Artificer Specialist: The Pyrotechnician
While other artificers create, pyrotechnicians are masters of destruction. Using alchemical explosives and magical detonators, they dismantle enemy fortifications and lay waste to whole platoons with devastating traps. If you’re looking for subtlety, you should probably look elsewhere, but if all you need is raw firepower then you’ve come to the right place.
Tool Proficiency
When you choose this speciality at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with alchemist’s supplies. If you already had proficiency with that tool, you may instead gain proficiency with another type of artisan’s tool of your choice.
Specialist Spells
You always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Pyrotechnician Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.
Pyrtotechnician Spells
| Artificer Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | Faerie Fire, Fog Cloud |
| 5th | Cordon of Arrows, Pyrotechnics |
| 9th | Fireball, Glyph of Warding |
| 13th | Hallucinatory Terrain, Wall of Fire |
| 17th | Flame Strike, Immolation |
Set the Charges
At 3rd level, you develop a special form of alchemical explosive and corresponding magical detonator, allowing you and your allies to set up cunning traps.
As part of a long rest, you may create a number of Alchemical Charges, up to your Intelligence modifier, along with corresponding unique detonators. For each charge/detonator combo, you must expend an artificer spell slot, and choose a damage type from acid, fire, lightning, or poison. An alchemical charge remains active for 24 hours or until your next long rest, whereupon the magic sustaining the reagents and powering the detonators, ceases to function.
A charge is a Tiny object with AC 15, a number of hit points equal to twice your proficiency bonus, and immunity to poison and psychic damage; a destroyed charge is rendered inert, its magic wasted.
As an action, you may affix a charge to a surface; this surface cannot be slippery, such as ice or a surface coated in oil. Alternatively, you may throw the charge to a point within 20 feet. A creature that is holding the corresponding detonator may then use a reaction, or a bonus action on their turn, to detonate the charge, which explodes in a radius equal to 5 feet per level of the spell slot expended in its construction. You must be within 300 feet of the charge to detonate it.
A charge deals damage of the selected type to all creatures in the area, equal to your artificer level + your Intelligence modifier; creatures may make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, halving the damage on a success.
Unstable Reagents
At 5th level, when you cast a damage-dealing spell while using alchemist’s supplies as your spellcasting focus, you may choose to reroll a number of the damage dice, up to your proficiency bonus (you may only reroll each die once).
Linked Charges
From 9th level, when you craft two or more alchemical charges, you may choose to link multiple charges to the same detonator, meaning that all those charges will explode on the same reaction / bonus action.
Siege Engineer
At 9th level, your alchemical charges deal double damage to objects and structures.
Essence of Reclamation
At 15th level, when one of your alchemical charges detonates, you immediately regain the spell slot expended in its construction if the slot was 3rd-level or lower.