How to Play a Craftsman

The Craftsman class offers extremely rewarding customization and experimentation, but it can seem like a lot. The class sometimes carries a reputation for daunting complexity. This guide is here to pull back the curtain: the Craftsman doesn’t need to be overwhelming and you too can have fun building your arsenal from scratch!

Weapon Masteries 101

The new 5.5E Weapon Mastery system is the Craftsman’s bread and butter.

First, let’s clear up a common Weapon Mastery misconception. When you pick a Weapon Mastery, you choose two weapons and gain the ability to use their associated mastery properties, as shown on the 5.5E Weapons table. You don’t choose two mastery properties and gain the ability to use these properties with all of their associated weapons.

Two Masteries

As a Craftsman, starting at level 1, you can make any of your weapons a Masterwork weapon, which does two important things:

1. You get a +1 to attacks and damage rolls (improves at higher levels).
2. You can add a second mastery property to that weapon.

Whenever you hit with that weapon, you can use both of your mastery properties at once. (Assuming, of course, that you picked that weapon as one of your Weapon Mastery options.) That means you can Push and Topple on every attack, or have Cleave and Graze on the same weapon.

Experiment with this system and have fun! There are tons and tons of combinations of properties to mix and match. You unlock new tiers of mastery properties at Craftsman levels 5 and 11, and you can add a third property to each weapon at level 17.

What’s Up with All These Properties?

Now that you’re looking at all the mastery properties, you’re probably asking: why are there so many? Which ones do I pay attention to?

Start by looking at the mastery properties on the 5.5E Weapons table – those are the majority of mastery properties on the Craftsman’s list. Generally, mastery properties can be swapped between similar weapons: Shortswords and Scimitars have Nick and Vex, for example. Greatswords and Greataxes have Cleave and Graze.

Each mastery property has prerequisites which correspond to the types of weapons that normally use it. Check those before adding a property to a weapon. If all else fails, you can put Push on any weapon!

Build an Arsenal

I suggest putting together a handful of weapons that fit different situations, with mastery properties designed to fulfill specific jobs. For example, you might want a Longsword with Sap and Topple as your go-to debuff weapon and a Longbow with Tension to deal with flying enemies.

The Party Blacksmith

Your role, more than anything, is to build and upgrade the party’s weapons and armor. You’ve got three major features that reinforce that role.

Masterwork for your Allies

Your allies can also use your Masterwork weapons and armor, with some slight restrictions:

1. Your allies gain half of your Masterwork bonus (rounded up)
2. Your allies can only use one of the weapon’s two Masterwork properties each turn
3. Your allies gain only +1 to AC from Masterwork armor, which doesn’t improve at higher levels.

Build as much Masterwork equipment as you can afford! Your party will thank you when they’re flush with +1 weapons and armor.

Customize Armor

At Craftsman level 6, you can further upgrade everyone’s Masterwork armor. You can give each suit of armor a Climb Speed, a Swim Speed, the ability to doff it quickly, or even an integrated weapon.

Fortify Arsenal

At Craftsman level 7, you can spend 10 minutes (usually over a Short Rest) to sharpen everyone’s weapon or reinforce their armor. This gives each weapon Advantage on one attack roll and allows armor to grant Resistance against one instance of Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing damage.

Building Weapons from Scratch

Not only can you customize existing weapons, you can build them from scratch! The Craftsman comes with an optional system to piece together weapons by adding properties one by one. Each property generally increases the weapon’s damage dice up or down one step on a track.

Importantly, every weapon you can create with this system should be exactly balanced with the weapons you can find on the 5.5E Weapons table, or with similar weapons in Valda’s Spire of Secrets, Dark Matter, etc.

Use this system if you want to build entirely new weapons from scratch and to experiment with weapons and weapon properties you usually only find in modern and futuristic settings, like Automatic and Recoil.

Roleplaying a Craftsman

You’re not just a tinkerer or a hobbyist – you’re an artisan, one of the best at your craft. It’s possible your last name is synonymous with what you make, like a Stradivarius or a Steinway. Think about how you gathered this incredible expertise. Perhaps you ran a shipyard, designed weapons for the army of a powerful noble, or built and repaired constructs in the service of an archmage.
Here are some personality traits, bonds, ideals, and flaws hand-picked for the Craftsman class.

How do you do what you do?

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

Craftsman Personality Traits

d6	Personality Trait
1	If it isn’t about to blow up, I’m not really interested in it.
2	Food doesn’t taste right if there isn’t a little grit in it.
3	I’ve never seen a machine I didn’t understand, but people are a complete mystery to me.
4	Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four sharpening the axe.
5	I am constantly estimating values and doing calculations in my head.
6	I am always measuring myself against great masters of the past.

What do you want?

These are your bonds, things you have to do even if you don’t want to. Roll on the following table, or choose one of the options:

Craftsman Bonds

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.
3	I have a blueprint 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:

Craftsman Ideals

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:

Craftsman Flaws

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.

And that’s how to play a Craftsman! If you still have questions or want to go deeper with the class and its subsystems, you can join our Discord. There’s a Craftsman-specific channel and a community of chill nerds willing and able to tell you anything you might want to know about this class.

---