Stitcher
With the careful grafting of flesh and a dash of lightning, what once was dead may live again! Stitchers are artificers who delve into the marvelous mysteries of life, death, and reanimated flesh. Many stitchers begin in medical fields but once they see that dead flesh move for the first time it’s hard to ignore the potential of arcano-science. Stitchers may continue to work as doctors and mend the sick, though their true passion now requires corpse flesh as raw material for their experiments.
Bonus Proficiencies
When you select this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with the sewing kit and leatherworker’s tools. If you already had any of these proficiencies you gain an expertise die with that type of tool instead.
Stitcher Spells
At 3rd level, when you prepare your artificer spells you can prepare certain spells and create spell inventions for them (or forgo them for modifications) in addition to your normal number of prepared spells. These spells count as artificer spells for you, even if they aren’t on the artificer spell list.
Table: Stitcher Spells
3rd corpse explosion , false life
5th gentle repose , lesser restoration
9th revivify , venomous succor
13th fabricate , private sanctum
17th greater restoration , raise dead
Monstrous Minion
Also at 3rd level you learn the secrets of giving life to dead flesh and become able to create a monstrous minion.
You can create this monstrous minion by spending 8 hours of uninterrupted work on a humanoid corpse that has been dead no more than 24 hours. This monstrous minion is unique and its exact appearance is up to you. It follows you and is loyal to you, but it acts independently. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. Your monstrous minion won’t attack except as a reaction to being attacked, but it can take other actions as normal and makes death saving throws. You can only have one monstrous minion at a time, and any previously created monstrous minion collapses into a corpse when you create another.
On your turn you can use a bonus action to order your monstrous minion to perform an action.
Your monstrous minion is a zombie with the following improvements.
- Your monstrous minion’s type changes to monstrosity.
- Whenever your monstrous minion rolls initiative, it gains a number of temporary hit points equal to your artificer level × your proficiency bonus.
- Your monstrous minion’s Armor Class increases by an amount equal to your proficiency bonus.
- Your monstrous minion adds your proficiency bonus to its attack and damage rolls.
- Your monstrous minion regains all lost hit points at the end of a long rest so long as you can tend to it with leatherworker’s tools or a sewing kit.
Whenever you finish a long rest, you can graft modifications onto your monstrous minion at the cost of infusion uses. These modifications only remain functional due to your infusions, and you can maintain these modifications as if they were infused items. Any modifications you fail to maintain are removed whenever you finish a long rest. You can install any of the following modifications at the cost of 1 infusion each.
Exploding Bile
Your monstrous minion does not make death saving throws , and the first time it would make a death saving throw it instead explodes and is destroyed. Creatures within 10 feet of your monstrous minion when it explodes make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 2d6 poison damage on a failure, or half damage on a success. This damage increases by 2d6 when you reach 11th level.
Extra Arms
Your monstrous minion gains a climb speed of 20 feet. In addition, the maneuver DC to escape from a grapple by your monstrous minion increases by an amount equal to your Intelligence modifier. You must have access to at least one additional humanoid corpse that has been dead no more than 24 hours to graft this modification.
Extra Legs
Your monstrous minion’s Speed increases by 15 feet. You must have access to at least one additional humanoid corpse that has been dead no more than 24 hours to graft this modification.
Fine Stitchwork
Your stitchwork is barely noticeable and with a heavy coat or similar accoutrements your monstrous minion can pass for a living creature. When you graft this modification, make a leatherworker’s tools or sewing kit check. Creatures must make a Perception check with a DC equal to your check result to visually determine that your minion is a monstrosity.
Grafted Spell Invention
When you prepare your spell inventions and modifications to your monstrous minion, you may choose to graft a spell invention into the monstrous minion. You may order your monstrous minion to cast a spell using its grafted spell invention, using your spell save DC and spell attack modifier. You must roll a fizzle die as normal. Any grafted spell inventions are destroyed if the monstrous minion is destroyed.
Grafted Weapon
When you prepare your spell inventions and modifications to your monstrous minion, you may choose to graft a melee weapon onto one of its arms in place of a hand. The melee weapon must be able to be wielded with one hand. Your monstrous minion loses its grab attack and gains an attack with the grafted weapon, which it becomes proficient with. You may retrieve weapons grafted in this way the next time you prepare modifications for this monstrous minion by removing it, or from its remains if it is destroyed.
Infectious Bite
Your monstrous minion’s bite attack deals an additional 1d4 ongoing necrotic damage that persists until the target regains hit points or is medically administered to with a DC 15 Medicine check. This damage increases by 1d4 when you reach 11th level.
If the target is a beast, dragon, giant, humanoid, or monstrosity and it dies while suffering from this effect, it rises as a zombie after 1 minute, gaining the zombie template . Zombies created in this way are hostile to all non-undead and are not under your control.
Shocking Coils
Your monstrous minion has sparking coils protruding from its back. A creature takes 1d6 lightning damage when it hits your monstrous minion with a melee attack. This damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 11th level.
Thicker Skin
Your monstrous minion’s Armor Class increases by 2.
Vigor Mortis
Your monstrous minion can take the Dash action as a bonus action. It can’t do so again until it moves 0 feet on its turn.
Medical Sutures
Starting at 5th level you’ve turned your arcano-science expertise towards first aid. You can create the following additional items using Tactical Chemistry:
- bandage
- healing satchel (1 use)
In addition, you can reattach a severed limb or body part. The limb or body part must be relatively intact and the injury must be no more than 8 hours old. The reattaching process takes 1 hour and requires a DC 14 leatherworker’s tools or sewing kit check. On a success the limb or body part is attached and functional with no further complications. On a failure the limb cannot be saved.
Alternatively, you can replace a lost limb or body part with a donor part. This donor part must be analogous to a missing part (an arm for an arm, a leg for a leg), and it must be from a humanoid creature of the same size. The reattaching process requires a DC 20 leatherworker’s tools or sewing kit check when performed in this way.
Advanced Grafting
At 9th level you’ve grown tired of wasting so many perfectly good monster parts and have learned how to integrate them into your creations. The following modifications are added to your list of modification options using your Monster Minion feature at the cost of two infusion uses instead of one.
Dragon Gullet
You must have access to the corpse of a dragon that has been dead no more than 24 hours to graft this modification. Your monstrous minion gains the following breath weapon attack.
Stolen Breath (Recharge 5–6). The monster exhales the putrid and infected gullet of a fallen dragon in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in the area makes a Dexterity saving throw . A creature takes 3d6 necrotic damage and 3d6 damage of the type the dragon breathed in life on a failed saving throw, or half damage on a success.
Giant Muscles
You must have access to the corpse of a giant that has been dead no more than 24 hours to graft this modification. Your monstrous minion’s Strength increases by 6.
Grim Duplicate
You must have access to the corpse of a humanoid that has been dead no more than 24 hours to graft this modification. Your monstrous minion has the face and features of the humanoid used to make this modification. When you graft this modification, make a leatherworker’s tools or sewing kit check. Creatures must make a Perception check with a DC equal to the result or your check to visually determine that your minion is not the humanoid used to create it, realizing it is a monstrosity on a success by 5 or more.
Monstrous Part
You must have access to the corpse of a monstrosity with a CR no greater than half your artificer level that has been dead no more than 24 hours to graft this modification. Your monstrous minion gains a trait or attack unique to that monstrosity, such as the barbed tail (and tail attack) of a manticore or the head (and gaze attack) of a yeti. The parts of a monstrosity that can grant an attack or trait are at the Narrator’s discretion.
Risen Beast
You must have access to the corpse of a beast with a CR of 1 or less that has been dead no more than 24 hours to graft this modification. Your monstrous minion uses the statistics of the beast with the zombie template , gaining the other improvements found in the Monster Minion feature as normal.
It’s Alive!
At 15th level you’ve beaten death—mostly. You gain the resurrection spell and when you prepare your artificer spells you can prepare it and create a spell invention for it (or forgo it for a modification) in addition to your normal number of prepared spells. This spell counts as a 5th-level artificer spell for you and you can cast it without the usual material components, but a creature you target with it gains the monstrosity type and cannot be targeted by this feature again.