Hello and welcome back to the class color series, a series where I will assist you in crafting more interesting characters through the use of the color pie system. With the help of this system and a bit of your own creativity you will be able to put together more interesting characters for dnd and beyond, ones who come to life and can make decisions all their own based on the colors you choose for them. If you are not familiar with this system then worry not, it's very easy to follow along. If you do want to learn more about it after this article then worry not I have a article covering each color and combination on this website. For this episode we will be tackling the artificer class. A class who utilizes its intelligence and creativity to craft magical items, automatons and mystical potions. Alright I want to begin by giving an overview of the class and then assign its core color, the color you will most often associate with the class and from there I will build some example character bios for you and finally we will end on how you can use each color in the context of this class.
The artificer is a class who applies its intelligence to circumvent traditional means of magic. This focus allows it to infuse basic items into magical ones, craft potions of varying potency, create mechanical monstrosities of destruction, utilize a range of tools for every job or even express its own version of a magical iron man. While its range of focus can seem very broad it does indeed carry one core throughput and that is its ingenious and creative mind. With a focus on its intelligence stat the artificer is truly unlike any other class all while being able to mimic some of the effects of others. In some ways it can be a ranger who crafts a pet instead of tames one, it can be a paladin who uses power armor instead of holy power, or it can be a mage with a gun. This is why this class can either be divisive or exciting depending on your play group.
That said if you can find a way to mix technology into your campaign there is a lot of fun that can be had with the versatility of this class, not to mention the unique flavor it provides. Now that we have an idea of the class formed in our mind it's time we move onto the core color of the class. As I said at the top the core color is the one color you will most often associate with this class. The best way to start this discussion is to actually look to wizards of the coast who created class cards for each of the classes in DnD in the sets adventures in the forgotten realms and more recently in the set Commander Legends Battle for Balder's Gate, the latter being where we will find the class card for the artificer. Pulling up the card we can see that they decided on Blue for its core color and I don't think that's it's much of a surprise that I agree with this choice.
Being one of the few classes to have intelligence as its core stat and having this class base all of its abilities off of its inventive creations, it's a color which fits perfectly. Blue is the color of those who put learning, self improvement and the application of their intelligence first. For me this checks all of the boxes for the artificer. That said the magic of character creation comes into play once we start to apply more coolers to it, so let's do just that and create three character as an example for you to hopefully spark some inspiration for your next design. To begin I want to add both White and Red to the equation.
White Blue Red
Our first character might seem young for an adventuring artificer at only fifteen and yet their mind is far past what others would consider intelligent at a greater age. A bit of a young genius this character outgrew their simple life and desired to make more of themselves, all with the aid of their explosive and dangerous machinations. This character set out and find a party with similar values as a way to put to use its skills in craftsmanship, as they always felt the strong urge to help others with their abilities. Sure most of what they create has a habit of blowing up or blowing other things up, but its just a matter of finding the right equation or application. Even at a young age they would get into altercations with bullies but because of their smaller stature were unable to do much about it. Because of this they leaned into their natural talents and a chance encounter with an older artificer lead them down the path they are on now.
Being a younger artificer with above average skills lead them to become overconfident in themselves, thinking they could craft machines far outside of their skill level. This sometimes ends with explosive results, but half the fun of science is in the experimentation. With grease on their hands, soot in their hair and hope in their heart they finally find an adventuring party who compliments their need to help others. Let's look at the colours present in this character to understand more about them. Let's start with White. White in in the case of this character leans less into Whites desire for order and more into its selfless side. We see that this character just wants to help lift others up and utilizes the tools at its disposal to do so.
They would rather blow themselves up in an invention gone wrong than see other stepped on. Then there is their blue side, in the case of this character Blue is the desire for iteration and learning. This character has great latent talents but is eager to learn more, and setting off on adventure is just another way to accomplish this. Finally we have Red, which reflects its young and experimental mindset, with a tendency to focus on inventions which provide explosive and exciting results. Who said science has to be boring. For our next character I want to go in a completely different direction by shedding the Red and White then add in Black.
Blue Black
Our next character stands in stark contrast to our previous one. This one, who focused on Blue Black, is not an inventor for the people but rather one who is solely in it for themselves. Their motivations are not selflessness but rather self fulfilling through total ambition. The artificer's craft for them is a tool to reach peak perfection. They believe that there is only so far the human mind and body can go and it's through augmentation that they can reach the heights they feel they deserve. Everything they do is an act to further this end. Sure they will join your party but to them the party is yet another tool in its arsenal to gain further heights.
This mindset and application have lead them to heavily augment themselves. Replacing their weak fleshy limbs for mechanical ones which are infused with magical properties, they do not craft for others but rather for themselves. Think of it as steampunk trans humanism and then you'll have a picture formed in your mind of this character. Let's dive into the colors to better understand the mind and motivations of this character starting with Blue. Blue is the color of improvement and in extreme cases perfection. When a person takes on this trait fully they see no end in the ways that they can improve themselves becoming something of an endless obsession, it's as if they see their own body as yet another machine to tinker upon.
We see this with the characters desire to replace its weak flesh for augmented machinery. Then there is Black the color of ambition, in most cases it will do whatever it deems necessary to reach for the position in life it feels it deserves. So as you can see when these two colors get together something drastic happens, perfection and ambition when combined is a deadly trait and nothing will stop this person from reaching the goals they have set out for themselves. For our final character I want to shed the Black and add in Green to show that even this rare color can be used for the artificer.
Blue Green
The core idea at the heart of this character concept is the sentiment that alchemy is the bridge between nature and science. Alchemy is then the unnatural application of natural things and this idea is what sparks inspiration within the heart of our character. They feel as if they are split between two worlds and two minds. One in which they were raised and the other in which they see themselves. They were brought up to be a druid but could never get a grasp on the higher concepts, or that of true magic. Their mind was a practical one, perhaps clinically so. They had trouble interacting with others or leaning into concepts which where not grounded in easily proven fact. Their parents often said that they took things to literally, but to this character that was a compliment. They appreciated the world in which they were raised, they felt a connection to the plants and purpose within, but once again that purpose was only half fulfilled, there was something more for them out there.
To truly find themselves and be who they knew they were they had to depart from the forest in favor of the city. It was here among the hustle and bustle where they found a teacher for their craft, an artificer master, but more importantly, an alchemist. Being someone who was raised in the wood, alchemy was the perfect fit, they had the base knowledge required and the mindset in place. They would spend their time concocting potions of varying effects from sun up till sun down. Years passed in this way and finally their master had taught them all they could teach, it was time for our character to set off on adventure. This is where your party encounters them. From here let's discuss the colors which are present in their character to learn more about them.
Firstly we have Blue, the color who can be analytical to a fault, perhaps not grasping at social ques. They spend a lot of time in their own head. The mind of a blue character is a clinical one and things which can't be grasped by logical means can sometimes leave them feeling unsatisfied. On the other side of it we have Green, which is its tie to nature but more importantly it reflects their desire to find their true purpose. Green is the color who desires a meaning for its life, it wishes to find where it fits and then be of service in that realm. When combined with Blue this means that their purpose was being that bridge between nature and science, bringing pure application to nature. They knew they were of two worlds, and they had to find that spot between to truly be themselves.
Build Your Own
Now that we have built these characters I find it's important to go over each color in regards to the artificer, that way you can mix and match whatever colors you wish and build a character your proud of. Let's start at the top of the color pie with White. In the case of an artificer this color embodies one who wishes to use their tools and inventions to lift others up. They see the deficits in humanity and know that they can patch those up if they are clever enough. Then there is Blue the core color of the class, we don't need to get into this color as we have seen many sides of it during our character discussions. Next there is Black. The color of self satisfaction and ambition.
An artificer with Black present sees itself as better than others because of its craft. Just as White will cause them to lift others up Black instead has a more selfish effect. The Black aligned artificer uses their tools to bring themselves wealth, glory and power. Beside Black is Red, the color of expression, and in this case it can be the reckless expression facilitated through invention and creation.
Why bring your ideas to life if your not going to have fun doing it. This artificer might create magical items which have little application besides being fun or they may prefer to just see things explode. Finally there is Green, a color I would admit is rarely seen in the artificer but is possible. In many ways the leaning into unnatural creations is the antithesis of Green, but there are many faces to green which can be applied, not just nature. Concepts like tradition, purpose and destiny can always be applied to any character and such is the case with the artificer. The artificer is a class whose motivations can carry themselves all the way through into their creations, so be sure to reflect why they create into what they create and through that you will be able to build a more interesting and robust character in the process.
If you want to learn more about the color pie or the class colors of other dungeons and dragons classes then browse the many articles on this website. Also consider becoming a site member by signing up below, that way you will be notified when my next article goes live. With that friend, I'll catch you in the multiverse, bye!
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