Nefariis
2022-07-15, 06:56 PM
I know this is Dread Metrol Material, but it's on wikidot and I was perusing Artificers.
The MasterMaker BattleFist is worded really weirdly and I wanted to get your thoughts on if I am reading this right or if maybe it's an issue of RAW vs RAI.
Battlefist:
At 3rd level you replace one of your arms with a battlefist, a magical prosthetic you created. Your battlefist is a simple melee weapon, and you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your artificer spells. While your battlefist is a magical weapon, it can be infused as if it were a nonmagical weapon.
When you attack with your battlefist, you can use your Intelligence modifier instead of Strength for the attack roll. If you hit with it, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d10 + your Strength or Intelligence modifier. At 9th level, the damage dealt by your battlefist increases to 2d10 + your Strength or Intelligence modifier.
Additionally, you can choose one of the following weapon properties to add to your battlefist: finesse, thrown (range 20/60), or reach. When you finish a long rest, you can replace this property with a different weapon property from the list.
So what's interesting about the wording of this, is that it says that at 9th level, the damage dealt becomes 2d10, it does not say, "at 9th level in this class".
Now before you call me a crackpot, take a look at the 9th level ability entitled - Improved BattleFist.
Improved Battlefist
At 9th level, you have modified your battlefist in both mundane and magical ways. It gains the following benefits:
When you infuse your battlefist, you can apply two infusions to it at a time. If both infusions grant bonuses to your attack rolls or armor class, you gain only the greater bonus.
Your battlefist is also a shield, increasing your armor class by 2. You can wield it as a weapon even if you are using it as a shield. You can infuse it as if it were both a simple melee weapon and a shield.
The maximum number of items you can infuse at once increases by 1, but the extra infusion must be applied to your battlefist.
It would seem to me that if the BattleFist 2d10 rider was meant to be a "9th level feature in this class", then they would have put the BattleFist 2d10 rider in the 9th level feature called "Improved BattleFist".
RAW it would seem that a 9th level character with 3 levels of MasterMaker gets a 2d10 mitt, however that can't be RAI, right? This is how the SCAG cantrips work - so it isn't unprecedented.
Off the top of my head, this would give a MasterMaker3/Monk6 4 attacks at 2d10 or would give a rogue a 2d10 finesse weapon.
The MasterMaker BattleFist is worded really weirdly and I wanted to get your thoughts on if I am reading this right or if maybe it's an issue of RAW vs RAI.
Battlefist:
At 3rd level you replace one of your arms with a battlefist, a magical prosthetic you created. Your battlefist is a simple melee weapon, and you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your artificer spells. While your battlefist is a magical weapon, it can be infused as if it were a nonmagical weapon.
When you attack with your battlefist, you can use your Intelligence modifier instead of Strength for the attack roll. If you hit with it, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d10 + your Strength or Intelligence modifier. At 9th level, the damage dealt by your battlefist increases to 2d10 + your Strength or Intelligence modifier.
Additionally, you can choose one of the following weapon properties to add to your battlefist: finesse, thrown (range 20/60), or reach. When you finish a long rest, you can replace this property with a different weapon property from the list.
So what's interesting about the wording of this, is that it says that at 9th level, the damage dealt becomes 2d10, it does not say, "at 9th level in this class".
Now before you call me a crackpot, take a look at the 9th level ability entitled - Improved BattleFist.
Improved Battlefist
At 9th level, you have modified your battlefist in both mundane and magical ways. It gains the following benefits:
When you infuse your battlefist, you can apply two infusions to it at a time. If both infusions grant bonuses to your attack rolls or armor class, you gain only the greater bonus.
Your battlefist is also a shield, increasing your armor class by 2. You can wield it as a weapon even if you are using it as a shield. You can infuse it as if it were both a simple melee weapon and a shield.
The maximum number of items you can infuse at once increases by 1, but the extra infusion must be applied to your battlefist.
It would seem to me that if the BattleFist 2d10 rider was meant to be a "9th level feature in this class", then they would have put the BattleFist 2d10 rider in the 9th level feature called "Improved BattleFist".
RAW it would seem that a 9th level character with 3 levels of MasterMaker gets a 2d10 mitt, however that can't be RAI, right? This is how the SCAG cantrips work - so it isn't unprecedented.
Off the top of my head, this would give a MasterMaker3/Monk6 4 attacks at 2d10 or would give a rogue a 2d10 finesse weapon.