Craftsman

Character playbook
CRAFTSMAN
Craftsmen are inventors, makers and tinkerers whose aptitude and skill
is so uncannily advanced it borders on the magical. With tools and
equipment for every occasion, a craftsman can be everything from a
tanky frontline fighter to fabulously fancy support class, or both. Play
a craftsman if a bag of holding is too small for the ambitions of your
inventory.
Ability Scores
Your six ability scores define your character’s strengths and weaknesses,
and are the primary way you interact with the game world. To determine
your ability scores, roll 4d6; ignore the lowest die, and record the total
of the other three on scratch paper. Do this five more times, then assign
one of the numbers to each of your six ability scores. For a craftsman,
your highest ability score should be Intelligence, followed by Strength or
Dexterity.
If you’d prefer not to take the time to roll, or if you’re uncomfortable
with a random result, you can use the following default array of ability
scores for your craftsman:
Strength – 14 Intelligence – 15
Dexterity – 12 Wisdom – 8
Constitution – 13 Charisma – 10
Remember an ability score is entered on your sheet separate from your
ability score modifier, which is determined by the following formula:
Ability score modifier = (ability score − 10) / 2, rounded down
A craftsman with a Intelligence score of 15 would have a Intelligence
modifier of +2.
Race
Craftsmen can appear in any race, as each makes a very different kind of
technology. For a quick, optimized build, choose human or high elf (or roll
on the table below) and follow the guides to create your craftsman:

d20 Race Description

1–10 Human With a relatively short life span, humans aren’t here
for a long time—they make their years count.
11–20 High Elf High elves create technology requiring centuries of
planning, preparation, and oversight.

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Human
Short-lived is not short-sighted, and humans do more with a few years
than other races do with many. This is your pick for a strength-based
craftsman.
ABILITY SCORE INCREASE
Each of your ability scores increases by 1. Using the default array above,
this brings your Constitution modifier to +2 and your Intelligence
modifier to +3. Information presented below will use these bonuses.
SPEED
30 feet is your base walking speed. Write it in the Speed box.
SIZE
Your size is Medium. Write this in the Size box.
TOOLS, LANGUAGES, SENSES
Enter the following information in this section:
Languages: Common and Dwarvish You can speak, read, and write
these languages.
You don’t have darkvision, but your dungeoneer’s pack includes 10
torches—use them wisely!
High Elf
High elves are renowned for the ageless quality of their work; a high elf
craftsman is heir to an ancient culture of excellence and elegance. This is
your pick for a Dexterity-based craftsman.
ABILITY SCORE INCREASE
Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases
by 1. Using the default array above, this brings your Dexterity modifier to
+2 and your Intelligence modifier to +3.
SPEED
30 feet is your base walking speed. Write it in the Speed box.
SIZE
Your size is Medium. Write this in the Size box.
TOOLS, LANGUAGES, SENSES
Enter the following information in this section:
Languages: Common, Elvish, Dwarvish You can speak, read, and
write these languages.

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Senses: Darkvision, 60 feet Within this range, you can see in darkness
as if it were dim light.
RACIAL TRAITS
Your craftsman has the following traits based on their high elf race; add
these to the Racial Traits section.
Fey Ancestry. Adv. on saving throws against being charmed,
and magic can’t put you to sleep You have advantage on these
saving throws, which means you roll twice and take the higher result.
Draw a little heart next to your saving throws to remind you of this trait!
Keen Senses. You gain proficiency in the Perception skill, in addition to
those provided by your class and background; fill in this circle in the
Skills section of your character sheet.
Trance. 4 hours semi-conscious dreaming = 8 hours sleep. You
only need to rest half as much as other races to gain the benefits of a
long rest.
Cantrip. High elves learn one cantrip, or “at will” spell, of their choice
from the wizard spell list. Mage hand is an excellent choice; add this
to the Cantrips section of your character sheet.
Hit Points
Your hit points (HP) are an abstraction of your ability to take damage and
continue adventuring; it might also be useful to think of them as “heroism
points.” Your HP maximum is determined by your class’ hit die (craftsmen
use a d10) and your Constitution modifier. At first level, you take the
maximum roll of the die, add your Constitution modifier. Your human
craftsman has 12 hit points. Enter this in the Max Hit Points section of
your character sheet.
You have a number of 1d10 Hit Dice equal to your character’s level.
Write this in the Hit Dice section of your character sheet. As you gain
levels, you gain additional Hit Dice. You can spend these dice when you
take a short rest to regain hit points.
Skills
Your “bonus” to ability checks is the same as your modifier for the ability
score listed in parentheses. Enter the relevant ability score modifier in the
underlined space next to the skill name.

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 For skills in which you are proficient, you also add your proficiency
bonus. This increases as you level up. In the Skills section of your
character sheet, fill in the circle to indicate your craftsman is proficient in
Arcana and Athletics, or select two of your choice from the class’ skill list:
• Arcana • Investigation • Perception
• Athletics • Medicine • Persuasion
• History
For these skills, add your proficiency bonus to the total. For example, your
1st level human craftsman has a bonus to Strength (Athletics) checks of
+4.
Saving Throws
Saving throws indicate your character’s reactions to certain events in the
world like spells, traps, or explosive malfunctions. Just like ability checks,
some saving throws add your proficiency bonus. In the Saving Throws
section of your character sheet, fill in the circle to indicate your craftsman
is proficient in Constitution and Intelligence saving throws. A 1st level
human craftsman would have the following bonuses:
• Strength: +2 • Constitution: +4 • Wisdom: -1
• Dexterity: +1 • Intelligence: +5 • Charisma: +0
Initiative
When you start combat, your Dexterity determines how quickly you act.
For a human craftsman, write +1 in the Initiative box on your character
sheet.
Proficiencies
This section indicates the proficiencies provided by your class. As
a “martial” class, your craftsman is proficient in every item in this
section from light armor to martial weapons. Fill in every bubble in the
Proficiencies box, and enjoy the sense of pride that comes from doing so.
You also gain proficiency with special “exotic” weapons and armor
used by the craftsman class. Starting at 2nd level, weapons and armor you
make using this class tend to be exotic and superior to other options. Write
Exotic weapon and armor proficiencies in the Class Features box of
your character sheet and throw a big asterisk in your Proficiencies box to
remind you that you’re just super good with weapons and armor!
The Proficiency Bonus box next to your ability scores scales with your
level and is shown in the Class Features table of the craftsman class. At 1st
level, enter +2 in this box. The bonus increases by 1 every four levels you
gain in any class.

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Class Features
The craftsman class lets you take something good and make something
great. Here is condensed text to enter below in the Class Features box of
your character sheet:
Active Crafting. Each day, create one item costing materials
up to 25 gp. You pay half the item’s gold piece cost in materials. If
an item costs more than 25 gp in materials, you can finish the item by
working on it for multiple days, spending 25 gp each day until the item is
completed.
Items you craft using this feature are worth half their gold piece cost
when sold. This means that you can sell an item to refund its cost in
materials, but not to make a profit.
Below is a table of powerful exotic items your craftsman might craft
actively:

Weapon Cost Damage Properties

Double Sword 165 gp 1d10 slashing Double*, two-handed
Double. When you use the Attack action to attack with this weapon, you
may make an additional attack using a bonus action. You do not add your
ability modifier to damage rolls for this bonus attack.
Demolition 200 gp 1d8 fire Ammunition (range 80/320),
Bow explosive, two-handed
Greatspear 55 gp 1d12 piercing Heavy, reach, two-handed
Explosive. When this weapon hits a target, it explodes in a 5-foot radius.
Each creature other than the target within the blast radius must succeed on
a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking half damage on a failed save or no
damage on a successful save.

Armor Cost Armor Class Strength Stealth

Brigandine Armor 95 gp 13 + Dex modifier — —
Mountain Plate 2,000 gp 19 Str 15 Disadvantage

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Weapons
Your craftsman begins their journey with weapons they might have forged
themselves: a warhammer, a dagger, and a shortbow. The warhammer adds
your Strength modifier and your proficiency bonus to its attack rolls, and
your Strength modifier to its damage rolls. The dagger and shortbow do
likewise, but add your Dexterity modifier instead of Strength. Enter the
following information in the central Attacks section of your character
sheet.

Attack
Weapon Bonus Damage Properties
Warhammer +4 1d8 + 2 Versatile (1d10 + 2 damage if
bludgeoning wielded in two hands)
Dagger +4 1d4 + 2 piercing Finesse, light, thrown (20/60)
Shortbow +3 1d6 + 1 piercing Ammunition (range 80/320),
two-handed

Armor
Your class comes with scale mail, tiny overlapping plates of metal linked
together to cover your squishy bits. While wearing this armor, your Armor
Class (AC) is 14+ your Dexterity modifier (up to a maximum of +2). The
shield, if you are wielding it, adds an additional 2. Enter 15 in the shield-
shaped Armor Class section of your character sheet, or 17 if you are
wielding your shield.
Inventory
Add this starting equipment to the Inventory section of your character
sheet:
• Craftsman’s tools This is a special tool kit provided by your class;
you can use it for any ability check you would make with any set of
artisan’s tools (such as leatherworker’s tools or brewing supplies).
• Dungeoneer’s pack
• Shield
• Scale mail
• A dagger
• A warhammer
• A shortbow with 20 arrows

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BACKGROUND
Your background asks, “What did you do before you were called to become
an adventurer?” The answer gives you some insight into your decisions and
temperament. There are also some mechanical benefits to the time spent in
this way. It helps to think of it as a series of questions.
What do you look like?
Think of 1 to 3 important physical details about your character other
players can use to visualize them as you play. Maybe your human
craftsman moves about in a perpetual cloud of dust and industrial
particles. Or perhaps they have burn marks up one arm and a missing
eyebrow to match.
What do you sound like?
You don’t have to be a voice actor or do accents to distinguish your
character’s speaking voice from your own. Think in terms of pitch, rate,
volume, rhythm, or timbre. Maybe your human craftsman speaks loudly
because working in a forge has left them hard of hearing. Or perhaps they
perpetually leave sentences unfinished as they draw out schemata in their
mind.
What did you do?
Your previous occupation and lifestyle, usually an apprenticeship, provide
certain mechanical benefits and personality traits to guide your roleplay.
You can choose a prewritten background or create your own, gaining the
following features: Fill in the bubbles next to Intimidation and Nature
in the Skills section of your character sheet. In Tools, Languages, and
Senses, write Vehicles (water) and Language: Halfling. Additionally,
add the following items to your Inventory:
• Pot, iron
• A lucky charm such as a broken clock or metal hook
• 50 feet of silk rope
• Sailcloth, 5 pounds
Roll on the following table, or choose one of the options to determine your
previous occupation:

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 d8 Background
1 I built ships in my hometown’s dry dock.
2 I fixed household goods all over the country while traveling with an
itinerant tinkerer.
3 I designed weapons for the army of a powerful noble.
4 I fitted over one thousand horseshoes as an apprentice farrier. I
counted.
5 I invented a new way to solve a household problem, and I sell that
solution door to door.
6 In service of an archmage, I built and repaired constructs.
7 I traveled the world in search of the perfect materials for my schemata.
8 I maintained and operated a fabulous clock tower.

How do you do it?

These are your personality traits, your own way of moving through the
world. Roll on the following table, or choose from the options:

d8 Personality Trait
1 If it isn’t about to blow up, I’m not really interested in it.
2 I haven’t yet met the person, place, or thing I couldn’t improve with a
little cooperation.
3 Food doesn’t taste right if there isn’t a little grit in it.
4 I’ve never seen a machine I didn’t understand, but people are a
complete mystery to me.
5 Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four
sharpening the axe.
6 I am constantly estimating values and doing calculations in my head.
7 I like to work fast. That’s usually what makes a project go wrong.
8 I am always measuring myself against great masters of the past.

What do you want?

These are your “bonds”—they help you determine the answers or solutions
you will tend to choose if possible. Roll on the following table, or choose
one of the options:

d6 Bond
1 I sold 13 copies of a powerful ranged weapon. I must reclaim each and
every one of them.
2 The perfect weapon doesn’t exist yet, but it will—and I’ll be the one to
build it.

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 3 I have a schema that could revolutionize warfare, and I can’t let it fall
into the wrong hands.
4 A portion of profits earned with my devices must go to the guild that
helped me develop them.
5 Someone I loved died in an accident my device could have prevented.
I won’t let anyone else die in the same way.
6 Once, in a dream, I designed a working perpetual motion machine.
I’ve been chasing that high ever since.

Why do you want it?

These are your “ideals”, the guiding principles for your choices learned
from years on the job, and tend to reflect your alignment. Roll on the
following table, or choose one of the options:

d6 Ideal
1 Tradition. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. (Lawful)
2 Excellence. Measure twice, cut once. (Neutral)
3 Power. He who dies with the most toys wins. (Evil)
4 Respect. If it shouldn’t move and it does, fasten it down. (Lawful)
5 Freedom. If it should move and it doesn’t, break it loose. (Chaotic)
6 Fame. Spackle and paint make me the craftsman I ain’t. (Neutral)

What gets in your way?

These are your “flaws”, or the reasons you might make choices that hold
you back or keep you from your goals. Roll on the following table, or
choose one of the options:

d6 Flaw
1 I use anything I can get my hands on as raw material, even if it’s not
mine.
2 I value things more than I value people.
3 Once I get an idea, I can’t focus on anything else until I finish it.
4 I tend to analyze variables and question probabilities until it’s much
too late to make a decision.
5 Once I find a working solution, I don’t take the time to question it
again.
6 I’m way too quick to take things apart.

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 LEVELING UP
As you gain levels in the craftsman class, you unlock additional features to
add to your character sheet and upgrades for your items.
Leveling Up to 2nd Level
At 2nd level, you gain an additional d10 hit die, and your craftsman’s hit
points increase by 1d10 + 2 (8); add this to your maximum hit point total.
You add the following to your Class Features:
Masterwork Equipment. You can make Masterwork weapons
and armor for + 50 gp in price and you can add special
properties to them. The full class description contains a complete
list of masterwork properties, which scale in cost and potency along
with your level. At this level, your Strength-based human craftsman
might focus on upgrading their scale mail. Here are 3 masterwork
properties you can apply to the armor, given enough gold and time:
Exotic: armor becomes exotic; +1 to AC. Remember no player class
other than craftsman has proficiency with exotic armor.
Cleated: Reduce involuntary movement by 10 feet.
Quick-change: Don or doff this armor as an action. Normally it
takes 5 minutes to don (put on) scale mail, and 1 full minute to doff
(remove) it.
If something you craft calls for a save DC, it is calculated as 8 + your
proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier. For your human craftsman,
this equals 13.
Tool Belt. Action - produce a nonmagical item even if it’s not
in your inventory. It doesn’t have to make sense. The item’s cost can
be up to 50 gp. You can’t use this feature to produce a weapon, suit of
armor, shield, or potion. An item retrieved this way vanishes when you
take a long rest. You can use this ability a number of times equal to
your Intelligence modifier (3) and regain all expended uses when you
finish a long rest; you can track these uses in the Ability Uses section
of your character sheet.

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Leveling Up to 3rd Level
You gain an additional d10 hit die, and your craftsman’s hit points increase
by 1d10 + 2 (8); add this to your maximum hit point total. At this level,
craftsmen gain the benefits of an Artisan’s Guild. This is your subclass,
and it grants you additional features at 3rd, 7th, 10th, 12th, and 18th level.
There are many subclasses to choose from; the Armiger’s Guild focuses on
using and improving armor.
Also at 3rd level, your Active Crafting feature improves: you can
complete 50 gp of an item’s cost each day.
You have the choice of a fighting style at 3rd level; the simpler of the
two is Defense. Add the following to your Class Features:
Fighting Style - Defense: +1 to AC while wearing armor. You
can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get
to choose again.

SPELLS
If you play a high elf character, you know the following cantrip:
MAGE HAND
Conjuration cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 minute
A spectral, floating hand appears at a point you choose within range. The
hand lasts for the duration or until you dismiss it as an action. The hand
vanishes if it is ever more than 30 feet away from you or if you cast this
spell again.
You can use your action to control the hand. You can use the hand to
manipulate an object, open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve
an item from an open container, or pour the contents out of a vial. You can
move the hand up to 30 feet each time you use it.
The hand can’t attack, activate magic items, or carry more than 10
pounds.

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