‘You can go anywhere, but you can’t do anything when you get there’

Dungeons and Dragons‘ 2024 new Core Rules have reshaped the game in massive ways. Some classes and subclasses have drastically different abilities or playstyles, some core game aspects have been changed, and even some of the most iconic monsters in Dungeons and Dragons are nothing like they used to be. This is not always for the best, as losing identity for novelty is not necessarily a good thing, but the overall reception has been good so far. Now, a new book is coming out in the form of Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, which aptly features the Artificer class, its four existing subclasses, and an entirely new subclassed – the Cartographer.

This is pretty exciting in and of itself, as new subclasses in Dungeons and Dragons are often a huge breath of fresh air for longtime players, and they can either unlock entirely new playstyles and strategies or build on untapped existing concepts. The Artificer subclasses are all unlocked at level 3, and they are: Alchemist, Armorer, Artillerist, and Battle Smith, with the Cartographer rounding them up. Yet, as interesting and flavorful as the Cartographer is for the Artificer, it fails to stick the landing of its teleportation spells, becoming a cool support class at best, and an underwhelming cauldron of half-cooked features at worst.

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Dungeons and Dragons’ New Cartographer is Officially The Worst Artificer Subclass

Aside from some core Artificer changes in DnD 2024 from the Eberron: Forge of the Artificer book, such as learning Mending as a cantrip or Flash of Genius triggering when a creature fails a check or saving throw, each subclass has been updated, and the Cartographer has been added. Theoretically, the Cartographer is meant to be a support class that focuses on mobility and utility magic for allies, all while creating magical maps that connect all party members and give them bonuses. This is only partly true, though, as the class fantasy is quickly overshadowed by middling powers, spell selection, and abilities.

Eberron: Forge of the Artificer’s Cartographer Subclass Breakdown in DnD 2024

Dungeons and Dragons – Eberron: Forge of the Artificer’s Level Cartographer is a Mixed Bag

At level 3, the Cartographer gets access to Tools of the Trade, which is very useful to craft scrolls for spells, and the cost in gold is decent, too. However, this becomes exponentially worse after level 3 spells due to the massive cost in gold and the time required to finish the scroll, and assistants can’t be used to reduce the time required for crafting Spell Scrolls. There is some value to the scrolls when having a Wizard in the party who can learn the spells from the scrolls, which is easily achievable due to the overlap between Artificer spells and Wizard spells in Dungeons and Dragons. However, this is not guaranteed to be the case.

Then, the Cartographer gets its own spell list. This is as follows:

The Cartographer spells in Eberron: Forge of the Artificer are not inherently bad, but not great either. This is particularly evident when the selection doesn’t have a lot of uses to tie into the level 11 feature of the class, called Spell-Storing Item. After a long rest, you can imbue one item you can use as a focus to store a spell in it from level 1, 2, or 3 Artificer spells, but this needs to be an action, and it doesn’t have to require a material component. This means that Healing Word, possibly the best spell to store, can’t be chosen because it’s a bonus action, rather than an action. Faerie Fire is not only a subpar spell on its own, but the class also makes it a core part of its identity, so it’s not worth storing either.

Adventurer’s Atlas is a nice class feature that allows you to create a set of maps after a long rest, with one map dedicated to each creature you touch (1 + Int modifier, minimum 2). The map allows all the holders to know the location of each other map holder, which grants two bonuses:

• Awareness: +1d4 to initiative rolls
• Positioning: When casting spells or creating effects that require to see a target map holder, this creature can be targeted regardless of line of sight or cover if they are in range.

Positioning is not amazing for Cartographer themselves, as they don’t have a lot of spells or uses for it, but it can be much better for other party members. Healing Word is again a good healing spell in DnD to use with this effect, but there are not many more. Still, Healing Word on an invisible ally or maybe someone behind cover has its merits, and the ability itself is indeed powerful, just not so much for the Cartographer.

Then, the Cartographer gains Illuminated Cartography, which allows you to cast Faerie Fire without spending a spell slot, which is seemingly useful. However, creating advantage in DnD 2024 is nowhere near as hard as in past editions, and it does require concentration to cast. While this is a free spell, it’s not that impactful, and it’s mostly something that may be worth casting at level 3, possibly level 5 at best.

Finally, the Cartographer gets Portal Jump at level 3, which is a very good tool for disengaging. At the same time, it requires your speed not to be 0. This means that situations where you may want to teleport out of the most are not applicable to Portal Jump, like being grappled.

Dungeons and Dragons – Eberron: Forge of the Artificer’s Cartographer Won’t Find Its Way Between Level 5 and 15

At level 5, a Cartographer gets Guided Precision. This allows you, once per turn and whenever you cast a spell from the Cartographer Spells List or hit a creature affected by Faerie Fire with an attack roll, to add your Intelligence modifier to a damage roll of the spell or attack. Furthermore, taking damage doesn’t break concentration on Faerie Fire. The problem here is threefold:

• Guided Precision only works on three Cartographer spells, and none are great for it:
  • Guiding Bolt
  • Mind Spike
  • Call Lightning
• The benefit is mostly going to be +3 or +4 to a damage roll in DnD, which is good in a vacuum, but not amazing when considering it still requires casting Faerie Fire the turn before, keeping concentration, having the target creature fail a saving throw against it, and then again for the next attack spell you cast.
• Other Artificer subclasses, like the Artillerist, have much more impactful and powerful abilities for extra damage, whereas this one can entirely be avoided, and it requires heavy setup.

At level 9, the Cartographer gets Ingenious Movement, which is tied to Flash of Genius. This is a cool feature, and it does have some decent uses, because the target for this ability doesn’t have to be the same who benefitted from Flash of Genius for it to trigger, meaning that one can keep other party members well positioned for their needs.

Finally, the Cartographer gets two more abilities with Superior Atlas at level 15. These are:

• Safe Haven: When a map holder (any, not just you) is reduced to 0 HP but not killed, that creature can destroy their map. If they do, their HP change to a number equal to your Artificer level times two, and that creature is teleported to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you or another map holder.
• Unerring Path: You can use Find the Path if you are a map holder, and do so without consuming a spell slot, without preparing the spell, and with no components. This can be done only once per long rest.

Safe Haven is incredibly good for support, and it can easily save someone who would otherwise be killed in combat. Cheat death effects are always very good, albeit situational, and this is also paired with a teleportation effect. On the other hand, Unerring Path is very underwhelming, and it doesn’t really fit the power expected from a level 15 ability slot — assuming you’re willing to stick to the Cartographer for 15 levels to get there. While Find the Path is not a bad spell in DnD, it’s not something you’ll need daily, if ever.

You Should Avoid DnD’s New Artificer Cartographer Like The Plague

There are some merits and niche uses for the Cartographer, so it’s not necessarily a bad class. However, unless your Dungeon Master decides to give you, specifically, more utility by making terrain-centric encounters and movement-related challenges a part of your campaign, it’s hard to justify taking the Cartographer over every Artificer subclass — even the Alchemist, which is still far less powerful than the other three after the recent updates. And even if you just want to play the Cartographer for its flair, it may not live up to it in terms of gameplay.

Like Reddit user Gizogin said, “You can go anywhere, but you can’t do anything when you get there.” This is not even entirely true, though, as reducing your speed to 0 will prevent you from using Portal Jump, which is arguably one of the core abilities of the class. Yes, you have maps and can give them to your allies for bonuses, and it’s thematically unique and interesting, but unless some very niche, specific combo comes up, Positioning is not going to be that strong, Safe Haven is situational, Spell Scrolls are too expensive, and Faerie Fire is not worth it at higher levels. At that point, what does the Cartographer do besides a 1d4 boost to initiative and casting some middling spells that another Artificer subclass can’t?

Franchise

Dungeons & Dragons

Original Release Date

1974

Designer

E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson