D&D GUIDE
Forge of the Artificer (Sneak Peek)
SEP 18, 2025
Eberron: Forge of the Artificer is nearly upon us, and for many fans of the setting, its release couldn’t come sooner. Despite its massive popularity, you might be surprised to learn that Eberron hasn’t enjoyed an official release from WotC since 2019, with the release of the campaign sourcebook Eberron: Rising from the Last War. In the years since Rising from the Last War’s release, Eberron’s creator, Keith Baker, has left Wizards of the Coast but has been releasing materials to support the setting through the OGL. Fortunately, Baker was brought in to consult on Forge of the Artificer, bringing the whole team back together for one more module.
If you’ve been counting the days till the release, set your calendars to December 9th, and be ready to dive into this 112-page expansion for the Eberron setting, complete with new classes, adventures, and more.
The Revised Artificer Class
Eberron: Forge of the Artificer is a complete module, making sure to check off all the boxes that fans expect with each release. Expect over 20+ new monsters, entirely new spells and magic items, brand new mechanics, and more... including (what we’re all really here for) an altogether new subclass. Eberron: Forge of the Artificer offers a complete rework of the Artificer class, updated to 5.5e rules, and revised to reflect the more modern design philosophies of D&D.
Major Class Changes
Amidst all the larger changes that exist to expand upon the story of the setting and the play experience for the many species and classes of D&D, there is one change that promises to revamp the specific play experience of the Artificer. Revolutionizing gameplay for this class in particular with a minor tweak that stands to liberate the Artificer entirely, allowing players to capitalize on creativity and invention like never before.
As D&D begins to revolutionize its design philosophy, quickly becoming geared towards “rule-of-cool” playstyles, designers are focusing on unnecessary rulesets that previously limited the imagination of players. This updated design approach is perfectly exemplified by the move to streamline the Artificer’s ability to interact with magic items. Previously, the Artificer’s ability to “create” a magic item was pretty limited. Instead of truly “creating” a magic item, Artificers were able to “infuse” an item with magical skills, thereby creating a magic item from a mundane one. While this provides some navigable limitations to the ability of the Artificer that some may find balanced, it has been criticized for its drawbacks by players in the past.
Replicate Magic Item: Thankfully, Forge of the Artificer makes a much-needed change by doing away with Infusions entirely, in favor of expanding upon and unshackling the ability “Replicate Magic Item”. With the release of Forge of the Artificer, Artificers will be able to use the “Replicate Magic Item” ability to create magic items from scratch rather than requiring mundane items as a base. If it isn’t immediately clear, this is a significant upgrade of the ability, as Replicate Magic Item previously only worked with items on a set table of items that could be replicated. With this change, Replicate Magic Item opens up the available options to every single magic item from existing D&D publications. That’s nearly 300 magic items that the Artificer can now create on the fly, and out of virtually thin air.
Magical Tinkering: Magical Tinkering has been completely reimagined from the ground up. Where Replicate Magic Item allows for Artificers to expand their options as far as creating magic items, Magical Tinkering has been reworked to represent the Artificer's ability to craft mundane items. In older iterations of the Artificer, Magical Tinkering essentially allowed the player to infuse mundane items with magical effects that were suspiciously similar to those of the prestidigitation spell. Something that felt pretty redundant when the Artificer's ability to cast prestidigitation as a spell is taken into consideration. Plus, Magical Tinkering previously required the Artificer to physically carry the mundane item with them before they infused it with the ability of the prestidigitation spell, but the reality of this meant that Artificers had to carry items that they could infuse and items that they could tinker with. With the reworks of Magical Tinkering and Replicate Magic Item, Artificers can create objects out of nothing, opening up their actions and keeping them on their toes.
Magic Item Tinker: This feature almost acts as a quality-of-life improvement for the Artificer. With Magic Item Tinker, Artificers can destroy one of their created magic items as a bonus action to regain spell slots. Common items return level 1 spell slots, while uncommon or rare items return level 2 spell slots.
Soul of Artifice: The Artificer's capstone ability is reworked to reflect the raw power of an Artificer at the height of their game. Where previous iterations of this ability allowed the player to cheat death by dropping to 1 hit point instead of 0, the reworked version now restores 20 hit points when triggering the death-prevention effect. Additionally, an option to add 1d6 to any ability check once per turn while attuned to at least one magic item gives the endgame Artificer a little boost to demonstrate their full power.
The New Cartographer
The headline addition is the Cartographer subclass, the first new Artificer specialization since the class's introduction. This subclass transforms exploration into an active, magical endeavor rather than passive navigation. Based on the latest playtest materials, the Cartographer’s level progression should look like this:
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Cartographer |
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LEVEL |
FEATURES |
PREPARED SPELLS |
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3 |
Tool Proficiency - You are proficient with Calligrapher’s supplies and cartographer’s tools, and your spell scroll crafting time is halved. If you already have proficiency with one of these tools, you gain proficiency with another set of Artisan’s tools of your choice. Adventurer’s Atlas - Whenever you finish a Long Rest while holding Cartographer’s Tools, you can use that tool to create a set of magical maps by touching at least two creatures (one of whom can be yourself), up to a maximum number of creatures equal to 1 plus your Intelligence modifier (minimum of two creatures). Each target receives a magical map, which is illegible to all others. The maps last until you die or until you use this feature again, at which point any existing maps created by this feature immediately vanish.
Scouting Gadgets:
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Faerie Fire, Guiding Bolt, Healing Word |
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5 |
Portal Jump - As a Bonus Action, you teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest. You can also use this ability without expending a use if the destination space is within 5 feet of a creature carrying a map created with your Adventurer’s Atlas. Doing so destroys the map that creature carries. |
Locate Object, Mind Spike |
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9 |
Ingenious Movement - When you use your Flash of Genius, you or a willing creature of your choice within 30 feet of you can teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see as part of the same Reaction. |
Clairvoyance, Haste |
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15 |
Superior Atlas - Your Adventurer’s Atlas improves, gaining the following benefits.
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A Closer Look
The Cartographer comes with a couple of standout features that highlight its unique playstyle when compared to other Artificer subclasses. At its core, the cartographer maintains the crafting element crucial to the Artificer, but where others are centered around either offensive or defensive capabilities, the Cartographer creates inventions that put the focus on navigation and exploration. This manifests primarily in the Cartographer’s Adventurer’s Atlas, which opens up the possibilities for both combat and RP in a variety of exciting ways. While the Adventurer’s Atlas is pretty handy as a tool for players to keep track of each other, say when dungeon diving or navigating through darkness, the true potential of this feature lies in its Positioning ability. Let’s take a second look at a specific line within the description: “When casting a spell or creating an effect that requires seeing the target, a map holder can target another map holder regardless of sight, so long as the other map holder is still within the spell or effect’s range.” In other words, the Cartographer is able to target their allies (so long as they hold a map), regardless of whether or not they can see them. This opens up numerous options when it comes to spellcasting, which is often limited by line of sight.
Even just at a glance, it’s immediately apparent what the Cartographer play experience primarily consists of: Movement. Listed above are several features that allow Cartographers and their allies to teleport around the battlefield at will. The earliest of which comes in at Level 3 with the Boost feature, which effectively will enable you to blink into an unoccupied space within 10ft once per turn. Only two levels later, the Cartographer gets Portal Jump, allowing them to teleport up to 60ft away (twice the distance of the average movement speed). With two more teleportation-based features on the horizon, the Cartographer offers a fast-moving playstyle from level 1-20.
Three Campaign Templates for Every Story
In recent years, “campaign templates” have become increasingly common in module releases, thanks to their incredible versatility as plug-and-play adventures that can work on their own or be slotted directly into an ongoing campaign. In keeping with this new approach to adventure building, Eberron: Forge of the Artificer will feature three comprehensive campaign templates designed to help DMs craft their own experiences in the Eberron setting. Each campaign template will come with sample chapters, as well as hooks and plot threads to expand upon as the DM sees fit. While the specific contents of each adventure are up to the DM and their players, each template is geared towards different genres and playstyles. The first, Sharn Inquisitives, is inspired by detective fiction and is structured around investigation and intrigue in the underbelly of Sharn. The second, Dragonmark Intrigue, is a political thriller, centered on the machinations of the dragonmarked houses and the high-stakes negotiations that take place within. Lastly, Morgrave Expeditions is a pulp-inspired high-octane adventure featuring airship chases and unexplored territories. While the specific narrative beats are for you and your players to build, each template comes with relevant monsters, magic items, and DM notes/guides to aid your experience along the way.
New Monsters, Magic, and More
Eberron: Forge of the Artificer offers more than just player options. To complement each of the three campaign templates, this 112-page compendium features over 20 new monsters, with legendary actions and exciting new moves designed to integrate with the latest core rules.
No module is complete without magic. Thankfully, Forge of the Artificer contains several new spells and magic items themed to support Eberron’s techno-magic setting. If that weren’t enough, Forge of the Artificer includes retooled Bastion and Airship rules, a reworked Dragonmark system, and tons of exciting mechanics to revitalize your play experience.
The Future of Eberron
Slated for December 9th, 2025, Forge of the Artificer is shaping up to be the definitive release for the Eberron setting in the post-5.5E landscape. A jam-packed compendium offering content for players and DM’s alike, Forge of the Artificer has been described by lead designers from WotC as Eberron’s very own “Xanathar’s Guide to Everything”, meaning it’s certainly worth adding to your wishlist. Pre-Order the full digital release featuring full VTT integration, a bonus mini adventure, and tons of exclusive goodies over at the Roll20 marketplace, and secure your access to what promises to be the most comprehensive Eberron expansion yet.