Author Topic: The Factotum's Handbook  (Read 338810 times)

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McPoyo

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #220 on: July 02, 2010, 05:56:52 PM »
Genesis.
[Spoiler]
A gygaxian dungeon is like the world's most messed up game show.

Behind door number one: INSTANT DEATH!
Behind door number 2: A magic crown!
Behind door number 3: 4d6 giant bees, and THREE HUNDRED POUNDS OF HONEY!
They don't/haven't, was the point. 3.5 is as dead as people not liking nice tits.

Sometimes, their tits (3.5) get enhancements (houserules), but that doesn't mean people don't like nice tits.

Though sometimes, the surgeon (DM) botches them pretty bad...
Best metaphor I have seen in a long time.  I give you much fu.
Three Errata for the Mage-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Barbarian-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Monks doomed to die,
One for the Wizard on his dark throne
In the Land of Charop where the Shadows lie.
[/spoiler]

Havok4

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #221 on: July 02, 2010, 10:02:57 PM »
Genesis.
If only, but too high level and there are no real ways to increase the max spell level of arcane dilettante.

Agita

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #222 on: July 02, 2010, 10:06:32 PM »
Geas works just fine, though.
It's all about vision and making reality conform to your vision. By dropping a fucking house on it.

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JaronK

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #223 on: July 02, 2010, 11:02:43 PM »
Since Factotum's cast as SLA's doesn't that mean the spells are always a standard,move, swift or immediate action?
The discussion http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=6498.0 and here http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=6674.40 seems to suggest so.
If they are no problems with this, then what spells that have longer than a standard action are good if they only took a standard action?

Major Creation.  It's amazing what you can do when as an attack spell you can summon gallons and gallons of Black Lotus Poison or Sinmaker's Surprise.  If each dose is an ounce (reasonable, considering one dose coats a dart or a greatsword), then you get around 1000 doses per 1ft cube...

JaronK

Amechra

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #224 on: July 05, 2010, 03:38:56 AM »
May I suggest a class to go into after Chameleon?

I suggest Master of Masks (it's a 4/10 PrC from Complete Scoundrel)

The masks you  should choose for this would have to be Archmage (Some SLAs, and a +2 arcane caster level.), High Priest (Same as Archmage, but for divine spells), and Gladiator (Proficiency in basically all weapons is very nice.)
Then make your 3rd level one Assasin to add SA damage...

Only problem is that only one mask can be active a time.

Has great flavor and synergy with Chameleon too. You will have oodles of versatility if you follow this path; even more than your standard Factotum/Chameleon.

Also, each of the masks makes you appear to be a different alignment without actually changing it. Can you say infiltration?

Of course, I could be wrong...
[spoiler]Fighter: "I can kill a guy in one turn."
Cleric: "I can kill a guy in half a turn."
Wizard: "I can kill a guy before my turn."
Bard: "I can get three idiots to kill guys for me."

On a strange note, would anyone be put out if we had a post about people or events we can spare a thought for, or if its within their creed, a prayer for? Just a random thought, but ... hells I wouldn't have known about either Archangels daughter or Saeomons niece if I didn't happen to be on these threads.
Sounds fine to me.
probably over on "Off-topic".
might want to put a little disclaimer in the first post.

This is the Min/Max board. We should be able to figure out a way to optimize the POWER OF PRAYER(TM) that doesn't involve "Pazuzu, Pazuzu, Pazuzu".
[/spoiler]

My final project for my film independent study course. It could do with a watching and critiquing

Bastian

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #225 on: July 05, 2010, 06:26:34 PM »
May I suggest a class to go into after Chameleon?

I suggest Master of Masks (it's a 4/10 PrC from Complete Scoundrel)

The masks you  should choose for this would have to be Archmage (Some SLAs, and a +2 arcane caster level.), High Priest (Same as Archmage, but for divine spells), and Gladiator (Proficiency in basically all weapons is very nice.)
Then make your 3rd level one Assasin to add SA damage...

Only problem is that only one mask can be active a time.

Has great flavor and synergy with Chameleon too. You will have oodles of versatility if you follow this path; even more than your standard Factotum/Chameleon.

Also, each of the masks makes you appear to be a different alignment without actually changing it. Can you say infiltration?

Of course, I could be wrong...
Master of Masks is pretty bad. It's a one level dip for the Gladiator mask.

Agita

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #226 on: July 05, 2010, 06:34:57 PM »
If you're using a region of dreams in your campaign - Dal Quor in Eberron for example - the Lucid Dreaming skill from MotP (page 203) might be worth looking at. It's pretty much what it sounds like. Various checks of varying difficulty let you realize you're dreaming, change various aspects of your dreamscape or yourself, and stuff. Then there's the applications that let you visit someone else's dreamscape, essentially appearing in their dreams. If you grapple them there and make a DC 25 check, you can drag them into the "Dreamheart". In the dreamheart, not only, does everyone take 25 damage per round if not taking shelter, if you die there, you're dead for good - as opposed to dreamscapes, where death is just as fake as everything else. You can, of course, use all equipment and powers you have at your disposal IRL. The best part? After you're done killing people in your sleep, none of your resources IRL are expended. The skill does require a fairly obscure alternate cosmology, though. Dal Quor in Eberron, as mentioned above, is a perfect fit, but requires some adaptation to work with the rules in the section.
It's all about vision and making reality conform to your vision. By dropping a fucking house on it.

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BowenSilverclaw

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #227 on: July 05, 2010, 06:45:52 PM »
If you're using a region of dreams in your campaign - Dal Quor in Eberron for example - the Lucid Dreaming skill from MotP (page 203) might be worth looking at. It's pretty much what it sounds like. Various checks of varying difficulty let you realize you're dreaming, change various aspects of your dreamscape or yourself, and stuff. Then there's the applications that let you visit someone else's dreamscape, essentially appearing in their dreams. If you grapple them there and make a DC 25 check, you can drag them into the "Dreamheart". In the dreamheart, not only, does everyone take 25 damage per round if not taking shelter, if you die there, you're dead for good - as opposed to dreamscapes, where death is just as fake as everything else. You can, of course, use all equipment and powers you have at your disposal IRL. The best part? After you're done killing people in your sleep, none of your resources IRL are expended. The skill does require a fairly obscure alternate cosmology, though. Dal Quor in Eberron, as mentioned above, is a perfect fit, but requires some adaptation to work with the rules in the section.
That's fucking awesome :D
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Agita

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #228 on: July 05, 2010, 06:49:01 PM »
The highest DC you'll ever need to make with it is 25 too. But you'll probably need multiple checks per day, so it's likely not an ideal candidate for 1 rank+Cunning Knowledge.
Also, did I mention that one of the applications is changing your appearance? You can actually look like Freddy Krueger when you kill people in their sleep.
« Last Edit: July 05, 2010, 06:52:40 PM by Agita »
It's all about vision and making reality conform to your vision. By dropping a fucking house on it.

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McPoyo

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #229 on: July 05, 2010, 06:49:39 PM »
The highest DC you'll ever need to make with it is 25 too.
Also, did I mention that one of the applications is changing your appearance? You can actually look like Freddy Krueger when you kill people in their sleep.
Win.
[Spoiler]
A gygaxian dungeon is like the world's most messed up game show.

Behind door number one: INSTANT DEATH!
Behind door number 2: A magic crown!
Behind door number 3: 4d6 giant bees, and THREE HUNDRED POUNDS OF HONEY!
They don't/haven't, was the point. 3.5 is as dead as people not liking nice tits.

Sometimes, their tits (3.5) get enhancements (houserules), but that doesn't mean people don't like nice tits.

Though sometimes, the surgeon (DM) botches them pretty bad...
Best metaphor I have seen in a long time.  I give you much fu.
Three Errata for the Mage-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Barbarian-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Monks doomed to die,
One for the Wizard on his dark throne
In the Land of Charop where the Shadows lie.
[/spoiler]

BowenSilverclaw

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #230 on: July 05, 2010, 07:19:19 PM »
The highest DC you'll ever need to make with it is 25 too.
Also, did I mention that one of the applications is changing your appearance? You can actually look like Freddy Krueger when you kill people in their sleep.
Win.
That's it, I was already thinking about a Factotum for my next character, this makes it definitive.
"Weakness? Come test thy mettle against me, hairless ape, and we shall know who is weak!"

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You caught a fish.  It was awesome.   :lol

Havok4

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #231 on: July 05, 2010, 07:54:59 PM »
The highest DC you'll ever need to make with it is 25 too.
Also, did I mention that one of the applications is changing your appearance? You can actually look like Freddy Krueger when you kill people in their sleep.
Win.
That's it, I was already thinking about a Factotum for my next character, this makes it definitive.
This also solidifies the fact that factotums make the best assassins of all the non full spellcasters.

Nox_Noctis

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #232 on: July 05, 2010, 08:00:35 PM »
Yeah, pointed this out to Agita earlier. Worth noting, with items not being expended IRL, you can use the same scroll you carry on you EVERY NIGHT. Talk about saving costs. Agita provided another cool idea: live in a Rope Trick and kill people while you dream, so you're never vulnerable to attack (except by stuff in the plane of Dream).
Take Item Familiar to boost UMD/UPD and Lucid Dreaming and you're set.
Also, the damage in Dreamheart is 5 iterations of 5 damage (various elements). Get resistances of 5+ and you become immune to each element.
It's pretty much one of the coolest things in 3.5. I'm surprised no one else talked about this before.

EDIT: Also good to note, their souls are stuck in Dream, so raise dead and resurrection don't work.
« Last Edit: July 05, 2010, 08:09:39 PM by Nox_Noctis »
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]

JaronK

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #233 on: July 21, 2010, 04:38:36 PM »
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160948

This is relevant.  Evidently, Factotums really do cast all spells as standard actions, except ones that are faster than standard.  Nasty.

JaronK

The_Mad_Linguist

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #234 on: July 21, 2010, 07:45:47 PM »
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160948

This is relevant.  Evidently, Factotums really do cast all spells as standard actions, except ones that are faster than standard.  Nasty.

JaronK
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Hallack

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #235 on: July 21, 2010, 07:54:39 PM »
The more I look at Factotums the more I REALLY like them, especially combined with Chameleon :)

I'm even half tempted to try and play a Fact/Cham in a game where others are playing Gestalt.  I think I'd hold up fine hehe.
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JaronK

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #236 on: July 21, 2010, 09:06:20 PM »
You didn't know that?

I had thought so a while back but was corrected because there's other entries that say it's the same time as the spell.  I hadn't realized the priority order in play.  Heck, this probably deserves an entry in the main handbook, as that could easily be confusing.

JaronK

the_shadowmind

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #237 on: August 02, 2010, 06:53:30 PM »
I know this is really cheesy, but could Sanctum spell allow a factotum to cast a spell a level before he should normally get it, and access to 8th level spells(cast as 7th level spells)?

A)Factotum's cast spells based on there spell level, not on spell-slots.
B)Sanctum spell metamagic makes the spell level count as one lower:(Is there anything this "downside" can't make better?)
C)Factotum's apply metmagic when prepare the spell so there would be preparing a (ie.) normally 5th level spell as a 4th level spell.
Might work as a work around in by-passing the only one of highest level.

Rymosrac

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #238 on: August 04, 2010, 10:13:05 PM »
Aside from the part where a factotum doesn't actually cast spells, per se, I don't see why not.
Shh. My common sense is tingling. . .

HotSoup

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Re: The Factotum's Handbook
« Reply #239 on: August 31, 2010, 11:25:38 PM »
Anyone have a list/table of everything that can be considered a Strength or Dexterity check for "Brains over Brawn"