“I see the secret patterns of magic, and through the items I carry, I can use that magic to protect you, heal you . . . or make you explode.”[EPG:44]
Artificer is an arcane leader class in Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition introduced in Eberron Player's Guide.[EPG:44]
Class Traits[]
- Role: Leader. You channel arcane power into items that empower your allies and hinder your enemies. You lean toward controller as a secondary role.
- Power Source: Arcane. The cryptic formulas of arcane magic and the complex recipes of alchemy appeal to you. You also know a great deal about magic items.
- Key Abilities: Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom
- Implements: Rods, staffs, wands
- Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, leather
- Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
- Bonus to Defense: +1 Fortitude and Will
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + Constitution score
- Hit Points per Level Gained: 5
- Healing Surges per Day: 6 + Constitution modifier
Class Skills[]
An artificer is trained in Arcana (Int), plus any four skills from the artificer class skill list:
Class Features[]
An artificer's class features are Arcane Empowerment, Arcane Rejuvenation, Healing Infusion, and Ritual Casting.
Arcane Empowerment[]
The artificer's study of magic allows manipulating arcane energy found within items. An artificer begins each day with the ability to empower one magic item, and gains an additional empowerment at each milestone. You must spend a short rest with an item in order to empower it. An item may be empowered in two ways:
- Impart Energy: You recharge the daily power of a magic item. An item can only be recharged only once per day in this way.
- Augment Energy: You infuse a weapon or implement with a reservoir of energy that lasts until the end of your next extended rest or until it is expended. The wielder of the implement or the weapon can use a free action after making an attack roll to expend this to gain a +2 bonus to that attack roll. An implement or weapon can be augmented only once per day in this way.
Arcane Rejuvenation[]
Before combat, an artificer spends time infusing his or her allies' magic items with curative energy.
Whenever an ally of an artificer uses a magic item's daily power, in addition to the power's normal effects, the ally gains temporary hit points equal to one-half the artificer's level plus the artificer's Intelligence modifier.
Healing Infusion[]
At the end of an extended rest, the artificer creates two healing infusions that last until the end of the next extended rest. At 16th level, the artificer can create a third infusion.
The effect of a healing infusion is determined at the time of use, not at the time of creation. When the artificer uses a healing infusion power, he expends one of the infusions created during the last extended rest. During a short rest, you or an ally can expend a healing surge to replenish one of the infusions expended.
Ritual Casting[]
The artificer has Ritual Caster as a bonus feat, and owns a ritual book with the following rituals: Brew Potion, Disenchant Magic Item, Enchant Magic Item, and Make Whole. In addition, the artificer can use Disenchant magic item without expending components.
Artificer Powers[]
Artificer powers, having an arcane power source, are also called spells.
| At-will attack powers | ||
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1st level
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| Encounter attack powers | Daily attack powers | Utility powers |
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1st level
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1st level
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2nd level
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3rd level
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5th level |
6th Level
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7th level |
9th level
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10th level
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| 13th level | 15th level | 16th level |
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17th level |
19th level | 22nd level |
| 23rd level |
25th level |
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| 27th level | 29th level | |
| Unleveled powers | ||
Artificer Feats[]
The following feats have the artificer class as a prerequisite. Other prerequisites are noted in paranthesis.
- Academy Prodigy [Dr390] (eladrin)
- Accurate Magic Weapon [EPG:87]
- Arcane Repositioning [Dr390] (eladrin)
- Arcane Trapsmith [Dr403] (training in Thievery)
- Astral Elixir [Dr387:31] (deva, shielding elixir)
- Bolstering Admixture [Dr387:31] (warforged, curative admixture)
- Bow Caster [Dr387:31] (elf)
- Charging Admixture [Dr387:31] (minotaur, curative admixture)
- Clarifying Infusion [Dr387:33] (kalashtar, Healing Infusion)
- Crossbow Caster [Dr381:61]
- Cunning Artifice [Dr387:33] (changeling, changeling trick)
- Defensive Enchanting [Dr381:62] (21st level)
- Defensive Minions [EPG:89]
- Draconic Augmentation [Dr387:33] (dragonborn, dragon breath, Augment Energy)
- Dungeon Enchanter [Dr381:62] (11th level, Ritual Caster)
- Dwarven Rejuvenation [Dr387:33] (dwarf, Arcane Rejuvenation)
- Echoing Rejuvenation [Dr387:33] (goliath, stone's endurance, Arcane Rejuvenation)
- Eldritch Fusillade Expertise [Dr402] (Crossbow Caster)
- Elemental Infusion [Dr387:33] (Genasi, Healing Infusion)
- Enhanced Resistive Formula [EPG:93] (11th level, Healing Infusion)
- Enlarge Familiar [Dr377:35] (Arcane Familiar, 16th-level or higher utility power)
- Feymind Infusion [Dr390] (eladrin, Healing Infusion)
- Forceful Defense [EPG:90]
- Free-Ranging Familiar [Dr377:35] (11th level, Arcane Familiar)
- Furious Concoction [Dr387:34] (half-orc, Healing Infusion)
- Gloaming Infusion [Dr387:34] (shadar-kai, shadow jaunt, Healing Infusion)
- Hammer of Gond [Dr403] (must worship Gond)
- Human Innovation [Dr387:34] (human, Impart Energy)
- Improved Augment Energy [Dr381:61] (Arcane Empowerment)
- Improved Shielding Elixir [Dr381:61] (shielding elixir)
- Inciting Energy [Dr387:34] (githzerai, Augment Energy)
- Infused Familiar [Dr387:35] (Arcane Familiar, 10th-level or higher utility power)
- Inventive Empowerment [Dr422] (tinker gnome, Arcane Empowerment)
- Iron Formula [Dr387:34] (githzerai, iron mind, resistive formula)
- Lucky Draft [Dr387:34] (halfling, Healing Infusion)
- Master Crafter [EPG:92]
- Master Mixer [EPG:92]
- Nature's Rejuvenation [Dr387:34] (wilden, Arcane Rejuvenation)
- Nessian Rejuvenation [Dr387:34] (tiefling, Arcane Rejuvenation)
- Phantasmal Elixir [Dr387:34] (gnome, fade away, shielding elixir)
- Potent Restorables [EPG:92]
- Rapid Infusion [Dr381:62] (11th level, at least one Healing Infusion power)
- Reaping Infusion [Dr387:35] (revenant, dark reaping, Healing Infusion)
- Redistribute Minions [Dr387:35] (eladrin, fey step)
- Reinforcing Healing [EPG:94] (21st level)
- Retribution Seeker [Dr381:62] (11th level)
- Shifter's Energy [Dr387:35] (shifter, longtooth shifting or razorclaw shifting, Augment Energy)
- Spare Infusion [Dr387:35] (half-elf, Dilettante, Healing Infusion)
- Toxic Energy [Dr387:35] (drow, Augment Energy)
- Vanishing Concoction [Dr387:35] (eladrin, Healing Infusion)
- Vigorous Familiar [Dr377:35] (11th level, Arcane Familiar, either Mark of Handling or a member of House Vadalis)
Associated items[]
- Rod of Runic Resistance: Extends duration of resistances from artificer powers.
Artificer Paragon Paths[]
Refer to the Artificer section in the Paragon Path page or the Artificer Paragon Paths category.
Hybrid Artificer[]
Hybrid Artificers appear as a standard hybrid option, with the following base benefits: [PH3:139]
- Cloth or leather armor proficiencies (provided other hybrid class grants them)
- Simple melee and simple ranged weapon proficiency
- +1 bonus to Fortitude or Will
- 6 hit points at 1st level, +2.5 hit points for each level thereafter
- 3 healing surges per day
They have the following class features:
- Healing Infusion (Hybrid): This functions as normal except that the hybrid can create only
one healing infusion at the end of each extended rest.
When choosing Hybrid Talent, they may pick among the following:
- Arcane Empowerment: Functions as normal
- Arcane Rejuvenation: Functions as normal
Development[]
The artificer class was previewed for playtesting in Dragon #365.[Dr365:5] The following changes were made from the original description of the artificer:
a dwarven artificer infusing a rod with magic
- The artificer had the Components class feature which allowed transmuting mundane items into necessary components.
- The artificer had Healing Infusion: Restorative Formula. It worked similarly to the cleric's Healing Word and similar abilities.
- The artificer's Curative Admixture affects multiple targets, but only gives temporary hitpoints.
- The artificer's ritual caster feature only gives two rituals: Make Whole, and one other 1st-level ritual.
- Artificer's powers had the artifice keyword. This was an object that doesn't occupy a square. With that keyword, it could be moved as a minor action to a number of squares equal to the artificer's constitution modifier, or shift it 1 square. Its defenses equal your level + 4 and had hit points equal to the artificer's healing surge value. It is destroyed if consumed or reduced to 0 hit points. If the effect an artifice creates ends without the artifice being destroyed, it reverts to an inert form, which could be reused. The keyword was dropped, and powers that still depended on an artifice were instead given the conjuration keyword.
- Powers that used the artifice keyword include: Shielding Cube, Arcane Springboard, Dancing Weapon,
- The artificer had the Repair Object power, an encounter power that restores hit points to an object equal to your healing surge value. It didn't work in destroyed objects.
- Some artificer's powers needed more than a standard action to activate.
Differences in powers since Dragon 365:
- Thundering Armor does 1d8+Intelligence mod instead of 1d6+intelligence mod.
- Spike Wire was changed to in implement (with 1d8 as weapon dir), from Area burst 1 within weapon range to Ranged 10, and the extra damage is changed to Wisdom modifier instead of a flat +2.
- Shielding Cube has 2d6 as damage die instead of 1d8, and AC bonus applies to those adjacent to the target.
- Lifetap renamed to Life-tapping Darts.
- Altered Luck does damage (1d6+int), and only does penalties to saving throws. It now gives temporary hit points.
- Fiery Infusion is dropped, and replaced by Force Infusion.
- Dancing Weapon changed to Summoning keyword, stays in once place, and can attack as minor or opportunity actions. It remains until the end of the encounter.
- Regeneration infusion is based on constitution modifier and can be ended to spend a healing surge. It lasts until the end of the encounter.
- Gale-Force Infusion's AC bonus scales to Constitution modifier.
- Lightning Motes: Damage die 2d6 intead of 2d10
- Brittle-Skin Missile had the Miss effect removed (but was restored in errata.)
- Healing Figurine can administer first aid.
- Slick Concoction affect multiple targets, and gives bonuses to defense.
- Barbed Automation changed from 2d8+int to 1d8+int+wisdom.
- Forceful missile renamed to forceful weapon, and can push targets.
- Lightning Matrix and Hornet Shot were dropped.
- Strangling Rope changed to Grasping Rope, and was converted to a zone.
- Burrowing Projectile's aftereffect can be redirected (it was previously the primary effect that was redirected.)
- Hero's Elixir restores the target to full hitpoints, or recovers half the bloodied value if it can't spend healing surges.
- Four-Winds Bag renamed to Baf of the Four Winds, and slides based on Wisdom modifier.
- Armor of Acid does more damage when enemies make inbound attacks.
- Prismatic Shot: Renamed to Prismatic Strike. One attack roll is made instead of three.
- All-Consuming Missile: The miss effect has additional damage on failed saving throws.
- Grave-Dust Cloud: Reduced damage (2d10 -> 1d10). Healing is moved to the Effect line, and is based on 2d6+ Wisdom rather than damage inflicted.
- Living Caltrop Swarm: The final damage is changed from Constitution modifier to Wisdom modifier.
Character Optimization[]
See Also[]
- Comprehensive review of the Artificer class: http://community.wizards.com/content/forum-topic/3295316
- Dragon Magazine 403, Gond's Way: Artificers of the Realms
- Eberron Player's Guide