Battle Engineer (5e Subclass)

Battle engineer

[1] by Shimon Alankri

Artificer Subclass

The battle engineer focuses on direct combat with weapons and magical rune arms. They often use heavy or light repeating crossbows to deal heavy damage at long range, and have one-handed weapons to participate in melee combat. They also use rune arms to augment their damage, taking advantage of the built-in cannon.

Runic Arm

Starting at 3rd level, you craft your most powerful tool, a rune infused arm. This arm replaces your natural one, or works as a suit of armor, covering your arm. Regardless, it has the following properties:

• You can use your Intelligence, instead of Dexterity or Strength, for attacks and damage rolls with weapons wielded in this arm.
• You count as one size larger when determining the carrying capacity.
• You gain proficiency with martial weapons.

Battle Runes

At 3rd level, you learn how to infuse your runic arm with different runes, for distinct situations. You can change the active rune whenever you finish a short or a long rest:

Fire Rune. You can use the flames in this rune to help you with movement and attack. As a bonus action, you can blast the flames on the ground, allowing you to Dash or Disengage.

When you Dash, you can fly up to half your movement speed, but ending your movement on the ground or else you fall. When you Disengage, you are moved 10 feet back and a creature from who you are disengaging must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw, or take 2d6 fire damage. This increases to 4d6 at 9th level.

Lighting Rune. You can use your bonus action to unleash charges of electricity on a line of 30 by 5 feet. Creatures in the area must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw, or take 1d8 lighting damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. Your body and the bodies of creatures wearing metal armor that fail a saving throw become electrified, rendering you and them unable to move after using this ability, until the end of your next turn.

Frost Rune. Your body is coated by frost, and you gain temporary hit points equal to your artificer level, and increasing your AC in +1 (and +2 at 9th level).

When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can use a bonus action to freeze that creature. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your Spell save DC or is frozen, having its movement speed halved until the end of its next turn.

In addition, you can create a pulse of snow when a creature move to a place within 15 feet of you. As a reaction, you cause the area to become difficult terrain until the start of your next turn.

Wind Rune. as an bonus action you can create a knot of wind currents around a creature of your choice, choose one creature to give disadvantage on attacks to until the beginning of your next turn.

Runic Cannon

At 5th level, you craft the most powerful weapon in the arm, the runic cannon. As an action on your turn, you can condense the power of the runes into sheer arcane might.

Make a ranged spell attack against a creature within 90 feet, causing 4d8 force damage on a hit. This damage increases in 1d8 at 11th (5d8) and 17th level (6d8).

After using your Runic Cannon, you can make a single weapon attack as a bonus action. Your Runic Cannon drains the energy of the runes, and you can't use them until the start of your next turn.

Rune Activation

Starting at 9th level, you can activate special powers contained inside your runes. Once you have activated your rune, you can't activate that same rune again until you finish a long rest.

Fire Rune. You can cast fireball once, without spending spell slots and without material components. When you do so, you can choose a number of creatures equal to your Intelligence modifier to be unaffected by the fireball, taking no damage. In addition, while this rune is active, fireball is always prepared.

Lighting Rune. As a bonus action, you can activate this rune, allowing you to create an aura of electricity. When you activate in this rune and as a bonus action in each subsequent turn, you can force all creatures in a 10-foot radius around you to make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 1d12 lighting damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. On a failed save the creature can't take reactions. After activated, you can use this ability for 10 minutes.

Frost Rune. You can cast sleet storm without requiring concentration or components. In addition, when you cast this spell, you can choose a number of creatures equal to your Intelligence modifier to be unaffected by these effects. In addition, while this rune is active, sleet storm is prepared.

Wind Rune. you can cast Healing wind without spending a spell slot and without material components, when casting this you will use Intelligence as your casting modifier.

Rune Mastery

At 15th level, you finally master your arm's rune, unlocking their full potential.

Fire Rune. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you deal additional 1d6 fire damage.

Lighting Rune. The damage of the lighting charge increases in 1d8 for each 5 feet of proximity the target have from you, causing 6d8 to targets within 5 feet and reducing 1d8 damage for each 5 feet further. Alternatively, you can unleash a longer lighting bolt, covering a 60-foot by 5-foot line, without the progressing damage, that causes 2d8 damage on a failed save or half as much on a success.

Frost Rune. When you activate the difficult terrain, you can choose to force creatures in the area to make a Dexterity saving throw or fall prone.

Wind Rune. when this rune is active you gain advantage on melee attacks and projectiles.

5.00

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