Boomerang Factotum with full spellthief and wizard casting (3.5e Optimized Character Build)

Introduction

I did not make this character to be an optimized build, but it kind of came to be one. I haven't been able to test it yet (never found a DM who allowed factotum because it's kind of an unknown class). It may require some changes from your DM.

oh, and re-check the numbers (saves, inspiration points, etc). I suck at math. But I'm sure the BAB is correct ^^

References

I used the Dungeonscape, Races of Eberron, Eberron Campaign Setting (or was it the Player's guide? I don't remember. It's the one with the talenta weapons), Complete mage, Unearthed Arcana. Plus core, obviously.

Arms and Equipment guide is also reccomended.

Game Rule Components

For this to work properly, you must ask your DM to allow you to sacrifice the Factotum's spellcasting ability (and maybe the cunning strike(sneak attack)could be given up if you must bargain) and, in return, get a max BAB (like the fighter and barbarian one's). You can say it's because you want to be a more mundane, martial factotum in the beggining. You should try to get more skill points too, but that is not necessary ^^

Items

Most of the itens are for you to choose. However, I recommend highly the Talenta Boomerang (for ranged), the Talenta Tangat (for close fighting) and the Talenta Sharrash (for reach), all of them from Eberron. I'd also recommend something like a mithral breatplate with a dastana upgrade (Arms and Equipment book) and whatever enchantments suit you.

Progression

Starting Ability Scores (Before Racial Adjustments): Put everything you got in Intelligence. You second best stat is, believe it or not, Strenth and then constitution and dexterity. Charisma is good for undead turning too. (the Factotum suffers severe MAD - Multiple Atribute Disorder-, but it doesn't really hurt much not being optimized for this).

Race: Human/Silverbrow human/Strongheart Halfling

Starting Racial Traits: Extra feat! the rest doesn't matter much.

ECL	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Feats	Class Features	Special
			Fort	Ref	Will
1st	Factotum 1	+0	+0	+2	+ 0	Talenta Warrior/ Fountain of Inspiration	Inspiration, cunning insight, cunning knowledge, trapfinding	3 Inspiration points. Try to trade that trapfinding for some variant rogue class feature, like poison use (if you went with drow).
2nd	Factotum 2	+1	+0	+3	+0			4 Inspiration Points
3rd	Factotum 3	+2	+1	+3	+1	Fountain of inspiration	Brains over brawn, cunning defense	6 Inspiration Points
4th	Factotum 4	+3	+1	+4	+1		Cunning Strike
5rd	Factotum 5	+3	+1	+4	+1		Opportunistic piety	7 Inspiration Points
6rd	Wizard 1	+3	+1	+4	+3	Boomerang Daze ( bonus feat from martial wizard variant, replaces scribe scroll) and Combat Casting	Spellcasting, Familiar	If you can, try to get the domain wizard variant from Unearthed Arcana (transmutation or storm domains). Otherwise, specialize in transmutation.
7rd	Abjurant Champion 1	+4	+1	+4	+5		Abjurant armor, extended abjuration
8rd	Abjurant Champion 2	+5	+1	+4	+6		Swift abjuration
9rd	Spellthief 1	+5	+1	+4	+7	Master Spellthief (you can now cast in light armor)	Sneak attack +1d6, steal spell (0 or 1st), trapfinding
10rd	Abjurant Champion 3	+6	+2	+5	+5
11rd	Abjurant Champion 4	+7	+2	+4	+6		Arcane boost
12rd	Abjurant Champion 5	+8	+2	+4	+6	Arcane strike	Martial Arcanist	Full potential reached.
13rd	Any class with full BAB	+9						You could get more factotum for more inspiration points and, eventually, cunning surge ability.

Other Components

You may get boomerang ricochet as a feat at 15 to have your stun targeting 2 enemies at once.

IMPORTANT: You use your Base Attack Bonus as your caster level. So don't neglect it! Also, you loose 2 caster levels when your get a level in Wizard and another in Spellthief.

Also, I'd choose a rat familiar for the +3 to fortitude.

Highlights

This build will allow you to have, at level 12, 12 caster levels for mage, 12 caster levels for spellthief (which will be used for buffs anyway. Plus, you'll be able to cast those spells from schools banned if you specialized!).

With the mithral breastplate +dastana I mentioned above and supposing 20 INT and 16 DEX at level 12, you wil have a total AC of: 10 + 3 DEX + 6 armor + 9 Shield spell (4 from the spell + 5 from abjurant champion)= 28 AC, and you'll be able to add 5 from your INT in your AC as an immediate action and you may also sacrifice a spell as a swift action to get the sacrificed spell level as a buff to AC (for instance, sacrifice a fireball to get +3 AC). These numbers are for a character wearing unenchanted armor and being a full caster - not bad at all.If you somehow find another abjurantion spell that grants AC besides Shield you can cast it to give the AC bonus +5 on yourself and further increase your own AC.

If you have more money: Buy a mithral breastplate with dastana, enchant it to +2 or 3, add spikes, enchant them to +2 or 3 and add "defending" property to it. Your armor will give you +12 AC (+3 from the armor enchantment and +3 you transfer from the spikes to your armor class). That would net you an AC of 34, in light armor. Hell, make it a reinforced mithral breastplate for an extra 400 GP and get 35 AC + possibility of adding INT bonuses or sacrificing spells to boost it. And there is still deflection and natural armor that you can somehow add.

You shall have 6d8s, 1d4 and 5 d10s of HP.

You shall be able to attack with your boomerang and each hit with it will impose a DC fortitude of 10+ damage to daze the enemy for 1 turn. The boomerang has damage 1d4 + STR. Enchant it, use a searing weapon spell (not sure about the name, it's a 2 level spell in the Spell Compedium) for 1d8 and sacrifice a 3 level spell and buff it with Greater Mighty Wallop (assuming you are level 12) to make that into 1d8 +STR + 6 + 3D4 + 1D8, or 4d4+2d8+6+STR modifier. The DC can get near 40 using only a few low level spells, and the boomerang has a "natural" Returning ability.

Did I say you have full casting for wizard and spellthief? And that if you get 1 level of Sorcerer, for instance, you get your BAB as caster level in it; I don't mean effective caster level, but actual caster level, with high level spells and everything. And that you can steal spells like a spellthief? At 12 level, for instance, you could steal a 6th level spell.

Oh and you add your INT into pretty much everything you do.In your initiative, in ALL your attacks, in all STR and DEX skills (and any other skill once a day per skill). And you have ALL skills as class skills.

Munchkin-Size Me

If you want to get EVEN more power, you could drop the factotum and get something like 2 fighter levels (with armoured mage variant - you loose medium and heavy armor proficiency and can cast in light armor, if you have a casting class) and 3 Duskblade levels (channel spells with your attacks!). Use your fighter feats for boomerang daze and ricochet earlier, as those are low level feats and saves you from getting them later. 9th level you'll have 1 level os spellthief and master spellthief - meaning you can sneak attack with your boomerang to steal spells from 2 targets at once AND daze them. To get the sneak attack working you can have unseen servants carrying marbles to throw at your enemies' feet, cast grease, hit them from invisibility, flank them, or something like that.

Then, on level 13 and 14 get two levels of Ur-Priest. You'll have rebuke undead 3+ CHA per day. If you get nightsticks or extra turning, you'll have enough turns to persist divine power. Remember you saved 2 feats with fighter levels? And that you are no longer a Factotum so you don't need 2 fountains of inspiration? Well, that means you have extend spell (1 level feat), persist spell (3th level feat) and divine metamagic (6th level feat). After the second level of Ur-Priest you can enter ANY divine prestige class you want. I'd recommend some levels in Contemplative to have domains and kick ass just like a cleric - but you're an atheist who steals power from all gods so go and choose any domain you can ever want. After a few levels of contemplative, go with sacred exorcist to get turn undead so you'll have 3+ CHA rebuke and 3+CHA turns - meaning you have a crapton of turn uses to persist stuff. Get your cha high enough and you'll even persist 2 spells each day.

Why does this work? 2 words: Divine Power. It's a 4th or 5th (not sure) cleric spell that gives you good BAB for rounds/level. Persist it every day and combine with martial arcanist from Abjurant Champion 5 (class ability that makes your caster level = your BAB). Bam! Full wizard caster levels and full Ur-Priest caster levels (UR-priest gets 9th level spells in 10 levels of prestige, so you'll get both more or less at the same time). Also, try to aim for a Practiced Spellcaster (Ur-Priest) when you can, to compensate for his annoying lack of caster levels.

EDIT: I just found out that Duskblade 2 actually gives you Combat Casting. So you "unlock" a feat, as it is pre-requisite for Abjurant Champion. I'm not sure what to do with it, actually, but there are thousands of awesome feats. Maybe get a reserve damage dealing feat? Since it's not a spell, you can use it with any armor, and it can be a good way to deal damage without using precious spell slots.

Ok, so with a power build you can so far:

-Channel touch spells with melee attacks.

-Hit enemies with your boomerang and daze them with a DC of 10 + damage, and you can increase that damage in a hundred different ways.

-Full wizard casting.

-Full Ur-Priest (up to 9th level cleric spells) casting.

-Up to any 2 Domains (if you go Contemplative)

-Cast in light armor; you can even get armoured caster and a mithral full plate.

-Your shield spell adds 9 AC.

-2 persistent divine spells, if you get Sacred Exorcist; 1 if you don't. (tip: Footsteps of the Divine may give you a fly speed)

-Assuming 16 final DEX and only mundane itens, you can have this AC:

10 base + 9 from mithral full plate (or 10 if it's reinforced). Or you may try to deal with your DM to ue Greater Luminous armor for +14 AC 9 from shield spell 3 from DEX +13 touch only AC from Ectoplasmic armor

So you'll vary beetween 31 normal AC and 26 touch AC or 36 AC and 26 touch AC. That, plus enchantments and natural armor and etc.

Side Notes

I hadn't made this build to be as powerful as it is (I mean, boomerangs? Who'd imagine?), so it may not be as powerful as I think. Well, I encourage testing and posting here the results =D

Limitations

The DM must aprove increasing or BAB (or you get a base class with full BAB to replace the Factotum, but that would be a shame because factotuns are awesome). It is, of course, sadly weak against dedicated arcanists, and can only hold on its own in a fight so much. BUt it's good both inside and outside combat, due to large number of spells per day and skills. IT's also kind of weak in terms of saves, so that should be first priority for itens.

Also, could use another fountain of inspiration feat (if flaws are allowed, for instance). OR two, or three. Inspiration is never enough.

DM Counters

Separate him from the rest of the party, or dispel the buffs. OR use a fort. save on him. If the player hasn't covered that weakness, and is out of inspiration points he can use to add his intelligence to his fortitude and it'll be enough.

Miscellaneous

Go factotum all the way after abjurant champion and you get cunning surge ability: you spend 3 inspiration points and get another standard action - and you can do it as many times as you want per turn, if you have the inspiration.

Cunning Breach is also interesting: once per day you'll cast a spell that won't consider Spell Resistance and Damage reduction.Choose the right spell and you just killed something.

ALTERNATE BUILD:

Substitute factotum levels with ranger or fighter levels, build to get greater manyshot and make 3 or 4 boomerangs. Catching the boomerang is a free action, but you may add a lesser Crystal of Return to make sure it'll come back to you always. Then, you get a better Fortitude save, but at the expense of the factotum buffs and with a bit less synergy. You should aim to getting some spell resistance, too- so an interesting idea may be to go Drow and exchange trapfinding for poison use (Drow of The Underdark has this variant) and use Drow's natural spell resistance, but you would loose a feat (try to get a flaw to compensate). Also, Drow have LA +2, and may be interesting to talk to the DM in order to lessen this (such as by not being able to use the Spell-like abilities and taking off the +2 will saves, for instance... Or by using the XP buyoff system).

Also, if you dip 1 level or Marshal, you can add your CHA to your fortitude, permanently (stacking with constitution), and to the fortitude of your allies.

---

Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Optimized Character Builds