Feats for an Artificer

[bue52]

I'm having trouble deciding the feats for my Artificer, its my first Eberron campaign, so I am not too sure what to expect, I would like some pointers too, if you have any advice, please do tell me. Thank you for reading this thread.

Oh and if there is a need, my stats are.
STR:9
DEX:14
CON:14
INT:14
WIS:11
CHA:18

[RebelRogue]

I'm not claiming to be an expert, but to me, it looks like Skill Focus (Use Magic Device) is a good choice, since Artificers have so many uses for it.

[bue52]

Oh wait, I've forgotten to add that I'm using a level 5 human.

[Iku Rex]

Feats depend on what you want to accomplish with the character.

From a crafting point of view:

Extraordinary Artisan is a safe pick. Legendary Artisan isn't too bad either.

Skill Focus (Use Magic Device) is iffy since it will eventually become useless. You may need it to craft safely though. (Don't forget the skill enhancement infusion.) Ask if you can use the retraining rules from PHBII to get a different feat later.

Craft Construct can be powerful as well as flavorful.

(By the way: Your Int is more important than your Cha.)

[bue52]

Feats depend on what you want to accomplish with the character.

From a crafting point of view:

Extraordinary Artisan is a safe pick. Legendary Artisan isn't too bad either.

Skill Focus (Use Magic Device) is iffy since it will eventually become useless. You may need it to craft safely though. (Don't forget the skill enhancement infusion.) Ask if you can use the retraining rules from PHBII to get a different feat later.

Craft Construct can be powerful as well as flavorful.

(By the way: Your Int is more important than your Cha.)
Hmmm ok thanks, and I placed my stats on what the Eberron Campaign Guide said was important, so I guess I'll switch it then. Oh and what about combat-wise? Is there anything I should look out for?

[Emperor Tippy]

Hmmm ok thanks, and I placed my stats on what the Eberron Campaign Guide said was important, so I guess I'll switch it then. Oh and what about combat-wise? Is there anything I should look out for?

That's what the craft construct feat is for :smallbiggrin:

Craft yourself a Shadesteel Golem (MM 3), use the feat Rudimentary Intelligence (dragon #327) too give it an Int score (equal to half your CL), and get a permanent telepathic bond cast between the two of you. You can even use your infusions on it.

[bosssmiley]

If your GM's a stickler you might want to look at the feats in the ECS that provide 25% discounts to the gold, XP and time costs of item creation. Artificer's Handbook (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=520855) has a section on feat selection.

(seriously, the Artificer is abusable enough as written that feat choice is the icing, not the cake)

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Snag the 3 -25% feats and plan on support during combat. Get (Eternal) Wands of buff spells to make the party effective. Haste, the +4 stat spells, Enlarge Person, etc, and your party will crush anything. Snag a Wand of Lesser Vigor to relieve strain on the Cleric and you'll be good.

[bue52]

oooo ok thanks. I think My DM wouldn't mind the feats you guys suggested, so thanks for the help :smallsmile:. Though any other suggestion would be cool too, seeing that I have 4 feats. Would Improved initiative be good?

[Iku Rex]

Oh and what about combat-wise? Is there anything I should look out for?Combat depends on which role you play in the party. (Such as "wand blaster", "party buffer", "construct master", "melee" or "ranged".)

But one general rule is to cast buffs in advance. When you suspect the party is about to enter a dangerous situation, tell the DM that you stop and spend a little time preparing yourself and maybe party members with infusions. 1 hour/level or 10 min/level infusions can easily last an entire "dungeon" if the party doesn't waste time. Even 1 min/level infusions can get you through several battles.

Sometimes this tactic backfires, and the durations run out without anything happening. Not very often though.

Oh, and remember to buy components for some of the better infusions. Lesser Weapon Augmentation (bane) is very good if you're facing many opponents of the same type. (Personal Weapon Augmentation can be used on your own weapon.)

[Iku Rex]

Craft yourself a Shadesteel Golem (MM 3), use the feat Rudimentary Intelligence (dragon #327) too give it an Int score (equal to half your CL), and get a permanent telepathic bond cast between the two of you. You can even use your infusions on it.Caster level 17. 70 000 gp. I think not. :smallsmile:

[Project_Mayhem]

Oh, and remember to buy components for some of the better infusions. Lesser Weapon Augmentation (bane) is very good if you're facing many opponents of the same type. (Personal Weapon Augmentation can be used on your own weapon.)

OK, I admit I tend to abuse this, but is it really RAI? You get enough Action Points that you can fast infuse this for yourself in almost every big fight. I really don't see why you'd really use any other weapon enchantment.

[Emperor Tippy]

Caster level 17. 70 000 gp. I think not. :smallsmile:

Well you can start with a nice little flesh golem and work your way up. Golems are technically items and you can just reabsorb the XP as you go up in levels. Besides you should be hitting CL 17 at around level 10. :smalltongue:

[Duke of URL]

Feats for an artificer? Really only two things you should look for:

1) Item creation feats you do not get automatically; most of these are mentioned upthread, such as Craft Construct and the Artisan feats to reduce time and cost

2) Metamgaic feats, including feats to reduce metamagic costs. Part of the Artificer's power comes from abusing metamagic with wands and such. Embrace the dark side...

Skill Focus(UMD) is okay at low levels, but really only take it if you are allowed to retrain later, otherwise it's a complete waste of a feat.

Also agree that INT is important, especially in the long run; UMD checks will become automatic once you get up into moderate levels even with an "OK" charisma, and that's really the only thing you'll use CHA for anyway. A higher INT means more infusions, and that is more important than piling on an already high UMD score.

And speaking of infusions, the 3rd level infusion Metamagic Item is really, really good. Power Surge (another 3rd level invocation) is nice, too, if your DM will let you use your crafting reserve to power it.

[bue52]

Thanks guys, I'm thinking of taking up

Extraordinary Artisan
Legendary Artisan
Action Boost
Rapid Infusion

as my 4 feats, thinking of creating homunculi to do most of the attacking, and one I reach level 6, gain the Improved homunculi to help me out. I'd probably make PACKMATEs and PERSISTENT HARRIERs to help me with my item storage and do some combat support. Is there any major dangers or weakness with this idea? Please so point out.

[Emperor Tippy]

You need craft construct to make a homunculi.

[bue52]

Eh but this is what is said in the Eberron Campaign Setting guide!


At 4th level, an artificer can create a homunculus as if he had the Craft Construct feat.

Unless they errata it.

[RebelRogue]

2) Metamgaic feats, including feats to reduce metamagic costs. Part of the Artificer's power comes from abusing metamagic with wands and such.
You cannot metamagic a spell cast from a wand. You can create the wand with the metamagic'ed spell, but the effective spell level must stil be four or less.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

You cannot metamagic a spell cast from a wand. You can create the wand with the metamagic'ed spell, but the effective spell level must stil be four or less.There's a (feat? Class Feature of the Artificer?) that lets you burn additional charges to meta wands.

[Drascin]

You cannot metamagic a spell cast from a wand. You can create the wand with the metamagic'ed spell, but the effective spell level must stil be four or less.

The point is that the Artificer has Metamagic Spell Trigger, which does allow him to metamagic a spell cast from a wand. That is one of its better tricks.

[bue52]

I have another query, what is this Bane infusion that people are suggesting I should take, I couldn't find it in the Eberron Guide, can someone tell me where it is from?

[Project_Mayhem]

I have another query, what is this Bane infusion that people are suggesting I should take, I couldn't find it in the Eberron Guide, can someone tell me where it is from?

The infusions 'lesser/personal weapon augmentation' allow you to give a weapon a +1 equivilant special ability for a short time, such as the ones in the DMG (Flaming, throwing etc.)

Bane is a DMG weapon enchantment, that gives +2 to hit, and +2d6 damage against a certain creature type (i.e. humanoid, elf) . It's normally balanced as a +1 enchantment because it's situational. However, it might be a bit overpowered when you can choose depending on the situation.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

I have another query, what is this Bane infusion that people are suggesting I should take, I couldn't find it in the Eberron Guide, can someone tell me where it is from?Bane is a +1 enhancement. One of the Infusions gives a free +1 enhancement. Bane is usually the best one.

Edit:Bane gives +2d6 damage and increases the enhancement bonus by 2.

[Duke of URL]

You cannot metamagic a spell cast from a wand. You can create the wand with the metamagic'ed spell, but the effective spell level must stil be four or less.

The hell you can't. It's the most abusable feature of Artificers -- metamagic spell trigger class ability and Metamagic Item infusion (Artificer 3). Either one lets you apply any metamagic you know to the item in question, though the first one costs extra charges to do so.

[Project_Mayhem]

Bane is a +1 enhancement. One of the Infusions gives a free +1 enhancement. Bane is usually the best one

There's the one thats essentialy bane (anything with spellcasting/ spell like abilities) too. Thats normally quite usefull.

[bue52]

Oh ok, its the Core DMG right? Ok, then, I'll take a look.

[ocato]

A couple hints from someone who just played his first Artificer not too long ago.

Get a good crossbow. Crossbows will save you time, money, and heartache. They will be your boomstick and sometimes the only reason you don't chew through wand charges like a man possessed. My game allowed a flaw and gave us a bonus feat, so I dropped a feat for Heavy Repeater. Point Blank Shot has the lovely use of also helping with wands (as does attune magic weapon if your DM allows it to work for attack spell wands, might be dodgy but worth asking.) You can make some cheap goggles from the MiC that negate cover (including the soft cover granted by an enemy in melee), making precise shot a feat waste. Remember, bucklers do not interfere with crossbow firings and are infusable, making them a cheap way to add a few points of AC.

Infusions are great, but you gotta know when to use them properly. For example, you can infuse your armor and buckler with Magic Vestment for a reasonable bonus. I suggest just getting (or making) masterwork versions of all your gear and infusing it as necessary. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Gee ocato, why not use the infusion that grants a +5 bonus instead?" Well, there are two reasons: Duration and Stackability. Magic Vestments lasts longer, as I recall. Also, if you do it right, they stack. Magic Vestments gives an armor enhancement bonus based on your level. At L5 you might just be scraping into +2, I can't honestly recall. Then throw your armor infusion on top of that to get a grunch of extras like Aporter (grants dimension door), greater blurring, axe/spear/hammerblock (DR vs slash/pierce/bludgeon), or anything else that seems useful. If you have the Magic Item Compendium (MiC), you can find a gross of stuff that'll help you on your way.

The same stratagem can be applied to your weapon. Why Infuse it for +3 when you can give it +2 with Greater Magic item and then infuse shock flaming Xbane on top of that. (Note: If you take Attune Magic Weapon, your DM may rule that a masterwork crossbow infused to be magical doesn't qualify. While this is interpretation is probably open for debate, avoid a table-war and just get a +1 crossbow instead of fighting with him. If he's okay with it applying when the item is infused or you didn't take attune magic weapon, then follow your armor's lead and get a masterwork item.)

In my experience (and the experience of those I read about in my own research), DMs get bored/tired/uninterested in keeping track of the time it takes to make an item. Sometimes they handwave it, sometimes they won't let you hang out for 10 days between adventures to make something. For these reasons, I'd ditch the 25% faster crafting feat. The less XP and Gold ones are great, but time is either not addressed or you'll be screwed out of it regardless of how fast you craft. A great way to get around that is to get a Dedicated Wright Homunculi (EbCS) and the biggest extradimensional space you can afford (bag of holding might not work, portable hole is ideal). Toss him in there with a workshop and seal it up. Then, check on it a few days later and DING! Fries Magics are done. Very useful. I also suggest putting ranks in Craft (any and everything you can spare the skill points for). Alchemy, Metalworking/blacksmithing, gem cutting, woodworking, anything you can. Then, whenever you make something, ask the DM if you can add a craft roll to cheapen the base price. Presumably it'd be cheaper to make a magical sword if you knew how to take steel and fire and bits of string to make the sword yourself. Craft Alchemy might even let you make your infusion oils if the DM lets you (not to mention alchemist's fire).

If you want to be a wand-zilla artificer (often called a Blastificer) then take feats to up your wanding. Wand Mastery is great (even if you aren't a blastificer, consider this) as well as any metamagic that helps the team. Quicken, Chain, Maximize, Empower, Twin, etc, are all great. Some Artificers go with Double Wand Wielder and fire off a half billion rays a round. Of course, their wands dry up pretty fast too, so take that into consideration.

[Iku Rex]

You can make some cheap goggles from the MiC that negate cover (including the soft cover granted by an enemy in melee), making precise shot a feat waste. (The penalty for firing into melee is separate from the cover bonus to AC. You need precise shot or the Precise [+1, MIC] weapon ability to fire into melee without penalty, goggles or no goggles.)

[bue52]

Thanks guys, though I found that the most troublesome thing about the Artificer is cost calculation, do homunculi benefit from the gp reduction feat too?

[Iku Rex]

Thanks guys, though I found that the most troublesome thing about the Artificer is cost calculation, do homunculi benefit from the gp reduction feat too?Yes.

(Though arguably the small sum you have to pay for "materials" is not part of the creation cost for the purpose of the feat. That is, if you build a 1HD dedicated wright you pay 100 gp [fixed materials cost] + 1500 [cost to create*0.75] = 1600 gp . Normal price would be 2100 gp.)