Artificer Class (3.5)

halfgiant

The Artificer Class (3.5)

Artificers are perhaps the ultimate magical dabblers.

Hit die: d6
Alignment: Any
Starting gold: 5d4 x 10gp
Skill points: 4 + Int

Advancement

Level	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special	Craft Reserve	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
1st	0	0	0	2	Artificer knowledge, artisan bonus, disable trap, item creation, Scribe Scroll	20	2	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	1	0	0	3	Brew Potion	40	3	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	2	1	1	3	Craft Wondrous Item	60	3	1	—	—	—	—
4th	3	1	1	4	Craft homunculus, bonus feat	80	3	2	—	—	—	—
5th	3	1	1	4	Craft Magic Arms and Armor, retain essence	100	3	3	1	—	—	—
6th	4	2	2	5	Craft Wand	150	3	3	2	—	—	—
7th	5	2	2	5	Metamagic spell trigger	200	3	3	2	—	—	—
8th	+6/+1	2	2	6	Bonus feat	250	3	3	3	1	—	—
9th	+6/+1	3	3	6	Craft Rod	300	3	3	3	2	—	—
10th	+7/+2	3	3	7	—	400	3	3	3	2	—	—
11th	+8/+3	3	3	7	Metamagic spell completion	500	3	3	3	2	1	—
12th	+9/+4	4	4	8	Craft Staff, bonus feat	700	3	3	3	2	2	—
13th	+9/+4	4	4	8	Skill mastery	900	3	3	3	3	2	—
14th	+10/+5	4	4	9	Forge Ring	1200	4	3	3	3	3	1
15th	+11/+6/+1	5	5	9	—	1500	4	4	3	3	3	2
16th	+12/+7/+2	5	5	10	Bonus feat	2000	4	4	4	3	3	2
17th	+12/+7/+2	5	5	10	—	2500	4	4	4	4	3	3
18th	+13/+8/+3	6	6	11	—	3000	4	4	4	4	4	3
19th	+14/+9/+4	6	6	11	—	4000	4	4	4	4	4	4
20th	+15/+10/+5	6	6	12	Bonus feat	5000	4	4	4	4	4	4

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Artificers are proficient with all simple weapons, with light and medium armor, and with shields (except tower shields).

Infusions: An artificer is not a spellcaster, but he does have the ability to imbue items with magical infusions. Infusions are neither arcane nor divine; they are drawn from the artificer infusion list (see Chapter 5: Magic). They function just like spells and follow all the rules for spells. For example, an infusion can be dispelled, it will not function in an antimagic area, and an artificer must make a Concentration check if injured while imbuing an item with an infusion.
An artificer can imbue an item with any infusion from the list without preparing the infusion ahead of time. Unlike a sorcerer or bard, he does not select a subset of the available infusions as his known infusions; he has access to every infusion on the list that is of a level he can use.
It is possible for an artificer to learn infusions that are not on the normal artificer infusion list. These might include ancient infusions he finds in the ruins of Xen’drik or secret infusions known only to the members of certain guilds or organizations. When he encounters such an infusion, an artificer can attempt to learn it by making a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + spell level). If this check succeeds, he adds the infusion to his list. If not, he can try again when he gains another rank in Spellcraft, assuming he still has access to the new infusion.

To imbue an item with an infusion, an artificer must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the infusion level (Int 11 for 1st-level infusions, Int 12 for 2nd-level infusions, and so forth). The save DC is Intelligence-based.

Like spellcasters, an artificer can use only a certain number of infusions of a particular level per day. His base daily infusion allotment is given on the accompanying table. In addition, he receives extra infusions per day if he has a sufficiently high Intelligence score (see Table 1—1: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells, page 8 of the Player’s Handbook).
An artificer’s infusions can only be imbued into an item or a construct (including warforged). He cannot, for example, simply imbue an ally with bull’s strength. He must instead imbue that ability into an item his ally is wearing. The item then functions as a belt of giant strength for the duration of the infusion. He can, however, imbue bull’s strength directly on a construct or a character with the living construct subtype, and infusions such as repair light damage and iron construct function only when imbued on such characters.
Many infusions have long casting times, often 1 minute or more. An artificer can spend 1 action point to imbue any infusion in 1 round (like a spell that takes 1 round to cast).
Like a spellcaster, an artificer can apply metamagic feats he knows to his infusions. Like a sorcerer, an artificer can apply a metamagic feat to an infusion spontaneously, but doing this requires extra time. An artificer can craft alchemical items as though he were a spellcaster.
An artificer cannot automatically use a spell trigger or spell completion item if the equivalent spell appears on his infusion list. For example, an artificer must still employ the Use Magic Device skill to use a wand of light, even though light appears on his infusion list.
Each day, an artificer must focus his mind on his infusions. He needs 8 hours of rest, after which he spends 15 minutes concentrating. During this period, the artificer readies his mind to hold his daily allotment of infusions. Without such a period of time to refresh himself, the character does not regain the infusion slots he used up the day before. Any infusions used within the last 8 hours count against the artificer’s daily limit.
An artificer never requires a divine focus to imbue an item with an infusion. In cases where an infusion duplicates a spell that requires either a material component or a divine focus, or requires either an arcane focus or a divine focus, the artificer uses the arcane material component or arcane focus.

Craft Reserve: An artificer receives a pool of points he can spend instead of experience points when crafting a magic item. Each time the artificer gains a new level, he receives a new craft reserve; leftover points from the previous level do not carry over. If the points are not spent, they are lost. An artificer can also use his craft reserve to supplement the XP cost of the item he is making, taking a portion of the cost from his craft reserve and a portion from his own XP.

Artificer Knowledge: An artificer can make a special artificer knowledge check with a bonus equal to his artificer level + his Int modifier to detect whether a specific item has a magical aura.
The artificer must hold and examine the object for 1 minute. A successful check against DC 15 determines that the object has magical qualities, but does not reveal the specific powers of the item.
An artificer cannot take 10 or take 20 on this check. A particular item can only be examined in this fashion one time; if the check fails, the artificer can learn no more about that object.

Artisan Bonus: An artificer gains a +2 bonus on Use Magic Device checks to activate an item of a kind for which he has the prerequisite item creation feat. For example, an artificer who has the Craft Wand feat gains a +2 bonus on checks to use a spell from a wand.

Disable Trap: An artificer can use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a Difficulty Class higher than 20. Finding a nonmagical trap has a DC of at least 20, or higher if it is well hidden. Finding a magic trap has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create the trap.
An artificer can use the "Disable Device"skills/disable-device/ skill to disarm magic traps. Usually the DC is 25 + the level of the spell used to create the trap.
An artificer who beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check can study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with his party) without disarming it.

Item Creation (Ex): An artificer can create a magic item even if he does not have access to the spells that are prerequisites for the item. The artificer must make a successful Use Magic Device check (DC 20 + caster level) to emulate each spell normally required to create the item. Thus, to make a 1st-level wand of magic missile, an artificer would need a Use Magic Device check result of 21 or higher.’ To create a bottle of air (caster level 7th), he would need a check result of 27 or higher to emulate the water breathing prerequisite.
The artificer must make a successful check for each prerequisite for each item he makes. If he fails a check, he can try again each day until the item is complete (see Creating Magic Items, page 282 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). If he comes to the end of the crafting time and he has still not successfully emulated one of the powers, he can make one final check—his last-ditch effort, even if he has already made a check that day. If that check also fails, then the creation process fails and the time, money, and XP expended to craft the item are lost.
For purposes of meeting item prerequisites, an artificer’s effective caster level equals his artificer level +2. If the item duplicates a spell effect, however, it uses the artificer’s actual level as its caster level. Costs are always determined using the item’s minimum caster level or the artificer’s actual level (if it is higher). Thus, a 3rd-level artificer can make a scroll of fireball, since the minimum caster level for fireball is 5th. He pays the normal cost for making such a scroll with a caster level of 5th: 5 X 3 X 12.5 = 187 gp and 5 sp, plus 15 XP. But the scroll’s actual caster level is only 3rd, and it produces a weak fireball that deals only 3d6 points of damage.
An artificer can also make Use Magic Device checks to emulate nonspell requirements, including alignment and race, using the normal DCs for the skill. He cannot emulate skill or feat requirements, however, including item creation feat prerequisites. He must meet the caster level prerequisite, including the minimum level to cast a spell he stores in a potion, wand, or scroll.
An artificer’s infusions do not meet spell prerequisites for creating magic items. For example, an artificer must still employ the Use Magic Device skill to emulate the light spell to create a wand of light, even though light appears on his infusion list.
Magic items created by an artificer are considered neither arcane nor divine.

Bonus Feat: An artificer gains every item creation feat as a bonus feat at or near the level at which it becomes available to spellcasters. He gets Scribe Scroll as a bonus feat at 1st level, Brew Potion at 2nd level, Craft Wondrous Item at 3rd level, Craft Magic Arms and Armor at 5th level, Craft Wand at 6th level, Craft Rod at 9th level, Craft Staff at 12th level, and Forge Ring at 14th level.
In addition, an artificer gains a bonus feat at 4th level and every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th). For each of these bonus feats, the artificer must choose a metamagic feat or a feat from the following list: Attune Magical Weapon, Craft Construct (see the Monster Manual, page 303), Exceptional Artisan, Extra Rings, Extraordinary Artisan, Legendary Artisan, Wand Mastery.

Craft Homunculus (Ex): At 4th level, an artificer can create a homunculus as if he had the Craft Construct feat. He must emulate the spell requirements (arcane eye, mending, and mirror image) as normal for making a magic item, and he must pay all the usual gold and XP costs (though he can spend points from his craft reserve). An artificer can also upgrade an existing homunculus that he owns, adding 1 Hit Die at a cost of 2,000 gp and 160 XP.
If an artificer gives his homunculus more than 6 Hit Dice, it becomes a Small creature and advances as described in the Monster Manual (+4 Str, —2 Dex, damage increases to Id6). The homunculus also gains 10 extra hit points for being a Small construct.
An artificer’s homunculus can have as many Hit Dice as its master’s Hit Dice minus 2. No matter how many Hit Dice it has, a homunculus never grows larger than Small.

Retain Essence (Su): At 5th level, an artificer gains the ability to salvage the XP from a magic item and use those points to create another magic item. The artificer must spend a day with the item, and he must also have the appropriate item creation feat for the item he is salvaging. After one day, the item is destroyed and the artificer adds the XP it took to create the item to his craft reserve. These points are lost if the artificer does not use them before gaining his next level.
For example, an artificer wants to retain the essence of a wand of summon monster IV that has 20 charges. Originally created (like all wands) with 50 charges, it required 840 XP when initially made, or 16.8 XP (840 – 50) per charge. The artificer is able to recover the XP from the remaining charges. He puts 336 XP (16.8 X 20) into his craft reserve.

Metamagic Spell Trigger (Su): At 7th level, an artificer gains the ability to apply a metamagic feat he knows to a spell trigger item (generally a wand). He must have the appropriate item creation feat for the spell trigger item he is using. Using this ability expends additional charges from the item equal to the number of effective spell levels the metamagic feat would add to a spell.
For example, an artificer can quicken a spell cast from a wand by spending 5 charges (4 additional charges), empower the spell by spending 3 charges, or trigger it silently by spending 2 charges. The Still Spell feat confers no benefit when applied to a spell trigger item.
An artificer cannot use this ability when using a spell trigger item that does not have charges, such as prayer beads.

Metamagic Spell Completion (Su): At 11th level, an artificer gains the ability to apply a metamagic feat he knows to a spell completion item (generally a scroll). He must have the appropriate item creation feat for the spell completion item he is using. The DC for the Use Magic Device check is equal to 20 + (3 X the modified level of the spell). For example, applying the Empower Spell feat to a scroll of cone of cold, creating a 7th-level effect, has a DC of 20 + (3 X 7), or 41. An artificer can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Int modifier.

Skill Mastery: At 13th level, an artificer can take 10 when making a Spellcraft or Use Magic Device check, even if stress and distractions would normally prevent him from doing so. This ability circumvents the normal rule that a character may not take 10 on a Use Magic Device check.

Artificer Options: A number of the additional options for feats that make good choices for an artificer. Feats: Attune Magic Weapon, Bind Elemental, Exceptional Artisan, Extra Rings, Extraordinary Artisan, Legendary Artisan, Wand Mastery.

halfgiant

Crafting Walkthrough for Artificer

Lets go through an example of the entire process using a fairly simple item from the DMG:[sblock=The Scabbard of Keen Edges]Found on page 266 of the DMG, the Scabbard of Keen Edges has the following crafting information:

“Faint transmutation; CL 5th, Craft Wondrous Item, keen edge; Price 16,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.”

From this, we pick out the information we need.

It’s crafting level is 5.
It’s market price is 16,000 gp.
It has Keen Edge as a spell prereq.

The rest of the information we don’t really need to worry about (aside from that you need to have Craft Wondrous Item before you can even start to make it). We now need to extract the other information we need out of the market price:

Cost to Craft (in gp) = market price / 2 = 16,000 gp / 2 = 8,000 gp.
It will cost us 8,000 gp to make this item

Cost to Craft (in xp) = market price / 25 = 16,000 gp / 25 = 640 xp.
It will cost 640 xp to make this item, which will have to come from the Craft Reserve, your actual xp total, or a combination of the two (so if you only have 600 points in your reserve, you could spend all 600, and only have to pay 40 real xp).

Time to Craft (in days) = market price / 1,000 = 16,000 / 1,000 = 16 days.
It will take just over 2 weeks of work (16 days) in order to make this item.

Use Magic Device Skill = UMD

Now, the only thing we have left to figure out is what DC the UMD check is going to be, so we go to the PHB and look up the Keen Edge spell, and find that it is a lvl 3 spell, which means the minimum caster level for it is 5th. And we know that the UMD DC is 20 + Caster level, meaning this spell requires a DC 25 UMD check to successfully fake.

We bring all of that information together, and we get this:
Cost: 8,000 gp
XP: 640
Time: 16 days
UMD DC: 25

Assuming we have the necessary magical laboratory to work in, and that we have all of the needed supplies, we can start crafting. Lets assume we have the minimum level Artificer required to make this item, lvl 3 (don’t forget that while the item has a crafting level prereq of 5, the Artificer counts as being 2 levels higher than he really is for this), and we’ll just assume somebody else gave him enough gold to be able to afford it. We’ll also assume that he has a total of +8 to his UMD checks (+6 for max ranks, +2 for a Charisma of 14).

Day 1: Enchanting Begins.
Flavor text aside, the only mechanical aspect you need to worry about is the UMD check. Its DC 25, and you have a +8 to your UMD check, meaning you need to roll a 17 or higher to succeed. Pretty steep odds, so lets assume you fail the check. No big deal. Since it will take 16 days to craft, you get 16 tries to make the roll, plus an extra one at the end.

Day 2-12: Constant Progress, Constant Failure
You are working diligently, things are coming along, but you still haven’t made that UMD check yet.

Day 13: Success!
You rolled a 19 for today’s UMD check, meaning you passed. Hooray, no more skill checks required, you’re on easy street from here out.

Day 16: The End
You made your check, so at the end of this day of crafting, you will have your Scabbard of Keen Edges. If you had not made the check before today, you would get your normal check for the day, and if you failed that, you would get your last ditch emergency check to try and salvage everything.

Here’s the kicker though. If you fail that check every single time, then you will fail at making the item, and all of the money and xp/craft points you put into making it will be wasted as well. That is a LOT of time and money to flush down the drain, so should you actually find yourself using that emergency roll at the end, you should spend an Action Point to boost the outcome. Remember though that you can only spend an AP before you know if your roll succeeded or failed, and since you’re going up against a known, set DC, that means you’ll need to burn it before you make the roll. But by this point, potentially wasting an AP is far better than potentially failing the roll and wasting all that time and money. And if you still fail, well, you did everything you could, better luck next time.[/sblock]Now, lets throw some extra complications into the mix. What if your Artificer has some of the Artisan feats to reduce the time/gold/xp costs of making an item? Lets look at that Scabbard of Keen Edges again, this time with the Extraordinary Artisan feat.[sblock=Scabbard of Keen Edges with Extraordinary Artisan]Lets first grab the necessary information from the previous example, no need going through all of it again.

Crafting
Cost: 8,000 gp
XP: 640
Time: 16 days
UMD DC: 25

Now, Extraordinary Artisan lowers the gp cost of the item by 25%, which seems pretty easy at first, but it has some pitfalls. Even though the feat says market price, it ONLY affects the cost to craft, nothing else. First, lets find out how much of a reduction we get. Market Price is 16,000 gp, to find the lower price we can either multiply the market price by .25 and subtract that number from the original, or we can just multiply the original by .75, either way we get that the new price is 12,000 gp.

Now here is where people mess up. You use that 12,000 gp price to determine only the crafting price (which will be 6,000 gp now, instead of 8,000 gp). You do not use the 12,000 gp price to determine time or xp costs, for those you still have to use the original 16,000 gp price.

You would use the same procedure with the other Artisan feats, changing each cost as appropriate. If you haven’t noticed it already, and didn’t read it in the feats section, Exceptional Artisan reduces the crafting time by 25%, which reduces the number of days required to craft the item 25%. That means you will have 25% fewer chances to make your UMD check to successfully create the item, which generally makes taking this feat a handicap to your crafting abilities.And now that you know how to make the items once you know their costs, lets spend a moment on how to correctly determine the price for custom made items.

The first step in making any custom magic item is to talk it over with your DM. Actually, talking it over with your DM should be the first step in making any magical item with your Artificer. (S)He may have an adventure ready for you that your new item idea could ruin, might not allow that particular item in their game, or have suggestions on how to modify the item to be a better fit with the existing game. Magic items as a whole are the domain of your DM, not you as a Player, even if you are playing an Artificer (which comes with certain assumed rights to being able to make magical items). Assuming you get the go ahead, somebody is going to have to stat this item up. Many times, this will happen one of two ways. One, the DM will let the player requesting to make the item stat it up, and then either okay or reject the finished item once you hand it to them. The other option is that the DM may ask you to describe everything you want the item to do to him (or her), and then they will create the item themselves, and give you the specifics on it when they are done. Either way, expect there to be some haggling back and forth over a custom magic item as you both try to make it into what you want it to be.

And remember, the guidelines in the DMG about how to price a magical item are just that, guidelines. They are not set in stone, and if a price sounds too low or too high when you use those rules, then chances are it is too high/low, and you’ve found another example of where the guidelines don’t work very well.