Building Mr Fixit

[TechnoScrabble]

I had an idea for a build-A robot or magitek type thing or golem or whatever made by dwarf fortress type dwarves to keep their fortress and the dwarves themselves in good conditions. Eventually gained sapience and decided to roam the land, healing and fixing things for the people it met. It would be okay with wounding attackers, but not killing them unless it is the last chance to keep them from hurting others.

In my head, I had this image of a huge, armored robot that looks somewhat like an overly armored knight with healing and repairing powers.

What sort of 'build' could I use in D&D 3.5 to make such a character? I'm okay with using non-core books.

[Morithias]

Probably a warforged Factorum. Either that or a Warforged Cleric with a few craft skills.

Not sure about the exact build, but that's what I would do.

[Ason]

Warforged is probably your best bet for a robot/golem themed race. Check out the Eberron campaign setting for more information. The "Golmoid" from Dragon Magazine 317 might also fit your needs, but it has little feat/spell support, a penalty to Intelligence and LA+1, so Warforged seems better.

For class, the Artificer base class (again from Eberron) is a pretty standard building/repairing type, but I have no other advice on artificers, as I've never seen one in action before. If you're looking to go the cleric route, the 3.0 prestige class "Techsmith of Gond" (from the Forgotten Realm's book "Faiths & Pantheons") is a full-casting class that gives perks to technical skills, a free robot companion to help you out and smiting against constructs. You would have to adapt it a little bit, as some of its class skills and prerequisites either no longer exist or are rather harsh, but it definitely would work.

Personally, I have always wanted to play a Warforged techsmith, with the backstory being that he is just a regular golem who gained sentience and is trying to build himself a family using scrap metal (in order to be like the other "people" he's seen). The techsmith's companion would then become his "little brother", and it would be the cleric's lifelong ambition to give his brother sentience as well.

[Trekkin]

Warforged Artificer seems like the most workable way to go here. The Warforged Artificer substitution levels are also worth looking into.

While I feel them to be inferior in fit, Exiled Modron might also work as a race for this, especially if you want something more classically robotic in feel or your DM dislikes Warforged specifically.

Really, that's the only problem I can see with running with warforged artificer: both the race and the class could be described as infamous. Having played one, I can see why; the class is superb at bringing options to the table, and the race lets you capitalize on them in unorthodox ways by being creative with all the things you don't have to do, like breathing. It shouldn't break a campaign if used as a healer/repairer, though.