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Okay, it’s time to look at Use Magic Device. I have played a number of games with bards, sorcerers, and factotums who have used Use Magic Device. It has always been my feeling that at low levels, this skill is not worth taking.
Scrolls have a scaling DC, but wands don’t. All the DC’s are in the high teens or 20’s, meaning the skill is difficult at low levels, and simplicity at high levels.
Finally at high levels, it comes down to not rolling a 1. The chance of a misfire is almost negligible, and the misfire requires a second low DC attribute check.
Here are my recommendations, based on this:
Like Disable Device, there should be a misfire if you miss the DC by 5 or more. No secondary check, not just for activating blindly, that’s it.
Next, have activating blindly be 15 + caster level of the item. Getting a tree token to work should be a lot easier than a holy avenger.
Using a scroll should be probably have it’s DC reduced to 15 + caster level, so low level characters have a chance of making this skill work.
Lastly, allow Use Magic Device to emulate an Item Creation feat, at DC 35. This gives high level characters a good use for the skill.
I like UMD too, but it seems to me at least that magic items made at about your level should be really tough to activate unless you actually know what you're doing. I would think that most of the DCs should stay at 20+CL to keep the feel of the skill. Wands (and staves and similar items) should also receive the 20+CL as their check (and requires a command word, thus, it may need to be activated blindly). Activating blindly should be against the items will save as if it had "taken 20". This should scale some while being very tough at low levels. Remember that magical items get all good saves. Another high-level use of this skill might be to oppose intelligent items. The idea would be to replace the will save you have to make to oppose with a UMD check at -10. Any failure at 10 or more should be kept because these are really tough checks at your level, and magic items are unlikely to do anything unless you screw up really bad, unlike traps, which are really meant to kill the person interacting with it. This is just my 2cp on this.