[DF] Toys for Artificers, or "what's an Artificer good for?"

[LoneWolf23k]

So, just something I've been wondering about. Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages, gives us the Artificer job template, but doesn't give us many examples of the kinds of gizmos an Artificer might have at their disposal.

Not to mention that when I think of Dungeoncrawling Artificers, two things come to mind: one is a clockpunk gadgeteer who invents anachronistic devices like a rapid-fire crossbow or a hookshot, and the other is the D&D style artificer, which can rapidly craft minor magic items.

But the Sages book doesn't really offer many options for any of that. Aside from grabbing gear from various books like Steampunk, Classic Steam-Tech, and the Fantasy-Tech books, I don't really know what an Artificer can really offer to a Dungeon Fantasy campaign.

Have any of you used the Artificer, and if so, what did you do with them?

[Gold & Appel Inc]

First and foremost, an Artificer offers the party a Fast Gadgeteer. In DF, in many cases this means (s)he can modify the dungeon. That's pretty open-ended, and for a 50-point Advantage it deserves to be. The Sages book has a setting-specific discussion of how this can be exploited and rendered sane again as the GM wishes (the rule of thumb I use on the fly is that if it seems too good to be true but you nailed the roll to do it, it works once).

Of lesser importance to most parties but not to be ignored, the Dungeon Artificer Talent makes the Artificer excellent with Alchemy and Traps, which is clutch in a party that lacks a Wizard and/or Thief. It stacks with the racial Talents of Gnomes and Dark Ones if you really want to min-max it.

On top of that, the Artificer is also really good at maintaining weapons and armor, which may come up once in a while.

[LoneWolf23k]

Okay, interesting options. But I'm still interested in giving Artificers some cool "Toys" to play with beyond traps and potions.

Things I'm thinking about:

-Fully Automatic Crossbows

-Automated Sentries

-Hookshots

And other "clockpunk" devices. We really could use some more content in that respect. But for a start, I guess I can recycle elements from GURPS Classic: Steam-Tech, GURPS Fantasy-Tech 1 and 2, as well as GURPS Powers: the Weird, which has good modes of weird technology that would be appropriate for a Dungeon Fantasy Artificer.

Edit: And it looks like someone worked out the Hookshot in GURPS stats here: https://pseudoboo.blogspot.com/2016/...-hookshot.html

[GnomesofZurich]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

Of lesser importance to most parties but not to be ignored, the Dungeon Artificer Talent makes the Artificer excellent with Alchemy and Traps, which is clutch in a party that lacks a Wizard and/or Thief. It stacks with the racial Talents of Gnomes and Dark Ones if you really want to min-max it.

And Hell Gnomes' racial talent!

[Tinman]

I played an Artificer in DF, with the ability to craft the gunpowder weapons in pyramid DF1 The Musketeer (I forgot what issue) & the UB: Gunsmith [10] suggested by the author. The rules under the musketeer kept the guns from spreading.

I found him very useful. He could produce potions & gizmo potions he hadn't yet made. Also, his trap finding & lock picking were very useful. He was able to fill the roles of thief (good) & healer (ok). That was important as we were only a 3 man party. The other two being Sorcerers.

I must admit I used & thought of him more as a gadgeteer than a McGuyver which I think he's supposed to be.