Artificer (Dungeons & Dragons)
| A Dungeons & Dragons character class | |
|---|---|
| Publication history | |
| First appearance | Eberron Campaign Setting |
| Editions | 3.5, 4th |
| (as an alternate class) | 3.5, 4th |
The artificer is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. This fictional class of characters first appeared in the 3.5 edition of D&D and was introduced in the Eberron campaign setting. The artificer is a unique base class that reflects many of the core themes of Eberron.
Though introduced as a prestige class for gnome arcane spellcasters in the Magic of Faerûn, artificers are a standalone class in the Eberron campaign setting. Artificers are heavily written into the Eberron world with their own Dragonmarked house, House Cannith. The common people in the metropolis of Sharn and other Eberron cities rely heavily on artificers to maintain the magical infrastructure. Artificers represent many of the high-magic elements of Eberron as a campaign setting.
The first appearance of an artificer as a wizard specialist introduced in the 2nd edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) supplement Player's Option: Spells & Magic. Therein, the Artifice was a newly added specialty within the School of Thaumaturgy. This artificer channels magic into or through non-living items for their own personal use - thus any spells in the Enchantment/Charm school which happen to affect living things, and the entire school of Necromancy are opposed to the Artifice specialty and off limits to the Artificer of the AD&D 2nd edition.
In D&D 3rd edition, the artificer is a complex class, requiring extensive bookkeeping if a player fully utilizes its item creation abilities. Through a combination of infusions and item creation abilities artificers can add a great deal of flexibility to a party.
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