Total number of Artificer Infusions? - Unearthed Arcana - Dungeons & Dragons Discussion - D&D Beyond Forums (2024)

I am confused as to how infusions work exactly. Specifically this section:

You can infuse more than one nonmagical object at the end of a long rest; the maximum number of objects appears in the Infused Items column of the Artificer table. You must touch each of the objects, and each of your infusions can be in only one object at a time. If you try to exceed your maximum number of infusions, the oldest infusion immediately ends, and then the new infusion applies.

Does the '...can be in only one object at a time' apply per long rest, or in general? That paragraph seems to be talking about rules specific to long rests (number of items)?

Basically: could an artificer take a few days of downtime between adventures, and give +1 weapons to the whole party?

Thats kinda what I thought, but then it felt strange to have it be a resource that was replenished by a long rest. Unless they are meant to be more temporary and infused based on the situation?

Anyway, I'm having fun playing with the class, and thanks for the responses!

Quote from pj4533 >>

Thats kinda what I thought, but then it felt strange to have it be a resource that was replenished by a long rest. Unless they are meant to be more temporary and infused based on the situation?

Anyway, I'm having fun playing with the class, and thanks for the responses!

They aren't replenished with a long rest, the ability is used with a long rest.

Quote from DxJxC >>

Quote from pj4533 >>

Thats kinda what I thought, but then it felt strange to have it be a resource that was replenished by a long rest. Unless they are meant to be more temporary and infused based on the situation?

Anyway, I'm having fun playing with the class, and thanks for the responses!

They aren't replenished with a long rest, the ability is used with a long rest.

I mean the number of infused items is replenished after a long rest (not the infusions themselves). ie, at 5th level you get 2 infused items a day:

You can infuse more than one nonmagical object at the end of a long rest; the maximum number of objects appears in the Infused Items column of the Artificer table.

(This is confirmed by the character sheet having 2 little boxes that uncheck when you do a long rest)

However, my point was that, even if you have 2 infused items per day, the maximum infusions total is 4 (at 5th level), so after 2 days....what then? At the very least, I'd love to see this integrated better into the character sheet. Like a box that checks as 'infusion used' or something.

Quote from pj4533>>

I mean the number of infused items is replenished after a long rest (not the infusions themselves).

They don't. The Infused Items columns tells you how many items you can have infused at any given moment. It's an absolute limit.

At 5th level you know how to create 4 different magic items, but you can only have 2 created at any given moment, and you can't have duplicates.You choose which 2 magic items you want to use on any given day, much like how a wizard decides which spells to prepare every day.

I really don't recommend trying to usethe DDB character sheet as a rules source.

Ah, got it. Thinking of it like a wizard preparing spells helps alot. So, infusing an item isn't like an ability you can do out in the field at anytime. Thats why they call out 'at the end of a long rest'. That is the only time you can do it, and you have to "prepare" your infusions then.

Thanks forthe help everyone!

Quote from TheresNoRaceLikeGnome >>

At level 5, you know 4 infusions, but you can only have two infused items at any given time. If you infuse two new ones the next day, those first two go away.

Quote from SpiderWaffle >>

Quote from TheresNoRaceLikeGnome >>

At level 5, you know 4 infusions, but you can only have two infused items at any given time. If you infuse two new ones the next day, those first two go away.

This is what I was thinking they meant, but they never actually say this in the rules and managed to write it in an ambiguous way where the maximum number of infusion at any given time is never mentioned.

Good DMs and story writers, bad lawyers and technical rules writers.

It is said in an unambiguous way right here:

You can infuse more than one nonmagical object at the end of a long rest; the maximum number of objects appears in the Infused Items column of the Artificer table. You must touch each of the objects, and each of your infusions can be in only one object at a time. If you try to exceed your maximum number of infusions, the oldest infusion immediately ends, and then the new infusion applies.

Emphasis mine.

Quote from DxJxC >>

Quote from SpiderWaffle >>

Quote from TheresNoRaceLikeGnome >>

At level 5, you know 4 infusions, but you can only have two infused items at any given time. If you infuse two new ones the next day, those first two go away.

This is what I was thinking they meant, but they never actually say this in the rules and managed to write it in an ambiguous way where the maximum number of infusion at any given time is never mentioned.

Good DMs and story writers, bad lawyers and technical rules writers.

It is said in an unambiguous way right here:

You can infuse more than one nonmagical object at the end of a long rest; the maximum number of objects appears in the Infused Items column of the Artificer table. You must touch each of the objects, and each of your infusions can be in only one object at a time. If you try to exceed your maximum number of infusions, the oldest infusion immediately ends, and then the new infusion applies.

Emphasis mine.

I still think that's very poorly written. It implies that the table of "infused items" is a limit on how many items you can infuse at the end of any one long rest, rather than being a strict limit on the infused items at any one time. Furthermore "if you try to exceed your maximum number of infusions" could easily mean number of infusions known (8 at level 20). Given that you can't have any single type of infusion on more than one item, that would be a hard limit regardless.

I understand that, RAI, you can only have the "infused items" number of objects active at any one time, but I could easily see the rules being misread as being you can have the "infusions known" number of objects active, but can only create "infused items" per long rest.

It seems to me that there is nothing saying that at 6th level you could not make three bags of holding. You get 3 infusions. You infuse the three bags with one infusion each. Meaning each infusion is in one object. I don't read it as you may only use each infusion type you know only once. The idea being you can't do an infusion on a stack of short swords.

Then you carry the whole party's gear around for the days travel. Next morning you infuse three returning +1 tridents for a boar hunt and send everyone's gear to the astral plane!

Quote from StenOstrem >>

It seems to me that there is nothing saying that at 6th level you could not make three bags of holding. You get 3 infusions. You infuse the three bags with one infusion each. Meaning each infusion is in one object. I don't read it as you may only use each infusion type you know only once. The idea being you can't do an infusion on a stack of short swords.

Then you carry the whole party's gear around for the days travel. Next morning you infuse three returning +1 tridents for a boar hunt and send everyone's gear to the astral plane!

"You must touch each of the objects, and each of your infusions can be in only one object at a time. Moreover, no object can bear more than one of your infusions at a time."

I get what youre saying, but a stack of short swords isnt an object, it's many objects, it's not a video game inventory slot, that should go without saying. You'd need the thickest or most lenient DM to allow that level of video game bug logic.

Quote from LunarWolf10 >>

Apologies for late post. I read it as, a level 8 Artificer knows up to 6 infusions but can only infuse up to 3 items after a long rest as well as each individual infusion applied can be only applied once and not multiple different infusions to the same item. However, after another long rest, up to 3 other items can be infused with the other 3 infusions known. It says that if you try to go beyond your limit in one infusion setting that the oldest one will be disregarded, which this in itself could help if the Artificer "by accident" applied the wrong infusion at the time. The biggest part about all of this is what the DM will allow. Would you as a DM allow your player to wield up to 4 magic items at level 2, 6 at 6, etc? Some of those infusions start a weapon/armor at +1 that bumps to a +2 at level 10 automatically, which by the way you have up to 8 known infusions at that point too. With that said, it could also be interpreted exactly as written, # known and # infused, with # infused as the only amount of items the Artificer can infuse during their lifetime. A few more items can be added to this if the Human Mark of Making subrace is chosen due to the Spellsmith and Magecraft abilities. Also, according to Magic Item Adept that an Artificer gains at level 10, it costs gold to infuse these items as well,likely referencing the duplicate magic item infusion.

No, I don’t think you quite understand.

A level 8 Artificer knows 6 Infusions but can only ever have 3 of them active at a given time, not create 3 infusions/day. If they already have 3 Infusions, and then the create a 4th, then the 1st one stops being infused to bring the current total back down to 3.

Infusing an item is not the same as making a Magic Item. Magic Item Adept is about crafting Magic Items which has absolutely nothing to do with Infusions whatsoever. It does not cost gold or time to make an Infusion.

You missed a spot:

Infusing an Item

Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch a non-magical object and imbue it with one of your artificer infusions, turning it into a magic item. An infusion works on only certain kinds of objects, as specified in the infusion’s description. If the item requires attunement, you can attune yourself to it the instant you infuse the item. If you decide to attune to the item later, you must do so using the normal process for attunement (see “Attunement” in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

Your infusion remains in an item indefinitely, but when you die, the infusion vanishes after a number of days have passed equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1 day). The infusion also vanishes if you give up your knowledge of the infusion for another one.

You can infuse more than one nonmagical object at the end of a long rest; the maximum number of objects appears in the Infused Items column of the Artificer table. You must touch each of the objects, and each of your infusions can be in only one object at a time. Moreover, no object can bear more than one of your infusions at a time. If you try to exceed your maximum number of infusions, the oldest infusion immediately ends, and then the new infusion applies.

If an infusion ends on an item that contains other things, like a bag of holding, its contents harmlessly appear in and around its space.

Sorry I am "late to the party".

I *finally* read the section in Tasha's yesterday on Artificers, even though one player in my current campaign has been running an Artificer since February. As an "old timer" DM (i.e. started with 1e) it did strike me as a little odd how ALL the players seems to have "magically infused weapons" and also how everyone also seemed to have a "party supply of Bags of Holding". It seemed just a *tad* on the abusive side that a 2nd or 3rd level Artificer could suddenly churn out such a variety of "Magical Item substitutes" when normally trying to acquire that many +1 weapons and Bags of Holding *should* be hard. The magical infusion of weapons, for example, minimized the very REAL threat/danger posed by several CR4/5 creatures which have the defensive trait of having resistance to non-magical weapons (i.e. the 5e equivalent of the older "can only be hit by magical weapons of at least +1, etc").

But, the Class Table (for Artificers) and the section on Item Infusions I think is very clear. By 5th level for example, our Artificer will KNOW how to do 4 different kinds of Infusions (limited by level restrictions), but he/she can only have up to TWO items infused at any one time. If they try to create a third one, the older of the previous two stops working (the infusion fades away).

I do still have a problem about the "indefinite" nature though. If I were writing the rules, I would have put some sort of time limit (like X day/level). Allowing a 2nd level character to create was is in essence a Permanent Magical Item (eg. like the Bag of Holding) is abusive and unbalancing to the game.