Now that the book has actually been announced, WotC doesn't have to play coy about the fact that we're getting an additional Eberron supplement later this year. While I'm super-curious about the airship combat rules coming in it (evidently built on the bones of the Infernal War Machines from Descent into Avernus, which seemed like the most robust vehicle combat rules we'd gotten - though my DM seemed pretty uninterested in running them, so we only had one such fight) I'm also a big fan of the Artificer as a class, and eager to see a version of it that fits in with the updates we've gotten to the other classes. As far as Eberron specifically, I've never played a game set there (which, to be fair, is also true of Greyhawk and Dragonlance and many others).
Artificer General:
Largely this is similar to the previous UA. Highlights include infusions being replaced with just "replicate magic item," which allows you to just manifest an item without needing the mundane base for it - something that means an Artificer can get early access to expensive armors like Plate and Half-Plate as early as level 2 (which sort of makes up for only getting Studded Leather, and no option for Scale Mail, at creation) and just overall simplifies the process. With no second look at the Armorer, there's no official word on whether their special, built-in weapons can be made in +1, Radiant, etc. versions.
One nerf here is that only Wands and Weapons created via Replicate Magic Item can be used as a spell focus, rather than just any infused/replicated item. In fairness, I think this probably won't really make too much of a problem (and as a DM, I let our Artillerist use their +2 All-Purpose Tool as an Arcane Firearm, even if that's not strictly kosher).
Another nerf is that the number of plans you can learn has been cut by 33% - you can still replicate 2 to start and 6 eventually, as in the current version, but you only learn up to 8 plans by level 18, down from 12 (the current version lets you learn twice as many plans as you can infuse).
The new Soul of Artifice, likewise, I think, is a pale imitation of the old one - I get that a +6 to all saving throws might have been a lot, but it was cool.
Frankly, even if the replicate armor thing lets me cheat out an AC 20 (or 21) Armorer right at level 3, I'm currently not feeling like this version of the class is giving me much I didn't get in the 2019 version, and is mostly taking things away. Maybe I'm missing something here?
Cartographer Subclass:
Now, I love genre-bending and putting technology in my fantasy worlds. I love that steampunk aesthetic, I love putting futuristic science-fantasy stuff up next to gothic castles, ancient temples, and medieval knights. But I also get that there are some who feel that such "anachronisms" (whatever that means in a world with a fictional history) take them out of the game, and, you know, who am I to tell them no? (Hypothetically, their DM, but my players never seem to complain when I do my genre-bending stuff.)
However, I do think it's notable that this joins the Alchemist as the only other Artificer subclass that I don't think clashes in any way with a pre-industrial fantasy world.
Unfortunately, I also think it joins the Alchemist as among the most underpowered.
Now, to be clear, the Cartographer has some very powerful abilities. And I think that they stand a chance at being really good at certain challenges, especially exploration-based challenges. But in a combat role, they are, like the Artillerist and Alchemist, limited primarily to spellcasting, but unlike those two, they don't get any boost at level 5 to make up for the fact that they're probably casting mainly cantrips.
A Cartographer is definitely set up to be more of a support player, and I think where I might be underestimating it is its capacity for teleportation and movement. But let's look at their actual features:
Cartographer Spells:
As with all other artificers, you get free spells automatically prepared per spell level that you can cast:
1st: Faerie Fire, Guiding Bolt, Healing Word
2nd: Locate Object, Mind Spike
3rd: Clairvoyance, Haste
4th: Freedom of Movement, Locate Creature
5th: Scrying, Teleportation Circle
There are some decent spells in here, with a pretty clear theme of movement and divination. This is very utility-focused, though I think these guys could have a niche of being very good at fighting sneaky foes who can dip into hiding. An enemy NPC will have a hard time keeping a Cartographer off its trail. Again, we're looking at a subclass that has a ton of exploration benefits.
Level 3:
As with all artificer subclasses, Cartographers get tool proficiencies, in this case in both Calligrapher's Supplies and in Cartographer's Tools (the latter being a no-brainer, of course) with the usual caveat that you can take a different tool if you have one of these already (RAW I don't know if this means that if you already have both, you only get one, but whatever).
And, as the updated subclasses tend to, you also get a boost to crafting a particular kind of item, in this case halving the time it takes you to create spell scrolls.
Adventurer's Atlas is one of the subclass' core features: at the en dof a Long Rest, while holding your Cartographer's Tools, you can create a set of magical maps by touching at least two creatures, up to a maximum of 1+ your Int modifier, and give a map to each of those creatures. The map is illegible to others, and lasts until you die or use the feature again. These provide two benefits: first, "awareness," they add 1d4 to initiative rolls, and then "positioning," which allows the target to know the location of all other map holders on the same plane of existence as itself, and if a spell requires them to see a target, they can target the other map-holder even if they're fully obscured, as long as they're still within range of the spell.
I think that 95% of the time, you'll mainly be thankful for the initiative boost here. The positioning benefit will only rarely be helpful, but when it is, it'll be quite good. This is also a feature that the subclass builds on (which is a good aspect of subclass design,) so we'll be checking in with it again.
Scouting Gadgets gives two benefits. "Boost" allows you to expend half your movement (likely 15 ft) to teleport to a space you can see within 10 feet of yourself, as long as your speed is not 0. "Radar" lets you cast Faerie Fire without expending a spell slot a number of times equal to your Int modifier (minimum 1) per long rest.
Faerie Fire is great, and a good Artificer spell regardless, but Boost here is the real game-changer, and the main feature of this subclass that makes me wonder if I'm seriously underestimating it. Because you can teleport 10 feet, assuming your speed is the standard 30, you're really only sacrificing 5 feet of movement to potentially get past a locked gate, up a 10-foot wall, or escaping a monster's grapple, or avoiding opportunity attacks without spending any action. This is, frankly, really, really good. It's just a question of whether the rest of the subclass is decent enough for this feature's power to drag it all into the "good subclass" territory.
Level 5:
Portal Jump allows you to, as a bonus action, teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. You can do this a number of times equal to your Int modifier (minimum 1) per long rest, or you can do so without expending a use if the destination space is within 5 feet of a creature carrying one of your Adventurer's Atlas maps, but this destroys their map.
I have two conflicting feelings about this. On its own, this is a great feature. Like an Archfey Warlock's free Misty Steps, which I think is a great feature, this is actually better - it's not a spell, so can't get countered, and it goes twice as far. The free use of it is probably an emergency button, but it'll be a great way to get you to an ally who needs healing desperately.
However, every other artificer gets some kind of damage boost at level 5. As the only half-caster for whom half (and with this, over half) of the subclasses don't then make you a martial class, being obligated to cast spells for the majority of your damage means that you ought to have some kind of benefit for your damage, and yet Cartographers get none.
Level 9:
Ingenious Movement improves your Flash of Genius. When you use it, you or a willing creature of your choice you can see (and remember that you can see the bearers of your maps if you have one) within 30 feet of yourself can teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space as part of the same reaction. Notably, the target here need not be the one who receives the Flash.
A reaction-speed teleport of a friend is, ok, pretty darn good. I'm trying to think of a scenario in which you'd really need to teleport someone who succeeded on their saving throw, but I guess in theory this could help them if they failed despite the Flash of Genius. Of course, it also just means that you're basically getting two things out of a reaction - maybe you help your Rogue turn that miss into a hit... while sliding the Barbarian into melee with the target so that they get sneak attack.
Level 15:
Superior Atlas improves your Adventurer's Atlas feature in a couple ways. "Safe Haven" allows a creature bearing a map, when they are reduced to 0 hit points and not killed outright, to destroy its map and be teleported to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you or another map bearer, and become Stable. "Unerring Path" lets you cast Find the Path without expending a spell slot or needing spell components once per long rest. "Unshakeable Mind" prevents you from losing concentration on Artificer spells when any of your maps still exist.
Getting Unerring Path out of the way, this feels a bit "ribbon"-y, just in the sense that that spell is... ok, but mostly just flavorful. However, consider the following: Safe Haven has no range restriction. Suppose a party member gets kidnapped, or even, for story reasons, goes into a dangerous situation on their own. Now, it's very unlikely that they'll be killed. And Unshakeable Mind... the only downside here is that if you took War Caster, it'll feel a bit redundant. But this is actually really good for high-level adventures where you might take 60 damage from a dragon's breath and have no way of making the Con save to keep your Bigby's Hand active.
So, overall, I'm deeply mixed on the Cartographer: in situations where you need unrestricted movement and the ability to track down creatures or objects, this is going to be very good at that. But I do feel like in a straightforward fight against a group of monsters, your power level is going to be falling behind other Artificers - even the Alchemist.
Magic Items:
As in the last UA, we saw all the unique artificer infusions turned into magic items in their own right. This continues, but we have one addition, the Manifold Tool. This kind of brings back "Right Tool for the Job" and a bit of the All-Purpose Tool. It does require attunement, so you have to pay a price to basically have proficiency in all tools.
Feats:
A Ton of new Dragonmark-themed feats have been introduced, so I won't go into all of them. These come in three varieties: Dragonmarks (a new category of feat,) General Feats, and a single Epic Boon.
I'm not entirely clear on what the rules around a Dragonmark are - they each come with a rider that says that you must be in an Eberron campaign and you can't have another Dragonmark, but I don't know if this can be an Origin Feat for you or if it needs to be taken at level 4 or one of the other feat-levels. These do not come with an ability score bonus, and given that this would be kind of replacing sub-species or variant species options, I'd kind of assume you can take them in place of an Origin Feat, but I don't see any guidance on that.
There are Greater Marks of each of the normal Dragonmark feats, which are all General Feats (with an ability score boost) that then improve the power of that Dragonmark.
The single Epic Boon is Boon of Siberys, which gives you the typical "max 30 ability boost" as well as letting you pick any Sorcerer spell, or specific ones from a list (which are all 7th- or 8th-level spells). Frankly, unless you already have it, I feel like Wish is going to be hard to turn down, as it can literally cast any of these spells. You can cast the spell once per Short or Long rest, and you can choose between Int, Wis, or Cha for the spellcasting ability.
This is obviously great. I mean, again, how would you not just take Wish? But with the only prerequisite being that you are playing in Eberron, being an Artificer - or, hell, a Monk - who can cast Wish is pretty awesome. Actually, this is too powerful. There's no limit on the number of short rests you can take during a day (Ok, I guess technically 24) and so you could do utterly insane things with this. I think if you forced the player to pick one of these specific spells (True Seeing, Teleport, Animal Shapes, Regenerate, Heroes' Feast, Demiplane, Plane Shift, Symbol, Mind Blank, Project Image, Control Weather, and Maze) it would be far more manageable.
All right then! It's fun that we've got a quicker cadence of UAs coming out after a pretty enormous dry spell during the rollout of the 2024 core books. While I've never played or run an adventure there, I do really like Eberron as a setting - it does a good job of answering "why play here rather than the Forgotten Realms," which is my main standard for campaign settings. My homebrew world shares some DNA with Eberron (mainly the technology) and so I'm really eager to see how the updated artificer shakes out and I'm super-pumped for the airship combat system (which could likely be adapted for Spelljammer to actually give us the ship-to-ship combat we 100% should have gotten in that set).
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