Artificers

To be a craftsman is a precious if also commonplace trade, with nearly every village having a mundane blacksmith. This can be pushed higher into the levels of an artisan's work, with masterwork pieces, be it a beautiful cathedral or a lord's gilded sword. Once touching into the realm of enchanted magic items, the true highest level of crafting is coupled with the entertangling of the arcanum and the creator's soul poured within it. Those stark few who are masters of magic item creation are known as Artificers, and they are responsible for almost every mystic artifact one can find.
In order to create any variety of magic item, the artisan must have an acute awareness that a portion of themselves is one of the requirements to get the magic energies entangled within their item. The amount of their spirit that they must expend into the item depends entirely on the level of power they are pushing towards, with a common item taking barely a flick to awaken it, with the most legendary items often taking the entire soul of the crafter along with it. As such, those that are of the most immense in power, or of extraplanar matter dare to create such extreme items. The penning of the Book of Vile Darkness for example took a sizable chunk from the Lich God's power to create, with his power dimminished further with the infusion of both his Eye and Hand. The Holy Avenger was made in the death throes of a paladin who plunged his entire soul into his blade as his last act, with only that level of commitment sufficient of creating such a potent weapon. Ioun Stones are perhaps the most alive of any magic item, tethering in an orbit around one's bright soul. Artificers thus are rather overflowing souls, with bursting genius that drives them into the arts of creation. Magic items also require a certain attunement between the soul of the wielder and the spirit of the item itself, and none are better at this as artificers, able to connect to at least double the amount anyone else can.
It is the power of an artificer's mind that they are able to draw from the arcanum, performing the acts of weave manipulation that form their spellcasting. It is this same intellect that allows them to understand the mechanics of the magic in themselves, the environment they are within, and the magic items they wield. There are a few more specialized roles that artificers can take, a more honed focus on what variety of magic items they will be creating, and the difference in how they perform. The common routes artificers take are as follows:
Alchemist. Alchemy wasn't first invented by nor used by the artificer. It is the study of the physical matter and its different states, the chemistry involved in both the base elements and the expansive alchemical elements that were discovered. Transmutation was their first goal, the morphing of lead into gold being a famous example of an alchemist's experiments. As time marched on and notes were shared between alchemists, the infusion of the arcanum with the transmutational studies brought about a new level of power within the elixirs they were creating. This mix of science, chemistry and magic makes alchemists the forefront of invention of matter-altering substances. These artificers are most often found in the universities of higher learning, where they are supported in their breakthroughs.
Armorer. An Armorer is an artificer that takes their innate capabilities with magic items and compresses them into a unique suit of armor that they build for themselves. Expert smiths as a start, these artificers pour their inner arcane into their armor, powering it ways that no other can immulate, putting innate power weapons into its fists or having a force shield surrounding the suit. The armor and the wearer become linked hand in hand, with the suit becoming a second skin to its wielder. It is this hyper focus that can detract from the other capabilities being an artificer as a base brings, but it makes up for the lesser magic ability with the capacity of wading into the thick of combat alongside any other warrior. Entering a new place as an armorer is sure to draw a great deal of attention, as everyone of course wants to see the "metal man."
Artillerist. Artificers that are enlisted into the armed forces are often taught the art of the Artillerist, as they are able to form their ability to create arcane weapons into incredibly powerful artillery pieces, long range cannons blasting fireballs into enemy ranks. These eldritch inventions make the artificer invaluable, and often are employed for decades for their genius creation of new weapons of war. In truth, it is an emmulation that artillerists are able to latch onto, taking the magics of the arcane and employing them with inventions that even those with no arcane power would be able to use. While a sufficently powerful wizard or cleric would far and away outpace the destructive capacity of an artillerist, it is the versatility of their magic items, and the less stringint requirements to become an artillerist as opposed to a wizard that makes them more common place and more hireable. Any major military will have at least one artillerist in its ranks, if not an entire company.
Battle Smith. Whereas an Artillerist is employed by the military as a destructive long range support, the Battle Smith is just as likely to find themselves in the employ of the army. Their role however is as a protector and a medic for a paticular troop, with their powerful companion of their own creation, known broadly as a Steel Defender. These artificers are most often construct creators, with the most powerful among them responsible for the creation of Golems, with these hulking constructs taking on a slight personality from the soul fragment the artificer used to infuse them. These individuals are the most flexible in the realm of combat, with their artifical companions aiding their proficency in the art of warfare themselves. These artificers often become adventurers after their time in the armed forces, seeking greater knowledge and the ability to build more powerful constructs, with the legendary Manuals of the Golems a frequent personal quest.