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Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)
Artificer improvements: a revised homebrew approach
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<blockquote data-quote="Xaielao" data-source="post: 8505938" data-attributes="member: 7032923"><p>Great writeup Noodohs. I don't agree with everything, but I do on a lot of stuff. A few points to discuss:</p><p></p><p><strong>Spell Inventions</strong></p><p>I really think you're onto something here. A schematic each time you level up feels a bit artificial but at the same time it'd give the artificer a feeling of unlocking new technology quickly, and you only get so many infusions, so if the GM still hands out schematics as treasure once in a while too it wouldn't be game breaking (and I am the type of GM who loves to hand out stuff like that as treasure).</p><p></p><p>As to the weight issue, I don't really see it as a problem. Your at max going to be carrying an extra 30 pounds of gear, all of it temporary. Also to the 'sudden jump in weight when upcasting', I rather like to imagine it as 'overcharging' the invention, causing it to become slightly more unwieldy and also making it a bit more likely to Fizzle. You've got that lovely roman candle that shoots <em>magic missile</em>, but you need a big boom, so you light the 'secondary fuse' which causes the roman candle to rattle around in your arms before it unleashes hell.</p><p></p><p><strong>Schematics</strong></p><p>I also really like the increased rarity by level, and that it is somewhat behind the curve of magic item rarity advancement. So no worries about your Artificer somehow unlocking a Legendary magic weapon at level 13 because they met a paladin on the road who happened to have a Holy Avenger.</p><p></p><p><strong>Capstone Feature</strong></p><p>I don't entirely disagree, I think the cost of using the Automaton is high and it is technically weaker when compared to the o5e Artificers Steel Defender at 20th level, in that it has fewer hit points, and lacks the defender's fantastic damage negation ability. The damage output is very nice however. If I'd change one thing, it'd be to remove the damage instead of fizzle feature. Since the automaton only has 90 HP, that's really rough. I understand what the writers were going for here, a way to limit the Artificer from just setting it up with a powerful 5th level spell it uses every turn. I'd rather have it require repair during a short or long rest after a fizzle than deal 1/3rd the Automaton's hit points. Having the Defenders self-heal would be nice too... or perhaps the ability for the Artificer to spend their own hit dice to heal the Automaton during short rests. Some way of repairing it outside of a long rest seems necessary at only 90 HP.</p><p></p><p>That said, I agree Soul of Artifice is one of the best capstone abilities in o5e. +6 to all saves is really powerful and using an infusion to never die is also badass. Other A5E classes have a choice between two capstones. So perhaps instead of a strict replacement.. a choice between the Spell Automaton or something similar to (but differently named) Soul of Artifice.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Alchemist</strong></p><p>I get it, you want an alchemist class that is distinctly its own. I agree, I love the idea of the alchemist and the class is one of my favorites in Pathfinder 2nd edition (with a few minor house rules as it's a bit on the weak side). That said, I really like the Bombardier, I have yet to see one in play but on paper it looks extremely well made and very fun. I do hope we see an alchemist class (or something thematically similar) for a5e and that having the Bombardier in the Artificer doesn't preclude that possibility. There are tons of ways you could do an Alchemist without having bomber be a part of it.</p><p></p><p>Over all, this is a great post. I agree with a lot of it and if issue 0 gets a balance pass (it's not uncommon for secondary supplements to be a little lax on balance, TSR gods know both Dungeon & Dragon magazines included a lot of broken shite back in the day lol), some of the improvements you lay out here, as well as some of the clarifications you suggest are definitely something I'd like to see. A choice of capstone would be nice as well, but if not I don't want to see the Automaton go away. The changes I mentioned above to it's fizzle mechanic however, would be nice.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Xaielao, post: 8505938, member: 7032923"] Great writeup Noodohs. I don't agree with everything, but I do on a lot of stuff. A few points to discuss: [B]Spell Inventions[/B] I really think you're onto something here. A schematic each time you level up feels a bit artificial but at the same time it'd give the artificer a feeling of unlocking new technology quickly, and you only get so many infusions, so if the GM still hands out schematics as treasure once in a while too it wouldn't be game breaking (and I am the type of GM who loves to hand out stuff like that as treasure). As to the weight issue, I don't really see it as a problem. Your at max going to be carrying an extra 30 pounds of gear, all of it temporary. Also to the 'sudden jump in weight when upcasting', I rather like to imagine it as 'overcharging' the invention, causing it to become slightly more unwieldy and also making it a bit more likely to Fizzle. You've got that lovely roman candle that shoots [I]magic missile[/I], but you need a big boom, so you light the 'secondary fuse' which causes the roman candle to rattle around in your arms before it unleashes hell. [B]Schematics[/B] I also really like the increased rarity by level, and that it is somewhat behind the curve of magic item rarity advancement. So no worries about your Artificer somehow unlocking a Legendary magic weapon at level 13 because they met a paladin on the road who happened to have a Holy Avenger. [B]Capstone Feature[/B] I don't entirely disagree, I think the cost of using the Automaton is high and it is technically weaker when compared to the o5e Artificers Steel Defender at 20th level, in that it has fewer hit points, and lacks the defender's fantastic damage negation ability. The damage output is very nice however. If I'd change one thing, it'd be to remove the damage instead of fizzle feature. Since the automaton only has 90 HP, that's really rough. I understand what the writers were going for here, a way to limit the Artificer from just setting it up with a powerful 5th level spell it uses every turn. I'd rather have it require repair during a short or long rest after a fizzle than deal 1/3rd the Automaton's hit points. Having the Defenders self-heal would be nice too... or perhaps the ability for the Artificer to spend their own hit dice to heal the Automaton during short rests. Some way of repairing it outside of a long rest seems necessary at only 90 HP. That said, I agree Soul of Artifice is one of the best capstone abilities in o5e. +6 to all saves is really powerful and using an infusion to never die is also badass. Other A5E classes have a choice between two capstones. So perhaps instead of a strict replacement.. a choice between the Spell Automaton or something similar to (but differently named) Soul of Artifice. [B]The Alchemist[/B] I get it, you want an alchemist class that is distinctly its own. I agree, I love the idea of the alchemist and the class is one of my favorites in Pathfinder 2nd edition (with a few minor house rules as it's a bit on the weak side). That said, I really like the Bombardier, I have yet to see one in play but on paper it looks extremely well made and very fun. I do hope we see an alchemist class (or something thematically similar) for a5e and that having the Bombardier in the Artificer doesn't preclude that possibility. There are tons of ways you could do an Alchemist without having bomber be a part of it. Over all, this is a great post. I agree with a lot of it and if issue 0 gets a balance pass (it's not uncommon for secondary supplements to be a little lax on balance, TSR gods know both Dungeon & Dragon magazines included a lot of broken shite back in the day lol), some of the improvements you lay out here, as well as some of the clarifications you suggest are definitely something I'd like to see. A choice of capstone would be nice as well, but if not I don't want to see the Automaton go away. The changes I mentioned above to it's fizzle mechanic however, would be nice. [/QUOTE]
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