Martial Archetype: Artillery Operator

There are times where swords and axes are not enough. The Artillery Operator is an engineer of battlefield destruction. Using siege weapons and careful planning, the havoc wreaked by an effective artillery operator is hard to match.

Siege Engine

When you take this archetype, you gain proficiency in artillery. Each weapon takes one week and 500 gp to build. All siege engines are considered large in size. You can only have one weapon equipped at a time. Ammunition costs one gold for five pieces. Each siege weapon starts out with a certain amount of HP. At 5th, 7th, 11th, and 15th levels, the HP goes up by the hit dice of the chosen weapon + your Int modifier. Each weapon has their own armor class, and movement speed. Pushing a siege weapon more than its movement speed (Dash action), requires a Strength (Athletics) check, and the DC depends on the type. Each weapon has a maximum ammunition capacity. The types of artillery weapons are listed at the end of the page.

Engineer

At 3rd level, you become proficienct with both Smith's Tools, and Tinker's tools. If you are already proficent with either one of them, take expertise with them.

Weapon Fortification

At 5th level, you start to understand the intricacies of your siege engine. Add your Int modifier to the armor class of the weapon. You can also use your action to fix your weapon for 1d6 + your Int modifier HP. If your Int modifier changes later on, you can add this to the armor class of the weapon.

Grenade

At 5th level, you build a weapon that can be carried and thrown. It has a range of 30/40 feet. The cost of grenades are 1gp for 10. The grenade deals 1d4 force damage + 1d4 fire damage + your Int modifier. At 7th level, add 1d4 for piercing damage. At 11th level, make the damage dice a d6, and a d8 at 15th. The greande is treated like a thrown weapon, but you can use either your Strength or your Dexterity modifier for the attack roll.

Variant Ammunition

At 7th level, you learn to craft specialized ammuntion for your siege engine. Each specialty ammiuntion requires it's own set of matierials, and costs. Pick two at 7th level. At 11th, 15th, and 17th level you can pick one more variant ammuntion you wish to build. You can pick different kinds of variant ammuntion to bring on adventures in your down time.

Battering Ram

At 11th level, you outfit your siege engine with a spring-loaded battering ram. This weapon is for both your protection, as well as an effective demolition tool. An enemy that gets hit by the battering ram must make an Strength save (DC: 10 + Proficiency Bonus + Int Modifier) or be knocked prone. The battering ram does 2d6 + your Int modifier bludgeoning damamge. To attack is d20 + proficiency bonus + Int Modifier. The battering ram has the Siege property.

War Machine

At 15th level, your enginnering skills have been perfected. You can now bring a compound siege weapon into battle. The compound weapon's HP is equal to both of the weapons added up, and the armor class is 17 + your Int Modifier. Also, the Maximum Ammunition Capacity for each weapon increases by 10.

Weapons

There are three types of siege engines: The Ballista, The Trebuchet and The Cannon.

Ballista

The Ballista is the lightest of the siege engines. It is incredibly precise and far reaching, though not as sturdy as The Cannon, or Trebuchet. The Ballista is also not as effective against buildings as the other two siege engines.

Hit Ponts at 3rd level: 8 + proficiency bonus + Int modifier

Hit Dice at later levels: d8 (or 5) + Int modifier

Armor Class: 12

Movement Speed: 25 feet

Attack Dice: d20 + proficiency bonus + Dex modifier + Int modifier

Damage Dice: d10 + Dex Modifier + Int Modifier piercing damage

Range: 800/1600

Dash DC: 12

Maximum Ammunition Capacity: 40

Variant Ammunition:

Barb Shot: The barb shot is an arrow with a serrated head. The target of a barb shot takes regular damage, plus 1d6 damage every turn that the arrow is in the target. This becomes 2d6, and 3d6 at 11th and 15th level, respectively. The arrow can be removed from the target as an action. Upon removal, the target takes either 2d10, 3d10, or 4d10 damage depending on the level of the Artillery Operator. This damage can be halved with a Consitution save (DC: 10 + proficiency bonus + Int modifier + Dex modifier).