A better artificer

[Murtak]

So talking about artificers got me thinking. Clearly some players like the class. I think it has some neat ideas, badly executed. On closer examination though it's a mess. Craft reserve, presumably intended to let you craft on the side, still requires you to put in the time. Infusions range from WTF (cool, a class feature, for a whole 10 minutes) to WTF (I can do what with wand charges?). So I decided to have a go at it. I'm not even sure what this guy is supposed to do in a party, how he stacks up to other classes or what kind of mechanical brokenness I built into it, but it can't be worse than the original. Comments?



The Tinkerer

BAB, Saves. Skills, Hit die: As Artificer

1 Tinkering (minor), True Craftsman
2 Dew Collector 1/day, Trapfinding
3 Tinkered Armor
4 Flux Transistor
5 Tinkered Weapon
6 Dew Collector 2/day, Robotic Servant
7 Tinkering (minor, advanced)
8 Personal Forcefield
9 Shared Tinkered Armor
10 Deconstruct, Dew Collector 3/day
11 Shared Tinkered Weapons
12 Phase Capacitor
13 Tinkering (minor, advanced, major)
14 Inducation Warning System, Dew Collector 4/day
15 Tinkered Sidekick
16 Shut it down
17 Tinkered Bombs
18 Auto-Dejuicer, Dew Collector 5/day
19 Tinkering (minor, advanced, major, artifact)
20 World Domination

Tinkering: A tinkerer is always working on his toys. Instead of sleeping they refresh their powers by working on his latest creations for an uninterrupted period of at least 8 hours. After this period he may change the item or bonuses granted by his tinkering abilities.
Minor Tinkering: The tinkerer gains a wondrous magic item valued at 500 gp per character level. This item may be switched for another item after a period of 8 hours of tinkering (see above)
Advanced Tinkering: As Minor Tinkering, except the tinkerer also gains a wondrous item valued at 2000 gp per character level.
Major Tinkering: As Minor Tinkering, except the tinkerer also gains a wondrous item valued at 5000 gp per character level.
Artifact Tinkering: As Minor Tinkering, except the tinkerer also gains a wondrous item duplicating a single ability of a minor artifact.
Tinkered Armor: The tinkerer may enhance one piece of armor with a single enchantment worth a +1 bonus per full three character levels.
Tinkered Weapon: The tinkerer may enhance one weapon with a single enchantment worth a +1 bonus per full three character levels.
Shared Tinkered Armor: As Tinkered Armor, except the enchantment applies to all of the party's armor.
Shared Tinkered Weapon: As Tinkered Weapon, except the enchantment applies to all of the party's weapons.
Tinkered Sidekick: The tinkerer gains the services of a golem with a CR of his character level - 2. This golem may not be switched each night, but it may be switched for a different golem when the tinkerer gains a new level.
Tinkered Bombs: The tinkerer has a bag of bombs amd call pull a bomb per turn out of it. These may be thrown with a range increment of 30. If they hit (ranged touch attack) they produce one of the following effects (pick daily after rest): Energy Drain, Reverse Gravity, Firestorm, Horrid Wilting, Wail of the Banshee, Wrathful Castigation, Slime Wave, Bombardment, Avascular Mass, Maw of Chaos, Obedient Avalanche


True Craftsman: The tinkerer disregards the required spells to craft magic items.
Dew Collector: As a full-round-action the tinkerer may create a potion as if he were a wizard or cleric of his character level with the Brew Potion feat. Disregard the experience and gp cost. This potion vanishes at the end of the day.
Flux Transistor: The tinkerer is immune to Dispel Magic. He receives a Will saving throw against the effects of Disjunction.
Robotic Servant: The tinkerer is always surrounded by tiny constructs, duplicating the effects of an Unseen Servant spell.
Personal Forcefield: At will the tinkerer may produce a Resilient Sphere spell centered on himself.
Deconstruct: The tinkerer disregards the immunity to critical hits of constructs. All hits on constructs are automatically critical hits.
Phase Capacitor: All items the tinkerer has tinkered with are immune to the effect's of Dispel Magic.
Inducation Warning System: The tinkerer always succeeds at detecting traps.
Shut it down: Once per turn, after the tinkerer hits an opponent with an attack from within 30 foot he may produce a Greater Dispel Magic effect against one of that opponent's items.
Auto-Dejuicer: Five times per day the tinkerer may produce an Animate Dead effect as a spell-like ability.
World Domination: The tinkerer constructs a titanic (size Colossal +++) golem and sets out to conquer the world.

[Tshern]

I like it. A lot.

My favourite ability here is Tinkered bombs, although giving out 9th level spells at will can seem a bit too powerful. However, the spell choices there are quite decent though, so perhaps I am just not seeing this in proper light.

Flux transistor is a neat class feature as well. The will save against Disjunction can save you at high levels. If you ever get up there anyway.

All in all, an excellent package.

[Gelare]

Artifact Tinkering: As Minor Tinkering, except the tinkerer also gains a wondrous item duplicating a single ability of a minor artifact.

Soooo...I'm going to duplicate a single ability of the Deck of Many Things. Like, say, the ability to give myself 50,000 xp. And then I'm going to do it again tomorrow.

[Mask_De_H]

Artifact Tinkering: As Minor Tinkering, except the tinkerer also gains a wondrous item duplicating a single ability of a minor artifact.

Soooo...I'm going to duplicate a single ability of the Deck of Many Things. Like, say, the ability to give myself 50,000 xp. And then I'm going to do it again tomorrow.

Pretty much. This doesn't change the crazy-go-nuts of the Artificer, for he can still make himself some Candles of Invocation or Ring o' Three Wishes or whatever and fuck the game no lube. This class progression just makes the fucking take longer and progress more smoothly.

He's still a class based on a skill that can be boosted to $TEXAS, which with a Warlock buddy can still replicate any bullshit spell he wants, and is still at low-mid level a Commoner with extra special items. Then he becomes a commoner with Leadership and some vaguely useful abilities that can't be dispelled because lol.

Also, this belongs in It's My Own Invention.

EDIT: One more thing; would a "pull spell-like item out of my ass" character work well with Spheres? It seems like a good way to capture the limited use awesome machines that a gadgeteer would have access to.

[Murtak]

Ok, so the class breaks with decks of many things and candles of invocation? And use Magic Device is still broken? I'm not even sure that is worth fixing. If your games use these items you are fucked anyways. Power level is another thing entirely. I'm sure the tinkerer is less powerful than a tome class or 3rd full caster. Not sure at all how he stacks up to, say, a rogue.

Oh, and I got no feedback at all the last time I posted something in IMOI, so if anything I will ask for the thread to be moved later.

[Surgo]

I dunno, I feel a little disappointed reading this. When I think artificer I basically think of the kind of thing like incarnum where you make and wear magic hats, only they fail in spectacular ways when you hand them to someone else to wear.

[God_of_Awesome]

Robotic Servant: The tinkerer is always surrounded by tiny constructs, duplicating the effects of an Unseen Servant spell.

How many Robotic Servants? Perhaps an advancement on how many every so levels?

[koz]

Robotic Servant: The tinkerer is always surrounded by tiny constructs, duplicating the effects of an Unseen Servant spell.

How many Robotic Servants? Perhaps an advancement on how many every so levels?

I actually don't think it matters, as no matter how many of them there are or not, it's just replicating the effects of one Unseen Servant. Essentially, whether it's a lot of very specialised tiny robots or a few more general ones, the effects are the same.

[God_of_Awesome]

Oh, okay. I misread that. I thought one robot = one Unseen Servant

[Blicero]

I dunno, I feel a little disappointed reading this. When I think artificer I basically think of the kind of thing like incarnum where you make and wear magic hats, only they fail in spectacular ways when you hand them to someone else to wear.

I like this a lot. I mean, I've always felt that the role of "guy who makes things" should be one that pretty much anyone can fill if they choose to. But I could get behind an artificer that creates a variety of boosting "gadget-like" effects each day that do amusing things if other people attempt to utilize them.

[Emerald]

Oh, okay. I misread that. I thought one robot = one Unseen Servant

While leaving it vague as to how many robots there are is better fluff-wise, I think an upgrade to servant swarm (or whatever the "1 unseen servant/level" spell is called) at some point would be a nice addition.[/i]

[Tshern]

Servant horde.

[God_of_Awesome]

Servant horde.

FOR THE HORDE!!!