Sapper

"Get there and fix it, or get there and blow it up!"

This was the tried-and-true credo of a ragtag group of smarter-than-average goblins who proudly called themselves the Goblin Corps of Engineers! They're all gone now, sadly. As in, completely gone; an unfortunate result of them not being quite as good at their jobs as they believed themselves to be.

The good news is, however, that their tools and practices live on thanks to the work of a rock gnome artificer by the name of Brikkit Brokenstones. He was highly impressed by the results of the corps' efforts on the battlefield, and began to hone and improve them after their... forced rapid retirement. The result of his efforts is the Manual of Goblin Combat Engineering, a copy of which lies in your hands today! So grab your gear, sign up for some high-quality life insurance, and get ready for the ride of a lifetime!

Sapper Spells

3rd-level Sapper feature

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

Sapper Spells

Artificer Level	Spell
3rd	earth tremor, floating disk
5th	knock, pass without trace
9th	lightning bolt, slow
13th	dimension door, resilient sphere
17th	arcane hand, passwall

First, Get There

3rd-level Sapper feature

As a sapper, the first of your three trademark tools is the EXTEND-O-TRON, a pouch-sized contraption designed to maximize your mobility on the battlefield.

You can use an action to affix the pouch to a surface and launch the extending portion at a point within 30 ft. The pouch and extension then anchor themselves to their spaces, similarly to an immovable rod, serving as a bridge, ladder, or rope that remains until you retract it from either end as an action. The extension's reach increases to 45 ft. at 9th level, and again to 60 ft. at 15th level.

The extension has an AC of 10 + your proficiency bonus, hit points equal to 5 x your artificer level, and can bear a number of pounds equal to 30 x your Intelligence score. The EXTEND-O-TRON regains 2d6 hit points if the mending spell is cast on it. You can use the EXTEND-O-TRON once at level 3, twice at level 9, and three times at level 15, regaining expended uses after completing a short rest.

If your EXTEND-O-TRON is lost or destroyed, you can rebuild one during a long rest, assuming you spend 2 hours and 50gp worth of basic materials doing so. Building a new EXTEND-O-TRON while another one exists renders the older of the two inert and useless.

Then, Fix It

3rd-level Sapper feature

The second of your trademark sapper tools is the incredible FIX-IT-IZER, which allows you to uphold the second (and arguably least common) step in the corps' creed!

This wondrous contraption can take on any form you choose, as long as it can be wielded in one hand. The FIX-IT-IZER allows you to cast the mending cantrip at will, with the exception that it can be used to fix any amount or degree of damage, as long as the damaged object is Tiny, or the damaged area is less than a 1-foot cube. It cannot, however, restore an object that is missing more than half of its material. We're not miracle-workers, after all...

You can additionally expend spell slots to increase the power of the FIX-IT-IZER, allowing you to repair larger objects and areas. Expending a 1st-level spell slot increases the size/area to Small (3-foot cube), while a 2nd-level slot increases it to Medium (5-foot cube), a 3rd-level slot increase it to Large (10-foot cube), and a 4th-level slot increases it to Huge (15-foot cube).

If your FIX-IT-IZER is lost or destroyed, you can rebuild one during a long rest, assuming you spend 2 hours and 50gp worth of basic materials doing so. Building a new FIX-IT-IZER while another one exists renders the older of the two inert and useless.

Or, Break It!

3rd-level Sapper feature

The last, and easily the greatest, of the sapper's arsenal is the EXPLODIUM CHARGE! This handy item lets you easily and efficiently fulfill the most exciting step in the corps' creed: "Blow it up!"

As a bonus action, you can expend a spell slot to transform a 1 lb. chunk of sculptor's clay into a powerful explosive charge with a 10-foot spherical blast radius. When you do so, you choose whether the charge is impact-detonated, timed, or remote-detonated. A charge remains active and dangerous for up to an hour, after which time the explosive magic dissipates and the clay becomes mundane once more.

An impact-detonated charge can be thrown up to 60 feet by using an action. A timed charge can be affixed to a surface using an action, and automatically donates after an amount of time that you decide when creating the charge (up to a maximum of 1 hour). A remote-detonated charge can be affixed to a surface using an action, and can then be detonated as a reaction as long as you are within 120 feet of it.

A creature caught within the blast must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, it takes an amount of force damage based on the spell slot level used to create the charge. On a successful save, it takes half as much. A charge created with a 1st-level spell slot deals 3d8 force damage. The damage increases by 2d8 for each spell slot level above 1st (to a maximum of 11d8 at 5th-level). Objects and structures within the blast radius take the maximum possible damage from the charge.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining uses after completing a long rest.

Fight or Flight

5th-level Sapper feature

Sappers are well-acquainted with the battlefield, and have a variety of methods that assist them in navigating it.

At the start of each of your turns, you can decide whether to focus on offensive or defensive tactics. If you choose offense, you can cause your weapon and spell attacks that only target one creature to deal an extra 1d4 force damage until the start of your next turn. If you choose defense, you gain a +1 bonus to your armor class until the start of your next turn.

The Better Tool for the Job

9th-level Sapper Feature

You've learned from experience that the quality of your equipment can have a great impact on your life expectancy, and have improved your tools accordingly.

Tech Support. You've tinkered with your FIX-IT-IZER, allowing you to repair things that you normally wouldn't be able to. You can use it to cast cure wounds as a 1st-level spell at will, but it only allows you to target and heal constructs, disregarding the spell's normal restrictions. You can also use this feature to heal a non-construct (though still not an undead), but doing so causes a backfire, rendering your FIX-IT-IZER inoperable until it is repaired, which requires half the time and gold needed to build a new one.

Shaped Charge. You can now sculpt your EXPLODIUM CHARGES with just a bit more consideration for the things (and people) that you might not want to blow up! Creatures of your choice that are in the blast radius of your charges gain advantage on the Dexterity saving throw, and take no damage if they succeed, and only half damage if they fail. Additionally, objects of your choice within the blast radius only take the average damage of the charge, rather than the maximum damage.

Last Ditch Effort

15th-level Sapper feature

You've formulated a last-ditch escape plan that could only be pulled off by someone with your genius and experience with explosives.

When you are subjected to an attack by a creature within 10 feet of you, you can use your reaction to instantly detonate yourself using one of your spell slots. When you do so, you negate any damage from the attack and instead take 5 force damage per spell slot level used. You are then launched up to 30 feet in a direction of your choice. Your attacker must then make a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the target takes force damage equal to that of an EXPLODIUM CHARGE created with the spell slot level that you used, and is launched up to 30 feet in the opposite direction that you were launched, landing prone. On a successful save, the target takes half the damage and is only launched up to 15 feet, landing upright.

Thankfully, you may only use this feature once, regaining use after completing a long rest.