How to improve this Character

[Miranius]

Soo... after consulting this Handbook: http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=2720 and reading up on Factoti (no latin here, so don`t hit me if that`s the wrong plural) i tried my hand on a lvl 15 Factotum.

To be clear, it is supposed to be a strong party face / sniper / melee support character, NOT a living-cheesegrater be-and-end-all. Though i DID use what i could find as viable STRONG options.

What i want of all you wise munchkins and dungeon-dwellers: how can i make this character more versatile, better or just plain more intresting.. so any and all thoughts on this i want to hear :)

So this is the character:

Backstory in rudimentary form: created on the 6th layer of Baator in a twisted mockery of captured fey that were captured/absorbed/dissolved by the layers fleshy matter, the Hellbred has since "brith" been in horror and revulsion of the powers and effects of corruption.
Fleeing from the fiends that were on his heels and tried to force him into their service, staying unrecognized and aware or his surroundings were tantamound to the point of paranoia. (Or: IS it Paranoia if the powers of Hell are REALLY out for you?)
Anyways, gaining tools and templates to stay hidden are one of the main aspects of the character (still debating if i should take the vecna-blooded template and the +1LA), finding out and absolutely and positively ERADICATING corruptive Influences on mortals (expecially by outsiders) is another one. (plus combating his/her own dark voices, see the Mask of Lies later on)

base race: Hellbred (from Fiendish Codex II, spirit aspect for DV and telepathy)
Templates: at birth/lvl1 Magic blooded (Dragon 306) and unseely Fey (Dragon Compendium) (for Int and Cha, the wings of the Fey and the debuffing Aura of the winter-court side)
somewhere around lvl 10 the character udnertook the ritual to become a greater phantom (MMV).
through the continous collar of umbral metamorphosis (Tome of Magic) the dark template was gained.

Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 22, Wis 8, Cha 28 (all before Items which up to now i dont have anyways)

Senses: DV 250 FT, SLLV, Mindsight 100 ft, Blindsight 30ft for the item familiar, spot and Listen ONLY +1 :(

Speed: depending on how you calculate it, 440ft single flying move action 100 ft base speed

(through base speed + quick trait + dark template + rapid wrath item. too bad i can`t afford a continous haste item)

Initiative: 12 (16 with Improved Initiative, see Items further down)

AC: 20, touch 18, ff 18

Traits: quick, aggressive (UA)

Feats:
Through Flaw Vulnerable (AC-1) Obtain Familiar (Complete Arcane)
Through Flaw Murky Eyed (reroll concealment) Darkstalker (Lords of Madness)
Racial Bonus Feat: Devils Favor (FF II) retrained to Mind Sight (Lords of Madness) at level 15
Through Familar: Alertness (PHB)
Lvl 1: Trickery Devotion (CC)
Lvl 3: Iteam Familiar (UA) (a Ring riveted to a Horn)
Lvl 6: Travel Devotion (CC)
Lvl 9: Imperious Command (DotU)
Lvl 12: Staggering Strike (CA)
Lvl 15: Maiming Strike (EoE) ---- Since i lack the funds for a huge numer of SA-dice, i`m searching for alternatives on this one. Maybe Improved Familiar

In total the character has 265 skill-points.
skill-tricks: acrobatic backstab, assume quirk, conceal spellcasting, never outnumbered, second impression, clarity of vision (CS)

the rest is largely concentrated on bluff, dilomacy, disguise, forgery, intimidate, move silently, sense motive, tumble, iaijutsu focus and autohypnosis.
for out-of-combat moneymaking i have craft alchemy, weaponsmithing and shipmaking (total each about 8-10) as well as 2 performs and some open lock.

On this point, has ANYBODY ever used the skill Lucid Dreaming (Manual of the Planes). and if yes, HOW did you use it?

As for items i partially used the item ceation rules from the MIC and the SRD.
Most importantly:
the Gauntlets: Riverine (Stormwrack), Sizing (MIC), Flying (PGtF), Spellblade (PGtF) for Disjunction and Desintegrate. In effect, flying indesctructible (aside from a rod of cancellation or a sphere of annihilation) constructs in ANY size to grapple, block, fly, attack, steal... you name it, they do it. Cost: 20600 GP

The Gnome Quickrazor: aptitude weapon, magebane, serrated & ornate(Dragon M), sudden stunning (DMG II), Spell Storing Deadly Precision (MIC) with a Wand Chamber. Cost: 8145

The Crossbow: Great Crossbow widely made out of Soarwood and Dragonbone, aptitude weapon (Hand Crossbow), Long Range, Magebane, Distance, Sizing, Wand Chamber, *Psionic Minor Creation.
This one is a little cheesy, in effect: as i read it you take penalty to larger-then-normal weapons since you are not proficent with their size. aptitude weapon GIVES you proficeny, so.... 15d8 bolts instead of 2d8 (if you can fit your 30ft long crossbow somewhere). In sum, the range increment on this baby is 370 ft and the psionic minor creation in the bolt-magazine creates MW serrated ironwood bolts. If you`re feeling especially like Cheddar, coated in Megapede Poison from Dungeonscape, DC 44 2d6 CON damage, 1d4 DEX drain. since the bolt AND poison is all bio-matter, that should work and you have no risk of poisoning yourself, right?
Cost:14600 GP

The Eyepatch: Custom made eyepatch with Arcane Sight (Tome and Blood), Arcane Eye (PHB) and Power Sight (MotW). The Strategy with this one: Drop the "Arcane Eye" where you stand, move action away, now you can see and spot without penalty, see auras, HD... Snipe from far away while your opponenet makes ever increasing spot-checks for distance (+37 just within ONE range increment of the crossbow)

Rapid Wrath (Ghostwalk) doubles ANY speed

The rest: Vest of Free Movement, Bravers of Blinding Strike, Gloves of the Master Strategist, Sandals of Light Step, Frightful Crest Craft (ROTD), a reinforced buckler, and 7 custom made wondrous items (worn as metal bands around the characters horns) that each grant 3/d heroics spell for a selection of nice fighter bonus feats, among them martial study, martial stance, the mageslayer-route, TWF....

Customized (with a gruesome backstory) Mask of Lies (MIC) that is specifically tied to evil persons the character has slain (and taken their faces (literally) for a prolonged effect of the disguise self, just without the variety outside the "harvested" faces), maybe tied to him with an infernal Geas so he/she CAN`T loose/destroy the mask or be ever free of its own corruptive influence.

When using the 50% discount for personalized items (not usable by anybody else), this amounts to just about 200000 GP which is the character wealth for this level. (which leaves me without even a waterskin, but who cares about such details ;) on this point, which of these items would you ditch the first?)

So the tactics i have come up with are for ranged combat: the move-and-snipe mentioned with the eyepatch, the snipe-through-buildings that a combo of eyepatch and phantom strike from the template give me.

For melee the demoralizing effect of the frightful crest and the imperious command feat plus the never outnumbered skilltrick, combined with the sudden stunning effect of the quickrazor and the spellstoring-effect plus average 8-9d6 iaijutsu and possibly 3d6 sneak (2d6 asassins stance +1d6 deadly precision).
All fo that combined/multiplied with the clone of trickery devotion and possibly a combat familiar IF i switch out maiming strike for improved familiar.


Tactics/Items i have already discounted: starmantle cloak, manyfang dagger, infinite loops/wishes/clones/nanobots, lovers pain,.... you get the gist.

Things i have no idea about so didn`t put in yet: ToB, psionics, Group Tactics, combos with party-members....


That`s all i have up to now. Please feel free to completely take it apart, switch around and refurbish any and all things! I´m more than curious what you will come up with!


Thanks a bunch, Miranius!

[Miranius]

Not a single idea among all of you?

[Gildedragon]

Quick comment: backstory, spoiler that. Tabulate the race-template thing. It is not necesary to know when each one was got. Do let us know what each gives and it's LA and how you deal with it.

Never used lucid dreaming, doesn't seem so useful.

For the quickrazor you still need an EWP feat to aply to it.
Knowledge devotion is better than trickery devotion, particularly for a combat support character. You already have another devotion to eat up your few TUs

Where are your Fonts of Inspiration? Even at 15 you'll be wanting some to boost ya up.

Wands?

Quick is a trap, that +1hp is worth more than the 10' bonus, as well as the trait-slot. Get absent minded, you'll make up for the perception penalty with skills and magic.

With item-familiar you're well past the cheese grater boundary; let alone with all the templates.
For that matter, what is the LA of this factotum?

Also unsure if the quickrazor can acomodate a wand chamber.

Make that weapon feycraft. You are DEX based and keying your attacks to it is wiser

Do not count on the "self only" restrictions. Using those is abusive and counter to the point of restrictions. Instead make them restrictive against you and UMD, more legit that way.

[Miranius]

The LA for this Factotum is 0.

Phantom, gained through a ritual that most DM`s will make you work HARD to pull off, is 0, dark is gained from an item and to begin with the character had only two templates. One negligible one, magic blooded, and the unseely fey.

You are right that 10 ft alone wouldn`t be worth the 1 hp/lvl, but these get doubled for fly speed and doubled again by an item, so in the end it`s 40 ft..

That`s also why i took the trickery devotion feat. The clone and it`s ways of switching/bluffing with and for the character are handy.

I`m not quite clear on what you mean with "restrictive against you", could you elaborate?

[Randomguy]

The Crossbow: Great Crossbow widely made out of Soarwood and Dragonbone, aptitude weapon (Hand Crossbow), Long Range, Magebane, Distance, Sizing, Wand Chamber, *Psionic Minor Creation.
This one is a little cheesy, in effect: as i read it you take penalty to larger-then-normal weapons since you are not proficent with their size. aptitude weapon GIVES you proficeny, so.... 15d8 bolts instead of 2d8 (if you can fit your 30ft long crossbow somewhere). In sum, the range increment on this baby is 370 ft and the psionic minor creation in the bolt-magazine creates MW serrated ironwood bolts. If you`re feeling especially like Cheddar, coated in Megapede Poison from Dungeonscape, DC 44 2d6 CON damage, 1d4 DEX drain. since the bolt AND poison is all bio-matter, that should work and you have no risk of poisoning yourself, right?
Cost:14600 GP

That's not how it works. Proficiency and size have nothing to do with each other, and a medium sized crossbow can't fire colossal sized bolts.

You've got two devotion feats, just take a cloistered cleric level for a deity (or even a demon lord) with the travel and trickery domains. You can swap the knowledge domain out as well for knowledge devotion and put some ranks in knowledge skills.


If you swap around your build a bit to pick up the manyshot line of feats (you'd need a +dex item) then you can make a good rapidfire archer by using cunning surge to get 3 extra attacks.

[Gildedragon]

That is that the restrictions would normally prevent you from making use of the items; if you want to be nice, key them to some other party member that would benefit from it should you not need it anymore.
The. Use UMD to make use of it.

Now, unless you got pounce somehow, being the Flash isn't the most useful thing. It doesn't add to your versatility, and should you need it keep a use-activated 1-use expeditious retreat or expeditious retreat, swift on hand.
Also I'm not 100% sure of this but doubling a doubling in D&D might result in a tripling, not a quadrupling.

Also you get use of trickery devotion hardly more than 2 times/day, and maybe not even that 'cause OP might not count as TU. if you are resolute in wanting them: do as Randomguy says and go CC 1.

For some of your magic items (arcane sight) use spells made permanent and grab a spellblade +1 poison ring (dispel magic) instead

[HalfQuart]

When using the 50% discount for personalized items (not usable by anybody else), this amounts to just about 200000 GP which is the character wealth for this level.
The customized item guidelines are pretty useless in my opinion, and this is one of the more egregious parts of it. Keying it to only work on you is actually sort of a feature... why would it be cheaper? I guess the only reason would be that you'd be unable to sell it. But that still doesn't seem like a reason to have a discounted price -- at least not that much.

And to quote the DMG:

Each of the magic items presented here was examined and modified based on its actual worth. The formulas only provide a starting point.