Soranar
2017-03-12, 10:52 PM
So a recent thread showed me that many people seem to be wondering how to use a Factotum effectively in combat. I figured I would start this thread to pool ideas and combos people have found effective.
I'm ignoring Iaijutsu focus for the sake of argument
Here's what I came up with so far
Level 1, you have cunning insight and at least 2 inspiration point per encounter
For this level , multipliers are the best way to use this ability offensively. Since cunning insight only works on 1 attack, mulitplying it makes it all the more effective
option A, mounted combat + lance
get a mount (wild cohort works well for this), charge, use cunning insight
Option B, battle jump
this requires you to jump or fall down on someone, best races for this are dragonborn with wings, dragonblooded with wings or raptorans as they all get +10 to jump checks
Option C, headlong rush
not ideal, it requires you to be an Orc or half -Orc which hurts you INT, this becomes less of an issue with time
conclusion
So far my favorite builds are
a strongheart halfling (+ wild cohort riding dog) with a lance and power attack
or
a dragonborn water orc (who uses headlong rush and eventually battle jump)
-headlong rush nearly always works, the extra STR offsets the lower intel as far as combat is concerned, the Factotum abilities are barely affected by the INT hit though you lose out on skills. Until you reach level 8 you don't really need pounce anyway.
At level 3
-a mounted charger gets + INT to ride checks
-a battle jumper gets +INT to jump checks
-knowledge devotion is handy as it works in any combat style (mounted, archery, polymorphed) so I would invest in it in any build. Knowledge checks are also quite useful to the party.
-the mighty wallop spell is a decent level 1 buff with a nice duration assuming you use an bludgeoning weapon (so not usable by a mounted warrior)
-a tripper build gets INT to trip checks
At level 5
-you can now use alter self, refer to the appropriate handbook for known combos with it. It you play a warforged you can increase your size by turning into a large warforged charger, this form also gives you nice defenses
-another option (if you're an aberration like an Elan or a daelkyr) is to turn yourself into a gibbering mouther (6 mouth attacks and a spit) or a grell (10 tentacle attacks and a bite) which all benefit from knowledge devotion
At level 8
-you can now cast greater mighty wallop on yourself and it lasts 8 hours
-you can dip warblade for sudden leap (battle jump option, you now move as a swift action and you have strikes that cost a standard action)
-you can dip monk for decisive strike (double damage + extra actions and snap kick)
-you can go for the manyshot route and simply gain more manyshots with your standard actions
-if you are a dragonborn with the heart aspect, you can use the extra standard action to use your breath weapon (hopefully with entangling breath)
-you can use a wand or a dorje as a standard action (dorjes tend to scale better and don't provoke so I would favor those )
Level 10
-you can polymorph into a hydra (which gain all their attacks as a standard action)
-knowledge devotion still works in this form
-you should be able to get an eternal wand of alter self (which can be used twice a day) so that you have 3 uses of alter self and 1 use of polymorph to get you through the day (4 encounters seems like a good cut off point).
I think this is a good start, hope to get more ideas from you guys
I'm ignoring Iaijutsu focus for the sake of argument
Here's what I came up with so far
Level 1, you have cunning insight and at least 2 inspiration point per encounter
For this level , multipliers are the best way to use this ability offensively. Since cunning insight only works on 1 attack, mulitplying it makes it all the more effective
option A, mounted combat + lance
get a mount (wild cohort works well for this), charge, use cunning insight
Option B, battle jump
this requires you to jump or fall down on someone, best races for this are dragonborn with wings, dragonblooded with wings or raptorans as they all get +10 to jump checks
Option C, headlong rush
not ideal, it requires you to be an Orc or half -Orc which hurts you INT, this becomes less of an issue with time
conclusion
So far my favorite builds are
a strongheart halfling (+ wild cohort riding dog) with a lance and power attack
or
a dragonborn water orc (who uses headlong rush and eventually battle jump)
-headlong rush nearly always works, the extra STR offsets the lower intel as far as combat is concerned, the Factotum abilities are barely affected by the INT hit though you lose out on skills. Until you reach level 8 you don't really need pounce anyway.
At level 3
-a mounted charger gets + INT to ride checks
-a battle jumper gets +INT to jump checks
-knowledge devotion is handy as it works in any combat style (mounted, archery, polymorphed) so I would invest in it in any build. Knowledge checks are also quite useful to the party.
-the mighty wallop spell is a decent level 1 buff with a nice duration assuming you use an bludgeoning weapon (so not usable by a mounted warrior)
-a tripper build gets INT to trip checks
At level 5
-you can now use alter self, refer to the appropriate handbook for known combos with it. It you play a warforged you can increase your size by turning into a large warforged charger, this form also gives you nice defenses
-another option (if you're an aberration like an Elan or a daelkyr) is to turn yourself into a gibbering mouther (6 mouth attacks and a spit) or a grell (10 tentacle attacks and a bite) which all benefit from knowledge devotion
At level 8
-you can now cast greater mighty wallop on yourself and it lasts 8 hours
-you can dip warblade for sudden leap (battle jump option, you now move as a swift action and you have strikes that cost a standard action)
-you can dip monk for decisive strike (double damage + extra actions and snap kick)
-you can go for the manyshot route and simply gain more manyshots with your standard actions
-if you are a dragonborn with the heart aspect, you can use the extra standard action to use your breath weapon (hopefully with entangling breath)
-you can use a wand or a dorje as a standard action (dorjes tend to scale better and don't provoke so I would favor those )
Level 10
-you can polymorph into a hydra (which gain all their attacks as a standard action)
-knowledge devotion still works in this form
-you should be able to get an eternal wand of alter self (which can be used twice a day) so that you have 3 uses of alter self and 1 use of polymorph to get you through the day (4 encounters seems like a good cut off point).
I think this is a good start, hope to get more ideas from you guys