PDA

View Full Version : [3.5] Simulating Ranger with Factotum



Human Paragon 3
2010-02-18, 01:10 PM
Mostly as a thought experiment, and because Factotum has ALL skills, I was wondering how effective a Factotum would be at simulating ranger.

By simulating ranger, I don't mean TWF or Archery, though that could be part of the build, I suppose. I mean a hardened wilderness expert who can survive and thrive in the wilderness, who can guide or track effectively, and who can take his knowledge of the wild to the fight. Basically a "wild" factotum.

Track is an obvious choice. Skill selection is fairly obvious, too. I would think that focusing on Int and Wis would be wise, since survival keys off wis, and you will get your INT to all str and dex skills.

So essentially, we're looking at feat selection and spell selection, as well as multiclass options (warblade looks good if you want to be an effective mele'er for instance).

What would a good combat strategy be for a wild factotum? It should reflect his mastery of the wilderness if possible.

jiriku
2010-02-18, 01:21 PM
Knowledge Devotion with appropriate knowledge skills simulates the ranger's favored enemy feature. A handful of the lower-level ranger spells are also on the sorcerer/wizard list, while others could be duplicated with wands and UMD. The high-level ranger's skill with lurking and hiding in natural areas can't be duplicated with class features, but could easily be duplicated with magic gear.

FishAreWet
2010-02-18, 01:28 PM
Master of Poisons + Int to damage is nature themed and very strong.

Gametime
2010-02-18, 01:31 PM
The factotum can do just about anything skill-based, so it should work out. I know you weren't really concerned with the combat aspect, but a factotum seems like it would make a really good archer; Manyshot is a standard action (so you can get multiple extra attacks from Cunning Surge), and you only make one attack roll (so a single Cunning Insight effectively buffs multiple shots).

Lycanthromancer
2010-02-18, 01:45 PM
The factotum can do just about anything skill-based, so it should work out. I know you weren't really concerned with the combat aspect, but a factotum seems like it would make a really good archer; Manyshot is a standard action (so you can get multiple extra attacks from Cunning Surge), and you only make one attack roll (so a single Cunning Insight effectively buffs multiple shots).And don't forget that you get +Int to damage on every damage roll (meaning Manyshot should give you +Int mod to every arrow).

Pump up UMD so you can activate scrolls and wands of ranger spells, and use your Arcane Dilettante on nature-type spells (such as web). You can get an animal companion via a feat, and if you want to be a major sneakster/scout-type, a dip into swordsage (using shadow hand and tiger claw maneuvers) will nab you stealth, combat ability, Wis to AC, and making you a better skirmisher all 'round. Also: Darkstalker.

Draz74
2010-02-18, 01:56 PM
I've been working on a Ranger-simulation Factotum build for quite a long time, though I still haven't had a chance to playtest it much (or play it in a real campaign at all).

I heartily approve of Knowledge Devotion. And of course Wild Cohort works fine for simulating the Animal Companion. Depending how good you want to be at tracking, Wild Cohort can even substitute for the Track feat (pick an animal with Scent and Track, like anything canine).

The biggest issue this build will have is feat-starvation, even if you resign yourself to not getting Font of Inspiration at all. Thus, anything that helps cover feat starvation is an option worth considering: Flaws, Fighter dip, Ranger dip, Cloistered Cleric dip, Dark Chaos Shuffle (ok, I don't actually recommend it, but for completeness ...). Heroics will be your #1 favorite Spell-like Ability to use every day. Whether or not you dip into Warblade or Swordsage (I'd recommend the latter more, if you can use Fractional BAB), you may at least find ToB items invaluable. Novice Stone Dragon Belt, Tiger Claw Bracers, Shadow Hands, Slippers of the Setting Sun, Desert Wind Cloak, Iron Heart Vest -- I could come up with useful tricks with each one of these.

If you go for a dexterous melee type, there are a number of ways to get weapon finesse without actually spending a feat on it: spells (Heroics, Bite of the Wererat, Nightstalker's Transformation) can give you the feat temporarily; or Cunning Brilliance can give you a feat for one minute via the Rogue special abilities menu (but Finesse is kind of a waste at such high levels); or you can pick up a light Feycraft weapon. I recommend weapons with good Crit ranges or multipliers, as you can use Cunning Insight to do a lot of extra damage on a Crit.

My build specifically wanted to be an archer. The key to this build was Raptor Arrows and the True Believer feat. Being especially pious to Ehlonna feels very Ranger-ish, especially when combined with use of the Opportunistic Piety class feature (which is deliciously ironic in its contrast with the stereotype of the anti-pious Factotum who has to flip through a number of different holy symbols and choose one when he uses Opportunistic Piety). 6000 gp and one feat to get an everything-Bane attack, plus unlimited ammo, is a good deal. Not to mention that the other Relic of Ehlonna in MIC, Ehlonna's Seed Pouch, is dirt-cheap and incredibly useful when you already have the True Believer feat. You can't use it until Level 15, but boy is it potent.

Being feat-starved, I decided to skip taking Precise Shot in favor of eventually picking up the Precise bow enhancement. Both this and the use of Raptor Arrows unfortunately preclude the use of a Splitting bow (but then, when I DM, I ban Splitting anyway). Of course, like any archer, a Force Bow is a good idea.

One of the areas where you'll have an advantage over normal Rangers is in stealth, thanks to Brains over Brawn. Therefore, stealth-based feats (with great flavor) like Darkstalker and Woodland Archer are worth considering. You should definitely pick up some stealth-boosting items, like Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis or my favorite Dark Lantern/Ring of the Darkhidden combination.

Check with your DM on whether one use of Cunning Insight gives multiplied damage bonuses with Manyshot. If it does, Manyshot's a must-have for a Factotum archer. Otherwise, it's tempting (because Cunning Surge lets you fire off a Manyshot), but not crucial.

Besides Heroics, some non-Core spells that I find particularly appropriate for a "ranger" include:

Level 0: Caltrops, Silent Portal
Level 1: Accelerated Movement, Arrow Mind, Critical Strike, Ebon Eyes, Eyes of the Avoral, Guided Shot, Remove Scent, Targeting Ray
Level 2: Curse of Impending Blades, Lively Step, Surefooted Stride
Level 3: Bite of the Wererat, Deeper Darkvision, Stars of Arvandor
Level 5: Nightstalker's Transformation, Viscid Glob
Level 6: Cloak of the Sea
Level 7: Arrow of Bone, Brilliant Aura


I assume the Core spell choices are pretty obvious.


The high-level ranger's skill with lurking and hiding in natural areas can't be duplicated with class features,

It surely can. Cunning Brilliance, anyone? :smallwink:


Master of Poisons + Int to damage is nature themed and very strong.

Where is Master of Poisons from?

Lycanthromancer
2010-02-18, 02:21 PM
I'd highly consider going changeling and taking your first level as a martial rogue. You grab a fighter feat in lieu of +1d6 sneak attack, and you can take 10 on a bunch of social-type skills with the changeling ACF (okay, so this isn't exactly rangery, but if you can find a way to use Diplomacy instead of Handle Animal...), and you gain a bunch more skill points (10/lvl).

Being a changeling essentially grants you the druid's ability of A Thousand Faces, which will help when tracking quarry in civilized areas.

Bounty hunter! And not the quilted kind.

Human Paragon 3
2010-02-18, 10:46 PM
Maybe a level of Feat Rogue with the Wilderness Rogue variant would be the best level one. 8+Int woodland related skill points and a feat. AND you can sub out trap finding for Track (theoretically at least, since ranger can do the opposite courtesy of the dungeonscape alternate class feature).