The Artillerist archetype is interesting, but it didn’t really scratch the itch I had for an Artificer. I didn’t want to enchant wands. I wanted to enchant arrows that blew stuff up with them. So I made this archetype to facilitate that. I took a lot of inspiration from the Arcane Archer Fighter because I've always liked the idea of it, but I don't like the subclass as it was written. I felt that an Artificer would make a lot of sense as an Arcane Archer.
Tools of the Trade By the time you adopt this specialty at 3rd level, you’re deeply familiar with employing its tools. Proficiencies. You gain proficiency with smith’s tools and woodcarver’s tools, assuming you don’t already have them. You also gain those tools for free—the result of tinkering you’ve done as you’ve prepared for this specialization. Crafting. If you craft a magic item in the ammunition category, it takes you a quarter of the normal time, and it costs you half as much of the usual gold. (I made a lot of homebrew ammunition to make this useful)
Enchanter Spells You learn the following spells when you reach certain levels in this class. You always have these spells prepared, and they don’t count against the number you can prepare at one time.
3rd level: Hail of Thorns, Ensnaring Strike
5th level: Cordon of Arrows, Web
9th level: Lightning Arrow, Flame Arrows
13th level: Elemental Bane, Locate Creature
17th level: Conjure Volley, Swift Quiver
Arcane Quiver You create a magical quiver or ammunition pouch that carries your ammunition. Once per turn, you can draw an enchanted piece of ammunition from this quiver from the options below. In addition to taking damage from the ammunition, the target suffers the following effects if struck by the corresponding arrow:
Blasting Shot: the target and all other creatures within 10 feet immediately take 2d6 fire damage.
Piercing Shot: When you use this option, you don’t make an attack roll for the attack. Instead, the arrow shoots forward in a line, which is 1 foot wide and 30 feet long, before disappearing. The arrow passes harmlessly through objects, ignoring cover. Each creature in that line must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes damage as if it were hit by the arrow, plus an extra 1d6 piercing damage. On a successful save, a target takes half as much damage.
Seeking Shot: the attack roll has advantage, even at long range, and ignores 1/2 and 3/4 cover.
Thunder Shot: the target takes an additional 2d6 thunder damage and must succeed a Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away and knocked prone.
If a piece of ammunition drawn from this quiver requires the target to make a saving throw, the DC is equal to your spell save DC. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1), and you regain all uses of it when you complete a short or long rest.
If you lose this quiver, you can create a new one with 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 25 gp worth of materials.
Potent Arrow Starting at 6th level, whenever you craft a magical arrow using Tools of the Trade that requires a creature to make a saving throw, you can now use your spell save DC in place of the item’s. Additionally, ammunition that you enchant with Tools of the Trade or Arcane Quiver deals extra damage equal to your Intelligence modifier.
Starting at 11th level, this additional Intelligence modifier damage is also applied to all non-magical arrows drawn from your Arcane Quiver.
Combat Enchantment Starting at 14th level, you can quickly infuse your arrows with magical energy. As a bonus action, you enchant a nonmagical arrow with the effects of one of your cantrips. The cantrip is cast at it’s basic strength regardless of your level. As an example, you may enchant an arrow with Firebolt making it so that the arrow deals an additional 1d10 fire damage when hitting an enemy. Or you might enchant it with Prestidigitation so that it sends out sparks as it flies. Additionally, you learn two cantrips of your choice from any class.
I'd love some feedback on this archetype! I also recently started a blog about DnD at www.pearsenation.com so if you like my creations more can be found there. Thank you for reading!
I really like it! I think perhaps a name change could make it more clear what the subclass is about, my suggestion is "The Fletcher". I suggest adding longbow and maybe blowgun proficiency and adding bows to crafting.
There are small style issues, with capitalization and the like. Other than that, you've made a natural addition to the class, well done!
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
I like it! Rather than the magical quiver thing, I might have them "prepare" their arrows each short or long rest - you'd have to decide how many/which of each arrow type you create. It fits with the idea that the artificer is tinkering around with creating trick arrows during their rests rather than just having something that spits out whatever they need.
The Artillerist archetype is interesting, but it didn’t really scratch the itch I had for an Artificer. I didn’t want to enchant wands. I wanted to enchant arrows that blew stuff up with them. So I made this archetype to facilitate that. I took a lot of inspiration from the Arcane Archer Fighter because I've always liked the idea of it, but I don't like the subclass as it was written. I felt that an Artificer would make a lot of sense as an Arcane Archer.
Tools of the Trade
By the time you adopt this specialty at 3rd level, you’re deeply familiar with employing its tools.
Proficiencies.
You gain proficiency with smith’s tools and woodcarver’s tools, assuming you don’t already have them. You also gain those tools for free—the result of tinkering you’ve done as you’ve prepared for this specialization.
Crafting.
If you craft a magic item in the ammunition category, it takes you a quarter of the normal time, and it costs you half as much of the usual gold.
(I made a lot of homebrew ammunition to make this useful)
Enchanter Spells
You learn the following spells when you reach certain levels in this class. You always have these spells prepared, and they don’t count against the number you can prepare at one time.
Arcane Quiver
You create a magical quiver or ammunition pouch that carries your ammunition. Once per turn, you can draw an enchanted piece of ammunition from this quiver from the options below. In addition to taking damage from the ammunition, the target suffers the following effects if struck by the corresponding arrow:
Blasting Shot: the target and all other creatures within 10 feet immediately take 2d6 fire damage.
Piercing Shot: When you use this option, you don’t make an attack roll for the attack. Instead, the arrow shoots forward in a line, which is 1 foot wide and 30 feet long, before disappearing. The arrow passes harmlessly through objects, ignoring cover. Each creature in that line must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes damage as if it were hit by the arrow, plus an extra 1d6 piercing damage. On a successful save, a target takes half as much damage.
Seeking Shot: the attack roll has advantage, even at long range, and ignores 1/2 and 3/4 cover.
Thunder Shot: the target takes an additional 2d6 thunder damage and must succeed a Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away and knocked prone.
If a piece of ammunition drawn from this quiver requires the target to make a saving throw, the DC is equal to your spell save DC. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1), and you regain all uses of it when you complete a short or long rest.
If you lose this quiver, you can create a new one with 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 25 gp worth of materials.
Potent Arrow
Starting at 6th level, whenever you craft a magical arrow using Tools of the Trade that requires a creature to make a saving throw, you can now use your spell save DC in place of the item’s.
Additionally, ammunition that you enchant with Tools of the Trade or Arcane Quiver deals extra damage equal to your Intelligence modifier.
Starting at 11th level, this additional Intelligence modifier damage is also applied to all non-magical arrows drawn from your Arcane Quiver.
Combat Enchantment
Starting at 14th level, you can quickly infuse your arrows with magical energy. As a bonus action, you enchant a nonmagical arrow with the effects of one of your cantrips. The cantrip is cast at it’s basic strength regardless of your level. As an example, you may enchant an arrow with Firebolt making it so that the arrow deals an additional 1d10 fire damage when hitting an enemy. Or you might enchant it with Prestidigitation so that it sends out sparks as it flies.
Additionally, you learn two cantrips of your choice from any class.
I'd love some feedback on this archetype! I also recently started a blog about DnD at www.pearsenation.com so if you like my creations more can be found there. Thank you for reading!
I really like it! I think perhaps a name change could make it more clear what the subclass is about, my suggestion is "The Fletcher". I suggest adding longbow and maybe blowgun proficiency and adding bows to crafting.
There are small style issues, with capitalization and the like. Other than that, you've made a natural addition to the class, well done!
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Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Thank you!
I like it! Rather than the magical quiver thing, I might have them "prepare" their arrows each short or long rest - you'd have to decide how many/which of each arrow type you create. It fits with the idea that the artificer is tinkering around with creating trick arrows during their rests rather than just having something that spits out whatever they need.
Oh I like that a lot! I'll probably make that change for the final version once we can make the features in DnD Beyond, thank you!