Mortar

You built your Canon Apparatus to be able to deal two types of damage of your choice. You can switch between these types using a Bonus Action. At higher levels, you develop the ability to add new damage types to your Apparatus. You may change one of your chosen damage types each time you gain an Artificer level. 

Your Canon Apparatus requires regular attention. You must spend an hour a day repairing your Apparatus or risk damaging it and yourself upon use. It takes an hour to don or doff your Apparatus without doing damage to it. If you need to doff it quickly in an emergency, you may use an Action to drop your Apparatus to the ground. This damages the Apparatus, which then would require an hour of maintenance to be functional again. 

 

Tool Proficiency

3rd-level Mortar feature

You gain proficiency with Leatherworker's Tools. If you already have this proficiency, you gain proficiency with one other type of artisan’s tools of your choice.

Mortar Spells

3rd-level Artillerist feature

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

Mortar Spell Table

• 3rd Level - Shield, Hunter's Mark
• 5th Level - Faerie Fire, Thunderwave
• 9th Level - Wind Wall, Guiding Bolt
• 13th Level - Wall of Fire, Fire Shield
• 17th Level - Dimension Door, Wall of Force

Sacrifices

3rd-level Mortar feature

Weighed Down - The weight of your Destroyer slows you down. When you are attuned to it, you lose 10 ft of movement speed. The Destroyer weighs 50 lbs and counts towards encumbrance. 

Bulky Frame - The size and position of your Destroyer make wielding other weapons nearly impossible. While you are attuned to it, you can pick up anything you can carry in each hand separately but melee weapons cannot be used to make attacks. Additionally, one-handed, thrown weapons (dagger, spear) can only be thrown as a ranged attack.

Cannon Apparattus

Your Cannon Apparatus looks as you designed it. It takes up at least one cubic foot of space and weighs 1/3 of your carry weight rounded down. To equip your Apparatus, you must be wearing Medium or Heavy armor. It takes an hour to don or doff your Apparatus. This time can be used to Attune to your Apparatus. You must be Attuned to your Apparatus to use it. You are proficient with your Apparatus.

You must spend one hour a day doing maintenance on your Apparatus or suffer a stacking -1 penalty to attack and damage rolls made with it. Each day that the Apparatus is not maintained stacks one additional hour of required maintenance to remove the penalty (ignoring maintenance for 5 days means 5 hours of maintenance are required to remove the -5 penalty to attack and damage rolls). Each time you fire without having done maintenance in 24 hours, roll a d20. If the number rolled is less than or equal to your Artificer level minus the number of full days without maintenance (minimum of 1), the Apparatus breaks. You take 3d6 Force damage and the Apparatus requires half of a workday to repair.

Your Cannon Apparatus was assembled with 2 specific damage types in mind. You can use a Bonus Action to switch damage types. A ranged attack made with your Apparatus does 3d8 + PB + INT of the damage type you have loaded. This increases by 1d8 at level 7 and again at level 14. It has a reload of 2 and requires an action to load. At levels 8, 12, and 16, gain an additional damage type.

As a bonus action, you may quickly disengage yourself from your Apparatus. This drops the Apparatus to the ground. The Apparatus requires one hour of maintenance to be usable again. This hour does not count towards the daily hour of maintenance. 

If your beloved Cannon Apparatus should become utterly destroyed or hopelessly lost to you, you have the means to rebuild a new one. This requires 500 gold and a full workday.

 

Level 5: Immovable Object

5th-level Mortar feature

You are heavy:

• You cannot be moved against your will while attuned to your Canon Apparattus
• If a construct or creature attempts to move you against your will, you may use your reaction to force the attacker to make the required save instead of yourself. On a failed save, the attacker suffers all displacing effects of their attack (shoved 10ft back, knocked prone, etc.). The attacker does not take damage from the attack if it is deflected to them, but if their movement would otherwise cause them damage (fall damage, knocked into lava, etc.), they take this damage. 
• If a construct or creature attempts to move you against your will and there is no save involved and you would automatically be moved, you may use your reaction to force your attacker to move the distance they attempted to move you with no save required.
• If the attempt to move you is an attack that does damage, you take this damage normally.

Level 9: Explosive Shot

9th-level Mortar Feature

After firing the last round before reloading, you may instead use a bonus action to reload one explosive shot. This bonus action does not fire the shot. This shot has a range of 80 feet and does damage in a sphere with a 10-foot radius. All creatures and constructs within the sphere must make a DEX save. The DC is your spell save DC. On a failed save, a target takes 4d8+PB force damage. On a successful save, a target takes half as much damage. 

This bonus action can only be taken after firing two Mortar Shots from your Cannon Apparatus. If you take this bonus action twice without taking two Mortar Shots in between, roll a d20. If the roll is less than the number of Explosive Shots you have already taken since your last Mortar Shot + 1 (minimum of 2), your Apparatus breaks. You take 3d6 force damage and the Cannon Apparatus requires a full workday of maintenance to be usable again. 

Level 15: Obsessive Mechanic

15th-level Mortar feature

Through your extensive tinkering, you have become exceptionally adept at handling your Canon Apparatus:

• Daily maintenance on your Canon Apparatus now counts as light work, and can be done during rests. Repairs to damage taken by the Apparatus do not count as light work.
• After each long rest, you may choose one of your Apparatus' damage types to change to another type.
• You may now don or doff your Apparatus in ten minutes without damaging it. You are automatically attuned to your Apparatus if you have an available attunement slot and your Apparatus is equipped. 
• Your movement speed is decreased by 5 ft instead of 10 ft when you are attuned to your Apparatus.