Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Does anyone else feel like at least the Alchemist Artificer should be allowed to pick Potions as Replicate Magic Items? That way you actually feel like an Alchemist, spending your downtime brewing potions for the Party...
The Homunculus also no longer requires your bonus action to attack and gained telepathy for 1 mile. Personally I think it should be a Transmutation spell and not consume the gem like Tiny Servant in XGE instead of a Conjuration and since you cant cast rituals at a higher level, just keep the stat block proficiency bonus based instead of spell level. Would be great if it also inherited your tool proficiencies.
Per the current draft, you can burn an infusion for spell slot, and burn a spell slot for an Elixir. So kinda, you can do that.
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I did my part.
I will say I am hoping they fix some of the glaring issues before release, but the survey really wasn't aimed at getting proper feedback. It was more do you like this or not, and kind of fell short on options for real feedback.
Technically one Subclass HAS guns. Battlesmith gets Martial Weapons, and Firearms are Martial Weapons now.
But other than that, i fully agree. I want to play an Artificer. I dont want to stay in my Bastion and craft things, while the other characters go out on adventure.
And well...there is one other TTRPG with "very similar classes", where Alchemist is a pretty solid class...
I guess I should have been more Clear, Artillerist needs All Ranged and Ranged Masteries. A magical stick is not a replacement for the six shooter artificer fantasy.
or even my avatar...
If all else fails, there is always Deadlands.
I mean, if your big thing is about a lot of personally shooting magic guns, I don't think the core Artificer class is a good basis for that; honestly that sounds more like another Gunslinger subclass for Fighter. Of the four Artificer subclasses, 2 are cantrip spammers, 1 is a pet user who also happens to make weapon attacks, and 1 has a very narrow pool of custom weapons that are regarded as fairly "meh". The only one that focuses on weapons is the Armorer, and that's a completely different dynamic.
I strongly disagree on Masteries. Artificers are not a martial class and if WotC is giving out Masteries on a Class level and not Sub Class level (Eldritch Knights have it because of Fighter and College of Valor doesn't because of Bard), Artificers don't warrant it (and neither will Bladesingers).
As far as all ranged weapons, WotC appears to be generally awarding weapon proficiencies by weapon category. Monks and Rogues, I think, are the only exception. I definitely could see proficiency with Crossbows and Firearms, but not Longbows and Blowguns.
You may want to look at the Iron Kingdom's Arcane Tempest Gun Mages as another magical firearm wielder. They shoot magic bullets from their magic flintlocks (called Magelock Pistols or Magelock Rifles). They very much could be represented with a magical stick mechanics of Arcane Firearm. The Iron Kingdoms RPG had rules for them in 3.0e that were a bit busted. Either way, might be worth checking out the setting Wiki for inspiration. (Also, I just found out there was a Kickstarter for a 5e update, but I probably won't pick it up if I find it.)
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My houserulings.
Well, i guess that image is supposed to be Percy? If so, then he was a Pathfinder to DnD conversion of the Gunslinger, a Fighter variant.
Artillerist has the Arcane Firearms. Vi, the Artificer played by Jeremy Crawford, is an Artillerist with a "Pistol", which is just such a Firearm. Its simply a Wand or Staff that looks like a Gun. Artillerist has no use for real Firearms because they get a Bonus from Wands and Staffs.
BUT i would really love to see an Arcane Archer which can use more than just Bows. Add Crossbows and Firearms.
Though i would argue that Battlesmith is more about Weapons than about Pets. Its literally in their description.
A Battle Smith is a combination of protector and medic, an expert at defending others and repairing both materiel and personnel. To aid in their work, Battle Smiths are accompanied by a Steel Defender, a protective companion of their own creation.
They are better at creating Weapons, they buff their Weapons with Smites-Spells, they attack with Intelligence and gain Martial knowledge...
The Steel Defender is just there to aid, its not good at tanking hits (until you put on magic items), its not that good at attacking, but it can be really helpful to "Deflect Attacks" meant against you or others. Personally i would only move it and then let is use "Dodge" and its Reaction, so that my Bonus Action has a better use.
Shepherd Druid and Beast Master Ranger, THEY are Pet Classes.
Well, Armorer has Masteries, even though they are not called that.
Dreadnaught has a variant of Push, which allows 10ft Push / Pull against targets smaller than you.
Guardian has a variant of Sap which is more of a Taunting-Ability since the hit enemy has disadvantage against anyone but you (similar to Swashbucklers Panache)
Infiltrator has extra damage once per turn on hit.
Mechanically they are the same as Masteries. They are just not in the list of the general ones.
These effects predated Masteries (except for the Dreadnaught's) and mechanically are more in line with Booming Blade, Green Flame Blade, and Lightning Lure, cantrips which the Battle Smith has access to (for now, but I don't see them removing access). The UA content didn't add them to the Guardian and Infiltrator, they just broke them out into a separate description. The Guardian's Distracting Pulse is similar, but more effective than the Steel Defender's Deflect Attack, but I think that makes sense given the focus of a Guardian Armorer.
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My houserulings.
True, but by 2024 definitions those "On Hit Weapon Effects" would be closer to a Mastery than a Cantrip.
All three of the ones you mentioned are Magic Actions. The Armorers is closer to a Mastery because it says:
"If you hit a creature that is at least one size smaller than you with the flail"
"A creature hit by the gauntlet"
"Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with your Lightning Launcher"
They are part of the Attack Action, not a Magic Action.
But this just opened up another question...what if you use those Cantrips with those Weapons? Can you use them? Green Flame Blade says that you make a melee attack with the weapon...which should trigger the Armorers additional effect, and should trigger masteries in general...right?
The Armorer Weapons do not have Mastery Qualities and so you would need to be a 9th level Fighter for Tactical Master to have Weapon Masteries to apply to the Armorer Weapons, but otherwise, yes. I believe this would mean a Dreadnaught Armorer 3+/Fighter 9+ could use Push with the Armor Flail to push 20 ft or combine it with Slow.
As far as using the Cantrips with the Armorer weapons, it depends on the Cantrip. True Strike, Booming Blade, and Green Flame Blade require a costly weapon as a material component. The Armor Weapons don't have a cost so they can't be used. This is not a new restriction with the UA version. It is debatable if any weapon conjured with Replicate Magic Item can be used. This would be a new restriction.
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My houserulings.
Yeah they do -- they're part of the armor so the cost is the cost of the armor.
Armor that has a cost is not a substitute for a weapon that has a cost. This is not a new restriction, but I don't see a Sage Advice that contradicts it.
Jeremy Crawford tweeted the intention of the weapon material components that suggests that RAI, they should work, but RAW, they do not.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
Fighter wouldnt work here. Tactical Mastery requires a Mastery to be present in the first place.
The Armorer Weapons only behave like Weapons. They are all considered Simple Weapons, but the "on hit effect" is not listed as a Mastery, though it behaves exactly like one.
Also the Weapons are not a specified Type, they only behave like them. Armor Flail is just a bad name, because it is not a Flail.
Flail is a Martial Weapon with 1d8 and no properties.
The Armor Flail is a Simple Weapon with 1d10 and Reach.
The other two dont have any similar named weapon.
So basically they are Weapons with special rules attached. They use the Mechanics, but not the Wording.
Thats why i dont see a problem when Battlesmith would be able to use Masteries with Infused / Replicated Weapons. That way both Martials would have a special variant of Weapon Mastery, without gaining full access.
I would say so too. They are considered to be Simple Weapons, and they are formed as part of the Armor. So the value of them is the value of the Armor they were made from.
You're right about the Tactical Mastery. I should have read closer. I still disagree about Weapon Mastery. Artificer is not a Martial Class and like shifting College of Valor Bards in the martial direction doesn't warrant Weapon Mastery. Pact of the Blade Warlocks (most analogous to the Battle Smith) does not warrant Weapon Mastery. Bladesinging won't either. Making the crafty utility class more martial by giving them a Pact of the Blade-esque feature doesn't warrant it. Weapon Masteries are cool, but not everybody that swings a sword needs them. If you really want access to them, take the feat at 4th level.
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My houserulings.
College of Valor Bards gets offensive and defensive usage for Bardic Inspiration. They get Martial and Medium. And they can use Weapons as Spellcasting Focus.
So yeah, they get enough other stuff already, i would say the Bardic Inspiration use would be a good trade for not gaining Mastery.
Pact of Blade Warlock has not been released for 2024 yet. But the old 2014 again has enough other stuff going on that would justify not getting Mastery. They get access to Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade too which is their variant of Mastery.
Collegue of Swords is also not released, but they too can use Weapons as Focus and they get Fighting Styles and again uses for Bardic Inspiration. At level 10 they get access to Cleric, Druid and Wizard spells, they can use Cantrips, so i guess at that point they can get those Cantrips too?
Battlesmith has nothing like that at all. They have a Stat-Shift to Intelligence IF it is higher. Thats it. They cant use Weapons as a Focus, they dont gain another use for their Class Features. Currently they are a worse variant of the Beastmaster Ranger because they get everything but better. They have expertise, weapon mastery, and 3 options for a pet. They even have a class resource that is usable in combat now.
Green Flame Blade and Booming Blade have not been updated, but could be used by Battlesmith...if they were allowed to use Weapons as a Focus. Both of those Cantrips are useless if you play a ranged variant with Crossbows or so. Again, Ranger has Hunters Mark AND Mastery, which can be used instead.
Pretty much all other classes have been buffed a lot. The current UA Artificer has been nerfed since your best use is to stay at home and craft things. This works in an mmo where you log in once a day, start crafting, and then switch back to your real character to play with. But in a ttrpg this does not work. Artificer needs a way to stay relevant in encounters.
2024 Pact of the Blade is an Invocation. If Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade is their variant of Mastery, then it's the Battle Smith's as well.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
Oh, i didnt even know about the 2024 version. In 2014 this Pact was "just a soulbound weapon you can conjure".
In 2024 it became MUCH MORE than that. It is now a Spellcasting Focus, and you can swap damage to necrotic, radiant or psychic.
Hexblade then turns this feature into much more. Because it is now a Focus, they can use the Cantrips through it. And since Pact of the Blade is limited to melee weapons, this works just fine. The only similarity to Battlesmith is the "stat shift" to use Charisma for attacks.
But Battlesmith is again different here. Not only do they not have a weapon-focus, they can use ALL weapons and are not limited to just melee. So if you play a ranged-smith, those cantrips wont work. And if you play a melee-shield-smith, you cant cast them. So...general Weapon Mastery would work best for them, unless those Cantrips are changed to work with any Attack.