3.5e Artificer PC. I need help with spotting weakness and gifts. New GM.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

Hello guys :)

One of my players is changing his PC from a DFA/Cleric/somethig that progress both to an Artificer and I am looking idea.

I want to know what he need in order to sucssed and what he need to avoid(I am the world after all).
I also want to find some stuff that will be problematic for him(I don't like Antimagic fileds).

[Falontani]

He needs gold in order to do artificer stuff. So don't forget to give him his wbl. Otherwise you have two options. Custom items or not. Custom item rules are in the dmg and on the srd. If you use them he can make a good character. If you don't use them then he can make a good character that is a bit more challenging to make. If custom items are in play make sure to check the math of all items, and do not be afraid to veto a few. But also remember from Secret Chest we get bags of holding. From light we get enhancement bonuses. So if he can explain why an item works the way it does, that it is well thought out and not just choosing spell x because it's cheaper then you should think more on the allowance side.
Things to watch out for, your whole table getting really good gear. If he makes custom gear for all then all will be much stronger.

[thethird]

Also more than gold he will need time. And for him to have time he needs to be able to have downtime and if he is to have downtime you as a dm need to account for It. Think if what your other player's characters can do meanwhile.

[RoboEmperor]

Gold and Downtime.

In almost every single game I've played in, we had much less gold than our WBL, and we had no downtime, so I couldn't play an artificer.

[Nifft]

Yeah, as mentioned above, when you have a crafter PC then downtime becomes a resource. Specifically, each day of downtime can be used to produce 1k gp worth of magic items.

Ensure you're giving some, but not an unlimited amount. You know what wealth-by-level looks like for the current level. If they've got WBL gear already, then don't give them too much downtime. If they haven't gotten enough magic gear to meet WBL, give them ROUGHLY enough downtime to compensate. Etc.

Make it possible to predict with 90% accuracy how much downtime will be allowed -- but that prediction should not always be correct, since 10% of the time a surprise will happen.

Ensure that the other players have ways to interact with downtime, or at least that they don't mind narrative hand-waving.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

Thank you guys :)

Do you know what can I do when I want to make an enemy for him to run away from, sometimes I want to give the guys something hard/impossible.

And about WBL, our group ignore it, I just make the enemys stronger/weaker base on their power level and give loot randomly(they have a place to trade and acssess crafters).
Downtime is base on the PC choice.

[Falontani]

Thank you guys :)

Do you know what can I do when I want to make an enemy for him to run away from, sometimes I want to give the guys something hard/impossible.

And about WBL, our group ignore it, I just make the enemys stronger/weaker base on their power level and give loot randomly(they have a place to trade and acssess crafters).
Downtime is base on the PC choice.

Antimagic disables all magic items temporarily, making the artificer's main shtick as useless as a wizard in the antimagic field (perhaps more so)
Rust Monsters destroy metal objects so can be used to temporarily (or permanently if that is your mindset) destroy magic items (I suggest allowing the artificer repair the item at a later date)
Lodestone Marauder (MMIV) can yank any and all metallic objects towards him or push them away.
Mageripper Swarm (MMIV) will dispel all the magic in the area that they can, and thus are always good against casters and magic item users
Spellgaunt (MM2) is a beastly creature that if made seminormal your artificer will have fearing for his life at every turn
Essence Reaver (Secrets of Sarlona) is an immensely fun creature to use against artificers

And a homebrew creature that I was making (and haven't quite finished) Whisperdoom
Size/Type: Large Aberration
Hit Dice: 15d8+75 (153 HP)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares), 50 ft. Climb Speed
Armor Class: 19 (+2 Dex, +8 natural, -1 Size), touch 11, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +11/+21
Attack: Bite +21 (1d8+10 plus 1d6 acid plus poison)
Full Attack: Bite +21 (1d8+10 plus 1d6 acid plus poison), 2 Claws +12 (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft. (10 ft with Claw)
Special Attacks: Enhanced Bite, Disjunctive Bite, Force Web, Poison, Improved Grab, Antimagic Grapple
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 25/magic, darkvision 60 ft., Dweomersight 120 ft., Dimensional Lock
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +10
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 15, Con 20, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 15
Skills: Hide +16, Move Silently +20, Climb +14
Feats:

Poison: Fortitude Save DC 22, 2d6 dex, 1d6 acid/3d6 dex, 2d4 con, paralysis for 1d4 hoursa note on this;
the creation of this creature was because my player wanted to hunt the most feared, dreaded, and powerful spider that they could find for it's poison, I would seriously weaken the poison
Enhanced Bite: Whisperdoom’s Bite attack is considered a +4 weapon with the corrosive property
Disjunctive Bite: Anything that Whisperdoom bites must make a will saving throw DC (19) or be subject to the effects of disjunction. The disjunction only targets the creature bitten (for spells and spell like abilities) or a magical item that is bitten. Whisperdoom has a 33% chance of destroying an artifact in this manner. (cha based DC)
Force Web: Whisperdoom may fire an invisible web made of pure force with a max range of 50 ft and a range increment of 10 ft, if she hits the target must make a reflex saving throw DC (19) or become stuck in the magical web. While stuck fast in this way the creature suffers a -2 penalty to all attack rolls, and a -4 penalty to dexterity. The web is immune to all forms of damage and can only be destroyed by a Disjunction, disintegrate, or orb of annihilation.
Improved Grab: Whenever Whisperdoom hits a creature that is medium or smaller with a claw attack she may make an immediate grapple attempt. If she succeeds the target is immediately pulled into Whisperdoom’s square and she may make an immediate bite attack.
Antimagic Grapple: While a creature is grappling with Whisperdoom they are under the effects of an antimagic zone.
Dimensional Lock: Whisperdoom projects a 20 ft invisible barrier that completely blocks extradimensional travel. Forms of movement barred include astral projection, blink, dimension door, ethereal jaunt, etherealness, gate, maze, plane shift, shadow walk, teleport, and similar spell-like or psionic abilities. Once dimensional lock is in place, extradimensional travel into or out of the area is not possible. A dimensional lock does not interfere with the movement of creatures already in ethereal or astral form when the spell is cast, nor does it block extradimensional perception or attack forms. Also, the spell does not prevent summoned creatures from disappearing at the end of a summoning spell.
Dweomersight: Whisperdoom can sense the presence of magical auras within 120 ft of herself and knows the school and strength of each aura. She can pinpoint the position of any creature with an ongoing spell, carrying a magical item, or otherwise using magic, as well as any creature within the area of a magical effect, including her own Dimensional Lock.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

Antimagic disables all magic items temporarily, making the artificer's main shtick as useless as a wizard in the antimagic field (perhaps more so)
Rust Monsters destroy metal objects so can be used to temporarily (or permanently if that is your mindset) destroy magic items (I suggest allowing the artificer repair the item at a later date)
Lodestone Marauder (MMIV) can yank any and all metallic objects towards him or push them away.
Mageripper Swarm (MMIV) will dispel all the magic in the area that they can, and thus are always good against casters and magic item users
Spellgaunt (MM2) is a beastly creature that if made seminormal your artificer will have fearing for his life at every turn
Essence Reaver (Secrets of Sarlona) is an immensely fun creature to use against artificers

And a homebrew creature that I was making (and haven't quite finished) Whisperdoom
Size/Type: Large Aberration
Hit Dice: 15d8+75 (153 HP)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares), 50 ft. Climb Speed
Armor Class: 19 (+2 Dex, +8 natural, -1 Size), touch 11, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +11/+21
Attack: Bite +21 (1d8+10 plus 1d6 acid plus poison)
Full Attack: Bite +21 (1d8+10 plus 1d6 acid plus poison), 2 Claws +12 (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft. (10 ft with Claw)
Special Attacks: Enhanced Bite, Disjunctive Bite, Force Web, Poison, Improved Grab, Antimagic Grapple
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 25/magic, darkvision 60 ft., Dweomersight 120 ft., Dimensional Lock
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +10
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 15, Con 20, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 15
Skills: Hide +16, Move Silently +20, Climb +14
Feats:

Poison: Fortitude Save DC 22, 2d6 dex, 1d6 acid/3d6 dex, 2d4 con, paralysis for 1d4 hoursa note on this;
the creation of this creature was because my player wanted to hunt the most feared, dreaded, and powerful spider that they could find for it's poison, I would seriously weaken the poison
Enhanced Bite: Whisperdoom’s Bite attack is considered a +4 weapon with the corrosive property
Disjunctive Bite: Anything that Whisperdoom bites must make a will saving throw DC (19) or be subject to the effects of disjunction. The disjunction only targets the creature bitten (for spells and spell like abilities) or a magical item that is bitten. Whisperdoom has a 33% chance of destroying an artifact in this manner. (cha based DC)
Force Web: Whisperdoom may fire an invisible web made of pure force with a max range of 50 ft and a range increment of 10 ft, if she hits the target must make a reflex saving throw DC (19) or become stuck in the magical web. While stuck fast in this way the creature suffers a -2 penalty to all attack rolls, and a -4 penalty to dexterity. The web is immune to all forms of damage and can only be destroyed by a Disjunction, disintegrate, or orb of annihilation.
Improved Grab: Whenever Whisperdoom hits a creature that is medium or smaller with a claw attack she may make an immediate grapple attempt. If she succeeds the target is immediately pulled into Whisperdoom’s square and she may make an immediate bite attack.
Antimagic Grapple: While a creature is grappling with Whisperdoom they are under the effects of an antimagic zone.
Dimensional Lock: Whisperdoom projects a 20 ft invisible barrier that completely blocks extradimensional travel. Forms of movement barred include astral projection, blink, dimension door, ethereal jaunt, etherealness, gate, maze, plane shift, shadow walk, teleport, and similar spell-like or psionic abilities. Once dimensional lock is in place, extradimensional travel into or out of the area is not possible. A dimensional lock does not interfere with the movement of creatures already in ethereal or astral form when the spell is cast, nor does it block extradimensional perception or attack forms. Also, the spell does not prevent summoned creatures from disappearing at the end of a summoning spell.
Dweomersight: Whisperdoom can sense the presence of magical auras within 120 ft of herself and knows the school and strength of each aura. She can pinpoint the position of any creature with an ongoing spell, carrying a magical item, or otherwise using magic, as well as any creature within the area of a magical effect, including her own Dimensional Lock.

Thank you.

I do agree that I will need to nerf you creation poison. I will love to use this spider in a boss fight.