Gnome artificer

Gnome artificers were artisans and craftspeople who explored technologies that were available to the people of Faerûn. Such experts were able to create devices that attempted to reproduce the effects of various arcane spells.

Description
Often competitive, artificers tended to share information and work with one another on various projects. If not working on their own or in small teams, artificers could often be found as advisors to massive engineering endeavors, such as in the construction of bridges and the like.

While most artificers tended to be gnomes, there were few select humans from Lantan who, while they had the same skills as gnome artificers, referred to themselves as Lantanese artificers.

Abilities
Being skilled in the ways of technology, artifcers were able create wondrous devices that attempted to recreate the effects of certain arcane spells. Experienced artificers were able to disassemble old or used devices, and may have used these salvaged parts for future projects. Using such techniques, they were able to signifigantly reduce the cost of creating new devices.

As artificers got close to mastering their profession, they began to experiment and occasionally go beyond their abilities. When these artificers worked on prototype devices, the outcome had a chance to produce an unknown result, though this result was not always of benefit to their creators.