The Gnomish Artificer

 I was reading Roger E. Moore's 2nd Edition sourcebook, Demihumans of the Realms, earlier. Moore was an editor of Dragon Magazine in the 80's and 90's, and in my opinion was one of TSR's better writers throughout that period. He produced a number of short stories in various anthologies as well as at least one novel and numerous magazine articles and pieces that got picked up in other sourcebooks for AD&D. This was one of his few solo authored game books, but on a topic for which he was perhaps the top authority, as he created the various demi-human pantheons for AD&D in a series of Dragon articles in the early '80's. I thought this might be a good place to mine for ideas for my current 5e Forgotten Realms campaign. The book itself is perhaps of somewhat limited utility beyond 2e, as it consists primarily of various 2e specific "kits" to trick out your demihuman PC with. Kits are basically somewhere between a 5e background and subclass, and a lot of AD&D first edition purists dislike them for how poorly they were balanced, but they did provide a lot of customization that was lacking in the base classes. 

I ended up lingering on one of the early entries that caught my attention, the "Artificer, Gnome." Kind of a saner version of a Tinker Gnome, but from Lantan in Faerun. It was also interesting in that it is a Fighter kit, not the half-caster Artificer we have today. So I thought I'd try and recreate a 5e fighter subclass based on the 2e kit, as I thought it could provide a cool narrative arc for a Gnomish Hero who masters martial technology instead of magic, leaning fairly heavily on tool proficiencies to make it work, perhaps too heavily if you aren't a fan of the tool proficiency system. 

Gnomish Artificer Fighter Martial Archetype

The Gnomish Artificer is a skilled builder, inventor, and craftsman who takes his creations and his general problem-solving ability along on his adventures. He combines technical know-how with fighting ability, and in a military force often serves in the engineering or artillery branch, though with gnomes being gnomes is more likely found as an independent operator or as a mercenary providing technical expertise as long as the gold keeps coming his way. This archetype is open to all Rock Gnomes and those of other races mad enough to apprentice to a skilled Gnomish Artificer.

Technical Specialist

At 3^rd level, the Gnomish Artificer gains proficiency in Gunsmith’s Tools and Thieves’ Tools. Additionally, the Gnomish Artificer gains Expertise in two tool proficiencies, doubling her proficiency bonus on those two skills, which may include the two gained with this feature. Additionally, at 3^rd level the Gnomish Artificer gains proficiency in all Firearm and Crossbow Weapon Proficiencies.

Engineer

At 7^th level, the Gnomish Artificer gains proficiency in all Siege Weapons and gains advantage on all tool skill checks as well as on checks relating to constructing or defending against siege works.

Practical Chemist and Demolitions Expert

At 10^th level, the Gnomish Artificer gains Alchemists’ tools proficiency and can spend a day of downtime and 25 GP spent on ingredients found in most large cities to manufacture a small keg of gunpowder, weighing approximately 5 pounds, enough to fire 50 bullets or to create a gunpowder explosive that explodes for 5d6 damage (4d6 bludgeoning + 1d6 fire) in a 10’ radius. Combining multiple days’ work, quantities of gunpowder can be added together to yield larger explosive devices, with 5’ greater blast radius and an additional 5d6 damage for each additional 5 lb. quantity of gunpowder. The Gnomish Artificer can use either Alchemists’ tool or Gunsmithing tool proficiencies (intelligence) to set and light a fuse to explode up to 10 rounds in the future, with a DC of 10 + the number of rounds in the future the detonation is scheduled. If the check fails by one, the fuse simply goes out. If it fails by more than one, roll 1d10. To the number of rounds the in the future the detonation is scheduled, add odd results, subtract even, and the explosion takes place that many of rounds from when the fuse was set to explode. This roll totaling 0 or less results in an immediate explosion as the Gnomish Artificer lights the fuse. The Gnomish Artificer can entrust the lighting of the fuse to an ally, but the ally must use their own tool proficiency check to set the fuse in that instance. The Save DC for those caught in the blast radius is the 8 + the total of the Gnomish Artificer’s Intelligence and proficiency bonuses.

Master of All Trades

At 15^th level, the Gnomish Artificer gains proficiency in all tools, and can make a DC 15 proficiency check to comprehend the workings of and utilize any item of foreign or alien technology.

Master of Nature’s Laws

At 18^th level, the Gnomish Artificer’s grounding in technology and the laws of nature and the mundane world provides her with an enhanced innate magical resistance, and she gains resistance to all magical damage. 

 

Image below copied from R.E. Moore, Demihumans of the Realms, p. 21 (1998) TSR Inc. I found no specific artist attribution for the drawing itself.

Tyranny of Dragons Session 3: Escaping from the Cultists' Camp, and Returning to the Camp

 Might be a little sparse on details, we played this session a week ago and meant to do the fourth session today, but had another COVID interruption. 

Again, this is a campaign of the Tyranny of Dragons Hardcover, so full spoilers ahead if you are planning to play it in the future. Sticking pretty close to the adventure as laid out in there so far. 

PC's:

Link, (maybe slightly derivative) Wood Elf Winter Soldier Bard 1/Paladin 2 - Using Winter Soldier background from Hack and Slash Blog Compendium to represent being from another dimension and recovering from a long sojourn in the astral plane, now serving the Harpers to infiltrate the Cult of the Dragon.

Haggatha Sweetwater, Half Elf Hermit Warlock 3, Pact of Chain with Pseudodragon familiar - Undying Patron - perhaps a fey ghost/undead, Haggatha an older half-elf woman who has recently made a pact, looking for Talis, a missing half-elven friend.

Exellence, Tiefling Wizard - Diviner, level 3 - missing background on this one, and I keep forgetting to write it down, note mentions being from Daggerford.

Damakos, Tiefling Hermit Warlock 3 Fiend Patron.  Pact of Tome.

Zumbruta, Leonin Outlander Barbarian 3 - From the Shaar plains in the distant South. Hates dragons, Blue ones especially. Probably ultimately going with Path of the Beast. 

Zumbruta the lion man finally woke up, and hearing his friends had once more gone following after the cultists went running after them. With the information they had left with the authorities in Greenest, Zumbruta had no trouble finding the camp and avoid the rear guard. He then started sneaking past the kobolds into the box canyon containing the camp after darkness fell. 

The others gathered around a campfire late at night and began to formulate a plan to free Leosin. They ultimately decided to take him up the rope ladder to past the watchtower overlooking the camp. Then Zumbruta found them, and they finalized the plan with a lot more confidence than they had when they started planning. Zumbruta was sent to sneak out of the camp again and to slip around to the plateau above near the watchtower while Haggatha, Exellence, and the halfling slave would make their way up the ladder. Meanwhile, Damakos and Link would free Leosin and take him to the ladder. 

In succession, both Haggatha and Damakos managed to bluff their way past guards and ascend the ladder without arousing too much suspicion. The guard at the top even allowed Haggatha to work on her protective "ritual" at the base of the tower, which turned out to be a silence spell that took effect just as Zumbruta leapt from the rocks above into the tower! Between the three of them they quickly dispatched the four guards, and used a cantrip to make a brief flash to alert Damakos and Link to move. They ascended the ladder with Leosin after a brief confrontation with guards at in the camp who fortunately did not take too close a look at Leosin. The party then engaged in a forced march back to Greenest before collapsing with exhaustion. when they arrived mid-day. 

After resting for a day, the Governor and Leosin approached them once more, suggesting they return to scout the cultists' camp and try to ascertain what the cultists were likely to do or go next. So the party returned, but took their time to approach stealthily, spending another day on the road. Upon arrival, they found clear signs of much traffic leaving the camp. When they returned to the guard tower, they found the dead guards and cut ladder as they had left them, and they only remaining inhabitants of the camp appeared to be a handful of mountain man hunters, who glanced up and waved at them when they were noticed peering into the canyon from above. Making their way back around into the camp, they talked with the gruff mountain men for a bit and learned that most of the cultists had left, other than a handful that remained with a larger number of kobolds in the cave at the end of the canyon. 

They party couldn't resist going into the cave, and they both noticed and were in turn noticed by a couple of guards with fairly large collars watching them from near the cave entrance. As they approached, the cultists retreated deeper into the cave, only to charge out at the when they rounded a bend in the cave. One of the cultists was dropping quickly, leading the other to attempt to escape into the darkness, but doing so merely revealed a passage that the party might otherwise have missed, as the cultist was slain one step into the tunnel. The party followed this passage, choosing a branch that led straight into the barracks for the human cultists. Another battle ensued, with the party fairly quickly overcoming the guards, aided by a darkness spell in particular that caused confusion for the guards, most of whom were hastily being wakened by their companions. They were noticed, however, by Frulam Mondath who came to check on the commotion but arrived just after the last of her guards had been slain, and she quickly followed them, chased back into her quarters where the party landed the final blow. Searching her belongings and writings, they found the marching orders for the cultists who had left. Making a very careful search of the room, the party eventually also found beneath a carpet a hole in the floor with a rope ladder leading to a level below. After healing up a bit, they descended, and at the end of a tunnel at the bottom of the ladder walked into a shrine to Tiamat, where Langdedrosa Cyanwrath the Blue Half-Dragon was waiting, with a couple of fanatical human followers. Langdedrosa wasted little time pitching into the party, who by good fortune were able to retreat into the narrow tunnel where he could only fight one at a time. Langdedrosa took a number of hits, especially from Zumbruta and Link at the front of the line. Then Langdedrosa used his breath weapon, and waved his minions forward to finish the job. Zumbruta fell, then Link fell to great-axe blows from the human followers after one of the berserkers was dropped. Then it was all warlocks and wizards left standing. Exellence fell, then Damakos, both tieflings however getting off blasts of hellish rebuke before falling, and the other berserker fell, leaving Langdedrosa facing Haggatha. Once more, Langdedrosa tossed aside his sword and moved forward to slay Haggatha with his spear. One blow landed, but didn't finish her, and she managed to drop him with a dagger in the end, and quickly administered first aid to Damakos before he managed to bleed out. Link was discovered to still be alive as well, though the wizard and the barbarian had both passed on. Enough healing potions were available to revive the two unconscious heros, and the party retreated, carrying the bodies of their companions after pausing to loot a chest in the shrine with some of the cultists' most valuable stolen items. They used some of these proceeds to buy horses from the mountain men outside, who also agreed to escort them back to Greenest (the party paid a lot better than the cultists did). So we ended back in Greenest, looking for the priest of Chauntea...

Tyranny of Dragons Hardcover, Session 2: Dragons Run Away, Half-Dragons Drop You in Two Rounds

 We finally got to our second session of Tyranny of Dragons, had planned for a week earlier but had to take a break due to me awaiting results of a COVID test. This week another player was out, also awaiting COVID results. This may be a long fall, we'll all be tired of having sticks stuck up our noses by the new year, I'm sure. 

There will be spoilers here, as we wrapped up the first chapter and dove deep into chapter two. 

Reprising PC's from Session 1:

Link, (maybe slightly derivative) Wood Elf Winter Soldier Bard 1/Paladin 1 (Takes another level of Paladin mid-session) - Using Winter Soldier background from Hack and Slash Blog Compendium to represent being from another dimension and recovering from a long sojourn in the astral plane, now serving the Harpers to infiltrate the Cult of the Dragon.

Haggatha Sweetwater, Half Elf Hermit Warlock 2 (Warlock 3 mid-session, Pact of Chain with Pseudodragon familiar) Undying Patron - perhaps a fey ghost/undead, an older half-elf woman who has recently made a pact, looking for Talis, a missing half-elven friend.

Exellence, Tiefling Wizard 2 (Diviner, level 3 mid-session) - missing background on this one, apparently, but note mentions being from Daggerford.

Damakos, Tiefling Hermit Warlock 2 (Fiend Patron. This was the player who had his warlock quickly killed the last time he made one and wanted to try one again. Level 3, Pact of Tome mid-session).

Zumbruta, Leonin Outlander Barbarian 2 (From the Shaar plains in the distant South. Player absent this week due to Covid testing). 

Picked up where we left off, with the PC's back in safety at the keep while the raiders continued looting the town. Zumbruta was noted falling hard asleep in a corner of the keep after the exertions of previous hours, perhaps the continuous exertion was overtaxing his feline frame. Then the blue dragon came back and blasted a couple guards off the wall. The PC's prepared to try and do as much damage as they could each time it closed distance on the keep, Link with arrows and the other three with eldritch blasts, cantrips, and the few first level spells the warlocks had back after their last short rest. Link hit it hard with an arrow and after blasting another guard off the wall of the keep the dragon turned and wing buffeted Link and Exellence, knocking both prone and Exellence unconscious, and in doing so flew back away from the walls once more. Damakos then popped up and punched through its hide with an eldritch blast (critical hit), and at that point the dragon decided it had had enough, and flew away. Haggatha stabilized Exellence and Link finally used his lay on hands to heal him. Then they got in another short rest, holing up and hoping the raiders would leave.

Then a blue half dragon claiming to be Langdedrosa Cyanbane and the son of the dragon they had chased off arrived before the keep with an entourage of blue kobolds and four human prisoners. He offered to trade the prisoners in exchange for an opportunity at single combat with one of the champions of the keep. Everybody of course turned and looked at Link, the paladin (with a side glance at the lionman, who still seemed to be sound asleep and nobody dared try to wake him). 

Link strode forth, three of the prisoners were released, Link got a hit on the half dragon who then proceeded to hit him another three times in 12 seconds with his spear, dropping Link. The kobolds released the last prisoner, and they and Langdedrosa turned and left town, following the rest of their band who already appeared to have left. Damakos stealthily followed them to the edge of town, noting which way they went as they left, and made his way back to the keep. Haggatha ensured Link wasn't dying and they all returned to the keep to rest. 

After resting and leveling up, the party met with the governor, the priest, and a wandering monk. The governor announced the treasury was still intact and hoped the party could act as scouts for the keep, and discover where the raiders had come from, what numbers they were in, and what their future intentions were. The monk announced that his fellow monk Leosin who was investigating cult of the dragon activities in the area had been captured by the cult and he hoped the party could rescue him. The priest took the party back to the temple where they had slaughtered the raiders and found none had returned to loot it, and they were given healing potions and a holy symbol lit up when Link approached it, and the priest insisted he take it as Chauntea appeared to be recognizing him as one of her champions. 

They then left in mid-afternoon, following the path of the cult raiders. About an hour before dusk, using their new Pseudodragon companion, Puddles (Haggatha's familiar), as a scout, they came across a band of kobolds and human mercenary stragglers. They had the pseudodragon bluff the kobolds into checking out what was over the ridge they were hiding behind and surprisingly it worked. Interestingly, nobody from the actual party scouted over the ridgeline and the pseudodragon was a little vague on things like numbers and species. So they prepared to ambush what they hoped would be one kobold, but 8 appeared in a skirmish line formation, noting Damakos and Haggatha who had managed to not hide very well at all. An interesting battle ensued, with the kobolds trying to maintain distance and use their slings, and retreating after a couple of them dropped and they noted it wasn't two enemies but four facing them, but the kobolds hadn't told the humans about what they were investigating so the human bandits were about 300 feet from the top of the ridge. So the kobolds retreated and the humans advanced as the kobold called out to them, but the kobolds were all killed before they could escape as the human bandits advanced, but once the humans starting dropping before they could close due to ranged fire from the party they then turned around and started running away as the party chased after them. One of the warlocks called out for the last human to surrender, and was convincing as the human stopped, dropping his weapons and raising his hands. Interrogating him, the party learned of a rear guard probably waiting a mile or so ahead, and the main camp of the raiders about 5 miles beyond that, a mix of Cult of the Dragon Cultists along with some mercenaries and kobolds promised a share of loot, a sack of which was found among the dead kobolds. The party made him promise them to return to Greenest and turn himself in and they sent him away back to the north. The next day the pseudragon noted him wandering off to the west after the party took an overnight rest. They decided to send Puddles ahead to scout in the direction described, and they ended up with a pretty good idea of where the rear guard was and where the main camp was.

Then the players surprised me. They decided to make a map and return to Greenest with their findings. They weren't super confident about facing either the rear guard or the main camp. The governor, however, upon their report was insistent on them at least laying eyes on the camp and getting a count, and the monk reminded the party of his concern for the fate of Leosin. So they turned around and once more camped out on the path toward the raider camp, after gathering up uniforms from dead cultists to use in infiltrating the camp.

The following day, the second after night of the raid, the party continued toward the encampment, dressing up as cultists. They walked right up to the rear guard, identifying it ahead of time and giving the signal of Tiamat, and talked to the officer in charge about how they had run into a farmstead with some fight in it on their return and been delayed. Then they continued to the encampment. Link was recognized as Knil the cultist who had disappeared shortly before the raid, but he bluffed his way through, giving an excuse of a stomach ailment, but was careful to avoid drawing the attention of the half-dragon Langdedrosa. He was put to work supervising prisoners by the mess tent. He also was detailed to secure the prisoner Leosin to a post in the open near the command tent. Haggatha took charge of a halfling prisoner she claimed she needed to prepare a meal for Langdedrosa. Not sure what to do, the party individually gathered information and then got together at nightfall, and we left off there.

New Campaign, Following Tyranny of Dragons Hardcover from WotC

Starting a new campaign with my Sunday group. We'd spent several months going through the Waterdeep campaign with one of the others running us through Dragon Heist and then Dungeon of the Mad Mage. We are just about at the bottom of Undermountain in that one and pausing to pull everyone back together as much as possible to wrap it up, think the characters are mostly 19th level at this point, and I'm confident that this is the furthest I've ever progressed a PC in a campaign, think I once played a one-shot with pregen 20th level characters but that is it, even playing old BECMI D&D with progression to 36th level and beyond never got that far. And I've been playing a bard (swords) which seemed perfect for Dragon Heist and maybe appearing slightly less so for Undermountain but it has actually been working quite well. Finding the melee bard is actually more of a caster in high level play, I've been surprised at the efficacy of taking Magnificent Mansion as his sole 7th level spell, we've been quite well rested after each adventuring day. Taking Unseen Servant and Magnificent Mansion also seems like a fine match for spells someone at the lower rungs of the Waterdhavian Nobility would find especially useful.

COVID definitely put us off stride with that one, as well as the AL campaign I was running for students at the school I work at which came to a sudden end in the early spring. That one I'd been running the AL campaign of .pdf releases for the last season, but I got tired of it after the third murder mystery got a little repetitive and moved them to Chult when they advanced to tier 2, at the behest of the Flaming Fist (apparently my favorite setting of late - also ran a side campaign using The Tortle Package and a couple other bits with the Sunday group during breaks from Mad Mage, they pretty thoroughly explored the Snout of Omgar and my son enjoyed playing his Lizard(man) Wizard Anthropologist in that one). Last few weeks as some of us have finally started getting together more frequently we've had the teen member of our group run us through a the first part of a third party campaign/adventure path to try out GMing, and I've actually forgotten the name of it, wasn't one I was at all familiar with though. We did lose a Warlock (played by his dad) in the first 15 minutes or so of play to a shambling mound. Also played a bit of Dominion and Quartermaster General (World War I version).

So I'm going to run Tyranny of Dragons for a bit, using the combined hardcover from WotC. Had some other ideas but my son likes the idea of ToD, maybe he likes the cool cover with the five chromatic dragon heads or something, and playing in the Realms is getting pretty comfortable for the group. We'll see how far we get, would be nice to at least get through the Hoard of the Dragon Queen half. I like the adventure, it seems to flow well, hadn't looked at it prior to the recent combined edition which it sounds like has cleaned it up a bit. We had our first session last Sunday, had good turn out with one of our players who has been out for months coming making it back. Our sessions are a little on the long side for my son (8 year old) unfortunately, clocking in at 4-5 hours typically. The younger kids we've had play have all struggled with that, I think. If I keep running this and want him there might have to chop the length of the sessions down a bit. 

PC's

Link, (maybe slightly derivative) Wood Elf Winter Soldier Bard 1/Paladin 1 - Using Winter Soldier background from Hack and Slash Blog Compendium to represent being from another dimension and recovering from a long sojourn in the astral plane, now serving the Harpers to infiltrate the Cult of the Dragon.

Haggatha Sweetwater, Half Elf Hermit Warlock 2 (Undying Patron - perhaps a fey ghost/undead, an older half-elf woman who has recently made a pact, looking for Talis, a missing half-elven friend)

Exellence, Tiefling Wizard 2 (Diviner) - missing background on this one, apparently, but note mentions being from Daggerford.

Damakos, Tiefling Hermit Warlock 2 (Fiend Patron - OG Bone Devil, if I remember right. This was the player who had his warlock quickly killed the last time he made one and wanted to try one again).

Zumbruta, Leonin Outlander Barbarian 2 (From the Shaar plains in the distant South). 

 It's an interesting party mix, I think, with two Warlocks and a Wizard. Amazing how much punishment even a 2nd level barbarian can stand up to with Rage, as he was doing his job taking the hits. Link is kind of an unusual Dex based Paladin build, sort of an archer with some bard spells and musical ability.

We didn't quite get through the first chapter, and it was pretty non-stop action and followed close to the layout in the book. They started in a village a days march to the East, some of those traveling West met a couple characters lately of Greenest who were out looking for some of the raiders who had recently been causing so much trouble in the area. They all traveled back to Greenest together to find the town under attack, by assailants that included a Blue Dragon flying above. And the party immediately split...

 The Tieflings Damakos and Exellence made for the cover near the stream and ran into some villagers who were hiding there as well. Excellence asked them to follow him downstream and out of danger while Damakos kept moving in toward the keep. 

Zumbruta immediately charged into town, followed by Haggatha and after her by Link who took a moment to don his Cult of the Dragon disguise, recognizing the uniforms of the cultists. After fighting through some initial cultists on the edge of town (leading Link, who was further back, to drop his disguise again before shooting at them as Zumbruta charged in and roared) and finding some more town folk to escort to the keep this main group of the party ran into some kobolds chasing down a family of five. Damakos also ran into them at the same time, but from the other direction. A fight ensued, and Haggatha saved the parents who had been cut down by the kobolds with her Spare the Dying cantrip. Then they chased off a couple other cultists while herding all the townspeople into the keep, at about which time a panting Exellence arrived after having spent a fair amount of time running up and down the creek. 

The party then came to the attention of the governor, who handed out some healing potions and put them to work, having them grab a prisoner - Link hoped to nab a cultist but all they returned with alive was a single kobold, who they pumped for as much information as possible. 

They were then sent to rescue a group of townsfolk who were being besieged in the Temple of Chauntea. This was a pretty epic battle, while the group successfully ambushed and quickly dispatched the cultists behind the temple Zumbruta's rage was up and he charged the cultists the party had seen moving toward the other side of the temple, and soon they were fighting all the cultists who had been sent to the temple. It was a close fight, they may have been saved late by the intervention of the Chauntean priest who popped his head out the back door to see what was happening and tossed out a couple healing words to aid the party and bring Link back into the fight. Pretty much all their resources were spent at the end, I think Link still had his Lay on Hands and a Bardic Inspiration, but otherwise spell slots and rages were used up. But we wrapped up after they escorted this group of villagers through the secret entry back into the keep, figuring it was getting to about 2 AM in-game time. 

With the big battle and incidental fights with cultists around town the party had over 50 kills of cultists, men at arms, kobolds, and ambush drakes so far. That has to be a pretty good thinning of this group of raiders, think they are drawing some attention to themselves, fortunately the only escapees of their wrath so far have been kobolds, and who knows what stories those survivors have been spreading...