Inspector Gadget

[elyktsorb]

I'm going to be doing a one shot in a couple of days and I was trying to think of the best way to make an Inspector Gadget character, basically a detective on background level, but with the obvious flair Gadget brings to the table.

Forgot to mention I start at level 8, point buy for stats.

[Trandir]

Without any more detail I would say

Envoy warforged wizard

Give him a bag of holding and sovreing glue it to a hat and mage hand the "gadgets" out of it.

[Composer99]

I'm going to be doing a one shot in a couple of days and I was trying to think of the best way to make an Inspector Gadget character, basically a detective on background level, but with the obvious flair Gadget brings to the table.

Forgot to mention I start at level 8, point buy for stats.

I'm not sure the word I'd use for Inspector Gadget is "flair". :smallwink::smalltongue:

If you're playing the character but with competence, some wizard is good - probably diviner - along with some rogue for expertise and proficiency with thieves' tools. If you're starting at level 8, I'd go rogue (thief) 3/wizard 5, starting with a level of rogue for proficiencies. That gets you cunning action and the thief archetype 3rd-level features.

You can fluff the Second-Storey Work feature, with its climbing and jumping benefits, as some kind of go-go-Gadget gadget or another.

Edit: I would then look at the wizard spell list and decide which spells fit the Inspector Gadget feel. Feel free to stop taking wizard levels once you run out of them. (Although go-go-Gadget-time stop has a nice ring to it.) Assuming you'd want to reach 9th-level spells if the campaign goes all the way to 20th level, I'd consider going wizard the rest of the way.

Also... I haven't read the UA Artificer, but it might be worth looking into instead of wizard if your DM allows UA material? It's no good for AL, though.

[nickl_2000]

If it’s allowed, inspector gadget screams Artificer to me.

[Monster Manuel]

If it’s allowed, inspector gadget screams Artificer to me.

That's how I did it. Envoy Warforged Artificer. Re-skinned spells to have the effect come from a gadget that deployed from a secret compartment. Grease? Spray-nozzle that comes out if his finger. Feather Fall? Deployable parachute-hatch. Message? Radio antenna and microphone that extend from the ear. Mage Hand? Literal gloved hand on an extendable arm that comes out of his hat. Longstrider? Roller skates that extend from his boots.

One of his infusions was for creating a Wand of Magic Detection...I skinned it as a hand that extended from his hat with a magnifying glass attached.

Envoy Artificer because of the Integrated Tool mechanic that the tool he's proficient in was built-in to his warforged body, but could also be used as an arcane focus for his spells. But, if your DM is OK with re-skinning spells like described above, any spellcasting class could conceivably work.

It was not a particularly serious game.

Consider that, once the Eberron book comes out, any of this UA material for the warforged might change. But this version really, really worked. Like, unbelievably well.