How to start a gunslinger

I just got Arcanum today and I have some character creation questions for making a gunslinger:
-What is the best race?
-What backgrounds are good?
-What is the best way to use character points? (i.e. Which stats, skills, or tech trees should I put pts into?)
-Which items are good buys during creation? (I bought the pistol and ammo and used it up on the first two monsters - so i don't think that was a wise buy)
-Any tips on which areas to put pts into during the first level ups?

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies!

 

Best Race: dunno, something technical Half-Orc?
Background: something technical, 'Gunslinging Bandit' looks like a good one :wink:
Charpoints: Make sure you get Expert status firearms before you leave shrouded hills (the first town), dunno what the exact stats for this are, but they should be in the archives on the main site (look up 'expert gunslinger' and which stats you need for that - I think Perception is an important one for this).
-Items: well, as a gunslinging bandit you have no money, so you cannot by stuff, but you do get a kickass gun to start with :akimbo:
-Firearms :smile:

 

- Dwarf, you get bonuses to tech skills thus you only need to put 2 points in Firearms to get Expert instead of 3.
- I'm playing with Miracle Operation now (DX penalty is easily overcome with charged rings and Magnus' gauntlets) but first time I played w/o background and I did just fine.
- Depends on whether you choose some background. Generally you MUST have Expert in Firearms already in Shrouded Hills (as mentioned above); second you'll be too weak to fight on your own so you need charisma to have a number of followers (3 are enough and you can get the Dog in Ashbury. He doesn't count as a follower). ST of 8 is sufficient for a long time. Raise DX - you need action points and it allows you to invest points in your Dodge skill. As for guns don't buy them - make your own. Fine Revolver is good up to Tarant but if you want to survive Tarant sewers go for Long Range Rifle. You'll need it anyway later on. Besides gunsmithy develop Electricity. So much for survival, rest is up to you. Generally at least one point in Haggle doesn't hurt and being able to persuade people is also nice. From other things Repair comes to mind but as I said it's all up to you.
- Ordinary pistol will suffice in the very beginning but you'll still need Virgil's help a lot. Don't waste your ammo, if you're not sure you can shoot right - don't. Take kite sword and try to do some damage with it. At least you won't be wasting your bullets. In Tarant you can buy a schematic that will allow you to make your own bullets so gather charcoal and saltpepper whenever you can.
- As I said CH - you'll really need Sogg by your side. When you can have 3 followers you can stop investing as already mentioned. Be very careful not to waste your points in the beginning since gunslinger is the toughest character to develop IMO - not only you need to develop ST a little and DX just like fighter but also you must remember about PE. Don't put points in IN in the very beginning because this way you won't live long enough to build yourself Long Range Rifle. A bit at least in social skills is a must too.

Have fun and don't get discouraged. I had to start this game 3 times before I developed a character I liked and one that was doing really good. Basically if you have serious problems with monsters in Tarant sewers don't even think about going on with the main plot.

One more thing about Tarant sewers. You don't need to go there but it's a good plce to gain a few levels.

 

Ignore the bullets schematic. It creates to few bullets and bullets are easy to buy. Go for the repeater-rifle early since it's the first decent gun. Then try to get the charged accelerator gun (bought schematic). That one will last a while.

 

I have to disagree. Repeater Rifle uses far too much ammo compared to damage it deals. Bullet schematic is very useful you just need to have some saltpepper/charcoal put aside earlier on. Buying bullets costs way too much money and you to rise Haggle you need to rise WP first which is quite a waste of char. pts. in techies' case.

 

I agree with Dragoon. What use is a repeater rifle going to be if you are surrounded by hordes of zonbies, you run out of ammo, and you can't make any more bullets. I have never heard of a gunfighter skilled in melee.

 

That's easy.. Hack yourself a couple hundred CPs and get straight 20s and Master everything.. Makes the game a _little_ easier.. =P