How useful is the jack of all trades feat?

[CyberThread]

It is a feat from complete adventure, that lets you use any skill as if you had a 1/2 point of skill in it. Is this a useful feat, or something that won't see much play?

[thethird]

There are two questions regarding the jack of all trades

First question, are you a bard? If yes it is awesome.

Second question, are you an elf bard? If yes it is mediocre.

[CyberThread]

why?

I may be a cleric

[thethird]

Bard has access to bardic knack, bardic knack gives virtual ranks in skills but doesn't allow trained checks unless you have a rank or can otherwise make a trained check. Thus jack of all trades is really useful for it, since it allows trained checks with the virtual ranks of bardic knack. Elfs would instead stick to elf dilettante which is plainly better (making jack of all trades mediocre for them).

Clerics can make great skill monkeys Divine Insight and Guidance of the avatar will solve any problem that you might encounter.

[Wookie-ranger]

I may be a cleric

There is a spell for that. (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/sb/sb20010504a)

Edit: Swordsaged!

[WhatBigTeeth]

Clerics get Divine Insight and Guidance of the Avatar, so JoAT would still give a good shot of success at untrained skills, in the same way the bard suggestion would.

Still isn't a great feat though - you get to roll for maybe a half-dozen skills that you wouldn't otherwise, and there aren't many builds that make that few skill points more valuable than a mid-level feat slot.

[CyberThread]

Well I would get it by the way of a class, not through an extra feat level.

[thethird]

What class does grant it as a bonus feat?

[CyberThread]

*james bond music*


the Goldeye

[Malak'ai]

*james bond music*


the Goldeye

Never heard on it. What book is it from?

[CyberThread]

Faiths and Pantheons, some middle of the abilities, that are not all to useful, but it is full casting. Some good thematic stuff thou.

Get to learn Abyssal ,Detect thoughts min/level , Temporarily learn a language you hear based on a Wisdom DC 15 check , +2 moral defense if your guarding something rich, get an extra exterademsnional storage space on your person that is not item slot based , can use identify with no cost, can scry using coins which can be fun , at will detect things worth any GP .


It is not " powerful" , but very good if you want to rp being an adventuring banker.

[questionmark693]

I'm playing with it right now, and I find it definitely sub-optimal, but it's nice for role playing, and I definitely appreciate being able to make lots of knowledge checks (wizard, so high intelligence) but again, there are very many better feats.

[Piggy Knowles]

I... kind of feel like Jack of All Trades + Bardic Knack is overrated.

It's pretty nifty, don't get me wrong. If you're willing to go out of your way to use things like autohypnosis, forgery and the like, definitely go for it. But bards are feat starved, since they typically need three or four feats just to get their music powerful enough to have an impact.

Also, Bardic Knack itself is really only useful if a good majority of your levels are going to be in the bard class itself. If you're multiclassing out to Warblade/Crusader/Lyric Thaumaturge/Sublime Chord/Virtuoso/whatever, it's not going to be giving you much benefit.

So basically, if you're going bard 20 and you've got an extra feat, sure, go for it. And clerics can use it alongside Divine Insight (not to mention Knowledge Devotion) to decent effect, although clerics are also feat starved if they're planning on using DMM at all. Otherwise? Eh, not really worth it. Just spend a cross-class rank in forgery and pick up some Forger's Papers, or a few cross-class ranks in whatever knowledge skills you need so that you can always roll for Knowledge Devotion damage.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I... kind of feel like Jack of All Trades + Bardic Knack is overrated.
True. Also, if you've got a good Int score, you can probably spare a few points to pick up a half rank in any cross-class skills you care about.

[Curmudgeon]

True. Also, if you've got a good Int score, you can probably spare a few points to pick up a half rank in any cross-class skills you care about.
Half a rank won't do unless you've got Jack of All Trades; that's special to that feat. You need at least 1 full rank normally.
Trained Only

If this notation is included in the skill name line, you must have at least 1 rank in the skill to use it. If it is omitted, the skill can be used untrained (with a rank of 0).

[StreamOfTheSky]

Still, bards get a lot of class skills, and only some are trained only. How many non-bard trained only skills is jack of all trades actually helping you with?

[CyberThread]

Trained Only Autohypnosis (Wis) Decipher Script (Int) Disable Device (Int) Handle Animal (Cha) Knowledge (Int) Open Lock (Dex) Psicraft (Int) Profession (Wis) Sleight of Hand (Dex) Speak Language (None) Spellcraft (Int) Tumble (Dex) Use Magic Device (Cha) Use Psionic Device (Cha

[Rosstin]

Faiths and Pantheons, some middle of the abilities, that are not all to useful, but it is full casting. Some good thematic stuff thou.

Get to learn Abyssal ,Detect thoughts min/level , Temporarily learn a language you hear based on a Wisdom DC 15 check , +2 moral defense if your guarding something rich, get an extra exterademsnional storage space on your person that is not item slot based , can use identify with no cost, can scry using coins which can be fun , at will detect things worth any GP .


It is not " powerful" , but very good if you want to rp being an adventuring banker.

Wow! This sounds awesome! I've always wanted to play a character destined to become an item salesman.

...OK, that sounds lame when I say it out loud.

[CyberThread]

I imagine it gets stronger in city based adventures, or staying in planescape

[Arcanist]

Wow! This sounds awesome! I've always wanted to play a character destined to become an item salesman.

I'm walking this same path with a character that I'm building at the moment... :smalltongue:

[Curmudgeon]

Trained Only Autohypnosis (Wis) Decipher Script (Int) Disable Device (Int) Handle Animal (Cha) Knowledge (Int) Open Lock (Dex) Psicraft (Int) Profession (Wis) Sleight of Hand (Dex) Speak Language (None) Spellcraft (Int) Tumble (Dex) Use Magic Device (Cha) Use Psionic Device (Cha
Martial Lore is also trained-only.
Knowledge is 10 individual skills (standard PH list), plus some other odd Knowledges in a few supplements.
Profession is per individual trade.

[Zombulian]

Wow! This sounds awesome! I've always wanted to play a character destined to become an item salesman.

...OK, that sounds lame when I say it out loud.

Nonsense! Look up the game Recettear.


Bard has access to bardic knack, bardic knack gives virtual ranks in skills but doesn't allow trained checks unless you have a rank or can otherwise make a trained check. Thus jack of all trades is really useful for it, since it allows trained checks with the virtual ranks of bardic knack. Elfs would instead stick to elf dilettante which is plainly better (making jack of all trades mediocre for them).

Clerics can make great skill monkeys Divine Insight and Guidance of the avatar will solve any problem that you might encounter.

But to use that feat you have to be an elf. Ick.