For Science! A Guide to the Revisited Artificer

[Anderlith]

Question for the playground. If an Artillerist has a Homunculus which he hands one of his Cannons to & then casts invisibility on. Would the Homunculus still remain invisible while the Cannon fires? Rules as written the Homunculus isn’t the one making the attacks.

[MrCharlie]

Question for the playground. If an Artillerist has a Homunculus which he hands one of his Cannons to & then casts invisibility on. Would the Homunculus still remain invisible while the Cannon fires? Rules as written the Homunculus isn’t the one making the attacks.

Technically, that works fine. It's worth noting that the cannon itself isn't a creature, or even capable of attack though-you're the one attacking, so you need to see the target for the cannon to fire at. Presumably the magic automatically aims at whatever you want despite different vantage-but you use your own vision. Given that you need to see the target, all this really does it make you the object of it's retaliation.

[Anderlith]

Technically, that works fine. It's worth noting that the cannon itself isn't a creature, or even capable of attack though-you're the one attacking, so you need to see the target for the cannon to fire at. Presumably the magic automatically aims at whatever you want despite different vantage-but you use your own vision. Given that you need to see the target, all this really does it make you the object of it's retaliation.

Arcane eye, illusions, & so much more

[Ccjg210]

Right Tool for the Job: Most casters are completely and utterly shut down if they lose their focus/component pouch, while we could create our own. In reality this has little practical use, since you would need to have your tinker tools with you… which you can use as a focus anyway. Some of the components of the supplies are honestly useful for adventuring, if you ever find yourself needing a saw (carpenter’s tools, a compass (cartographer’s tools), or a large glass jug (brewer’s supplies), you can whip those up no problem.

I think you are massively undervaluing this ability given how, unlike in the UA version, you no longer automatically get tools from your subclass.
You may be able to cast your spells through your Tinkers or Thieves tools, But you need Smiths tools to Create or Ressurect your Iron Defender, you need Woodworkers or Smiths tools to create your Eldritch Cannon and Woodworkers tools to Craft your Arcane Firearm, You need Alchemist's tools to use practically any of your alchemist abilities.
You are given none of these tools.

For some reason, the only tool you are acctually given, despite this feature needing Tinkers tools, is Thieves tools. But, for an investment of 50gp (Or free from your background) you get all the tools to activate the features of your class. And if for some reason you didn't infuse yourself a bag of holding, you get the benefit of not needing to carry more than one set of tools (Or two, if you are super attached to your thieves tools) if your DM makes you worry about encumberance and bag space.

[Quietus]

I think you've missed one of the biggest draws of Spell Sniper - all spells with an attack roll, have their ranged DOUBLED.
this is very effective for Artillerists.

That really is the biggest draw, since Enhanced Arcane Weapon already gives you the ability to ignore half cover. And the +1/+2 benefit applies to your force ballista, as well.

[8wGremlin]

That really is the biggest draw, since Enhanced Arcane Weapon already gives you the ability to ignore half cover. And the +1/+2 benefit applies to your force ballista, as well.

and has an interesting interaction with the optional rule

Spoiler: Two handed Foci

Show

Optional Rule:Two-Handed Arcane Focuses
In Eberron, an arcane focus is a weapon.
As such, it can be interesting to give a focus some of the same trade-offs as mundane weapons: do you sacrifice your free hand for greater power?
If you use this optional rule, when a caster uses a two-handed arcane focus to cast an offensive cantrip (a cantrip requiring a saving throw or an attack roll), the range of the cantrip is increased by 50 percent.
By this rule, a staff always requires two hands, while rods can be used with either one or two hands. Using a two-handed arcane focus fulfills the somatic component requirement for a spell.

So firebolt =120 ft range
with Spell Sniper or 2-h focus = 180 ft range
With Both = either 240 ft range or 270ft range depending upon how they interact.

[Anderlith]

snip

I’m really disappointed they didn’t showcase Seigestaves in the book. Imagine a redwood, carved up in the same way a wizard staff is. The size & range of the spells that would shoot out of that would be cool to see.

[MrCharlie]

Arcane eye, illusions, & so much more

Sure, prep time and creative thinking are rewarded, and some illusions and other methods (if you have access to them) would let you see something without being there to be see...But how are you casting invisibility again? If it's not spell storing item, then how are you casting another concentration spell? If it's a spell storing item, then you've got issues with being high enough level to cast this, and many things this would be worth trying this on are either too capable of perceptive for your homunculus to hide, even with invisibility (they can see perception to find the creature shooting them, even with false assumptions), or can see through illusions wholesale.

Of course, then they just get to kill the homunculus and the turret, which is an incredible return on investment for a level 2 spell and potentially another spell slot or trick.

[Anderlith]

snip

I feel like you’re vastly underplaying the situation

An Artificer could, say plan an ambush & use Rope Trick, or hiding within a bag of holding, or any number of other items or abilities or spells, to cast a simple illusion of a barrel or tree etc. You could have a common everyday Squirrel as a Familiar, if you took MI as a feat, & you use your action to see through its eyes & your bonus to shoot the Cannon. Maybe don’t discount traditional stealth either.
The Artificer then waits for the enemy, hands off the Cannon & casts invisibility on the Homunculus.
The Homunculus leaves the illusion/bag/RopeTrick & starts firing, changing its location (height, angle, cover etc) every time with its own movement. To further add to the chaos, use Magical Tinkering to make a “hologram” of you blasting fingerguns with each strike to really throw them off.

Resource-wise it takes very little. Prep time & forethought? A decent amount. But you could also do it during regular battles where the enemy is too busy holding off your Barbarian friend to track the invisible Cannon shooting everything

[Sarone]

Just curious, could a Battle smith Artificer have a steel defender and the homunculus servant? If they can, how would they be useful for the battle smith, especially if it's a warforged?

[Dork_Forge]

Just curious, could a Battle smith Artificer have a steel defender and the homunculus servant? If they can, how would they be useful for the battle smith, especially if it's a warforged?

I did exactly this in a recent one shot, the Steel Defender was my go to in combat and the Homunculus provided scouting and ranged attacks (so I didn't have to pull the SD out of range of protecting me with its reaction). Its also a good back up to bring in if your SD goes down in combat (though if it starts taking fire it can go down real quick with that hp calc).

That was my experience playing a level 7 Battle Smith, I'm about to start a campaign as a 3rd level and intend on taking this route again when I get to 6th.

[Sarone]

I did exactly this in a recent one shot, the Steel Defender was my go to in combat and the Homunculus provided scouting and ranged attacks (so I didn't have to pull the SD out of range of protecting me with its reaction). Its also a good back up to bring in if your SD goes down in combat (though if it starts taking fire it can go down real quick with that hp calc).

That was my experience playing a level 7 Battle Smith, I'm about to start a campaign as a 3rd level and intend on taking this route again when I get to 6th.

That's what I was thinking. Have the HS be a scout/ranged attacker while the SD acts as a flanking buddy. Also, unless I am mistaken, the HS can be a distraction for you if the SD falls to it.

Also, what is the deal for using the Iron Defender? Is there a way to gain that as a pet instead of the Steel Defender? Or could an artificier be a "droid" master and have multiple minions?

[Dork_Forge]

That's what I was thinking. Have the HS be a scout/ranged attacker while the SD acts as a flanking buddy. Also, unless I am mistaken, the HS can be a distraction for you if the SD falls to it.

Also, what is the deal for using the Iron Defender? Is there a way to gain that as a pet instead of the Steel Defender? Or could an artificier be a "droid" master and have multiple minions?

The Iron defender is just the npc version I think, there's no official way to gain one. You could grab the SD, HS, use either a feat or dip to grab a familiar and minionmance your way to success. Or an annoyed DM, results may vary but who doesn't want to play mechanical pokemon?

[Sarone]

The Iron defender is just the npc version I think, there's no official way to gain one. You could grab the SD, HS, use either a feat or dip to grab a familiar and minionmance your way to success. Or an annoyed DM, results may vary but who doesn't want to play mechanical pokemon?

LOL. I'm thinking of the idea of a commando droid/B2 Battle droid that is a force multiplier for the group.

[Anderlith]

Also, what is the deal for using the Iron Defender? Is there a way to gain that as a pet instead of the Steel Defender? Or could an artificier be a "droid" master and have multiple minions?

They probably gave SD a different name from ID so they could have one as a class feature & one as a monster without confusion.

As for minions...
You can take Find Familiar with Ritual Caster or Magic Initiate. You could fluff it as a construct. I don’t see anything in the rules that prevent you from having multiple HS but I could be overlooking something. I don’t know what you’d do with all of that because of action economy but you could do it

[Sarone]

They probably gave SD a different name from ID so they could have one as a class feature & one as a monster without confusion.

As for minions...
You can take Find Familiar with Ritual Caster or Magic Initiate. You could fluff it as a construct. I don’t see anything in the rules that prevent you from having multiple HS but I could be overlooking something. I don’t know what you’d do with all of that because of action economy but you could do it

An Artificer Infusion can only be learned once unless it says otherwise.

[Anderlith]

An Artificer Infusion can only be learned once unless it says otherwise.

Learned once yes. Used once? I mean, who’s to say you can’t give out two or three Enhanced Weapons to your party? & if you can do that why not two or three HS?

[Dork_Forge]

Learned once yes. Used once? I mean, who’s to say you can’t give out two or three Enhanced Weapons to your party? & if you can do that why not two or three HS?

You can't do that, the Infusing an Item section reads: "You must touch each of the objects, and each of your infusions can be in only one object at a time."

Equipping the party with +1 gear isn't difficult since multiple infusions give a +1, but you can only have one HS.

[Anderlith]

snip

That wording is so you can’t stack Infusion on one item. Like Throwing & Radiant on the same sword. If you read HS it says you touch an object & that object becomes the “heart” of the HS. Multiple items, multiple HS’s. It doesn’t say you CAN’T have more than one HS active at a time

[Dork_Forge]

That wording is so you can’t stack Infusion on one item. Like Throwing & Radiant on the same sword. If you read HS it says you touch an object & that object becomes the “heart” of the HS. Multiple items, multiple HS’s. It doesn’t say you CAN’T have more than one HS active at a time

No, the sentence after what I quoted tells you that you can't stack them: "Moreover, no object can bear more than one of your infusions at a time."

You cannot have more than one of the same infusion.

[Anderlith]

snip

Fair enough, one HS at a time.

Side Note for the playground,

If I wanted to homebrew an Infusion for a self propelled wagon, or even just a clockwork steed... what do you think the limits should be? I like the idea of an Artificer tapping a doodad onto the coachman’s bench of a wagon & then it taking off on his command

[8wGremlin]

Fair enough, one HS at a time.

Side Note for the playground,

If I wanted to homebrew an Infusion for a self propelled wagon, or even just a clockwork steed... what do you think the limits should be? I like the idea of an Artificer tapping a doodad onto the coachman’s bench of a wagon & then it taking off on his command

Paladin's get Find Steed, so at a level higher than them, you could have an infusion that does the same.
similar to the homunculus so say

Infusion @6th artificer clockwork steed.
You create a red, white and black orb, by pressing the single button and saying "clockwork steed I choose you" you cast 'Find Steed'. useable 1/day.

But this is definitely HOMEBREW.

[kitman]

If I understand correctly, a battle smith will never be able to use a weapon and shield and cast spells, or am I completely misinterpreting things? Would war caster wouldn't allow you to cast with a shield? Am I missing some item or feat that would allow this?

But you could use a 2H weapon though, using your free action to draw your artisan tool, and stow it the next round?

[stoutstien]

If I understand correctly, a battle smith will never be able to use a weapon and shield and cast spells, or am I completely misinterpreting things? Would war caster wouldn't allow you to cast with a shield? Am I missing some item or feat that would allow this?

But you could use a 2H weapon though, using your free action to draw your artisan tool, and stow it the next round?

Anything with an infusion can also be used by an artificer as a spell focus.

[Dork_Forge]

If I understand correctly, a battle smith will never be able to use a weapon and shield and cast spells, or am I completely misinterpreting things? Would war caster wouldn't allow you to cast with a shield? Am I missing some item or feat that would allow this?

But you could use a 2H weapon though, using your free action to draw your artisan tool, and stow it the next round?

As long as an Artificer has an infused item they can use it as a focus, so an infused weapon or shield would enable it. Since you need either a toolset or infusion regardless what the spell is you can cast all your spells like this without any need for Warcaster.

[MrCharlie]

You can't do that, the Infusing an Item section reads: "You must touch each of the objects, and each of your infusions can be in only one object at a time."

Equipping the party with +1 gear isn't difficult since multiple infusions give a +1, but you can only have one HS.

That sentence is extremely ambiguous. It could easily mean that you can't inject an infusion into an object that has removable parts. It could easily mean nothing. Each infusion is both a discrete formula, and a discrete effect that applies that knowledge; the phrase could refer to either "each of your infusions" as in the formula, or each of your infusions as in the magical effect. Given that they could have said "known infusion" if they wanted to limit it that way, I strongly suspect they never meant to limit the ability as you say. I think they were instead trying to limit something like infusion a double bladed scimitar then detaching it into two scimitars with one infusion-getting past the "exceeding maximum number of infusions" rule by having one infusion in two objects.

But I've had this conversation before, so that's all I'll say.

[Dork_Forge]

That sentence is extremely ambiguous. It could easily mean that you can't inject an infusion into an object that has removable parts. It could easily mean nothing. Each infusion is both a discrete formula, and a discrete effect that applies that knowledge; the phrase could refer to either "each of your infusions" as in the formula, or each of your infusions as in the magical effect. Given that they could have said "known infusion" if they wanted to limit it that way, I strongly suspect they never meant to limit the ability as you say. I think they were instead trying to limit something like infusion a double bladed scimitar then detaching it into two scimitars with one infusion-getting past the "exceeding maximum number of infusions" rule by having one infusion in two objects.

But I've had this conversation before, so that's all I'll say.

Whether it refers to the recipe or the magical effect, the consequence is the same? There is a distinction between Infusions known and Infused items to allow an Artificer to switch up their items like they do their spells. If instead you mean maybe you could have multiple if you just learned the infusion multiple times, no: "Unless an infusion's description says otherwise, you can't learn an infusion more than once." I'm not seeing how these rules can be interpreted to allow multiple of the same infusion, nor understand why you think that WotC would consider it balanced to allow that to happen. It's not like the Artificer struggles with the number of infusions they have (especially now it's been boosted to 6). I'm also not seeing where it says a double bladed scimitar can even be detached without just snapping the wooden haft? At which point you'd be destroying the weapon.

[samuraijaques]

Great guide! Not sure if this has already been answered but if I took the replicate magic item infusion could I choose a 1st level scroll of find familiar? Being an infusion it doesn't seem like it would follow the normal "the spell must be on your class list" restriction of actually making scrolls.

[Dork_Forge]

Great guide! Not sure if this has already been answered but if I took the replicate magic item infusion could I choose a 1st level scroll of find familiar? Being an infusion it doesn't seem like it would follow the normal "the spell must be on your class list" restriction of actually making scrolls.

I think you could probably make it, though as it isn't on your list you wouldn't be able to read the scroll you made yourself.

[samuraijaques]

I think you could probably make it, though as it isn't on your list you wouldn't be able to read the scroll you made yourself.

Wait. You have to have the spell on your list to read it?! What's the point then? What about the whole "getting a scroll of raise dead" for your friend?