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Godskook
2011-01-07, 10:25 PM
Ok, so one of my players is an Artificer and wants to take Effigy Master. I'm contemplating allowing him in as an Artificer, rather than force him to dip to get in. Any potential pitfalls involved? What should the "+1 caster level" progress?(Infusions, or infusions+reserve?)

Trekkin
2011-01-07, 10:36 PM
Given that experience is a river, allowing the advancement to improve both the reserve and the infusions is probably a good idea. Since the Effigy Master can't really do anything the Artificer can't already do with proper feat selection and more involved item creation, the danger is probably minimal.

Enterti
2011-01-08, 02:31 AM
Actually Page 151 of Magic of Eberron states
Artificers benefit in a specific way from prestige classes
that have “+1 level of existing spellcasting class” as a level
advancement benefit. An artificer taking levels in such
a prestige class does not gain any of his class abilities,
but he does gain an increased caster level when using
his infusions. Levels of prestige classes that provide +1
level of spellcasting effectively stack with the artificer’s
level to determine his effective caster level. An artificer
gains access to higher-level infusions at these prestige
class levels as though he had gained a level in the artificer
class.
An artifi cer can qualify for prestige classes with spellcasting
level requirements (as long as they do not specifi cally
require arcane or divine casting), even though his infusions
aren’t spells. Prestige classes with caster level requirements
are also well suited to the artifi cer. An artifi cer’s caster level
for his infusions fulfi lls this requirement.
Classes that advance only arcane or divine spellcasting
classes, specifi cally, would not benefi t an artifi cer,
because infusions are neither arcane nor divine in nature.
Likewise, a prestige class with a prerequisite to cast a specifi
c spell would be unavailable to an artifi cer.
So his craft reserve does not improve though he will gain infusions as normal. Though assuming he has gotten Retain Essence it really shouldn't matter that much.

Djinn_in_Tonic
2011-01-08, 02:40 AM
So his craft reserve does not improve though he will gain infusions as normal. Though assuming he has gotten Retain Essence it really shouldn't matter that much.

By the rules as written, yes. However, given that the Artificer's class feature is derived from a less-than-well-considered mechanic (sacrificing incredibly valuable XP to create questionably valuable items), increasing the Craft Reserve will probably not unduly unbalance the game, and will likely increase player satisfaction.

Enterti
2011-01-08, 02:46 AM
By the rules as written, yes. However, given that the Artificer's class feature is derived from a less-than-well-considered mechanic (sacrificing incredibly valuable XP to create questionably valuable items), increasing the Craft Reserve will probably not unduly unbalance the game, and will likely increase player satisfaction.

Indeed you are correct advancing the pool will not debalance the game, I am just posting the RAW side in case the OP has not read it as it is in a fairly obscure part of a book

Trekkin
2011-01-08, 02:54 AM
And really, (working under a rather Pavlovian game theory here) anything that encourages the Artificer to make constructs rather than any of a selection of problematic magic items is to be encouraged. I'm not suggesting that the class should be forced to make them, but historically--for me at least--hordeficers were the least likely to end up making the rest of the party feel useless or becoming totally invincible.

Godskook
2011-01-08, 03:59 AM
Actually Page 151 of Magic of Eberron

Page 53, not 151.

Godskook
2011-01-08, 11:29 PM
So, no other thoughts or opinions? I was hoping to at least hear from a larger selection of people.