Prototype Engineer

Prototype Engineers are Artificers who treat magic and machinery as systems to be tested, documented, and improved. Their Central Prototype Engine supports a small, deliberate selection of configurable devices, while a personal runic projector embodies years of exacting work. They are broad problem-solvers, not merely weapon specialists: a Prototype Engineer may breach a line, shield an ally, cross a gap, or diagnose a failing enchantment by choosing the right configuration. Their experiments can fail, sometimes spectacularly, but a failed test is recorded honestly and informs the next attempt.

Artificer subclass · D&D 5E (2024)

Prototype Engineer

Test precisely. Adapt honestly. Build what the moment needs.

Hybrid: adaptable support and control with a dependable ranged weapon and practical field utility.

At a glance

Level

Proficiency

bonus at this level

Hit die d8

Primary

Intelligence

Constitution

Subclass of Artificer

Features

4 at 3, 6, 10, 14

Level 3, reached
Central Prototype Engine
You build a Central Prototype Engine and a personal runic projector. The projector is a magical ranged weapon with which you are proficient; it deals 1d8 force damage, has a range of 60/180 feet, and lacks the Ammunition and Loading properties. You can use Intelligence instead of Dexterity for its attack and damage rolls. It counts as a magic weapon, and you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your Artificer spells. You can make it appear in your hand or dismiss it into a harmless etched plate as a Bonus Action. Choose two different options from Prototype Modules and configure them in your Engine. You gain their benefits while the Engine is on your person. When you finish a Long Rest, you can replace one chosen module with another option from the list.
Level 6
Field-Test Notes
Your field records turn a failed test into useful information, not a belated success. Once per turn, when you fail an ability check using a tool or fail an attack roll with your runic projector, record the result as a Test Note (maximum one note). The failure remains a failure. Before the end of your next Long Rest, when you make an ability check using a tool or make an attack roll with your runic projector, you can expend the note to add 1d6 to the roll, potentially turning this later attempt into a success. You can gain a Test Note once per Short or Long Rest.
Level 10
Iterative Configuration
Your Engine can support a broader configuration. Choose a third different option from Prototype Modules; it is active alongside your other modules. When you finish a Short or Long Rest, you can replace one configured module with another option from the list. In addition, once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with your runic projector, you can deal an extra 1d6 force damage or push it up to 5 feet directly away from you (your choice).
Level 14
Controlled Overclock
You have perfected controlled overclocking. Once per turn when you activate a configured module that has a limited use, you can overclock it without expending one of its uses. Immediately after the effect resolves, choose one: you take force damage equal to your Artificer level, or the module’s effect ends without affecting any additional targets or areas beyond those already affected. You can overclock this way once, and regain the ability when you finish a Long Rest. Also, your runic projector’s damage becomes 1d10, and you can replace one configured module with another option whenever you finish a Short or Long Rest.

Core traits

Hit die

Primary

Intelligence

Constitution

Hit pointsAs an Artificer: per Artificer level (or 5 + your Constitution modifier per level after 1st).

Saving throwsUses the Artificer’s saving throw proficiencies and defensive features; the subclass grants no additional saving throw proficiencies.

TrainingYou gain no additional skill, tool, armor, or weapon proficiencies from this subclass. You retain the Artificer’s proficiencies and tools.

ResourceConfigured Prototype Modules; limited-use modules each track uses per Long Rest. Field testing grants at most one Test Note at a time, and Controlled Overclock is usable once per Long Rest.

MulticlassingUse the multiclassing rules for Artificer. The subclass grants no additional ability-score prerequisites, spell slots, or spellcasting progression.

Spells and options

How it casts

You retain normal Artificer spellcasting and spell-slot progression.

1st-level spells

2nd-level spells

3rd-level spells

4th-level spells

Prototype Modules

Choose these modular Engine configurations to solve different field problems; a module is active only while configured in your Central Prototype Engine.

Aegis Baffle
As a Bonus Action, brace the projector with a stabilizing ward. Until the start of your next turn, you gain a bonus to AC against the next ranged attack that hits you. You can use this module a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus per Long Rest.
Vector Spool
As a Bonus Action, fire a grappling filament at an unoccupied surface you can see within 30 feet. If it can support you, pull yourself to an unoccupied space adjacent to it; this movement does not provoke opportunity attacks. You can use this module a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus per Long Rest.
Disruptor Lens
When you hit a creature with your runic projector, you can reduce its Speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn. You can do so a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus per Long Rest.
Diagnostic Prism
As a Magic action, scan a creature or object you can see within 30 feet. For 10 minutes, you know whether it is damaged, diseased, poisoned, or bearing a visible magical effect; this does not reveal the effect’s identity or hidden properties. You can use this module a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus per Long Rest.
Repair Injector
As a Magic action, touch a construct or object and restore hit points equal to + your Intelligence modifier. This cannot restore hit points to a creature that is not a construct. You can use this module a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus per Long Rest.
Stability Field
As a Bonus Action, project a steadying field. Choose yourself or one willing creature you can see within 10 feet; the target can immediately stand up from Prone without spending movement and gains Temporary Hit Points equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1). You can use this module a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus per Long Rest.

Playing one

What it is

Prototype Engineers are Artificers who treat magic and machinery as systems to be tested, documented, and improved.

How to play one

Choose two modules that complement the party’s immediate needs rather than trying to cover every situation.

Make one

Personality: I narrate my plan in numbered steps, even when improvising.
Ideal: Evidence. A design is only as good as the tests that support it.
Bond: I keep the first prototype that worked, though its maker’s mark belongs to someone I have not yet found.
Flaw: I sometimes keep testing a sound design because I dislike leaving a question unanswered.
Quirk: Taps a device twice before switching it on, regardless of whether it has a switch.

In the world

Training

An aspiring Prototype Engineer usually apprentices in a workshop, learning tool use, magical theory, and safe testing practices.

How others see them

People tend to admire Prototype Engineers’ practical repairs and distrust their field tests.

Famous practitioners

Prototype EngineerIlyra Venn
A meticulous designer whose collapsible ward-projector saved a flood-struck district after its first three field trials failed.
Prototype EngineerDorrik Ashcoil
A wandering repairer known for building devices from local materials and leaving behind unusually clear maintenance notes.
Prototype EngineerProfessor Sella Quoin
An eccentric lecturer whose experimental bridge engine once failed in a controlled test—and whose careful records made the next version famous.

Factions

The Open Bench
A cooperative of travelling engineers who exchange test records and teach communities to maintain their own enchanted tools.
The Copper Warrant
A state-sponsored workshop whose members build defensive devices under strict inspection and safety codes.
The Second Trial Society
An informal network of field testers who recover failed magical machines and publish candid reports about what went wrong.

Regions

The Foundry Wards
Dense craft cities where guild workshops test magical tools against strict building and fire codes.
The Long Marches
Remote trade roads where itinerant engineers adapt devices to scarce supplies and unreliable infrastructure.
The Breakwater Cantons
Border settlements that welcome defensive inventions but remain wary of experimental weapons.

Character hooks

You were hired to repair a failing city defense system and discovered its original plans were deliberately incomplete.

Your mentor vanished during a field test, leaving you their runic projector and a notebook full of corrections.

You built a device to solve one local problem; its success attracted people who want it weaponized.

A battlefield rescue depended on your prototype. You now travel to learn what it can—and cannot—do.

Your workshop was destroyed by a device you designed. You carry its surviving components to understand the failure.

You are documenting how different cultures adapt magical tools, and your own inventions are part of the study.

Features

Central Prototype Engine

Field-Test Notes

Iterative Configuration

Controlled Overclock

Core traits

Spells and options

How it casts

Prototype Modules

Aegis Baffle

Vector Spool

Disruptor Lens

Diagnostic Prism

Repair Injector

Stability Field

Playing one

What it is

How to play one

Make one

Personality

Ideals

Bonds

Flaws

Quirks

In the world

Training

How others see them

Famous practitioners

Factions

The Open Bench

The Copper Warrant

The Second Trial Society

Regions

The Foundry Wards

The Long Marches

The Breakwater Cantons

Character hooks

Media

Turn Prototype Engineer into a sheet

Features

Central Prototype Engine

Field-Test Notes

Iterative Configuration

Controlled Overclock

Core traits

Spells and options

How it casts

Prototype Modules

Aegis Baffle

Vector Spool

Disruptor Lens

Diagnostic Prism

Repair Injector

Stability Field

Playing one

What it is

How to play one

Make one

Personality

Ideals

Bonds

Flaws

Quirks

In the world

Training

How others see them

Famous practitioners

Factions

The Open Bench

The Copper Warrant

The Second Trial Society

Regions

The Foundry Wards

The Long Marches

The Breakwater Cantons

Character hooks

Media

Turn Prototype Engineer into a sheet