Artificers are pretty new in Waterdeep.

The specialized training of the artificer originated in Lantan and spread through the Church of Gond. The teachings have also become widespread among certain sects of Oghma and Deneir, especially the Archivist tradition. Conservative followers of Mystra disapprove of the cavalier use of magic and, especially, the idea of technology and magic together. Invention is troubling altogether, and should be slowed or stopped; mixing technology with the Art of the Weave can only end in disaster. The idea of an artificial mind or something like a warforged is almost sacrilegious. Expect some resistance from some factions of the Watchful Order (Waterdeep's magical police/guild) and the Harpers (freedom fighters who oppose tyranny and magical “weapons of mass destruction”).

In Waterdeep there is tension currently between the practitioners of magic and technology. In the middle of the current century (in 1445) Timehands, a golemwork clock, was completed and installed in the tallest tower of Lord's Palace, much to the dismay of the older wizards who furiously fought the construction of the gaudy thing (imagine commoners having access to accurate chrono-divination for free!). Over the last decades, the recently deposed Lord Neverember completely ended the centuries-long traditional blockade on technological imports. As a result, the city has exploded (sometimes literally) in the last decades with new technological wonders.

When Neverember was deposed by the current Open Lord, Lady Silverhand, the city attempted to return to its traditional moratorium on technology, but found the mechanical cat was out of the bag. A part of the Dock Ward nicknamed “The Tarnish” has seen the emergence of factories, and is now polluted with smoke. Recently new inventions like firearms and even mechanical men called Nimblewrights have been seen in the city. The Open Lord and the Watchful Order are attempting to reduce the flow of technology into the city, and push back against the dangerous melding of magic and tech, but it appears to be a losing battle.

Artificers are considered unregulated mages (like warlocks), and watched with suspicion by the Watchful Order. The current Open Lord is a known skeptic of artificer magic, though she has not moved against the few known artificers who practice in the city. The Blackstaff doesn't seem to have an opinion one way or the other, and has voiced her opinion that it's all just semantics.

Though artificer training is officially not sanctioned in Waterdeep (like all unregulated magic), it is still available through various work-arounds in the city.

The House of Inspired Hands, the Temple of Gond, asserts artificer rites and rituals as part of their religious tradition. They have a small religious school in the temple dedicated to preserving the way of the Artificer.

The Lantan Embassy likewise claims sovereignty over their technological advancement in their consular offices, and private tutors can be hired to teach the arts of the artificer.

The Academy of Clockworks, Contraptions, Concoctions & Contrivances is an underground laboratory and engineering school given to frequent disasters, currently located in the Warrens. The Academy was created by gnomes beneath the factories of The Jungle in the Tarnish neighborhood, before tremors made the Warrens dangerous and unlivable.

There is also rumored to be an academy of forbidden magic in Undermountain. The Dweomercore Dark Arts Academy is said to be run by the Mad Mage Halaster Blackcloak and his appointed Heirs, deep in the dungeon. Those in search of forbidden tomes and rituals are known to make their way to Dweomercore.