Inventor Character Concept

[TeeHee]

I want to create a character that creates wacky inventions, magical and mundane. I want his major attacks and such to be based on his creations, and I am willing to spend most of my treasure on materials and the like. I want to come up with my own magic items (especially those along Wondrous Item-lines) but also want to be able to create the usual stuff like potions, wands, etc. I would like to keep to the core books as much as possible. My main questions are:
1. Which race is best? (I was thinking Gnome for the spell-like abilities and craft check bonuses, but Dwarf also gets bonuses on metal and stone crafting)
2. Which combination of classes is best? (I was thinking wizard/rogue to maximize skill points but also provide access to a wide variety of spells, should i specialize in a school and if so what, which class should I take first, etc.)
3. Which Craft skills are the most versatile and cost-effective for both magical/mundane gadgets?
4. What spells will serve me well in terms of crafting things (both spells for making things and those commonly used in items)?
5. How does the Craft skill work exactly (I'm a noob, please give me a concise but complete explanation)?
6. Any good places to look for sources of inspiration, especially for low-level items, for me to create and utilize?
7. Ways to make this character more combat-effective?

Thank you so much in advance for your help!

[BowStreetRunner]

Take a look at Effigy Master (Complete Arcane p.30) and see if this is a direction that you might like to pursue.

[Heliomance]

Artificer. It's not core, I grant, but that is literally exactly what Artificers are for.

[ekarney]

Take a look at Effigy Master (Complete Arcane p.30) and see if this is a direction that you might like to pursue.

Alternatives are Renegade Mastermaker (Become a cyborg!) Or Techsmith of Gond (Free robot friend! The text actually says he can function as a friend!)

Also grab Artificer to enter and craft construct.

Gnome Artificer might also be a PrC option - it fits the flavour at least.

[Twurps]

Artificer. It's not core, I grant, but that is literally exactly what Artificers are for.

Making wonky things, both magic and mundane: Check
Attacks based on his inventions/creations: Check
being able to create just about anything that's creatable in d&d: Check

In short: I'd have to second (third) the Artificer. (with or without effigy master to top it off..)
Good features of the artificer:
-Most of the 'craft...' feats as bonus feats. Including woundrous items, magic arms & armor, scrolls, rods, wands, staffs.
-'Craft homunculi' class feature, witch functions like 'craft construct' for homunculi only. There is a variety of homunculi you can craft. (check Monster manual and Eberron campain setting specifically for these). Including a dedicated wright, which can help you craft so you have time left to adventure. And another personal favorite: the Arbalaster: basically a autonomous crossbow.
-A 'Craft reserve' which you can spend instead of XP on crafting. (And the ability to 'salvage' XP from magic items you don't need, which you can then spend on crafting again.)

Now for your other questions, assuming you do go Artificer:

1) Race: Human. Boring choice maybe, but good as ever. You get the extra feat, but also: You get 1 skillpoint per level. Being an artificer, you'll want to max a great deal of craft skills, and that 1 point per level will quickly outperform the +2 to a single skill the gnome gets.

2) Classes: Like I said above: Artificer.

3) For you/your party: Craft Alchemy, Craft weaponsmithing, Craft armorsmithing. For your creations/humunculi: this depends on which you want to craft. certainly take 'craft pottery' for a dedicated wright, which can then help you craft. I like arbalasters, so I woul add 'craft sculpting' A DC 15to20 goes a long way with most crafting, so you probably want just 5 to 10 rank in most of these. Leaving enough skillpoints to increase a few others as wel (And don't forget UMD, probably max that)

4) Spells are not my thing. Someone more well versed will answer this one no doubt. Thing is: Artificers don't get to cast spells. (They do get to emulate spells needed for item creation. Hence the importance of maxed UMD skill)

5) Crafting (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/craft.htm) requires a number of 'ingredients' (any mix of: raw materials, XP, spells) and the expentidure of time to make something usefull. A specific craft skill-check determines wether or not you have succeeded in making this usefull item, (or in some cases: the progres you have managed to make). This might sound a bit vague, because it really depends on what you want to craft. If you have a specific item in mind, just ask here, and we can provide the details for that item.

6) 'Eberron campain setting' for homunculi, MIC for magic items (duh). DMG for potions and both magic and mundain items. I'm sure there are other sources, depending on what exactly you want.

7) Combat effectiveness is a broad concept. Though an artificer has a decent BAB, I don't think artificers are meant to take to combat themselves. However: The homunculi you can craft from lvl4 onwards can be quite capable, as can other constructs (golems?). Furthermore: creating a host of magic items will really improve the combat effectiveness of your whole party. Spend your own combat turn to 'infuse' your constructs, or party-gear for more buffs.

Some feats to consider:
Exeptional artisan*: Reduce crafting time
Extraordinary artisan*: Reduce gold cost of crafting
Legendary artisan*: Reduce XP cost of crafting

Improve homunculi: Add specific boosts to your homunculi. Options include: Wings (put them on an arbalaster for a flying autonomous crossbow), sneak attack, stat boosts, special weapon properties and more.

*you probably want these regardless of the build you end up choosing.

Finally: run this (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060526ahttp://) web enhancement by your DM. Sharing XP penalties with your party (and having a dedicated wright to spend the time) means you can really take crafting to the max.

[sovin_ndore]

It is not an effective PrC, but I feel like the 'mad scientist' vibe is captured really well with the Faerun 'Gnome Artificer' PrC.

[TeeHee]

Thank you for all your help! Where can I find the Artificer class online and in print?

[BowStreetRunner]

Thank you for all your help! Where can I find the Artificer class online and in print?

Eberron Campaign Setting.

[TeeHee]

My DM is new (we only just got a bunch of 3.5 stuff at a thrift store) and wants to stick to the core classes and books for now, so who has the best way to do this with only core classes?

[ranagrande]

My DM is new (we only just got a bunch of 3.5 stuff at a thrift store) and wants to stick to the core classes and books for now, so who has the best way to do this with only core classes?

Core only, you want to be a Wizard/Loremaster.