Element Shaper (5A)

This is an Artificer Specialization for 5A.

The elements are alive. An elemental shaper forms them into an elemental construct, matter given form and animation by the artificer's craft. All elemental constructs consists of all the elements, but the methods and tools the element shaper uses changes the mix of elements.

Greyhawk: An ancient art practiced by elves, but also in the old Suel empire and by the Temple of Elemental Evil. Most, including many practitioners, see this as a summoning art rather than as artificing.

Subclass Abilities

Element Shaper Spells

Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Element Shaper Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.

**Element Shaper Spells**
Artificer Level	Spells
3	Absorb Elements, Chromatic Orb
5	Dragon's Breath, Hold Person
9	Pulse Wave, Thunder Step
13	Evard's Black Tentacles, Fire Shield
17	Hold Monster, Steel Wind Strike

Elemental Lore

At 3rd level when you choose this specialization, you learn Primordial and one of its elemental daughter languages: Auran (air), Aquan (water), Ignan (fire), and Terran (earth).

Elemental Construct

At 3rd level you gain the ability to shape and animate the elements into an elemental construct. You have four basic forms you can choose between, floater (air), biped (fire), multiped (earth), or serpentine (water).

In combat, the elemental construct shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated, the elemental construct can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge.

If your elemental construct dies, it collapses into a lump of matter, a Tiny object weighing 10 lbs. You can use an action to revive it, provided you are within 5 feet of it and you expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher. If you do so the elemental construct returns to life after 1 minute with all its hit points restored. If your elemental construct is lost or you wish to rebuild it, you can create a new elemental construct with 2 hours of work. This allows you to alter any choices made in its construction. You can do this during a long rest. Your old elemental construct returns to inert matter when you start making a new one.

Finally, the stat block for the elemental construct uses your Proficency Bonus (PB) in many places.

Elemental construct

Medium Construct

Armor Class: 13 + PB (natural armor)

Hit Points: 6 hp x your level (d8 hd equal to your level)

Speed: 30 feet, Fly 30 feet (floater only, can hover), Swim 30 feet (serpentine only)

STR 10 plus PBx2 (+PB) DEX 13 (+1) CON 13 (+1) INT 5 (-2) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 10 (+0)

Saving Throws: Dex +1 plus PB, Con +2 plus PB

Skills: Athletics +0 plus PBx2, Intimidate +0 plus PB

Damage Resistances: cold, electricity, fire

Damage Immunities poison

Condition Immunities exhaustion, poisoned, unconscious

Senses: darkvision 60 feet, passive Perception 10

Languages: understands Primordial.

Challenge: —

Proficiency Bonus: equals your bonus.

Hands: (biped only) Has 2 hands that can use weapons. When attacking with weapons it has proficiency with it uses your spell attack modifier to hit.

Mount: (multiped or serpentine only) The elemental construct can carry a rider of Small size.

Weapon proficiencies: (biped only) proficient in simple melee weapons.

Action

Slam Attack. Melee Weapon Attack your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. 1d8 +PB bludgeoning damage

Weapon Attack. Melee Weapon Attack (biped only - you must supply the weapon) your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. Damage by weapon type.

Claw Attack. Melee Weapon Attack (multiped only) your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. 1d8 +PB piercing damage.

Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: (serpentine only) your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. 1d8 +PB piercing damage. The target is grappled, escape DC 10 + PB Until this grapple ends, the creature is grappled, and the elemental construct can't constrict another target.

Spark. Ranged Weapon Attack (floater only) your spell attack modifier to hit, range 30/90 feet, one target. 1d6 +PB electrical damage.

Elemental Affinity (Optional Rule)

Elemental Affinity is an optional rule that has purely cosmetic effects. You can ignore this rule with no consequences.

The appearance and nature of your elemental construct depends on a number of choices you make as an element shaper. All elemental constructs are composed of all the four elements, but some have more of one element than of the others. There are numerous places in this subclass where there are multiple choices, one for each of the classic elements, air, earth, fire, and water. Your servant's appearance is shaped by these choices. This has no effect on the abilities of the elemental construct, it is more of a visual clue.

The basic elemental construct is a rough collection of matter with chunks of stone, ice, water, and embers, all surrounded by a miasma like a second skin. If you choose air, the servant is less solid and more like a thundercloud. When you choose earth, the servant becomes more solid and hunched over like a beast. Fire makes the servant more fully formed, with a distinct head and limbs. Water makes the servant fluid, sinuous, and flexible.

In addition to the choices listed under other abilities below, your tool proficiencies affects the elemental affinity of your elemental construct if you have them:

Air Musical instruments.

Earth Jeweler’s tools, mason's tools.

Fire Alchemist's supplies, smith's tools.

Water Brewer’s supplies, potter's tools.

Elemental Evolution

At 5th level, all natural attacks your elemental construct use does magical damage. Your elemental construct gains the multiattack ability.

Multiattack. The elemental construct makes two attacks of any type it knows in any combination.

Elemental Customization

At 5th level you can customize your elemental construct to fit your needs. When you build your elemental construct, choose one of the following:

Large (earth) The elemental construct is of Large size taking up 10 ft. of space.

A floater elemental construct increases the range of its spark attack to 50/150 feet.
A humanoid elemental construct gains reach 10 ft.
A quadruped or serpentine elemental construct can carry a rider of Medium size.

Small (Air) The elemental construct is of Small size and gains proficiency in the Stealth skill.
Amorphous (water) The servant can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Fast (fire) All speeds increase by 10 ft.

Manifest Element

**Manifest Element**
Spell Slot Used	Summon Elemental Level
1	4
2	5
3	6
4	7
5	8

At 9th level you can can conjure elementals other than your elemental construct. You add the Summon Elemental spell to your spell list. You can use lower-level spell slots to greater effect when with this ability. When cast Summon Elemental, the spell slot you use is increased to a higher level, as shown in the Manifest Element table. This increase happens only when you cast Summon Elemental and cannot affect any other spell you cast.

Twin Elemental

At 15th level you can summon a copy of your elemental construct, identical in all respects. This twin appears within 5 ft. of your elemental construct, which must be within 90 feet of you when you do this.

Any spell you cast that affects either elemental construct affects both elemental constructs. Even spells cast on your elemental construct before you summon the twin elemental carry over to affect both elemental constructs. You can give orders to both you elemental constructs with a single bonus action. The effect ends when either elemental construct is slain or after one minute, whichever comes first. If both elemental constructs are present when the effect ends, the elemental construct with the least hit points disappear and the elemental construct with the most hit points remaining heal an amount of damage equal to the remaining hit points of the elemental construct that disappeared.

If your elemental construct is not present, you can use this ability to summon an elemental construct in any spot you can see within 90 feet. This then becomes your one elemental construct, with the normal duration of that effect.

You can use this ability one time, and regain the ability on a long rest.

Designer's Notes

A development of the reanimator, the element shaper is less controversial in-world. Their pet starts out with immunities the reanimate lacks, but develops less new abilities.

Elemental Affinity is pure flavor, as the description says.
Elemental Customization is weak and could use a rewrite.
Manifest Element is quite powerful as a side interest, making the element shaper somewhat like a pathfinder summoner.