Ways to abust the chameleon bonus feat

[Matamane]

If you take obtain familiar(assuming you have the cl) one day and bind a familiar, do you retain it?

Similarly would Leadership one day result in a permanent cohort.

What of the bind vestige, shape soulmeld feats, do you retain the abilities?

Soulmelds are effectively permanent, so could that work?

Any answers would be great.

[strider24seven]

You no longer retain the benefits of a feat if you no longer retain the prerequisites of the feat (in this case that your Chameleon feat is used for it).

So you don't retain your item familiar. You keep the item, but it is no longer considered an item familiar. You still don't get your XP back.

Your cohort remains in existance, but he is no longer your cohort.

And soulmelds would wink out of existance as soon as you lose the feat, as you no longer meet the prereqs.

[Greenish]

If you take obtain familiar(assuming you have the cl) one day and bind a familiar, do you retain it?

No. Lose the feat, lose the benefits.

What of the bind vestige, shape soulmeld feats, do you retain the abilities?

Bound vestige lasts for 24 hours, I seem to recall, so it wouldn't work. Shaped soulmelds persist until unshaped/dispelled, so that would work.

[strider24seven]

Soulmelds persist until unshaped/dispelled, so that would work.

I don't have any Incarnum books on me right now, but IIRC they do act like items, so that actually would work.

The standard way to abuse it is to take a crafting feat when you need it or things like the feats that reduce the crafting XP/GP/Time by 25%.

[Marriclay]

Soulmelds are effectively permanent, so could that work?

keep getting different soulmelds. As long as you have time and item slots, you can get another one

[Flickerdart]

Ah, but think about the Leadership thing for a moment.

The PCs are often some of the most powerful characters around. Hiring and then firing a cohort that's only 2 levels below you means that such a character has been established to exist in the world. You could populate the campaign world with an arbitrary amount of high-level characters. DM says that there are no high-level crafters to make your sword? Make some. The Chameleon not only acts all roles, but he creates all roles for the party's use.

[AstralFire]

Ah, but think about the Leadership thing for a moment.

The PCs are often some of the most powerful characters around. Hiring and then firing a cohort that's only 2 levels below you means that such a character has been established to exist in the world. You could populate the campaign world with an arbitrary amount of high-level characters. DM says that there are no high-level crafters to make your sword? Make some. The Chameleon not only acts all roles, but he creates all roles for the party's use.

I would slam you in the junk with a Kawasaki Ninja if you tried that on me.

[Maerok]

I think any sane DM would (and has the right to) shoot you in the face.

[Flickerdart]

An easy counter to the tactic described above that does not involve incredible pain on the part of the player would be to immediately kill off the cohorts in horrible and painful ways, to show just how hardcore the next encounter is. Everything can be handled with finesse, and I'd never suggest a strategy I didn't have a counter against.

[AstralFire]

Ninjas are nothing but finesse.

[Gametime]

I would slam you in the junk with a Kawasaki Ninja if you tried that on me.

I'd just secretly decide that the cohorts all became thoroughly bitter at being fired after only one day. They would form a secret league, dedicated to wreaking their terrible vengeance on the Chameleon that so wronged them.

The first time he called on one of them for a service, they'd be helpful. The second time, still helpful. Eventually, long after he's come to trust them and has populated the world with hateful ex-employees? Time for an ambush.

[Private-Prinny]

An interesting (but probably suboptimal) use is to use the feat for Extra Spell with a spontaneous casting entry. You now have a floating spell known slot that you can change daily.

[Maerok]

An interesting (but probably suboptimal) use is to use the feat for Extra Spell with a spontaneous casting entry. You now have a floating spell known slot that you can change daily.

I think that would be pretty useful for a Sorcerer (overcoming one of their biggest drawbacks). But the whole casting aspect of the Chameleon is also pretty dynamic in itself.

[The Shadowmind]

For warlock's using extra invocation, and past level 14 the crafting feats are common ones to take, but that isn't very abusive.

[Il_Vec]

You can have a floating martial study/martial stance, eh?

[Gametime]

I can't be troubled to actually look for good options, but I'm sure you could take advantage of your floating feat to gain Martial Study, then use that to take Martial Study for real and thus qualify for a higher level maneuver. When you lose the floating feat, the maneuver will help qualify itself.

I'm not sure if there are any good ones that can be picked up this way, but it's conceivable.

[Darrin]

keep getting different soulmelds. As long as you have time and item slots, you can get another one

Assuming he has a Con of at least 20, a Chameleon can shape up to 10 soulmelds (max soulmelds = 20 - Con score), and there are 10 possible chakras. In Person_Man's Haberdash build, I exposited a bit about which soulmelds a Chameleon might want to shape.

I can't be troubled to actually look for good options, but I'm sure you could take advantage of your floating feat to gain Martial Study, then use that to take Martial Study for real and thus qualify for a higher level maneuver. When you lose the floating feat, the maneuver will help qualify itself.

I'm not sure if there are any good ones that can be picked up this way, but it's conceivable.

Two of the most powerful maneuvers require one maneuver as a prereq: Iron Heart Surge and White Raven Tactics. You can also use the Heroics spell or one of the various novice wondrous items (Crown of the White Ravens, Ironheart Vest, etc.) that grant you a known maneuver while worn.

[Riffington]

Leadership does not let you create a character, it has the DM give you one.
If you take it and keep it, within a month or so the DM should give you someone appropriate. If you then release it and retake it, within a month or so the DM should give you someone appropriate (perhaps the same guy starts to like you more? Or perhaps he still hates you but his arch-nemesis becomes your staunch ally)

[Draz74]

An interesting (but probably suboptimal) use is to use the feat for Extra Spell with a spontaneous casting entry. You now have a floating spell known slot that you can change daily.

Even Especially with a prepared, spellbook-based caster, this trick is handy to learn a new spell each day for free.

[Pluto]

Extra Spell means Chameleons can fill their spellbook with any spells from any spell lists without finding someone to scribe them (which is typically the Archivist's great limiter).

edit:
Gah. Ninja'd by three whole minutes.

[Private-Prinny]

Even Especially with a prepared, spellbook-based caster, this trick is handy to learn a new spell each day for free.

That's even more evil than I thought it was... Not to mention that once you're done learning every spell, you can switch the feat for something more useful.

And god forbid retraining, where you drop the 2 Chameleon levels, pick up two more levels of spell advancement, and keep all of those free spells.

[Gametime]

Extra Spell means Chameleons can fill their spellbook with any spells from any spell lists without finding someone to scribe them (which is typically the Archivist's great limiter).

edit:
Gah. Ninja'd by three whole minutes.

Don't chameleons have access to every arcane and divine spell already? Unless you just mean using it to fill up another class's spells known.

[Private-Prinny]

Don't chameleons have access to every arcane and divine spell already? Unless you just mean using it to fill up another class's spells known.

Exactly. For example, Wizard 9/Chameleon 2, takes Extra Spell every day, each time applying it to a new spell for his Wizard casting. Unless the spells mysteriously disappear from his book overnight, they stay there, allowing a Wizard to learn every spell on his list without any outside help.

[Godskook]

1.Take dodge as a bonus feat whenever you are offered a bonus feat from a limited list that includes dodge.
2.Take DWDodge as your floating feat, replacing Dodge with something usefu.
3.????
4.Profit!

(Note, you may need to have DWDodge as a feat in order to benefit from feats gained this way. Synergize with Heroics to taste.)

[Pluto]

Don't chameleons have access to every arcane and divine spell already? Unless you just mean using it to fill up another class's spells known.

Divine spells, yes. Arcane spells, no.

(And it's handy for other classes too.)

[Raging Gene Ray]

Divine spells, yes. Arcane spells, no.

(And it's handy for other classes too.)

No, Races of Destiny says that the Chameleon keeps a spellbook LIKE a wizard, but can prepare spells from any arcane casting class.

[SaintRidley]

No, Races of Destiny says that the Chameleon keeps a spellbook LIKE a wizard, but can prepare spells from any arcane casting class.

So be a chameleon. Take Extra Spell and pick [Arcane Spell]. Scribe it into your book. Now it's available for your chameleon's use of its arcane abilities forever. And you can pick a new spell each day to add.

Need Glibness? Scribe it. Bard list. Need Harm? Scribe it. Dread Necromancer list. It's all arcane, and it's all gravy.