Ahoy. So, I recently beat Arcanum as a good Half-elf Diplomage, and now would like to try something rather different: An evil not half-elf still diplomatic gunslinger. However, building a techy character seems a fair bit trickier than a mage because of all the things that need points, so I'm looking for advice. I don't want to play a Human, Elf, Half-elf, Half-Ogre, or Dwarf (I imagine Human, Elf, and Helf all have similar reactions from people, Ogres can't use pistols, and I've never really liked Dwarves) but other than that I'm open to whatever as long as it has lots of Persuasion and uses Firearms (or Throwing/Explosives, that seems cool too.) . Thief-y stuff (Stealth, Lockpick, etc) are cool too, but seem less viable because of the amount of points I'll be using already.

Thanks! :)

Basically pick whatever race you want - though half-orc is good to get new dialogue (though mostly it is just people insulting you because you're a half-orc).

In terms of being a gunslinger: do you want to be building the guns yourself, or do you want to just buy guns (and maybe build some other things, like bullets)?

If the former, get the first two ranks of the Gunsmithy tree right off the bat at character creation, you can build a Fine Revolver really easily with stuff you find at the crash site and in Shrouded Hills. Also invest (at some point), two points in Electrical, to get Charged Rings, because with two of them you increase your dexterity by 4, which is insanely powerful and important for a gunslinger.

If you want to instead get guns in different ways still go with Electrical (because you can't buy Charged Rings or find a schematic for them), but put your points where ever else you want at the beginning. If you pick a background with enough money you can buy a gun at character creation, and if you want to hold off for a free (good) one you can get one from Doc Roberts by helping him save the bank. And if you go that route you can put a point or two in melee to allow you to not die in the beginning.

If you want to build your own bullets (to save on some money) you need one or two points (or the equivalent amount of tech manuals) in the Explosives Discipline and to buy the schematic (usually you can find them at Gunsmith shops).

Other than that, it is up to you really in how you want to put points as you level up. If you get charged rings pretty early you don't have to worry about putting points in dexterity for a while, which is helpful. And if you build your own guns the Fine Revolver is actually quite good for a while and so you can concentrate on points in Charisma and Persuade and the Firearms skill.

And since you've played through the game already you have an idea about what situations can be solved through diplomacy and so you can attempt to tailor your character (and where you allot points) to that and what you want to be doing in different situations.

Anyway, if you go for more stealthy and want tech gadgets for that it becomes a bit more tight on where to put points, but you should still have enough for all of your needs.
Other tech gadgets I really like: the Flow Spectrometer, in the Electrical Discipline, because it allows you to detect traps (a life saver in the BMC Mines). Electrical and Gunsmithy also work really well together in general.

I was considering a Halfling, but the Str penalty means I'll have to waste a bunch of points if I want to wield anything larger than a pistol, so I think I'll go Half-orc. More fun to roleplay, anyway (Evil Half-orc who disproves stereotypes by being charming and well-spoken while simultaneously proving them by seeking revenge against the people who hate Half-orcs).

Crafting does seem pretty fun, so I think I might go that way mainly with Electric and Gunsmithing as you said. The tricky part will just be figuring out what order to put points into, I suppose. If I hold off on Gunsmithing early to rush the Charged Rings and build my Firearms and Persuasion a bit, is it still good if I only put points into it later or is it one of those things where I should do it as early as possible? Maybe the best course is to get up to the Fine Revolver as you said and then let it sit for a bit while I build up other stuff?

Background-wise I'm probably going to choose Sold Your Soul so I can do good quests if it'd end up better for me without worrying about my good/evil balance, my only concern is the Magickal Aptitude bonus. +20 isn't really a huge bonus, but will it harm me early? I have no idea what Tech Aptitude actually does, does it increase the strength of tech items or something?

EDIT: Actually, Miracle Operation doesn't seem too bad. I'll have to spend points early, probably at creation, to bring my Dex up to a reasonable level and I'll eventually want to increase my Str, but the upshot is that I end up with 11 Int, 13 Per, and 9 Cha (as a Half-orc). Con ends up low, but that's not really a huge deal. Now I just have to hope the half rank (really two ranks, I suppose) I get as a Half-orc is enough to not stab myself in the face before getting anywhere, because I'd rather not spend a point on melee.

You should probably put one point in Gunsmithy at character creation/first level up at the crash site just so you can build yourself a gun (if you don't buy one) because the gun you can build, while really not good, is better than nothing and it can get you to saving the bank pretty easily (which will get you to another "check point" of gun ownership). Also you can usually build two of the Flintlock Pistols from stuff at the crash site (and often from stuff bought from Ristezze) to make some early money quickly.

Played up to level 6 so far, and this build is honestly working smoother than I expected it to. ^_^ Half-orc Miracle Operation, at lv. 6 my stats come to (this is off the top of my head so I might be off a little) Str 5, Con 5, Dex 12 (With 2 Charged Rings. These things are totally cheap for how easy they are to make), Beauty 5 (One scar. Haven't got around to healing it yet), Int 11, Wil 8, Per 13, Cha 9. I've added nothing to Melee besides the bonus I get from Half-orc and it was mostly okay (I critical failed a bit, but nothing to serious). I have two ranks in Firearms, one in Persuasion, one in Explosives, 3 in Electric (I want the Flow Spektrometer at the very least, though I'm considering going for the Healing Jacket), and 2 in Gunsmithing and I've stolen then handcannon from Sammie White so I'm pretty much set. And I was lucky enough to find a schematic for the Goggled Helmet, so once I get the Eye Gear from the BMC and find a View Helmet somewhere I can make that if I decide to raise my Mechanics.

So I've really just got a couple of crafting questions left: 1. Is it worth going past 3 for Electric? The Tesla Gun and Healing Jacket seem useful, and the bullet-deflecting top hat is kind of epic, but otherwise I'm not sure. 2. Jayna won't join me because I'm evil (boo) so, until I max Charisma at least, should I learn some herbalism to better heal myself or is there someone I can easily recruit to do it? I do plan on continuing Gunsmithing though, because some of the found schematics look pretty cool.

I'm glad it is working out so well for you!

1. It depends really. You definitely don't need either the Healing Jacket or the Chapeau of Magnetic Inversion (and you can actually get one from Mrs. Cameron in Blackroot for solving her quest). The Healing Jacket, in my opinion, uses too many batteries in its healing your character and in my experience it is better to just not get hit/kill everything before it kills you. The Tesla Rod is pretty good (and uses the firearms skill), it is actually especially good against ore golems if you build it before the BMC mines (or before the Wheel Clan and you don't talk your way through). The Tesla Gun is also awesome, and one of the best firearms in the game, so if you want a two handed gun for late game destruction, go for it.

2. I don't think any other tech followers learn Herbology, so if you want healing salves you are on your own, unfortunately. But you can also probably get away with putting one point in it and only making the salves. The other stuff is useful, but if you/your followers can carry enough salves you are fine almost no matter what.

You should definitely continue Gunsmithy, though the best gun (schematic) in the game doesn't show up until you get to the Vendigroth Ruins, so you have a long time before you need the tree maxed out. The Hand Cannon is excellent and probably the second best one handed gun in terms of pure damage. So that's awesome. If you are going to go two handed though you can put the points in and build the looking glass rifle (or kill/steal one off of the Firearms Master after you complete his quest and get the training), or go all the way for the Elephant gun (though personally I don't think it is that great - the range isn't too good, which is why I like the Looking Glass Rifle).

Basically, I don't like most of the guns in the game that you can build. Granted, I've heard good things about some of them (particularly after the UAP fixed (I think it did, at least) some horrible balance issues with stuff). But whenever I've played a gunslinger I've stuck with pretty basic stuff.

Yeah, I've seen a lot of people talk about how hard it is too start a Gunslinger, but it's not too bad so far (Starting with 13 Per helps that hit chance, too). Of course, the moment of truth is really the BMC, but I'll be putting that off for a while. Plus trap detector + ranged weapons will make that somewhat less painful. Yeah, I think I'll continue building Electricity. The clincher for me is that the Tesla Rod uses Firearms, I had assumed it used Melee despite being ranged. The Healing Jacket, even if it uses a lot of batteries, will still probably be useful for tight moments and conserving salves when I'm low. That's a bit of a shame, but it's only one point. Looking over the Herbology table, I don't see that much else I'd want. Some of the higher ones are pretty cool, and it would be nice to be able to make Reanimators, but over all it doesn't seem totally worth it unless I have nothing to put points into late game (or install the level cap remover). Also, I would like to minimize my running through the wilderness picking flowers time. Not quite the image I'm going for with my cultured, revenge-seeking Half-orc. XD I have to say I'm kind of curious about the weirder found schematics though. Like the Blade Launcher, which just seems kind of hilarious. Do you know if the only Elephant Gun you can get in the game is the one Payne has? Because it seems like it's used in a lot of recipes, but I'd rather not spend the point on it.

Thanks again for all the advice. :)

Yeah, the fact that the Tesla rod used firearms really makes the combination of the two scientific disciplines really easy, and while not required, almost a no brainer. The Shocking Staff used melee, though I have never used that for a long period of time. There definitely are some interesting found schematics that you should try out if you want to and can find the parts!

I think there are two: the one that Payne has and one on the leader of the Bedokken poachers. But other than that you have to build them if you want more.

Huh, I just discovered that you can receive Apprentice training in a Skill you have a Race or Background bonus in even if it doesn't amount to a full rank. I haven't trained Melee or Dodge at all, but thanks to my Half-orc bonus I can become an Apprentice in them, which is kind of nice. So apparently even though you don't get full ranks from bonuses of that sort, it still counts as a full rank for training purposes. That's good to know.

Do you happen to know whether Payne is Neutral or Good? I mean, I can just kill him, but that's a risky business in Arcanum what with all the guards hanging around. Got a while to go till I meet him in any case.

EDIT: Incidentally, I like that there's a Half-orc portrait that perfectly fits this character's personality. (Fourth row from the bottom, third portrait to the right.) Also, I ended up killing Jayna. Gameplay-wise by the time I can recruit her she'll be useless (I'd need to max Cha), and roleplay-wise, although I don't go around randomly murdering people, she insulted me repeatedly.

I want to say he is a bit Good. But I could be wrong. I don't know if there are actually any characters that are perfectly neutral (since it isn't DnD based and so there isn't any sort of "True Neutral" slot to fit into). And I imagine he would be a bit more Good than Evil. Probably middling neutral though. I have no idea if he would join you if you were too evil though. :/ Nice! Yeah, it's great when there is a portrait that perfectly fits the character in your head.

I'm actually currently playing the game as a Dark Elf mage who is evil (but manipulative). I'm using a custom portrait pack, but I decided that because the portrait I chose has glasses I have to only wear glasses in the head slot (and wear clothing that could in some way match what it looks like he is wearing in the picture - which is a suit type thing). So I'm purposefully handicapping myself to provide some extra role playing. Which is interesting.

Yeah, you're right. I thought characters like Sog were completely neutral, but he just leans slightly good and doesn't care if you're evil. Virgil starts completely neutral, but that makes sense due to his character arc. Oh, and dog is, but that doesn't really count.

I like the idea of roleplaying to your character portrait, that's clever. :) What portrait pack are you using?

Here we go:
On the TerraArcanum forums
There are also a couple of other portrait packs in the downloads section as well, but I am not using them.

I wouldn't bother with raising your Mechanics, unless there is a learned schematic that you want; as I recall, found schematics can be built just by using the books from the Tarant University. Being able to purchase enough books, on the other hand... maybe the point(s) would make more sense.

Oh, you're right, I had completely forgotten about the use of Tech Manuals. Money's been a bit less scarce now that I can craft my own bullets, so I should be able to raise enough funds to buy the manuals for the disciplines I want.

Those look pretty cool, I like the style a lot, though I wish s/he hadn't used so many recognizable actors. Ron Perlman as Hellboy works alright, but it's kind of jarring coming across Jim Carrey for example. I'll definitely install those when I eventually make a third character though.

Incidentally, it seems to me that guns aren't really underpowered. Guns are more or less normal, magic (and melee to a somewhat lesser degree) is just really, really overpowered (especially once you get to Tulla and become a Master of Force so you can cast Disintegrate for 25 Fatigue at anything that looks at you funny). Anyway, currently trying to fish up the money to get Expert Training in Firearms, then maybe I'll head back to Tarant and actually get around to doing the main quest. But probably not. ;)

EDIT: Ah crap, I just realized I won't be able to Master Persuasion because Half-orcs get -2 Cha. Not really a big deal, but does anyone know what dialog requires Master Persuasion?