Reanimator

Artificer Subclass

Some artificers focus their work on a simple question: how to create life. They seek to understand how life, death, and necromancy intertwine and, in the process, learn the secrets of reanimating dead tissue into living forms using magic, electricity, and alchemy. Many people view them as madmen or fiends, but to them, it is all in the process of learning to control life and death without resorting to the whims of powerful or divine entities.

Tools of the Trade

3rd-level Reanimator feature

You gain proficiency with leatherworker’s tools. If you already have this proficiency, you gain proficiency with one other type of artisan's tools of your choice.

Reanimator Spells

3rd-level Reanimator feature

You always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Reanimator Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.

Reanimator Spells

Artificer Level Spell

3rd false life, inflict wounds

5th gentle repose, ray of enfeeblement

9th animate dead, revivify

13th blight, death ward

17th animate objects, greater restoration

Wretched Servant

3rd-level Reanimator feature

Your experimentation into life and death has borne you an unliving servant called a wretched. This creature is a mixture of different humanoid bodies animated by electricity and magic. It is friendly to you and your companions, and it obeys your commands. See this creature's game statistics in the wretched’s stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. You determine the creature's appearance and whether it has two legs or four; your choice has no effect on its game statistics.

In combat, the wretched 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 wretched can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge.

If the mending spell is cast on it, it regains 2d6 hit points. If it has died within the last hour, you can use your leatherworker’s tools as an action to revive it, provided you are within 5 feet of it and you expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher. The wretched returns to life after 1 minute with all its hit points restored.

At the end of a long rest, you can create a new wretched if you have your leatherworker’s tools with you and a suitable number of corpses available. If you already have a wretched from this feature, the first one immediately perishes.

Obsession

5th-level Reanimator feature

When you reach 5th level, you have developed an obsession with your work that borders on, if not is, outright madness. This one-track mindedness gives you advantage against charm or fear effects, as well as saving throws against stress or madness.

Surgical Precision

5th-level Reanimator feature

Your skill with working with the dead has given you greater insight into medicine. You gain the following abilities:

• You gain the medicine skill if you don’t already have it, and your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses that skill.

• If you or any friendly creatures who you attend to regain hit points by spending Hit Dice at the end of the short rest, they roll the dice twice and take the higher of the two rolls and add your intelligence modifier to the total.

• During a short or long rest, you can remove one of the following conditions from a patient you attend: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned. You can remove a number of conditions equal to your proficiency bonus per day.

Wretched Improvement

9th-level Reanimator feature

You are able to make upgrades to your wretched. Its slam attacks are now magical, and you can choose of one the following abilities for your wretched.

Acidic Spit. Your wretched can expel acidic spit. Instead of a slam attack, the wretched can make a ranged spit attack. This is a Ranged Spell Attack to a target within range 15 ft. that deals 2d6 acid damage on successful hit.

Berserker. At the start of its turn, the wretched can gain advantage on all melee weapon attack rolls during that turn, but attack rolls against it have advantage until the start of its next turn.

Conduit. Your wretched is resistant to lightning damage. In addition, you can cause its slam attack deals additional 1d8 lightning damage for 1 minute. It can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and it regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.

Powerful Build. Your wretched gains a bonus to Athletic checks equal to your proficiency bonus and counts as one size larger when determining its carrying capacity and the weight it can push, drag, or lift.

Runner. Your wretched’s speed increases by +10. When it moves on its turn in combat, it can double its speed until the end of the turn. Once the wretched use this trait, it can't use it again until it moves 0 feet on one of its turns.

Venomous. Your wretched’s skin is laced with poison. Its slam attack may now deal poison damage instead of bludgeoning and creatures hit by its slam must make a Constitution saving throw equal to your spell DC of be poisoned for 1 minute. It can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and it regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.

Eternal Life

15th-level Reanimator feature

You have turned your unparalleled skills with reanimation on yourself and you have unlocked secrets to eternal life. You do not age and cannot die of old age. Additionally, you are immune to poison and disease.

Reanimation Mastery

15th-level Reanimator feature

Your mastery of dead flesh is unmatched except for the most powerful of necromancers. Your wretched gains the following enhancements.

• Its slam damage increases to 2d8.

• It has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

• You can pick one additional trait from the wretched improvement list.