So long story short, I want to make a mod for Battle Master. Instead of creating an Iron Defender pet, I wanted to make a suit of powered armor. I want the armor to provide bonus HP, like ablative armor, and the suit would fall apart when hit 0 HP. I've decided on a flat 4 HP per level. I brute forced some numbers and the average HP per level - with the armor and no Con Mod - falls just 1 HP behind a Fighter's average HP per level with a +3 Con Mod.
My new problem now is the Mending Spell. In all the other Artificer subclasses, Mending heals 2d6 to constructs. Since it's a cantrip, I imagine someone wold just spam cast it outside of combat until the armor has full HP again. I imagine this would be an issue in later levels since I'd never worry about losing my powered armor.
My first question then is: Does that matter? 5e was built with little power spikes on purpose, like how Fireball is OP as a 3rd level spell.
If it is an issue and it's "too good" then I thought I could lower the amount Mending heals, like 1d6 or 2d4, and write some reason why mending isn't as effective on the armor. Alternatively, I could say the suit provides Temp HP instead (which would be easier to track), but then I run into the problem of healing the suit since Temp HP works differently. I guess a 3rd option would be to combine the two; the suit provides temp HP, but Mending instead provides something like 2 HP per level.
Any help here would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to get this locked down before I start working on the other features. I did a search online and all I found were Iron Man classes or Iron Man subclasses that completely reworked the Artificer class.
I think the armor should always be on you in a powered down state. The extra abilities should then be activated with a once per long rest activation and if you need to get the temp hp back all you would need to do is treat it like the turrets of the Artillery subclass- "You can summon a turret once for free and must finish a long rest before doing so again. You can also summon the turret by expending a spell slot of 1st level or higher."
At least I feel that would allow you to have a limited resource you can expend to regain the abilities.
I've actually thought about making a homebrew like this as well, but I'm waiting for the artificer to be officially released before I go all gung hoe in making it. At the moment, what I have thought about, is to treat it as a heavy armor subclass, likely starting at plate (18 AC flat, but have disadvantage), but would like to have a way for it to scale without having to use infusions on it (was thinking of having similar to the warforged heavy armor of AC = 16 + prof).
Using this as a starting point, you can use the rest of the class/subclass abilities to alter the armor. So I thought about making a system that would function similar to meta magic, but focuses using the armor.
I think the armor should always be on you in a powered down state. The extra abilities should then be activated with a once per long rest activation and if you need to get the temp hp back all you would need to do is treat it like the turrets of the Artillery subclass- "You can summon a turret once for free and must finish a long rest before doing so again. You can also summon the turret by expending a spell slot of 1st level or higher."
At least I feel that would allow you to have a limited resource you can expend to regain the abilities.
I was already planning on using the "You can summon..." mechanic to re-create/summon the armor. I like the idea of spending a spell slot for temp HP, but that sounds like it could get expensive. I'm planning on having maybe one or two "once per long rest" abilities because I imagine the spells will compensate for that, like Magic Missile would look more like rocket propelled grenades than bolts of energy.
... was thinking of having similar to the warforged heavy armor of AC = 16 + prof).
I was already leaning that way too. Story-wise, my plan was that this subclass creates a prototype Warforged and my character was the proof of concept before they found a way to give it intelligence, possibly with the Archivist subclass.
Is there a way to ditch the additional HP all together, but still keep the risk of losing the armor? I want to avoid making a 5e Glitterboy that I never get out of, and I'd like to do something other than just "more AC."
I will say this, I would rather my players have a cost to healing rather than have a cantrip that can be spammed. I'm good with casting it on a pet/companion, just not a feature that is directed at the actual character.
I wonder if a time limit would solve anything, so when you summon the armor you have so much time before the magic defuses and renders the armor unusable. The other problem you have is giving the armor abilities that don't step on the toes of the infusions like resistance armor, repulsion shield, or enhanced defense which would have been perfect abilities for the armor.
I'll give it more thought if you still want people to brainstorm abilities for you.
I will say this, I would rather my players have a cost to healing rather than have a cantrip that can be spammed. I'm good with casting it on a pet/companion, just not a feature that is directed at the actual character.
I wonder if a time limit would solve anything, so when you summon the armor you have so much time before the magic defuses and renders the armor unusable. The other problem you have is giving the armor abilities that don't step on the toes of the infusions like resistance armor, repulsion shield, or enhanced defense which would have been perfect abilities for the armor.
I'll give it more thought if you still want people to brainstorm abilities for you.
You and I are on the same page in that regard. I don't like spamming a cantrip and I don't want to override infusions.
I'm loathe to give it "encounter powers" (to borrow some 4e terminology), but what if I give it something similar to Superiority dice? Like a pool of dice you can use for various things (reduce damage, aid in attack, healing, etc). Once the pool is empty, the suit "overheats" and falls apart? Or maybe once it's empty, you have to concentrate to keep it together?
I will say this, I would rather my players have a cost to healing rather than have a cantrip that can be spammed. I'm good with casting it on a pet/companion, just not a feature that is directed at the actual character.
I wonder if a time limit would solve anything, so when you summon the armor you have so much time before the magic defuses and renders the armor unusable. The other problem you have is giving the armor abilities that don't step on the toes of the infusions like resistance armor, repulsion shield, or enhanced defense which would have been perfect abilities for the armor.
I'll give it more thought if you still want people to brainstorm abilities for you.
Competely agree with the cantrip spamming is a bad idea or making some infusions irrelevant. Now that comment on a "time limit" actually gave me an idea of possibly having an "overdrive" or a "combat mode" that can function similarly to the wizard's Bladesinger subclass. Where twice per short rest (or a different amount of time depending on what it does), you can have stats/modifier bonuses for a duration, which you could limit some of the classes abilities during that time.
You could simply say the Armor is too complex to “Mend” outside of a short rest because of all of the smaller parts required to make it articulate properly, and that each segment must be mended individually. Or say that “Mending” the armor requires Concentration. Or maybe that they cannot see the damage while they’re wearing it and have to get out, Mend it, and then get back out with a don/doff time of 20 mins each, requiring a short rest to repair it. Just some ideas to slightly reduce the spam.
What if I give it something similar to Superiority dice? Like a pool of dice you can use for various things (reduce damage, aid in attack, healing, etc). Once the pool is empty, the suit "overheats" and falls apart? Or maybe once it's empty, you have to concentrate to keep it together?
I feel that with being a spell caster, you should avoid taking away the ability to concentrate on their spells. As for the dice I think you could have it so that you can expend a spell slot and gain a number of dice back equal to the spell's level. You should also have it that you have a certain number of dice per long rest that scales as you level. What size dice are you thinking of using?
Now that comment on a "time limit" actually gave me an idea of possibly having an "overdrive" or a "combat mode" that can function similarly to the wizard's Bladesinger subclass.
I'm not familiar with Bladesinger in 5e. Is that in Sword Coast? I don't have that book. A time limit might work, but I was hoping for something like having to go without the suit for a short while because you taxed it too hard.
You could simply say the Armor is too complex to “Mend” ...
I thought of that too, but as all the other subclasses say Mending heals 2d6, I didn't want to go against the grain unless I really had to.
I feel that with being a spell caster, you should avoid taking away the ability to concentrate on their spells. As for the dice I think you could have it so that you can expend a spell slot and gain a number of dice back equal to the spell's level. You should also have it that you have a certain number of dice per long rest that scales as you level. What size dice are you thinking of using?
I don't know how many concentration spells Artificer's get off hand, so I didn't know if that would be a huge detriment.
The fighter subclass caps at 6 dice by level 15, so I wouldn't want to outclass that, but I think burning spell slots for more dice might work; gives a benefit at a cost. If you can burn a slot whenever though, I think scaling the number of dice per level might be too much. Maybe cap it at 4 or 5 per long rest and leave it there.
My initial thought at dice size was d6's, but maybe a feature at 14th could up that to 8's? If I go this route, though, I don't think I want a list of maneuvers like the fighter subclass. I think I'd just like 3 things up front that you can do with the dice since the Artificer already has a list of spells to manage.
Now that comment on a "time limit" actually gave me an idea of possibly having an "overdrive" or a "combat mode" that can function similarly to the wizard's Bladesinger subclass.
I'm not familiar with Bladesinger in 5e. Is that in Sword Coast? I don't have that book. A time limit might work, but I was hoping for something like having to go without the suit for a short while because you taxed it too hard.
The bladesinger was part of the "Sword Coast Adventure Guide" and to quickly sum it up, the bladesinger's main shtick is that twice per short rest for 1 minute they gain bonus ac, movement, bonus to concentration checks. Then later on it gain bonus damage while in the bladesong and damage reduction via expending spell slots.
Now that comment on a "time limit" actually gave me an idea of possibly having an "overdrive" or a "combat mode" that can function similarly to the wizard's Bladesinger subclass.
I'm not familiar with Bladesinger in 5e. Is that in Sword Coast? I don't have that book. A time limit might work, but I was hoping for something like having to go without the suit for a short while because you taxed it too hard.
You could simply say the Armor is too complex to “Mend” ...
I thought of that too, but as all the other subclasses say Mending heals 2d6, I didn't want to go against the grain unless I really had to.
That's not what I said, I said "You could simply say the Armor is too complex to “Mend” outside of a short rest because of all of the smaller parts required to make it articulate properly, and that each segment must be mended individually." Mending would still heal 2d6, just come up with some pseudoscientific reason for them to have to take at least a short rest to do it so as to mitigate spam. Using HP for armor instead of AC is already going against the grain.
Also, a time limit of one minute twice per short rest would perfectly represent "having to go without the suit for a short while because you taxed it too hard."
That's not what I said, I said "You could simply say the Armor is too complex to “Mend” outside of a short rest because of all of the smaller parts required to make it articulate properly, and that each segment must be mended individually." Mending would still heal 2d6, just come up with some pseudoscientific reason for them to have to take at least a short rest to do it so as to mitigate spam. Using HP for armor instead of AC is already going against the grain.
Also, a time limit of one minute twice per short rest would perfectly represent "having to go without the suit for a short while because you taxed it too hard."
You're right; I completely oversimplified what you said and then didn't respond correctly. I'm sorry about that.
The bladesinger was part of the "Sword Coast Adventure Guide" and to quickly sum it up, the bladesinger's main shtick is that twice per short rest for 1 minute they gain bonus ac, movement, bonus to concentration checks. Then later on it gain bonus damage while in the bladesong and damage reduction via expending spell slots.
I took a look at the Bladesinger. I kind of don't like the limitation of one minute, but I don't have another solution for it. If I can't make any headway with this dice pool idea though, I'd like to come back to this as another avenue.
I was thinking more about this pool of dice. I was imagining a self destruct option as a final feature. It could do a baseline set of damage, plus any additional dice from the pool you haven't spent.
I also still want the armor to fall apart at some point because... well, that's just what I envision, so I thought what if it falls apart when you hit 0 HP? And along those lines, what if instead of just spending dice in the pool to heal yourself (you already have short rests, magic potions, and healing spells for that), you instead have an "ejector seat" feature where if you're dropped to 0 or less HP - and you have dice remaining in the pool - the suit falls apart, but you're ejected and healed with the remaining dice in the pool?
What if you combined the Artificer’s Turret with the features of a mount? It might be easier to mesh as a mount that the “rider” is inside of rather than as armor exactly.
I’m just trying to think outside of the box here. As a metaphor, sometimes it’s easier to re-skin a halberd as a chain weapon rather than base it off of a whip.
What if you combined the Artificer’s Turret with the features of a mount? It might be easier to mesh as a mount that the “rider” is inside of rather than as armor exactly.
I’m just trying to think outside of the box here. As a metaphor, sometimes it’s easier to re-skin a halberd as a chain weapon rather than base it off of a whip.
I thought about the turret; the self destruct idea sprang from it's detonate ability (it reminded me of D'va from Overwatch). The turret also gave me the idea to have different type of powered armor (one combat, one mobile). It would still take a major reskin though (it only lasts 10 minutes, moves 15 ft, and I thought that keeping the immunities to damage and conditions was OP).
Before posting, my initial thought was using the Iron Defender from the Battle Smith subclass as a mount (I was thinking of a Gnome Artificer) and then I imagined sitting inside it like it was a Voltron Lion. All that then lead me to where I am now.
The bladesinger was part of the "Sword Coast Adventure Guide" and to quickly sum it up, the bladesinger's main shtick is that twice per short rest for 1 minute they gain bonus ac, movement, bonus to concentration checks. Then later on it gain bonus damage while in the bladesong and damage reduction via expending spell slots.
I took a look at the Bladesinger. I kind of don't like the limitation of one minute, but I don't have another solution for it. If I can't make any headway with this dice pool idea though, I'd like to come back to this as another avenue.
I was thinking more about this pool of dice. I was imagining a self destruct option as a final feature. It could do a baseline set of damage, plus any additional dice from the pool you haven't spent.
I also still want the armor to fall apart at some point because... well, that's just what I envision, so I thought what if it falls apart when you hit 0 HP? And along those lines, what if instead of just spending dice in the pool to heal yourself (you already have short rests, magic potions, and healing spells for that), you instead have an "ejector seat" feature where if you're dropped to 0 or less HP - and you have dice remaining in the pool - the suit falls apart, but you're ejected and healed with the remaining dice in the pool?
hmm... If you want to do the pool of dice route, not 100% sure of everything that you want to implement with it, but you can go a similar route as the wizard's warmage. Where you start with a small pool of dice that you can expend to increase damage of spells, though for artificer not sure if you should limit it to spells only or not. Maybe you can also include damage reduction, or an increase to weapon attacks too. Though the warmage, because of the pool of dice is small then resets at the end of a long rest, they can increase the pool by using counterspell and dispel magic. Not sure if there would be a way to make this added into the subclass or just have it as a larger pool of dice like the circle of dreams or the celestial patron.
Which ever route you choose, I personally like the idea of charging of a pool of dice which you can use to expend all at once for the explosion or can release in small portions. Though if you go with the large pool of dice, that can also work too with the idea of having a set amount of energy that just slowly depletes over time that you can recharge at the end of a long rest.
hmm... If you want to do the pool of dice route, not 100% sure of everything that you want to implement with it, but you can go a similar route as the wizard's warmage. Where you start with a small pool of dice that you can expend to increase damage of spells, though for artificer not sure if you should limit it to spells only or not. Maybe you can also include damage reduction, or an increase to weapon attacks too. Though the warmage, because of the pool of dice is small then resets at the end of a long rest, they can increase the pool by using counterspell and dispel magic. Not sure if there would be a way to make this added into the subclass or just have it as a larger pool of dice like the circle of dreams or the celestial patron. Which ever route you choose, I personally like the idea of charging of a pool of dice which you can use to expend all at once for the explosion or can release in small portions. Though if you go with the large pool of dice, that can also work too with the idea of having a set amount of energy that just slowly depletes over time that you can recharge at the end of a long rest.
I didn't even consider War Magic. I like the "charges" idea, but I can't of a thematic variant for an Artificer. Would it suck magic out of items?
It does bring up the question of whether the dice pool should be dice, or charges with a set number (like a charge reduces the damage by your Int Mod, for example). Might have to come back to this later. This might synergize really well with Iam's suggestion of spending a charge for a minute's worth of an ability. It would definitely increase the mileage of those abilities.
I like the idea of having a "storage of power" that starts at full power every long rest that is spent over the course of the day and you can refill it by burning spell slots. I also like the idea of being able to spend as much as you want, but
I don't want a table dictating the max you can spend (I think a small enough pool will inherently do that for you), and I want to keep it simple.
I don't want the pool to be so small that you feel like you only have maybe a couple uses before it's drained. I also don't want to limit it by short rests because then burning spells slots wouldn't even be viable.
For abilities, right now I'm thinking of the following things:
An ejection idea: instead of being dropped to 0 HP, the suit launches you like 5 feet away and it heals you if it has an charges left, so you're not dying. If you have no charges remaining, then it just launches you 5 feet and your making death saves.
An ablative armor idea: simple damage reduction. I don't want to mess with AC or anything and after re-reading War Magic, I don't want to step on that subclass' toes.
A self destruct Idea: already explained it above. AOE attack at the cost of losing the suit. Possible extra dice of damage if you have charges remaining. Not a 3rd level ability.
A quick mode (way, way, way down the line): After I get this foundation down, I was planning on two different suits you could create and the other suit would have more mobile/travel abilities. Stuff like may Adv on Dex rolls, moving through enemies without triggering Opportunity Attacks, Jumping away before getting struck by an attack, faster overland movement, etc.
The next logical idea would be something that deals with attacks, but I don't know if I want something to just add to damage. If I could be a little more clever here, I'd like to be. There's also the situation where if you spend one for more charges, you could easily add dice to magic attack rolls, but what about saving throws?
My plan so far is to say that you're proficient with your armor, so you get the bonus to normal attacks and that you get to add your Int Mod to melee/ranged attack rolls because I imagine this suit filling in like a secondary front line fighter role. I'm not too keen on increasing the +To Hit more than that, and I don't have enough experience with the end game to say that +To Damage is OP or not.
What if there was a "course correction" ability? Something that gives you a change to turn a miss into a hit? I can't think of a clever way to make that work without sounding like Advantage after the fact, though. Perhaps if you miss your primary target, you can spending a charge and apply your die roll to a secondary target?
PS - I just looked at the UA subforum. I knew I wasn't trying to create anything unique here, but man I didn't realize how common this idea was.
So I've reworked my subclass. It's not complete, but I fell I have a good skeleton to work with now. To keep this post from running on forever, I'm going to keep the features in spoilers to save space.
As the 3rd level feature I have the following under descriptions. I have more, like additions to the spell list, but I'm only focusing on the suit of armor for now. I originally planned for the Scout Mode to look like a cat/Voltron mech, but I changed my mind and decided the form factor is just cosmetic and it's simpler to just focus on the special abilities anyway.
Mobile Construct: You can build either a Battle or Scout Mode construct after you finish a long rest. You sit inside and pilot this construct, and can enter and exit the construct with a bonus action. While inside, the construct counts as an arcane focus and you use its AC and Move rate instead of your own. The construct will fall to pieces if you are reduced to 0 HP while inside it, or you can dismiss it with a bonus action if you want, but you can't build another construct until after you complete a long rest. The construct is watertight, but not airtight, and you double the number of minutes you can hold your breath while inside. The construct doesn't provide any additional proficiencies, but you can add your Int Mod to any physical attack and damage rolls you make with it. You also can't wear anything heavier than light armor while piloting the construct. If you are not inside the construct, it is considered a medium sized object with 1 HP per artificer level and its normal AC. While an object, the construct will fall to pieces if reduced to 0 HP and it can be moved by an outside force, but otherwise just stands in its space.
Capacitor Storage Pool: When the construct is built, you create a pool of 4 charges that can be spent on protocols. You can replenish this pool by spending a spell slot of first level or higher to gain the same number of charges as the spell slot, but you can never have more charges than your pool allows.
Protocols: Select two protocols out of the number of protocols available to you. At 6th level, choose one more protocol (for a total of three), and one more at 14th (for a total of four). Some protocols have a requirement that must be met first, like a minimum artificer level or the protocol only works for a specific mode.
I also have a few protocols flesh out. I need a few more, but I'm trying to think of things that aren't already in the Alchemist spell list (like Fly) and doesn't specifically modify the suit of armor (like a hook attack that pulls enemies close, meaning the suit now has a hook).
Ejection: (Battle or Scout Mode) If you are reduced to 0, or less HP while inside the construct, as a Free Action you are ejected 5 feet away in any direction you choose. If you had any charges remaining when you are ejected, then you are healed 1d6 per charge. If you do not have any charges remaining, you are still ejected five feet in any direction, but you are unconscious and stable.
Defensive: (Scout Mode Only) Spend a charge as a Bonus Action to gain the benefits of Dodge and Disengage until the start of your next turn.
Ablative: (Battle Mode Only) If you are hit with an attack, spend one or more charges as a Free Action to gain temp HP equal to 1d6 per charge spent after you are hit, but before damage is rolled.
Targeting: (Battle Mode Only) If you miss with a ranged attack, or ranged spell attack roll that targets only one creature, you can spend a charge as your Reaction to select a new target within range and make an attack roll against that new target. You can continue to use this protocol again during your Reaction if you roll another miss, spending a charge each time, but you can't select a creature more than once per attack with this ability. - I made this your reaction because it seemed too good as a free action after 5th level.
Self-Destruct: (6th level minimum, Battle Mode Only) As an Action, you can set your capacitor to overload and explode, destroying your construct. You are launched 30 ft in any direction before the explosion. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on your construct must make a Dex Save. Each target takes 4d6 thunder damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The explosion does an additional 1d6 thunder damage per charge if you have any remaining when you activate this protocol.
Hiya.
So long story short, I want to make a mod for Battle Master. Instead of creating an Iron Defender pet, I wanted to make a suit of powered armor. I want the armor to provide bonus HP, like ablative armor, and the suit would fall apart when hit 0 HP. I've decided on a flat 4 HP per level. I brute forced some numbers and the average HP per level - with the armor and no Con Mod - falls just 1 HP behind a Fighter's average HP per level with a +3 Con Mod.
My new problem now is the Mending Spell. In all the other Artificer subclasses, Mending heals 2d6 to constructs. Since it's a cantrip, I imagine someone wold just spam cast it outside of combat until the armor has full HP again. I imagine this would be an issue in later levels since I'd never worry about losing my powered armor.
My first question then is: Does that matter? 5e was built with little power spikes on purpose, like how Fireball is OP as a 3rd level spell.
If it is an issue and it's "too good" then I thought I could lower the amount Mending heals, like 1d6 or 2d4, and write some reason why mending isn't as effective on the armor. Alternatively, I could say the suit provides Temp HP instead (which would be easier to track), but then I run into the problem of healing the suit since Temp HP works differently. I guess a 3rd option would be to combine the two; the suit provides temp HP, but Mending instead provides something like 2 HP per level.
Any help here would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to get this locked down before I start working on the other features. I did a search online and all I found were Iron Man classes or Iron Man subclasses that completely reworked the Artificer class.
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew
I think the armor should always be on you in a powered down state. The extra abilities should then be activated with a once per long rest activation and if you need to get the temp hp back all you would need to do is treat it like the turrets of the Artillery subclass- "You can summon a turret once for free and must finish a long rest before doing so again. You can also summon the turret by expending a spell slot of 1st level or higher."
At least I feel that would allow you to have a limited resource you can expend to regain the abilities.
Having fun trying to rp more.
I've actually thought about making a homebrew like this as well, but I'm waiting for the artificer to be officially released before I go all gung hoe in making it. At the moment, what I have thought about, is to treat it as a heavy armor subclass, likely starting at plate (18 AC flat, but have disadvantage), but would like to have a way for it to scale without having to use infusions on it (was thinking of having similar to the warforged heavy armor of AC = 16 + prof).
Using this as a starting point, you can use the rest of the class/subclass abilities to alter the armor. So I thought about making a system that would function similar to meta magic, but focuses using the armor.
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I was already planning on using the "You can summon..." mechanic to re-create/summon the armor. I like the idea of spending a spell slot for temp HP, but that sounds like it could get expensive. I'm planning on having maybe one or two "once per long rest" abilities because I imagine the spells will compensate for that, like Magic Missile would look more like rocket propelled grenades than bolts of energy.
I was already leaning that way too. Story-wise, my plan was that this subclass creates a prototype Warforged and my character was the proof of concept before they found a way to give it intelligence, possibly with the Archivist subclass.
Is there a way to ditch the additional HP all together, but still keep the risk of losing the armor? I want to avoid making a 5e Glitterboy that I never get out of, and I'd like to do something other than just "more AC."
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew
I will say this, I would rather my players have a cost to healing rather than have a cantrip that can be spammed. I'm good with casting it on a pet/companion, just not a feature that is directed at the actual character.
I wonder if a time limit would solve anything, so when you summon the armor you have so much time before the magic defuses and renders the armor unusable. The other problem you have is giving the armor abilities that don't step on the toes of the infusions like resistance armor, repulsion shield, or enhanced defense which would have been perfect abilities for the armor.
I'll give it more thought if you still want people to brainstorm abilities for you.
Having fun trying to rp more.
You and I are on the same page in that regard. I don't like spamming a cantrip and I don't want to override infusions.
I'm loathe to give it "encounter powers" (to borrow some 4e terminology), but what if I give it something similar to Superiority dice? Like a pool of dice you can use for various things (reduce damage, aid in attack, healing, etc). Once the pool is empty, the suit "overheats" and falls apart? Or maybe once it's empty, you have to concentrate to keep it together?
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew
Competely agree with the cantrip spamming is a bad idea or making some infusions irrelevant. Now that comment on a "time limit" actually gave me an idea of possibly having an "overdrive" or a "combat mode" that can function similarly to the wizard's Bladesinger subclass. Where twice per short rest (or a different amount of time depending on what it does), you can have stats/modifier bonuses for a duration, which you could limit some of the classes abilities during that time.
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You could simply say the Armor is too complex to “Mend” outside of a short rest because of all of the smaller parts required to make it articulate properly, and that each segment must be mended individually. Or say that “Mending” the armor requires Concentration. Or maybe that they cannot see the damage while they’re wearing it and have to get out, Mend it, and then get back out with a don/doff time of 20 mins each, requiring a short rest to repair it. Just some ideas to slightly reduce the spam.
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I feel that with being a spell caster, you should avoid taking away the ability to concentrate on their spells. As for the dice I think you could have it so that you can expend a spell slot and gain a number of dice back equal to the spell's level. You should also have it that you have a certain number of dice per long rest that scales as you level. What size dice are you thinking of using?
Having fun trying to rp more.
I'm not familiar with Bladesinger in 5e. Is that in Sword Coast? I don't have that book. A time limit might work, but I was hoping for something like having to go without the suit for a short while because you taxed it too hard.
I thought of that too, but as all the other subclasses say Mending heals 2d6, I didn't want to go against the grain unless I really had to.
I don't know how many concentration spells Artificer's get off hand, so I didn't know if that would be a huge detriment.
The fighter subclass caps at 6 dice by level 15, so I wouldn't want to outclass that, but I think burning spell slots for more dice might work; gives a benefit at a cost. If you can burn a slot whenever though, I think scaling the number of dice per level might be too much. Maybe cap it at 4 or 5 per long rest and leave it there.
My initial thought at dice size was d6's, but maybe a feature at 14th could up that to 8's? If I go this route, though, I don't think I want a list of maneuvers like the fighter subclass. I think I'd just like 3 things up front that you can do with the dice since the Artificer already has a list of spells to manage.
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew
The bladesinger was part of the "Sword Coast Adventure Guide" and to quickly sum it up, the bladesinger's main shtick is that twice per short rest for 1 minute they gain bonus ac, movement, bonus to concentration checks. Then later on it gain bonus damage while in the bladesong and damage reduction via expending spell slots.
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That's not what I said, I said "You could simply say the Armor is too complex to “Mend” outside of a short rest because of all of the smaller parts required to make it articulate properly, and that each segment must be mended individually." Mending would still heal 2d6, just come up with some pseudoscientific reason for them to have to take at least a short rest to do it so as to mitigate spam. Using HP for armor instead of AC is already going against the grain.
Also, a time limit of one minute twice per short rest would perfectly represent "having to go without the suit for a short while because you taxed it too hard."
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You're right; I completely oversimplified what you said and then didn't respond correctly. I'm sorry about that.
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew
I took a look at the Bladesinger. I kind of don't like the limitation of one minute, but I don't have another solution for it. If I can't make any headway with this dice pool idea though, I'd like to come back to this as another avenue.
I was thinking more about this pool of dice. I was imagining a self destruct option as a final feature. It could do a baseline set of damage, plus any additional dice from the pool you haven't spent.
I also still want the armor to fall apart at some point because... well, that's just what I envision, so I thought what if it falls apart when you hit 0 HP? And along those lines, what if instead of just spending dice in the pool to heal yourself (you already have short rests, magic potions, and healing spells for that), you instead have an "ejector seat" feature where if you're dropped to 0 or less HP - and you have dice remaining in the pool - the suit falls apart, but you're ejected and healed with the remaining dice in the pool?
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew
What if you combined the Artificer’s Turret with the features of a mount? It might be easier to mesh as a mount that the “rider” is inside of rather than as armor exactly.
I’m just trying to think outside of the box here. As a metaphor, sometimes it’s easier to re-skin a halberd as a chain weapon rather than base it off of a whip.
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I thought about the turret; the self destruct idea sprang from it's detonate ability (it reminded me of D'va from Overwatch). The turret also gave me the idea to have different type of powered armor (one combat, one mobile). It would still take a major reskin though (it only lasts 10 minutes, moves 15 ft, and I thought that keeping the immunities to damage and conditions was OP).
Before posting, my initial thought was using the Iron Defender from the Battle Smith subclass as a mount (I was thinking of a Gnome Artificer) and then I imagined sitting inside it like it was a Voltron Lion. All that then lead me to where I am now.
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew
hmm... If you want to do the pool of dice route, not 100% sure of everything that you want to implement with it, but you can go a similar route as the wizard's warmage. Where you start with a small pool of dice that you can expend to increase damage of spells, though for artificer not sure if you should limit it to spells only or not. Maybe you can also include damage reduction, or an increase to weapon attacks too. Though the warmage, because of the pool of dice is small then resets at the end of a long rest, they can increase the pool by using counterspell and dispel magic. Not sure if there would be a way to make this added into the subclass or just have it as a larger pool of dice like the circle of dreams or the celestial patron.
Which ever route you choose, I personally like the idea of charging of a pool of dice which you can use to expend all at once for the explosion or can release in small portions. Though if you go with the large pool of dice, that can also work too with the idea of having a set amount of energy that just slowly depletes over time that you can recharge at the end of a long rest.
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I didn't even consider War Magic. I like the "charges" idea, but I can't of a thematic variant for an Artificer. Would it suck magic out of items?
It does bring up the question of whether the dice pool should be dice, or charges with a set number (like a charge reduces the damage by your Int Mod, for example). Might have to come back to this later. This might synergize really well with Iam's suggestion of spending a charge for a minute's worth of an ability. It would definitely increase the mileage of those abilities.
I like the idea of having a "storage of power" that starts at full power every long rest that is spent over the course of the day and you can refill it by burning spell slots. I also like the idea of being able to spend as much as you want, but
For abilities, right now I'm thinking of the following things:
The next logical idea would be something that deals with attacks, but I don't know if I want something to just add to damage. If I could be a little more clever here, I'd like to be. There's also the situation where if you spend one for more charges, you could easily add dice to magic attack rolls, but what about saving throws?
My plan so far is to say that you're proficient with your armor, so you get the bonus to normal attacks and that you get to add your Int Mod to melee/ranged attack rolls because I imagine this suit filling in like a secondary front line fighter role. I'm not too keen on increasing the +To Hit more than that, and I don't have enough experience with the end game to say that +To Damage is OP or not.
What if there was a "course correction" ability? Something that gives you a change to turn a miss into a hit? I can't think of a clever way to make that work without sounding like Advantage after the fact, though. Perhaps if you miss your primary target, you can spending a charge and apply your die roll to a secondary target?
PS - I just looked at the UA subforum. I knew I wasn't trying to create anything unique here, but man I didn't realize how common this idea was.
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew
So I've reworked my subclass. It's not complete, but I fell I have a good skeleton to work with now. To keep this post from running on forever, I'm going to keep the features in spoilers to save space.
As the 3rd level feature I have the following under descriptions. I have more, like additions to the spell list, but I'm only focusing on the suit of armor for now. I originally planned for the Scout Mode to look like a cat/Voltron mech, but I changed my mind and decided the form factor is just cosmetic and it's simpler to just focus on the special abilities anyway.
I also have a few protocols flesh out. I need a few more, but I'm trying to think of things that aren't already in the Alchemist spell list (like Fly) and doesn't specifically modify the suit of armor (like a hook attack that pulls enemies close, meaning the suit now has a hook).
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew