What's New with the Artificer in Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

Tags Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

The Artificer returns as a true master of magical invention in Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. With on-the-fly gadgeteering, a streamlined magic item blueprint system, and subclasses tuned for the new rules, the Artificer is more of a wonder-worker than ever.

In this article, we'll cover the key changes to the new Artificer you'll find in Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. If there's a feature we don't cover, it remains unchanged or only saw minor tweaks.

Eberron: Forge of the Artificer Releases December 9!

Preorder Eberron: Forge of the Artificer now to get the updated Artificer, revised subclasses, and a trove of Eberron-centric character options, like Dragonmark feats and the Warforged species, when the book releases.

Master Tier subscribers can access the book two weeks early, on November 25, and Hero Tier subscribers can access the book one week early, on December 2!

Michael BroussardBattle Smith

What's New for the Artificer?

CLASS FEATURE

LEVEL

WHAT'S NEW

Spellcasting

1
  • Can replace one cantrip each Long Rest.
  • Number of prepared spells is now a fixed number in the Artificer table.

Tinker's Magic

1
  • New feature that replaces the old Magical Tinkering:
  • Know the Mending cantrip.
  • As a Magic action with Tinker's Tools, create useful mundane gear (Rope, Torch, Caltrops, etc.) that lasts until your next Long Rest. Uses per Long Rest are equal to your Intelligence modifier.

Replicate Magic Item

2
  • New feature that replaces the old Infuse Item:
  • Learn plans for creating magic items by level tiers.
  • Create one or more magic items after a Long Rest from plans you know; attune instantly if required.

Artificer Subclass

3
  • Cartographer subclass added; Alchemist, Armorer, Artillerist, and Battle Smith updated.

Magic Item Tinker

6
  • New feature that replaces Tool Expertise with benefits that expand your Replicate Magic Item feature:
  • Charge Magic Item: Expend a spell slot to restore charges in a replicated item.
  • Drain Magic Item: Dismiss a replicated item to gain a spell slot.
  • Transmute Magic Item: Swap one replicated item to another plan once per Long Rest.

Flash of Genius

7
  • Now triggers specifically when a creature fails an ability check or saving throw.

Magic Item Adept

10
  • Can still attune to four magic items at once.
  • Reduced crafting time/cost benefit enveloped into Tinker's Magic feature.

Spell-Storing Item

11
  • Can now store an Artificer spell up to level 3 that casts as a Magic action from the item; can no longer have a Material component that is consumed.

Advanced Artifice

14
  • New feature that envelopes part of the old Magic Item Savant and adds an additional benefit:
  • Refreshed Genius: Gain a use of Flash of Genius when you finish a Short Rest.
  • Removes the ability to ignore class, species, spell, and level requirements to attune to items.

Magic Item Master

18
  • No change.

Epic Boon

19
  • Choose one Epic Boon feat, or another feat of your choice.

Soul of Artifice

20
  • Reworked to grant the following benefits:
  • Cheat Death: When you drop to 0 Hit Points, can dismiss Uncommon or Rare replicated magic items to gain Hit Points equal to 20 times the number of items you dismissed.
  • Magical Guidance: Regain all uses of Flash of Genius after a Short Rest as long as you're attuned to one magic item.

Artificer Class Features Overview

Michael BroussardBattle Smith

Spellcasting — Level 1

Like other spellcasting classes, the Artificer can now swap a cantrip after a Long Rest. Now, you can even tailor your repertoire of cantrips for what you expect the day ahead holds!

Tinker's Magic — Level 1

This replaces the old Magical Tinkering feature and dramatically expands the possibilities for your Artificer's crafting!

You know Mending and can fabricate practical adventuring gear as a Magic action while holding Tinker's Tools. Items last until your next Long Rest—great for on-demand Ball Bearings, Rope, or a Grappling Hook while you're mid-dungeon crawl.

Uses per Long Rest equal your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1).

Replicate Magic Item — Level 2

One of the cornerstones of the Artificer class, the Infuse Item feature, has been reworked into Replicate Magic Item.

Now, instead of Infusions, you learn plans for magic items by level tier (2+, 6+, 10+, 14+). The end result is a vast expansion of choices. And don't worry—if your Artificer relied on their Boots of the Winding Path or a Light Crossbow with Repeating Shot, these have been added as magic items included in Eberron: Forge of the Artificer that can be created through the Artificer's new Replicate Magic Item feature.

This feature is also still interacted with at higher levels. Not only can you create more powerful items, but you can still store spells in them and utilize their magic to recover from grave injuries.

Artificer Subclass — Level 3

Eberron: Forge of the Artificer adds the Cartographer subclass to complement the updated Alchemist, Armorer, Artillerist, and Battle Smith.

Stay tuned for an in-depth look at the new and revised Artificer subclasses coming over the next couple of weeks.

Magic Item Tinker — Level 6

Michael BroussardArmorer

Magic Item Tinker is a new feature that replaces Tool Expertise and supercharges your Replicate Magic Item feature into a flexible, fine-tunable loadout.

At this level, you gain three benefits for managing your replicated magic items:

  • Charge Magic Item: Restore charges in an item by spending a spell slot.
  • Drain Magic Item: Dismiss a replicated item and gain a spell slot once per Long Rest.
  • Transmute Magic Item: Swap one replicated item for another plan you know.

Together, these options offer untold creative possibilities. The Charge Magic Item and Drain Magic Item let you balance your magic item armaments with spell resources. The Charge Magic Item can also be an incredibly efficient way to utilize your spell slots through magic items.

For instance, you can create Winged Boots with Replicate Magic Item at level 10, and expending 1 charge gives you a Fly Speed of 30 feet for 1 hour.

If you use Charge Magic Item with a level 2 spell slot, you'll gain 2 charges, which is akin to being able to cast the Fly spell for a level 1 spell slot (plus, no Concentration required)!

And that's just the beginning: think of everything you can do with Transmute Magic Item—allowing you to create a vast array of magic items at a moment's notice by using a Magic action.

Spell-Storing Item — Level 11

The new Spell-Storing Item keeps the core fantasy of empowering you and your allies with efficient spellcasting, but expands your flexibility by allowing you to store up to level 3 spells. It remains the same in the sense that any creature holding the item can cast the stored spell with a Magic action using your spellcasting ability, which is an excellent way to hand out borrowed spellcasting to the party.

Keep in mind that this comes with one caveat: The spell now must not require a Material component that is consumed. So, no Revivify, but yes Fireball (as long as you're an Artillerist).

Advanced Artifice — Level 14

Advanced Artifice replaces the old Magic Item Savant and shifts focus away from bypassing magic-item requirements toward enhancing your Flash of Genius ability.

Now, you regain a use of this feature after a Short Rest, further preparing you for any adventuring to come.

You still get to attune to up to five magic items at once with this feature, meaning you'll be a walking, talking, magically-infused war machine at this point.

Epic Boon — Level 19

Epic Boons emerged in the new core rules as a new type of extra potent feat with the prerequisite of being level 19+, ensuring they are only available for heroes reaching the pinnacle of their power. While Artificers can take any Epic Boon, the recommended pick is the Boon of Energy Resistance:

  • Boon of Energy Resistance: Gain Resistance to two damage types of your choice from a list of elemental damage types, which you can change after each Long Rest. When you take damage of one of those types, you can use your Reaction to redirect that energy toward a creature you can see within 60 feet. It must succeed on a Dexterity save (DC = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your Proficiency Bonus) or take 2d12 + your Constitution modifier damage of the same type.

Soul of Artifice — Level 20

The new capstone Soul of Artifice feature provides two benefits: Cheat Death and Magical Guidance.

Cheat Death triggers when you would drop to 0 Hit Points. You can disintegrate any number of Uncommon or Rare magic items you made with Replicate Magic Item, and your Hit Points instead become 20 times the number of items destroyed in this way. This turns your own inventions into a massive cushion of emergency healing. The main thing you'll have to keep in mind is, which of your replicated magic items are the most expendable, and how many are you willing to spend each time you go down?

Magical Guidance provides extra survivability to complement your tactical genius. As long as you're attuned to at least one magic item, finishing a Short Rest restores all expended uses of Flash of Genius. That means in any adventuring day with regular Short Rests, you can lean hard on Flash of Genius to turn failed saves and checks into successes. But, if you spend all of your replicated magic items on the Cheat Death benefit, you'll be left hurting!

Forge Your Legend

With Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, it's time to tune up your tools, prep your plans, and step onto the battlefield with creativity as your greatest weapon.

Using the new and updated character options from this book, you can invent a character beyond your wildest dreams. What will you create—a warforged Armorer that melds upgrades into its metal skin? Or a swashbuckling kalashtar Cartographer who sails the skies in an airship? It's up to you to decide!

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Mike Bernier is the Content Marketing Manager for D&D Beyond, where he helps bring the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons to life. When he isn't adventuring across the multiverse in search of his next great story, Mike can be found gaming, hiking with his partner, or cooking something delicious while his dog waits for him to drop a bite.

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