I'm looking for some general ideas regarding a Factotum build that is also a strong melee character. I started out as Rogue, but decided that it's a little too focused for what my character concept is. I agreed to be the party skill monkey but I don't really like the TWF/sneak attacking tactics that a Rogue *must* use to succeed. I'd much rather be a skill monkey that can fight a bit more straight forward, but has a bit of tricks up his sleeve. I really wanted to play a swordsage but DM thinks the group is too new to introduce a bunch of complex maneuvers just yet, however he said in a few levels he may allow it. So basically I'm planning on sticking to Factotum until DM feels comfortable with letting me use ToB classes.
I'm not sure when that will be exactly, though probably in the level 6-8 range. So my plan is to go pure factotum and get to at least level 8 to pick up cunning surge. If I get a chance to bring in some ToB before then, then I might dip swordsage/warblade for a level or two just to pick up some firepower, then finish out factotum. I may even go 9 for the 4th level spell.
At any rate I'd like some ideas on how to accomplish what I'm looking for. Concept is a "brains over brawn" fighter that relies on his intelligence instead of just pure brute force. Our group has pretty much all bases covered (Wizard, Cleric, Fighter, Ranger) and me. I'd like to be sort of the odd man out that can do a bit of everything, but be able to step up in a pinch to do something that needs to get done.
I don't want to focus on ranged(ranger is going archery style), and I don't want to go dex style fighting as it's too expensive. I'd have to get weapon finesse and shadow blade to be effective and thats 2 feats I can't afford. I'd prefer to stay str based and keep it simple. I've already taken my first level of Rogue, and have enough exp to hit level 2 though we haven't played in 2 weeks. Hopefully this Friday it will happen.
Stats:
Human Rogue 1
Str 14
Dex 17
Int 15
Con 15
Wis 7
Cha 9
Feats at level 1: TWF, Point Blank shot, Combat reflexes(free from DM)
So first off I'm going to talk to my DM about a bit of retraining since I'm changing my focus a bit. I want to retrain my TWF and PBS, and also perhaps mess with my top stats just a tad. He won't let me do a completel stat rearrangement, though I think I can talk him into swapping dex with str or int or something. Also if possible I'd like to be able to eventually switch my first level of Rogue to Factotum to avoid the BAB loss and get me to level 8 Factotum sooner. I don't care about the SA loss as I'll eventually get assassin stance, and I can always do Iajiatsu Focus to help out. If he won't let me fix Rogue level, then it's not a big deal it'll just delay cunning surge one level.
So plan is:
Rogue 1/Facotum 8/Swordsage 2/Warblade x
but it could end up as...
Factotum 5/Swordsage 1/Warblade 1/Factotum 3/Swordsage 1/Warblade x
or something like that.
If I keep rogue I want to replace TWF and Point blank shot with craven and Font of Inspiration. If I get to ditch Rogue I can pick up Craven much later after assassin's stance, and might just take Font of Inspiration twice. Plan on getting knowledge devotion at level 3, but until I know when I can take ToB classes I'm not sure what to do about 6 and up.
So my "thinking" is that I should switch my dex to str to get my base attack and damage up a bit. Int might be a tad bit low for Factotum, but I can always bump it to 16 at level 4 to make it +3. Or I could even switch Int to 17, Str to 15, Dex to 14 if DM allows it. I'm just thinking str will give me most bang for my buck. I want to build up my knowledge skills up a bit without going overboard, to help make up for lower BAB and can supplement cunning insight(think that's what it's called) on those times where I need to hit.
I want 2 levels of swordsage to at least net me assassin's stance, and a few maneuvers built mostly for utility. Shadow jaunt, the invis one, etc.. Then with the Warblade levels, it will synergize nicely with my high Int and I'd focus on Iron Heart and Diamond Mind. The warblade has an awesome recovery maneuver and if I just kept the <gem name> Nightmare Blade strikes readied, that'd be my main damage output.
My ultimate goal is to have a lot of utility to cover different situations, with the capability of going Nova once in awhile if we're in a tight situation. The other guys are fairly new and not optimizers(wizard might be at some point), so I don't want to intentionally outshine them. Out of the players I've invested far more time in learning the rules and classes so I'd like to put that to use always having something in reserve incase we need it. I rather like the idea of playing along with them at a similar level, but when the *&#@ hits the fan, my Factotum abilities kick in and pull us through with a quick heal, supernova, epic skill check, etc...
So sorry about the length, I guess I got carried away
. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to accomplish this. I'm thinking the combination of knowledge devotion, cunning insight, power attack and my SLA(wraith strike/true strike, etc..) I have the ability to be very capable in battle. When I roll a high knowledge check, or use a spell to boost my attack bonus I can dump it into power attack and lay down the hurt occasionally. And at higher levels the combination of those, plus cunning surge and the ToB strikes could be a lethal Nova combination should I want to pull it out. Keep in mind I don't want to do this at all times, it'd be something I keep in reserve for those moments when it's not looking good for the group. I don't want to overshadow anyone on a regular basis, but I just really like the idea of the "intelligent fighter" to pull out a win when we need it the most.
So assuming you made it through my wall of text, anyone have any suggestions? I'm rather set on my class choices, I'd most likely some advice on stat arrangment(if I can change it), feats and feasability of my tactical ideas. Do I go 2h power attack? Do I go sword and board for awhile until I'm actually strong enough to utilize my skills? Etc..
I'm not sure when that will be exactly, though probably in the level 6-8 range. So my plan is to go pure factotum and get to at least level 8 to pick up cunning surge. If I get a chance to bring in some ToB before then, then I might dip swordsage/warblade for a level or two just to pick up some firepower, then finish out factotum. I may even go 9 for the 4th level spell.
At any rate I'd like some ideas on how to accomplish what I'm looking for. Concept is a "brains over brawn" fighter that relies on his intelligence instead of just pure brute force. Our group has pretty much all bases covered (Wizard, Cleric, Fighter, Ranger) and me. I'd like to be sort of the odd man out that can do a bit of everything, but be able to step up in a pinch to do something that needs to get done.
I don't want to focus on ranged(ranger is going archery style), and I don't want to go dex style fighting as it's too expensive. I'd have to get weapon finesse and shadow blade to be effective and thats 2 feats I can't afford. I'd prefer to stay str based and keep it simple. I've already taken my first level of Rogue, and have enough exp to hit level 2 though we haven't played in 2 weeks. Hopefully this Friday it will happen.
Stats:
Human Rogue 1
Str 14
Dex 17
Int 15
Con 15
Wis 7
Cha 9
Feats at level 1: TWF, Point Blank shot, Combat reflexes(free from DM)
So first off I'm going to talk to my DM about a bit of retraining since I'm changing my focus a bit. I want to retrain my TWF and PBS, and also perhaps mess with my top stats just a tad. He won't let me do a completel stat rearrangement, though I think I can talk him into swapping dex with str or int or something. Also if possible I'd like to be able to eventually switch my first level of Rogue to Factotum to avoid the BAB loss and get me to level 8 Factotum sooner. I don't care about the SA loss as I'll eventually get assassin stance, and I can always do Iajiatsu Focus to help out. If he won't let me fix Rogue level, then it's not a big deal it'll just delay cunning surge one level.
So plan is:
Rogue 1/Facotum 8/Swordsage 2/Warblade x
but it could end up as...
Factotum 5/Swordsage 1/Warblade 1/Factotum 3/Swordsage 1/Warblade x
or something like that.
If I keep rogue I want to replace TWF and Point blank shot with craven and Font of Inspiration. If I get to ditch Rogue I can pick up Craven much later after assassin's stance, and might just take Font of Inspiration twice. Plan on getting knowledge devotion at level 3, but until I know when I can take ToB classes I'm not sure what to do about 6 and up.
So my "thinking" is that I should switch my dex to str to get my base attack and damage up a bit. Int might be a tad bit low for Factotum, but I can always bump it to 16 at level 4 to make it +3. Or I could even switch Int to 17, Str to 15, Dex to 14 if DM allows it. I'm just thinking str will give me most bang for my buck. I want to build up my knowledge skills up a bit without going overboard, to help make up for lower BAB and can supplement cunning insight(think that's what it's called) on those times where I need to hit.
I want 2 levels of swordsage to at least net me assassin's stance, and a few maneuvers built mostly for utility. Shadow jaunt, the invis one, etc.. Then with the Warblade levels, it will synergize nicely with my high Int and I'd focus on Iron Heart and Diamond Mind. The warblade has an awesome recovery maneuver and if I just kept the <gem name> Nightmare Blade strikes readied, that'd be my main damage output.
My ultimate goal is to have a lot of utility to cover different situations, with the capability of going Nova once in awhile if we're in a tight situation. The other guys are fairly new and not optimizers(wizard might be at some point), so I don't want to intentionally outshine them. Out of the players I've invested far more time in learning the rules and classes so I'd like to put that to use always having something in reserve incase we need it. I rather like the idea of playing along with them at a similar level, but when the *&#@ hits the fan, my Factotum abilities kick in and pull us through with a quick heal, supernova, epic skill check, etc...
So sorry about the length, I guess I got carried away
. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to accomplish this. I'm thinking the combination of knowledge devotion, cunning insight, power attack and my SLA(wraith strike/true strike, etc..) I have the ability to be very capable in battle. When I roll a high knowledge check, or use a spell to boost my attack bonus I can dump it into power attack and lay down the hurt occasionally. And at higher levels the combination of those, plus cunning surge and the ToB strikes could be a lethal Nova combination should I want to pull it out. Keep in mind I don't want to do this at all times, it'd be something I keep in reserve for those moments when it's not looking good for the group. I don't want to overshadow anyone on a regular basis, but I just really like the idea of the "intelligent fighter" to pull out a win when we need it the most.So assuming you made it through my wall of text, anyone have any suggestions? I'm rather set on my class choices, I'd most likely some advice on stat arrangment(if I can change it), feats and feasability of my tactical ideas. Do I go 2h power attack? Do I go sword and board for awhile until I'm actually strong enough to utilize my skills? Etc..
