Making Doctor Light

[JNAProductions]

Inspired by this awesome YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R9ULRcvbrk&ab_channel=HypeVoiceActing) that showed up in my recommendations.

Now, despite the video showing the good doctor as being buff as all hell, the more important thing is the ability to make things like Mega Man, Proto Man, X... (But if we can fit in the ability to punch reasonably well, that'd be nice too. After all, canonically he knows how to perform a Hadoken.)

What's the best way to make intelligent robots in 3.5? I'd assume Artificer is the best place to start, but where can one go from there?

[noob]

Probably psionic artificer then you have access through crafting to all the spells and psionic abilities for making your robots.
Then craft some items to help with the punching.

[Thurbane]

I'll be honest, I thought this was the Doctor Light that was being referenced:

https://en-academic.com/pictures/enwiki/83/SuicideSquad36.jpg

[Gruftzwerg]

1. Become an Effigy Master
"effigy creature" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal aberration, animal, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, or vermin.

2. Note the following sentence for further abuse:

Hit Dice and Hit Points: Drop any Hit Dice gained from class levels (to a minimum of 1) and change remaining Hit Dice to 10s.
So your effigy may have class levels. Further note that "class levels" is imho in some kind of limbo. While the template allows for a single class lvl, things provided by the class lvl are imho not something provided by the "form" and thus can't be taken away by the template (unless in conflict with the non-abilities CON & INT).

3. Pick Warlock as base class for your effigies
Now they have an Eldritch Blast.

4. Get access to Awaken Construct somehow
Now you have sentient humanoid constructs/robots that can get class level and advance.

5. Level you Warlock army..
.. and pick different blast shapes and essences.

Mission accomplished !?

Let me give you some extra cheese you didn't ask for^^

Mega Man is a Spellthief 5+ / Warlock X
With Spellthief he can steal the SLA from the other effigy robots.

If you want a full blown lvl 20 endgame build, I would recommend a craftlock as base:
warlock 12 / chameleon 2 / sorcerer 1 / Effigy Master 5

You get effigies, and the craftlock gives you any crafting you need to pimp your robot army. And as warlock you get Deceive Item (take 10 on UMD), which is nice to abuse with a Monk's Belt. Roll to emulate a higher class level as monk for the belt to get the unarmed damage of a 20th lvl monk (UMD roll -20= effective monk lvl + 5 from belt). You don't get the ability (the improved unarmed strike part and the ability to enhance your US as martial weapon or natural weapon) as a monk! You sole get the dmg of a monk. But that would fit what is shown in the Fan-Comic I guess.

[noob]

1. Become an Effigy Master
"effigy creature" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal aberration, animal, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, or vermin.

2. Note the following sentence for further abuse:

So your effigy may have class levels. Further note that "class levels" is imho in some kind of limbo. While the template allows for a single class lvl, things provided by the class lvl are imho not something provided by the "form" and thus can't be taken away by the template (unless in conflict with the non-abilities CON & INT).

3. Pick Warlock as base class for your effigies
Now they have an Eldritch Blast.

4. Get access to Awaken Construct somehow
Now you have sentient humanoid constructs/robots that can get class level and advance.

5. Level you Warlock army..
.. and pick different blast shapes and essences.

Mission accomplished !?

Let me give you some extra cheese you didn't ask for^^

Mega Man is a Spellthief 5+ / Warlock X
With Spellthief he can steal the SLA from the other effigy robots.

If you want a full blown lvl 20 endgame build, I would recommend a craftlock as base:
warlock 12 / chameleon 2 / sorcerer 1 / Effigy Master 5

You get effigies, and the craftlock gives you any crafting you need to pimp your robot army. And as warlock you get Deceive Item (take 10 on UMD), which is nice to abuse with a Monk's Belt. Roll to emulate a higher class level as monk for the belt to get the unarmed damage of a 20th lvl monk (UMD roll -20= effective monk lvl + 5 from belt). You don't get the ability (the improved unarmed strike part and the ability to enhance your US as martial weapon or natural weapon) as a monk! You sole get the dmg of a monk. But that would fit what is shown in the Fan-Comic I guess.

The issue is that if you make for example a level 12 warlock human effigy(with effigy applied last) it will have a single hit dice and have a really high cr meaning that if the gm uses the "npc can gain exp" rule then they are basically free xp bundles.
The lost hit dices does not reduces the cr.
Also elder eidolons are essentially effigies but just better so I suggest to use them instead.(even if they still have the hd from class lost limitation)

[Gruftzwerg]

The issue is that if you make for example a level 12 warlock human effigy(with effigy applied last) it will have a single hit dice and have a really high cr meaning that if the gm uses the "npc can gain exp" rule then they are basically free xp bundles.
The lost hit dices does not reduces the cr.
Also elder eidolons are essentially effigies but just better so I suggest to use them instead.(even if they still have the hd from class lost limitation)

Note the difference between the regular "template" usage and what the Effigy Master does.

The "template" is intended as "acquired template" which can be added to multiple already existing creatures. Under my understanding this is "robocop"-like. A living creature gets turned into a robot like being. Interesting that this is not tagged as an evil act...^^

While the Effigy Master can "create constructs" that are effigies!
The "Craft Effigy" ability is a specific non regular use of that template. As such it may trump the general rules presented in the template.

While you can create high lvl humanoid effigies, imho it is still best to leave em at lvl 1 so that they can gain faster more class lvls after awakening em. Nothing forces you to create effigies at the highest possible lvl. You are always free to go for the lowest possible HD of a certain form.
So I don't see any problem to have an army of lvl 1 warlock effigies. And after awakening em, they can lvl alongside you and gain easily more lvls.

As villain you would work similar to a necromancer. Raid town after town for more supplies and to level up your army. It's just that you are actually looking for normal resources and not dead bodies like the necro.

[redking]

2. Note the following sentence for further abuse:

So your effigy may have class levels. Further note that "class levels" is imho in some kind of limbo. While the template allows for a single class lvl, things provided by the class lvl are imho not something provided by the "form" and thus can't be taken away by the template (unless in conflict with the non-abilities CON & INT).

3. Pick Warlock as base class for your effigies
Now they have an Eldritch Blast.

The quote is poorly written. You drop the class levels, but never below 1 HD. So your human effigy based on a warlock loses all class levels, but retains the 1 HD of humanoid.

[Gruftzwerg]

The quote is poorly written. You drop the class levels, but never below 1 HD. So your human effigy based on a warlock loses all class levels, but retains the 1 HD of humanoid.

I don't see any indicators to exchange the single class lvl left to racial HD. Sorry, I can't even call that RAI.

And RAW is clear to me here. You have to keep in mind that without "Awaken Construct" they are stuck at the 1st class lvl. So they have only a rudimentary knowledge of that class (which would fit a basic command program fluff). So it ain't game-breaking by itself.
And if you use "Awaken Construct", you are bound to gain XP for them. Thus balancing the PC side, while giving villains the options they need to be villains.
Overall imho balanced and a good DMing tool if you get what I mean ^^

[redking]

I don't see any indicators to exchange the single class lvl left to racial HD. Sorry, I can't even call that RAI.



Drop any Hit Dice gained from class levels (to a minimum of 1) and change remaining Hit Dice to 10s.

You drop the Hit Dice from class levels. Once you do that, the effigy creature, if it was based on a human warlock, is left with 1 Humanoid RHD. "Drop any" = drop all. What remains is 1 HD (which is not a class level).

[Gruftzwerg]

You drop the Hit Dice from class levels. Once you do that, the effigy creature, if it was based on a human warlock, is left with 1 Humanoid RHD. "Drop any" = drop all. What remains is 1 HD (which is not a class level).

"drop to a minimum of 1" is a single mechanical step.
You are pretending it to be two steps which is not presented by the rules. And you exchange the class level for no reason to RHD. Sorry I fail to see any indicator for that by textual evidence. Not by RAW, nor do I see any indicators for RAI.

[redking]

"drop to a minimum of 1" is a single mechanical step.
You are pretending it to be two steps which is not presented by the rules. And you exchange the class level for no reason to RHD. Sorry I fail to see any indicator for that by textual evidence. Not by RAW, nor do I see any indicators for RAI.

A human stripped of all class levels has 1 Humanoid RHD. This template does not retain class levels at all. It does not have "any" class levels.

[Gruftzwerg]

A human stripped of all class levels has 1 Humanoid RHD. This template does not retain class levels at all. It does not have "any" class levels.

Imho that is what you are reading into the rules. But I don't see that all class levels are stripped of.
All to a minimum of 1.
It's in the same sentence. Just because it's in ( ) doesn't change what it does.

And I don't see anywhere that the remaining class level has to be converted into RHD.
Where does is say that? If you can't point that out, you are implying rules mechanics that are not presented by the rule text.

[Malphegor]

Here’s my current go-to for a person who builds and modifies robots that are loosely like armoured living beings

Artiticer 5/Chameleon 2/Renegade Mastermaker 5/Heir of Siberys 2/Renegade Mastermaker +5/Heir of Siberys +1

1: Able Learner
3: This was for a lesser mechanatrix so this is where I put shape soulmeld lightning gauntlets to heal in a hurry
6: Heroic Spirit: if eberron action points are not in play, +3 every level, otherwise it’s 8 + 1/2 your character level, can swap if a pain, leadership here then to have a head start on warforged scouts and apes and gondsmen in your employ.
9: Craft Construct
12: Construct Grafter: Can graft warforged parts onto other beings
15: Supernatural Transformation: Siberys Mark (Mark of Making): This now works without needing to spend XP.
18: Leadership maybe?

So basically Light builds Effigy creatures built with warforged components attached, and various other magic bits to give them powers. They seem to be similarish to humanoids and animals. They have a knack for finding parts and gear in scrap.

If eberron only stuff is a pain swap heir of siberys for Gnome Artificer, it requires you be a human (main franchise) or a gnome (Captain N universe) but lets you construct mundane Devices which your Effigies can use.