An Open Letter to D&D’s Game Developers About the Artificer (From a Humble Fanboy)

[The following is an excerpt from my ttrpg book, The Artificer’s Guide to Magic Items available here on DM’s Guild. In its first week it has already achieved Copper Bestseller status!]

Dearest Devs,

I know I have engaged in some light critique in this guide, but in all sincerity, I hold all of you in the highest respect. None of my comments or implications here are intended to be mean spirited or insulting. You have labored long to produce a game that millions of people across the world play and enjoy on a daily basis, myself included.

As you can see from this guide, I love the Artificer class. Thematically, it fills a gap that I’ve wanted to see addressed for many years. I must admit, however, that I’ve been disappointed in how the class has been supported since it first appeared in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. There have been a few new spells added to the Artificer’s spell list as new sourcebooks have come out, but none of them have been exclusive as far as I’ve seen. D&D Beyond has greatly expanded the list of items that can be replicated, but that’s about it.

Apart from that, it has received no additional infusions, no alternate class abilities, unique magic items, or new subclasses the way that the standard twelve classes have. It is a class that rarely appears in virtually any D&D merch, such as the gorgeous, officially licensed enamel pin set. A few of its class features, such as the 9th-level ability Armor Modifications, don’t work correctly on D&D Beyond, and it seems unlikely that the class will ever appear in Larian Studios’ recently released Baldur’s Gate III game, or indeed any other D&D-themed video game in the near future.

Perhaps it is too soon to tell, but it concerns me that there’s been very little about the class in the One D&D releases or interviews. When the Expert classes were released, the Artificer was listed in a footnote as being part of that type of class, but it was not explored the way that the Bard, Ranger, and Rogue were in the playtest materials. This leaves me wondering whether the Artificer class will have a place in the game moving forward.

I hope that it does.  

So, Wizards of the Coast, I challenge you to give the class the consideration it’s due. Make it a legitimate part of the game instead of a strange, often-overlooked curiosity. It may be easy for me on the outside to say this, but when it comes to the Artificer, give us more and give us better. The potential for the class is there, so please do what you can to see it fully realized.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Si vales, valeo.

Matt Carson