[RPG] Are the separate pieces from the Armorer Artificer’s “Armor Modifications” still considered “A suit of armor” for infusions

artificerartificer-infusionsclass-featurednd-5e

The title is a little convoluted, so hopefully I can explain better here.

At 9th-level, an Armorer Artificer gets the class feature "Armor Modifications":

You learn how to use your artificer infusions to specially modify your Arcane Armor. That armor now counts as separate items for the purposes of your Infuse Items feature: armor (the chest piece), boots, helmet, and the armor’s special weapon. Each of those items can bear one of your infusions, and the infusions transfer over if you change your armor’s model with the Armor Model feature. In addition, the maximum number of items you can infuse at once increases by 2, but those extra items must be part of your Arcane Armor.

Effectively giving the Artificer three more things they can infuse.

Do the boots and helm count as "A suit of armor" for the sake of infusions?

For instance, the "Armor of Magical Strength" has a prerequisite of "A suit of armor". So if the armor was still considered one piece, you could infuse the armor. But now it's considered four pieces. Can I infuse "Armor of Magical Strength" on say, the boots portion. Or are they now only considered boots and can only be infused with "Boots of the Winding Path"? And the helm can only be infused with "Helm of Awareness"?

The follow up would be, if they are still armor, does that mean a character cannot infuse their special weapon as a weapon?

I found this question, which would suggest that the weapon because a weapon. I'm asking whether boots become boots or are still part of the suit.


It just seems like a crappy feature to say, your armor is now four pieces so you can customize with more infusions. But two of those four can only be two specific infusions and both of them require attunement.

Although, an argument can be made for not only those two infusions, but use the "Replicate Magic Item" to infuse the boots as "Boots of Speed".

Best Answer

Only the “armor (the chest piece)” counts as armor for the purpose of infusions requiring armor.

The helmet is a helmet, the boots are boots, the special weapon is a simple weapon, and the chest piece is “armor”:

That armor now counts as separate items for the purposes of your Infuse Items feature: armor (the chest piece)

Further, any infusion requiring a “simple or martial weapon” can be infused into the armor’s special weapon, since each weapon is simple (melee or ranged) weapon.

The Replicate Magic Item infusions have numerous options for boots, helmet, and gauntlets.

Now, in the question you state:

But two of those four can only be two specific infusions and both of them require attunement.

However, there are numerous items on the Replicate Magic Item tables which can be applied to boots, headwear, and gauntlets, so the two infusions you mention are not the only infusions available for the boots and helmet, and there are numerous gauntlet infusions in addition to the infusions requiring a simple or martial weapon.

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