Adventures: Many artificers live a life of seclusion, far from the outside world, where they are free to hone their understanding of science, magic and technology far from the prying eyes of the ignorant. For other artificers, however, the world is their laboratory -- life is best spent traveling to foreign lands and learning everything they can. Their theories and skills can be thoroughly tested only through regular application, which adventure affords.

Characteristics: Artificers are driven by a unyielding thirst for knowledge, but often at the expense of their social skills. In many ways, they are the archetypal ‘mad scientis  t’, reveling in invention but difficult to understand.

Alignment: Artificers are far more interested in their work than in its moral implications. As such, artificers tend towards neutrality. Lawfully minded artificers focus on methods for improvement and the betterment of society, while Chaotically minded artificers tend to follow their whims, whether that road leads them to inventions of creation or destruction.

Background: Similar to wizards, artificers receive formal training and education through years of hard study. The talents and desire to enter the world of the artificer often manifest at a very early age, through the disassembling of objects and devices for no other reason that curiosity. Artificers are a closely knit society, sharing a sense of camaraderie with others who have similar training and knowledge. They relish intellectual debate and conversation with their fellows, sharing theories and commentary upon each other’s techniques and innovations. Rivalry between artificers is common, with each viewing themselves as the pinnacle of a rare and exclusive breed, and eager to correct the “mistakes” of their rivals.

Role: Artificers are valuable support within their party, offering technological and magical assistance to others. Their weird science abilities make them well suited to augmenting the specific needs of any adventuring group.

Alignment: Any

Hit Dice: d8

Starting Wealth: 4d6 x 10 gp (average 140 gp)

Class Skills

The artificer’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Dex), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (Engineering) (Int), Knowledge (Planes) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int) and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Ranks per Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Forge ring

Table: Artificer

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Weird Science Inventions
						1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Device Complexity
1st	+0	+2	+0	+2	Elbow grease, Weird science	1	—	—	—	—	2
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+3	Item creation, Scribe scroll	2	—	—	—	—	2
3rd	+2	+3	+1	+3	Bonus feat, Trapfinding	3	—	—	—	—	3
4th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Brew potion, Craft wondrous Item	4	—	—	—	—	3
5th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Metamagic science, Salvage	4	1	—	—	—	4
6th	+4	+5	+2	+5	Craft magic arms and armor	4	2	—	—	—	4
7th	+5	+5	+2	+5	Bonus feat	4	3	—	—	—	5
8th	+6/+1	+6	+2	+6	Craft wand	4	4	—	—	—	5
9th	+6/+1	+6	+3	+6	Steady hands	4	4	1	—	—	6
10th	+7/+2	+7	+3	+7	Forge ring	4	4	2	—	—	6
11th	+8/+3	+7	+3	+7	Bonus feat	4	4	3	—	—	7
12th	+9/+4	+8	+4	+8	Craft rod	4	4	4	—	—	7
13th	+9/+4	+8	+4	+8	Improved metamagic science	4	4	3	1	—	8
14th	+10/+5	+9	+4	+9	Craft staff	4	4	4	2	—	8
15th	+11/+6/+1	+9	+5	+9	Bonus feat	4	4	4	3	—	9
16th	+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+10	Craft construct	4	4	4	4	—	9
17th	+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+10	Gadget Hero	4	4	4	4	1	10
18th	+13/+8/+3	+11	+6	+11	Efficient creation	4	4	4	4	2	10
19th	+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+11	Bonus feat	4	4	4	4	3	11
20th	+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+12	Item mastery	4	4	4	4	4	11

Class Features

The following are class features of the artificer:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Artificers are proficient with all simple weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields).

Elbow Grease

The artificer gains a +2 bonus to all Craft and Use Magic Device checks.

Weird Science

An artificer is not a traditional spellcaster, but instead possesses the ability to imbue items with magical power. This weird science allows him to create devices that combine the effects of one or more spells. Artificers have access to any arcane or divine divine spell list, but only up to 5th level spells. Despite this they are not considered to know the corresponding spells for the purpose of magic item creation.

To create a weird science device, an artificer must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the device complexity. When used by the artificer who created it, the Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a device's spell is 10 + the spell level + the artificer's Intelligence modifier, and he can use his artificer's class level as the caster level for the included spells. When used by anyone else (requiring a Use Magic Device check with a DC of 20 + the device complexity), the Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a device's spells and it's caster level are both calculated as the minimum required to create such contraption.

Weird science devices must be invented in advance, they cannot be created on the fly. The time to create such contraptions (or to modify an existing one) is a number of hours equal to the device complexity. As such, an artificer usually has a fixed collection of regularly-carried gadgets. Creating those contraptions costs nothing (unless a spell with a costly material component or focus is included), for it's assumed the artificer can salvage the parts in his spare time, but requires appropriate working tools. Except for the noted changes, weird science devices work like spell-trigger magic items. They are not considered to be neither arcane or divine, and the activation time is equal to the longest casting time between the included spells (this means that if each included spell has a casting time lower than a standard action, the final casting time will be lower as well).

An artificer can only mantain a fixed number of devices. The total number of spells that can be included between all of his contraptions in noted under Weird Science Inventions. He cannot build or recharge a device if that would rise ?? above his limit, but he must instead scrap an existing device to do so. In addition an artificer can include a number of cantrips or orizons in his gadgets equal to his Intelligence modifier.

Each weird science device can be used three times before becoming inert, but every day an artificer can refresh the magical energy that powers the ones he built. He needs 8 hours of rest, after which he spends 1 hour tinkering on the devices, recharging them and refreshing the full allotment of uses for the items. A weird science device that is not properly mantained in this fashion for a week breaks down for good.

Spells from weird science devices don't require any inexpensive material component or divine focus. When incorporating spells with a costly material component or focus, the focus must be built in the device itself (with the appropriate cost), and the needed material components must be supplied when the contraption is built or recharged. Those component are not expended untill the actual spell is used and the artificer can chose to include less than three of them, but this would limit the avaiable uses of the device.

Combining multiple magical effects into a single device means that both effects function simultaneously upon activation (effectively casting two or more spells at once) -- but such devices are even more unstable than usual: The Use Magic Device check for extra activations starts at DC 25 + the number of effects used, and goes up for each additional usage by the number of effects used.

Item Creation

At second level, an artificer’s invention ability expands to include the creation of true magic items. Even if the artificer does not have access to the prerequisite spells he can create potions, spell-trigger, or spell-completion magic items.

For artificers, the skill check required to finish a magic item is either Spellcraft or any appropriate Craft skill (at the player's choice), with a DC of 5 + the caster level for the item. The DC is increased by 2 (instead of by 5, like for other characters) for each prerequisite he does not meet.

For potions, spell-trigger, or spell-completion magic items the artificer must also make a successful Use Magic Device check (DC 15 + double spell level) to emulate each spell normally required to create the item. This checks must be repeated each day of the crafting process, and failing one required check means no progress is made for that day.

Bonus Feats

An artificer gains many item creation feats as bonus feat. He gets Scribe Scroll as a bonus feat at 2nd level, Brew Potion and Craft Wondrous Item at 4th level, Craft Magic Arms and Armor at 6th level, Craft Wand at 8th level, Forge Ring at 10th level, Craft Rod at 12th level, Craft Staff at 14th level, and Craft construct at 16th level. In addition, an artificer gains a bonus feat at 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th and 19th level. For each of these bonus feats, the artificer must choose a feat from the following list: Empower Spell, Enlarge Spell, Extend Spell, Heighten Spell, Magical Aptitude, Maximize Spell, Quicken Spell, Silent Spell, Skill Focus, Still Spell, Widen Spell.

Trapfinding

At 3rd level, an artificer adds 1/2 her level to Perception skill checks made to locate traps and to Disable Device skill checks. An artificer can use Disable Device to disarm magic traps.

Salvage

At 5th level, an artificer gains the ability to salvage the material used when creating a magic item and use them to create another. The artificer must spend a day with the item, and he must also have the appropriate item creation feat for the item he is salvaging. After one day, the item is destroyed and the artificer gains the gp value it took to create the item, minus any deduction for expended charges or uses. This value is cannot be spent as gold, it may only be used in the creation of another magic item.

Metamagic Science

At 6th level, an artificer gains the ability to apply a metamagic feat he knows to a spell trigger item (such as a wand, staff or weird science device). Using this ability expends additional charges from the item equal to the number of effective spell levels the metamagic feat would add to a spell.

Improved Metamagic Science

At 11th level, an artificer gains the ability to apply a metamagic feat he knows to a spell completion item (a scroll, for example). He must have the appropriate item creation feat for the spell completion item he is using. The DC for the Use Magic Device check is equal to 20 + (3 times the modified level of the spell).

Efficient creation

Having spent most of his career studying and building magic items, an 18th level artificer has learned how to cut on time and costs, without hampering the item's quality. He enjoys a 20% discount in the material components needed to craft any magic item, and can do so at double the normal speed.

Item Mastery

At the peak of his career, an artificer has truly mastered the inner workings of magic items. He can use his own Intelligence score and relevant feats to set the DC for any magic item emulating a spell, and can use his own class level as the caster level if it is higher than that of the item. In addition whenever a magic item in the artificer's possession is targeted by a dispel magic or similar effect, the DC to dispel it is equal to 15 + the artificer's class level, and whenerver one of such items is entitled a saving throw, the artificer can roll twice and take the best result.