Greywander
2022-02-20, 04:28 PM
So artificers can't use infusions on magical items. This is most likely to prevent you from doubling up, e.g. putting an Enhanced Defense infusion on a suit of armor +3 to make it armor +5.
For an Armorer, their armor is a core identity for the class. It seems pretty clear that if you have magical armor, it can't be infused before 9th level. But at 9th level we get Armor Modifications, which splits our armor into four pieces, allowing each piece to bear an infusion, as well as giving us two additional infusions provided they're used on one of these four pieces of our armor. So how does this work if we're wearing magical armor? As far as I can tell, there are three possible interpretations:
We can't infuse any part of our armor, because the armor is a magic item, and thus even the individual pieces count as a magic item.
We can't infuse the chestpiece, because it actually counts as the armor, but the other three pieces can be infused.
We can infuse all four pieces because Armor Modifications specifically allows us to, magic armor or not.
Now, I'm pretty sure the last one is wrong. Or at least I'd think it is. I suppose it's possible that this could be an intended exception for the Armorer specifically, allowing them to get monstrously high AC by stacking Enhanced Defense on top of magical armor. But I feel like all Armor Modifications is doing is allowing you to put four infusions on one item, not allowing you to infuse magical armor.
I feel like the first one could be interpreted as technically RAW, but it simply doesn't feel like RAI to me. With the armor being a core part of the Armorer's identity, this would make magical armor a serious detriment to the Armorer. The main reason I don't feel this is correct is because I feel like the Armorer should not be getting penalized for using a magic item. It makes sense that it might not benefit them as much as another class, but actively making them worse than they'd be with nonmagical armor feels wrong.
So what I suspect is that the second one is the real one. The chestpiece can't be infused, but that's because you're getting the magical bonus from the armor. This then allows you to infuse other parts of the armor instead, essentially getting a "free" infusion through the magic armor. Armor +2 is like getting free Enhanced Defense.
Now, in thinking about this, some other odd things came to my mind. It made me start thinking about what the 9th level feature actually does, or if it even does anything at all (besides the two free infusions). Basically what this comes down to is that it seems antithetical to me that the Armorer, of all classes, would somehow be worse at wearing armor than any other class. Let me explain.
The Arcane Armor feature explains that the armor expands to cover your whole body, and specifically allows you to retract or deploy the helmet as a bonus action (which doesn't seem to have any effect). I think this was likely a nod to Iron Man who can retract the visor. I saw one person saying that this means you can retract the helmet in order to wear a different piece of headgear that you can then infuse, and because the armor covers the whole body, you can't infuse boots or gauntlets until 9th level.
But this would then mean that a non-Armorer artificer would be able to wear gloves and boots separate from their armor, and infuse those if they wished. But the Armorer can't? Not only that, but if you find a pair of magic boots or gloves, any other martial could use them while wearing armor. But again, the Armorer can't? Why is the Armorer worse at wearing armor than everyone else?
There's also another possibility, which is that wearing any kind of armor prevents you from wearing magical boots, gloves, and possibly headgear. In which case, the Armorer is no worse off than anyone else, and at 9th level gets the unique ability to use these together via infusions.
Of course, this is all completely ridiculous. But... maybe it is actually RAW.
A more sensible way to handle it, I think, would be that an Armorer can wear magic boots, gloves, or headgear, the same as anyone else, and it merely gets incorporated into the armor. Thus, the 9th level feature isn't actually doing anything except integrating those equip slots directly into the armor so that you don't need to carry around separate items like hats or boots to infuse. This might seem obvious for a suit of full plate, but a breastplate certainly wouldn't seem like it would provide boots, gloves, or a helmet. Also, your armor can't be removed against your will, while non-armor clothing like boots or gloves could be removed.
TL;DR, I think this is more for flavor than anything else, and an Armorer can still wear magic boots and such while using their Arcane Armor. Doing so would "save" an infusion slot, allowing you to infuse a different part of the armor instead. Thus, an Armorer doesn't really need more than two magic items between their head, armor, and feet slots. I'm not sure if the "special weapon" would allow for a glove infusion, since it sounds like it's treating it more like a weapon. So your "special weapon" could always benefit from an infusion, unless you somehow find a magical version of your "special weapon".
For an Armorer, their armor is a core identity for the class. It seems pretty clear that if you have magical armor, it can't be infused before 9th level. But at 9th level we get Armor Modifications, which splits our armor into four pieces, allowing each piece to bear an infusion, as well as giving us two additional infusions provided they're used on one of these four pieces of our armor. So how does this work if we're wearing magical armor? As far as I can tell, there are three possible interpretations:
We can't infuse any part of our armor, because the armor is a magic item, and thus even the individual pieces count as a magic item.
We can't infuse the chestpiece, because it actually counts as the armor, but the other three pieces can be infused.
We can infuse all four pieces because Armor Modifications specifically allows us to, magic armor or not.
Now, I'm pretty sure the last one is wrong. Or at least I'd think it is. I suppose it's possible that this could be an intended exception for the Armorer specifically, allowing them to get monstrously high AC by stacking Enhanced Defense on top of magical armor. But I feel like all Armor Modifications is doing is allowing you to put four infusions on one item, not allowing you to infuse magical armor.
I feel like the first one could be interpreted as technically RAW, but it simply doesn't feel like RAI to me. With the armor being a core part of the Armorer's identity, this would make magical armor a serious detriment to the Armorer. The main reason I don't feel this is correct is because I feel like the Armorer should not be getting penalized for using a magic item. It makes sense that it might not benefit them as much as another class, but actively making them worse than they'd be with nonmagical armor feels wrong.
So what I suspect is that the second one is the real one. The chestpiece can't be infused, but that's because you're getting the magical bonus from the armor. This then allows you to infuse other parts of the armor instead, essentially getting a "free" infusion through the magic armor. Armor +2 is like getting free Enhanced Defense.
Now, in thinking about this, some other odd things came to my mind. It made me start thinking about what the 9th level feature actually does, or if it even does anything at all (besides the two free infusions). Basically what this comes down to is that it seems antithetical to me that the Armorer, of all classes, would somehow be worse at wearing armor than any other class. Let me explain.
The Arcane Armor feature explains that the armor expands to cover your whole body, and specifically allows you to retract or deploy the helmet as a bonus action (which doesn't seem to have any effect). I think this was likely a nod to Iron Man who can retract the visor. I saw one person saying that this means you can retract the helmet in order to wear a different piece of headgear that you can then infuse, and because the armor covers the whole body, you can't infuse boots or gauntlets until 9th level.
But this would then mean that a non-Armorer artificer would be able to wear gloves and boots separate from their armor, and infuse those if they wished. But the Armorer can't? Not only that, but if you find a pair of magic boots or gloves, any other martial could use them while wearing armor. But again, the Armorer can't? Why is the Armorer worse at wearing armor than everyone else?
There's also another possibility, which is that wearing any kind of armor prevents you from wearing magical boots, gloves, and possibly headgear. In which case, the Armorer is no worse off than anyone else, and at 9th level gets the unique ability to use these together via infusions.
Of course, this is all completely ridiculous. But... maybe it is actually RAW.
A more sensible way to handle it, I think, would be that an Armorer can wear magic boots, gloves, or headgear, the same as anyone else, and it merely gets incorporated into the armor. Thus, the 9th level feature isn't actually doing anything except integrating those equip slots directly into the armor so that you don't need to carry around separate items like hats or boots to infuse. This might seem obvious for a suit of full plate, but a breastplate certainly wouldn't seem like it would provide boots, gloves, or a helmet. Also, your armor can't be removed against your will, while non-armor clothing like boots or gloves could be removed.
TL;DR, I think this is more for flavor than anything else, and an Armorer can still wear magic boots and such while using their Arcane Armor. Doing so would "save" an infusion slot, allowing you to infuse a different part of the armor instead. Thus, an Armorer doesn't really need more than two magic items between their head, armor, and feet slots. I'm not sure if the "special weapon" would allow for a glove infusion, since it sounds like it's treating it more like a weapon. So your "special weapon" could always benefit from an infusion, unless you somehow find a magical version of your "special weapon".