From hidden workshops in the depths of Sharn to elemental airships drifting high above the Mournland, Artificers are tinkerers who drive innovation and delight in solving problems. Their steel-clad guardians, roaming cannons, magic armor, living maps, and bottled miracles reshape the worlds in which they reside one invention at a time.

In Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, you’ll find five Artificer subclasses whose specialties—alchemy, armor, artillery, constructs, and cartography—help them shield their allies and outthink their foes. Each offers its own playstyle, from frontline defenders to precise battlefield engineers, but all are driven by their creative spark.

Read on to discover how these Artificer subclasses, including the new Cartographer, let you forge wonders and think outside the box!

• Alchemist (Artificer)
• Armorer (Artificer)
• Artillerist (Artificer)
• Battle Smith (Artificer)
• Cartographer (Artificer)

Alchemist (Artificer)

JOHN GRELLO

Experimental Elixirs and Battlefield Bombardment

Alchemists walk the streets of Sharn as miracle-workers for hire or join adventuring groups as medics and saboteurs, their satchels brimming with elixirs that can turn the tide of any fight.

Tools of the Trade. Alchemists gain proficiency with Alchemist’s Supplies and the Herbalism Kit, and can halve the time needed to create potions using the rules in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

Experimental Elixir. The Experimental Elixir feature is a cornerstone of the subclass, automatically brewing two random elixirs after each Long Rest. Each concoction offers a random effect when consumed, like restoring Hit Points, increasing Speed, bolstering AC, or granting a Fly Speed. Better still, they can be consumed as a Bonus Action and you can convert spell slots into chosen elixirs when you need specific results. You produce more elixirs per Long Rest when you reach certain Artificer levels.

Alchemical Prowess. As you level up, the Alchemical Savant feature adds your Intelligence modifier to one healing or qualifying damage roll when you cast a spell using your Alchemist’s Supplies; the Restorative Reagents feature gives limited uses of Lesser Restoration without using spell slots; and the Chemical Mastery feature marks the pinnacle of the subclass's power with once-per-turn bonus Force damage, Resistance to Acid and Poison damage, Immunity to the Poisoned condition, and a free daily casting of Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron.

Armorer (Artificer)

JOHN GRELLO

A Walking Arsenal of Arcane Armor

The clanking of metal rings out as these armored inventors stride into danger as living weapons.

Tools of the Trade. Armorers gain training with Heavy armor, proficiency with Smith’s Tools, and halve the crafting time for nonmagical and magic armor using the rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Arcane Armor. The Arcane Armor feature helps transform a suit of armor you're wearing into a fully arcane exoshell. It ignores Strength requirements for you, can be donned or doffed quickly, and can be used as your Spellcasting Focus.

Armor Model. The Armor Model feature offers distinct capabilities for your magical armor—and you can change between models after a Short or Long Rest:

• Dreadnaught: A reach-focused bruiser that can magically increase its size and knock enemies around. 
• Guardian: A protector who strikes with thunderous force and generates Temporary Hit Points.
• Infiltrator: A stealthy marksman who uses lightning-charged ranged attacks and enhanced mobility to strike from afar.

Scaling Suit Enhancements. As you reach higher levels, the Extra Attack feature helps output damage; the Improved Armorer feature increases your attack bonus and damage with your Armor Model weapon and expands your Replicate Magic Items options; and the Perfected Armor feature upgrades each Armor Model with powerful new capabilities—larger size and greater reach for Dreadnaught, Reaction-based repositioning and attacks for Guardian, and intensified lightning strikes and burst flight for Infiltrator.

Artillerist (Artificer)

JOHN THACKER

Eldritch Cannons and Arcane Firearms

Whether defending skyships or wading into battle, these specialists have a saying, "Don't bring a knife to an arcane artillery fight."

Tools of the Trade. Artillerists gain proficiency with Martial Ranged weapons, proficiency with Woodcarver’s Tools, and halve the time it takes to craft magic Wands using the rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Eldritch Cannon. The Eldritch Cannon feature allows you to create a Small or Tiny cannon that acts as a mobile artillery unit. As a Bonus Action, you can command the cannon to unleash a fiery cone, concussive blast, or pulse of Temporary Hit Points. 

Arcane Firearm. You can carve sigils into a Rod, Staff, Wand, or Martial Ranged weapon and can use it as your Spellcasting Focus. It adds 1d8 to one damage roll of your Artificer spells cast through it.

Explosive Evolutions. As your level increases, the Explosive Cannon feature increases each cannon mode’s power and allows you to detonate a cannon for devastating Force damage when it takes damage. Finally, the Fortified Position feature grants access to dual cannons—both of which can be activated simultaneously—and a protective Half Cover aura around your emplacement.

Battle Smith (Artificer)

MICHAEL BROUSSARD

Construct Companions and Magical Weapons

Channel your intelligence into martial prowess, enhanced by your Construct guardian:

Tools of the Trade. Battle Smiths gain proficiency with Martial weapons, proficiency with Smith’s Tools, and halve the crafting time of nonmagical and magic weapons using the rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide. 

Battle Ready. The Battle Ready feature lets you use Intelligence for attack and damage rolls with magic weapons and treat any weapon you’re proficient with as a Spellcasting Focus.

Steel Defender. The Steel Defender feature grants you a dependable Construct companion that acts on your turn and follows commands issued as a Bonus Action. Its stats and features scale off of your Artificer level, Proficiency Bonus, spell attack modifier, and Intelligence modifier—it also has a defensive Reaction, which can be used to impose Disadvantage when an ally is attacked within 5 feet of it. 

Upgraded Tactics. As you level up, the Extra Attack feature lets you make an additional attack or command your defender to attack as part of the same action; the Arcane Jolt feature adds automatic Force damage or healing on your or your defender's hits; and the Improved Defender feature bolsters your Arcane Jolt damage or healing, while also empowering your defender's Deflect Attack Reaction with a punishing counterattack.

Cartographer (Artificer)

DAARKEN

Plot the Course for Success

Cartographers map threats as well as courses, providing allies with the knowledge to turn the tide of battle.

Tools of the Trade. Cartographers gain proficiency with Calligrapher’s Supplies and Cartographer’s Tools, and halve the time needed to scribe Spell Scrolls using the rules in the Player’s Handbook.

Adventurer’s Atlas. The Adventurer’s Atlas feature creates a set of linked magical maps after each Long Rest. These maps grant holders a bonus to Initiative and the Positioning benefit, which lets them know the other map holders' locations and target each other without line of sight when in range.

Mapping Magic. The Mapping Magic feature enhances your tactics and mobility. You can cast Faerie Fire without expending spell slots a limited number of times per Long Rest and can use Portal Jump to spend half your Speed to teleport to a nearby visible space or adjacent to an ally holding your map within 30 feet.

Master of Movement. At higher levels, the Guided Precision feature protects your Concentration on Faerie Fire and lets you add Intelligence to a spell’s damage roll when it affects a creature targeted by your Faerie Fire or comes from your Cartographer Spell List. The Ingenious Movement feature adds a 30-foot teleport to your Flash of Genius Reaction; Once Cartographers reach the pinnacle of their power, map holders can use the Superior Atlas feature for a daily free casting of Find the Path and to get themselves out of dire danger—no matter how far they are from help.

Get Ready for Your Next Great Invention

Whether you are bottling miracles or crafting your very own walking fortress, the Artificer subclasses in Eberron: Forge of the Artificer invite you to forge wonders beyond imagination.

With a kit of character options, such as the updated Artificer, its revised subclasses, and a trove of Eberron-centric character options, like Dragonmark feats and the Warforged species, this book is your toolbox to craft whatever character you can dream up.

The only question that remains is, "What will you create?"

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.