[3.5] Feats to improve a Factotum's spellcasting?

[Mr Adventurer]

Hi all - so I'm playing a Factotum and I'm interested in finding feats that a spellcaster would find useful, that the Ft can also use.

I know there's some ambiguity in the way the Arcane Dilettante ability is written up, but in my game:
The spells function as spells within the parameters of the description of the ability - Empower Spell-like Ability is not an eligible choice. The Factotum has an arcane spellcasting level, not the usual indeterminate spellcasting level for SLAs. The individual spells prepared are eligible for metamagic feats, though the character doesn't currently have any. This means lower-level spells are prepared 'unenhanced' which seems like a potential waste to me. Font of Inspiration is not available. Given these parameters, what feats would you suggest? I like to use my spells to solve problems or provide a crucial buff in melee.

[Chronos]

I'm pretty sure that, even by RAW, factota can use metamagic feats. For buffing, Extend Spell is usually a good choice.

[Troacctid]

Well, Extra Slot isn't usually worth taking on a traditional caster, but for a Factotum it could give you a proportionally more significant boost to your flexibility.

Obtain Familiar doesn't enhance your casting per se, but with your spells counting as arcane, you qualify for it where you normally wouldn't. Since familiars share all your skill ranks, they are fantastic for a skill monkey class like Factotum. If you take an extra feat on top of that, you can upgrade your familiar to an imp, quasit, lantern archon, or coure eladrin, which makes it even better and effectively gives you access to extra spells like Detect Magic, Commune, Tongues, Greater Teleport, Magic Circle Against Evil, Faerie Fire, Ethereal Jaunt, and so on. You like problem-solving? You can solve a lot of problems when your lantern archon can teleport back to the city at will and return with up to 50 pounds of objects from the shop.

[Venger]

I'm pretty sure that, even by RAW, factota can use metamagic feats. For buffing, Extend Spell is usually a good choice.

it explicitly says so under arcane dilettante:


If you wish to enhance a spell with a metamagic feat,
you must apply the feat when you prepare the spell.

so you're all good.

chameleon is a popular 2 lvl dip after your mindbender level at 6. you can stay there and go the distance or not, bu metamagic is a great use of its free-floating feat.

[Rubik]

I'm pretty sure that, even by RAW, factota can use metamagic feats.Factotums can, too.

[atemu1234]

Well, Extra Slot isn't usually worth taking on a traditional caster, but for a Factotum it could give you a proportionally more significant boost to your flexibility.

Obtain Familiar doesn't enhance your casting per se, but with your spells counting as arcane, you qualify for it where you normally wouldn't. Since familiars share all your skill ranks, they are fantastic for a skill monkey class like Factotum. If you take an extra feat on top of that, you can upgrade your familiar to an imp, quasit, lantern archon, or coure eladrin, which makes it even better and effectively gives you access to extra spells like Detect Magic, Commune, Tongues, Greater Teleport, Magic Circle Against Evil, Faerie Fire, Ethereal Jaunt, and so on. You like problem-solving? You can solve a lot of problems when your lantern archon can teleport back to the city at will and return with up to 50 pounds of objects from the shop.

I think Monkeys as a familiar were statted somewhere...

[Rubik]

It's too bad that Magic in the Blood specifies only racial SLAs, because it would be absofanfrigginlutelytastic on a factotum, otherwise. Turn all of your 1/day castings into 3/day? A-mazing.

But no.

[Mr Adventurer]

I've always wanted to play a Half-Celestial with Magic in the Blood. It'd be like being a (crappy) gestalt!

Full disclosure that I should probably have put in the OP: I already have Obtain Familiar, and it's a Monkey familiar too! The stats are in the MM, we just added that the Familiar benefit was +3 to Sleight of Hand.

I've been looking really closely at Improved Familiar, but my character is True Neutral - doesn't that stop me from getting all the really good Outsider options? (Plus, in-character we've built up a relationship with the monkey and don't want to replace him.)

Extra Slot sounds good, but when I checked on it, it has the qualifier that the slot doesn't change level once you've got it - obviously this has implications for a Factotum.

[Troacctid]

True Neutral characters can get an imp, quasit, or lantern archon, no problem.

[Mr Adventurer]

On re-reading you are, of course, correct! Well that's good. I wonder if my DM would allow the feat to be a sorry of ritual that upgrades my existing familiar with the powers of an Improved Familiar, instead of replacing it.

Apart from familiars, are there other feats worth considering? Metamagic with particularly clever effects? Feats that add special riders?

[Rubik]

On re-reading you are, of course, correct! Well that's good. I wonder if my DM would allow the feat to be a sorry of ritual that upgrades my existing familiar with the powers of an Improved Familiar, instead of replacing it.

Apart from familiars, are there other feats worth considering? Metamagic with particularly clever effects? Feats that add special riders?Isn't there a PF feat that allows you to retain a spell after you've cast it? Echoing Spell, or something?

[Venger]

Isn't there a PF feat that allows you to retain a spell after you've cast it? Echoing Spell, or something?

it's 3.5 and from secrets of xen'drik.

it specifies the ability to prepare spells, so arcane dilettante probably wouldn't work, since they're SLAs

[jiriku]

Full disclosure that I should probably have put in the OP: I already have Obtain Familiar, and it's a Monkey familiar too! The stats are in the MM, we just added that the Familiar benefit was +3 to Sleight of Hand.

I've been looking really closely at Improved Familiar, but my character is True Neutral - doesn't that stop me from getting all the really good Outsider options? (Plus, in-character we've built up a relationship with the monkey and don't want to replace him.)

Who's to say the familiar doesn't die some day, get promoted to archon or imp as its reward/punishment, then return to serve again?

[Mr Adventurer]

Gaspar will never die! Plus, he tried to loot the Garngrath's crystal horn, so he's got that attached to him now.

[Thurbane]

it's 3.5 and from secrets of xen'drik.

it specifies the ability to prepare spells, so arcane dilettante probably wouldn't work, since they're SLAs

Normally this would be true, except that the OP said that Arcane Dilettante is specifically treated as spells and not SLAs in his game.

[Venger]

Normally this would be true, except that the OP said that Arcane Dilettante is specifically treated as spells and not SLAs in his game.

how foolish of me. in that case, it would work, but is a +3 adjuster, so won't be useful til midgame.