I thoroughly enjoy the concept of the Artificer, so when I saw one appear in DMG, I decided to snag it up.
Bards
This concept of the artificer has a lot of cool ideas; creating, enhancing, and using magical weapons and items is definitely enticing. The layout of the PDF is standard; it's clean and what you would expect from a class guide, with some exceptions:
Most notably, there are references to Action Points in the main blocks of text. I understand some alternate rule sets may allow the use of action points, but it is strange to see them suddenly appear in one section, and no where else. Their inclusion in how they are written is messy and a little convoluted; they'd fit much better in their own section of alternate rules.
Similarly, there are a number of grammatical and typo issues. The wording of various things is convoluted at times, feeling jumbled and unclear. This is compounded by the fact that the artificer has A LOT going on for it: infusions, spell scrolls, spell slots, spell formulae and pets - and this is without the sub-classes - that it simply becomes hard to follow along. The variants get meta-magic, combat pets, wands/staves, and an ability to reduce a ton of damage from a single attack, and throw the absorbed damage back out as bonus damage on the next attack. (The example given in the book is absorbing 9 damage from a Fireball spell (no save needed) and then doing 27 bonus damage on the next attack if it hits.)
This leads to the biggest issue: Balance. Having not really had an opportunity to playtest the class, it's hard to be perfectly certain, but the class seems incredibly powerful. Many classes have some form of unique feature: Rogues get sneak attack, Bards get Inspiration, Fighters can get Superiority dice, Sorcerers get metamagic, barbarians get rage. The artificers main class feature are Infusions, which are a fun idea with a lot of versatility, which generally speaking, allow the artificer to infuse some aspect of his action with power. Add ontop of that spellcasting up to 5th level spells, the ability to cast any scroll regardless of race/level limitations, the ability to create spell scrolls simply by watching the spell be cast, double proficiency bonuses to skills, and more and the class can just do too much.
As it is, it's a class that surely looks fun to play; it reminds me of a Pathfinder character, in a sense. There's a lot happening, which essentially forsakes the Simplified nature of 5th Edition. Yes, I would like to play the class, but my I doubt my group would be happy with the capabilities of the characther.
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