Looking at Dungeons & Dragons' New Artificer Class

Dungeons & Dragons has officially released their Artificer class after several rounds of public playtests. Earlier this week, Dungeons & Dragons released Eberron: Rising From the Last War. This new sourcebook brings the campaign setting of Eberron into Fifth Edition play, adding new races, new mechanics, and perhaps most importantly, a new class. The Artificer is a class that specializes in crafting magical tools and experimentation and serves as an extension of Eberron's unique take on magic. In Eberron, magic has been integrated into everyday living, and the Artificer shows how powerful magic infusions can be to an adventuring party.

Dungeons & Dragons previously released several versions of the Artificer for public playtesting, but the final version contains some notable changes. At its heart, the Artificer remains a "half-casting" class that swaps out access to higher level spells for the ability to create versatile magic items. However, Eberron: Rising From the Last War has removed the Archivist subclass as an Artificer option and made several other revisions. For instance, any Artificer can make a homunculus servant (an option that was previously only available to the Alchemist subclass), and several changes have been made to the Artillerist's Arcane Cannon feature, allowing them to make the cannon a Tiny object (so they can carry it like a gun) and not giving them the option of detonating the Cannon until Level 9. Artificers also gain the "Flash of Genius" ability, which allows them to add their Intelligence Modifier to any saving throw or ability check made by themselves or another character within 30 feet of them.

The biggest "nerf" to the Artificer comes from the changes made to the Alchemist subclass. Because any player can now create a Homunculus, the Alchemist can now create an experimental elixir that grants one of six random effects (chosen by the roll of the dice when the elixir is created.) Over time, players can create more experimental elixirs for free and gain access to more powerful healing abilities that the playtest versions didn't have, but it's a pretty harsh trade-off to exchange a useful, permanent magic item for a free potion. Alchemists can still create a homunculus, but it now comes at the cost of one of their infusions.

Outside of the Alchemist, which seems pretty underpowered, the Artificer is a fantastic new class that adds both mechanical flavor and lots of roleplaying options. Whether you're diving into Eberron for the first time, or are just looking for some new options in your D&D game, the Artificer should add a brand new level of fun.

Eberron: Rising From the Last War is available now at hobby game stores and booksellers.