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Explosions are typical ofDungeons & Dragons' artificer class, but none more than the Artillerist. As this artificer subclass, you specialize in all things that go boom, creating a magical cannon and learning direct damage spells that torch, burn, incinerate, and otherwise remove enemies from the board.
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The key to the Artillerist is the Eldritch Cannon, a device that will become the center of your world and your damage output. You’ll learn to love the cannon, and if you treat it right, it’ll learn to love you back. If you’re the kind of person to put names on artillery shells, then the Artillerist is the right subclass for you.
Artillerist Artificer Features
Being an Artillerist is all about hurling damaging magic and creating massive explosions among your enemies. At level three, you start to learn a collection ofArtillerist spellsdetailed in the table below. You also gain proficiency in woodcarver’s tools and create your new best friend: theEldritch Cannon.
The Eldritch Cannon comes in three different forms.Flamethrowerdeals 2d8 fire damage to creatures that fail their Dexterity save within a 15-foot cone.Force Ballistadeals 2d8 force damage out to 120 feet and pushes creatures five feet away.Protectordoesn’t deal damage but instead provides 1d8 plus your Intelligence modifier in temporary hitpoints to each creature within 10 feet.
Activating the Eldritch Cannon takes your bonus action, so expect that activation to monopolize your bonus actions from level three onward.
Your Eldritch Cannon has limited hit points and can be destroyed, but it can also be healed with the Mending spell. It can also move 15 feet per turn if youmake it large enough to have legs, or you canmake a teeny-tiny cannon that you can carry in the palm of your hand.
At level five,Arcane Firearmlets you turn any wand, staff, or rod into your spellcasting focus and adds 1d8 to the damage roll of any spell cast using it.
At level nine,Explosive Cannonadds another 1d8 to your Eldritch Cannon’s damage rolls and gives you the option of detonating the cannon to deal 3d8 force damage to every creature within 20 feet.
Finally, at level 15,Fortified Positionprovides your allies with half cover if they’re within 10 feet of an Eldritch Cannon and lets you create two Eldritch Cannons at once. you’re able to also fire both cannons using the same bonus action, essentially doubling your Cannon’s damage output.
13th Level
17th Level
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Best Species For An Artillerist Artificer
Anyone can make things go boom, but there are a few species that lend themselves to the artificer lifestyle.Here are a few suggestionsfor your Artillerist character.
Autognome
You’ll eventually be able to do better with medium armor thanArmored Casing, butBuilt for Successis extremely good and Healing Machine lets youheal yourself with Mending(a cantrip you should definitely have to heal your Eldritch Cannon).Mechanical Natureprovides useful resistances, andnot needing to sleepis cool too.
Centaur
Equine Buildlets you place your Eldritch Cannon on a cart and carry it around with you as fast as your40-foot movement speedcan take you. You won’t get much use out of yourHooves, butNatural Affinityprovides a useful skill proficiency.
Elf
Take thehigh elfsubspecies and start with anextra cantrip. Or godrowand get a fewextra spells, most notably Mage Hand. Either way,perception proficiency,charm resistance, andDarkvisionare all nice bonuses.
Half-Elf
If you go high half-elf or drow half-elf, you’remostly getting the same benefits as just going elf. Standard half-elf getstwo skill proficienciesif you don’t care about having extra magic.
Human
Variant humancan start with afree feat, which should probably be Magic Initiate for extra cantrips. Otherwise, a bunch of ability score increases and a skill proficiency is nice too.
Goblin
Fury of the Smalladds to your damage. Your Eldritch Cannon is likely to be your first option for your bonus actions, butNimble Escapeis there for when large explosions aren’t the right play.Charm resistanceandDarkvisionare also nice to have too.
Kobold
Draconic Cryisn’t likely to be of much use, butDraconic Sorcerygives you an extra cantrip, andDarkvisionis always good to have.
Owlin
you’re able to’tflywith medium armor, but you can still rain death from above in light armor.Darkvisionandstealth proficiencyprovide sneaky options.
Thri-Kreen
If you make a tiny Eldritch Cannon, you can hold it in yourSecondary Armsand keep your main arms free to hold your Arcane Firearm.Chameleon Carapaceprovides some advantages to stealth checks, andtelepathyis a powerful way to remain inconspicuous, although your cannon sort of precludes that.
Tiefling
Unlike owlin, variant tiefling lets youfly with medium armor. That might be good enough on its own, but if not, there are a number of other tieflings that providetons of spell options. You also getDarkvisionand anelemental resistance.
Warforged
Add+1 AC, askillandtool proficiency, andnever need to worry aboutpoison,disease,eating, orsleepingagain. Pretty good for an artificer.
Best Ability Scores For An Artillerist Artificer
Themost important ability scorefor an Artillerist artificeris Intelligence. All your spells are based on your Intelligence modifier, and your Arcane Firearm only improves your spell damage, so casting spells should be your main focus.
If your campaign allows firearms, you could boost Dexterity and rely more on a combination of your gun and your Eldritch Cannon, but then you’d lose a lot of your spell’s efficacy. If your campaign doesn’t allow firearms, then there’s no reason to use anything but magic.
Constitutionis your second most important ability score as it helps improve your hit point total and lets you keep concentrating on certain spells.Dexteritycan help with your armor class and saving throws, but that’s about it.
Strength,Wisdom, andCharisma can all be safely ignored.
If you’re using D&D’s point buy system,a good starting ability score spreadmight look something like this:
8(0)
14(+2)
16(+3)
10(0)
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Best Starting Equipment For An Artillerist Artificer
you’re able to start withtwo simple weaponsof your choice and alight crossbowwith 20 bolts. Technically, the light crossbow will out-damage a cantrip like Fire Bolt, so feel free to use it for a while, but you’re not likely to get much value out of the two simple weapons sinceyou’re going to want to stay far away from enemies.
Studded leatherorscale mailis your choice of armor. If you have 16 Dexterity, pick the studded leather. Otherwise, pick the scale mail.
Thieve’s toolsget you started with your tinkering, and adungeoneer’s packprovides you with everything you need to start adventuring.
Best Artillerist Artificer Spells
Besides your Eldritch Cannon, your spells are your most important features as an artificer. You get a few damage-dealing spells as part of your subclass, but you get to learn a few more on your own.Here are a few suggested spells to learnas you level up.
