Hey guys Please post your arcanum build in this thread. I'm hoping this will go to sticky one day. I want people to come back here to check some ideas for builds.

Currently I am experimenting with 2 builds

1. Half-Ogre + Idiot Savant
Focus on technology smith, electricity and therapeutics/herbology

This build will create a really strong melee fighter with charged ring and plate armor balanced sword etc and minimal dialogue so is focused only on fighting.

2. Elf + Sheltered Childhood
technology + magick hybrid
Focus on throwing , dexterity and on chemical technology path up to maybe stun grenade .

This build creates a throwing expert magic user with the ability to build grenades and explosives making him incredibly OP.

You could also get the arachnid tech later but you will need an int of 19 so at least 9 points need to go in just boosting intelligence. This would create a kind of ranger techno-mage with technological arachnid "animal" guide and ability to cast spells and shoot the bow.

This is perfect build for experiencing a bit of everything from tech side and from magick side. Note that all tech items will not work for this build because of the magick aptitutde being high.

Reason you need to go elf is because elf has high dex and has +15% magick aptitude which should balanace out the little dip in technology . Magick will not work properly when you have no magickal aptitude so you need some offset to start off . The dip in tech can only happen in herbology/therapeutics/traps(mechanical)/chemistry all the other tech require technological aptitude to work.


Note that throwing weapons deal damage with DEX so having STR 1 makes little difference. As far as I know STR affects how far you throw. So high DEX and low STR will make a very strong throwing character that uses throwing at close range . I generally start with a boomerang and hit like 90% of the time.

I've posted this before, but it's still my favorite build because it gets me OP so fast.

Gnome with the Professional Knife Tosser background. Start with one point in DX, two in CN, two ranks of Throwing (the background bonus effectively makes it three ranks) and the shopkeeper's boomerang.

By the time I hit Shrouded Hills, I'll have added two ranks of Haggle, one or two spells (usually Minor Healing and Purity of Water), and a point in Persuasion. I'll sell off whatever I can to everyone except the junk dealer or the Wise Woman until I can afford apprenticeship, and then 500 more coins to purchase expertise. (As a gnome, my Haggle bonus means I can purchase expertise with only two ranks, and therefore with the 10 WP which, as a gnome, I also already have.)

Once I have expertise, all those items that only the junk dealer would touch, like the dynamite and the grenades, turn out to be worth hundreds of coins each. By the time I'm ready to move on, I've purchased Throwing apprenticeship, persuaded my way past the bridge brigands, and power-shopped the Wise Woman for the mystic chakram, which will be my go-to weapon for the first half of the game.

From there on, it's a matter of boosting my DX, CN (for better fatigue recovery) and MA with more spells. (You want OP? 20 DX, for the speed bonus. Enchanted War Boots, for even more speed. The Hasten spell, which doubles your speed while in combat. You get so many attacks, you could probably win most fights with that original boomerang!)

And then, of course, there's the Gods' Quest....

Mixing Magic with tech can actually have some nice synergy.

Tech characters have high int, therefore can have many spells active.
Some spells are independent from aptitude, especially the buff spells (strength of earth agility of fire, hasten).
You can craft Mana potions (herbology 2), so you will never run out of Mana for you up to 5 buffs.

3 Strength spells active puts your strength from 8 to 20 (20 damage), get 20 DX with help of charged rings and blessing (I use agility of fire until I get blessing).
Together with Hasten spell gives 50 speed.

Still some points left too, for example spend the rest in persuasion.
Or cheese combat completely with backstab and/or grenades.

Point investment, not accounting for race, background, or vivifier :
12 int
4 dx
4 wp
3 melee
3 dodge
2 herb (skip if you have Jayna)
2 electro
3 time
1 stone
1 fire
=35 points for base build (rest blessing), 29 left over for whatever