An Architect creates complex structures that would take cities months of effort in mere days, utilizing advanced technology and magic they’ve decoded through elaborate study of materials science and the fabric of the world. They are sought by noble kings and demon lords alike to build castles and dungeons, mansions and coliseums, underground railroads and labyrinths. An Architect left alone might conceal themselves away in a mysterious manor littered with traps and secrets, but if called to serve a greater purpose, these artificers are as useful in war as any, safeguarding their allies with portable cover, amazing gadgetry, and impregnable defenses.

Tools of the Trade

When you adopt this specialization at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with carpenter's tools and mason's tools. If you already have either of these proficiencies, you gain proficiency with one other type of artisan's tools of your choice.

Architect Spells

Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Architect Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.

Architect Spells
Artificer Level	Architect Spells
3rd	create or destroy water, tenser's floating disk
5th	immovable object, knock
9th	galder’s tower, meld into stone
13th	control water, wall of fire
17th	passwall, wall of light

Portable Bulwark

Also at 3rd level, you’ve learned how to create a hovering barrier to defend yourself and your allies. Using carpenter's tools or mason's tools, you can take an action to magically create a Small or Medium portable bulwark in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. Once you create a bulwark, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest or until you expend a spell slot to create one. You can have only one bulwark at a time and can’t create one while your bulwark is present.

The bulwark is a magical object. Regardless of size, it has an AC of 15 and a number of hit points equal to ten times your artificer level. It is immune to poison damage and psychic damage. If it is forced to make an ability check or a saving throw, treat all its ability scores as 10 (+0). If the mending spell is cast on it, it regains 2d6 hit points. It disappears if it is reduced to 0 hit points or after a number of hours equal to half your artificer level (rounded down). You can dismiss it early as an action.

When you create the bulwark, you determine its appearance. Some artificers prefer a floating portcullis or tower shield with an arrow slit, whereas some like winged cauldrons or spinning metal polyhedrons. You also decide which type it is, choosing from the options on the Portable Bulwarks table. On each of your turns, you can take a bonus action to cause the bulwark to either activate or move to a point of your choosing if you are within 120 feet of it. It cannot activate and move on the same turn. A Small bulwark has a flying speed of 90 feet and provides half cover to Medium and Small creatures, whereas a Medium bulwark has a flying speed of 30 feet and provides three-quarters cover to Medium creatures and total cover to Small creatures. Bulwarks are not designed to be ridden, and cannot support the weight of a Small or larger creature, falling to the ground if a creature attempts to mount it.

Portable Bulwarks
Bulwark	Activation
Disrupter	The bulwark produces a shrill whine that cracks the earth below it, turning the ground within 30 feet of itself into difficult terrain. In addition, each creature of your choice in that area must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or be deafened until the start of your next turn.
Illuminator	Until the start of your next turn, the bulwark sheds bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet. This light illuminates both magical and nonmagical darkness. In addition, all creatures can see the true form of any shapechanger or creature concealed by illusion or transmutation magic within 60 feet of the bulwark while it is lit.
Repulsor	The bulwark emits a burst of concussive force within 10 feet of itself. Each creature of your choice in that area is pushed 5 feet away from the bulwark and must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or fall prone.

Fortification Matrix

Starting at 5th level, you can harvest energy hurled at you to create elemental defenses in an instant. When you or your portable bulwark take acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, radiant, or thunder damage and you are within 30 feet of your portable bulwark, you can use your reaction to catch the energy and redirect it into protective elemental walls. You and your portable bulwark gain resistance to the triggering damage type until the start of your next turn, and you cast wall of sand, wall of water, or wind wall (your choice) without expending a spell slot and without preparing the spell.

You can use this reaction a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.

Eccentric Modifications

At 9th level, you master the complex masonry and engineering skills to seamlessly implement secret rooms and other eccentric building modifications with little effort. With access to carpenter's tools and mason's tools and raw materials worth at least 20 gold, with 20 hours of work, you can modify an existing house or other structure in one of the following ways:

• Add a trap door to a floor. There must be another room, a pit, or some other empty space underneath the floor for the trap door to lead to.
• Add a hidden compartment to a wall, floor, ceiling, or Medium or larger furniture item. The hidden compartment has storage space of 1 cubic foot or less.
• Add a secret door to a wall or bookcase. You may create the wall or bookcase as part of this modification, dividing an existing room into a smaller room and a secret room.
• Add a spinning mechanism to a section of wall. The chosen section must be 10-feet-by-10-feet or lesser. This allows the section to spin-in-place, revealing a pathway to the other side of the wall if left partially open mid-spin, or if triggered to perform a quick full rotation, forcing any creatures standing adjacent to it to be trapped on the opposite side of the wall.

You decide the appearance of your modifications. You also decide what mechanism triggers the modification—opening the trap door, hidden compartment, or secret door, or spinning the wall. The triggering mechanism might be a pressure plate, a secret lever disguised as a torch holder, a hidden button on a statue, a false book on a bookshelf, a combination lock-like puzzle built into a stone engraving, or some other design.

When you make any such secret modification, you make an Intelligence check using your tool proficiency to determine the Intelligence (Investigation) check DC needed to find the modification.

Alternatively, you can modify a vehicle (land or water) to add an ejector seat. The seat can fit a Medium or smaller creature. You decide the ejector seat’s appearance and what mechanism triggers it. Once triggered, sitting creature is launched 20 feet into the air and in any direction you choose. You may choose to fit the ejector seat with a mechanism to slow its descent, such as a parachute. If you do so, once the mechanism is triggered to launch the ejector seat, the creature gains the benefits of feather fall.

Your GM may allow you to make a similar alternate modification at their discretion, or expand upon your modification, such as making a secret spiral staircase underneath a trap door that slides into place from the walls when triggered, leading to a secret tunnel. Your GM may require you to provide additional raw materials or additional work hours.

And finally, you can cast arcane lock and magic mouth without expending a spell slot, without preparing the spell, and without providing the material component, provided you use carpenter's tools or mason's tools as the spellcasting focus. Once you cast either spell with this feature, you can't cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest.

Master Builder

Beginning at 15th level, your Portable Bulwark can shape the very crust of the earth and construct impregnable forts and citadels with ease:

• You can cast mighty fortress or move earth without expending a spell slot, without preparing the spell, and without providing material components, provided you use carpenter's tools or mason's tools as the spellcasting focus and you are within 10 feet of your bulwark. Once you cast a spell with this feature, you can't cast either spell with it again until you finish a long rest.
• You can now have two bulwarks at the same time. You can create two with the same action (but not the same spell slot), and you can activate or move both of them with the same bonus action. You determine whether the bulwarks are identical to each other or different. You can't create a third bulwark while you have two.