Artificer

Craftsmen, inventors, engineers–these words conjure the quintessential picture of a creator of new and amazing devices. However, nothing elicits a more iconic or powerful image of a true scientist and developer of technology than the artificer. An artificer is often viewed as the odd man out in a party–neither a front line combatant nor a powerful spellcaster. More akin to the rogue or alchemist in regards to their skill set, artificers support their allies through their knowledge of scientific theories, technological innovations, and engineering techniques. As a builder of gadgets and gear-driven contraptions, the artificer uses her knowledge of engineering, design, and metalworks to construct amazing devices of technological wonder. By using her artifice, the artificer can give a semblance of life to inanimate objects, craft powerful gearworks machines, and design marvelous gadgets that duplicate the effects of various spells. While artificers are best known for their wondrous creations, they are also experts at crafting mundane objects and transforming them into masterwork items, such as locks, traps, weapons and armor. Whether through artifice theories or scientific innovations, the artificer stands as a symbol of the new age magic of science, technology, and engineering.

Role: The artificer seeks to enhance the world around her through new technology, and is forever striving to develop the ultimate contraption. One of the artificer’s greatest inventions is her gearworks machine, a semi-sentient construct that can work alongside its master. The artificer is always looking for ways to improve her designs and gain greater knowledge of advanced technology and scientific theory. Thus, she travels the world in search of new experiences, greater understanding, and in turn, often aids her companions in ways hitherto deemed unimaginable.

Alignment: Any

Hit Dice: d8.

Class Skills

The artificer’s class abilities are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Fly (Dex), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth(Dex), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str) and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Ranks per Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Table: Artificer

Level	BAB	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Gadgets per Day
						1	2	3	4	5	6
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Artifice, crafter’s touch, expert crafter, theories	1	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Ingenuity, innovation, trapfinding	2	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Swift artifice, theories	3	-	-	-	-	-
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Gearworks machine, innovation	3	1	-	-	-	-
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Master craftsman	4	2	-	-	-	-
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Innovation	4	3	-	-	-	-
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Theories	4	3	1	-	-	-
8th	+4	+2	+2	+6	Innovation	4	4	2	-	-	-
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Journeyman’s touch	5	4	3	-	-	-
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Innovation	5	4	3	1	-	-
11th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Theories	5	4	4	2	-	-
12th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8	Innovation	5	5	4	3	-	-
13th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8		5	5	4	3	1	-
14th	+7/+2	+4	+4	+9	Innovation	5	5	4	4	2	-
15th	+7/+2	+5	+5	+9	Theories	5	5	5	4	3	-
16th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10	Innovation	5	5	5	4	3	1
17th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10	Master’s touch	5	5	5	4	4	2
18th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Innovation	5	5	5	5	4	3
19th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Theories	5	5	5	5	5	4
20th	+10/+5	+6	+6	+12	Grand theorem	5	5	5	5	5	5

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

The artificer is proficient with all simple weapons, light melee martial weapons, and with light armor.

Artifice (Su)

An artificer makes her mark upon the world with new theories and clever innovations. While some focus their creative energies on the mundane, others prefer to dabble in the realm of alchemical or even magical creations. Whatever their focus, all artificers have artifice. In game terms, artifice is a measure of an artificer’s cunning, creative energy, and skill in crafting amazing gadgets of wondrous power. At the start of each day, an artificer gains a number of artifice points equal to 1/2 her artificer level (minimum 1) + her Intelligence modifier. These artifice points refresh once per day when the artificer rests for at least 8 hours. An artificer also spend artifice points to apply theories (see below) as a standard action.

Crafter’s Touch (Su)

An artificer can repair damaged objects with a touch. This functions as the mending spell, except that the artificer repairs 1d4 points of damage per artificer level (maximum 10d4) and takes 1 minute of work. When used to heal her gearworks machine it instead repairs 1d6 points of damage per artificer level (max 10d6). Using this ability provokes attacks of opportunity. The artificer can use crafter’s touch a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Intelligence modifier.

Expert Crafter (Ex)

Artificers are not only masters of creating mundane alchemical substances such as alchemist’s fire and smokesticks, but also at fashioning mechanical traps and mundane items of every kind, including weapons and armor. When using the Craft skill to create an alchemist item or mundane item, an artificer gains a competence bonus equal to her class level on the Craft check. An artificer can use the appropriate Craft skill to identify magical items as if using detect magic. She must hold the item for 1 round to make such a check.

At 7th level, an artificer uses 1/10 the gp value of armor, shields, and weapons to determine how much time it takes to craft mundane items.

Gadgets (Ex)
An artificer uses her scientific know-how, ingenuity, and technological experimentation to create temporary gadgets that are both practical and ground-breaking. When created, most gadgets take the shape of a 3-inch geometric form called a modular device. Once activated, the device unfolds in a whirring clatter of tiny shifting plates until it transforms into its proper shape and size, ready for immediate use. Other gadgets take the form of a capsule (thrown or swallowed), field emitter (radiates a force field of energy), gauntlet or glove, goggles, ray gun (emits a ray of energy, high-intensity light, or sound), or some other mechanical device. Many of these gadgets duplicate the effects of various spells or magical items, but are mechanical in nature, employing gears, springs, pulleys, and so forth to create the desired effects. The time required for a gadget to transform into its fully functional form (it is ready to be used or take effect) is equal to the casting time of its equivalent spell. The artificer must have one hand free in order to manipulate and activate these gadgets, this can be done with her offhand or main hand.

An artificer can create only a certain number of gadgets of each level per day. Her base daily allotment of gadgets is given on Table: Artificer. In addition, she receives bonus gadgets per day if she has a high Intelligence score, in the same way a wizard receives bonus spells per day. When an artificer creates a gadget, she infuses the metals, gears, and mechanical parts in the gadget with her own artifice energy. A gadget immediately becomes inert (including its effect) if it leaves the artificer’s possession, reactivating as soon as it returns to her keeping—an artificer cannot normally pass out her gadgets for allies to use (but see the “share gadget” innovation below). A gadget, once created, remains potent for 1 day before becoming inert, so an artificer must re-prepare her gadgets every day. Creating a gadget takes 1 minute of work—most artificers prepare many gadgets at the start of the day or just before going on an adventure, but it’s not uncommon for an artificer to keep some (or even all) of her daily gadget slots open so that she can prepare gadgets in the field as needed.

Although the artificer doesn't cast spells, she does have a gadget list that determines what gadgets she can create. An artificer can utilize spell-trigger items if the spell’s equivalent gadget appears on her gadget list, but not spell-completion items (unless she uses Use Magic Device to do so). A gadget is activated by pressing a button, flipping a switch, or even tossing the gadget—the effects of a gadget exactly duplicate the spell upon which its gadget is based, save that some gadgets affect only the activating artificer. The artificer uses her level as the caster level to determine any effect based on caster level. Creating gadgets utilizes raw materials (scrap metal, gears, wire, etc.), but the cost of these materials is insignificant—comparable to the valueless material components of most spells. If an equivalent spell normally has a costly material component, that component is expended as an equal amount of gold pieces during the creation of that particular gadget. Gadgets that duplicate spell effects that have a focus requirement never have focus requirement. An artificer can prepare a gadget of any blueprint she knows.

To learn a blueprint or use a gadget, an artificer must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the gadget’s level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an artificer’s gadget is 10 + the gadget level + the artificer’s Intelligence modifier. An artificer may know any number of blueprints. She stores her blueprints in a special tome called a schematics book. She must refer to this book whenever she creates a gadget but not when she activates it. An artificer begins play with two 1st level gadget blueprints of her choice, plus a number of additional blueprints equal to her Intelligence modifier. At each new artificer level, she gains one new gadget blueprint of any level that she can create. An artificer can also add gadget blueprints to her book just like a wizard adds spells to her spellbook, using half the cost but twice the time requirements of the equivalent spell. An artificer can study a wizard’s spellbook or an alchemist’s formulae book to develop any gadget blueprint that is equivalent to a spell or formula the spellbook or formula book contains. A wizard or alchemist, however, cannot learn spells or extracts from a schematics book. An artificer does not need to decipher the arcane writings of an alchemist’s formulae before copying them, as they are based on mathematics and scientific formulas, but she must decipher the arcane writings contained in a wizard’s spellbook.

Schematics Book

An artificer doesn't’t cast spells. Instead, she constantly conceptualizes and designs all types of mechanisms, gadgets, and machines, many of which duplicate the effects of a various magical items. These gadgets and their blueprints are recorded in her schematics book. An artificer can create any gadget whose blueprint is recorded in her schematic book by studying it for 1 hour.

Theories
Artificer’s spend artifice points to act upon their hypotheses and apply new theories of artifice to their designs. Most theories allow the artificer to grant a temporary bonus or effect, while others provide longer-lasting benefits. Some theories stay in effect as long as the artificer has at least 1 artifice point. The following is the list of base artificer theories. An artificer can only apply a theory of her level or lower. Unless otherwise noted, a theory can be applied multiple successive times, as long as the appropriate amount of artifice is spent to utilize the theory.

List of Artificer Theories

Ingenuity (Ex)

Starting at 2nd level, an artificer’s knowledge, creativity, and intuition results in sudden bursts of inspiration. Once per day, whenever an artificer makes either a Craft check to create mundane and magical items or makes a single Use Magic Device check to activate a magical item, she can receive a +1 luck bonus to the check as an immediate action. This bonus increases by an additional +1 for every three levels beyond 2nd.

Innovation
As an artificer gains experience, she gains insight into new artifice techniques, methods of design, mechanics, and gadget construction. Starting at 2nd level, an artificer learns one innovation. She learns an additional innovation for every two levels of artificer attained after 2nd level, up to 18th level. Unless otherwise noted, an artificer cannot select an individual innovation more than once. Some innovations can only be made if the artificer has met certain prerequisites first, such as discovering other innovations. The DC of any saving throw called for by an innovation is equal to 10 + 1/2 the artificer’s level + the artificer’s Intelligence modifier.

List of Artificer Innovations

Trapfinding (Ex)

At 2nd level, an artificer adds half her level to all Disable Device skill checks (minimum +1) and Perception skill checks made to locate traps. An artificer can use Disable Device to disarm magic traps.

Swift Artifice (Ex)

At 3rd level, an artificer can create mundane items with astounding speed. It takes an artificer half the normal amount of time to create mundane and masterwork items. At 7th level, the material costs are now equal to 1/2 of the item’s sale value whenever the artificer creates a mundane item.

Gearworks Machine
At 4th level, after years of trial and error, an artificer has perfected the secrets of artifice, gadgetry, and gear-based technology, and how to combine them into a semblance of life. It is this mastery of artifice that allows her to construct a powerful automaton called a gearworks machine. All gearwork machines are treated as constructs, except that they are not “destroyed” until reduced to a number of negative hit points equal to or greater than their bonus hit points due to size (see Construct). This machine is constructed from spare gears and metal parts scrounged from the scrap heaps of blacksmiths and other metallurgists or artificers. Her starting machine is battered, and only she knows how to use or command it properly. All other creatures treat her gearworks machine as if it had the broken condition. If the machine already has the broken condition, it does not work at all for anyone else trying to use or command it. This starting machine can only be sold for scrap (it’s worth 4d10 + 200 gp when sold).

A gearwork machine resembles a 1-foot diameter metal sphere (modular device) that weighs 20 lbs. and can have a single function chosen from the gearworks machine page. This function can be changed by spending 1 week rebuilding the gearworks machine.

Master Craftsman (Ex)

At 5th level, an artificer gains Master Craftsman as a bonus feat. At 9th level, if the artificer has the Craft Construct feat, she can count ranks in her chosen skill as her caster level for the purposes of using the Craft Construct feat or her artificer level, whichever is higher.

Journeyman’s Touch (Su)

At 9th level, an artificer can use her crafter’s touch ability as a full-round action.

Master’s Touch (Su)

At 17th level, an artificer can use her crafter’s touch ability as a standard action, and no longer provokes attacks of opportunity.

Grand Theorem (Ex)
At 20th level, an artificer discovers a grand theorem. She immediately learns two normal innovations, but also designs and creates a grand device chosen from the list below, representing a truly astounding breakthrough of artifice and design. For many artificers, the promise of one of these grand theorems is the primary goal of their research and hard work. A grand device has an active and inert form, much like the artificer’s gearworks machine. When in its inert state, an artificer’s grand device takes the form of a 6-inch metal cube or sphere that weighs 10 lbs. Once created, the device persists. An artificer can only have one grand deice created at a time.

List of Artificer Theories
*Grand Theorems are at the bottom of the page*