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 Contents Credits
Design Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Design & Development: Imogen Gingell
Class Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Editing & Layout: Laura Hirsbrunner
Play Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Illustration: Imogen Gingell
FAQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Feedback & Playtesting: Will Brolley, Artem
Mateush, Felix Pohl, Anthony Turco
Spell Sources: Spells marked with XGE are available
Design Notes in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. Spells marked

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with TCE are available in Tasha’s Cauldron of
In the tradition of the School of Geometry wizard Everything. Spells marked with LLK are available
subclass, this artificer's subclass design began with in Lost Library of Kwalish. If you don’t have
a simple question: how can we make the player access to these books, talk to your DM about
feel like a member of their character’s chosen substituting another spell that fits your character.

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class when they engage with the mechanics of
Dungeons & Dragons? The geometer approached Living Playtest
that by asking the player to draw their own arcane The Master Builder has gone through several rounds of
diagrams, introducing an extra puzzle and layer of playtesting, revisions, and editing. However, its design is
customization to help the player feel like a wizard complex, and there are too many combinations of char-
engaging with something esoteric. For a class acters and artificer spell choices to ensure its features
like the artificer, it stands to reason that a similar work perfectly every time. This document is therefore
design philosophy should lead the player towards considered a “living” document, and changes are likely
building something.

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Enter the Master Builder! This subclass gives
fans of Lego, K-Nex, Meccano, and other construc-
tion kits a reason to bring your spare pieces to their
D&D games. Build stuff, break stuff, and turn your
to be published in response to feedback. You can freely
download the latest version from your Dungeon Masters
Guild library.
The below Changelog summarizes the updates since
version 1.0 of the Master Builder. These changes are all
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reflected in the current PDF available on DMsGuild. If the
artificer into a powerful spellcaster! Master Builder is updated in the future, this changelog
Naturally, this leads to a subclass that is signifi- will also be updated to note any significant changes.
cantly more complex than those in the core rules.
If you like the idea of an extra puzzle minigame as Changelog
part of playing your character, this is the subclass Version 1.0, published 2023-02-07:
for you! On the other hand, if you like to keep your Original Master Builder, no changes here!
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character options simple, this subclass probably

won’t be a good fit.
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Disclaimer: The production team cannot be held responsible for any injuries caused by stepping on tiny plastic bricks. You've dealt with
d4s, you can deal with these.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and
all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and
other countries. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with
permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
All other original material in this work is copyright 2021 by Imogen Gingell and is published under the Community Content Agreement
for Dungeon Masters Guild.

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 Artificer Specialist:
Master Builder
lthough most artificers incor- Master Builder Spells

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porate experimentation into their
Artificer Level Spells
spellcasting, you take it one step
3rd catapult, chaos bolt XGE
further. Even the tools and gadgets
you use to cast your spells and infu- 5th locate object, spike growth XGE
9th Galder’s tower LLK, lightning bolt

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sions are built from spare parts at a moment's
notice, destined to be recycled, repurposed, 13th stone shape, summon construct TCE
and rebuilt according to your needs and whims. 17th animate objects, wall of stone
Though your contraptions are temporary works of
arcane science, you’ve learned to extract as much

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power from their disassembly as you do from Build Contraption
their creation. 3rd-Level Master Builder Feature
The techniques of Master Builders are as You’ve learned to build an arcane contraption
diverse as the materials used in their creations. from a scrap pile of odds and ends left over from
A gnome from Zilargo might consider their tiny your magical experiments. You can hold your
colorful bricks the height of construction sophis- contraption in one hand, and you can use it as a
tication. The Jhorash’tar orcs of the Ironroot spellcasting focus for your artificer spells.
Mountains honor their traditions by connecting Your contraption is represented by a player-built

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intricate sets of interlocking bones. Meanwhile,
the Aereni elves extol the virtues of handmade
wooden blocks made from their groves of magic-
imbued trees.
assembly made from pieces of a construction set
of your choice. Each spell school is represented
by a certain color of building pieces. Your artificer
infusions are also represented by their own color.
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You can use the colors in the Contraption Colors
Class Features table or select colors of your own. For example,
You can choose the Master Builder specialist option you could select red pieces for abjuration spells,
when you reach 3rd level in the artificer class. yellow pieces for conjuration spells, and white
pieces for infusions. If your construction set does
Tool Proficiency not use different colors, you can instead use a
3rd-Level Master Builder Feature different property such as size or shape.
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Whenever you prepare your artificer spells,

You gain proficiency with mason’s tools. If you assemble your scrap pile by selecting a number of
already have this proficiency, you gain proficiency building pieces as follows:
with one other type of artisan's tools of your choice.
• For each artificer cantrip you know, add one piece
Master Builder Spells of that spell school’s color to your scrap pile.
3rd-Level Master Builder Feature • For each artificer spell you have prepared, add
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one piece of that spell school’s color to your

Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells
scrap pile.
prepared after you reach particular levels in this
class, as shown in the Master Builder Spells table.
• For each artificer infusion you know, add one
additional piece to your scrap pile. Unlike spells,
These spells count as artificer spells for you, but
all your infusions use the same color.
they don't count against the number of artificer
spells you prepare.

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 Contraption Colors For example, if you need to detach a green piece,
Spell School/Infusion Color but a yellow piece and blue piece are on top of it,
Abjuration spells Red
all three pieces must be detached.
• If no pieces of the spell’s color are currently built
Conjuration spells Yellow
into your contraption, you can’t use your contrap-
Divination spells Blue tion as a spellcasting focus for that spell.
Enchantment spells Green • After you use your contraption to cast a spell of
Evocation spells Brown 1st level or higher, roll on the Contraption Effects
Illusion spells Tan table. The result immediately takes effect.
Necromancy spells Black Detached pieces can be spent to fuel your Captured

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Transmutation spells Gray Collapse, Overclocked Casting, and Critical
Artificer infusions White
Collapse features. At the end of your turn, all
detached pieces are added to your scrap pile and
Once you have gathered your pieces, build a contrap- are no longer considered detached. Scrap pieces

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tion using all the scrap pieces in your scrap pile. You can be reattached to your contraption any time your
can attach them together however you wish, with the Master Builder features allow.
following restrictions, as shown in figure 1:
Contraption Effects
• You can’t attach a piece to another piece of the
d10 Contraption Effect
same color. For example, you can’t attach a green
piece to another green piece. 1-2 Sudden Break. If you can, remove two pieces
• You can’t attach more than one piece of the same from your contraption. Those pieces are
detached.
color to any single piece. For example, you can’t

yellow piece.
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attach more than one green piece to a single 3-4

5-6
Quick Fix. If you can, attach pieces from your
scrap pile to your contraption, up to a number
equal to your proficiency bonus.
Vitality Feedback. One creature of your choice
that you can see within 30 feet of you gains tem-
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porary hit points equal to the number of pieces
attached to your contraption.
7-8 Energy Feedback. One creature of your choice
that you can see within 30 feet of you takes force
damage equal to the number of pieces attached
to your contraption.
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Figure 1: Attaching Pieces 9-10 Overload. Roll a d8 twice on this table and
perform both effects in either order you choose.
Contraption Casting
3rd-Level Master Builder Feature Mend Contraption
Whenever you cast an artificer spell of 1st level 3rd-Level Master Builder Feature
or higher using your contraption as a spellcasting You learn the mending cantrip. If you already know
focus, the following additional rules apply:
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mending, you learn one other artificer cantrip of

• When you cast a spell of 1st level or higher, your choice.
you must remove one piece of that spell Whenever you cast mending on your contraption,
school’s color from your contraption. That you can choose a number of scrap pieces up to your
piece is now detached. proficiency bonus and add them to your contraption.
• If you can’t remove a piece of the correct color If your scrap pile is empty, you can’t add any pieces
without also removing other pieces (of any color) to your contraption.
in the process, those pieces are also detached.

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 Captured Collapse you spend nine detached pieces—two to increase
5th-Level Master Builder Feature the spell to 2nd level, three to increase it to 3rd
level, plus four to increase it to 4th level.
You’ve learned to capture and redirect the wayward
magic released when your contraption collapses. Overclocked Spell Costs
After you roll on the Contraption Effects table, you —Total Pieces Spent to Increase Level—
Original
can use your reaction to spend one detached piece Level 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
of a color that corresponds to the spell school of
1st 2 5 9 14 - - - -
an artificer cantrip you know, immediately casting
that cantrip (regardless of its normal casting time) 2nd - 3 7 12 18 - - -
3rd - - 4 9 15 22 - -

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and returning the detached piece to your scrap pile.
If the effects of this cantrip normally change based 4th - - - 5 11 18 26 -
on character level, you cast it as if you were a 1st- 5th - - - - 6 13 21 30
level character.

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Overclocked Casting Critical Collapse
15th-Level Master Builder Feature
9th-Level Master Builder Feature
You have a complete understanding of your
Your intuition for construction allows you to draw
contraption’s entropy, allowing you to capture
wondrous power from your contraption. A fragile
every mote of energy from its collapse. After you
contraption might fall apart easily—but it is all the
cast an artificer spell using your contraption as
more likely to deliver great power.
a spellcasting focus, you can use your reaction
When you cast an artificer spell using your
to immediately spend every remaining detached
contraption as a spellcasting focus, you can push
piece and return them to your scrap pile. For each

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yourself to cast that spell at a higher level without
expending a higher-level spell slot. When you
wish to increase a spell’s level in this way, remove
pieces from your contraption as normal for your
piece you spend in this way, you can immediately
cast an artificer cantrip you know of the school
corresponding to that color, regardless of its
normal casting time. If the effects of this cantrip
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Contraption Casting feature, then spend any
normally change based on character level, you
number of detached pieces of any color, returning
cast it as if you were a 1st-level character.
them to your scrap pile. To increase a spell’s
Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again
effective level by 1, you must spend a number of
until you cast mending on your contraption during
detached pieces equal to the spell’s new effec-
a short or long rest.
tive level. You can repeat the process up to a
maximum of four times for a given spell before
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casting it, spending the required pieces for each

level you increase as shown on the Overclocked
Spell Costs table. The effective level of the spell
is not limited by the highest level of spell you can
normally cast.
For example, a 1st-level spell can be cast at
2nd level (expending only a 1st-level spell slot) if
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you spend two detached pieces. A 1st-level spell

can be cast at 3rd level (expending only a 1st-level
spell slot) if you spend five detached pieces—two
to increase the spell to 2nd level plus three to
increase it to 3rd level. A 1st-level spell can be cast
at 4th level (expending only a 1st-level spell slot) if

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 Play Example the scrap pile and casting fire bolt. Because it’s
being cast using her Captured Collapse feature,
Fiora, a 9th-level Master Builder artificer, currently the cantrip only deals 1d10 fire damage, as if
has a contraption with eleven pieces stacked in a Fiora were a 1st-level character.
simple tower, as shown in figure 2. She wants to
use her action to cast catapult, a transmutation
spell, using a 1st-level spell slot.
To use her Contraption Casting to cast that trans-
mutation spell, she must detach a gray transmutation
piece—and to access that piece, she must also detach
the four pieces above it, as shown in figure 2.

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Figure 3: Fiora’s Detached Pieces

At the end of Fiora’s turn, she has one detached

piece remaining, which has no effect because she

e didn’t spend it during her turn. She adds it to her

scrap pile, as shown in figure 4.
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Figure 4: Fiora’s Scrap Pile

Fiora’s contraption now has six pieces left, as shown

Figure 2: Fiora’s Original Contraption
in figure 5.
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Fiora now has five detached pieces, as shown in

figure 3, that she can spend before the end of her
turn. She does so as follows:
Overclocked Casting: Fiora spends three detached
pieces (whose colors don’t matter to her), moving
them to her scrap pile to finish casting catapult—
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but as a 3rd-level spell, even though she’s only

expending a 1st-level spell slot.
Contraption Casting: After resolving the effects
of her catapult spell, Fiora rolls a 5 on the
Contraption Effect table. The Vitality Feedback
effect allows her to grant temporary hit points
based on the number of pieces attached to her con-
traption. Her contraption has six remaining pieces,
so she grants 6 temporary hit points to her friend. Figure 5: Fiona’s Updated Contraption
Captured Collapse: Fiora has two more detached
pieces she hasn’t spent yet. She uses her reaction
to spend the brown evocation piece, moving it to

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 Q: Can I use Captured Collapse to cast mending as
FAQ a reaction and immediately add a bunch of pieces
Q: Do I have to attach all my pieces on top of each to my contraption?
other in a straight line?
A: Absolutely! This is one of the best ways to maintain
A: Absolutely not! Your pieces can be any size and your contraption during combat.
shape, and attached to other pieces in any order and
direction you wish. You’re welcome to attach several Q: What do infusion pieces do?
substructures to a large central piece—a straight A: Your extra infusion pieces act as a sort of filler for
tower, a twisting tree, the sky’s the limit. your contraption. They don’t do anything themselves,
in that they can’t be used to trigger Captured Collapse
Q: What if I have no pieces left in my contraption?
or Critical Collapse. However, detached infusion

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A: When your contraption runs out of pieces, you need pieces can be spent to increase a spell’s level with
to cast mending to add pieces from your scrap pile Overclocked Casting, and attached infusion pieces
to a new contraption. The casting time of mending increase the effective size of your contraption for
is usually 1 minute, so this often happens outside of Vitality Feedback and Energy Feedback.

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combat and other high-action encounters.
Q: How are my detached pieces different from my
Q: If my contraption has no pieces, can I still scrap pile?
cast spells?
A: Your detached pieces only last until the end of
A: Fear not! You can always cast artificer spells as your turn, after which they're added to your scrap
normal using any other spellcasting focus. If your con- pile. Detached pieces can sometimes be spent during
traption has no pieces (other than infusion pieces) left the turn you detach them, creating beneficial effects.
on it, you just won’t be able to use your Contraption Scrap pieces don’t grant any benefits, and simply
Casting, Capture Collapse, Overclocked Casting, or serve as a pool from which you can add pieces to your
Critical Collapse features.

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Q: How many pieces am I expected to have?
A: The Example of Pieces by Level table gives an
example of a Master Builder character who starts with
contraption when your Master Builder features allow.
Q: If I don't detach a piece each time I cast a
cantrip, why do I get a piece for each artificer
cantrip I know?
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an Intelligence score of 16 at 1st level, then increases A: You can use the pieces you receive for cantrips any
their Intelligence to 18 at 4th level and to 20 at 12th way you want. But notably, your 5th-level Captured
level. If your character’s ability scores vary, your con- Collapse and 15th-level Critical Collapse features
traption pieces will as well. allow you to cast extra cantrips—and you’ll need a
Example of Pieces by Level piece of that cantrip’s color to do so.
(Starting Intelligence of 16)
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Artificer Intelligence Master Builder Other Artificer Infusions Cantrips Known Pieces
Level Modifier Spells Prepared Spells Prepared Known (incl. mending) Available
3 +3 2 4 4 3 13
4 +4 2 6 4 3 15
5 +4 4 6 4 3 17
6 +4 4 7 6 3 20
7 +4 4 7 6 3 20
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8 +4 4 8 6 3 21
9 +4 6 8 6 3 23
10 +4 6 9 8 4 27
11 +4 6 9 8 4 27
12 +5 6 11 8 4 29
13 +5 8 11 8 4 31
14 +5 8 12 10 5 35
15 +5 8 12 10 5 35
16 +5 8 13 10 5 36
17 +5 10 13 10 5 38
18 +5 10 14 12 5 41
19 +5 10 14 12 5 41
20 +5 10 15 12 5 42