Spell less full casting class, suggestions welcome

[moonfly7]

So, this thread is about one of my favourite characters, one I have never played in my life. His name is Asterius Velo, and he is a human artificer. Asterius's character life is special because he was first made for a dnd game, and then, when he was never played, I decided I loved him so much that he is now the subject of a book I am writing, narrated by him about the hero he journeyed along side, heavily self depreciating, I might add.
What makes Asterius so special to me is his character concept: he is a shy, soft spoken, bookish, curly brown haired sixteen year old, who is absolutly enamored with the complex and beautiful innerworkings of magic. Probably because he can't cast a single spell.
In the book, Asterius is one of the few people in the world ever born without a connection to magic, possibly 2 or 3 are born per generation, and they are called No-Mages. In the book, Asterius grows up yearning for a way to do magic, and, in his research, he finds an ancient, abandined art of creating magical items, called artificery. He discovers that so long as he has stored magic on hand, he can practice artifice, even as a No-mage. And so, Asterius begins working to master this dead art.

In dnd, Asterius is exactly the same in tge way he acts and looks, and he is still an artificer, just not the only one. Also, our game obviously doesn't have No-Mages, so I have to fibd another way to make casting spells impossible for Asterius. Other magic like artificer infusions he can still use.

Now, I asked my DM, and after checking to make sure I knew what taking spells from a caster meant, he gave me the go ahead. Now, I still need a reason for why Asterius can't cast. One suggestion is a curse placed upon him, which works alright, but I'd be upset out of game if it was broken, while in game Asterius would welcome it. Another, less liked idea is he has a mental block, from a terrible experience, that stops his casting. I dont like this one too much, and neither does the DM.
Also, if I did curse, I could have him be from a family of powerful and famous sorcerers, who shun and hate him for his lack of magic, adding a want to impress them, by doing magic via artificery, as a way to win their love.
So, here's what I need help with: specifics on the curse that afflicts Asterius, equipped with reasons for it, specifics, and suggestions why it can't be broken.

And I wpuld absolutely love any suggestions or creative ideas for making a spell less artificer more useful in combat and other situations. Now, I do have my own, involving lots of scrolls, wands, and creative things, but I'd love to hear yours.

[Tiadoppler]

I'd strongly suggest 3 levels of Thief Rogue. You get a little Sneak Attack (ask your DM if you can Sneak Attack with Alchemist's Acid/Fire), a little Expertise, and Fast Hands (bonus action Use Object).

What type of Artificer is your character? Alchemist, Artillerist and Battle Smith could all work (Archivist is very magicky).

How open are you to refluffing spells as non-magical devices? The sidebar in the most recent Artificer UA says:


The Magic of Artifice
As an artificer, you use tools when you cast your spells.
When describing your spellcasting, think about how
you’re using a tool to perform the spell effect. If you
cast cure wounds using alchemist’s supplies, you could
be quickly producing a salve. If you cast it using tinker’s
tools, you might have a miniature mechanical spider
that binds wounds. When you cast poison spray, you
could fling foul chemicals or use a wand that spits
venom. The effect of the spell is the same as for a
spellcaster of any other class, but your method of
spellcasting is special.
The same principle applies when you prepare your
spells. As an artificer, you don’t study a spellbook or
pray to prepare your spells. Instead, you work with your
tools and create the specialized items you’ll use to
produce your effects. If you replace cure wounds with
shocking grasp, you might be breaking down the device
you used to heal and creating an offensive item in its
place—perhaps a gauntlet that lets you channel a surge
of energy.

By simply refluffing the Artificer's abilities, you could have a fully functional "non-magical" character with no loss of utility. In which case, the "curse" is just more fluff: your character is unable to take class levels in any spellcasting class other than artificer.

Why does your character's curse need a specific mechanical definition? It could be the work of a capricious deity or the symptom of a rare genetic disorder. He could even be called a "loose thread in the Weave".

Is there any mechanical benefit to being a "no-mage" (ugh I'm wincing just writing that phrase)? Resistance to magic? Immunity to divination/mind control/whatever?


Other than that... Your character's family is a bloodline of powerful spellcasters.
> One of their rivals Wished that their smartest child would be incapable of magic.
> One of their rivals Wished that their bloodline would lose its magic.
> Inbreeding among powerful spellcasting families has resulted in an unwanted mutation - a disconnection from magic altogether.
> Your character's parents aren't who your character thinks they are. (Adopted? Swapped out? Infidelity?)

[moonfly7]

I'd strongly suggest 3 levels of Thief Rogue. You get a little Sneak Attack (ask your DM if you can Sneak Attack with Alchemist's Acid/Fire), a little Expertise, and Fast Hands (bonus action Use Object).

What type of Artificer is your character? Alchemist, Artillerist and Battle Smith could all work (Archivist is very magicky).

How open are you to refluffing spells as non-magical devices? The sidebar in the most recent Artificer UA says:



By simply refluffing the Artificer's abilities, you could have a fully functional "non-magical" character with no loss of utility. In which case, the "curse" is just more fluff: your character is unable to take class levels in any spellcasting class other than artificer.

Why does your character's curse need a specific mechanical definition? It could be the work of a capricious deity or the symptom of a rare genetic disorder. He could even be called a "loose thread in the Weave".

Is there any mechanical benefit to being a "no-mage" (ugh I'm wincing just writing that phrase)? Resistance to magic? Immunity to divination/mind control/whatever?


Other than that... Your character's family is a bloodline of powerful spellcasters.
> One of their rivals Wished that their smartest child would be incapable of magic.
> One of their rivals Wished that their bloodline would lose its magic.
> Inbreeding among powerful spellcasting families has resulted in an unwanted mutation - a disconnection from magic altogether.
> Your character's parents aren't who your character thinks they are. (Adopted? Swapped out? Infidelity?)

I don't need mechanics,I must have explained that wrong. I just need Ideas for the curse, also, maybe it had other side affects that affect Asterius's behavior or appearance, I just want creative suggestions.
And no, no magic resist.
And I know about artificer casting, but I don't want to do that, I am dead set on playing an artificer without spells, and I plan on staying pure artificer instead of multi classing.

As for subclass: Asterius is an artilerist, giving him access to a wand that lets him cast cantrips as a class feature, as well as offensive and defensive abilities from his turret.
Thank you for the suggestions, keep em coming!

[Mercurias]

Now, I still need a reason for why Asterius can't cast. One suggestion is a curse placed upon him, which works alright, but I'd be upset out of game if it was broken, while in game Asterius would welcome it. Another, less liked idea is he has a mental block, from a terrible experience, that stops his casting. I dont like this one too much, and neither does the DM.
Also, if I did curse, I could have him be from a family of powerful and famous sorcerers, who shun and hate him for his lack of magic, adding a want to impress them, by doing magic via artificery, as a way to win their love.
So, here's what I need help with: specifics on the curse that afflicts Asterius, equipped with reasons for it, specifics, and suggestions why it can't be broken.

And I wpuld absolutely love any suggestions or creative ideas for making a spell less artificer more useful in combat and other situations. Now, I do have my own, involving lots of scrolls, wands, and creative things, but I'd love to hear yours.

Firstly, I wouldn’t play a no-Spell Artificer. It really isn’t necessary if you fluff the class spells as gizmos, gadgets, charms, paper seals, etc. I always imagined everything an Artificer did involved tinkering, taking things apart, rebuilding them, rewriting glyphs to channel different types of magic or absorb a different sort of aether from the air...

As for the curse? Well clearly it’s just the price to pay for the rest of the family’s success. Generations ago, Asterius’s own ancestor made a bargain with a Djinn: In exchange for his family as a whole to be granted the Djinn’s arcane blessing, one child in a generation would have his connection to magic “fed” to the Djinn.

For the family it wasn’t much of a loss. The material wealth the acquired after become a line of established mages allows the one child in a generation to be born into a comfortable life, where plenty of opportunities would be present for them...So long as those didn’t involve magic in the slightest.

For the Djinn, it was a rare opportunity to become more powerful. After all, mortals tend to die after a while, and their gifts would flow back to the Djinn, while in the meantime he could steadily drink in the arcane potential of one additional person per generation.

After three or four cycles, however, the family’s attitude towards the generation’s sacrifice became less and less...Cordial. After all, the other children had to spend all day practicing magic while the sacrifice was told to go and play after lessons. When the others were working hard at developing new spells, the sacrifice was studying accounting, of all things. Why should they even bother wasting anything at all on a person whose only worthwhile contribution to the family (and thus, all civilization) happened right after they were born?

Asterius’s own parents and grandparents may have loved him, in their own patronizing way, and he grew up surrounded by the arcane in ways a normal person could hardly comprehend, but he couldn’t touch it. Unlike everyone he knew, it never worked. No amount of gestures, incantations, or prayers to gods would work. He couldn’t even gather power through a pact with a demon or archfey because the gifts they grant need to be placed SOMEWHERE, and he has no place for them to put it.

Once in a generation. Potentially the only one born that way in the whole world. Some luck.

[moonfly7]

Firstly, I wouldn’t play a no-Spell Artificer. It really isn’t necessary if you fluff the class spells as gizmos, gadgets, charms, paper seals, etc. I always imagined everything an Artificer did involved tinkering, taking things apart, rebuilding them, rewriting glyphs to channel different types of magic or absorb a different sort of aether from the air...

As for the curse? Well clearly it’s just the price to pay for the rest of the family’s success. Generations ago, Asterius’s own ancestor made a bargain with a Djinn: In exchange for his family as a whole to be granted the Djinn’s arcane blessing, one child in a generation would have his connection to magic “fed” to the Djinn.

For the family it wasn’t much of a loss. The material wealth the acquired after become a line of established mages allows the one child in a generation to be born into a comfortable life, where plenty of opportunities would be present for them...So long as those didn’t involve magic in the slightest.

For the Djinn, it was a rare opportunity to become more powerful. After all, mortals tend to die after a while, and their gifts would flow back to the Djinn, while in the meantime he could steadily drink in the arcane potential of one additional person per generation.

After three or four cycles, however, the family’s attitude towards the generation’s sacrifice became less and less...Cordial. After all, the other children had to spend all day practicing magic while the sacrifice was told to go and play after lessons. When the others were working hard at developing new spells, the sacrifice was studying accounting, of all things. Why should they even bother wasting anything at all on a person whose only worthwhile contribution to the family (and thus, all civilization) happened right after they were born?

Asterius’s own parents and grandparents may have loved him, in their own patronizing way, and he grew up surrounded by the arcane in ways a normal person could hardly comprehend, but he couldn’t touch it. Unlike everyone he knew, it never worked. No amount of gestures, incantations, or prayers to gods would work. He couldn’t even gather power through a pact with a demon or archfey because the gifts they grant need to be placed SOMEWHERE, and he has no place for them to put it.

Once in a generation. Potentially the only one born that way in the whole world. Some luck.
This is amazing, I'll tell my DM
EDIT: My DM loves it! So were going with djinn eating my magic. Thanks!

[Grod_The_Giant]

If you're interested, I have an Artificer Magewright class in my Guide to Greatness. They're a much purer crafter type than the latest UA Artificer-- they get no casting at all, just the ability to make magic items. Like, straight up magic items out of the DMG for themselves and their allies, up to [Int Mod] at a time. There are subclasses for warrior-smiths, alchemists, and wand specialists.

[moonfly7]

If you're interested, I have an Artificer Magewright class in my Guide to Greatness. They're a much purer crafter type than the latest UA Artificer-- they get no casting at all, just the ability to make magic items. Like, straight up magic items out of the DMG for themselves and their allies, up to [Int Mod] at a time. There are subclasses for warrior-smiths, alchemists, and wand specialists.

Thanks for the sugesstion, but I think I'll stick with this. I actually like the challenge it presents.