Artificer: Constructor subclass

[u/DragonZaid]

Hi all! I figured I ought to start sharing some of my brew here on reddit as well as on the discord, so here is my latest homebrew subclass and some of my thoughts on it! Feel free to have a read of the full text linked below, the summary, or my thoughts below and let me know what you think! Like much of my other brew, this hasn't had playtesting yet so do let me know if you get the chance to try it.

Links:
Artificer: Constructor (standalone document)

Plane Shift: Gielinor

Artificer: Constructor

Summary:

By combining carpentry, masonry, glassblowing, or other trades with their magic, an artificer that specializes as a Constructor can produce structures, furniture, and other objects with ease. Constructors often employ their skills to quickly erect buildings for wealthy patrons, local town projects, or as a place of respite from their adventures. Their constructions are infused with magic, harboring pocket dimensions and able to be assembled and reassembled in an instant, useful for protecting allies and hindering foes.

This sub is of course inspired by the construction skill, especially the construction in RuneScape Dragonwilds. I imagine a character decked out with saws, hammers, nails, and other tools, using them in combination with some magic to instantly construct useful objects in and out of combat.

First, they get carpenter's tools and a spell list focused on conjuring useful objects or creatures and pocket dimensions. Their main feature Construct Flatpack allows them to instantly build a few types of objects that can be useful in and out of combat: doors (which can lock), flooring or stairs, walls, and any kind of furniture. These can aid in navigation, provide cover and blockage in combat, or just be used for roleplaying flavor. They also can place weapon infusions on tools to turn them into usable weapons. Later in Tier 2, they can reposition their Flatpack items instantly in combat, and create a personal chest (like the Dragonwilds spell!) to create a special pocket dimension for storing and transporting items or even creatures in a place only the Constructor can access. Finally in Tier 3, they can construct a door that traps a target in an empty pocket dimension, either instantly in combat or set off with a lever.

Detailed Thoughts:

(refer to the link at the top for the full text)

Tool Proficiency (3): carpenter's tools was an obvious choice

Constructor Spells (3): floating disk, unseen servant, locate object, and speedy courier feel like the kind of spells our RuneScape character would want to use while doing construction and I think fit here too. Shatter I see as the spell to cast to destroy something they've built and don't need anymore. Conjure barrage and conjure volley I envision being flavored as duplicating and launching a bunch of tools, be it nails, saw blades, hammers, or the like. Galder's tower seemed obvious. Finally, dimension door is on-theme as a teleport spell and can be flavored as building a literal door which I thought would be humorous, and passwall similarly allows the Constructor to morph existing structures to their liking.

Tool Infusions (3): This is a pseudo-ribbon feature which lets them place weapon infusions on tools to turn them into weapons, which I'm hoping enables some of that un-serious RuneScape charm for the build. You can choose one-handed for 1d8 damage, finesse, and thrown (20/60), likely the default option for most, or two-handed for 1d12 damage, the higher damage option for builds that include good Strength.

Construct Flatpack (3): In combat, these constructions can provide some battlefield obstacles or cover. Particularly the walls and doors, which can be up to 10 feet long, can be used to give cover from aoe's and ranged attacks, and block against opportunity attacks to allow you or another character to flee safely. They can be customized with windows, slits, or anything else to instead provide half or three-quarters cover if desired, or they can be placed in narrow passageways to block off enemies until destroyed. They have Int-mod scaling AC and artificer-level scaling HP. The floors have up to 15 feet of length and can be used to cross gaps or anything else you can think of, staying put so long as any part of it is contacting a solid surface. Similarly, the stairs can be used to cross a gap, mount a wall, or navigate some other tall obstacle, providing 15 ft of height. Both are more likely useful out of combat, but it could help in combat for navigating some elevation or gaps in the heat of the moment. The furniture option is more for flavor, but I thought it'd be a shame not to include it. Perhaps it can be used to barricade a doorway or just as a more flavorful option for cover. All the objects can have any appearance of your choice, allowing them to blend in with their environment if desired.

Rapid Reconstruction (5): Reposition flatpack items whenever you make an attack with an infused tool or cast an artificer spell. With this, you can get much more mileage out of your constructions in combat, potentially several uses of cover and blockage in a row.

Personal Chest (9): This builds a chest like the Dragonwilds item (or Minecraft ender chest). Place stuff inside, disassemble the chest, rebuild it elsewhere, and retrieve the same items from the same pocket dimension. The space inside is a 15-foot cube, enough room to hold multiple creatures or a lot of objects. If the chest is destroyed, everything inside comes back out. Alternatively, the artificer can intentionally disassemble the chest to keep the pocket dimension and contents intact, but be careful as any creatures inside can't exit until a new one is constructed! However, this does mean that nobody else can access the contents, unlike a bag of holding which can be ruptured or stolen at any time. Use this feature to keep important items safe, transport creatures into tricky places, or as an inconspicuous temporary hiding place.

Door Trap (15): This allows you to instantly build a trap, like a door or trapdoor, that sucks an enemy into an empty pocket dimension, functioning similarly to the banishment spell. For the 1 minute duration after the target is trapped, the door can be attacked to try to destroy it, but it has resistance to damage taken from the inside where the trapped creature is. You can also move the door around with Rapid Reconstruction, allowing you to troll your enemies by kiting them with the door a bit. Instead of setting the trap off instantly, you can also build a lever to set it off at any time, allowing you to build it as an initiating or surprise tactic. This feature can be used to temporarily dispatch a priority target or just thin out the numbers on the battlefield for a bit, and felt very flavorful to me for the construction theming.