Factotum Feats and Advice

[Shades of Gray]

Hi.

I am currently playing a Factotum. We are starting at level 1. I need to know what Feats/Equipment/Strategies work well. I think that using 1 skill point in many skills is useful because of Cunning Knowledge, correct me if I'm wrong.

Just so you know, I'm a human factotum with 18 Int, and everything else being at least higher than 12.

Books Allowed:
Core
Complete Warrior
Dungeonscape
Complete Mage
Limited Access to Complete Divine (friends book)

[Thurbane]

The Font of Inspiration feat from the WotC website is invaluable for Factotums, if your DM allows it.

Insightful Reflexes isn't bad either (depending on your ability scores) - Int to reflex saves instead of Dex...

[Mushroom Ninja]

Font of Inspiration is just plain ridiculous. Take it just 4 times and you get 10 more Inspiration points. Ree-dic-you-luss!

Of course why limit yourself to taking it 4 times?

[Chronicled]

Here's the Factotum Handbook from the WotC forums, for all the good it'll do ya.

If Font of Inspiration isn't an option, you can make a decent trip/disarm/etc build with a Factotum, since you apply your Int bonus to all those Str checks.

The Trapsmith from Dungeonscape is a nice PrC for Factotums if you're looking for one. 3 levels in Swashbuckler (use the Complete Mage substitution level) isn't horrible.

[RTGoodman]

Font of Inspiration is here, just for reference.

I've only played a Factotum once (see my signature), but I highly recommend Font of Inspiration at least a couple of times if your DM allows it.

[Vortling]

The chameleon prestige class plays very nice with factotum.

[Draz74]

I highly recommend Font of Inspiration at least a couple of times if your DM allows it.

I don't. Sure, it's the most powerful feat for a Factotum and I won't argue with that, but it's also boring. So it depends how optimized you care about being.

Also, the Factotum's favorite spell (from Level 5 on) is Heroics.

Personally I like Factotums that specialize in getting crits as often as possible (dual Kukri wielding or something). Because Cunning Insight bonuses to damage multiply on crits. And you can use Cunning Insight after you already know you've scored a crit.

As far as skills go, yes, putting 1 rank in many, many skills is a great idea. Make sure you actually max out some skills, though, that you will use many times per day. (E.g. Hide, Move Silently, Spot, Listen, Search, Disable Device ...)

Another good Factotum build, if your party doesn't need you to be a top-quality all-around skill monkey, is to max out Knowledge (Arcana, Dungeoneering, Local, Nature, Religion, Planes) and take the Knowledge Devotion feat.

Edit:

If Font of Inspiration isn't an option, you can make a decent trip/disarm/etc build with a Factotum, since you apply your Int bonus to all those Str checks.

Decent idea, but it's actually just Trip and Bull Rush that are actually Strength checks, not Grapple/Disarm/Sunder. (OK, I guess Overrun is a Strength check too, but seriously, who ever uses Overrun?)

So ... what neat tricks can you pull off with Trips and Bull Rushes? Hmmmm, suddenly I have a craving to try out a Factotum 3/Fighter 6/Swordsage 11, focusing on Setting Sun (and Dungeoncrasher).

[RTGoodman]

I don't. Sure, it's the most powerful feat for a Factotum and I won't argue with that, but it's also boring. So it depends how optimized you care about being.

Well, it might be boring if you take it 7-8 times, but just 1 or 2 means you've got at least a couple of extra uses per encounter, which isn't as optimized as you can get but is still a smart idea. In five or so sessions I've never run out of Inspiration points (including combat and non-combat encounters), and at higher levels, it's only another use or so of your higher abilities.

[Draz74]

Well, it might be boring if you take it 7-8 times, but just 1 or 2 means you've got at least a couple of extra uses per encounter,

Fair enough. I wish it gave a flat number of IP, like "2," so that taking it once would be more powerful, but taking it 7-8 times wouldn't be so ridiculous.

[Cuddly]

Couple questions I've been meaning to ask:
How does Jack of All Trades work with Factotum? Very well? Not at all?
Do you get to add your int to initiative checks (the SRD says it's a dex check)?

[Chronicled]

Couple questions I've been meaning to ask:
How does Jack of All Trades work with Factotum? Very well? Not at all?
Do you get to add your int to initiative checks (the SRD says it's a dex check)?

Unsure about the first, but Factotums add their Int to initiative checks, starting at level 3.

[Draz74]

How does Jack of All Trades work with Factotum? Very well? Not at all?

Sadly and ironically, Jack of All Trades is actually a very lame feat for Factotums, because they have more reason than anyone else to actually put a rank into lots of unusual trained-only skills. And when they do, Jack of All Trades no longer helps them with those skills.

Jack of All Trades is no replacement for the 1-rank-per-skill arrangement, either; it doesn't allow you to Cunning Knowledge those skills.

Do you get to add your int to initiative checks (the SRD says it's a dex check)?

Affirming Chronicled's answer: Yes.

[hamishspence]

the Human (and doppleganger) Feat Able Learner is good for skillmonkeys who are NOT factotums: no more skill-point wastage when learning cross class skills.

No use whatsover for factotums though.

[Ecalsneerg]

the Human (and doppleganger) Feat Able Learner is good for skillmonkeys who are NOT factotums: no more skill-point wastage when learning cross class skills.

No use whatsover for factotums though.

Not quite right. It's a brilliant feat for any Factotum who multiclassed, as he will always have every skill in the game as a class skill. But, yeah, it's pointless for a single-classed Factotum.

[hamishspence]

It helps any class that doesn't have infinite class skills. So it could come in handy for multiclass factotum, but not single class.

Point worth remembering: skill cap is always highest, so a multiclass anything would always have maximum of level+3 in skills which are class skill for one of the two classes, even though they would have to spend double points to push them up to maximum. That combined with able Learner does help.

Unfornately, its not a feat available to many races.

[Mushroom Ninja]

For spells, I would suggest Shadow Conjuration. The more variability, the better!

[Chronos]

Able Learner is good for multiclassed skillmonkeys, in general. There are a lot of classes out there which have 6 skill points per level, but a lackluster class skill list. One level of rogue or the like plus Able Learner can turn any of those classes into nearly the equal of a rogue, skill-wise, but also gain whatever the other class had going for it. For instance, ninja 1/cloistered cleric X with Able Learner is better than any of the standard "combine rogue with cleric" prestige classes, in both skills and spells.

[Draz74]

There are a lot of classes out there which have 6 skill points per level, but a lackluster class skill list.

Really? Other than Cloistered Cleric, I can't think of any.

I can think of many that are missing just a couple key Rogue skills, which is annoying (e.g. Shadowdancers and Rangers don't get Disable Device, but otherwise have pretty good lists; Elocators don't get Bluff (which I really don't understand), Diplomacy, or Intimidate, but still have a pretty good list ...)

Yeah. To me, seems like Rangers, Bards, Ninjas, Spellthieves, Factotums, Psychic Rogues, Beguilers, Swordsages, Shadowdancers, and Elocators all have pretty good skill lists (except the Factotum, whose skill list is more like "perfect" rather than "pretty good"). And, while I know I'm missing a lot of PrCs, I still think this is a pretty good sample of 6 pts/level classes.
[/nitpick]

[Chronos]

Cloistered Cleric is the only base class I can think of in that category, but there are at least 67 different prestige classes I know of with 6 or more skill points. Admittedly, some of those have pretty good lists, too, and those are the ones that get remembered, but there are also a bunch that don't. Look at the Shadowsmith (ToM), for instance: Climb, Concentration, Craft, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (Arcana, the Planes), Move Silently, Profession. OK, the stealth skills are nice, and maybe the knowledges, if the party casters don't already have them covered. But what else are you going to spend skill points on?

[Shades of Gray]

Thanks for the advice guys!

Right now these are my chosen feats (in order of when I'll learn them)

1-Font of Inspiration, Combat Expertise

3-Improved Trip

6-Improved Disarm

9-Improved Sunder

12-Font of Inspiration

The DM is being nice, and giving my character an extra feat, because everyone else in the group is very powergamer-ish.

I'm going to go Guisarme Trip Monkey, and I plan to get enlarge person as my level 1 spell, for extra reach.

Is there anything from Complete Warrior that would be useful?

[Chronos]

...And I only just now notice that nobody's suggested Darkstalker yet. If you're planning on using stealth skills at all (which you should; they're two of the most useful skills in the game), you absolutely want Darkstalker. It lets you hide from special senses like Blindsight, Tremorsense, and Scent, which would otherwise make things very difficult for you.

[Draz74]

Right now these are my chosen feats (in order of when I'll learn them)

Frankly, even though I don't love Font of Inspiration, I'd say you should get your second copy of it ASAP. Taking both copies of it at Level 1 would be pretty powerful (5 Inspiration per encounter at Level 1? sweet!).

You are taking Improved Sunder even though you don't have its prereqs. And I must mention that Improved Disarm is a rather weak feat (especially on a medium-BAB character), except maybe if you're sure that you will be facing a LOT of humanoid warriors in this campaign.

Remember that, even if you usually will want Enlarge Person as your first level spell, you can pick a new one every day. So don't forget to shake things up once in a while, just because it's the Factotum thing to do.

Nothing from Complete Warrior really stands out to me to add to your build.

[Thurbane]

If you're going to multiclass or PrC, the Able Leaner feat is pretty sweet (being human and all) - means you get ALL skills for 1 point each, and your Factotum levels means you have max ranks of your level +3 in ALL skills - i.e. effectively no skill is ever a crossclass skill. Of course, it's of no value at all if you go straight Factotum.

As a sidenote, I believe that Font of Inspiration was intended as a fix for Factotums, since their inspiration points are pretty low (too low?) throughout their levels. But I think maybe they made it too good by it's ever increasing returns.

[Thurbane]

Another good Factotum build, if your party doesn't need you to be a top-quality all-around skill monkey, is to max out Knowledge (Arcana, Dungeoneering, Local, Nature, Religion, Planes) and take the Knowledge Devotion feat.

Another thought - if you're going to max out Knowledge skills, maybe a 1 level dip in Archivist? The Dark Knowledge (tactics) class feature is dependant on skill ranks, not on Archivist class levels. It will also net you the Scribe Scroll feat, and divine spellcasting of 1st level spells from any divine class.