Artificer Specialist: Skaberen

Skaberen, also called stitchers, are scientist-mages who create artificial forms of life. The true goal of a skaberen is to create real life, an undertaking which usually produces a malformed “offspring” for the practitioner. This offspring is a skaab—a constructed zombie. Skaabs are assembled from disparate body parts and animated through scientific means. Most skaabs are more or less humanlike, but creative stitchers have crafted winged skaabs similar to the drakes of other worlds, towering giant skaabs, and unrecognizable horrors.

Skaberen go through an elaborate process to gather body parts, bind them together, infuse the stitched body with vital fluid, and plant a vital force in its unliving flesh.

Skaberen usually ply their trade in remote and inhospitable places, since they are viewed as blasphemers by the church of Avacyn. They often become obsessed hermits who surround themselves with ancient scrolls and books, phials of rare noxious liquids, glass jars full of pickled organs, anatomical charts for both humans and beasts, rune-engraved skeletal remains, and small anvils and hammers for inscribing brass and copper plates.

Some might take up adventuring as a cheaper way to collect knowledge and materials. Skaberen tend towards evil alignments, and are neutral at best. Ask your DM before playing a skaberen, as it might not fit into the normal moral expectations of an adventuring party.

Stitcher's Pursuit

Starting at 1st level, your dark interest in creating life has allowed you to cobble together and bring to life "skaabs" - zombies created from disparate body parts. You gain the ability to create skaabs. Skaabs have the same statistics as zombies, except for the following changes:

• They are constructs.
• They have resistance to lightning damage.
• If a skaab falls below half its maximum HP, it gains vulnerability to fire damage.
• They have an Intelligence score of 4.
• So long as they remain under your control, your skaabs share your alignment.
• They understand the languages you speak when you create them, but can't speak.
• Whenever you create a skaab, you choose whether its Slam attack deals bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage.

You can control a total number of skaabs equal to your proficiency bonus.

Skaabs act on your initiative, and try to carry out your orders to the best of their ability. Your skaabs will not act unless you order them to do so by using a bonus action. If you are incapacitated or absent, they will only do what is necessary to defend themselves.

It is assumed that you have amassed enough resources and spent enough time to have one skaab built when you choose this specialty at 1st level. You may add another skaab to your retinue or modify an existing skaab for no extra cost when you reach 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level in this class.

You may build additional skaabs at the cost of 150gp each, this cost represents the precious materials you need to build skaabs - primarily body parts and dry angel blood. Both of which are normally obtained on black markets or "in the field." In addition, constructing a skaab requires a total of 24 hours of work, which can be done during rests and down time.

If a skaab falls in combat and you manage to salvage the body, you may revive it using 75gp worth of materials and 8 hours of work.

You may create more skaabs than you can control, but an uncontrolled skaab has an alignment of Neutral Evil and will act at the DM's discretion. An uncontrolled skaab is afraid of fire and will avoid any creature wielding fire unless it has no other options.

Skaab Modifications

Also at 1st level, you may make special modifications to your skaabs, listed at the end of this archetype. Each modification requires you to salvage an already existing skaab for parts, or pay 150gp for the materials necessary. It takes approximately 8 hours of work to modify an existing skaab in this way.

A skaab becomes harder to control with each modification made to it. The total number of skaabs that you can control goes down by one for each modification made to a skaab.

For every modification a skaab gets, its Strength and Constitution scores increase by 1 (to a maximum of 22), and it gains an additional 3d8 Hit Dice.

If a skaab has three or more modifications, its size is Large, its speed is 25 feet, and its Slam attack deals 2d6 damage. Once a skaab has a total of five or more modifications, its size is Huge, its speed is 30 feet, and its Slam attack deals 3d6 damage.

Stitcher's Graft

Starting at 3rd level, your skaabs use your proficiency bonus instead of their own when calculating skill checks, saving throws, and attack bonus. Your skaabs also apply your proficiency bonus to their AC, and add half of your proficency bonus, rounded down, to their attack damage.

As an action, you may expend a spell slot to heal each skaab that you control within 20 feet of you. The amount healed equals your Artificer level + 1d4 per slot level.

Reflavoring the Artificer for Innistrad

On Innistrad, most artificers are necro-alchemists. These bizarre and eccentric scientists use geists—the spirits of the dead—as an energy source to conduct strange experiments on living creatures and fuel crazed technological inventions. Necro-alchemist is a catch-all term, and different practitioners identify themselves in different ways. What all have in common, however, is their use of elaborate contraptions to capture, bind, and draw the energy from geists. This technology is often employed to power sprawling laboratories and their latest inventions.

At their best, necro-alchemists use their technological advances to fight the creatures of the night. However, even the most true-hearted geistmages have been known to capture the spirits of fallen allies to recharge a geist-lightning weapon that has run out of fuel.

Here are the necessary flavor changes to make this class better suit the dark world of Innistrad:

Alchemist. This specialty needs little reflavoring, and represents the more chemically-minded necro-alchemists well. However, some potions or vials might instead be contraptions that release captured geists or their energy to produce the same effect.

Gunsmith. This specialty is referred to as a Geistmage on Innistrad. These specialists have managed to bind geists to smaller containers, including tubelike canisters that are strapped to the back and attached to weapons that hurl lightning.

Mechanical Servant. The mechanical servants of these dark minds are just as likely to be cobbled together from flesh in a humanoid form as to be forged from metals in the shape of a beast. The statistics of such a servant would be unchanged.

A necro-alchemist's servant could also take the form of a homunculus, an imperfect humanoid creation with slightly increased intelligence. If you choose to use the homunculus, choose a Small or Medium beast for its statistics, as opposed to a Large beast. This servant has an Intelligence of 7 and is capable of aiding you in crafting, can speak a language that you know when you create it, and can carry out complex commands and errands.

Skaab Specialist

At 9th level, your studies in the art of stitching allow to fight more effectively with your skaabs, as well as modify them to suit your needs.

If you are the target of an attack, you may use your reaction to change the target of that attack to a skaab that is within 5 feet of you. You must use this ability before the attack roll is made.

Your skaabs also gain proficiency in simple and martial melee weapons. Their Intelligence scores increase by 1.

Runebinding

At 14th level, you learn how to etch your skaabs with protective runes. Your skaabs gain proficiency in Constitution saving throws and have advantage on saving throws against magical effects.

Additionally, if an ability used by one of your skaabs would force you to make a saving throw, you automatically succeed instead.

Master Stitcher

At 17th level, you've become a master stitcher, gaining the following benefits:

• The amount of skaabs that you can control increases by 1.
• Your skaabs' Intelligence scores increase by 1.
• Skaabs that you don't control won't attack you.

Modifications

Modifications are presented in alphabetical order. A skaab may not recieve the same modification more than once.

Armor Plating. The skaab gains a +3 bonus to AC.

Bound Geists. The skaab may make a ranged spell attack against a creature within 60 feet of it as an action. It uses your proficiency bonus for the attack roll and adds your Intelligence modifier to its own for the attack and damage rolls. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 lightning damage. If the skaab is Large, this damage increases to 2d10, and further increases to 3d10 if the skaab is Huge. Additionally, the skaab's Intelligence score increases by 1.

Butcher's Hook. Your skaab may make a melee attack with a hook and chain instead of one attack when it takes the Attack action on its turn. The attack has a range of 20 feet. On a hit, the target takes 1d4 + the skaab's Strength modifier in damage and is pulled in a straight line to a space within 5 feet of the skaab. If the skaab is Large the damage increases to 2d4, if it's Huge, this damage further increases to 3d4.

Climbing Claws. The skaab gains a climbing speed equal to its walking speed. The skaab also has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.

Corrosive Graft. As a reaction to taking damage, this skaab may have each creature within 5 feet of it make a Dexterity saving throw. The save DC equals 8 + your proficiency modifier + the skaab's Constitution modifier. On a failed save, a creature takes 1d4 acid damage. If the skaab is Large, the damage increases to 2d4 and the radius is 10 feet. If the skaab is Huge, the damage increases to 3d4 and the radius is 15 feet.

Enchanted Graft. The skaab’s Slam attacks are magical.

Extended Limbs. The skaab’s Slam attack has a reach of 10 feet.

Extra Arms. Whenever the skaab takes the Attack action on your turn, it may make two attacks instead of one.

Grappling Spikes. The skaab has advantage on attempts to grapple other creatures. If this skaab deals damage to a creature that it is grappling, it deals an additional 1d4 piercing damage. This damage increases to 1d6 if the skaab is Large, and 1d8 if the skaab is Huge. It may only deal this extra damage once per turn.

Multiple Heads. The skaab has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and on saving throws against being blinded, deafened, stunned, and knocked unconscious. Its Intelligence score increases by 1.

Rampage. When the skaab reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack on its turn , the skaab can use its bonus action to move up to half its speed and make another melee attack.

Terrible Screech. As an action, the skaab lets out a horrible screech. Each non-undead creature within 60 feet of the skaab that can hear it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. The save DC equals 8 + your proficiency modifier. A frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, with disadvantage if the skaab is within line of sight, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a target's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to the skaab's Terrible Screech for the next 24 hours. A Large skaab gets a +2 bonus to the save DC, or +4 if it's Huge.

Wings. The skaab gains a flying speed of 30 ft.