The reworked Dungeons and Dragons Artificer received its second round of playtesting in an Unearthed Arcana document from February 27. Along with plenty of small tweaks, Wizards of the Coast has further tinkered with its tinkerer by adding a new subclass. The Cartographer is a map-making Artificer whose only real talent seems to be teleporting a lot – and on a first read, it doesn’t inspire much excitement.
From level three, the Cartographer gains proficiency with Calligrapher’s Supplies and Cartographer’s Tools. They can also craft a Spell Scroll in half the time it would take any of the other DnD classes.
Level three also offers a Cartographer spell list, which offers a varied range of tactics. Healing Word appears alongside Haste, Guiding Bolt, Faerie Fire, and a number of divination spells. That means the Cartographer has a foot in almost all spellcasting camps, from blaster to healer to utility.
Scouting Gadgets, another level-three feature, allows a Cartographer to spend half their movement and teleport to a space within 10 feet. Alternatively, they can cast Faerie Fire without expending a spell slot a few times per long rest. We’re particularly keen on that first option, which provides a neat way to dodge out of melee without triggering opportunity attacks.
Finally at this level comes Adventurer’s Atlas, the low-level Cartographer’s signature piece. After a long rest, the Artificer can use Cartographer’s Tools to create a number of magical maps equal to one plus their Intelligence modifier. Creatures touched during the creation of these maps receive one, and it becomes illegible to everyone else.
A creature carrying one of these maps can add 1d4 to Initiative rolls, and it always knows the location of other map-holders on the same plane of existence. The creature can cast spells or create effects that require you to see the target, but they don’t need to see any map-holding target.
So, the Cartographer is a fast-moving jack-of-all-trades caster who can constantly reposition themselves in a fight. This doesn’t sound too bad so far, but things get a bit less exciting from here on out.
At level five, the Cartographer gets…another teleportation power. They can now teleport up to 60 feet as a bonus action a number of times equal to their Intelligence modifier before they need a long rest. If a creature carrying a magic map is within five feet of your intended destination, the ‘use’ isn’t expended – but the map is destroyed.
Level nine offers even more ways to teleport and not much else. When you use Flash of Genius, you or a willing creature you can see within 30 feet can teleport up to 30 feet as part of the same reaction.
It takes until level 15 to give the Cartographer some truly new toys to play with. The Superior Atlas feature comes with three benefits:
- When a map holder reaches zero hit points but isn’t killed, they can destroy the map to teleport within five feet of you and become stable.
- Once per long rest, if you are holding a magic map, you can cast Find the Path without a spell slot, preparing the spell, or components.
- While one of your magic maps exists, you can’t lose concentration on an Artificer spell by taking damage.
This seems to solidify the Cartographer’s identity as a support role who wants to stay out of trouble while they concentrate on keeping their friends out of trouble.
It’s a little puzzling why so much of its subclass abilities focus on teleportation – the Artificer class has far more problems than just mobility. It’s great to have total control over your position on the battlemap, but what are you supposed to do once you’re in the prime spot? With no features that improve the Artificer’s damage output, support, or control, this subclass feels like a lackluster utility build that’ll spend a lot of time twiddling their thumbs.
Oh, and teleporting.
For more on the new Artificer, check out the full playtest document. We’ve also spun up some thoughts on the new Dragonmark feats that have been introduced. And, for tools that are already published and playable, here’s all you need to know about DnD races and DnD 2024 backgrounds.
Source: Wargamer
