[3.5] The Factotum - Good or bad?

[Quietus]

The sanity of DMs also varies wildly.

Are you sure about that? I mean, we ARE all people who habitually run a game for a handful of people who want nothing more than to run roughshod over all the planning we've done since the last session, taking our beautifully planned scenarios and throwing that one wrench into it in just the right way to jam up the gears and make the whole thing come crumbling down.

I think there's a much smaller range of sanity for DMs.. and that it's all south of normal.

[Midnight_v]

Hm... where's jaronk when you need him?

It can be good. A lot of it is indeed tied to font of inspiration. So therin lies the question, how much font is being allowed? I'd like to think it'd depend on the party composition.

[candycorn]

Factotum's strength is in Synergy.

Knowledge Devotion is a must for factotums, as it emphasizes their biggest bonus. Int based boosts.

Look at it this way: At level 8, getting a Gray elf with a 24 int is plausible (18 base, 2 race, 2 from levels, 2 enhancement).

Max out the 6 knowledges that cover all creature types, and you have 11 ranks, +7, is +18 to knowledges. That means, on average, you're getting +3 to hit and damage (+4 if you have the Collector of stories trick).

Now, assuming a Dex of 14, a BAB of +6, and a bit of Font, this character has a +8 to hit most things at range with a longbow, for 1d8+2 damage (with the right bow). Knowledge devotion brings that to +12/+7 for 1d8+6 each. Inspiration can bring that to +19/+14 for 1d8+13 each. Crazy damage? No. But respectable? Certainly.