Mech Pilot

A metallic shine reflects off a sleek metal body holding a sniper rifle on top of a skyscraper, stalking its target from high above.
Hulking mass of metal rampages through a warzone with a shield in one limb and a massive greatswordin the other, shrugging off bullets and projectiles while knocking aside and charging at enemies.
Flashes of light reflect on the sleek katana wielded by a steel humanoid, assailing targets with swift strikes and unmatched mobility through the skies.

Mastery of the modern battlefield requires a hybrid approach of technology and magic, and no combat specialist epitomizes this approach better than the Mech Pilot. Armed and armored in an enchanted mobile suit, the battle mech is a flexible weapons platform built to be reconfigurable. This allows it to fit into any tactical situation on evolving battlefields. The Mech Pilot’s bond to their battle mech is critical to their success. The battle mech is attuned to their pilot’s magic, and strong fluctuations of that power source can cause instability, desynchronization, and mission failure. However, a Mech Pilot with mind and mech united can become an unstoppable force.

Mech Pilot Spells

3rd-level Mech Pilot feature

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

Mech Pilot Spells

Artificer Level	Spell
3rd	armor of agathys, shield
5th	mirror image, warding bond
9th	aura of vitality, thunder step
13th	fire shield, greater invisibility
17th	steel wind strike, holy weapon

Battle Mech

3rd-level Mech Pilot feature

Your knowledge of arcane mechanics has allowed you to develop a sophisticated mechanical suit that you pilot into battle. You gain certain benefits when wearing the battle mech. The armor is powered by your magic, and any creature other than you that dons the battle mech receives no benefits and their movement speed becomes 0.

Over the course of a long rest, you can use your tinker's tools to create a battle mech, which functions as a magical suit of medium armor. The armor weighs 200 pounds, which you can ignore while you wear it. As long as you are alive, this armor cannot be removed against your will.
The armor can be a target of one of your artificer infusions.

You gain the following benefits while wearing the battle mech:

• You gain proficiency with martial weapons.
• When you attack with a weapon, you can use your Intelligence modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity modifier, for the attack and damage rolls.
• You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag or lift.
• If a weapon normally has a Strength or Dexterity requirement due to the heavy property, you can ignore those and use the weapon without disadvantage on your attack rolls.

Weapon Mastery

You have integrated programs into your battle mech to assist you during combat, allowing you to use the mastery properties of two kinds of weapons of your choice with which you have proficiency, such as Muskets and Greatswords.

Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can change the kinds of weapons you chose. For example, you could switch to using the mastery properties of Scimitars and Longswords.

Fighting Style

You have enhanced your battle mech's martial prowess and gain a Fighting Style feat of your choice.

Whenever you gain an artificer level, you can replace the feat you chose with a different Fighting Style feat.

Tactical Assault Array

 Also at 3rd level, you can adjust your armor for a given combat situation. When you create your battle mech, choose one of the following modes: hellion, strider, or titan. The mode you choose gives you special benefits while you wear the battle mech and determines its properties as armor per the Battle Mech Armor table. You can change your battle mech’s mode whenever you finish a short or long rest, provided you have tinker’s tools in hand.

Mode	Armor Class
Hellion	12 + Dex modifier
Strider	14 + Dex modifier (max 2)
Titan	17

Hellion

 This battle mech mode sacrifices armor and mobility, preferring instead to rain destruction on foes from long range with heavy weaponry. It has the following features:

• Bombardment. As a bonus action, you can assume braced firing stance if you are in contact with a solid surface. While in this stance, you can use a bonus action to make a ranged weapon attack. Additionally, attacking at long range doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged weapon attack rolls, your movement speed becomes 0 and you can’t be knocked prone. As a bonus action, you can exit this stance.

Strider

This battle mech mode is adept at skirmishing in mobile battlefronts. 

• Blitz. You can Dash or Disengage as a bonus action.
• If you move at least 10 feet in a straight line straight toward a target before hitting it with a melee weapon attack or unarmed strike, it takes an extra 1d8 lightning damage. This extra damage increases to 2d8 at level 9. You can deal this extra damage only once per attack action.

Titan

This battle mech mode is focused on close quarters combat with its ironclad defense. It has the following features:

• You can ignore the two-handed property on a single melee weapon you’re holding.
• Your current and maximum hit points increase by an amount equal to your artificer level.
• Rebuff. When you hit a creature that is no more than two sizes larger than you with a melee weapon attack, you can immediately use a bonus action to force it to make a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, you can push the creature up to 15 feet away from you.
• Bulwark. When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your movement speed. At the end of this movement, if you are within 5 feet of the target of the attack or the attacking creature, you can force the attack to target you instead. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.

Extra Attack

5th-level Mech Pilot feature

You can attack twice instead of once whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Hellion Bombardment Upgrade

When you assume the Bombardment stance, you can ignore the Two-Handed property on a single ranged weapon you're holding and cannot be forcibly moved by any effect against your will. 

Strider mobility upgrade

Your walking speed increases by 10ft.

Titan armor upgrade

Titan mode's base armor class increases by 1.

Core Upgrade

9th-level Mech Pilot feature

At 9th level, your experience in piloting and maintaining your mech has borne the following benefits when wearing the battle mech:

• Environmental Adaptation. The armor seals airtight and provides its own atmosphere. You can breathe normally in any environment and withstand extreme temperatures, and you're unaffected by harmful gases, as well as contact and inhaled poisons. 
• Overdrive. You can push your battle mech to its limits.
  • As an action, you can activate your battle mech’s overdrive ability, which grants you effects based on its mode, as shown below.
  • This ability requires a loud vocal component.
  • At the end of the one-minute duration, your battle mech's core overheats and requires a short reboot due to the load exerted during overdrive. You are inflicted with the incapacitated condition until the start of your next turn. This condition cannot be removed in any way.
  • Once you have used a mode’s Overdrive ability, you cannot use that mode’s Overdrive ability again until you have finished a long rest. 

 

Overdrive: Hellion

You load specialized rounds into your ranged weapons. For one minute, your gain the following benefits:

• Ranged weapons deal extra damage equal to your proficiency bonus.
• You ignore the loading property on ranged weapons
• Your ranged weapons ignore half cover and three-quarters cover, and can choose between penetration rounds and explosive rounds. Explosive rounds deal half of the total damage of your weapon attack to every creature within a 5ft radius of the original target or point of impact. Penetration rounds deal half the total damage of your weapon attack up to three creatures directly behind an enemy, in a straight line from where you attacked the target.

Overdrive: Strider

You cast the haste spell on yourself without verbal, somatic, or material components and without requiring your concentration. You gain the following benefits during the spell duration:

• While you are under the effect of the spell, the extra damage from Blitz does not have a once per attack action limitation (you can deal the extra damage on every melee attack).
• The spell does not reduce your speed to 0 at the end of the spell duration.

Overdrive: Titan

You cast the enlarge/reduce spell on yourself without verbal, somatic, or material components and without requiring your concentration. While you are under the effect of the spell, you gain the following benefits:

• You gain temporary hit points equal to your artificer level at the end of each turn.
• When you use your Rebuff feature against a target, you can deal 1d6 thunder damage plus proficiency bonus to every target of your choice within 10 feet of it.

Apex Mech

15th-level Mech Pilot feature

Your understanding of the battle mech has reached its peak. Whenever you pilot the mech in combat, your mind and mech meld with each other, forming one entity that reacts and moves as you will, unleashing its full potential of a combat machine. You gain the following benefits when piloting the battle mech:

• Whenever you change your battle mech's mode, you can also choose to change its size to large. You will be considered one size larger when piloting the enlarged battle mech.
• As an action, you can store your battle mech inside an extradimensional space. When stored this way, you are able to summon it with an action or at the start of initiative (no action required) and don the battle mech as part of this summon. Additionally, you can also change the battle mech's mode as part of this summon.
• Your battle mech can take to the skies. You gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed. 
• You can use Overdrive twice before a long rest, and you are no longer affected by the incapacitated condition at the end of Overdrive.
• Your battle mech gains benefits based on its mode, as shown below.

Perfected Hellion

• When you hit a target with a ranged weapon attack, you can deal an extra 2d8 damage and can change your weapon damage type to acid, cold, fire, lightning or thunder damage (your choice) to that target.
• When using your Bombardment feature, you can now assume a braced firing stance without being in contact with a solid surface. However, if you choose to do so, you can be affected by the prone condition. If your movement speed is reduced to zero while in this firing stance and you are not in contact with a solid surface, you fall and suffer normal effects of fall damage.

Perfected Strider

•  When you use your Blitz feature, you instead deal an extra 1d8 lightning damage for every 10 feet you move in a straight line before hitting a target with a melee weapon attack or an unarmed strike, to a maximum of 4d8.
• You can attack three times instead of once whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Perfected Titan

• When you use your Rebuff feature to push a creature away from you, you can instead choose to knock them prone.
• Rebuff now forces every creature of your choice within your melee weapon's reach to make the saving throw or be subjected to its effects.
• If you are larger than or equal to the size of the target, the creature makes the saving throw at disadvantage.
• When Overdrive is active, rebuff now deals 3d6 thunder damage plus proficiency bonus to every creature of your choice within 20ft of you.
• Your base armor class increases by 1.