What to do with this character?

[Miranius]

Soo... after consulting this Handbook: http://brilliantgameologists.com/boa...php?topic=2720 and reading up on Factoti (no latin here, so don`t hit me if that`s the wrong plural) i tried my hand on a lvl 15 Factotum.

I planned it to be a strong party face / sniper / melee support character, NOT a living-cheesegrater be-and-end-all. Though i DID use what i could find as viable STRONG options.

Any and all help to improve this character or just any random thought you have on it, pleas share

So this is the character:

Backstory in rudimentary form: created on the 6th layer of Baator in a twisted mockery of captured fey that were captured/absorbed/dissolved by the layers fleshy matter, the Hellbred has since "brith" been in horror and revulsion of the powers and effects of corruption.
Fleeing from the fiends that were on his heels and tried to force him into their service, staying unrecognized and aware or his surroundings were tantamound to the point of paranoia. (Or: IS it Paranoia if the powers of Hell are REALLY out for you?)
Anyways, gaining tools and templates to stay hidden are one of the main aspects of the character (still debating if i should take the vecna-blooded template and the +1LA), finding out and absolutely and positively ERADICATING corruptive Influences on mortals (expecially by outsiders) is another one. (plus combating his/her own dark voices, see the Mask of Lies later on)

base race: Hellbred (from Fiendish Codex II, spirit aspect for DV and telepathy)
Templates: at birth/lvl1 Magic blooded (Dragon 306) and unseely Fey (Dragon Compendium) (for Int and Cha, the wings of the Fey and the debuffing Aura of the winter-court side)
somewhere around lvl 10 the character udnertook the ritual to become a greater phantom (MMV).
through the continous collar of umbral metamorphosis (Tome of Magic) the dark template was gained.

Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 22, Wis 8, Cha 28 (all before Items which up to now i dont have anyways)

Senses: DV 250 FT, SLLV, Mindsight 100 ft, Blindsight 30ft for the item familiar, spot and Listen ONLY +1

Speed: depending on how you calculate it, 440ft single flying move action 100 ft base speed

(through base speed + quick trait + dark template + rapid wrath item. too bad i can`t afford a continous haste item)

Initiative: 12 (16 with Improved Initiative, see Items further down)

AC: 20, touch 18, ff 18

Traits: quick, aggressive (UA)

Feats:
Through Flaw Vulnerable (AC-1) Obtain Familiar (Complete Arcane)
Through Flaw Murky Eyed (reroll concealment) Darkstalker (Lords of Madness)
Racial Bonus Feat: Devils Favor (FF II) retrained to Mind Sight (Lords of Madness) at level 15
Through Familar: Alertness (PHB)
Lvl 1: Trickery Devotion (CC)
Lvl 3: Iteam Familiar (UA) (a Ring riveted to a Horn)
Lvl 6: Travel Devotion (CC)
Lvl 9: Imperious Command (DotU)
Lvl 12: Staggering Strike (CA)
Lvl 15: Maiming Strike (EoE) ---- Since i lack the funds for a huge numer of SA-dice, i`m searching for alternatives on this one. Maybe Improved Familiar

In total the character has 265 skill-points.
skill-tricks: acrobatic backstab, assume quirk, conceal spellcasting, never outnumbered, second impression, clarity of vision (CS)

the rest is largely concentrated on bluff, dilomacy, disguise, forgery, intimidate, move silently, sense motive, tumble, iaijutsu focus and autohypnosis.
for out-of-combat moneymaking i have craft alchemy, weaponsmithing and shipmaking (total each about 8-10) as well as 2 performs and some open lock.

On this point, has ANYBODY ever used the skill Lucid Dreaming (Manual of the Planes). and if yes, HOW did you use it?

As for items i partially used the item ceation rules from the MIC and the SRD.
Most importantly:
The Gnome Quickrazor: aptitude weapon, magebane, serrated & ornate(Dragon M), sudden stunning (DMG II), Spell Storing Deadly Precision (MIC) with a Wand Chamber. Cost: 8145

The Crossbow: Great Crossbow widely made out of Soarwood and Dragonbone, aptitude weapon (Hand Crossbow), Long Range, Magebane, Distance, Sizing, Wand Chamber, *Psionic Minor Creation.
This one is a little cheesy, in effect: as i read it you take penalty to larger-then-normal weapons since you are not proficent with their size. aptitude weapon GIVES you proficeny, so.... 15d8 bolts instead of 2d8 (if you can fit your 30ft long crossbow somewhere). In sum, the range increment on this baby is 370 ft and the psionic minor creation in the bolt-magazine creates MW serrated ironwood bolts. If you`re feeling especially like Cheddar, coated in Megapede Poison from Dungeonscape, DC 44 2d6 CON damage, 1d4 DEX drain. since the bolt AND poison is all bio-matter, that should work and you have no risk of poisoning yourself, right?
Cost:14600 GP

The Eyepatch: Custom made eyepatch with Arcane Sight (Tome and Blood), Arcane Eye (PHB) and Power Sight (MotW). The Strategy with this one: Drop the "Arcane Eye" where you stand, move action away, now you can see and spot without penalty, see auras, HD... Snipe from far away while your opponenet makes ever increasing spot-checks for distance (+37 just within ONE range increment of the crossbow)

Rapid Wrath (Ghostwalk) doubles ANY speed

The rest: Vest of Free Movement, Bracers of Blinding Strike, Gloves of the Master Strategist, Sandals of Light Step, Frightful Crest Craft (ROTD), a reinforced buckler, and 5 custom made wondrous items (worn as metal bands around the characters horns) that each grant 3/d heroics spell for a selection of nice fighter bonus feats, among them martial study, martial stance, the mageslayer-route, TWF....

Customized (with a gruesome backstory) Mask of Lies (MIC) that is specifically tied to evil persons the character has slain (and taken their faces (literally) for a prolonged effect of the disguise self, just without the variety outside the "harvested" faces), maybe tied to him with an infernal Geas so he/she CAN`T loose/destroy the mask or be ever free of its own corruptive influence.

When using the 50% discount for personalized items (not usable by anybody else), this amounts to just about 170.000 GP which is the character wealth for this level. (which leaves me without even a waterskin, but who cares about such details on this point, which of these items would you ditch the first?)

So the tactics i have come up with are for ranged combat: the move-and-snipe mentioned with the eyepatch, the snipe-through-buildings that a combo of eyepatch and phantom strike from the template give me.

For melee the demoralizing effect of the frightful crest and the imperious command feat plus the never outnumbered skilltrick, combined with the sudden stunning effect of the quickrazor and the spellstoring-effect plus average 8-9d6 iaijutsu and possibly 3d6 sneak (2d6 asassins stance +1d6 deadly precision).
All fo that combined/multiplied with the clone of trickery devotion and possibly a combat familiar IF i switch out maiming strike for improved familiar.


That`s all i have up to now. Please feel free to completely take it apart, switch around and refurbish any and all things! I´m more than curious what you will come up with!


Thanks a bunch, Miranius!

[muktidata]

I'd switch to talenta boomerangs.

[bruceleeroy]

Minor creation specifies plant matter, not organic matter.

And I don't believe the size difference with weapons has anything to do with proficiency, by RAW.

SRD: Inappropriately Sized Weapons
A creature can’t make optimum use of a weapon that isn’t properly sized for it. A cumulative -2 penalty applies on attack rolls for each size category of difference between the size of its intended wielder and the size of its actual wielder. If the creature isn’t proficient with the weapon a -4 nonproficiency penalty also applies.

The measure of how much effort it takes to use a weapon (whether the weapon is designated as a light, one-handed, or two-handed weapon for a particular wielder) is altered by one step for each size category of difference between the wielder’s size and the size of the creature for which the weapon was designed. If a weapon’s designation would be changed to something other than light, one-handed, or two-handed by this alteration, the creature can’t wield the weapon at all.

Emphasis mine.

[Miranius]

As i have read it, i`d need to be a halfling to make use of the talenta boomerang feats. So id need to take a feat, plus the weapon has much shorter reach and less damage. Sneak attack damage doesn`t carry over to the second hit, so...  why would you switch to that weapon?

[bruceleeroy]

Also, has there been a consensus by the community on whether Heroics stacks with itself or not?

According to the PHB:
" Same Effect with Differing Results: The same spell can sometimes
produce varying effects if applied to the same recipient more than
once. For example, a series of polymorph spells might turn a creature
into a mouse, a lion, and then a snail. In this case, the last spell in the
series trumps the others. None of the previous spells are actually
removed or dispelled, but their effects become irrelevant while the
final spell in the series lasts."

 A second casting of Heroics simply replaces the effect of the first for the duration of the second casting.

[Miranius]

bump

[Jackinthegreen]

You do not need to be any specific race to use a certain kind of exotic weapon, though you might gain proficiency with it for effectively free if your race treats it as a martial weapon (like Dwarven Waraxe).  The only limiting thing I can find with those weapons are the Boomerang Ricochet and Boomerang Daze feats mentioning that only halfling fighters from Talenta or drow fighters from Xen'drik can take them as fighter bonus feats.  Everyone else can take them as normal feats.