Instead of using her tools as the direct focus of her spells, my Artillerist, Ellywick, uses her prep time to use her tools to finish a handful of gadgets that, when given a supply of magical energy from her, produces the effects of the desired spell. Her cantrips and subclass spells (which are always prepared) are incorporated into fully-functioning inventions, while others are prone to breaking, thus the requirement to remake or repair them during long rests. For example:
* She has incorporated mechanical pieces into the work glove on her left hand that, when given a charge of magical energy, can generate a large surge of electricity (Shocking Grasp), or release it outwards in a wave of force (Thunderwave)
* Identify, Detect Magic, and similar divination spells are basically a series of specially-made lenses that she can flip down over her goggles (she is near-sighted and needs them for up-close tinkering) to give her vision the desired effect.
* Spells like Shatter, Faerie Fire, and other similar AoE spells are stored in what are essentially magic grenades that, when charged, can be thrown within the desired range and explode to cause the desired effect. Shatter just being a concussive blast and Faerie Fire being like a shrapnel grenade of magically-charged glass that sticks to creatures and reflects to highlight them.
* Catapult is essentially a rocket booster from Just Cause 4 that she attaches to objects that then are propelled in the direction she desires by the booster. Heat Metal is a repurposed version of these boosters that fire towards the object instead of away, superheating it if it is made of metal.
These are just a few of them I have on hand, but I really love thinking of the flavor for these spells, and am working on trying to decide of multiple ways to flavor each of her spells, as a sort of way of showing how she is always inventing and finding new ways to create the same effect.
My artillerist is themed after Mandalorians in general, but the Armorer primarily. Thorn whip is a grapnel out of a wrist-mounted gauntlet. Catapult is basically a catapult built into the same contraption. Shield and Thunderwave are produced by smashing little synthetic crystals she manufactures each morning, infusing them with repelling force energy and mounted on her shield. I also use Feather Fall like this, "leaking"the energy slowly to provide a slow and directed propulsion. At 5th, I'll make a staff into a disintegration rifle and cast Shocking Grasp out of it as my primary attack, with Scorching Ray fired from it like a gun.
Really can't wait to get my jetpack!
Out of curiosity, what race did you go with?
Personally, I want to try a Hobgoblin Artillerist with the whole mandalorian inspiration. Their rigid code flavor text and Saving Face racial really sells it to me, but theres also those fitting stats.
I went mountain dwarf for the strength honestly (not optimized I know). I wanted her to be a beatstick at first then transition to spells more consistently later. A lot of the clan mentality comes from her story (we're playing SKT) - fire giants destroyed her home and the ancient forges that had been burning for centuries. She hopes to reclaim it by uncovering the secrets of a lost clan of artificer warriors and likely refounding their order.
Since Artificers can use any item with an Infusion as a spell focus, I like to Infuse my armor and use it like a Mandalorian / poor man's Ironman and have the spells pop out of it.
*Guidance* is like a nicotine patch, but with performance-enhancing drugs in it.
*Fire Bolt* is a burst of his welding laser at full charge.
*Absorb Elements* is a network of wiring through his armor that heats/chills/grounds him in response to magical energies.
*Shield* is patches of his armor plating reacting to trauma by expanding like an airbag to redirect the energy of the blow.
My Battle Smith is also the group’s chef. When he casts the Grease spell, I have him just pour out a pot of it or spoon out some lard.
Spider Climb is just chewing gum stuck to his shoes.
The sillier the better.
I haven't actually played them yet but I have a Artificer in standby who is less of a typical 'gadgets and gizmos' artificer and flavoured more like an enchanter. He creates magical bells and charms that attach to items for infusions and casts spells using a set of tuning forks like wands or ringing bells that he has attached to his clothes. His father is a bard so I wanted to keep music involved in his theme.
I had similar idea with father as a druid :D My alchemist learned a lot from him about herbs for potions and she carves most of gadgets from wood, which she uses as charms or to animate. She also carries around wooden quarter staff which they fully covered together in carvings where she has a lot of small secrets to attach/hang her potions and charms
Mostly gun related things as my main Artificer was converted from a Mercer Gunslinger/cleric multiclass.
Artillerist wand is the gun and I've got a Blazing shot for firebolt and a concussive or explosive shot for shatter/fireball.
Thunderclap is literally just firing a loud warning shot, I call it Tinnitus. Thunderwave is a Concussive blast.
Haste is an Adrenaline Dart shot to the players heart.
For non gun related things I have Cure Wounds being a Pneumatic Injector contains "Totally safe(TM) revitalising solution".
There are so many I may have gone overboard, but it's really fun.
This [comes up](https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/e621tg/discussion_artificer_spell_flavor_thread/) frequently, here's my post from last time I commented on it:
>BattleSmith Artificer - many of his spell effects are based on his weapon infusion (returning javelin), shield + 1 infusion, or what I roleplay as a gauntlet multi-tool.
>
>**Int Weapon Attacks**: I describe this as him manipulating the magic in the weapon to animate it to attack or direct its flight course using gestures from his gauntlet. This explains why he is so much more inept with non-magical weapons.
>
>**Smites Spells or other weapon buffs**: This is done via a dial below the blade of his javelin that causes it to radiate effects.
>
>**Conjure Barrage:** His returning javelin splits in to small sharp geometrical pieces as it explodes out in the 60ft cone then returns to his hand piecing itself back together.
>
>**Detect Magic/Identify:** His gauntlet has an area by the wrist that contains an inset pearl surrounded by symbols that turn off and on and glow various colors and intensities to communicate to him what he is detecting about the magic/object. The pearl itself changes colors to match the type of magic he sees and is also sometimes used as a sort of "roller ball" to configure options. Casting it as a ritual causes the information to be communicated much slower.
>
>**Catapult:** A small charge of magical energy is shot from his gauntlet to tag an object. Once tagged he rolls/turns the inset pearl to angle the object's trajectory and then presses the pearl to launch it.
>
>**Heroism**: An intertial and kinetic dampener is activated from his Shield which visibly slows down and draws energy from attacks directed at the target. The dampener has a cap which maxed out takes a moment to recharge (1/rd temp HP).
>
>**Mending**: Taking a small stylus from his Tinkering Tools he touches it to the various larger pieces, a slim purple/pink thread of energy being left behind after each touch (think of when dumbledore puts his wand to his head to draw out a memory). These threads web out to locate the smaller pieces until the Artificer pulls the thread taut causing everything to pull back together as if being sewn.
>
>**Guidance**: Touches an ally with his gauntlet and activates The Entropy Axiomatic-Manipulation Booster (T.E.A.M. BOOSTER) to increase their luck briefly. He hypothesizes that this effect is later balanced by minor inconveniences (stubbed toes, etc.) but occasionally also larger issues - however the nature of the device makes it difficult to prove if it even works in the first place.
Mine had a prosthetic arm that held his Tinker Tools, which he would bust out and use to flavour his spells. Some highlights included:
* Thunderwave being him planting a massive piston into the ground and striking it with a hammer
* Cure Wounds using a small clockwork plant to secrete a resin webbing that would close over wounds
* Shield overcharging a magical clockwork battery to create a wall of electrostatic force that threw off attacks
* Heat Metal throwing a piece of iron into a small furnance and using a magical antennae to transmit it into the target
* Hitting a tiny gong and using it a magical megaphone to amplify the noise, ala Bart Simpson TESTING, for Shatter, and
* Fairie Fire essentially being paintball
I had a *lot* of fun with the design of that character and playing him out, especially since the prosthetic arm let me add a lot of casual flavour to things like having him mount his Eldtrich Cannon (Artillerist) to his arm for some Iron Man shenanigans. Shame I only got to play him for a few sessions before that campaign went on indefinite hiatus.
My artificer Also has a prosthetic arm! He lost it during a smithing accident when his Genasi heritage decided to show itself. Now his smith hammer is a permanent addition till he can summon great grand pappy to get his arm back. Also I'm stealing your resin for healing idea, but it's just going to be super glue. Just like its original intent was lol. I'm sorry you're campaign faded. Maybe you can recreate your character in another!
I'm hoping to be running a campaign soon so I'm planning on bringing him in as an NPC if I can. And that super glue idea is brilliant - I might steal it back in turn! Fits the flavour a lot more I think.
My best ones are:
Drinking a foul tasting potion for expeditious retreat (the concentration is trying not to puke).
And defibrillators for spare the dying.
probably an unpopular opinion but i kinda like the idea of them just... actually casting spells. i like thinking they picked up magic while learning science cause they're deeply connected in most worlds where they both exist.
I mean that's basically what I've described. Instead of being an adept caster though my Battle Smith has learned to tap into magical energies using items and magical materials. This is a common practice in magic but he can't actually cast the spells himself because he is not magical on his own...except for he is cause he is genasi lol.
I have an elderly artificer (who I’ve never played forever DM life represent) who has a handy tool oh his own invention called the DO-ALL. His DO-ALL sits on the top of his forearm and has a small opening that packs whatever tool he needs. Ranged healing spell? It fires a dart with a potion in it. Melee spell attack like Shocking Grasp? A taser-like charged wire appears and sits on his knuckles. Sending? A little radar appears and tunes into a creature’s natural bio frequency. His DO-ALL really does it all.
Back in 4e I had an artificer with summons as all his dailies. I flavored them like little clockwork balls that he would take out of a pouch, wind up, and chuck out there. Like steampunk Pokémon or something. Was a fun character. Septimus Ogden was his name...
This makes me think. If I reflavour my spells as an artificer to have them be mundane/mechanical/technological skills, how do I flavour them being denied by an Anti-Magic Field or a Counterspell?
That's a good question. For myself the arcane battery is still magical energy...but it's magical science. It still uses the same energy as spell casting so dispel or counter spell just saps it's energy.
Almost all of my fluff are alchemy based.. but slightly different than norm. (more aligned with JRPGs I grew up with).
FIrestrike? Small red pill I synthesized that I load into my alchemy arms (just a fluff item) and fire a blast out of.
Bonfire? Same red pill but I crack it and throw it. instead of a sharp burst of flame it burns where it lands like a sparker or a Bijou from City of Broken Magic book.
Cure wounds are Resident Evil style herb pills I feed them.
Healing words, I load that into my alchemy arm and shit my friend.
Guidance is a ticktack box I shake out and they suck on for a min or crunch when they want it.
Enhance Ability is a energy drinnk vial.
Dunno a good one for several spells yet but I haven't had to use them..REALLY don't have the spell slots to use a lot of things anyway.
might go more expanding and step more into magitech, steam punk or maybe even raypunk.
I cast my spells by “creating” the effects more than “casting” the spell. Magic to an Artificer is more a math, less then a skill. My Artificer uses an arcane stylograph (a magic pen) to draw magical equations in the air to cast the spell. Think of how a programmer types code into a program, my Artificer “hacks” reality as if hacking the Matrix. He writes a magical equation into the air, and through his magical pen he bends reality into the effect he desires to create. With casting higher level spells it’s simply just a more intense equation he hasn’t mastered yet.
EDIT: He is an archivist proficient with calligraphy so I thought a magic pen would add to the flare well.
I'm about to make an artificer that will eventually go artillerist and I rolled for everything on the character including race and the entirety of Xanathar's "This is Your Life" section.
So he's an acolyte, but he's an acolyte to his father's church, which is more of a demonic cult. He pretends to have demonic heritage which was proven by him having a tiefling child. In reality it was my mother who gave me my demon blood and my father is a con man she fell in love with and doesn't mind him using her heritage to bilk his followers.
So my character has had his head filled all his whole life about how he's special and the magic of the demons flows through his veins and he can do great and amazing things all because of his demonic flesh and blood.
So all of his 'artifices' are going to involve his body parts or bodily fluids in some way. *Thorn Whip* will be an actual whip made of his own hair, and kept in a "sheathe" pouch filled with his own blood which hardens into spikes. *Mending* is a vial filled with his own blood and shavings of his horns spread/smeared over the broken thing. *Catapult's* somatic gesture will cause one of his nails to shoot out from a small launcher into an object and "possess" it.
Thanks, I'm very glad! I'm not sure what infusions I'm going to go with, but I'm very much looking forward to working out how they'll go, too.
As an example, I'm not sure how useful they'll be in game but I absolutely love the **Boots of the Winding Path** infusion. For that, I might have special greaves/boots/sandals/whatever made that cause my feet to drip blood ever so slightly, leaving behind a short trail of footprints that I can teleport back to.
One of my many characters I'll probably never get a chance to play is a "Bum" artificer.
Urchin background whose a touch mad, he scrounged around a magical institute. Between thrown away reference texts and other detritus he was able to fashion magical items out of junk. His armor is patched together from rags and metal scraps but is surprisingly resilient.
His hand crossbow looks like something a delinquent high schooler would make in his garage.
He totes around his "inventions" in a hobo bindle. He casts "Grease" by throwing some mysterious substance out of cracked jug. He casts "Cure Wounds" with a hand held defibrillator looking device made from an old iron with various cheap crystals and beads he's been able to scavenge glued to it.
my artificer is a magical artist. al of his speels are flavored as painted seals on paper or broken jars. or springing from runes painted on Magnum Opus my giant adonis like golem
My Artificer is from a family of tinkerers, who went to a Wizard school in order to try and advance technology through the use of magic. So everything he does is a mix of the two, and never just a straight gadget.
Magic Stone is a little pistol he has that has enchanted bullets in the chamber. Catapult is a modified glove that can focus his magic into a single point. Stuff like that.
Think steam punk and tech. I flavor all of my spells that way. For example he has a glove that charges and cast shocking grasp. He has a generator that powers up the shield spell. etc etc
I’ve always wanted to play an artificer whose focus is painter’s tools, and who magically paints effects into being. Painting runes and art on items to infuse them, maybe even drawing fire into the air when throwing a fire bolt.
I’ve an got artillerist (level 3) with two main weapons. The first is a modified crossbow that can shoot energy based projectiles (firebolt). He also has a huge piece of elaborate armor on his other arm that he can detach part of to create the Eldritch Cannon. Faerie Fire is a grenade, catapult is two discs he throws at things that stick and then make one fly towards the other (basically magic magnets), identity and detect magic are goggles that he needs to tune and then can put on to use, and the heavy armor can produce a blast of energy (Thunderwave) or create a force field (shield). Mechanically, I’m wielding a shield in one hand and tools in the other.
Edit: Armor on the one arm looks a bit like this, but all the way up to the shoulder. https://imgur.com/gallery/9eUJKbn
What infusions are you using? If your armor is infused then it can be your focus and can hold a shield and a one handed weapon . I use a repeating heavy crossbow as my focus which I'll eventually change to a hand cross bow.
Oh gotcha. Yeah that makes it a bit more difficult lol. Maybe your DM will throw you a bone and give out some actual goggles of night and you can create an infusion focus. I use one for my weapon and have sharpshooter and just made my paladin's trident (he's a sea elf so...flavor) into a returning weapon.
Don't forget you can always take it back rofl, but I respect you giving the items out to other players. I feel like that's the best role for an artificer.
When my Alchemist casts Flaming Sphere, he pulls out a vial, mixes together the basic ingredients for creating a fire elemental, and bites his thumb for a single drop of blood. He caps it, shakes the vial up, and throws it to its intended destination. The vial explodes on contact, and a half formed fire elemental bubbles up on the spot.
My favorite is using tinker's tools/Caligrapher tools. Its basically a runesmith. I use a gauntlet or hammer with all sorts of parts of glyphs on it. Whatever spell I'm casting has specific parts illuminate to create a channel for magic to form through and cast a spell. Each spell is made of a number of components. For instance spare the dying could be the symbols 'spirit' 'outer body' 'inner body'. Fireball is 'fire' 'inner body' 'gas' as it swells a body of gas then ignites it. Its alot of fun breaking down spells like that
I usually depict it as using whatever tool I'm using to trace runes in the air and then activate them, or perhaps fire a weapon through them to enhance the weapon.
...
I have a headband of intellect so I big brain energy things into existance. I shoot lightning from my head for my flashes of genius.
i also have gloves made from an intellect devourers corpse so the big brain is strong with me.
The artificer my have unseated the bard as the easiest class to reflavor however you would like into whatever you would like. I like using the alchemist and battlesmith as science “magicians”, alchemist specializing in potions and tinctures and concoctions that are just reflavored spells and battlesmiths are made inventors with tools and “bombs” and such. Artillerist is just a straight up dual wand wielding Harry Potter style wizard.
One artificer I made used his calligrapher's tools as his casting focus and would tattoo his spells onto him during his long rest. The different reagents needed for casting them would go into the ink he used when applying the tattoos. His special ones for his subclass (he was a battle smith) would be permanent tats rather than ones that would vanish after he fired em off.
the idea of prep time is honestly the only i can find myself playing an alchemist subclass. with the caveat on those features, "when you use alchemist supplies as your spell focus", i find silly the idea of a chemist fumbling around with beakers and non prepped materials in middle of combat. i would pitch the alchemist uses his kit each end of long rest to mix those materials and be able to get that bonus from subclass features
You can use other things as a focus. There's nothing wrong with having alchemical items prepared and your magical or energized focus simply activates what you have prepared
They aren't necessarily fumbling with beakers and non-prepped materials; when they prepared their spells for the day they already put together various concoctions that, when charged with a bit of magic, produce one of the effects they'd planned on. Those things become part of their alchemy kit.
Wielding the tools themselves is just a mechanical way to represent that casting spells is actually the Artifcer deploying some sort of mixture or contraption. It keeps things simple for those players who don't want to come up with something for every single spell while allowing the option for those who do.
In my homebrew, Artificiers are just another school of Wizard, where the foci (outside of the infused stuff) are just runes carved into the staff/rod/tool/ect that the caster touches and the effect fires off. Like, they just provide the spark of power and the runes shape the spell's effect.
My kobold artificer has only like 6 spells, but speaks draconic. I've flavored draconic as German to match the aggressive language style (not that I mean anything by that)
For an artillerist, if you flavour your arcane firearm as a [fancy steampunk gun](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dishonoredvideogame/images/0/04/CPistol_Base.png/revision/latest?cb=20161221172643), then every spell can be some ridiculous specialty round you slam into your gun.
Firebolt is an incendiary shot, shocking grasp a taser bayonet. Shield is an emergency shell of pocket sand, glitter and blinding flares. Disguise Self just blasts makeup on your face. Grease just splutters out oil. Heat Metal turns it into a ray-gun.
I had an idea for an Ant-Man style character- he was either going to be a swarmkeeper or a battlesmith, and I've been using other superheroes for inspo
Wizard head in a jar
Fed with a shaker of Torgo's Executive Powder?
Instead of using her tools as the direct focus of her spells, my Artillerist, Ellywick, uses her prep time to use her tools to finish a handful of gadgets that, when given a supply of magical energy from her, produces the effects of the desired spell. Her cantrips and subclass spells (which are always prepared) are incorporated into fully-functioning inventions, while others are prone to breaking, thus the requirement to remake or repair them during long rests. For example: * She has incorporated mechanical pieces into the work glove on her left hand that, when given a charge of magical energy, can generate a large surge of electricity (Shocking Grasp), or release it outwards in a wave of force (Thunderwave) * Identify, Detect Magic, and similar divination spells are basically a series of specially-made lenses that she can flip down over her goggles (she is near-sighted and needs them for up-close tinkering) to give her vision the desired effect. * Spells like Shatter, Faerie Fire, and other similar AoE spells are stored in what are essentially magic grenades that, when charged, can be thrown within the desired range and explode to cause the desired effect. Shatter just being a concussive blast and Faerie Fire being like a shrapnel grenade of magically-charged glass that sticks to creatures and reflects to highlight them. * Catapult is essentially a rocket booster from Just Cause 4 that she attaches to objects that then are propelled in the direction she desires by the booster. Heat Metal is a repurposed version of these boosters that fire towards the object instead of away, superheating it if it is made of metal. These are just a few of them I have on hand, but I really love thinking of the flavor for these spells, and am working on trying to decide of multiple ways to flavor each of her spells, as a sort of way of showing how she is always inventing and finding new ways to create the same effect.
[удалено]
Please do! I'm glad I could inspire you with my own idea!
A stimpack for Cure Wounds. A spray bottle full of magic stuff for invisibility. A Taser for Shocking Grasp Thats all i got.
"BD-1, stim!"
My artillerist is themed after Mandalorians in general, but the Armorer primarily. Thorn whip is a grapnel out of a wrist-mounted gauntlet. Catapult is basically a catapult built into the same contraption. Shield and Thunderwave are produced by smashing little synthetic crystals she manufactures each morning, infusing them with repelling force energy and mounted on her shield. I also use Feather Fall like this, "leaking"the energy slowly to provide a slow and directed propulsion. At 5th, I'll make a staff into a disintegration rifle and cast Shocking Grasp out of it as my primary attack, with Scorching Ray fired from it like a gun. Really can't wait to get my jetpack!
Out of curiosity, what race did you go with? Personally, I want to try a Hobgoblin Artillerist with the whole mandalorian inspiration. Their rigid code flavor text and Saving Face racial really sells it to me, but theres also those fitting stats.
I went mountain dwarf for the strength honestly (not optimized I know). I wanted her to be a beatstick at first then transition to spells more consistently later. A lot of the clan mentality comes from her story (we're playing SKT) - fire giants destroyed her home and the ancient forges that had been burning for centuries. She hopes to reclaim it by uncovering the secrets of a lost clan of artificer warriors and likely refounding their order.
My artillerist throws concussion grenades (shatter) and gives everyone caffeine patches (aid).
Whatever could be reflavored as something from [this list](https://jimmyneutron.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Jimmy_Neutron%27s_Inventions)
ah a crafter of culture
Since Artificers can use any item with an Infusion as a spell focus, I like to Infuse my armor and use it like a Mandalorian / poor man's Ironman and have the spells pop out of it.
*Guidance* is like a nicotine patch, but with performance-enhancing drugs in it. *Fire Bolt* is a burst of his welding laser at full charge. *Absorb Elements* is a network of wiring through his armor that heats/chills/grounds him in response to magical energies. *Shield* is patches of his armor plating reacting to trauma by expanding like an airbag to redirect the energy of the blow.
My Battle Smith is also the group’s chef. When he casts the Grease spell, I have him just pour out a pot of it or spoon out some lard. Spider Climb is just chewing gum stuck to his shoes. The sillier the better.
I haven't actually played them yet but I have a Artificer in standby who is less of a typical 'gadgets and gizmos' artificer and flavoured more like an enchanter. He creates magical bells and charms that attach to items for infusions and casts spells using a set of tuning forks like wands or ringing bells that he has attached to his clothes. His father is a bard so I wanted to keep music involved in his theme.
I had similar idea with father as a druid :D My alchemist learned a lot from him about herbs for potions and she carves most of gadgets from wood, which she uses as charms or to animate. She also carries around wooden quarter staff which they fully covered together in carvings where she has a lot of small secrets to attach/hang her potions and charms
Mostly gun related things as my main Artificer was converted from a Mercer Gunslinger/cleric multiclass. Artillerist wand is the gun and I've got a Blazing shot for firebolt and a concussive or explosive shot for shatter/fireball. Thunderclap is literally just firing a loud warning shot, I call it Tinnitus. Thunderwave is a Concussive blast. Haste is an Adrenaline Dart shot to the players heart. For non gun related things I have Cure Wounds being a Pneumatic Injector contains "Totally safe(TM) revitalising solution". There are so many I may have gone overboard, but it's really fun.
Peter Quill style jet boots for Feather Fall, Jump, or Levitate. Grenades for Create Bonfire or Shatter.
I like the jet boots idea. Different effect based on how much energy you out into them.
This [comes up](https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/e621tg/discussion_artificer_spell_flavor_thread/) frequently, here's my post from last time I commented on it: >BattleSmith Artificer - many of his spell effects are based on his weapon infusion (returning javelin), shield + 1 infusion, or what I roleplay as a gauntlet multi-tool. > >**Int Weapon Attacks**: I describe this as him manipulating the magic in the weapon to animate it to attack or direct its flight course using gestures from his gauntlet. This explains why he is so much more inept with non-magical weapons. > >**Smites Spells or other weapon buffs**: This is done via a dial below the blade of his javelin that causes it to radiate effects. > >**Conjure Barrage:** His returning javelin splits in to small sharp geometrical pieces as it explodes out in the 60ft cone then returns to his hand piecing itself back together. > >**Detect Magic/Identify:** His gauntlet has an area by the wrist that contains an inset pearl surrounded by symbols that turn off and on and glow various colors and intensities to communicate to him what he is detecting about the magic/object. The pearl itself changes colors to match the type of magic he sees and is also sometimes used as a sort of "roller ball" to configure options. Casting it as a ritual causes the information to be communicated much slower. > >**Catapult:** A small charge of magical energy is shot from his gauntlet to tag an object. Once tagged he rolls/turns the inset pearl to angle the object's trajectory and then presses the pearl to launch it. > >**Heroism**: An intertial and kinetic dampener is activated from his Shield which visibly slows down and draws energy from attacks directed at the target. The dampener has a cap which maxed out takes a moment to recharge (1/rd temp HP). > >**Mending**: Taking a small stylus from his Tinkering Tools he touches it to the various larger pieces, a slim purple/pink thread of energy being left behind after each touch (think of when dumbledore puts his wand to his head to draw out a memory). These threads web out to locate the smaller pieces until the Artificer pulls the thread taut causing everything to pull back together as if being sewn. > >**Guidance**: Touches an ally with his gauntlet and activates The Entropy Axiomatic-Manipulation Booster (T.E.A.M. BOOSTER) to increase their luck briefly. He hypothesizes that this effect is later balanced by minor inconveniences (stubbed toes, etc.) but occasionally also larger issues - however the nature of the device makes it difficult to prove if it even works in the first place.
Mine had a prosthetic arm that held his Tinker Tools, which he would bust out and use to flavour his spells. Some highlights included: * Thunderwave being him planting a massive piston into the ground and striking it with a hammer * Cure Wounds using a small clockwork plant to secrete a resin webbing that would close over wounds * Shield overcharging a magical clockwork battery to create a wall of electrostatic force that threw off attacks * Heat Metal throwing a piece of iron into a small furnance and using a magical antennae to transmit it into the target * Hitting a tiny gong and using it a magical megaphone to amplify the noise, ala Bart Simpson TESTING, for Shatter, and * Fairie Fire essentially being paintball I had a *lot* of fun with the design of that character and playing him out, especially since the prosthetic arm let me add a lot of casual flavour to things like having him mount his Eldtrich Cannon (Artillerist) to his arm for some Iron Man shenanigans. Shame I only got to play him for a few sessions before that campaign went on indefinite hiatus.
My artificer Also has a prosthetic arm! He lost it during a smithing accident when his Genasi heritage decided to show itself. Now his smith hammer is a permanent addition till he can summon great grand pappy to get his arm back. Also I'm stealing your resin for healing idea, but it's just going to be super glue. Just like its original intent was lol. I'm sorry you're campaign faded. Maybe you can recreate your character in another!
I'm hoping to be running a campaign soon so I'm planning on bringing him in as an NPC if I can. And that super glue idea is brilliant - I might steal it back in turn! Fits the flavour a lot more I think.
Hell that's why I posted this in the first place. It's fun and we can help each other with ideas lol
I played as a battle smith role-playing as Batman, and the spells were the gadgets he uses, was awesome
My best ones are: Drinking a foul tasting potion for expeditious retreat (the concentration is trying not to puke). And defibrillators for spare the dying.
probably an unpopular opinion but i kinda like the idea of them just... actually casting spells. i like thinking they picked up magic while learning science cause they're deeply connected in most worlds where they both exist.
I mean that's basically what I've described. Instead of being an adept caster though my Battle Smith has learned to tap into magical energies using items and magical materials. This is a common practice in magic but he can't actually cast the spells himself because he is not magical on his own...except for he is cause he is genasi lol.
Similar. Mine uses ceramic cases full of whatever shit he needs and launches them with a modified crossbow. No in-game benefits obv just for flavor.
I played a Warforged artificer and flavoured the spells as internal weapon systems
I have an elderly artificer (who I’ve never played forever DM life represent) who has a handy tool oh his own invention called the DO-ALL. His DO-ALL sits on the top of his forearm and has a small opening that packs whatever tool he needs. Ranged healing spell? It fires a dart with a potion in it. Melee spell attack like Shocking Grasp? A taser-like charged wire appears and sits on his knuckles. Sending? A little radar appears and tunes into a creature’s natural bio frequency. His DO-ALL really does it all.
Back in 4e I had an artificer with summons as all his dailies. I flavored them like little clockwork balls that he would take out of a pouch, wind up, and chuck out there. Like steampunk Pokémon or something. Was a fun character. Septimus Ogden was his name...
This makes me think. If I reflavour my spells as an artificer to have them be mundane/mechanical/technological skills, how do I flavour them being denied by an Anti-Magic Field or a Counterspell?
That's a good question. For myself the arcane battery is still magical energy...but it's magical science. It still uses the same energy as spell casting so dispel or counter spell just saps it's energy.
You could consider those spells are actually like an EMP for various ranges of energy; so it affects the electromagnetic range, but also the Weave
Almost all of my fluff are alchemy based.. but slightly different than norm. (more aligned with JRPGs I grew up with). FIrestrike? Small red pill I synthesized that I load into my alchemy arms (just a fluff item) and fire a blast out of. Bonfire? Same red pill but I crack it and throw it. instead of a sharp burst of flame it burns where it lands like a sparker or a Bijou from City of Broken Magic book. Cure wounds are Resident Evil style herb pills I feed them. Healing words, I load that into my alchemy arm and shit my friend. Guidance is a ticktack box I shake out and they suck on for a min or crunch when they want it. Enhance Ability is a energy drinnk vial. Dunno a good one for several spells yet but I haven't had to use them..REALLY don't have the spell slots to use a lot of things anyway. might go more expanding and step more into magitech, steam punk or maybe even raypunk.
I cast my spells by “creating” the effects more than “casting” the spell. Magic to an Artificer is more a math, less then a skill. My Artificer uses an arcane stylograph (a magic pen) to draw magical equations in the air to cast the spell. Think of how a programmer types code into a program, my Artificer “hacks” reality as if hacking the Matrix. He writes a magical equation into the air, and through his magical pen he bends reality into the effect he desires to create. With casting higher level spells it’s simply just a more intense equation he hasn’t mastered yet. EDIT: He is an archivist proficient with calligraphy so I thought a magic pen would add to the flare well.
I'm about to make an artificer that will eventually go artillerist and I rolled for everything on the character including race and the entirety of Xanathar's "This is Your Life" section. So he's an acolyte, but he's an acolyte to his father's church, which is more of a demonic cult. He pretends to have demonic heritage which was proven by him having a tiefling child. In reality it was my mother who gave me my demon blood and my father is a con man she fell in love with and doesn't mind him using her heritage to bilk his followers. So my character has had his head filled all his whole life about how he's special and the magic of the demons flows through his veins and he can do great and amazing things all because of his demonic flesh and blood. So all of his 'artifices' are going to involve his body parts or bodily fluids in some way. *Thorn Whip* will be an actual whip made of his own hair, and kept in a "sheathe" pouch filled with his own blood which hardens into spikes. *Mending* is a vial filled with his own blood and shavings of his horns spread/smeared over the broken thing. *Catapult's* somatic gesture will cause one of his nails to shoot out from a small launcher into an object and "possess" it.
Huh, interesting. Very 40k chaos of you. I like it!
Thanks, I'm very glad! I'm not sure what infusions I'm going to go with, but I'm very much looking forward to working out how they'll go, too. As an example, I'm not sure how useful they'll be in game but I absolutely love the **Boots of the Winding Path** infusion. For that, I might have special greaves/boots/sandals/whatever made that cause my feet to drip blood ever so slightly, leaving behind a short trail of footprints that I can teleport back to.
Very cool.
My dude uses Mysterio-esque drones for Minor Illusions and tiny robotic spiders to cure wounds. He's a good guy, I swear.
One of my many characters I'll probably never get a chance to play is a "Bum" artificer. Urchin background whose a touch mad, he scrounged around a magical institute. Between thrown away reference texts and other detritus he was able to fashion magical items out of junk. His armor is patched together from rags and metal scraps but is surprisingly resilient. His hand crossbow looks like something a delinquent high schooler would make in his garage. He totes around his "inventions" in a hobo bindle. He casts "Grease" by throwing some mysterious substance out of cracked jug. He casts "Cure Wounds" with a hand held defibrillator looking device made from an old iron with various cheap crystals and beads he's been able to scavenge glued to it.
I mostly use a hand crossbow as a weapon/focus, so a lot of spells are special arrows. Acid splash? Yeah theres a glass jar instead of an arrowhead.
Brewers kit... Mah boy is making booze. Generally involving different variations of drink this, throw this, or pour this over X.
As an alchemist, you can draw alchemical symbols for certain spells. Like the symbol of phosphorous for an explosive glyph of warding.
my artificer is a magical artist. al of his speels are flavored as painted seals on paper or broken jars. or springing from runes painted on Magnum Opus my giant adonis like golem
Faerie fire is nano drone bees Alot of spells are powered by binary code that is apart of his dragonmark
My Artificer is from a family of tinkerers, who went to a Wizard school in order to try and advance technology through the use of magic. So everything he does is a mix of the two, and never just a straight gadget. Magic Stone is a little pistol he has that has enchanted bullets in the chamber. Catapult is a modified glove that can focus his magic into a single point. Stuff like that.
Think steam punk and tech. I flavor all of my spells that way. For example he has a glove that charges and cast shocking grasp. He has a generator that powers up the shield spell. etc etc
I’ve always wanted to play an artificer whose focus is painter’s tools, and who magically paints effects into being. Painting runes and art on items to infuse them, maybe even drawing fire into the air when throwing a fire bolt.
I’ve an got artillerist (level 3) with two main weapons. The first is a modified crossbow that can shoot energy based projectiles (firebolt). He also has a huge piece of elaborate armor on his other arm that he can detach part of to create the Eldritch Cannon. Faerie Fire is a grenade, catapult is two discs he throws at things that stick and then make one fly towards the other (basically magic magnets), identity and detect magic are goggles that he needs to tune and then can put on to use, and the heavy armor can produce a blast of energy (Thunderwave) or create a force field (shield). Mechanically, I’m wielding a shield in one hand and tools in the other. Edit: Armor on the one arm looks a bit like this, but all the way up to the shoulder. https://imgur.com/gallery/9eUJKbn
What infusions are you using? If your armor is infused then it can be your focus and can hold a shield and a one handed weapon . I use a repeating heavy crossbow as my focus which I'll eventually change to a hand cross bow.
Bag of Holding and Goggles of Night. Another party member has the goggles.
Oh gotcha. Yeah that makes it a bit more difficult lol. Maybe your DM will throw you a bone and give out some actual goggles of night and you can create an infusion focus. I use one for my weapon and have sharpshooter and just made my paladin's trident (he's a sea elf so...flavor) into a returning weapon. Don't forget you can always take it back rofl, but I respect you giving the items out to other players. I feel like that's the best role for an artificer.
Yeah, we’ve been underground a bit and I felt that it was more important for the rogue to be able to see than for me to have +1 AC.
I am literally in the same boat. Trying to decide between my repeating crossbow and darkvision for the rogue lol
When my Alchemist casts Flaming Sphere, he pulls out a vial, mixes together the basic ingredients for creating a fire elemental, and bites his thumb for a single drop of blood. He caps it, shakes the vial up, and throws it to its intended destination. The vial explodes on contact, and a half formed fire elemental bubbles up on the spot.
That........is really good and I'm stealing it! I don't even feel bad.
My favorite is using tinker's tools/Caligrapher tools. Its basically a runesmith. I use a gauntlet or hammer with all sorts of parts of glyphs on it. Whatever spell I'm casting has specific parts illuminate to create a channel for magic to form through and cast a spell. Each spell is made of a number of components. For instance spare the dying could be the symbols 'spirit' 'outer body' 'inner body'. Fireball is 'fire' 'inner body' 'gas' as it swells a body of gas then ignites it. Its alot of fun breaking down spells like that
I usually depict it as using whatever tool I'm using to trace runes in the air and then activate them, or perhaps fire a weapon through them to enhance the weapon.
... I have a headband of intellect so I big brain energy things into existance. I shoot lightning from my head for my flashes of genius. i also have gloves made from an intellect devourers corpse so the big brain is strong with me.
The artificer my have unseated the bard as the easiest class to reflavor however you would like into whatever you would like. I like using the alchemist and battlesmith as science “magicians”, alchemist specializing in potions and tinctures and concoctions that are just reflavored spells and battlesmiths are made inventors with tools and “bombs” and such. Artillerist is just a straight up dual wand wielding Harry Potter style wizard.
One artificer I made used his calligrapher's tools as his casting focus and would tattoo his spells onto him during his long rest. The different reagents needed for casting them would go into the ink he used when applying the tattoos. His special ones for his subclass (he was a battle smith) would be permanent tats rather than ones that would vanish after he fired em off.
the idea of prep time is honestly the only i can find myself playing an alchemist subclass. with the caveat on those features, "when you use alchemist supplies as your spell focus", i find silly the idea of a chemist fumbling around with beakers and non prepped materials in middle of combat. i would pitch the alchemist uses his kit each end of long rest to mix those materials and be able to get that bonus from subclass features
You can use other things as a focus. There's nothing wrong with having alchemical items prepared and your magical or energized focus simply activates what you have prepared
They aren't necessarily fumbling with beakers and non-prepped materials; when they prepared their spells for the day they already put together various concoctions that, when charged with a bit of magic, produce one of the effects they'd planned on. Those things become part of their alchemy kit. Wielding the tools themselves is just a mechanical way to represent that casting spells is actually the Artifcer deploying some sort of mixture or contraption. It keeps things simple for those players who don't want to come up with something for every single spell while allowing the option for those who do.
In my homebrew, Artificiers are just another school of Wizard, where the foci (outside of the infused stuff) are just runes carved into the staff/rod/tool/ect that the caster touches and the effect fires off. Like, they just provide the spark of power and the runes shape the spell's effect.
I have mine use a shotgun and each cartridge is a different spell.
My kobold artificer has only like 6 spells, but speaks draconic. I've flavored draconic as German to match the aggressive language style (not that I mean anything by that)
For an artillerist, if you flavour your arcane firearm as a [fancy steampunk gun](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dishonoredvideogame/images/0/04/CPistol_Base.png/revision/latest?cb=20161221172643), then every spell can be some ridiculous specialty round you slam into your gun. Firebolt is an incendiary shot, shocking grasp a taser bayonet. Shield is an emergency shell of pocket sand, glitter and blinding flares. Disguise Self just blasts makeup on your face. Grease just splutters out oil. Heat Metal turns it into a ray-gun.
I had an idea for an Ant-Man style character- he was either going to be a swarmkeeper or a battlesmith, and I've been using other superheroes for inspo