Factotum Animal Companion

[Tvtyrant]

The Factotum's Cunning Brilliance ability allows you to gain the extraordinary abilities of a base class (up to three such abilities a day).

Animal Companion is an EX ability, so you can use it with Cunning Brilliance, and then spend 24 hours to summon the animal companion. However you only gain the actual ability for 1 minute. Could someone explain how these interact then? Do you just get cut off from summoning an animal companion when the ability is up?

[Slipperychicken]

The Factotum's Cunning Brilliance ability allows you to gain the extraordinary abilities of a base class (up to three such abilities a day).

Animal Companion is an EX ability, so you can use it with Cunning Brilliance, and then spend 24 hours to summon the animal companion. However you only gain the actual ability for 1 minute. Could someone explain how these interact then? Do you just get cut off from summoning an animal companion when the ability is up?

You could still perform the ceremony, but it stops being able to give you an Animal Companion after Cunning Brilliance wears off. All you would do is waste 24 hours of your life. It's much like how you wouldn't have time to prepare spells using Cunning Brilliance.

Maybe there's an (ex) class ability which gives you a non-specific bonus feat, then you can take Wild Cohort (or pehaps Leadership) with it. Those don't have any lengthy rituals at all, although the logistics of taking those feats, then losing them after 10 rounds is... bizarre.

[Tvtyrant]

You could still perform the ceremony, but it stops being able to give you an Animal Companion after Cunning Brilliance wears off. All you would do is waste 24 hours of your life. It's much like how you wouldn't have time to prepare spells using Cunning Brilliance.

Maybe there's an (ex) class ability which gives you a non-specific bonus feat, then you can take Wild Cohort (or pehaps Leadership) with it. Those don'e have any lengthy rituals at all, although the logistics of taking those feats, then losing them after 10 rounds is... bizarre.

It would be like having a summon spell! But more awesome!

Couldn't you get a spell from a Beguiler or sorcerer? Then you wouldn't need to prepare it. Or use Advanced Learning, which explicitly gives you the spell forever.

[Curmudgeon]

Couldn't you get a spell from a Beguiler or sorcerer? Then you wouldn't need to prepare it.
No, because Spells aren't Extraordinary class features of either of those classes. They're natural instead: see either page 180 of Player's Handbook or page 118 of Rules Compendium.
Natural abilities are those not otherwise designated as extraordinary, supernatural, or spell-like.

Or use Advanced Learning, which explicitly gives you the spell forever.Advanced Learning gives a Factotum absolutely nothing.
The spell must be a sorcerer/wizard spell of the enchantment or illusion school and of a level no higher than that of the highest-level spell you already know. Since a Factotum isn't a spellcaster and doesn't know any spells of any level, this is completely useless.