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BardicDuelist
2007-10-29, 10:34 PM
I am playing a Don Quixote-esque character, who also has some traits of King Pellinore (TH White version), and of course, a few traits of my own. Here is a brief description:

Cerivant is a tall, thin, and dapper man of about forty-four or forty-five. A beret covers a bald spot on the back of his head, as shaggy, but well kept graying hair frames his face. He sports a bushy moustache, darker than his hair. On his rather large and protruding nose sits a part of small, circular spectacles. While his face and fading hair betray his age, his hazel eyes flash with the vigor of a man yet young and fresh to the world. If anything, his age has tempered the folly of his youth.

Cerivant became bored with his idle life of being a simple country gentleman, and while advanced in age, decided to emulate the heroes in the epics he read. While he lacks a great deal of training and focus, his, realitively, long and eclectic life has given him a great deal of experience to draw from. His curiosity and knack for learning have given him an amount of inspiration to draw on. So, living on his wits, and drawing from literature and experience, as well as those around him, Cerivant to try and become a hero in the image of those about whom he has read.


An interesting idea, eh? Well, the kicker is that the DM (a friend's uncle, who I have played with only a couple times, but I really enjoy) wants to discourage powergaming (something which I have no real problem with) by having the players have a roleplaying justification of any feats they choose. I would like useful feats for a Factotum which fit the character. Some possibilities so far:

Font of Inspiration: Cerivant's advanced age has given him a long list of experiences to draw upon. (Possibility of DM only allowing me to take this once or twice at first level, even with my flaws).

Flaw (Inattentive): Cerivant is often lost in thought, or a book, or discovering a new concept which he tries to commit to memory, and as such has a tendency to ignore his surroundings.

Shape Soulmeld (Impulse Boots): While Cerivant is often destracted, he has developed an uncanny knack for being just as nimble when caught off guard as when not.

Flaw (Murkey-eyed OR Shaky): Cerivant's eye-sight is not what it used to be and so hitting targets at a distance is a difficult task for him (OR hitting partially concealed targets is a difficult task for him).

I cannot think of any other good feats (I have enough flaws) that I can justify with a roleplaying reason for this character to have them, and I was wondering what you could come up with to help me out. Thanks in advance.

Nonah_Me
2007-10-29, 11:28 PM
Open-minded comes to mind immediately. Having five extra skill points seems to reflect quite well the fact that the man would have a wide array of knowledge.

Skill Focus (various Knowledge skill), because he's always got his nose in a book.

Jack of all Trades, maybe?

Dodge, Mobility and Spring Attack because he's quick on his feet, even if inattentive. Edit: Maybe not Spring Attack. I've never actually looked at the Factotum class, so the only things I know about it is it's a skill monkey class with minor spellcasting at higher levels, and every skill is a class skill.

About the only thing I can positively remember about Don Quixote is the fact that he was always charging windmills. It WAS a while ago...

RTGoodman
2007-10-30, 12:04 AM
Well, I don't know much about the Factotum class, but I do know a bit about Don Quixote, so here are a few feats that could fit with the theme (even though most of them are usually seen as pretty bad):

-Endurance: Despite the fact that most of his travels were on horseback (his trusty mount... er, nag was Rocinante, so that's something you might want to add), he got beat up a lot and had all sorts of other things happen to him. Endurance could represent how your character can get survive when things like this happen.

-Iron Will: Whatever happens, you're not going to be doing against your will.

-Run: If you're going to be running a lot, then you might as well be (a little) better at it.

-Whatever stuff you need for a Legacy Weapon: The man of La Mancha's weapons and armor (his rusty old sword, ill-fitting armor, and home-made helm) may not have exactly been well-made, but to DQ they were the glorious armaments of a great knight. Making at least one thing you own into a legacy item (I think that's what the items that grow in power with the wielder are called) means that how much you put into your item is how much it'll give in return.


I'm sure there are others, but there are a lot of feats in D&D 3.5E.

Sucrose
2007-10-30, 12:09 AM
Able Learner might fit for the same reasons as Open Minded.

BardicDuelist
2007-10-30, 12:29 AM
The thing with Able Learner: I am a Factotum. All skills are class skills, and my wisdom is too low (10, which doesn't gimp Oppertunistic Piety too much, but fits the Don Quixote as a fool thing) to make an effective Chameleon.

As far as open-minded, I considered it, but I allready get 11 skill points per level (18 int, human). I have enough to stick one in every skill that cannot be used untrained, so jack-of-all-trades seemed like a waste of a feat.

Iorn Will seems like a good idea (or maybe Force of Personality, since I have a decent Cha). Dodge, Mobility, and Run all fit pretty well. Maybe Dash, for the same reasons (My AC is allready 20 at level 1: +4 Cunning defense +3 Dex, +3 Armor, so I really don't want to push the whole AC thing, which I am notorious for in our group, and tumble is a class skill that I will be able to add both Int and my class level to, so Mobility might not be that useful). Run does seem like a good idea...

Skill Focus (Knowledge-Literature, Nobility, or History) might be a really good choice, now that you mention it.

I should say that I am modeling him after the PERSONALITY of Don Quixote, and so I am not wearing Heavy Armor, or doing the Mounted Combat thing.

Stats are Str 11, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 14 if it helps.