Character Classes

ARTIFICER

In Eberron, magic is almost technology. Spellcasters specialize in certain forms of that technology, while artificers tinker with its fundamental workings. Artificers understand magic on a different level from spellcasters, and do not cast spells as wizards and clerics do. They have an amazing facility with magic items and constructs, and in many ways, they keep the magical world of Eberron running. Artificers adventure for a variety of reasons. They seek deposits of rare minerals and dragonshards to use in their creations. They search for hidden arcane secrets related to making magic items or constructs. They face danger to acquire money to buy or make magic items. Like any other adventurers, they might also be motivated by a desire to fight evil or gain power, or by any of a host of similar reasons. Artificers are perhaps the ultimate magical dabblers. They can use just about any spell from a wand or scroll, empower ordinary items with temporary magical power, repair damaged constructs (including warforged), alter the function of existing magic items, and craft magic items, constructs, and dragonshard items. They have a limited list of their own spell-like infusions that they can apply to objects, and they can also work with any of the spells on other classes' spell lists. Their magic is neither arcane nor divine, and they are not bound by that classification: Their trade is magic in its most abstract (they might say purest) form. If artificers have a tendency toward any alignment, it is neutral. They are more interested in their work than in its moral implications. Some artificers create magic items for the common good, while others seek to create items of tremendous destructive power. Many artificers revere the deity Onatar, Lord of Fire and Forge. Others are too preoccupied with mastering magic - including divine magic - to worry about the gods who may or may not be the source of magic. Like wizards, artificers learn their craft through long years of hard study. They share a sense of camaraderie with others who have endured similar training. They view other artificers as either colleagues or rivals. Rivalry may take a friendly form as the artificers try to outdo each other in their creations and accomplishments, or it could turn deadly, with artificers sending construct assassins after each other. Humans excel as artificers, having no natural attachment to the aesthetics of magic as elves do, and no knack for a particular expression of magic as gnomes have. Their analytical minds make them well suited to the artificer's task of reducing magic to its component pieces and reassembling it in a new form. Despite their Charisma penalty, warforged also make fine artificers, having a particular affinity for the creation of other constructs. Dwarves and gnomes, with their skill in the crafting of mundane items, show equal skill in the magical craft of the artificer. Halflings, elves, half-elves, half-orcs, kalashtar, shifters, and changelings do not have strong traditions in this class and often choose different magical pathways. Artificers work best when providing magical support to members of other classes. Though they are quite versatile, their talents lie in enhancing the items - weapons, armor, wands, and other gear - used by all the members of an adventuring party. They think of every party member as components of a machine, encouraging better teamwork within a group and sometimes providing strategy and tactics afforded by their unique mind-set. In a typical adventuring party, artificers have a range of roles revolving around magic items. They bring an unparalleled flexibility to both using and creating such items. In a party that doesn't include a druid, for example, an artificer can use (or scribe) a scroll of barkskin or wield a staff of the woodlands. Though they can fight reasonably well, few artificers are inclined to engage in front-rank melee combat.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d6.

Class Skills

The artificer's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Int), Knowledge(arcana) (Int), Knowledge(architecture and engineering) (Int), Knowledge(the planes) (Int), Open Lock (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table: The Artificer

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the artificer.

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. 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 lst-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.

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 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.

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.

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 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 lst-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). 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 × 3 × 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 Magic Weapon, Craft Construct, 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 for the basic homunculus described in the Monster Manual.) 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. An artificer can use this ability to construct other types of homunculi (such as the ones found on the Eberron Campaign Setting and Magic of Eberron). The same rules apply.

If an artificer gives a basic 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 1d6). 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 × 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 × 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 × 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 VARIANTS

Psionic Artificer

The industries of magic pervade Khorvaire. The prevalence of House Cannith, and the predominance of magewrights and other artisans, resulted in the perfection of the creation process for all manner of magic devices and items.

Artificers endeavor to understand and replicate the magic around them. In recent years, many artificers have been exposed to psionics through a variety of sources: Kalashtar are not unknown now in many parts of Khorvaire, and the Inspired have an increasing presence in Q'barra and other nations. Eventually, some artificers developed a knack for crafting psionic items.

Psionic artificers are similar to standard artificers, but they craft psionic items instead of magic items. Many of these artificers are kalashtar, but innate psionic talent isn't absolutely necessary to advance as a psionic artificer. A few psionic artificers work in Q'barra, supplying their crafts to the larger concentrations of psionic people in those regions. They might choose to set up shop in Stormreach, selling their wares to psionic characters who travel to Xen'drik looking for dragonshards. They might also be kalashtar secluded in the mountains of Adar, applying the skills of artifice to psionic creations they can use to defend themselves against the Inspired. Few psionic artificers are found in Riedra, however, because the Inspired maintain tight control over the production of any magic or psionic items.

A psionic artificer is identical to the artificer presented in the EBERRON Campaign Setting, with the modifications below. A psionic artificer is treated as a standard artificer for purposes of meeting feat or prestige class prerequisites. A character cannot have levels in both artificer and psionic artificer.

Class Skills

A psionic artificer gains Knowledge (psionics), Psicraft, and Use Psionic Device (all described in Expanded Psionics Handbook) as class skills in place of Knowledge (arcana), Spellcraft, and Use Magic Device.

Class Features

The psionic artificer's class features function identically to the normal artificer class features excepted as noted here.

Artisan Bonus: A psionic artificer gains a +2 bonus on Use Psionic Device checks to activate an item of a kind for which he has the prerequisite item creation feat.

Infusions: A psionic artificer's infusion list remains the same, but references to spells are replaced with references to powers. For example, spell storing item becomes power storing item, and metamagic item becomes metapsionic item, and affects a power trigger item.

Item Creation: A psionic artificer cannot emulate spells to create magic items.

When a psionic artificer emulates a power for item creation, he uses his Use Psionic Device skill (rather than Use Magic Device).

Feats: A psionic artificer does not gain the standard artificer item creation feats. He instead gains psionic item creation feats, as indicated by the following table.

A psionic 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 psionic artificer must choose a metapsionic feat or a feat from the following list: Attune Magic Weapon, Craft Construct, Exceptional Artisan, Extra Rings, Extraordinary Artisan, Legendary Artisan, Dorje Mastery.

Metapsionic Power Trigger (Su): At 6th level, a psionic artificer gains this ability in place of metamagic spell trigger. A character can apply a metapsionic feat he knows to a power trigger device, such as a dorje. Using this ability expends additional charges from the item equal to 1 + 1/2 the number of additional power points normally required to employ the metapsionic power.

Metapsionic Power Completion (Su): At 11th level, a psionic artificer gains this ability in place of metamagic spell completion. The character can apply a metapsionic feat he knows to a power completion device, such as a power stone. He must succeed on a Use Psionic Device check with a DC equal to 20 + twice the total number of power points required to manifest the metapsionic power normally. For example, applying the Empower Power feat to a power stone of ego whip has a DC of 20 + (2 × 5), or 40. A psionic artificer can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Int modifier.

Skill Mastery: At 13th level, a psionic artificer can take 10 when making Psicraft or Use Psionic Device checks, even if stress and distractions would normally prevent him from doing so. This ability circumvents the normal rule that a character cannot take 10 on a Use Psionic Device check, and replaces the skill mastery ability of a standard artificer.

Warforged Artificer

Artificers are the unparalleled masters of magic item and construct enhancement and creation, and it should surprise no one that warforged artificers attain even greater heights than the norm. Made by magic and often trained by House Cannith, warforged artificers are held in high esteem among their peers, with an innate aptitude for their craft granting them abilities unequalled by artificers of other races.

Hit Die: d6.

Requirements

To take a warforged artificer substitution level, a character must be a warforged about to take his 1st, 4th, or 5th level of artificer.

Class Skills

Warforged artificer substitution levels have the class skills of the standard artificer class.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier (or four times this number as a beginning character).

Table: Warforged Artificer Racial Substitution Levels

Class Features

All the following are features of the warforged artificer's racial substitution levels.

Infuse Self (Ex): A warforged artificer is particularly skilled at magically enhancing his own body, and adds one to his caster level for determining the effect of any infusion he imbues upon himself. This caster level bonus applies only to effects that target the warforged artificer, even if an effect can be made to target other creatures simultaneously.

Tools of War (Su): Beginning at 4th level, a warforged artificer becomes particularly talented at affecting the tools of war (constructs, living constructs, and magic arms and armor) with his infusions and enhancements. Each time the warforged artificer imbues an infusion on a construct or living construct (including himself ) or on a magic weapon, magic shield, or suit of magic armor, he can repair the target object of a number of points of damage equal to his Charisma modifier (minimum 1). This benefit is in addition to the infusion's normal effect.

In addition, whenever the warforged artificer spends points from his craft reserve to add a magical property to any construct or living construct (including himself), to create a construct, or to create or enhance magic armor, a magic shield, or a magic weapon, each point spent is worth 2 XP.

This benefit replaces the standard artificer's craft homunculus feature.

Craft Weapon Familiar (Ex): Beginning at 5th level, a warforged artificer can craft an intelligent melee weapon that functions much like a wizard or sorcerer's familiar (see the Weapon Familiars for details). The warforged artificer must create a magic weapon, paying all the normal costs in gp and XP, after which he must spend an additional 1,000 gp and one more day to further imbue the item with the sentience required to become a familiar. A warforged artificer can have only one weapon familiar at a time.

At any time, the warforged artificer can further enhance his weapon familiar (as with any other magic weapon), or can sever his connection to the weapon familiar in order to create a new one. When a warforged artificer dies or voluntarily severs the connection with his weapon familiar, the weapon loses all weapon familiar abilities (including sentience) but retains any other magic enhancement. If a warforged artificer is raised, resurrected, or wishes to voluntarily renew a severed connection, he must spend 1,000 gp and one day to imbue the weapon familiar with sentience again.

This substitution feature replaces the standard artificer's retain essence feature.

WEAPON FAMILIARS

Weapon familiars are intelligent magic melee weapons crafted by a warforged artificer with the craft weapon familiar class feature. Each weapon familiar is magically linked to its creator, much like a normal familiar is linked to its master.

A weapon familiar grants special abilities to its creator while held (as shown on the table below). Each weapon familiar grants one special ability based on the effort required to use it (light, one-handed, or two-handed) and its damage type (bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing). If a weapon familiar has more than one property in the same category (such as a morningstar, which deals both bludgeoning and piercing damage), the creator chooses which special ability the weapon familiar will grant.

Weapon Familiar Basics: A weapon familiar is an intelligent magic weapon, with a basic description as given in the Player's Handbook and the additional features described below. See Intelligent Items for more information.

Ability Scores: As an intelligent item, a weapon familiar has Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. Two of these abilities have a score of 14 and one has a score of 10, as determined by the warforged artificer at the time of creation.

Hit Points: A weapon familiar has the normal hit points for a weapon of its type (see Table: Common Armor, Weapon, and Shield Hardness and Hit Points) and enhancement bonus, plus bonus hit points equal to one-half its creator's hit points (not including temporary hit points), rounded down. For example, if the creator of a +1 heavy mace weapon familiar had 25 hit points, the weapon familiar would have 42 hit points (20 for a heavy mace, +10 for being a +1 weapon, +12 for its creator's hit points).

Saving Throws: A weapon familiar need not make any saving throw unless its wielder rolls a 1 on a save against an effect that could also damage the weapon familiar (such as fireball) or if the effect specifically targets the weapon familiar (such as shatter). For each saving throw, a weapon familiar uses either its own base save bonus (2 + 1/2 its creator's artificer level) or its creator's save bonus (from all classes), whichever is better. A weapon familiar adds its own ability modifiers on saving throws (Dex -5, Con +0, Wis varies).

Senses: A weapon familiar has darkvision out to 60 feet, and it can hear as well as a normal person.

Communication: A weapon familiar can speak and understand Common, plus one language per point of Intelligence bonus (if any). It can also communicate telepathically with its master as long as it is held.

Alignment: When created, a weapon familiar has the same alignment as its creator. Note, though, that a weapon familiar and its creator might find themselves in conflict if the creator's alignment ever changes.

Ego: As an intelligent item, a weapon familiar has an ego score. Though it never engages in a personality conflict with its wielder, it automatically does so if another character attempts to wield it. For the purpose of determining ego score, a weapon familiar is considered to have six lesser powers, and to gain new lesser powers when its creator attains 11th level and 13th level.

Weapon Familiar Ability Descriptions: All weapon familiars gain or impart special abilities depending on their creator's artificer level. The abilities given on the table are cumulative.

Hardness Adjustment: The number noted here is an improvement to the weapon familiar's existing hardness.

Alertness (Ex): The presence of a weapon familiar sharpens its creator's senses. While a weapon familiar is held, the creator gains the effect of the Alertness feat.

Deliver Touch Infusions (Su): If a weapon familiar is held by its creator at the time the creator imbues an infusion with a range of touch, the creator can then deliver the infusion by touching a target with the weapon familiar (either as a melee touch attack or as a normal melee attack). If the creator imbues another infusion before the touch is delivered, the touch infusion dissipates.

Improved Evasion (Ex): A weapon familiar can avoid damage from certain attacks with a successful Reflex save and take only half damage on a failed save. See the monk class feature.

Share Infusions: At the creator's option, he can have any infusion he imbues on himself also affect his weapon familiar. The weapon familiar must be held at the time of casting to receive the benefit, and the creator and his weapon familiar can share spells even if those spells don't normally affect objects. This ability otherwise functions identically to the share spells ability.

Spell Resistance (Ex): If its creator is 11th level or higher, a weapon familiar gains spell resistance equal to the creator's artificer level +5. The creator's infusions automatically overcome this spell resistance.

Scry on Weapon Familiar (Sp): If a creator's level is 13th level or higher, he can scry on his weapon familiar (as if casting scrying with automatic success) once per day. See the Scrying spell description.