Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nivek Loneshadow 03-30-07, 01:06 PM	I don't get to see much on Artificers in actual play so I was curious about a couple things. I'm just curious as to why the artificers start out gaining new spell levels as fast as a wizard and then they drop off so quickly? The can cast 3rd level "infusions" by 5th level. Some of these seem very powerful to me. Armor Enhancement +5 at level 5 seems impressive to me. How does this work out in game play? Does the class start out too powerful at lower levels? How is this class at higher levels? Does it gain strength as it goes or does it's power curve fade away at higher levels?
Forged_Fury 04-01-07, 01:38 PM	Nivek, Artificer's are pretty well balanced in my opinion. I would imagine one reason why their infusion-gaining starts to taper off compared to a wizard is because there are only 6 Levels of Artificer infusions compared to 9 levels of Wizard Spells. As to power level, Artificers are generally reigned in by two things: Time and Money. Most of their fantastic infusions take a full minute to cast, unless one chooses to burn an Action Point to reduce the infusing time or picks up the Rapid Infusion feat (which still only lets you do it once a day for free). In addition, another major inhibitor is money. The infusion you were talking about costs 100gp a pop. On top of that, consider that artificers are one of the most cash hungry classes out there, as a large portion of their power comes from the scrolls, wands, and magic items they craft. As long as a DM does a good job of limiting the amount of money available to a PC, artificer's can generally be kept in check. Artificer's can be pretty powerful at lower levels. The biggest "trick" at these leves is the Rapid Bane Infusion. At 1st Level, an artificer can burn an AP to infuse their weapon with Bane (Whatever). If you use the appropriate Bane, your weapon has now become a +2 Weapon that deals +2d6 damage to your foe. Pretty powerful. A DM can, however, reign this in to a degree by having PCs face creatures with which they man not be familiar, forcing Knowledge rolls to determine the correct type. Something you think may be an abberation could actually be an ooze, in which case you've wasted an infusion and probably an action point. As far as higher levels go, they can still be rather powerful, if built correctly. A good mix of metamagic feats and good infusions can take an artificer a long way. Then again, if they run into an anti-magic zone, they're power level drops considerably. In general, I think the artificer balances out with the other classes fairly well at higher levels. One thing you get to deal with at higher levels is an artificer finally being able to pull off Spell Storing Item routinely and effectively. While this does cost XP, it is pretty awesome. With this infusion, you basically have access to any 1st-3rd level spell in the game. Door Locked that no one can open? No problem, here's a Knock spell. Can't reach the hovering gemstone controlling the air elementals? No problem, one Levitate coming up... Still, you're probably not going to see that infusion until much later in the game, as the consequences of not pulling it off can be disastorous to a low level artificer. Hope that helps, -Forged_Fury
Nivek Loneshadow 04-01-07, 03:24 PM	Yes it does. Thank You