I'm going to start running a game for a new group soon, and one of the players is playing an artificer, so I've been reading up on the rules for that class. The way I'm reading the rules on infusions, they can't be learned more than once (unless the infusion text says otherwise), so once the infusion ends (for whatever reason), you cannot relearn it, so in essence you get that infusion only once and never again. But that seems severe. If you learn Armor of Magical Strength, for example, and for some reason that infusion ends, then you can never use that particular infusion again. But maybe the rules are meant that way in order to maintain game balance.
Or is this the case: you can relearn an infusion but only for a different item. For example, with Armor of Magical Strength, if an artificer infuses chain mail and then for some reason that infusion ends, he can relearn that infusion again but only for a type of armor other than chainmail. But that seems like reading too much into the rules.
Once you learn an Infusion, you know it forever or until replaced with a new one. Your infusion remains in an item indefinitely, but when you die, the infusion vanishes after a number of days equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1 day). The infusion also vanishes if you replace your knowledge of the infusion.
I'm going to start running a game for a new group soon, and one of the players is playing an artificer, so I've been reading up on the rules for that class. The way I'm reading the rules on infusions, they can't be learned more than once (unless the infusion text says otherwise), so once the infusion ends (for whatever reason), you cannot relearn it, so in essence you get that infusion only once and never again. But that seems severe. If you learn Armor of Magical Strength, for example, and for some reason that infusion ends, then you can never use that particular infusion again. But maybe the rules are meant that way in order to maintain game balance.
Or is this the case: you can relearn an infusion but only for a different item. For example, with Armor of Magical Strength, if an artificer infuses chain mail and then for some reason that infusion ends, he can relearn that infusion again but only for a type of armor other than chainmail. But that seems like reading too much into the rules.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.
No, this is not how it works. I think you're getting two different elements of the feature confused.
While it's true that you can't learn the same infusion more than once, the rules say nothing about not being able to use the infusion (i.e., place it in an item) more than once. You can only have it in one item at a time, but when you finish a long rest, you choose which items you want to infuse with which of your infusions.
It actually works a lot like Wizard spells. You learn certain spells that live in your spellbook, and you can't put the same spell in there more than once. When you take a long rest, you choose which spells to prepare until your next long rest, when you can change them if you want, but there's nothing saying you can't prepare some or all of the same spells again the next day.
If you know a particular infusion forever, then why do the rules even bother mentioning that you can't relearn it? If you know it forever, then relearning never becomes an issue.
If you know a particular infusion forever, then why do the rules even bother mentioning that you can't relearn it? If you know it forever, then relearning never becomes an issue.
This is to prevent you from trying to learn the same infusion twice at the same time and thereby be able to put it into two items at once.
I'm going to start running a game for a new group soon, and one of the players is playing an artificer, so I've been reading up on the rules for that class. The way I'm reading the rules on infusions, they can't be learned more than once (unless the infusion text says otherwise), so once the infusion ends (for whatever reason), you cannot relearn it, so in essence you get that infusion only once and never again. But that seems severe. If you learn Armor of Magical Strength, for example, and for some reason that infusion ends, then you can never use that particular infusion again. But maybe the rules are meant that way in order to maintain game balance.
Or is this the case: you can relearn an infusion but only for a different item. For example, with Armor of Magical Strength, if an artificer infuses chain mail and then for some reason that infusion ends, he can relearn that infusion again but only for a type of armor other than chainmail. But that seems like reading too much into the rules.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.
While it's true that you can't learn the same infusion more than once, the rules say nothing about not being able to use the infusion (i.e., place it in an item) more than once. You can only have it in one item at a time, but when you finish a long rest, you choose which items you want to infuse with which of your infusions.
Okay, this makes sense. Learning the infusion and using it are two different things. But I'm still wondering why the rules even say that you can't relearn an infusion if you know it forever anyway. Maybe they were thinking it's possible to "unlearn" it due to some effect against the artificer that makes him/her forget it. I suppose in that case you could never relearn it. (?)
Again, the point is that if it didn't say that, you'd be able to take (e.g.) Enhanced Weapon twice as two of your Infusions Known and put it into two different weapons at the same time, which for balance reasons they didn't want you to be able to do.
It has nothing to do with "relearning" it after "unlearning" it, which you actually can do, since you can swap one of your Known Infusions out when you gain an Artificer level.
You can Infuse the Longsword OR the Shortbow with the +1, but not both
If you level up to a point where you learn another Infusion, you still will not be able to use that feature to give the second weapon the +1 Infusion because you can only have one instance of the Infusion learned
The Replicate Magic Items Infusion CAN be learned multiple times, but you need to pick a different one each time. Which is basically why they have the bit about Infusions only being able to be learned once unless it says otherwise- rather than reinvent the wheel for all the existing magic items you can make, they're covered under one heading, and thus need a specific exemption to the limit so you're not locked into a single one of them at a time.
My artificer knows 4 distinct infusions - bag of holding, repeating shot, homunculus, and enhanced defense. These are the infusions she knows until she levels up; at each level up you can swap out a known infusion. She can have two active at a time, using two separate known infusions, and she can swap the active ones for other known ones out every morning after a long rest.
So let's say she has her bag of holding, and applied repeating shot to her crossbow. She's stuck with that for the day, and on those items.
Tomorrow, she could apply repeating shot to her friend's shortbow and apply enhanced defense to her own armor. But she can't apply repeating shot to the shortbow and also to her own crossbow, even though that would still only be two active infusions.
The "can only learn it once" to me means only that you cannot have two instances of it learned at the same time. If I level up, and swap my repeating shot for enhanced weapon, there's no problem with on the next level up swapping them back when I realize, actually, melee is not right for me after all.
I'm going to start running a game for a new group soon, and one of the players is playing an artificer, so I've been reading up on the rules for that class. The way I'm reading the rules on infusions, they can't be learned more than once (unless the infusion text says otherwise), so once the infusion ends (for whatever reason), you cannot relearn it, so in essence you get that infusion only once and never again. But that seems severe. If you learn Armor of Magical Strength, for example, and for some reason that infusion ends, then you can never use that particular infusion again. But maybe the rules are meant that way in order to maintain game balance.
Or is this the case: you can relearn an infusion but only for a different item. For example, with Armor of Magical Strength, if an artificer infuses chain mail and then for some reason that infusion ends, he can relearn that infusion again but only for a type of armor other than chainmail. But that seems like reading too much into the rules.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Once you learn an Infusion, you know it forever or until replaced with a new one. Your infusion remains in an item indefinitely, but when you die, the infusion vanishes after a number of days equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1 day). The infusion also vanishes if you replace your knowledge of the infusion.
No, this is not how it works. I think you're getting two different elements of the feature confused.
While it's true that you can't learn the same infusion more than once, the rules say nothing about not being able to use the infusion (i.e., place it in an item) more than once. You can only have it in one item at a time, but when you finish a long rest, you choose which items you want to infuse with which of your infusions.
It actually works a lot like Wizard spells. You learn certain spells that live in your spellbook, and you can't put the same spell in there more than once. When you take a long rest, you choose which spells to prepare until your next long rest, when you can change them if you want, but there's nothing saying you can't prepare some or all of the same spells again the next day.
pronouns: he/she/they
If you know a particular infusion forever, then why do the rules even bother mentioning that you can't relearn it? If you know it forever, then relearning never becomes an issue.
This is to prevent you from trying to learn the same infusion twice at the same time and thereby be able to put it into two items at once.
pronouns: he/she/they
Okay, this makes sense. Learning the infusion and using it are two different things. But I'm still wondering why the rules even say that you can't relearn an infusion if you know it forever anyway. Maybe they were thinking it's possible to "unlearn" it due to some effect against the artificer that makes him/her forget it. I suppose in that case you could never relearn it. (?)
Again, the point is that if it didn't say that, you'd be able to take (e.g.) Enhanced Weapon twice as two of your Infusions Known and put it into two different weapons at the same time, which for balance reasons they didn't want you to be able to do.
It has nothing to do with "relearning" it after "unlearning" it, which you actually can do, since you can swap one of your Known Infusions out when you gain an Artificer level.
pronouns: he/she/they
To break it down:
Here's another specific example.
My artificer knows 4 distinct infusions - bag of holding, repeating shot, homunculus, and enhanced defense. These are the infusions she knows until she levels up; at each level up you can swap out a known infusion. She can have two active at a time, using two separate known infusions, and she can swap the active ones for other known ones out every morning after a long rest.
So let's say she has her bag of holding, and applied repeating shot to her crossbow. She's stuck with that for the day, and on those items.
Tomorrow, she could apply repeating shot to her friend's shortbow and apply enhanced defense to her own armor. But she can't apply repeating shot to the shortbow and also to her own crossbow, even though that would still only be two active infusions.
The "can only learn it once" to me means only that you cannot have two instances of it learned at the same time. If I level up, and swap my repeating shot for enhanced weapon, there's no problem with on the next level up swapping them back when I realize, actually, melee is not right for me after all.
A big thank you to all of you. You've been a great help clarifying the rule for me!