Artisan

“The only joy greater than discovering power is making it with your own hands.”

An artisan is a specialist who makes what they need by hand. They are masters of equipment and know better than most just how dangerous a tool can be in the right hands.

Quick Build

You can make an artisan quickly by following these suggestions. First, choose the Guild Artisan background, with Craftsman (Wis), Inventor (Int), or Traveling Merchant (Cha) as your martial tradition. The martial tradition you choose determines your highest ability score. Your next-highest score should be Strength or Dexterity, depending upon whether you want to focus on melee weapons or ranged combat (or finesse weapons). Your third-highest score should be Constitution.



Class Features

Table: Artisan
Level Proficiency Bonus Features Martial Talents Deadly Tools
1st +2 Martial Training, Deadly Tools, Trade Specialty, Tool Expertise 0 1d6
2nd +2 Skillful Crafting, Tools of War 1 1d6
3rd +2 Trade Specialty feature 2 1d6
4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 3 1d6
5th +3 Extra Attack 3 1d8
6th +3 Trade Specialty feature 4 1d8
7th +3 Evasion 5 1d8
8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 6 1d8
9th +4 Trade Specialty feature 6 1d8
10th +4 Disable Magic 7 1d8
11th +4 Tools of War 8 1d10
12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 9 1d10
13th +5 Trade Specialty feature 9 1d10
14th +5 Greater Disable Magic 10 1d10
15th +5 Use Magic Device 11 1d10
16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 12 1d10
17th +6 Trade Specialty feature 12 1d12
18th +6 Masterful Crafting 13 1d12
19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 14 1d12
20th +6 Trade Specialty feature 15 1d12
Artisan.png

As an artisan, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per artisan level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per artisan level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: none.
Saving Throws: Intelligence and Constitution.
Skills: Choose any three.

Equipment

You start with equipment granted by your background, and either the following equipment or the equipment granted by your martial tradition. You must be proficient with the chosen class equipment to select it as part of your starting equipment:

  • (a) a burglar’s pack, (b) a dungeoneer’s pack, or (c) an explorer’s pack
  • (a) one type of artisan’s tools, (b) one musical instrument, or (c) thieves’ tools

Tradition

If this is your first level in any class, you may select a martial tradition.

Martial Training

You gain 3/4ths of a martial talent at every level, according to Table: Artisan.

Deadly Tools

You know how to make the most out of not only the tools of your craft but also the tools of war. Whenever you would deal damage with a weapon or an improvised weapon, you can roll a d6 in place of the normal damage. You must be proficient in the weapon or tool. This die changes as you gain artisan levels, as shown in the Deadly Tools column of the Artisan table.

Tool Expertise

At 1st level, you learn how to make the most of your tools. Double your proficiency bonus for ability checks with thieves’ tools and any artisan’s tools.

Trade Specialty

Every artisan possesses a trade specialty, determined by what style of craftsmanship they specialize in. This trade specialty grants you a bonus sphere and proficiency with a set of tools. You also gain class abilities at 3rd, 6th, 9th, 13th, 17th, and 20th level.

Skillful Crafting

Starting at 2nd level, you double the speed at which you craft items. You only need to pay 25% of a mundane item’s cost in base materials when you craft it instead of 50%.

Tools of War

Starting at 2nd level, when using the deadly tools feature, you may spend your martial focus to double the damage die of that weapon, as if you had scored a critical hit. For example, if attacking with a weapon that deals 1d6 damage plus your Strength modifier, you would instead deal 2d6 damage plus your Strength modifier. This does not stack with a natural critical hit. This increases to three times its damage dice at 11th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Evasion

Beginning at 7th level, whether it is dealing with grease fires or exploding traps, an artisan has learned how to avoid harmful area effects. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw and only half damage if you fail.

Disable Magic

When you reach 10th level, you have gained enough experience to realize that magic is just another branch of craftsmanship and can be manipulated and broken just as easily. You may touch a creature or object and make a key ability (tool) check with a set of artisan tools in your hands. The DC equals 10 + the spell’s level. On a successful check, any magic or curses on the target end. Permanent curses or magic are not destroyed, instead being suppressed for 3 rounds. You must take a long rest to use this ability again.

Use Magic Device

By 13th level, you have learned enough about the workings of magic that you can improvise the use of items even when they are not intended for you. You ignore all class, race, and level requirements on the use of magic items.

Greater Disable Magic

When you reach 14th level, you may use your disable magic feature after a short rest or a long rest and may spend your martial focus to use the ability as a bonus action instead of an action.

Masterful Crafting

At 18th level, your skillful crafting ability increases. You now quadruple your crafting time instead of doubling, and you only need to spend 10% of a mundane item’s cost instead of 25%.



Trade Specialty

Chef

You transform common ingredients into works of art that can empower an ally all day.

Bonus Sphere: Alchemy
Tool Proficiency: cook’s utensils.

Iron Nose, Iron Stomach

At 3rd level, you gain advantage on all Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on scent and on all saving throws against poison or the poisoned condition.

Meal

A chef knows how to combine flavors to create delicious dishes. Beginning at 6th level, provided you have cook’s utensils and ingredients available, whenever the party takes a short or long rest you can prepare a special meal with enough servings for a number of people equal to your proficiency bonus + your key ability modifier. Creatures who consume the meal gain its benefits until the next short or long rest. A creature cannot benefit from multiple meals at once.

Whenever you prepare a meal, select one entree. At 9th level, you may select a flavor as well (one entree, one flavor). At 13th level, you may select an additional entree (two entrees, one flavor). At 17th level, you may select another additional flavor (two entrees, two flavors).

The GM can decide if certain ingredients are simply not available in a particular location, but a chef generally knows how to find, preserve, or purchase ingredients on the cheap as they travel, meaning if you have access to rations, preparing a meal usually doesn’t require searching for ingredients or spending additional gp.

Entrees:

  • Bread: Gain advantage on one Strength check or saving throw of their choice.
  • Fish: Gain advantage on one Intelligence check or saving throw of their choice.
  • Fowl: Gain advantage on one Dexterity check or saving throw of their choice.
  • Mycoprotein: Gain advantage on one Wisdom check or saving throw of their choice.
  • Red Meat: Gain advantage on one Constitution check or saving throw of their choice.
  • Vegetables: Gain advantage on one Charisma check or saving throw of their choice.

Flavors:

  • Bitter: Gain resistance to lightning and thunder damage.
  • Salty: Gain advantage on all death saving throws and resistance to necrotic damage.
  • Savory: Gain advantage on all Strength (Athletics) and Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks made to resist special attacks such as grapples and shoves.
  • Sour: Gain resistance to acid damage. Additionally, any creature who bites or swallows the ally must succeed at a Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 round. The DC is equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier.
  • Spicy: Gain resistance to cold and fire damage.
  • Sweet: Gain resistance to poison and psychic damage.

Artisan Savant

At 9th level, if you have access to cook’s utensils and an operational kitchen you may brew a potion during a long rest. This potion costs nothing to create but is only patchwork magic; it ceases to function after 10 minutes out of your possession (though anyone may drink them), and you can only maintain a number of these potions equal to your proficiency bonus.

These potions must be from the following list, or another as decided by the DM:
Minimum Artisan Level Potion
9th Potion of Climbing, Potion of Healing
13th Potion of Greater Healing, Potion of Growth, Potion of Poison, Potion of Resistance (your choice), Oil of Slipperiness
17th Potion of Heroism, Potion of Superior Healing, Potion of Diminution, Potion of Giant Strength (hill giant)

Master Chef

At 20th level, the chef is always treated as having access to an operational kitchen and may prepare twice the number of meals. Creatures who consume their potions are cured of all diseases and poison.

Sapper

You are skilled in the working of traps.

Bonus Sphere: Trap sphere.
Tool Proficiency: Thieves’ tools (note: since gaining the Trap sphere already grants proficiency with thieves’ tools, you may instead gain a bonus talent, as described in that sphere).

Deadly Trap

At 3rd level, any attack rolls made by traps you set score a critical hit on a roll of a 19 or 20. When your trap damages a target outside of combat who is unaware of the trap, the trap deals extra damage equal to your key ability modifier.

Trap Master

Beginning at 6th level, if you beat a lock or trap’s DC by 5 or more when using thieves’ tools, you may choose to make alterations to it, such as making the trap or lock automatically reset after a certain amount of time. If dealing with a magical trap, you may alter its triggers so that it only activates under circumstances you specify. If disarming a trap from the Trap sphere, you can take control of the trap as if you had created it, upgrading its variables if it is inferior to one you could create.

Artisan Savant

Beginning at 9th level, if you have access to thieves' tools and an operational workshop, during a long rest you may create a small device that fits into the palm of your hand that acts as a magic scroll of glyph of warding. This scroll creates the glyph as if cast as a 3rd level spell, using your sphere DCs. Without access to other magic, this can only create explosive runes. You do not need to provide material components to create this scroll.

These scroll-like devices are only patchwork magic; only you may use these scrolls, and any other creature attempting to use the scroll causes it to fail harmlessly. You may only maintain a number of these scrolls equal to your proficiency bonus and may only have one active glyph at a time; casting a second glyph automatically dispels the first glyph without triggering it.

You may create these scrolls at a higher spell level at 11th level (4th level spell), 13th level (5th level spell), 15th level (6th level spell), 17th level (7th level spell), 19th level (8th level spell, and 20th level (9th level spell).

Perfect Traps

At 20th level, a sapper may cause one of their traps to outperform its capabilities. Once per short or long rest, the sapper may modify a trap’s attack in one of the following ways:

  • If the trap’s attack roll would miss a target’s AC, you may turn the miss into a hit.
  • If the trap’s attack roll would hit a target’s AC, you may turn the hit into a critical hit.
  • You may have your traps impose disadvantage on any saving throw against the trap’s effects.

Smith

You transform common materials into useful equipment.

Bonus Sphere: Equipment sphere
Tool Proficiency: Smith’s tools.

Damage Equipment

At 3rd level, you may spend your martial focus when making a melee attack to target a creature’s weapon, armor, or shield. If the attack hits it deals no damage, but instead damages the chosen piece of equipment in some way; armor is dented, shield straps are broken, weapons are dulled or their grips are damaged, etc. Attacks with a damaged weapon have disadvantage, damaged armor reduces the wearer’s speed by half, and damaged shields have their AC bonus reduced by 1. Creatures proficient in a piece of damaged equipment can usually make repairs to the equipment as part of a long rest.

At 9th level, the equipment you damage becomes even more broken; damaged weapons deal their damage die to the wielder when they make an attack with it, damaged armor imposes disadvantage on Dexterity and Strength checks and saving throws, and damaged shields have their AC bonus reduced by 2. At 17th level, you may regain your martial focus as a reaction if you successfully damage a target’s equipment.

Maintenance

At 6th level, you’ve learned how to maintain and optimize your party’s equipment by sharpening weapons, tightening straps, replacing padding, and performing other tasks that allow them to get the most out of their gear each day. Whenever the party takes a long rest, you may perform these maintenance tasks for a number of allies equal to your proficiency bonus + your key ability modifier. This grants these allies one of the following benefits for 24 hours, or until their next long rest, whichever comes first. You may select a different maintenance for each ally to be affected, and at 13th level you may grant a target two different benefits instead of just one, but not the same benefit twice.

  • Armor Straps: The ally does not have their speed reduced by 10 feet for lacking the listed Strength score while wearing certain armors.
  • Cobbling: The ally may treat one square of difficult terrain each round as normal terrain.
  • Joint Protection: The ally may force a single attack made against them to be made with disadvantage. Using this removes the joint protection.
  • Noise Dampening: Allies affected with this maintenance are not imposed with disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks for wearing certain armors.
  • Polish: Allies affected with this maintenance may choose to gain advantage on a single saving throw against a spell or other magical effect. Using this removes the polish.
  • Razor Sharp: Allies affected with this maintenance score critical hits on natural rolls of 19 or 20 with weapon attacks.

Artisan Savant

At 9th level, if you have access to blacksmith’s tools and an operational forge, you may craft magical weapons and armor as if you were a spellcaster (if you are using those optional rules). You may also imbue a single piece of non-magical equipment with magical properties during a long rest. This piece of equipment must be attuned to use. It takes effort to maintain this enchantment; you may only have one piece of equipment imbued in this fashion, and imbuing a new item with magical properties dispels all magic on earlier items.

  • Magic Armor or Shield: The armor gains a +1 bonus to AC. The armor’s bonus to AC increases by +1 at 13th level (+2 AC), and 17th level (+3 AC).
  • Magic Weapon: The weapon gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage. The weapon’s bonus to attack and damage increases by +1 at 13th level (+2 attack and damage), and 17th level (+3 attack and damage).

Smith Masterpiece

At 20th level, a smith creates their magnum opus. You permanently create any one rare, very rare, or legendary magical item that must be a weapon, shield, or suit of armor.

Technician

You are adept at the creation of powerful inventions.

Bonus Sphere: Tinkerer sphere.
Tool Proficiency: Tinker’s tools (note: since gaining the Tinkerer sphere already grants proficiency with tinker’s tools, you may instead gain a bonus talent, as described in that sphere).

Inventions

At 3rd level, so long as you have tinker’s tools, you can craft an invention. This invention could be an independent invention that looks like a robotic or clockwork contraption, a simple machine, or any number of things, as its appearance has no effect on its functionality except as described below. During any short rest, you may spend your own hit dice to restore hit points to an invention, and should an invention break or be destroyed, or if you simply want to dismantle the invention and create a new one, you may build a new one over the course of a day of downtime.

Maintaining an invention in working order is difficult and time-consuming; a technician can only have one invention built at a time. This increases to two at 6th level, three at 9th level, four at 13th level, and five at 17th level. You can create three types of inventions: a drone, a suit, or a vehicle.

Drone

This invention is a construct companion that obeys your commands and is friendly to you and your companions. In combat, a drone shares your initiative count but takes its turn immediately after yours.

It can move on its own but has no reaction and cannot take any action other than the Dash action on its turn unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to use an action. The actions a drone can take are listed in its stat block.

When you create a drone, you must decide whether it is air, land, or water-based. See this creature’s game statistics in the relevant stat block.

Any time that you would gain an additional invention, you may instead reinforce a drone you already have, increasing its hit points by your artisan level as well as giving it a +1 bonus to its armor class, its skill and saving throw bonuses, and its bonuses to hit and damage.

Air Invention

Tiny construct, unaligned
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points equal to the construct’s Constitution modifier + your key ability modifier + your level in the artisan class
Speed 10 ft., fly 20 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
10 (+0) 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 6 (-2) 10 (+0) 4 (-3)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned.
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages understands the languages of its creator but can’t speak.
Flyby. The construct doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy’s reach.
Might of the Master. The following numbers increase by 1 when your proficiency bonus increases by 1: the bonuses to hit and damage of its attack (below).
Protocol. As a bonus action, you can command the construct to use the Dodge, Disengage, Hide, Use an Object, or Attack actions.

Actions
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4 slashing damage.

Land Invention

Small construct, unaligned
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points equal to the construct’s Constitution modifier + your key ability modifier + your level in the artisan class
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
14 (+2) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 6 (-2) 4 (-3) 10 (+0)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned.
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 7
Languages understands the languages of its creator but can’t speak.
Might of the Master. The following numbers increase by 1 when your proficiency bonus increases by 1: the bonuses to hit and damage of its attack (below).
Protocol. As a bonus action, you can command the construct to use the Dodge, Disengage, Hide, Use an Object, or Attack actions.

Actions
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + 2 piercing damage.

Sea Invention

Small construct, unaligned
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points equal to the construct’s Constitution modifier + your key ability modifier + your level in the artisan class
Speed 10 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
12 (+1) 12 (+1) 18 (+4) 10 (+0) 6 (-2) 4 (-3)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned.
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages understands the languages of its creator but can’t speak.
Might of the Master. The following numbers increase by 1 when your proficiency bonus increases by 1: the bonuses to hit and damage of its attack (below).
Protocol. As a bonus action, you can command the construct to use the Dodge, Disengage, Hide, Use an Object, or Attack actions.

Actions
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + 1 bludgeoning damage.

Suit

This invention is designed to be attached to a creature and augments their physical capabilities. Taking a suit off or putting it on takes an Action.

When you craft this invention, choose what size creature it fits, and choose whether the suit grants the pilot a +2 bonus to Strength, a +2 bonus to Dexterity, or temporary hit points equal to twice your artisan level. You can’t increase an ability score above 20 using a suit or select the same bonus more than once. You may change the ability score that a suit grants the pilot during a long rest, as well as replenish the temporary hit points the suit grants during a long rest.

Any time that you would gain an additional invention, you may instead make one of your suits grant an additional bonus, make its wearer effectively one size larger for all purposes, or grant a movement speed as if it were a vehicle, as described below.

Vehicle

This invention is a large vehicle that can carry a number of Medium sized creatures equal to your proficiency bonus. A vehicle invention is similar to a mount, except it can never act independently. You are always considered proficient with controlling any vehicle invention you create.

A vehicle invention can be designed for land, air, or water travel. Any time you gain an additional invention, you may instead make one of your vehicles gain an additional movement mode; this movement mode can be different from other movement modes the vehicle already possesses. Some movement modes grant special bonuses if taken twice. A vehicle weighs about 100 lbs but may be disassembled into 5 parts, each part weighing 20 lbs. Assembling or disassembling a vehicle takes 10 minutes, provided all the parts are within reach.

  • Air: This vehicle has either a fly speed of 30 feet but can only glide (it falls 1 foot for every 2 feet it moves horizontally) or a 10 feet fly speed but can only move up and down (like a hot air balloon). You may change between the two during a long rest. If this movement type is taken twice, the vehicle instead has an actual fly speed of 30 feet.
  • Land: This vehicle has a land speed of 50 feet. If this movement type is taken twice, this increases to 80 feet.
  • Water: This vehicle has either a swim speed of 30 feet but can only move across the water’s surface (like a boat), or a swim speed of 10 feet but can only move up and down (such as a submersible). You may change between the two during a long rest. If this movement type is taken twice, the vehicle instead has an actual swim speed of 30 feet. Creatures inside the vehicle can breathe underwater normally for up to 8 hours.
Vehicle Invention

Large construct, unaligned
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points equal to the construct’s Constitution modifier + your key ability modifier + your level in the artisan class
Speed variable

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 14 (+2) 18 (+4) 4 (-3) 4 (-3) 4 (-3)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned.
Senses none
Languages none
Vehicle: The vehicle requires a driver and functions as a mount for them. The vehicle cannot act independently.

Damage Control

At 9th level, you may use the mending cantrip, but the ability is non-magical and requires a set of tinker’s tools to use. If you have tinker’s tools, you may also spend an action restoring a number of hit points of your choice to an object, construct, invention, vehicle, or other similar target. You can restore a maximum amount of hit points equal to your artisan level x5. Taking a long rest replenishes this amount.

Golemsmith

At 20th level, you permanently craft an iron golem (Monster Manual, page 170). This iron golem obeys your commands and is friendly to you and your companions. This iron golem may not be sold or traded, and should the iron golem be killed or destroyed you may build another over the course of a week.



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