Request a Homebrew: Thread 3

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Heyyyyy Miss Disaster, been thinking on that Arcane Engineer. How do ya feel about getting it almost an entire year late?

H 1199: Arcane Engineer
Technically I was hired as an applied architectural arcanist.

Prerequisites:

• Capable of casting 3rd level arcane spells
• Able to cast 3 or more spells from the arcane engineer spell list
• Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 9 ranks
• Skill Focus (Architecture and Engineering)

HD: d6
Good Saves: Will
Skills: 4 + Intelligence modifier
Skill List: Appraise, Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Disable Device, Knowledge (Arcana) (Architecture and Engineering) (The Planes), Open Lock, Profession, Search, Speak Language, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device

Level	Special	Spellcasting
1	Structural Arcanery	-
2	Engineer's Toolkit (Lyre of Building)	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3	The Knack	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
4	Structural Manipulation	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
5	Engineer's Toolkit (Instant Fortress)	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class

Proficiencies: The arcane engineer does not gain any new proficiencies.

Spellcasting: At every level except the first, an arcane engineer gains spells as though they had taken a level in an arcane spellcasting class they already possessed. If they has more than one such class, they must choose one.

Architectural Arcanery: At level 1 and whenever they gain a new spell level, an arcane engineer gains access to all spells from the arcane engineer spell list of the spell levels they can cast. If they have spells known, they add these spells to their spells known. If they use a spellbook, they can add these spells to their spellbook using shorthand notation with a process that takes 50gp worth of ink and 4 hours. They can choose to treat their caster level for these spells as equal to their ranks in Knowledge (Engineering and Architecture).

Engineer's Toolkit: Like most engineers, arcane engineers have tools. With 8 hours of crafting time, an arcane engineer can create certain magic items without materials, XP, or crafting feats. This item cannot be sold and can only be used by the arcane engineer who created it.

At level 2, an arcane engineer can craft a lyre of building.

At level 5, an arcane engineer can craft an instant fortress.

Structural Manipulation: At level 3, an arcane engineer can manipulate the structures formed by their spells so they defy their normal rules.

• Spells created can be anchored to any point in space instead of solid surfaces.
• Any wall or structure can take any shape so long as they have the same length and thickness as the effect of the original spell.

The Knack: At level 4, an arcane engineer gains a floating pool of XP that can be used to pay for permanency spells. The size of this pool is equal to their ranks in Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) x 1,000. At any time, an arcane engineer can dismiss an effect that they have invested floating XP into, which restores XP to the pool.

Arcane Engineer Spell List
1st - blockade, wall of pain (Shining), wall of smoke (SpC)
2nd - continual flame, soften earth and stone, wall of coldfire (Frost), wall of eyes (BoVD), wall of light (SpC), wall of gloom (SpC), wall walker¹, wind wall
3rd - stone shape, tiny hut, wall of bones (CArc), wall of chains (BoVD), wall of chaos (SpC), wall of evil (SpC), wall of fire, wall of good (SpC), wall of ice, wall of incarnum, wall of law (SpC), wall of moonlight (PGtF), wall of salt (Sand), wall of sand (PGtF), wall of thorns, wall of vermin (CScoundrel) wall of water (SpC)
4th - illusory wall, minor creation, perinarch (SpC), resilient sphere, secure shelter, wall of deadly chains (BoVD), wall of ectoplasm¹, wall of gears (SpC), wall of limbs (SpC), wall of ooze (BoVD), wall of magma (Sand), wall of scales (RotD)
5th - major creation, passwall, permanency, transmute mud to rock, transmute rock to mud, wall of dispel magic (SpC), wall of stone, wall of force
6th - animate object, phase door, wall of iron
7th - forcecage, iceberg (Frost), mage's magnificent mansion
8th - planar perinarch (SpC), prismatic wall, wall of greater dispel magic (SpC)
9th - gate, halaster's teleport cage (Waterdeep), word of genesis² (ToM)
¹ this power is cast as a spell. The effect is as though the minimum number of power points invested in it.
² this spell has no XP cost and you automatically succeed at the Truespeak check. However, you can only create 1 instance of the demiplane with this spell at a time. If you create a new one, the old one disappears.

Spoiler: Thoughts

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This is one of those awkward feat taxes where you pay power now in exchange for cool stuff later... I know it's not great design, but it really feels right here. Intended entry point is level 6, so you can take Skill Focus at level 6 and get dinged for as little time as possible. Mechanically this is 1 level of spell reduction + 1 feat for a bunch of flexibility.

Also, building-related effects also seem to break the economy, so I just leaned into that. Free items, reduced spell levels, free XP. Theorycraft away with castles! An arcane engineer / trapsmith would be an interesting deathtrap dungeon boss.