Automechanic (HB)

Not every artificer has the combat prowess to go toe-to-toe with your average hulking ogre. Many, in fact, have come from a life of scholarly learning, merely wishing to understand how the arcane and the material can be combined. Yet these individuals often find themselves in the situation where they must fight, as is so often the case. Some resorted to building devices that can do the fighting for them. Somewhere along the line, one ingenious artificer designed a device that could carry them around the battlefield, protect them, and even dish out a bit of damage. They had designed the first combat vehicle, and thus became the first automechanic.

Automechanic Spells

3rd-level Automechanic feature

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

Automechanic Spells

Combat Vehicle

3rd-level Automechanic feature

You have built a combat vehicle for yourself to aid you in fighting, both offensively and defensively. The vehicle occupies a 10 foot squared area and it has game statistics in the Combat Vehicle stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. You determine the vehicle's appearance; your choices have no effect on its game statistics.

Using spatial magic akin to that of the bag of holding, you have designed your combat vehicle such that it can be mechanically and magically reduced in size and weight to be more portable. As an action, you can compact your vehicle such that it is the size of a small bag, roughly 2 feet in diameter, with a weight of 15 lbs.

While in its compact mode, you can use a bonus action to make the vehicle return to normal size and appear in an unoccupied space adjacent to you. As part of this, you can enter your vehicle. If your vehicle is already normal size, you can enter it with a bonus action if you are adjacent to it. The vehicle cannot move or take any actions on its own.

While inside of the combat vehicle, your movement speed, Strength saving throw modifier, and Dexterity saving throw modifier become that of the vehicle's. You also gain the following features:

• You gain a +1 bonus to your AC.
• You are considered to occupy the 10 foot square of your vehicle for the purpose of attack ranges.
• Ramming Speed. Once per turn, if you move at least 20 feet, you can force a creature within 5 feet to succeed on Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or take 1d8 bludgeoning damage and be pushed 5 feet back.

If your combat vehicle falls prone, you also immediately fall prone in an adjacent unoccupied space. While the vehicle is prone, it requires the use of all of your movement to right it and return it to a standing position. If the vehicle is under the effects of a condition that requires the use of an action to end it or reattempt a save, you must use the action using the vehicle's statistics.

If your combat vehicle drops to 0 it hit points, it becomes broken and cannot be entered or driven. If you are in your vehicle when it reaches 0 hit points, you immediately fall prone in an adjacent unoccupied space. If your vehicle is broken, it can only be fixed and restored to full hit points when you finish a long rest. You must use tinker’s tools when you do this.

If the mending spell is cast on the combat vehicle, it regains 2d6 hit points. Additionally, at the end of a long rest, the vehicle is restored to full hit points if you have tinker’s tools to hand. You may also change the appearance of your combat vehicle at the end of a long rest.

 

Upgrades

3rd-level Automechanic feature

When you first built your combat vehicle, you included the ability to upgrade it with optional features. You immediately build three upgrades of your choice into your combat vehicle, chosen from the list below, and each time you gain a level in this class, you can replace one upgrade with a different one from this feature. When you reach certain levels in this class, you add additional upgrades, as shown in the Upgrades table.

Upgrades

The following upgrades are available to you when you add an upgrade to your combat vehicle. If an upgrade has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can add an upgrade at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class. If an upgrade requires a saving throw, it uses your spell save DC.

Aquatic Motion

Your combat vehicle gains a swim speed of 30 feet. Additionally, while you are inside your vehicle, you can breathe underwater.

Chain Shot

While you are driving your vehicle, you can use your bonus action to fire a spike attached to a long chain at a creature within 20 feet. Make a ranged spell attack against that creature. On a hit, the creature takes 1d8 piercing damage and it is pulled to the nearest space adjacent to you. The creature is only pulled if it is of a size of Huge or smaller.

You can use this bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

Cloaking Device

Prerequisite: 13th level

While you are driving your combat vehicle, you can use a bonus action to turn you, everything you are carrying, and your vehicle invisible. This invisibility lasts for the next hour or until you make an attack, cast a spell, or use an action provided by your combat vehicle.

You can use this bonus action twice per long rest.

Defensive Shielding

Prerequisite: 5th level

While you are inside your combat vehicle, you gain an additional +1 bonus to your AC. Additionally, your combat vehicle gains a +10 bonus to its maximum hit points.

Disrupter Ray

Prerequisite: 10th level

While you are driving your combat vehicle, you can use your reaction in response to another creature within 30 feet making a saving throw to force that creature to make the saving throw with disadvantage.

You can use this reaction twice per long rest.

Dust Bomb

While driving your combat vehicle, you can use an action to lob a dust bomb at a target location. All creatures within 10 feet of the target location must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become blinded until the start of your next turn.

You can use this action twice per long rest.

Energy Barrier

Prerequisite: 8th level

While driving your combat vehicle, you can use a reaction in response to taking cold, fire or lightning damage to gain resistance to the damage you took, halving it. You continue to have resistance to that damage type for the next minute.

You can use this reaction once per long rest.

Extendable Chucker

Prerequisite: 5th level

While driving your combat vehicle, you can use a bonus action to attempt to throw a creature within 15 feet. As part of this, you force your chosen creature within range to make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is thrown to an unoccupied space of your choosing within 15 feet of where it started, where it lands prone and takes 2d10 bludgeoning damage.

You can use this action once per short rest.

Flamethrower

While driving your combat vehicle, you can use an action to release a bout of flame from the front of the vehicle. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 4d8 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The fire ignites any flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried.

The fire damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (5d8), 8th level (6d8), 10th level (7d8) and 13th level (8d8).

You can use this action once per short or long rest.

Hover Craft

Prerequisite: 8th level

Your combat vehicle gains a fly speed of 30 feet.

Improved Steering

Prerequisite: 5th level

Your combat vehicle becomes proficient in Dexterity saving throws. Additionally, while driving your vehicle, you are unaffected by difficult terrain.

Insulation

Prerequisite: 10th level

Your combat vehicle is no longer vulnerable to lightning damage and becomes resistant to fire and cold damage. Additionally, your combat vehicle gains a +10 bonus to its maximum hit points.

Mobile Claw

While driving your combat vehicle, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple a creature within 10 feet, using the vehicle's statistics. If you succeed in grappling the creature in this way, the grappled condition ends automatically if you move more than 10 feet away from it.

You can use this action once per short or long rest.

Passenger Capabilities

A friendly creature can use its bonus action to get into the vehicle as long as you are driving it. The creature gains all of the passive effects you would as if it were driving the vehicle, but it cannot drive the vehicle for you, nor can it make use of the actions granted by it.

Psionic Teleporter

Prerequisite: 15th level

While you are driving your combat vehicle, you can use an action to teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space and release a burst of psychic energy. When you do so, all creatures within 20 feet of your new location must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 8d10 psychic damage and is stunned until the end of its next turn. On a success, it takes half as much damage and is not stunned.

You can use this action once per long rest.

Spiked Exterior

While driving your combat vehicle, when the vehicle moves within 5 feet of another creature on your turn, that creature takes 1d4 slashing damage. This effect applies once per creature per your turn.

Steel Plating

Your combat vehicle gains a +2 bonus to its AC.

Tesla Coil

Prerequisite: 8th level

While driving your combat vehicle, you can use an action to send out a bolt of lightning to a creature within 60 feet. Make a ranged spell attack against a creature within range. On a hit, the creature takes 4d8 lightning damage.

If the previous bolt hit, it then jumps to another creature of your choice that is within 30 feet of the previous creature. Make a ranged spell attack against that creature. On a hit, the creature also takes 4d8 lightning damage.

The bolt jumps like this a total number of times equal to your proficiency bonus minus 1.

You can use this action once per short rest.

Trip Wire Launcher

Prerequisite: 5th level

While you are driving your combat vehicle, you can use a bonus action to fire a tangling wire at a creature within 30 feet. That creature is forced to succeed on a Strength saving throw or become restrained for the next minute. A creature restrained in this way repeats the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect upon itself with a success.

You can use this bonus action once per short rest.

Wrecking Ball

Prerequisite: 13th level

While you are driving your combat vehicle, you can use your action to swing a large wrecking ball at a creature within 15 feet. Make a melee spell attack against a creature within range. On a hit, the creature takes 4d12 bludgeoning damage and must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or become incapacitated until the end of its next turn.

You can use this action three times per long rest.

Bunker Down

5th-level Automechanic feature

While you are driving your combat vehicle, you can use your reaction in response to being hit by an attack to hunker down inside your vehicle. As part of this, you gain a +5 bonus to your AC until the start of your next turn, including for the triggering attack, potentially turning the hit into a miss.

If the triggering attack subsequently misses you, your combat vehicle becomes the target of the attack.

You may use this reaction twice per long rest.

Arcane Modifications

9th-level Automechanic feature

You can enchant the following artificer infusions onto your combat vehicle as if it were the required items listed in the infusion, and you gain their effects as if you were wearing or wielding the combat vehicle when you are driving it.

• Armor of Magical Strength
• Boots of the Winding Path
• Enhanced Arcane Focus
• Mind Sharpener
• Repulsion Shield
• Resistant Armor
• Spell-Refueling Ring

Defence Matrix

15th-level Automechanic feature

Your combat vehicle now provides a defensive energy to all nearby friendly creatures. As an action, you can activate your vehicle's defence matrix, which lasts for the next minute. Any friendly creature, including yourself, within 15 feet of your combat vehicle during this time gains the following benefits:

• They gain a +2 bonus to all saving throws.
• They are unaffected by opportunity attacks.
• Once per round, when a friendly creature within range is attacked, you can force the attack roll to be made at disadvantage (no action required).

Once you have used this feature, it cannot be used again until you have finished a long rest.