Making a New Warforged Artificer

[SpicyBoi_Nezu]

I was looking to make a new character in my current campaign (we just got back from a hiatus, and a handful of us are swapping out characters to make the party more balanced after a few of our players had to leave the group. This campaign is a bit different when it comes to buying and selling magic items. Instead of having dozens of "Magic Shoppes" scattered across the campaign, my DM relies very heavily on the loot generator for any and all magic items we get. I quote "Y'all will have too much gold, and nowhere to spend it" and I felt like I could fill the gap left by one of the players by playing a "Crafter" where I make all of our magic items.

ANYWAYS, I was looking into the Artificer and noticed the obvious chance for a Warforged Artificer. I looked up any and all handbooks detailing the optimization of this specific breed of artificer, and only came upon this thread from 2010 https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?146523-Warforged-Artificer-3-5
I was wondering if anyone can give me better advice than this, because I wasn't able to glean all too much from this.

[Kalkra]

Have you seen these?

http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=2829.0
http://bg-archive.minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=11474.0
https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?427628-Disregard-Money-Acquire-Buff-Spells-Artificers-without-the-Artifice

[Falontani]

So above anything, the artificer is the "build your own class" class. You have crafting, and if you just craft for your party you'll have a successful character. But you can really do some fun things. If your dm allows custom items.

Imagine an artificer with arrows enchanted with spells that activate upon hitting the target, or activate upon hitting the ground.

Or create a flamethrower using an at will scorch spell with a lower cl.

Really make whatever you want.

If you can't make your own custom items then your limited to

Magic device master (scrolls, wands, staves, you got em) where your like a wizard but need even more prep work (suggested eternal wants, schemas, and recharging staves)

Constructor. Minionmancy with constructs en masse.

Or you could specialize in one form of magic item, like a wand user. Sanctum Spell Disintegrates from duskblade spell list is a 4th level spell, and could be made into a wand.

[Troacctid]

Looks like nobody mentioned Wand Bonding, from City of Stormreach. Very good feat—lets you spend an infusion slot of equal or higher level instead of a charge in order to activate a wand. Basically, a wand with a single charge becomes an extra known spell.

[Kalkra]

Looks like nobody mentioned Wand Bonding, from City of Stormreach. Very good feat—lets you spend an infusion slot of equal or higher level instead of a charge in order to activate a wand. Basically, a wand with a single charge becomes an extra known spell.

And once you hit level 2, Spell Storing Item let's you make single-charge wands. (Basically) (Also, you can do it at level 1 if you only want cantrips, which by RAW cost no xp. Prestidigitation ftw.) (Consult with your GM before using wand feats with Spell Storing Items.) (There are too many parenthetical comments here.)

Also, shuriken abuse.

[NotASpiderSwarm]

The key with Artificer is to figure out what you want to do. Sounds like you already have some idea you want to craft for your party. Make sure your DM is willing to give you some spare time to do so(crafting time is insane). Beyond that, there's not a lot of building you need to do to make that happen, beyond the usual staying one level below the party for boosted XP, maxing UMD, and using a homonculus to do the crafting when you're busy. The real concern is what to craft. That's where all of your research and planning pays off. Look up as many obscure base classes and PRCs for low-level versions of spells as you can find*. Any time you're making a wondrous item(or a wand) to mimic a spell effect, use the lowest-level version. Look at combining effects into items, and figuring out which drawbacks are worth it to get the cost down**. Figure out what effects actually matter and which are better as infusions***, and build to what your party needs, not what a guide online says is statistically best.

Now that covers literally every spare minute of your career, what about in-combat? Good question. You can metamagic wands, but since you're already crafting good items, the budget is going to get very tight. A better(IMO) move is to focus on buffing. Pick up a handful of good buff spells in wands just in case****, but also check out Forrestfire's guide up there for ways to turn Infusions into regular spells. Also use buffing infusions before combat, and don't forget that you have similar combat ability to a Cleric if you want to.

Also, scrolls. Read through Spell Compendium, cover-to-cover. There's a lot of obscure "locate a ring which is in an ocean, but not a lake or other freshwater body, and teleport to it, Druid 3" spells in there. Make a list of any that are even slightly useful. If you think you'll need one, craft it. If you don't think you'll need one, keep a record of where it is, just in case. A 4th level scroll takes 8 hours to make, which is perfect if your party is camped at Poseidon's Temple wondering where his wedding band has been taken.

*Paladin PRCs almost all get their own unique spell list, the Trapsmith from Dungeonscape gets Haste at level 1, etc
**A Necklace of Constant Enlarge Person is great for your Fighter, but if your party only ever has 2 fights per day or spends a lot of time in small tunnels, making it swift-activated once per day takes the price IIRC from 8,000 to 1,600.
***Bane:Undead cast when you enter the Necromancer's Lair is a +2 atk/+2d6+2 damage bonus for free, while always-on Flaming is +1d6 damage for a +1 modifier. But, if your campaign is entirely anti-undead, Bane for a +1 modifier means it stays in effect even if there's no time to buff. Use your best judgement.
****3,000 GP for 50 uses of Haste for 4 rounds each is insane

Oh, two more things. First of all, your DM has veto power. There's some very silly item combos you can make. Keep it fair. Second, you are crafting these items. There's no reason to be bland. Color-code your wands. Make the fighter who insulted you when asking for a suit of armor wear orange. Give the cute wizard a Tiara of Intelligence that matches their eyes instead of a sweaty headband. Crafting is how your char interacts with the world, lean into it.