Delcan
2010-01-10, 03:36 AM
A player in my gaming group is playing an artificer, and we're level 19 at the moment; he's gone through what available artificer-flavored epic destinies there are, and is unsatisfied with the choices. After some collaboration with the group, we're come up with the epic destiny homebrew below, but I'd like to submit it to the community to see what is thought of it. Flavor text has been mostly ignored, since as the first Legendary Artisan, the character would essentially be making the flavor text through gameplay. What I'm most concerned with is balance - I'm not sure if the capstone feature and level 21 feature are overpowered, underpowered, or just right.
LEGENDARY ARTISAN
Creation is the ultimate truth, and the ultimate goal of all sentient beings. It is your everlasting destiny to give your visions reality.
Prerequisites: 21st level, artificer
(Flavor text goes here. The legendary artisan takes the act of creation to a preternatural level, seeking out their inspiration in the fundamental workings of the universe. They identify with their creations as they would their own flesh, and begin to take a flexible view of life. After all, the body - much like a tool, or a work of art - may be destroyed, but things can still be created to replace, or improve on, the original.)
Immortality: (Flavor text goes here. Plenty of room to strike out as a crafter of worlds.)
Legendary Artisan Features:
Fire of Creation (21st level): Your Constitution score increases by 2, and you gain fire resistance 20 and lightning resistance 20. When crafting a magical item, the cost of creating the item is reduced by half. (Disenchanted items still yield 20% of their base item cost.)
(Not sure about the lightning resistance. It's been recommended by one person in the group that I either keep the item discount or the resistances, but not both; I suggested compromising by removing the lightning resistance, since it's more mad scientist-y than artificer-y.)
-----
Life's Work (24th level): Once per day, when you die, your spirit flees from your body and enters any magical item currently being used by one of your allies within 20 squares. While within an item, you may not be the target of any attack.
As long as the item is equipped by a creature, until the end of the encounter, you may act through the item as if you occupied the same square or squares as its bearer. On your turn you may use a minor or a standard action, and may not use move actions. You may make attacks and use powers through the item as if it were an artificer implement with a +6 enhancement bonus. If you are occupying a weapon, you may use that weapon for powers with the weapon keyword as if you were wielding it; if the item is an artificer implement, you use the item's enhancement bonus instead. In addition, you may use the item's powers as if you had the item equipped; if the item power used is a daily or encounter power, that power does not count as expended for the actual bearer. (Use of a daily item power still counts as one of your item power uses for the day.)
At the end of the encounter, after a short rest, your spirit returns to your body if it is still present. You return to life with 1 hit point. If your body is missing, you will need other magic to return to life.
(Stolen whole-cloth from the Arcane Sword epic destiny, just slightly changed for an artificer.)
-----
Unfettered Artifice * Utility 26
Freed from the boundaries of mind, your inspired impulse sparks from ally to ally as their spent magical tools hum with power.
Daily * Arcane
Standard Action * Close burst 10
Target: You and each ally in burst
Effect: Each target regains a daily item power use for the day, and recovers the use of one expended daily item power of their choice.
(Seems on target with things like the Legendary General's "everybody recharge a daily power!" power.)
-----
Equivalent Exchange (30th level): You may transmute any magic item into a magic item of equivalent level or lower. Doing so requires five minutes spent working the item's physical and magical shape into its new form. If the item had a daily power before any transmutation, and that power was expended, any daily power it has in its new form is still expended.
(Yeah, this is the one I'm worried about. Free item swapping has the potential to be truly broken. But hey, it's 30th level, it's supposed to be broken, right?)
LEGENDARY ARTISAN
Creation is the ultimate truth, and the ultimate goal of all sentient beings. It is your everlasting destiny to give your visions reality.
Prerequisites: 21st level, artificer
(Flavor text goes here. The legendary artisan takes the act of creation to a preternatural level, seeking out their inspiration in the fundamental workings of the universe. They identify with their creations as they would their own flesh, and begin to take a flexible view of life. After all, the body - much like a tool, or a work of art - may be destroyed, but things can still be created to replace, or improve on, the original.)
Immortality: (Flavor text goes here. Plenty of room to strike out as a crafter of worlds.)
Legendary Artisan Features:
Fire of Creation (21st level): Your Constitution score increases by 2, and you gain fire resistance 20 and lightning resistance 20. When crafting a magical item, the cost of creating the item is reduced by half. (Disenchanted items still yield 20% of their base item cost.)
(Not sure about the lightning resistance. It's been recommended by one person in the group that I either keep the item discount or the resistances, but not both; I suggested compromising by removing the lightning resistance, since it's more mad scientist-y than artificer-y.)
-----
Life's Work (24th level): Once per day, when you die, your spirit flees from your body and enters any magical item currently being used by one of your allies within 20 squares. While within an item, you may not be the target of any attack.
As long as the item is equipped by a creature, until the end of the encounter, you may act through the item as if you occupied the same square or squares as its bearer. On your turn you may use a minor or a standard action, and may not use move actions. You may make attacks and use powers through the item as if it were an artificer implement with a +6 enhancement bonus. If you are occupying a weapon, you may use that weapon for powers with the weapon keyword as if you were wielding it; if the item is an artificer implement, you use the item's enhancement bonus instead. In addition, you may use the item's powers as if you had the item equipped; if the item power used is a daily or encounter power, that power does not count as expended for the actual bearer. (Use of a daily item power still counts as one of your item power uses for the day.)
At the end of the encounter, after a short rest, your spirit returns to your body if it is still present. You return to life with 1 hit point. If your body is missing, you will need other magic to return to life.
(Stolen whole-cloth from the Arcane Sword epic destiny, just slightly changed for an artificer.)
-----
Unfettered Artifice * Utility 26
Freed from the boundaries of mind, your inspired impulse sparks from ally to ally as their spent magical tools hum with power.
Daily * Arcane
Standard Action * Close burst 10
Target: You and each ally in burst
Effect: Each target regains a daily item power use for the day, and recovers the use of one expended daily item power of their choice.
(Seems on target with things like the Legendary General's "everybody recharge a daily power!" power.)
-----
Equivalent Exchange (30th level): You may transmute any magic item into a magic item of equivalent level or lower. Doing so requires five minutes spent working the item's physical and magical shape into its new form. If the item had a daily power before any transmutation, and that power was expended, any daily power it has in its new form is still expended.
(Yeah, this is the one I'm worried about. Free item swapping has the potential to be truly broken. But hey, it's 30th level, it's supposed to be broken, right?)