[RPG] Can an artificer use Magical Tinkering on a weapon before infusing it (and have it stay)

artificerartificer-infusionsdnd-5emagic-items

This is mainly a question related to narrative/creative license so the reality is that it probably requires a discussion with a DM. But, so as to have a firmer idea of how to interpret the rules interactions, I'm asking the question in advance of that discussion here:

The Artificer's Magical Tinkering feature grants the following:

At 1st level, you learn how to invest a spark of magic into mundane objects. […] You then touch a Tiny nonmagical object as an action and give it one of the following magical properties of your choice:

  • Whenever tapped by a creature, the object emits a recorded message that can be heard up to 10 feet away. You utter the message when you bestow this property on the object, and the recording can be no more than 6 seconds long.

Artificers also have the ability to infuse weapons but, in doing so, the weapon becomes magical:

Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch a nonmagical object and imbue it with one of your artificer infusions, turning it into a magic item.

I think it would be fun to have an artificer that has recorded an insult on a non-magical weapon using Magical Tinkering (such as the sound of blowing a raspberry) so that when the thrown weapon smacks into the hostile (ie, is "tapped" by it) the weapon emits the insulting message.


Magical Tinkering states that it " give[s the item] one of the following magical properties." Does that invalidate the item as a candidate for a weapon infusion?

Does the weapon infusion, which causes the weapon to become magical, erase (or suppress) the Magical Tinkering effect?

Best Answer

You can't stack these because they both require a nonmagical item.

Whichever one you apply first, it turns the item magical. You then can't apply the other effect.

However, the speaking alteration doesn't really affect the weapon's function as a weapon, so you may be able to get around this limitation by putting that effect on something that's not part of the weapon as such. For example you might have an ornament tied to the hilt of your sword, like a keychain charm, that yells insults at your enemies.

This method would avoid another potential problem, which is that Magical Tinkering works only on Tiny items. There aren't a ton of examples of object size class, but there is a table of object hit points which includes a lock or a bottle as Tiny, and a lute or chest as Small. So if the weapon is something like a dagger, tomahawk, or billy club, then yes, it's Tiny. A sword or spear? Maybe. A pike? Definitely not. (Thanks to Nullman for pointing this out.)