Difference between revisions of "Artificer"

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{{flavour|Artificers are attuned to gadgets, mechanics and magic elicited from arcane items, as opposed to casting magic themselves. As a consequence, they enter the Dungeon with an assortment of wands. Artificers are skilled at evoking magical items and finding traps, and also understand the basics of melee combat.}}
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{{flavour| Artificers have built, bought or burgled an assortment of magic wands to help them through the early Dungeon. Wands have a limited number of uses, though, so they'll want to upgrade from their club ASAP.}}
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An '''Artificer''' is an [[Evocations]] specialist. [[Wands]] and [[rods]] are their tool of choice, and they bring some of the former with them to the [[Dungeon]].
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An '''Artificer''' is an [[Evocations]] specialist. [[Wands]] are their tool of choice, and they bring a few with them to the [[Dungeon]].
  
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Because of the limited usefulness of Evocations to a character without advanced evocable items, Artificer can be considered a challenge class, even if their survivability is far more that that of a [[wanderer]].
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==Preferred Species==
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[[Kobold]], [[Spriggan]], [[Draconian]], and [[Demonspawn]] are the recommended species if you pick an Artificer Background.
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==Preferred Races==
 
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[[Deep Dwarf]], [[Halfling]], [[Kobold]], [[Spriggan]], [[Draconian]], and [[Demonspawn]] are the recommended races if you pick an Artificer Background.
 
  
 
==Starting Equipment==
 
==Starting Equipment==
 
Some [[species]] may receive different items based on their unique restrictions.
 
Some [[species]] may receive different items based on their unique restrictions.
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*+0 [[short sword]]
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*+0 [[club]]
 
*+0 [[leather armour]]
 
*+0 [[leather armour]]
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*3 15-charge wands ([[wand of flame]], [[wand of enslavement]], [[wand of random effects]])
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*[[Wand of charming]] (15 charges)
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*[[Bread ration]]
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*[[Wand of flame]] (15 charges)
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*[[Wand of iceblast]] (5 charges)
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Even if a wand [[alternate items|would be replaced by another wand]], Artificer's wands will always remain the same.
  
 
==Starting Skills and Stats==
 
==Starting Skills and Stats==
 
These are adjusted by your species' [[aptitude]]s.
 
These are adjusted by your species' [[aptitude]]s.
 
*[[Fighting]]: 1
 
*[[Fighting]]: 1
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*[[Short Blades]]: 1
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*[[Dodging]]: 1
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*[[Dodging]]: 2
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*[[Armour (skill)|Armour]]: 2
 
*[[Stealth]]: 1
 
*[[Stealth]]: 1
 
*[[Evocations]]: 3
 
*[[Evocations]]: 3
  
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Choosing Artificer adds 3 to your starting [[Strength]], 4 to your starting [[Intelligence]] and 5 to your starting [[Dexterity]].
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Choosing Artificer adds 4 to your starting [[Strength]], 3 to your starting [[Intelligence]], and 5 to your starting [[Dexterity]].
  
 
==Strategy==
 
==Strategy==
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*Although it's possible to branch away from Evocations early on, artificers who wish to focus on this skill will benefit greatly from [[Nemelex Xobeh]], as his abilities are only affected by the Evocations skill and his deck gifts greatly expand the abilities an artificer will have access to.
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Artificers begin with worse equipment and skills than other backgrounds, but have a number of good emergency tools to compensate. In the very early game, it is one of the strongest backgrounds, as the wands can bail you out from many terrible situations. However, you won't have enough charges to kill ''everything'' with a wand. In addition, the worse skills can make it more difficult to [[Early Game Character Building|develop]] past the very early game.
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*Although the game does not suggest them as a race, [[troll]]s make for an interesting alternative kind of artificer. Their innate attributes allow them to claw their way through most early-game situations, and as they ignore almost all weapons and armour, they can gain [[piety]] with Nemelex quickly. Their Evocations skill proficiency is a lousy -2, but that's standard for trolls, and selecting artificer gives you some skill right from the start. Getting a wide array of powers through a single skill is an excellent bargain for trolls.
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Each wand has a number of uses:
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*The wand of flame deals moderate damage (high for D:1-2) from a distance. Use it to soften up a dangerous threat that isn't dangerous enough to warrant another wand. Or use it to deal a bit of extra damage.
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**When used over [[water]], a wand of flame will create damaging [[steam]] clouds. This deals significantly more damage, and can block [[line of sight]] in the right layout.
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*The wand of charming has a chance to convert a monster into an ally (for a short time). You can turn groups, like [[orc]] bands or [[killer bee]] packs, against each other. You can also use it to escape from a monster - charm a monster, then '''[[t]]'''ell it to '''r'''etreat.
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*The wand of iceblast deals huge damage relative to the early game. A base Artificer deals 3d9 damage with iceblast - that's enough to one-shot [[orc priest]]s, [[Sigmund]], and other [[out-of-depth]] threats. Plus, iceblast damages in a 3x3 area and never misses.
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Artificers can choose many paths to pursue through the game; pretty much whatever you choose, your evocations will be a useful supplement to your main skills.
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Artificer is a particularly good background for species that start off weak, but become strong later. Examples include [[Demonspawn]], [[Barachi]], and [[Naga]].
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
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*Prior to [[0.14]], artificers began with [[scrolls of recharging]] identified.
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*In [[0.29]], Artificers received 5 charges of [[wand of iceblast|iceblast]], losing their [[piece from Xom's chessboard]] (which was moved to [[Chaos Knight]]).
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*Prior to [[0.10]], artificers could start off the game with a +0 leather armour, a bread ration, and either a [[rod of Striking]] (8 charges) or their choice of a wand from Magic Darts, Frost, Flame, Confusion, or Enslavement (15 charges each). If they chose a wand, they also started with a wand of random effects (15 charges). If they chose a non-damaging device (wand of enslavement or wand of confusion), they started with a +0,+0 dagger.
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*Prior to [[0.27]], Artificers began with a [[wand of random effects]] (15 charges) instead of a piece from Xom's chessboard.
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*Prior to [[0.26]], Artificers began with a [[short sword]] instead of a club, and started with [[Short Blades]] skill instead of Armour skill.
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*Prior to [[0.14]], Artificers began with [[scrolls of recharging]] identified.
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*Prior to [[0.10]], Artificers could start off the game with a +0 leather armour, a bread ration, and either a [[rod of Striking]] (8 charges) or their choice of a wand from Magic Darts, Frost, Flame, Confusion, or Enslavement (15 charges each). If they chose a wand, they also started with a wand of random effects (15 charges). If they chose a non-damaging device (wand of enslavement or wand of confusion), they started with a +0,+0 dagger.
  
 
{{backgrounds}}
 
{{backgrounds}}
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[[Category:Backgrounds]]
 
[[Category:Backgrounds]]

Latest revision as of 07:10, 19 February 2024

Version 0.31: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
Artificers have built, bought or burgled an assortment of magic wands to help them through the early Dungeon. Wands have a limited number of uses, though, so they'll want to upgrade from their club ASAP.

An Artificer is an Evocations specialist. Wands are their tool of choice, and they bring a few with them to the Dungeon.

Preferred Species

Kobold, Spriggan, Draconian, and Demonspawn are the recommended species if you pick an Artificer Background.

Starting Equipment

Some species may receive different items based on their unique restrictions.

Even if a wand would be replaced by another wand, Artificer's wands will always remain the same.

Starting Skills and Stats

These are adjusted by your species' aptitudes.

Choosing Artificer adds 4 to your starting Strength, 3 to your starting Intelligence, and 5 to your starting Dexterity.

Strategy

Artificers begin with worse equipment and skills than other backgrounds, but have a number of good emergency tools to compensate. In the very early game, it is one of the strongest backgrounds, as the wands can bail you out from many terrible situations. However, you won't have enough charges to kill everything with a wand. In addition, the worse skills can make it more difficult to develop past the very early game.

Each wand has a number of uses:

  • The wand of flame deals moderate damage (high for D:1-2) from a distance. Use it to soften up a dangerous threat that isn't dangerous enough to warrant another wand. Or use it to deal a bit of extra damage.
    • When used over water, a wand of flame will create damaging steam clouds. This deals significantly more damage, and can block line of sight in the right layout.
  • The wand of charming has a chance to convert a monster into an ally (for a short time). You can turn groups, like orc bands or killer bee packs, against each other. You can also use it to escape from a monster - charm a monster, then tell it to retreat.
  • The wand of iceblast deals huge damage relative to the early game. A base Artificer deals 3d9 damage with iceblast - that's enough to one-shot orc priests, Sigmund, and other out-of-depth threats. Plus, iceblast damages in a 3x3 area and never misses.

Artificers can choose many paths to pursue through the game; pretty much whatever you choose, your evocations will be a useful supplement to your main skills.

Artificer is a particularly good background for species that start off weak, but become strong later. Examples include Demonspawn, Barachi, and Naga.

History

  • In 0.29, Artificers received 5 charges of iceblast, losing their piece from Xom's chessboard (which was moved to Chaos Knight).
  • Prior to 0.27, Artificers began with a wand of random effects (15 charges) instead of a piece from Xom's chessboard.
  • Prior to 0.26, Artificers began with a short sword instead of a club, and started with Short Blades skill instead of Armour skill.
  • Prior to 0.14, Artificers began with scrolls of recharging identified.
  • Prior to 0.10, Artificers could start off the game with a +0 leather armour, a bread ration, and either a rod of Striking (8 charges) or their choice of a wand from Magic Darts, Frost, Flame, Confusion, or Enslavement (15 charges each). If they chose a wand, they also started with a wand of random effects (15 charges). If they chose a non-damaging device (wand of enslavement or wand of confusion), they started with a +0,+0 dagger.
Backgrounds
Warriors Fighter • Gladiator • Monk • Hunter • Brigand
Zealots Berserker • Chaos Knight • Cinder Acolyte
Warrior-mages Warper • Hexslinger • Enchanter • Reaver
Mages Hedge Wizard • Conjurer • Summoner • Necromancer • Fire Elementalist • Ice Elementalist • Air Elementalist • Earth Elementalist • Alchemist
Adventurers Artificer • Shapeshifter • Wanderer • Delver
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