Mastering Artisan’s Tools in D&D 5e: A Comprehensive Guide

Artisan’s tools 5e aren’t just flavor; they’re a pathway to impactful gameplay, enhancing your character’s abilities and opening up new avenues for adventure. These specialized tools are often obtained through your character’s background or class, as detailed in the Player’s Handbook. From crafting essential gear to deciphering ancient riddles, the right set of artisan’s tools can be the key to success. This comprehensive guide delves into the seventeen distinct artisan’s tool sets in D&D 5e, empowering players to embody a wide range of professions and add depth to their campaign narratives.

Understanding the Value of Artisan’s Tools

Artisan’s tools provide both mechanical advantages and rich roleplaying opportunities. Artisans are masters of their crafts, working with their hands to create unique, functional, and often decorative items using traditional techniques. They are key for crafting and interacting with the game world in meaningful ways. Mastering these tools 5e grants more than just proficiency bonuses; it unlocks crafting opportunities, deepens roleplaying, and adds a tangible dimension to your character’s profession.

Why Your Character Needs Artisan’s Tools

These tools are not merely decorative; they provide tangible benefits. Proficiency with artisan tools grants a bonus to relevant ability checks, and synergy with related skills can provide advantage on those checks, offering further insights. Crafting becomes possible, enabling the creation of specific items. Furthermore, they enhance roleplaying by allowing players to truly embody their character’s profession, expanding gameplay options and adding a touch of realism to their actions.

Where to Find Artisan’s Tool Proficiencies (Classes & Backgrounds)

Proficiency with D&D 5e artisan’s tools can come from various sources during character creation, making them highly accessible and versatile. Many backgrounds, such as Guild Artisan, Urchin, or Outlander, offer proficiency with a specific set of artisans tools 5e, allowing your character to have a trade before their adventuring life. Certain classes, most notably the Artificer, inherently gain proficiency with various artisan tools or can choose from a list. Even feats like Skilled or taking a level in certain classes can grant additional tool proficiencies, further expanding your character’s capabilities and roleplaying potential.

The 17 Types of Artisan’s Tools

D&D 5e offers a diverse range of artisan tool proficiencies:

Alchemist’s Supplies
Brewer’s Supplies
Calligrapher’s Supplies
Carpenter’s Tools
Cartographer’s Tools
Cobbler’s Tools
Cook’s Utensils
Glassblower’s Tools
Jeweler’s Tools
Leatherworker’s Tools
Mason’s Tools
Painter’s Supplies
Potter’s Tools
Smith’s Tools
Tinker’s Tools
Weaver’s Tools
Woodcarver’s Tools

A Deep Dive into Each Tool Set

Each artisan’s tool set has unique applications, costs, and benefits in D&D 5e. Let’s explore them in detail:

Tool Set	Cost	Weight	Associated Skills	Example Uses	Crafting Potential
Alchemist’s Supplies	50 gp	8 lb	Arcana, Investigation	Identifying poisons, creating alchemical items (acid, alchemist’s fire), analyzing substances, brewing potions during a long rest	Potions, explosives, alchemical remedies
Brewer’s Supplies	20 gp	9 lb	Medicine, History	Brewing beverages, creating specialized drinks, potentially developing potent sleeping draughts or poisons, identifying brewing methods	Potions, consumables, alcoholic drinks
Calligrapher’s Supplies	10 gp	5 lb	Forgery, History	Creating forgeries, crafting beautiful invitations, deciphering scripts, creating coded messages, identifying origin of texts	Documents, art, secret missives
Carpenter’s Tools	8 gp	6 lb	History, Investigation	Constructing structures, repairing ships, crafting traps, creating makeshift barricades, reinforcing doors, assessing structural integrity of wooden objects	Buildings, furniture, siege weaponry
Cartographer’s Tools	15 gp	6 lb	History, Survival	Drawing accurate maps, charting unexplored territories, navigating treacherous terrain, deciphering ancient maps, identifying geographical features	Maps, charts, navigational aids
Cobbler’s Tools	5 gp	5 lb	Sleight of Hand	Repairing footwear, crafting simple leather goods, potentially even using leather scraps to create makeshift armor patches, resizing shoes	Boots, shoes, sandals, leather goods
Cook’s Utensils	1 gp	8 lb	Medicine, Survival	Preparing meals, creating flavorful dishes, potentially even using spices to create makeshift smokescreens or irritants, identifying ingredients and their purity	Food, feasts, potentially poisoned dishes
Glassblower’s Tools	30 gp	5 lb	Investigation, Performance	Shaping delicate glass objects, creating intricate vials, crafting lenses (often with Jeweler’s Tools synergy), repairing broken glass items, identifying weaknesses in glass structures	Bottles, vials, decorative glass items, lenses
Jeweler’s Tools	25 gp	2 lb	Investigation, Perception	Crafting exquisite jewelry, repairing precious gems, appraising valuable stones, identifying genuine vs. fake gems, creating intricate clockwork mechanisms (with Tinker’s Tools synergy)	Rings, necklaces, earrings, other adornments
Leatherworker’s Tools	5 gp	5 lb	Survival, Animal Handling	Crafting sturdy leather armor, creating fashionable clothing, repairing harnesses and saddles, crafting pouches and bags, identifying animal hides and leather types	Armor, clothing, saddles, leather goods
Mason’s Tools	10 gp	8 lb	Investigation, History	Constructing stone walls, building fortifications, repairing damaged structures, sculpting, assessing structural integrity of stone, identifying construction techniques	Walls, buildings, fortifications
Painter’s Supplies	10 gp	5 lb	Performance, Deception	Creating breathtaking paintings, forging artwork, disguising objects with paint, creating camouflage, identifying art styles and origins	Paintings, portraits, disguises
Potter’s Tools	10 gp	3 lb	Sleight of Hand	Crafting sturdy pottery, creating delicate ceramics, designing intricate tiles, creating small figurines, identifying clay types	Pots, jars, plates, tiles, figurines
Smith’s Tools	20 gp	8 lb	Investigation, Athletics	Forging powerful weapons, crafting sturdy armor, repairing metal objects, crafting tools, working with metal, analyzing metal quality, creating metal supports for stained glass (with Glassblower’s Tools synergy)	Weapons, armor, tools, metalwork
Tinker’s Tools	50 gp	10 lb	Investigation, Arcana	Repairing broken devices, crafting ingenious contraptions, disabling traps, creating small mechanical devices, diagnosing mechanical failures	Traps, clocks, mechanical devices, small inventions
Weaver’s Tools	1 gp	5 lb	Sleight of Hand	Weaving fine cloth, creating intricate tapestries, repairing torn garments, creating rugs, identifying fabric types	Clothing, tapestries, rugs
Woodcarver’s Tools	1 gp	5 lb	Sleight of Hand	Carving intricate designs, crafting wooden sculptures, repairing wooden objects, creating furniture, identifying wood types	Furniture, sculptures, decorative items

Crafting with Artisan’s Tools

Crafting is a core function of artisan’s tools in D&D 5e. As detailed in the Player’s Handbook, creating mundane items requires proficiency, raw materials (typically half the item’s value in gold), and time (usually one week for every 50 gp of value). Multiple crafters working together can reduce this time. Magical item crafting is more complex and detailed in the Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG). Alchemist’s Supplies, for example, uniquely allow for creating specific items during a long rest, emphasizing the practical immediacy of some artisan tools.

Beyond Crafting: Unconventional Applications

Think outside the box! Artisan’s tools can be surprisingly versatile. A woodcarver might forge a royal seal, a calligrapher could pen a coded message, or a mason might spot structural weaknesses. They can even be useful in combat, like an alchemist creating a smokescreen or a carpenter reinforcing a door. The true potential of artisans tools 5e often lies in a player’s creativity.

Proficiency and Skills: A Powerful Combination

Proficiency with D&D 5e artisan’s tools grants a bonus to related ability checks. Combining this with a related skill from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGtE) often grants advantage on those checks, significantly boosting your chances of success and providing deeper insights. For example, a carpenter proficient with their tools and possessing a high Wisdom (Perception) score might notice subtle structural flaws. A rogue proficient with Thieves’ Tools and expertise in Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) becomes a lock-picking prodigy, showcasing the combined power of tools 5e and skills.

Downtime and Income: Profit from Your Craft

Downtime activities, like brewing ales or crafting jewelry, can generate income, the amount depending on skill checks and lifestyle choices (see XGtE for details). This allows characters to use their artisan tools not just for adventure, but also for economic stability.

Artisan’s Tools vs. Other Tools

While often grouped, it’s important to distinguish artisan’s tools from other types of tools 5e. Disguise kits and forgery kits serve specific tasks, while artisan’s tools represent broader crafts. Other examples like Thieves’ Tools, Herbalism Kits, Musical Instruments, and Gaming Sets each have distinct functions and applications, focusing on particular skills or activities rather than a general craft. This subtle distinction clarifies their roles in gameplay and how they contribute to a character’s abilities.

Tips for Dungeon Masters

Encourage creative tool use! Design scenarios rewarding ingenuity beyond combat. A locked door might yield to tinker’s tools, a hidden message to calligrapher’s supplies, or a collapsing tunnel to mason’s tools. Consider awarding inspiration for clever applications. Incorporating tools into challenges enhances player agency and immersion. Some DMs even allow proficiency to provide advantage on related checks. For instance, a mason proficient with their tools might gain advantage on a Perception check to spot a weakness in a stone wall.

Delve into the celestial wonders and uncover the myths surrounding the altar constellation. Perhaps your players’ artisan skills could even help decipher its secrets.

There is ongoing debate among players and DMs about specific tool applications in D&D 5e, with many exploring expanded uses. This guide provides a foundation for understanding artisan’s tools, but their true potential lies in the creativity of players and DMs. Embrace the possibilities, get creative, and watch your D&D 5e games flourish with the depth and utility of artisan tools.