How Many Items Can an Artificer Make?
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The answer to how many items an artificer can make is multifaceted and depends heavily on the specific type of item, the artificer’s level, and the features they choose. Artificers primarily create items through their Infuse Item feature, but they can also use other class abilities, spells, and even collaborate with other players. Let’s break it down:
- Infuse Item: This is the core mechanic for an artificer crafting magical items. At level 2, an artificer gains the ability to infuse mundane items with magical properties. The number of items they can have infused at any given time is limited. This limit increases as they level up.
- Replicated Magic Item: At higher levels, some artificer subclasses gain the ability to create more potent magic items via features like Replicated Magic Item (Artillerist). This adds another layer of complexity to the “how many” question, as these items are not covered by the standard Infuse Item limit.
- Spell-Storing Item: Artificers also have access to the Spell-Storing Item feature, allowing them to store a spell within an item that can be used later. This counts as an infused item for the purpose of the Infuse Item feature limit.
Therefore, there isn’t a single, simple answer. It’s a dynamic calculation based on level, subclass, and strategic choices. Generally, an artificer can maintain a limited number of infusions according to their level, supplemented by potentially more potent, singular magic items acquired through subclass features or other means.
Understanding the Infuse Item Feature
The Infuse Item feature is the artificer’s bread and butter. Here’s how it works:
- Level Dependency: The number of infusions an artificer can maintain simultaneously increases as they gain levels. Specifically, the maximum number of infused items an artificer can have at any given time is determined by their Artificer level, as detailed in the Artificer class table.
- Infusion Options: Artificers learn a list of infusions that they can apply to items. At each level, they learn new infusions, but they don’t necessarily know all of them at once. They select the infusions they want to use from their known list.
- Item Limitations: An infusion can only be placed on a nonmagical object that meets the specific requirements of the infusion. For example, some infusions can only be applied to armor, weapons, or tools.
- Replacing Infusions: An artificer can end an infusion at any time. If they do so, the magic of the infusion fades, and the item returns to its normal state. They can then infuse a different item, subject to their infusion limit.
- Duplication Restriction: An artificer can’t have more than one of the same infusion at a time. This prevents them from stacking the same magical effect multiple times.
The Level-Based Infusion Limit
The key to understanding the quantity of items an artificer can make is the level-based limit on active infusions. Here’s a breakdown of the typical limits:
- Level 2: 2 Infused Items
- Level 6: 3 Infused Items
- Level 11: 4 Infused Items
- Level 14: 5 Infused Items
- Level 18: 6 Infused Items
This table showcases the progressive increase in an artificer’s ability to maintain multiple magical items simultaneously, directly influencing the “how many” question. Remember that a Spell-Storing Item counts towards this limit.
Subclass Considerations: Beyond the Infuse Item Limit
While the Infuse Item feature sets the baseline for item creation, artificer subclasses can offer additional avenues for producing magical items, sometimes bypassing the standard infusion limit.
- Artillerist: The Artillerist subclass can create a Eldritch Cannon, which is a magical construct. While this isn’t an infused item, it’s a potent magical object that the Artillerist creates.
- Battle Smith: The Battle Smith creates a Steel Defender, a mechanical companion. This construct is not an infused item, and provides a consistent mechanical companion throughout adventuring.
- Alchemist: The Alchemist subclass does not directly create permanent magical items in the same way as the Artillerist or Battle Smith. The Alchemist focuses on creating temporary elixirs and experimental concoctions, but these aren’t subject to the Infuse Item limit.
- Armorer: The Armorer subclass has the Armor Model feature, which allows them to imbue their armor with special properties. The key point is that the Armor Model enhances their own armor and is considered part of the Artificer’s gear, it doesn’t contribute to the Infuse Item Limit.
Subclass features introduce complexities to the core mechanics of the Artificer class, adding another layer of dynamism to the total quantity of “magical” objects an artificer can create or maintain simultaneously.
Collaboration and External Factors
The number of items an artificer can “make” isn’t solely determined by their class features. Collaboration with other players and external factors can significantly impact their ability to produce magical items.
- Teamwork: An artificer might work with a wizard to create a magic item using the rules for crafting magic items found in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. This allows them to create more powerful items than they could create alone, albeit over a longer period.
- Resource Availability: Access to rare materials, specific tools, and suitable workshops can all influence the speed and scale of an artificer’s item creation. A well-equipped artificer in a resourceful campaign setting can create more items than one operating with limited resources.
- Campaign Duration: In a shorter campaign, an artificer might only reach a level where they can maintain a limited number of infusions. In a longer campaign, they can reach higher levels and create more items.
Ultimately, the total number of items an artificer can contribute to a party is affected by a combination of their individual abilities, the resources available to them, and the collaborative efforts they engage in with their allies.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are 15 frequently asked questions about the items an artificer can make:
1. Can an artificer infuse a magic item?
No, the Infuse Item feature specifically states that it can only be used on nonmagical objects.
2. Does a Spell-Storing Item count against the infusion limit?
Yes, a Spell-Storing Item counts as one of the artificer’s infused items and is subject to the maximum number of infusions they can maintain at any given time.
3. Can an artificer have multiple Spell-Storing Items?
No, the wording of the Spell-Storing Item feature limits the artificer to having only one such item at a time.
4. Can an artificer create a permanent magic item outside of their Infuse Item feature?
Yes, an artificer can create permanent magic items using the crafting rules in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, provided they meet the necessary requirements (time, resources, formulas, etc.) and potentially collaborate with other casters.
5. Can multiple artificers work together to speed up the creation of a magic item?
Potentially. The specifics are up to the DM’s discretion, but it would make sense that multiple artificers collaborating could reduce the crafting time or cost, assuming they each contribute appropriately.
6. If an artificer ends an infusion on an item, can they immediately reuse that item for a new infusion?
Yes, as soon as the infusion ends, the item becomes a nonmagical object again and can be used for a new infusion, assuming it meets the other requirements.
7. Does the artificer have to be proficient with an item to infuse it?
No, the Infuse Item feature doesn’t require the artificer to be proficient with the item they are infusing.
8. What happens if an infused item is destroyed?
The infusion ends, and the item is destroyed. The artificer can then use one of their infusion slots to infuse a new item.
9. Can an artificer infuse an item for another character?
Yes, the Infuse Item feature doesn’t restrict who can use the infused item. An artificer can create items for their companions.
10. Can an artificer change their infusion choices after leveling up?
Yes, whenever an artificer gains a level in the Artificer class, they can replace one of the artificer infusions they know with another infusion that they could learn at that level.
11. Are subclass features, such as the Artillerist’s Eldritch Cannon, limited by the Infuse Item maximum?
No, subclass features that create magical items (like the Eldritch Cannon or Steel Defender) are not subject to the Infuse Item limit.
12. Can the same infusion be applied to multiple items if it’s not the same infusion?
Yes. For instance, you can have two separate applications of “Enhanced Defense” on different sets of armor because they are applied to separate items. However, you can only have one instance of the “Enhanced Defense” infusion active at any given time.
13. Can an Artificer choose the same infusion more than once?
No. Each infusion can only be chosen once.
14. Can an artificer infuse ammunition?
Yes, the Repeating Shot infusion specifically allows an artificer to infuse a crossbow or longbow with the ability to create its own ammunition.
15. Does crafting mundane items count against the infuse limit?
No, crafting mundane items such as a suit of armor or a weapon, does not count against the infuse item limit. The Infuse Item ability specifically refers to imbuing an object with magical properties which is what counts toward the limit.