I'm desperately need some input. A player of ours would like to play a gnomisch tinkerer in an upcoming campaign and we like to use dndbeyond. Since the Artificer isn't availible here and many people think, that the Artificer isn't all that good at later levels I've tried to design a wizard school for our purpose and I'm looking for some feedback. The subclass is heavily inspired by the artificer and the Tinkerer subclass of Michael Wolf from the dms guild. I've tried to capture the feeling, that the tinkerer wizard uses his tool to cast magic and tried to make his craft arcane device his central class feature. Here it is, please feel free to comment about this subclass, because I would like to avoid to create a subclass, that is either to strong or weak. I hope it doesn't render the other wizard options obsolete.
School of Tinkering:
Tinkering Tool
At 2nd level, you craft a magical tinkering tool that you use to manipulate the magic weave. This magical tool can take a variety of forms, from X to Y. Your understanding of the fundamentals of magic have advanced through long hours of study. Instead of using magic the traditional way, you use your tinkering tool to cast spells. The tinkering tool functions as your new spellbook. Each spell that was in your spellbook and each newly learned spell is added to your tinkering tool as a new component.
Your tinkering tool allows you to weave the magic as you wish, but it is not the source of your power. Another creature cannot use your tinkering tool to cast spells, but without your tinkering tool you can only cast cantrips.
Your tinkering tool counts as an arcane focus and a set of artisan’s tools (tinker’s tools). You also gain proficiency with the artisan‘s tool (tinker‘s tools).
If your tinkering tool is destroyed or lost, you can create a new one using the rules for replacing a spellbook.
Craft Arcane Device
Starting at 2nd level, you gain the ability to craft Tiny arcane objects that can hold your spells for later use. When you cast a spell with a casting time of 1 action, you can increase its casting time to 1 minute. If you do so and you craft a Tiny nonmagical item using your tinkering tool throughout the casting, you expend a spell slot, but none of the spell’s effects occur. Instead, the spell transfers into that item for later use.
Any creature holding the item thereafter can use an action to activate the spell if the creature has an Intelligence score of at least 6. The spell is cast using your spellcasting ability. If the spell targets more than one creature, the creature that activates the item selects the additional targets. If the spell has an area of effect, it is centered on the item, but can be thrown up to 60 feet away as part of the activation. If the spell’s range is self, it targets the creature that activates the item. After the item is used it is destroyed.
When you create an arcane object, it must be used within 8 hours. After that time, its magic fades and the object is destroyed.
You can have a limited number of infused spells at the same time. The number equals your Intelligence modifier and increases to twice your Intelligence modifier at 10th level.
Reverse Engineering
At 6th level, you learn two spells of your choice from any class. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the WIzard table, or a cantrip. The chosen spells count as Wizard spells for you but don’t count against the number of wizard spells you know.
Energy Manipulation
Starting at 10th level, when you craft an arcane object, you can manipulate the energy infused to the object. When you use the Craft Arcane Device feature and you infuse a spell that deals acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage, you can expand an additional 1st-level spell slot to substitute that damage type for another one from that list.
Master Tinkerer
At 14th level, your ability to infuse magic grows stronger. Whenever you use the Craft Arcane Device feature, you can increase the casting time to 10 minutes. If you do so, the arcane object could be activated with a bonus action instead of an action. A creature activating such an object can‘t cast another spell or activate another arcane object with an activation time of 1 action during the same turn, except for cantrips with a casting time of 1 action.
I really, really like this. It would be a great fit for the level 2 bard I'm playing and the gauntlet our party is currently running through.
My bard lugs around an arcane object that he doesn't understand very well yet, but that allows him to replace all his spell components with a song as well as some other goodies. If I can convince my DM to allow this kind of school as opposed to a bard school at 3rd level, my dude could make upgrades. The object is already a big part of his character RP, so it makes sense to be a central class feature.
As a suggestion, then, maybe some reference to repair skills with existing arcane objects at 2nd and 5th levels, then 6th level's Reverse Engineering could also allow for deeper understanding of the elements at play in an existing item and how to manipulate them for improved effects? It would help me, anyway... ;-)
Oh, yes I should have explained that bit. Our campaign is contained in a 20-level mountain where we're being forced to run a murder-hobo type gauntlet by a beholder. It's a reality competition kind of thing, so I'm having a hard time figuring out how my bard would ever get the opportunity to select a bard college. However, if my guy can convince our captor to let a specialist gnome in it's employ tutor me a little in arcane tinkering, my bard would be able to make upgrades and such (and thus put on a better show). It would make more sense for the direction I've set for the character, too, as he's hyper-focused on the magic aspects of his abilities.
Ah ok I see :). And just as a wizard subclass, do you think it is fairly balanced? I don't want it to be to weak or to strong in relation to the other subclasses.
Well I ended using this in a PbP. I wanted to make a straight tinkerer but the homebrew system was unmanageable. I found this and the DM said let's try.
I have not actually used any abilities from the class. I feel it might be overpowered. I can cast all the spells of a wizard, plus i get to enchant an item with a cantrip or 1st lvl spell and give them out to my party. This kind of gives everyone a sleep spell or color spray to use. ??
sadly I have no experience with the subclass either, since I wasn't able to test it. This is basically still a wizard, but his spellbook is replaced by a more thematically representation that lets you do some different kinds. I think the ability to enchant a number of objects equal to your Int mod (or later double that) is quite potent and powerful but since you are stil spending your spell slots and the items only work for 8 hours I don't have the feeling that it is overpowered.
Since your DM is ok with testing the subclass I would say give it a try. The simplest thing would be to restrict the use of the items to the only the wizard or classes that could use magic, but as I said, currently I don't think that it is to strong. You still use your spell slots and other characters still use their actions, so as far as the action economy goes, it should be fine.
We'll work through it. I had originally wanted to make tinker. But I couldn't get the Homebrew system to make a new class. Theme wise this is different, it is using magic to power mechanical things rather there than make mechanical things that avoid magic.
I've made this version for a player who wanted to play a form a an artificer, but since the artificer isn't on ddb we had to come up with a subclass. WotC will release a new version of the Artificer this month, so it is highly likely that this new version will also come to ddb. Maybe you could have a look at this.
Hello,
I'm desperately need some input. A player of ours would like to play a gnomisch tinkerer in an upcoming campaign and we like to use dndbeyond. Since the Artificer isn't availible here and many people think, that the Artificer isn't all that good at later levels I've tried to design a wizard school for our purpose and I'm looking for some feedback.
The subclass is heavily inspired by the artificer and the Tinkerer subclass of Michael Wolf from the dms guild. I've tried to capture the feeling, that the tinkerer wizard uses his tool to cast magic and tried to make his craft arcane device his central class feature. Here it is, please feel free to comment about this subclass, because I would like to avoid to create a subclass, that is either to strong or weak. I hope it doesn't render the other wizard options obsolete.
School of Tinkering:
Tinkering Tool
At 2nd level, you craft a magical tinkering tool that you use to manipulate the magic weave. This magical tool can take a variety of forms, from X to Y. Your understanding of the fundamentals of magic have advanced through long hours of study. Instead of using magic the traditional way, you use your tinkering tool to cast spells. The tinkering tool functions as your new spellbook. Each spell that was in your spellbook and each newly learned spell is added to your tinkering tool as a new component.
Your tinkering tool allows you to weave the magic as you wish, but it is not the source of your power. Another creature cannot use your tinkering tool to cast spells, but without your tinkering tool you can only cast cantrips.
Your tinkering tool counts as an arcane focus and a set of artisan’s tools (tinker’s tools). You also gain proficiency with the artisan‘s tool (tinker‘s tools).
If your tinkering tool is destroyed or lost, you can create a new one using the rules for replacing a spellbook.
Craft Arcane Device
Starting at 2nd level, you gain the ability to craft Tiny arcane objects that can hold your spells for later use. When you cast a spell with a casting time of 1 action, you can increase its casting time to 1 minute. If you do so and you craft a Tiny nonmagical item using your tinkering tool throughout the casting, you expend a spell slot, but none of the spell’s effects occur. Instead, the spell transfers into that item for later use.
Any creature holding the item thereafter can use an action to activate the spell if the creature has an Intelligence score of at least 6. The spell is cast using your spellcasting ability. If the spell targets more than one creature, the creature that activates the item selects the additional targets. If the spell has an area of effect, it is centered on the item, but can be thrown up to 60 feet away as part of the activation. If the spell’s range is self, it targets the creature that activates the item. After the item is used it is destroyed.
When you create an arcane object, it must be used within 8 hours. After that time, its magic fades and the object is destroyed.
You can have a limited number of infused spells at the same time. The number equals your Intelligence modifier and increases to twice your Intelligence modifier at 10th level.
Reverse Engineering
At 6th level, you learn two spells of your choice from any class. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the WIzard table, or a cantrip. The chosen spells count as Wizard spells for you but don’t count against the number of wizard spells you know.
Energy Manipulation
Starting at 10th level, when you craft an arcane object, you can manipulate the energy infused to the object. When you use the Craft Arcane Device feature and you infuse a spell that deals acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage, you can expand an additional 1st-level spell slot to substitute that damage type for another one from that list.
Master Tinkerer
At 14th level, your ability to infuse magic grows stronger. Whenever you use the Craft Arcane Device feature, you can increase the casting time to 10 minutes. If you do so, the arcane object could be activated with a bonus action instead of an action. A creature activating such an object can‘t cast another spell or activate another arcane object with an activation time of 1 action during the same turn, except for cantrips with a casting time of 1 action.
I'm gonna be so shameless and push my thread.
Isn't there anyone who could help me with an option to the subclass?
I really, really like this. It would be a great fit for the level 2 bard I'm playing and the gauntlet our party is currently running through.
My bard lugs around an arcane object that he doesn't understand very well yet, but that allows him to replace all his spell components with a song as well as some other goodies. If I can convince my DM to allow this kind of school as opposed to a bard school at 3rd level, my dude could make upgrades. The object is already a big part of his character RP, so it makes sense to be a central class feature.
As a suggestion, then, maybe some reference to repair skills with existing arcane objects at 2nd and 5th levels, then 6th level's Reverse Engineering could also allow for deeper understanding of the elements at play in an existing item and how to manipulate them for improved effects? It would help me, anyway... ;-)
Thanks for the reply. Sorry but I'm not entirely sure how you came to the bard, since I designed this as a wizard subclass :).
Oh, yes I should have explained that bit. Our campaign is contained in a 20-level mountain where we're being forced to run a murder-hobo type gauntlet by a beholder. It's a reality competition kind of thing, so I'm having a hard time figuring out how my bard would ever get the opportunity to select a bard college. However, if my guy can convince our captor to let a specialist gnome in it's employ tutor me a little in arcane tinkering, my bard would be able to make upgrades and such (and thus put on a better show). It would make more sense for the direction I've set for the character, too, as he's hyper-focused on the magic aspects of his abilities.
Sorry for the confusion there!
Ah ok I see :). And just as a wizard subclass, do you think it is fairly balanced? I don't want it to be to weak or to strong in relation to the other subclasses.
I like it
Well I ended using this in a PbP. I wanted to make a straight tinkerer but the homebrew system was unmanageable. I found this and the DM said let's try.
I have not actually used any abilities from the class. I feel it might be overpowered. I can cast all the spells of a wizard, plus i get to enchant an item with a cantrip or 1st lvl spell and give them out to my party. This kind of gives everyone a sleep spell or color spray to use. ??
Hey Wakarusa,
sadly I have no experience with the subclass either, since I wasn't able to test it. This is basically still a wizard, but his spellbook is replaced by a more thematically representation that lets you do some different kinds. I think the ability to enchant a number of objects equal to your Int mod (or later double that) is quite potent and powerful but since you are stil spending your spell slots and the items only work for 8 hours I don't have the feeling that it is overpowered.
Since your DM is ok with testing the subclass I would say give it a try. The simplest thing would be to restrict the use of the items to the only the wizard or classes that could use magic, but as I said, currently I don't think that it is to strong. You still use your spell slots and other characters still use their actions, so as far as the action economy goes, it should be fine.
We'll work through it. I had originally wanted to make tinker. But I couldn't get the Homebrew system to make a new class. Theme wise this is different, it is using magic to power mechanical things rather there than make mechanical things that avoid magic.
I've made this version for a player who wanted to play a form a an artificer, but since the artificer isn't on ddb we had to come up with a subclass. WotC will release a new version of the Artificer this month, so it is highly likely that this new version will also come to ddb. Maybe you could have a look at this.
Thanks