'Dungeons & Dragons' Releases Revised Artificer Class for Playtesting

Dungeons & Dragons just released a massively overhauled version of the Artificer Class for playtesting.

In early 2017, Dungeons & Dragons released a version of the Artificer class for public playtesting. The Artificer is a magical tinkerer, able to create a variety of magical items ranging from the mundane to the wondrous. The Artificer is most commonly associated with the steampunk-influenced Eberron campaign setting, although it can easily be moved into other campaign settings.

With the release of Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron campaign setting book last year, many were expecting to see the Artificer class make a re-appearance. However, the D&D team said that they were working on a revised version of the Artificer class, which was just released earlier today.

The Revised Artificer is radically different than the 2017 version, including a total revision of one of the Artificer's two subclasses. The Gunsmith subclass was replaced with a new Artillerist subclass. Instead of creating a magical gun that upgrades over time, the Artillerist instead creates one of three types of magical turrets with various effects.

The Artificer's other abilities have also been overhauled. For instance, Artificers no longer have access to a Large Mechanical Servant; instead, the Alchemist subclass can now summon a tiny alchemical homunculus that can create salves or attack enemies with acid spit.

The Artificer can also now pick from several Artificer Infusions options that allow players to add different effects to certain items. The "Wondrous Replication" ability from the original Artificer is also replaced with an Artificer Infusion that allows players to replicate certain magical items. The Artificer's spell storage ability (which allows an Artificer to store spells into a non-magical item) is now an 18th Level feature instead of a core 4th level ability.

The Revised Artificer is definitely an improvement from the 2017 version, but it definitely needs some refinement. The Artillerist is a great new subclass, but it definitely needs some work, as one of the Turret choices (the Defender) grants temporary hit points seemingly on every round, while its other turrets don't scale well as an Artificer increases in level.

You can check out the Revised Artificer class here. The D&D team will release a survey later this month that will allow players to give feedback on what they think about the changes. You can also let us know what you think about the Artificer in the comment section or find me on Twitter at @CHofferCbus to talk all things D&D!