a cost, but not getting consumed. Good to know.
A focus (in this case, tools or an infusion) substitutes for the material, if it doesn't have a cost. An artificer casting with an infused weapon, infused shield, etc. basically gets to cast like a warcaster by default. Same/similar for an Artillerist with an Arcane Firearm.
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Dude, it’s just fluff. You might as well be going on about how it’s easier to steal a long sword with a gem carved to look like a skull for the pommel than a long sword with a boring, standard-looking pommel on it from a fighter. What a player says the thing looks like doesn’t intrinsically change the mechanics of the thing. There is a great deal of leeway built in when it comes to non-mechanical rules in this game. It’s been explained several times that people are only looking to describe things in an interesting way for their own edification without changing anything mechanically.
On a similar note, I imagine that when my divine soul sorcerer casts spells, the spell effects are bright, cheery, have a sense of warmth, create a pleasant odour and there are generally “nice” effects of utterly no mechanical consequence in addition to what the spell states. OTOH, when my aberrant mind sorcerer casts the same spells, the spell effects are shadowy, creepy, feel cold, create a sense of foreboding and there are generally “not nice” effects of utterly no mechanical consequence in addition to what the spell states. I don’t even describe these every time I cast the spells, I just know in the back of my head that my divine soul’s magic, while mechanically identical, is different than my aberrant mind’s magic. That’s all people are talking about here.
I gave up try when I got flack after already giving ground that people are going to play the way that works best for them and that the table DM is the ultimate arbiter for any issues.
So per the rules:
So artificer spells are just about always tied to a physical object in the world, that object is the tools they use. That means that if the only tools you have on your person are for instance your theives tools, and someone steals them, then you can't cast any spells with an 'M' component until you get a hold of some tools that you are proficient with.
I haven't run through the entire spell list to see how many Artificer spells have a Material component but it's a very large chunk of them. So imagine the scenario where the party is captured or arrested and their gear is taken. Unless they have hidden a tool on them, an artificer won't be able to cast most of their spells until they get their tools back. Just like any spell caster can't cast V spells if they have a gag.
If the DM decides to do something to rob you of your abilities, they probably can. They could just as easily have an NPC steal the contraption you made to cast your spell with, or have an NPC steal your tools.
Honestly, having your spells prepared as physical objects probably makes you a little safer. Let's say you and your DM agreed that the prepared item equals the spell slot. I said earlier my character has a mechanical mouse she uses to cast Create Bonfire with. If an NPC saw me do that, and decided to steal the mouse I might not be able to use that spell, but I'd still be able to use all my other spells. On the other hand if it's the tools that matter, and an NPC sees me use them, and steals all my tools, then I can't cast 90% of my spells.
The only advantage to the tools is that most artificers will have more than one kind of tool on them, so if one set of tools gets stolen, they could fall back on another. Unless of course again they've had all their equipment taken.
Minor correction: per the "Update"/rewrite of the class in Tasha's Cauldron, the artificer spellcasting feature automatically adds a Material component to every single spell the artificer casts as an artificer. Any character using the artificer spellcasting feature must provide a material component, and per the rules for artificer spellcasting this means they must utilize a spell focus - either their tools or one of their infusions.
This adds extra value to the Prosthetic Limb as an artificer infusion, since prosthetic limbs cannot be taken against the artificer's will and always count as a usable spellcasting focus. How a specific artificer wishes to fluff that is up to them, and it does consume an infusion slot for an otherwise null-value item (plus you have to, y'know...lose an arm), but in strictly mechanical terms it's a possibility to consider.
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Let me step in on this. Intangibles cannot be stolen. Your required Focus in your artisan tool can be stolen requiring you to gain another before you can cast any spells. But intangible "preprepped" objects cannot be stolen. Because despite the work being done on them they do not exist. They are the shrodingers cat of inventory items. They both do and don't exist until you stick your hand into your stuff and pull it out. They don't even have a necessarily set form. You could reach into the bag for the cat and decide that the spell you want is more dog shaped and thus when you pull it out it's a dog. This is why I specifically labeled them as Intangibles. So the work is there but it's undefined and it can't just be taken from you because it's not there to take. Somebody stealing your trinket bag does not mean they stole your spells. Or can use your spells. They wouldn't even know what they were if they were tangible.
And an artificer that even works in such ways probably doesn't have all these things just shoved into a single bag. One's likely in a pocket. Another is considered a tool and is in with it's artisan tool. One might be on their bandalier. etc etc etc. This can easily be applied to cover that narrative dissonance your suffering even if that bag is stolen. Your getting far too hung up on physical and rigidly prepared and not considering that actual words that I said.
I am fully aware of your point. I took it in mind when I made my post. The last time you took my post apart you ignored key things that I said. I reiterated on those. I am aware you have a major focus on physical objects being STolen. The Intangible nature of such items because they are merely narrative manifestations of the spells and not actual objects answers this. It even answers your attempt for them to be stolen.
And others have answered the issue of the ST really wanting to take your spells or even turn them against you by pointing out that if the ST really wants to take them from you it's easily done and much easier than stealing a bag of trinkets. Intangible or not. And the issue of others using them has been answered by the mention that they can easily be things only you can understand and use. Which is in the flavor of the Artificer and actually the nature of several items that the Arfiticers make for themselves. Infusions actually being the only acception and they are still kept powered by the Artificer by the nature of them.
Would you be kind enough to point out where that is mentioned? I am unable to find it.
Yes. Would you like to share your specific example(s) of non-mechanical flavor?
"Tools Required"
"You produce your artificer spell effects through your tools. You must have a spellcasting focus—specifically thieves’ tools or some kind of artisan’s tool—in hand when you cast any spell with this Spellcasting feature (meaning the spell has an “M” component when you cast it). You must be proficient with the tool to use it in this way."
See either https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/tcoe/artificer#ToolsRequired or https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/artificer#ClassFeatures
It is rather uncanny how lost an artificer is without their tools. I recently had a classical "You wake up again in a prison cell, all your equipment is gone." I literally couldn't use any of my class features exept the skill proficiencys. Yureis Idea with the Prostetic Limb isn't bad at al but a pretty high investment for that one case to me.
One could make a case for retaining Gloves of Thievery, as well. "These gloves are invisible when worn". use them as an Infusion, then ask your DM "did they find my gloves?" when you get the "you wake up in a cell with no stuff".
One could also do up their hair with picks, clips, and pins that constitute a set of jury-rigged thieves' tools. Let your hair down in the cell and get to work. You may end up at disadvantage because of the crappy nature of the tools, but disadvantage is better than nothing.
And if the DM is a ball-buster and says "nothing means nothing, you are stripped absolutely clean, there isn't even any lint under your nails"? Well, that's when you show off why you're an artificer in the first place and fall back on being inventive. Inspect the cell - are there any dead mice or other small animals? If they've been dead long enough to dry out and desiccate, their bones might make for a single basic pick attempt. Look for wood splinters, see if any are sturdy enough to crack you out. If the DM does the old "there's a high window, barrowed and too narrow to escape through" bit, see if there's anything out there within reach.
Heh...and if all your inventiveness is shot down, and the DM insists that there's absolutely nothing you can use to improvise some tools or get out of your cell? Then lean back in your chair, snag a slice of pizza, and say "OKay. Wake me up when the plot train reaches the station and I'm allowed to play again."
Please do not contact or message me.
Yea my DM was pretty clean with the stuff I tried at first :D My girl wears a pair of boots with a secret compartment with a dagger in it - gone. She wears decorative glasses(she doesn't need them, she just likes to look smart) - I thought I could use those as lockpicks - nope they are gone, you are all wearing only sacks and everything else was stolen. Sounds pretty ball-busting as I say it, but we could escape out of the cells pretty fast (we are a party after all) thanks to the Aberrant Mind sorc (I was so focussed on getting tools to pick the lock that I first looked for anything that could be used to lockpick on the sleeping guard before just taking his keys :D) and we got a bit of stuff from then on so I could do some of my stuff then. Was quite a bit of fun anyway :)
Artificer features that don't strictly require tools or a magic item to use:
It's not without issues though. The item required is specific to the infusion but hey if you have a bucket or a chamber pot handy in your cell then I'd say you could probably infuse an Alchemy Jug, or make the argument that you could improvise the bucket as a helmet and apply Helm of Awareness. If you happen to be wearing boots, then you could potentially have Boots of the Winding Path. If you're wearing nothing but a potato sack... well that's a single piece cover all (hopefully) item of clothing which sounds like a robe to me and thus suitable for the Mind Sharpener Infusion and if it doesn't qualify as a robe... pop the seams at the edges with your teeth and convert it into a poncho which is essentially just a cloak of another name and apply Cloak of the Manta Ray, or take the sack off and infuse the sack as an especially humble Bag of Holding.
I see. Thank you. I did read that, but I misinterpreted it as the normal "focus = substitute" clause.
It helped me when I read it like so: "You must have a spellcasting focus in hand when you cast ANY spell with this Spellcasting feature (meaning the spell has an “M” component when YOU cast it)"
Or as the others have mentioned, using certain infused items or Arcane Armor, this mostly gets nullified.
Also worth noting that 7 of 71 (if I counted right) non-cantrip spells actually consume the material, with Identify and Summon Construct being the only examples of having a cost, but not getting consumed. Good to know.
Or if you find a dead rat polymorph into a pickle and make a rat mech
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My homebrew is terrible and really unbalanced and does literally nothing to explain the rules please don't look at it it's stuff like instantly killing someone and making their corpse a clone of you like a simulacrum but completely normal.
A focus (in this case, tools or an infusion) substitutes for the material, if it doesn't have a cost. An artificer casting with an infused weapon, infused shield, etc. basically gets to cast like a warcaster by default. Same/similar for an Artillerist with an Arcane Firearm.