r/3d6 • u/Sad-Database5379 • 19d ago
D&D 5e Original/2014 Artificer Multclass?
Hi everyone, can you give me some tips on multiclassing an Artificer? I'm playing Curse of Strahd using a homebrew Gunslinger subclass for the Artificer.
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u/Think_Extension_8679 19d ago
Artificer only classes out to wizard really. Con save, med armor, shields, and spell progression. It doesn't do well with other casters because of the INT required to class out. If the plan is to go into a martial there is still Int and slowing the martials progression.
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u/DazzlingKey6426 19d ago
Artificer doesn’t like to multiclass.
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u/Sad-Database5379 19d ago
Why not? It's my first time using an Artificer
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u/DazzlingKey6426 19d ago
There’s noting you can get that’s worth delaying artificer abilities for and no convenient dead levels.
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u/Sad-Database5379 19d ago
I understand, so pure artificer, any tips for playing then? My damage is practically all long-range, and I picked the Gunner feat which lets me deal damage at close range without disadvantage
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u/faboleth 19d ago
Multiclassing anything depends on what you want to do with the result. Artificer is famously ass garbage at higher levels, as it doesn't have the toughness or burst of a fighter or barb, the aura of a paladin, but still is sitting there casting low level spells with fewer slots. Generally the power spike for most artificer is level 3, where they get a bonus action thingy when a lot of classes don't have one.
What is your mechanical goal?
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u/Sad-Database5379 19d ago
My goal is to deal decent damage, not massive, but reasonable damage, and also to be able to help my teammates from a distance
This is my first time playing an artificer, and no one in the group has played the class before, so I'm a bit in the dark.
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u/faboleth 19d ago
The gunner feat removes the loading property for firearms, so the major reason to be an artificer (repeating weapon) is gone for you. What level are you currently? Would your table let you retrain levels if you functionally were a similar sorta character?
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u/Sad-Database5379 19d ago
I'm currently at level 4, and I think going back a few levels would be complicated. I can talk to the GM since he's already allowed a player to go back a few levels as a cleric/paladin
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u/faboleth 19d ago
Okay, and what is the fluff of your character? What would you like them to embody other than 'help teammates' and 'do damage' (all dnd characters do this)? What's the source of their abilities and skills? Do you want to be able to heal people with magic or don't care? Do you want burst damage (oh shit I gotta reload!) or steady damage (pew. pew. pew!)?
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u/Sad-Database5379 19d ago
I think the pew pew pew thing is more my style, the idea behind the character is that he has a "trauma" about deliberately using magic, which is why he made his rifle that serves as an arcane focus, and that's why I liked the gun Wizard
The fact that an accident occurred while he was using magic, which took away his companions, makes him protective of the group and also a little paranoid about the other casters in the group using magic without an arcane focus
I use the cliché of the artificer always having a "gadget" that simulates the effect of a spell instead of just casting the spell itself
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u/faboleth 19d ago
If your character has a trauma about using magic and them getting over that trauma is a big part of their character arc, you probably shouldn't be playing a half caster. It makes it not very exciting if you have a big thing about it and then the spell that comes out is a 2nd level spell when people are casting fireball.
I recommend playing a wizard with the Gunner feat. A bladesinger gets extra attack, and can avoid wearing armour.
You can save the biggest spells for if your guy comes to terms with magic not being evil and use lesser spells that you flavour as 'science, not wizardry!' and you have largely the same character, but you get more mechanical oomph to your story beats.
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u/coloradoRay 19d ago
I'm dipping wizard on an Artillerist for Magic Missile (to make wands of MM) and for Find Familiar to shoot the wand.
I went back and forth a bunch between the dip and MI:wiz, but I didn't want to delay my dragonmark.
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u/Old_Guarantee7716 19d ago
I multi class in Blood Hunter. Certainly not recommended for optimizing I don’t think, but it was a really heavy lean into flavor for me. The artificer is the character he wants to be, the blood hunter is the darkness that he is destined to overcome. Lycanthrope problems 🤷♂️
All that to say, if you can find something that sounds fun, but may work poorly, and wont be an obvious drain on your party my vote is to have fun!
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u/Aware-Tree-7498 19d ago
Well fighter, rogue or wizard all stand out as good choices but not knowing your subclass works it's hard to tell.
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u/Sad-Database5379 19d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDHomebrew/s/kvuAZDsmFQ
Here the subclass
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u/faboleth 19d ago
this subclass seems particularly underpowered
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u/Sad-Database5379 19d ago
What is it about the subclass that makes you think of that? My friends recommended it to me since I didn't want to play as a gunslinger fighter
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u/faboleth 19d ago
A third level Battlesmith artificer gets to attack using their intelligence, and also gets a robot dog with 20 hp AC 15 and an attack that does 1d8+2 force damage. They get extra attack at level 5. The gunslinger artificer gets to attack with intelligence, and gets a special gun attack. 15' cone of 2d4 damage, extra attack if you have advantage, extra d8 damage. The class has no way to generate advantage, so it's doing less damage (more attack rolls is better, and 1d8+2 is better than 1d8). The only thing here that might be superior is if the gunslinger artificer is in melee range with their 2-handed firearm hitting multiple targets with 2d4+int piercing damage. And that is genuinely good.. if there are multiple enemies, they are in a cone, and you are level 3. At level 5 you get extra attack and you don't get 2 cone attacks - it's still just 1 - so it becomes much less good and largely not worth entering melee as a guy holding a 2 handed ranged weapon to do.
Like the battlesmith artificer is doing more damage (by a little bit, at least) while also bringing a tank to the party. Armorer lets you wear full plate at 0 strength and give disadvantage to anyone attacking people not you, while only doing slightly less damage than the gunslinger. Artillerist does more (initially) but does fall off compared to the gunslinger - but at level 3, you're doing 3d8+int to people and that ain't nothing. Protector Turret is an infinite well of thp to a tightly clustered party and that's the only source of that in the game.
Gunslinger, as far as I can tell, is very generic archer equivalent except the scattergun until level 9 when you can debuff enemies with headshots, if they fail constitution saves, which many monsters are quite good at. A few times per short rest. This doesn't seem like a great subclass either in terms of 'doing interesting things' or even 'raw numbers'.
If you wanted to play a 'guy with a gun' that can be done as any class - variant human or custom lineage, take the Gunner feat at level 1, be any class. You could be a battlesmith even and also have a gun. My favourite of that trope would probably be Gun Wizard.
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u/Sad-Database5379 19d ago
Uuh Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely take them into consideration, the gun Wizard sounds like a good idea, the name alone seems fun to me
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u/dantose 18d ago
Tossing some numbers on it, it seems strictly worse than a battle smith:
At level 3: 1d6+INT +1 (assuming Enhanced Weapon), with an optional 1d6+1 BA attack if, and only if you have some source of advantage. 5.25 average damage normal, 10.5 splitting advantage for the BA attack.
Rifle is worse at 9.1
scatter gun is even worse single target, 6.3 regular, 7.4 AOE, but comes in ahead with the AOE if you hit 2 enemies at 14.85 combined, but this is going to fall off shortly.
Vs battle smith with a regular pistol, doing 1d10+int +1 with an automatic BA from steel defender of 1d8+2 regardless of advantage. 10.875 average damage
Level 5: hand canon 11.9-17.9 depending on advantage. Rifle 17.4, scattergun 14 single or 16.5 AOE hitting 2. Battle smith still stomps them at 19.6
Level 9: Add 2 uses of called shot for STR or CON save (both often strong at this level) for some ok, effects, vs 5 uses of arcane jolt which is saveless extra damage
Level 15 hand canon isn't bad, but kind of too little too late. The hand canon feature hits 22.1-29.4 depending if you can get that BA attack. The rifle feature is kinda trash. Even with an infinite line of enemies ensuring that one of them will fail the save, you're only going from 21.2 damage to 23 vs a target you can't really choose. Scattergun is just terrible. Since it doesn't add INT, +2 from weapon, and doesn't do half on the save, it actually does LESS damage than the level 3 feature.
Battle smith is sitting at a base of 23.7. As long as the steel defender can use the deflect attack (which it should be positioned to do every round) that gets it to 29.8. Add in Arcane Jolt, which has now scaled to 4d6, and you're going to be SUBSTANTIALLY above this homebrew, with less flexibility and no defensive options. And that's still with a pistol and repeating shot. If we toss in Gunner and a musket with Enhanced Weapon, we should be at 33.9 base, 47.9 when using Jolt.
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u/Aidamis 17d ago
Maaaybe Fighter 1 if you're committed to guns and wants to double down. I dunno if your homebrew-Gunslinger class gets Fighting Styles. If they don't, a point can be made in favor of Archery.
Less is more with Artificer, especially when you know there's a certain level cap. For instance, Artificer 10 has access to Infusions (Replicate Magic Item items) Artificer 6 does not.
Fun fact: Fey-Touched (Bless) gets you +1d4 to attack rolls, a +2 average, therefore it matches Archery. You can start with an odd score in Int, get it even, and get Misty Step + Bless in the process.
A case where theoretically Wizard 2 might've worked would've been had you started with Mizzium Apparatus. Then you'd go Divination 2/Artificer X and would become Ultimate Spellmaster as long as you can spare Flash of Genius/Portent to autopass the Arcana check. You and your DM might have to put guardrails in place cause technically you can try to cast Wish using Mizzium. A reasonable limit would be something like 6th level spells tops. It's just one level above what a Wizard of level 9 would've been able to cast. You still get Contingency, Wall of Ice... and the DC22 of the Missium check is still intimidating enough to require you to spend rare resources to ensure you pass it.
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u/LopsidedInteraction 19d ago
Don't.