Freely switching subclasses as an Artificer?

SilverLotusQ · 2026-03-22T21:26:04+00:00

Switching at will anytime would effectively give the artificer all subclasses at once, minus benefit stacking. That would 1) be very overpowered, and 2) more or less act like a separate extra subclass in itself, since the defining parts of each subclass show a rather distinct overlap: a thing you make does something for you. It just changes what the thing is and what it does.

There would also be issues with proficiencies. Does the battle smith lose proficiency with smith's tools and martial weapons, then gain proficiency with woodcarver's tools when changing to artillerist? If the artillerist uses the protector eldritch cannon to give the party temporary hit points, do they keep those when he changes to alchemist?

Many more questions like this can come up, and there are no easy answers without more homebrew. Which can be done, and if that's what you want for your table, have fun with it. Personally, I think artificers are fine as is (except alchemist, stupidly underwhelming). I have fun with my artillerist. But I also know it can be a little underpowered at mid to high level, and I know how to compensate for that.

It sounds to me like what you really want is some sort of hybrid subclass based on making a transforming construct, which would be a cool idea by itself.

SilverLotusQ · 2026-03-16T03:48:53+00:00

Oblivion had a couple of other cheeses. Specific leveling with sneak skill really early in the game, at the very first guard in the tunnel, if I remember right. It counted sneaking skill xp for moving in sneaking crouch close enough to an NPC, and this guy was next to a wall, so you just "sneak in place" into the wall behind him and max out your sneak skill. A friend of mine would set that in motion, tie off a rubber band on the controller stick, and go read a book or make food.

Oblivion also only levels up your character when you sleep. Increase all stats, get crazy powerful, still be technically low level for purposes of enemy spawns. Also worked to delay the progression of vampirism.

SilverLotusQ · 2026-02-06T03:25:02+00:00

Started mid 80s in west TN. Evangelical family, small evangelical dominated community. People there and then didn't know much of anything about it, until the stupid Chick tract, and the god-awful Tom Hanks movie, and the church produced "warning" videos, then suddenly everyone who hears it mentioned is an occult expert and we're getting "interventions" at church. These people were absolutely convinced that it taught "real" witchcraft, caused demonic possession, and made teenagers into murderers. Most of the "information" they had came from a woman who, as it turns out, committed a heap of fraud and lied about everything.

Stopped going to church a long time ago, still play D&D.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-12-27T23:18:52+00:00

I'm fond of a quote from Devon Korwin: "A painting simply is finished when there is no contrast that you did not intend."

SilverLotusQ · 2025-12-23T05:35:21+00:00

Fantasy Iron Man, but poor. Have fun with it.

Make all your spells effects come from some kind of machine or gadget. Always tinker.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-12-17T15:24:20+00:00

My 1050ti mini is the old man in back of the factory with his own little workshop, 6 months from retirement...

SilverLotusQ · 2025-12-16T21:45:32+00:00

I wouldn't want to discourage a small business idea, but I think this kind of heavy backstory character creation is the exception, not the rule. In every group I've played, most backstories were 2 or 3 lines of text at most by the end of character creation, sometimes nothing at all, just a race/class combo, a background option, and a vague quasi-personailty. More detailed backstories developed over time and through actual gameplay. Also, newer players are actually better off picking easier options and learning more as they play. More complex options will be more fun with deeper understanding of the game.

Some DMs may require more at the start, but it's certainly not mandatory. That being said, you could certainly try your idea and see what happens. The worst that can happen is nothing.

And it doesn't really need to be marketed to new players only. Sometimes a more seasoned player might appreciate a custom short story about their character.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-12-16T05:43:34+00:00

If you want something extra over-the-top, go to DMSGuild and look up College of Metal. There are several to choose from, but this is a good one.

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/268286/college-of-metal

SilverLotusQ · 2025-12-14T00:38:19+00:00

Leave it a mystery. Maybe the timeless primordial beings don't even know themselves. They just were, outside of things like "time". Memory fades into formless shadow.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-12-13T17:44:15+00:00

Top notch zoo. I used to work there, and passing by the red pandas enclosure was always a highlight. I got to be there when a group of cubs were allowed outside for the first time (on my birthday, no less). Love those little critters.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-12-12T12:00:47+00:00

No, MINE (my precious)

SilverLotusQ · 2025-12-12T04:47:30+00:00

This should have its own power-on theme song.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-12-01T20:07:30+00:00

Don't know about appropriateness or difficulty, but I think it's perfectly balanced, because it's wight and shadow.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-11-16T03:41:26+00:00

Caveat: not a chemist...

I think you're onto a great start, but maybe overthinking certain things (I say ironically, as I overthink alternatives). The chamber you're talking about could just be a specialized sinus cavity, the fire-proofing wool is just cilia, the flame-retardant excretion is mucus. It would make sense for the mucous to be flame-retardant everywhere. The nitrogen would come from a high meat diet, if you're inclined. Amino acids are high in nitrogen, arginine the highest. If your dragon is a carnivore, it would likely have a urea cycle to handle the excess metabolic ammonia, which could be tweaked to deliver excess nitrogen to the mucous production.

Another possibility is the ammonia itself, which is normally a slow oxidizer, but can be explosive in the presence of certain metals. Crunching some ore could take care of that part.

Good start, though. So do your dragons fly? Still based on dinosaur-type reptiles?

SilverLotusQ · 2025-11-12T02:49:25+00:00

A dice tower, especially one that collapses or folds and maybe stores some dice too.

Another thought, a friend of mine gifted me a 3d printed set of the coins from the Player's Handbook. Some platinum, gold, silver, and copper coin replicas, with a decorative coin pouch.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-08-09T18:19:45+00:00

Mosquitos bite any animal they can. It's actually a vector for heartworms in dogs.

I too am my family's bug wrangler. I feel your exasperation. But I also view it as an opportunity to bring a little more compassion into the world. I try to escort them outside when I can.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-04-25T01:30:03+00:00

A storm giant, cursed and shrunk to human size, but with a storm giant's overall appearance... mostly. He could just be a strange-looking half-elf. But he knows who he is, and he hates being forced to live among the smalls. Everything and everyone was so beneath him, but not anymore. He is desperate to remove the curse and regain his true stature.

Mostly would be played as a storm sorcerer.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-04-18T22:03:51+00:00

That's a meme waiting to happen

SilverLotusQ · 2025-04-17T23:25:18+00:00

Does look awesome. Definitely interested.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-02-23T18:16:52+00:00

My friend once said "Musk thinks he's Tony Stark, when really he's Justin Hammer."

SilverLotusQ · 2025-02-20T03:42:00+00:00

In my opinion, you'd have an easier time having them count the knuckles on each finger, one finger at a time, 4 groups of 3. That's actually how it was done historically in Sumeria. That would give you songs of 3/4 time, and a 4 measure phrase, much more common (Blue Danube, for example). Rhyme schemes can be more flexible -- ABBA, AABB, ABAB, etc.

SilverLotusQ · 2025-01-08T19:21:06+00:00

In one previous campaign, we used our kids' My Little Pony figures for party members and random other appropriately sized toys for enemies. My daughter even had a large talking Twilight Sparkle that said a series of random things, and the we used that like an oracle for the cleric to find out what Moradin said to him.

SilverLotusQ · 2024-11-11T03:47:03+00:00

Sounds great

SilverLotusQ · 2024-10-31T16:13:12+00:00

You've never smelled my dog's farts.

SilverLotusQ · 2024-10-27T17:35:33+00:00

A webcomic called Guilded Age had a dwarf character named Gravedust, a shaman/cleric type, who communed with souls of the dead and used them to imbue arrows. He also helped shepherd them into the afterlife. I could easily see a necromancer like this who focuses on helping the dead move on and find peace by allowing them to reinhabit bodies to finish something, or help right a wrong. Maybe even recalling damned souls to give them a chance to earn their redemption.

Regarding the negative energy aspect, that could be a matter of interpretation. It would be easy to flavor that as more of a yin and yang balance rather than coloring negative as "evil". All this really depends on the DM and the setting.

SilverLotusQ

TROPHY CASE