I have been awaiting the arrival of Dungeons & Dragons Eberron: Forge of the Artificer all year with my breath held. With two Artificer characters built, I have been ready to take all the new information from the unique Eberron expansion and jump deeply into fresh campaigns. While the wait was unbearably long, the sourcebook is now out, and it has not disappointed me in the slightest.
While this sourcebook is fairly small in comparison to other expansions that have been introduced alongside the new 5E ruleset, it didn’t need to be bulky to streamline some of the more cumbersome issues with the Artificer class. The latest information, ideas, and options make the class even more exciting to play, and I have been delighted by all the careful breakdowns provided to players.
Artificers are More Playable Than Ever
While Eberron has remained a popular campaign setting for 5E, the original texts have presented a slew of issues for players. From poorly described abilities to cumbersome mechanics, running an Artificer has been a bit of a pain in the neck.
Forge of the Artificer updates the original 5E rules for the class, providing a better set of descriptions for the main class and five subclasses. Artificers are now able to step into almost any role, from powerful Artillerists to the healing and buffing Battle Smith.
I am personally in love with the Cartographer subclass, which is creativity at its peak. Players can use a collection of delightfully original spells, shake campaigns up with unique abilities, and are encouraged to think out of the box with inky Faerie Fire and maps that track a party’s locations. The Artificer has always felt like a clever class, but the builds are not optimized in a way that allows players to focus on actually being clever, and not deciphering exactly how their character functions.
Revisions to Dragonmarks Make Them More Playable
The other deeply important change that players will find in Forge of the Artificer is updated mechanics for Dragonmarks. Originally, these abilities were tied to the species being played, and specifically to family lines. The new version has altered Dragonmarks into Feats, and the marks now have the ability to appear on any character, regardless of background or race.
These marks offer special boosts to characters, with the Storm mark being my personal favorite. I love how the marks can now level with characters, breaking into three tiers of effectiveness. This feels like a huge improvement from the original build, and gets players excited about using and building their Marks as a campaign moves forward.
The book offers backgrounds players can choose to use if they need help tethering the Dragonmarks to their characters, but the breakdown provided makes it much easier to weave into original backstories as well.
In addition to the Artificer breakdown and updates Dragonmarks, players also get a detailed explanation about the Sharn Inquisitives, Morgrave Expedition, and Elemental Airships as they pertain to the updated 5E rules. The airship breakdown is especially helpful and more concise than the original explanations found in D&D Eberron: Rising from the Last War. It’s also nice to have all the information in one location as a player, so that both books don’t necessarily need to be carried to reference important notes.
Forge of the Artificer is designed to be a supplement and not an adventure sourcebook, and it is nice that it isn’t bogged down by one-shot adventures or mini-campaigns. This makes the book a portable and usable resource perfect for anyone playing an Artificer. If you haven’t had the chance to build one of these unique characters, it is more than worth it, especially now that the streamlined rules are available. The possibilities of the Class are endless, and I can’t wait to see how each player interprets and uses the new skills introduced in this excellent expansion.
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