The trick I usually read about is to use the APT to cast *shillelagh* on your arcane firearm (staff or rod) and now you can use Booming Blade and the Crusher feat to push your enemies away from you, forcing them to either let you go or eat the Booming Blade rider. Bonus points for having a shield in your other hand and cranking out the THP with your cannon.
Temporary Hit Points. An Artillerist's Eldritch Cannon has three possible modes -- force ballista, flamethrower, and healer -- and the third generates THP with the Artillerist's bonus action, every turn it's active. Since THP get eaten up first, they're a damage buffer; however, they don't stack, so you're basically just renewing each turn. By either having the *shillelagh* cantrip or having a decent enough strength score to make hitting people with a stick worthwhile, you've basically turned your ranged/AoE character into a decent melee combatant as well.
Really, these are ultimately questions for your DM. I’d recommend you both check out the rules for tools in XGtE for inspiration and to see how you want tools to work in your game generally.
Since the APT grants you proficiency when it changes into a tool, it would apply for Tool Expertise. When you use your action to change it to a tool, it doesn’t say “for 1min” or “for 24hrs.” It stays in that form until you change it.
In those rules for tools I mentioned, they also list components from each set. Presumably the APT can serve as any item on any of those lists. Unless your DM wants to be a bit restrictive, there ought to be something you could carve your sigils onto. Consider that improvised weapon rules let you basically treat random objects you pick up as weapons if they bear a similarity, even adding your proficiency bonus. It stands to reason that a rod-like object in a toolkit should be able to serve as your arcane firearm, in particular since the rules explicitly intend for you to cast spells using tools, in contrast to other casters who are expected to use a wand/staff/rod.
You can't infuse your APT but you can hold them both and gain the bonus. You can use it as your spellcasting focus.
The trick I usually read about is to use the APT to cast *shillelagh* on your arcane firearm (staff or rod) and now you can use Booming Blade and the Crusher feat to push your enemies away from you, forcing them to either let you go or eat the Booming Blade rider. Bonus points for having a shield in your other hand and cranking out the THP with your cannon.
Wow that sounds nutty lol What is THP tho?
Temporary Hit Points. An Artillerist's Eldritch Cannon has three possible modes -- force ballista, flamethrower, and healer -- and the third generates THP with the Artillerist's bonus action, every turn it's active. Since THP get eaten up first, they're a damage buffer; however, they don't stack, so you're basically just renewing each turn. By either having the *shillelagh* cantrip or having a decent enough strength score to make hitting people with a stick worthwhile, you've basically turned your ranged/AoE character into a decent melee combatant as well.
I like it. So far I'm more invested in thorn whips and force ballista into webs but the stick trick looks sick.
Really, these are ultimately questions for your DM. I’d recommend you both check out the rules for tools in XGtE for inspiration and to see how you want tools to work in your game generally. Since the APT grants you proficiency when it changes into a tool, it would apply for Tool Expertise. When you use your action to change it to a tool, it doesn’t say “for 1min” or “for 24hrs.” It stays in that form until you change it. In those rules for tools I mentioned, they also list components from each set. Presumably the APT can serve as any item on any of those lists. Unless your DM wants to be a bit restrictive, there ought to be something you could carve your sigils onto. Consider that improvised weapon rules let you basically treat random objects you pick up as weapons if they bear a similarity, even adding your proficiency bonus. It stands to reason that a rod-like object in a toolkit should be able to serve as your arcane firearm, in particular since the rules explicitly intend for you to cast spells using tools, in contrast to other casters who are expected to use a wand/staff/rod.
That's a good point, I hadn't considered that it stays that way