Utilizing your artisan skills and magic, touch a Small or smaller nonmagical object and for the duration of this spell, gain one of the following properties:
Ablative Armor: The object is transmuted into the a medium size plate of protection, the wielder gains a +5 to their AC that is decreased by 1 for every attack prevented. Once the bonus is brought to 0, the plate is destroyed.
Alteration: The object gains the properties of adamantine metal, and can be transmuted into an object of one size larger.
At Higher Levels. When this spell is cast at 5th level, you can target a Large object or smaller, and can gain the following properties:
Augmentation: The object can now be duplicated for the duration of the spell and gains an AC of 20 and 10 hit points. You also gain the ability to cast one non concentration spell up to 3rd level through the object.
(For Artificers, College of Creation Bards, Forge Domain Clerics, and Wizards)
Utilizing your artisan skills and magic, touch a Small or smaller nonmagical object and for the duration of this spell, gain one of the following properties:
Ablative Armor: The object is transmuted into the a medium size plate of protection, the wielder gains an additional +5 to their AC that is decreased by 1 for every attack prevented. Once the bonus is brought to 0, the object is returned to it's original form
Alteration: The object gains the properties of adamantine metal, and can be transmuted into an object of one size larger.
At Higher Levels. When this spell is cast at 5th level, you can target a Medium object or smaller, and can gain one of the following additional properties:
Augmentation: The object can now be duplicated for the duration of the spell and gains an AC of 20 and 10 hit points. You also gain the ability to cast one non concentration spell up to 3rd level through the object.
Greater Ablative Armor: The object transmuted grants the wielder a +7 to their AC that is decreased by 1 for every attack that is prevented. The object is then reverted to its original form.
"Ablative Armor" rests in an interesting area. Shield grants +5 AC for one round, while Shield of Faith grants +2 AC for 10 minutes. Since AC operates on the principle of bounded accuracy, big boosts like this are a big deal, but with the way you've written it, it can only stop 5 attacks, with decreasing effectiveness. So, I'd say that this feature is probably worse than existing 1st level effects, but too strong to be a cantrip.(In a mob, Shield will be all around better, whereas in a longer conflict, Shield of Faith will be better.)
"Alteration" presents a complicated issue. "Adamantine" doesn't come with specific properties outside of weapons and armor, and it takes at least 1 minute to don/doff armor. Also, the size of objects are not well outlined. How "large" is a plate armor designed for a medium sized creature? This also steps on the toes of Creation (And Fabricate), which also allows for the creation of Adamantine objects with a duration of 1 minute.
"Augmentation" allows for item duplication, which doesn't seem to jive. Being able to cast a spell through the object doesn't seem to be in line with the theme, and also needs a lot more clarification. Do you need to be touching the object to cast the spell, or can you channel the spell from anywhere? Does a spell like Fireball shoot out from it, or does it detonate in the object's space? Boosting AC and HP makes sense here, but for a 5th level spell slot, that seems like a pretty weak application.
"Greater Ablative Armor" falls into the same category as Ablative Armor by rendering a player effectively immune to a few attacks, and only blocks 2 more attacks than it's lower level counterpart.
As written, it would be complicated to use, and is both weaker and stronger than its level, which is a problem. It also seems to be attempting to stretch itself in too many directions. I'd recommend splitting this into two or three different spells and focusing on one application at a time.
In practice, Armor of Agathys and temporary hitpoints are a better model of ablative armor. Diminishing AC is a new mechanic that would be hard to introduce and implement.
For the sake of improving focus, what is your inspiration for this spell? What kind of character do you imagine using it? What is their role in the party?
First off, thank you Memnosyne for responding with a well thought out critique!
To answer your last question first, it had started as an artificer spell that's for support. I liked Kieth Baker's original idea for Artificer of being a mutable class that has a "tool" for every job, and wanted the spell to sort of reflect that.
As far as spells construction, I agree it feels like a bunch of separate spells combined into one. Mostly, that is because it was my attempt to port over some old 3.5 spells into 5e from Ebberon. The original Ablative Armor was a worse Armor of Agathys so I figured having something with the similar decreasing mechanic but not straight up Armor of Agathys.
The "Alteration" option came out of the 3.5 Adamantine Weapon spell with option of giving a temporary buff to armor wearing character (negation of critical hits per DMG) but that may be too powerful considering it kinda steps on the toes of the 6th level Death domain Cleric ability. Also, in my mind, a creative player could use it to reinforce a door during an escape, or for more sturdy cover, as medium size objects are referred to as taking up around a barrel or or chandelier worth of space (Basic Rules).
The troublesome and most difficult one to come up with was "Augmentation" I ultimately just decided to lean into artificer abilities like Spell Storing Item but kinda just winged it. Still super new to homebrewing so perhaps just keeping it a spell that only has a 3rd level application would be best.
The tricky part with a generalist character is that if they're equally good at everything, then they're either overpowered, or struggling to keep up. The best option is to have a character that can fill any role, but has to lock in their choice, so that they are forced to specialize on a day-to-day basis. (As prepared casters do.)
Spells that fill multiple roles can't be balanced to do any of those things particularly well, and as half-casters, Artificers are going to gain access to those spells much later than they normally would, which means that any benefit is going to fall further behind the party's power level. However, in 3.5e there was a feat called Uncanny Forethought that essentially allowed a caster to reserve a number of spell slots to use spontaneously. Something like this as a Class Feature would let the Artificer effectively have a spontaneous "Multi-tool" spell slot, which could let you freely choose between several more potent spells, rather than worrying about balancing a generalist spell.
Spell Storing is one of those features that can become game disrupting, such as in the case of giving everyone in the party (or all the NPCs in a town) Find Familiar. Making that automatically available to 5th level characters could pose some game integrity issues.
You might be interested in checking out one of my earlier Homebrew Spells, Mongrel Mutation. It's not perfect by any means, but might give you a sense of how I tried to balance a flexible spell by keeping it to a theme. (I made it for a character whose backstory connects to the Belviews in Curse of Strahd.)
If I were to create a spell based off of yours, I might try something like this for a combat version focused on a "Forge" theme:
An arcane forge appears, filling an unoccupied 5ft cube on the ground within 5ft of you. It occupies its space and remains there for the duration of the spell. While this forge is present, it radiates bright light in a 15ft-radius and dim light for an additional 15ft, and as part of the action to cast this spell you can choose to augment up to three weapons or suits of armor within 30ft of the forge that you can see. Choose one benefit from the following list for each weapon or suit of armor:
Temper (Armor only):
The target gains resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage, and critical hits against the target become normal hits. (Better than Adamantine Armor)
Hone (Weapon only):
The target weapon becomes magical, if it is not already, and deals an additional 1d4 damage of its normal type. (Comparable to Crusader's Mantle)
???:
???
These augmentations end when the spell ends, when a new set of targets or effects are chosen as a bonus action on a later round, or for any individual who moves more than 30ft from the forge.
The arcane forge has AC 20, 60hp, and is immune to fire damage. Any creature (other than the caster) that touches the arcane forge, or hits it with a melee attack while within 5ft of it takes 2d6 fire damage. It otherwise interacts with the environment as though it were a 5ft section of wall, including granting cover. Reducing the arcane forge to 0hp destroys it, ending the spell.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you can target one additional creature for each spell slot level above 3rd.
The idea of this spell is that the Artificer magically sets-up shop to defend a space. It's flexible with offense and defense, provides illumination, and offers a little bit of cover. However, the effect is immobile, so if combat moves beyond its area, it becomes ineffective. I haven't dug into this one too deeply, so it needs some tweaking, but this should provide a uniquely Artificer framework to build from.
@Memnosyne Thank you again for your insight. Artifex Bulwark is super cool, and I'm very impressed and inspired by it. When thinking more on the Character I had in mind (currently working with my DM for this version of the spell), I was thinking of a utility and defensive character. Looking through I may adapt some of the things you've suggested and reconsider theme. Again many thanks for the input, you are a gentleperson and a scholar!
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Taking a second swing at a homebrew spell from a while ago, as always, input appreciated.
Fluid Forge (v.1.5)
Level: 3rd
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range/Area: Touch
Components: V, S, M (Flask of mercury(consumed); Artisans Tools)
Duration: 10 Minutes (Concentration)
School: Transmutation
Utilizing your artisan skills and magic, touch a Small or smaller nonmagical object and for the duration of this spell, gain one of the following properties:
Ablative Armor: The object is transmuted into the a medium size plate of protection, the wielder gains a +5 to their AC that is decreased by 1 for every attack prevented. Once the bonus is brought to 0, the plate is destroyed.
Alteration: The object gains the properties of adamantine metal, and can be transmuted into an object of one size larger.
At Higher Levels. When this spell is cast at 5th level, you can target a Large object or smaller, and can gain the following properties:
Augmentation: The object can now be duplicated for the duration of the spell and gains an AC of 20 and 10 hit points. You also gain the ability to cast one non concentration spell up to 3rd level through the object.
(For Artificers, College of Creation Bards, Forge Domain Clerics, and Wizards)
After some tinkering around here's some clarifying language and rebalancing
Fluid Forge (v.1.5)
Level: 3rd
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range/Area: Touch
Components: V, S, M (Flask of mercury(consumed); Artisans Tools)
Duration: 1 Minutes (Concentration)
School: Transmutation
Utilizing your artisan skills and magic, touch a Small or smaller nonmagical object and for the duration of this spell, gain one of the following properties:
Ablative Armor: The object is transmuted into the a medium size plate of protection, the wielder gains an additional +5 to their AC that is decreased by 1 for every attack prevented. Once the bonus is brought to 0, the object is returned to it's original form
Alteration: The object gains the properties of adamantine metal, and can be transmuted into an object of one size larger.
At Higher Levels. When this spell is cast at 5th level, you can target a Medium object or smaller, and can gain one of the following additional properties:
Augmentation: The object can now be duplicated for the duration of the spell and gains an AC of 20 and 10 hit points. You also gain the ability to cast one non concentration spell up to 3rd level through the object.
Greater Ablative Armor: The object transmuted grants the wielder a +7 to their AC that is decreased by 1 for every attack that is prevented. The object is then reverted to its original form.
(For Artificers and Wizards)
"Ablative Armor" rests in an interesting area. Shield grants +5 AC for one round, while Shield of Faith grants +2 AC for 10 minutes. Since AC operates on the principle of bounded accuracy, big boosts like this are a big deal, but with the way you've written it, it can only stop 5 attacks, with decreasing effectiveness. So, I'd say that this feature is probably worse than existing 1st level effects, but too strong to be a cantrip.(In a mob, Shield will be all around better, whereas in a longer conflict, Shield of Faith will be better.)
"Alteration" presents a complicated issue. "Adamantine" doesn't come with specific properties outside of weapons and armor, and it takes at least 1 minute to don/doff armor. Also, the size of objects are not well outlined. How "large" is a plate armor designed for a medium sized creature? This also steps on the toes of Creation (And Fabricate), which also allows for the creation of Adamantine objects with a duration of 1 minute.
"Augmentation" allows for item duplication, which doesn't seem to jive. Being able to cast a spell through the object doesn't seem to be in line with the theme, and also needs a lot more clarification. Do you need to be touching the object to cast the spell, or can you channel the spell from anywhere? Does a spell like Fireball shoot out from it, or does it detonate in the object's space? Boosting AC and HP makes sense here, but for a 5th level spell slot, that seems like a pretty weak application.
"Greater Ablative Armor" falls into the same category as Ablative Armor by rendering a player effectively immune to a few attacks, and only blocks 2 more attacks than it's lower level counterpart.
As written, it would be complicated to use, and is both weaker and stronger than its level, which is a problem. It also seems to be attempting to stretch itself in too many directions. I'd recommend splitting this into two or three different spells and focusing on one application at a time.
In practice, Armor of Agathys and temporary hitpoints are a better model of ablative armor. Diminishing AC is a new mechanic that would be hard to introduce and implement.
For the sake of improving focus, what is your inspiration for this spell? What kind of character do you imagine using it? What is their role in the party?
First off, thank you Memnosyne for responding with a well thought out critique!
To answer your last question first, it had started as an artificer spell that's for support. I liked Kieth Baker's original idea for Artificer of being a mutable class that has a "tool" for every job, and wanted the spell to sort of reflect that.
As far as spells construction, I agree it feels like a bunch of separate spells combined into one. Mostly, that is because it was my attempt to port over some old 3.5 spells into 5e from Ebberon. The original Ablative Armor was a worse Armor of Agathys so I figured having something with the similar decreasing mechanic but not straight up Armor of Agathys.
The "Alteration" option came out of the 3.5 Adamantine Weapon spell with option of giving a temporary buff to armor wearing character (negation of critical hits per DMG) but that may be too powerful considering it kinda steps on the toes of the 6th level Death domain Cleric ability. Also, in my mind, a creative player could use it to reinforce a door during an escape, or for more sturdy cover, as medium size objects are referred to as taking up around a barrel or or chandelier worth of space (Basic Rules).
The troublesome and most difficult one to come up with was "Augmentation" I ultimately just decided to lean into artificer abilities like Spell Storing Item but kinda just winged it. Still super new to homebrewing so perhaps just keeping it a spell that only has a 3rd level application would be best.
The tricky part with a generalist character is that if they're equally good at everything, then they're either overpowered, or struggling to keep up. The best option is to have a character that can fill any role, but has to lock in their choice, so that they are forced to specialize on a day-to-day basis. (As prepared casters do.)
Spells that fill multiple roles can't be balanced to do any of those things particularly well, and as half-casters, Artificers are going to gain access to those spells much later than they normally would, which means that any benefit is going to fall further behind the party's power level. However, in 3.5e there was a feat called Uncanny Forethought that essentially allowed a caster to reserve a number of spell slots to use spontaneously. Something like this as a Class Feature would let the Artificer effectively have a spontaneous "Multi-tool" spell slot, which could let you freely choose between several more potent spells, rather than worrying about balancing a generalist spell.
Spell Storing is one of those features that can become game disrupting, such as in the case of giving everyone in the party (or all the NPCs in a town) Find Familiar. Making that automatically available to 5th level characters could pose some game integrity issues.
You might be interested in checking out one of my earlier Homebrew Spells, Mongrel Mutation. It's not perfect by any means, but might give you a sense of how I tried to balance a flexible spell by keeping it to a theme. (I made it for a character whose backstory connects to the Belviews in Curse of Strahd.)
If I were to create a spell based off of yours, I might try something like this for a combat version focused on a "Forge" theme:
The idea of this spell is that the Artificer magically sets-up shop to defend a space. It's flexible with offense and defense, provides illumination, and offers a little bit of cover. However, the effect is immobile, so if combat moves beyond its area, it becomes ineffective. I haven't dug into this one too deeply, so it needs some tweaking, but this should provide a uniquely Artificer framework to build from.
@Memnosyne Thank you again for your insight. Artifex Bulwark is super cool, and I'm very impressed and inspired by it. When thinking more on the Character I had in mind (currently working with my DM for this version of the spell), I was thinking of a utility and defensive character. Looking through I may adapt some of the things you've suggested and reconsider theme. Again many thanks for the input, you are a gentleperson and a scholar!