D&D 5.5E’s First ‘Unearthed Arcana’ Is An Updated Artificer – Including Some Nerfs

WotC gave us all an early Christmas present in the form of an Artificer Unearthed Arcana that updates the class to the 5.5E ruleset.

Just in time for the holiday break, WotC has unveiled a new Unearthed Arcana featuring the Artificer. In the Artificer Unearthed Arcana we get a look at how the class may play in the new ruleset.

But is this a case of “first draft, big changes coming,” as we saw with some of the Cleric/Warlock Unearthed Arcana playtests? Or are we going to get what we get and like it, as we did with some of the more maligned changes to the Rogue that people were hoping would change?

Time alone – and your response to feedback surveys – will tell. But you can download the PDF of the updated class right now and go to town. Let’s check it out.

Artificer Unearthed Arcana – Could It Be?

Accompanying the new write-up is a lengthy video that takes a deep dive into what the devs were thinking (or what they weren’t thinking) when they revised the class. There are a few substantive changes, but by and large, I’d say the class still plays mostly the way it did in the older edition. If you’re familiar with Artificers, the wheel hasn’t been reinvented here the way that it was with the Monk.

But Artificers get some pretty nice quality-of-life updates in the new Unearthed Arcana. Along with a couple of nerfs that, in my opinion, weren’t necessary.

First things first, though, overall, the Artificer is still a half-caster in line with Paladins and Rangers. Like those classes, Artificers are spellcasters, sure. But their primary focus is doing other stuff with spellcasting as part of their kit.

What is that other stuff? Well, in the new edition, it’s making magic items. The old “Artificer Infusions” mechanic is gone. At least for now, though, from the way they talk about it in the video, it sounds like that’s permanently gone unless the Artificers score unsatisfactorily on the response surveys for some reason.

Artificer – Making Magic Items Got Simpler

In its place, they gain the Replicate Magic Item feature. Replicate Magic Item strips away some of the middlemen of the Artificer’s old kit. Here’s how it works:

Artificers start off knowing a limited number of “plans” that correspond to specific magic items they can create. This is similar to the old Infusions known mechanic, but the kinds of items you can pick from are much broader. At levels 2, 6, 10, and 14 you get a different list to choose from. Each level has specific items, but also has a broad category in it.

At level 2, you can create any Common magic item that isn’t a potion, scroll, or cursed. Once you hit level 6, you can make any Uncommon Armor, Wand, or Weapon that isn’t cursed. At level 10, it’s any Uncommon Ring or Wondrous item that isn’t cursed. Finally, at level 14 it’s any Rare Armor, Ring, Wand, Weapon, or Wondrous item that isn’t cursed.

And what’s notable here is that you’re not just infusing an item temporarily. You’re making actual magic items. You can hand them around to others who could even attune to them if needed.

The only difference here is if you die, the magic item vanishes after 1d4 days have passed. So you can’t just play an Artificer, make a bunch of magic items, and then wander off into the woods to start a new character who now has a treasure trove of magic items.

Artificer Unearthed Arcana – They Do Other Stuff Too!

But Artificers aren’t just about making magic items. Which is what you’d hope. Otherwise, the whole class would just be a magic item delivery system. And that’s kind of what the game is if you think about it.

What else do they do, though? I’m glad you asked. In addition to making magic items, they can make mundane items – but don’t worry, that’s the level 1 feature revamped. I’m actually a huge fan.

Magical Tinkering, as it’s called, lets you create any one item of adventuring gear (chosen from a list) with a single Magic Action. This is an extremely flexible ability because you can suddenly have a rope, a crowbar, or a bag of caltrops/ball bearings when you need them. Sure, they only last an hour, but what an hour.

And then of course, they have their spellcasting. Spellcasting is a big part of the Artificer’s kit, and they do get to tinker with their spel list a little. In the Unearthed Arcana, Artificers get an expanded spell list. They also get the ability to swap out a cantrip for another one on the Artificer list after a Long Rest, making them almost as flexible as a Wizard.

They even have a form of Arcane Recovery. Artificers in the Unearthed Arcana can drain one of their created magic items, disintegrating it into a 1st or 2nd-level spell slot, depending on rarity.

And a few of the new 5.5E spells have been added to their lists:

• Elementalism
• True Strike
• Arcane Vigor
• Dragon’s Breath
• Homunculus Servant
• Circle of Power

Artificers – Canonical Geniuses, Every One Of ‘Em

Of course, there’s still more. Every Artificer is also a genius, according to the rules of D&D. No, really. At 7th level, they gain a feature called Flash of Genius. Artificers are great at party support. This feature lets them take a Reaction to reroll a failed ability check or saving throw (or to allow an ally within 30 feet to do so) with an added bonus equal to the Artificer’s Intelligence modifier.

At level 11, Artificers go back to Magic Item chicanery, however, with Spell-Storing item. This feature lets an Artificer imbue a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-level spell into a weapon or spellcasting focus type item. Then, that spell can e cast with an Action. By anyone. So, an Artificer could give a Haste spell to a friend. But it’s even better because that spell doesn’t have to be one that you have prepared.

And it doesn’t stop there, either. The spell can be cast from the object multiple times – up to your Intelligence modifier per use of this feature. That is a ton of added flexibility to any party.

I Don’t Think That Nerf Was Necessary

All along the way, Artificers are attuning to more than the usual limit of magic items, starting with 4 items (instead of 3) and working up to 6 by the time they get to level 18. And at 20th level, the Capstone feature for the whole class has been nerfed.

Now, instead of getting to add +6 to all saves (because they would add the number of magic items they were attuned to, which was always 6, because that was the max), they get to add 1d6 to all ability checks.

The two don’t even compare. I mean, sure, Artificers come back from the dead once per day by disintegrating a magic item as a reaction to having 20 hit points instead of 0. But they lose a pretty big feature and gain one that, at the 20th level, is much less useful. Adding +1d6 to an ability check is a great benefit at low levels, but by the time you’re level 20, there are much bigger fish to fry.

Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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