It's Alive!!! - Frankenstein's Subclass for Artificer!

Third-Party Thursdays 20-02-25

“Necromancy? No! Not at all! What are you, a fool? Did you not hear what I said? I clearly shouted ‘It’s Alive’, not ‘It’s Undead’, you moron! Now stop asking such stupid questions and hand me its other arm.”

The Promethean Scientist Artificer Subclass

Promethean Scientists are the Artificers whose studies have led them to view the mortal form as a machine to be tweaked, improved upon - and to be built. Their tools are medical in nature, their curiosity bordering on obsession, and their morals are rarely elevated above “Questionable”. They have the ability to work their infusions into living creatures, augmenting their limbs and abilities with experimental magical surgery. Their magnum opus, however, is their creation of a flesh golem servant. Though often seen by outsiders as an affront to nature or an abomination, to the Promethean Scientist their golem is nothing short of the physical manifestation of the power of their will and drive to not only overcome the limitations of nature, but to improve on its designs.

The Promethean Scientist is a subclass for the Artificer for D&D 5e, and it was one of my favourite subclasses to write & edit¹. I made extensive use of vintage anatomical diagrams throughout, and it really gives it a feel of the macabre².

What does a Promethean Scientist do?

The Promethean Scientist is a subclass which takes one of the Artificers main abilities - the ability to create infused items to distribute amongst the party - and puts a frankenstein-esque twist on it, to allow you to create Promethean Infusions. These are direct augmentations to the flesh, and they allow you to upgrade your companions, instead of just their gear.

But, if your companions are unwilling to volunteer for the process, you can also build yourself a willing sacrifice - a Flesh Golem servant. Whilst perhaps less powerful than a battlesmith’s steel defender, the Flesh Golem has other, more potent possibilities - it can wear and wield armour and weapons, and attune to magical items. You can also further upgrade it with your Promethean Infusions, to make it breathe fire, or climb walls. You can also give it an aggression enhancer, a metal skeleton, and retractable blades - so make of that what you will!

Finally - and because it had to be done, thematically - one of the spells available to the Promethean Scientist is Call Lightning - so don your lab coat, get yourself to the top of the nearest ominous tower, and cackle into the static as the storm rages around you, and give it your best:

“It’s Alive!!!!”

As a reader of my newsletter, you get access to the Promethean Scientist at a discounted rate - because without people reading my newsletters, I wouldn’t be here on Substack! So thankyou all, and enjoy the Promethean Scientist for just $0.99! There’s 79 subscribers to my channel³, so there’s 79 uses of this link - so get in quick before they all go!

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1. Yes, this is another of my own creations. I have, however, now arranged the playtest for No Time for the Wicked, and will be able to review it next time!

2. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the name of a type of pasta.

3. At the time of writing - hopefully there’ll be more of you magnificent people by the time this goes out - if they all get used before the end of March, I’ll release more!