Zorgfin: All of your answers are really good. Thanks Gazoinks and Waltorious for using your own time to give me answer, I assure you that your help is very appreciated. But, I 'd really like it if you could give me some info on tech and other class options. Don't get me wrong, both of you answered my questions with fulfilling answers, but with a game so big with many options, I just really want to know what options I have available other than a cheesy melee/mage character.
You can pretty much do what you want, but here are ideas for a couple of "base" builds:
-Tech Melee: This is basically what Dwarves are built for. Basically build like a Mage/Melee character but replace Wis and Spells with Int and Crafting. Str may be helpful to carry more stuff, but you can also just bring along Sogg Mead Mug or Chukka. This is probably the easiest tech character
-Firearms: Really fun, but tricky, especially early on. You'll want high Dex and Perception. Int is also helpful for crafting. I recommend Electric, Gunsmithing, one point in Explosives (so you can make bullets once you buy the recipe) and one point in Herbalism (for healing salves. Early on this character will seem pretty bad, but it gets better.
-Diplomage: Wis and Cha are all you need. This was my first build and it's very easy. Max out Persuasion, Charisma, and Wis and learn a bunch of spells. Maxed Cha will let you bring an army with you so you can just sit in the back and cast spells.
There's also Throwing/Explosives and Thieving, but I haven't experimented much with either. Throwing seems potentially powerful though, and Backstab is strong.
ALL CHARACTERS SHOULD START WITH A POINT IN MELEE. It doesn't matter what you're playing, you'll probably be fighting in melee early on, and you'll miss like crazy with nothing in melee.
Also, I'd recommend being good the first time through. Arcanum is one of few games where the campaign actually changes when you play an evil character, but you got to a couple additional locations as a good guy (though they're both kind of annoying, I'd still recommend it for the complete experience).