I've already snagged a circlet of persuasion (+3 competence bonus) and a cracked Pink & Green Ioun stone. What other gear can I get for help activating items?
Masterwork "Command Words For Dummies" book ;)
Not gear I know but: Level dip into Synthesist, get the Skilled evolution to get a +8 modifier.
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You just need to come up with something creative and convince your GM its a reasonable request.Problem is I am coming up with nothing. I'll think about it. :)
Doesn't take a whole lot of thought to come up with an appropriate form of a mwk UMD tool :)
Assuming you view UMD skill use as essentially manipulating the fickle randomness of pure chance, your UMD tool could be a lucky rabbit's foot.
Assuming you view UMD skill use as primarily intuition, you could use a masterwork mood ring's changing colors to know when you're on the right track with thoughts/methods of waving around your magic item.
If you think magic is just another form of science, you could even say your UMD mwk tool is a packet of homeopathic oil salts (or some other alchemically inspired name) to sprinkle on the magic item, 'alchemically' enhancing the item's ability to tune to your brain waves as you try to use it.
Why are you optimizing UMD?
Because you don't really need to go out of your way to get a decent UMD bonus? Because the skill caps at DC 30 basically?
I'd say you need a good selection of gear to optimize UMD. You need the right selection of wands and scrolls, which will depend to some degree on your party. Getting a decent bonus is important, but if you've got nothing useful to work with, you've been wasting your resources on boosting the skill.
I'm saying you don't have to go out of your way to get a decent umd. umd checks aren't that hard past early levels. However you probably aren't investing in wands and such at lower levels.
Because you don't really need to go out of your way to get a decent UMD bonus? Because the skill caps at DC 30 basically?
How is mimicking CL 10 the maximum use of the skill.
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Because you don't really need to go out of your way to get a decent UMD bonus? Because the skill caps at DC 30 basically?How is mimicking CL 10 the maximum use of the skill.
No idea.
Activate Blindly: 25
Decipher written scroll: 26-34
Use scroll: 21-40 (assuming 20th level cap)
Use wand: 20
Emulate class feature: 20
Emulate ability score: 25-34 (No need for higher than a 19)
Emulate race: 25
Emulate an alignment: 30
But even a 40 isn't that bad, if you focus on it. I have seen higher Stealth & Perception skills....
Use a staff and want a caster level higher than 1. DC 20+ cl 1. DC 40=CL 20 in case you need it.
Use a staff and want a caster level higher than 1. DC 20+ cl 1. DC 40=CL 20 in case you need it.I don't think this is RAW. Use a staff is a DC20 check, no check mentioned or given for emulating a higher level than the staff defaults to.
Emulate a Class Feature: Sometimes you need to use a class feature to activate a magic item. In this case, your effective level in the emulated class equals your Use Magic Device check result minus 20. This skill does not let you actually use the class feature of another class. It just lets you activate items as if you had that class feature. If the class whose feature you are emulating has an alignment requirement, you must meet it, either honestly or by emulating an appropriate alignment with a separate Use Magic Device check (see above).
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Emulate a Class Feature: Sometimes you need to use a class feature to activate a magic item. In this case, your effective level in the emulated class equals your Use Magic Device check result minus 20. This skill does not let you actually use the class feature of another class. It just lets you activate items as if you had that class feature. If the class whose feature you are emulating has an alignment requirement, you must meet it, either honestly or by emulating an appropriate alignment with a separate Use Magic Device check (see above).Use a staff and want a caster level higher than 1. DC 20+ cl 1. DC 40=CL 20 in case you need it.I don't think this is RAW. Use a staff is a DC20 check, no check mentioned or given for emulating a higher level than the staff defaults to.
Does not seem to apply:
Use a Wand, Staff, or Other Spell Trigger Item: Normally, touse a wand, you must have the wand’s spell on your class
spell list. This use of the skill allows you to use a wand as if
you had a particular spell on your class spell list.
You aren't emulating a class feature to use a staff, you are using a staff as a spell trigger item.
Although you will probably want to attempt a UMD check for the caster stat the staff use uses, since that affects the spell's save DC.
And using UMD to "set the caster level" for a staff gets into other, odd, issues. Can a lower level PC emulate being 20th level, if their UMD check is high enough?
And using UMD to "set the caster level" for a staff gets into other, odd, issues. Can a lower level PC emulate being 20th level, if their UMD check is high enough?
You're emulating having a caster level. That's a class feature. You can use a staff with a CL of 1, but you can do better with a better role. I fail to understand the confusion based on the above information.
Yes you can emulate a 20th caster level with a UMD check (DC 40 to be exact). However you have to have some device to emulate it with. A staff would be the only item I can think of that a variable caster level would be a factor, other than the base line to use a scroll for example.
You can also pretend to be 20 level with a good bluff check if that's your game.
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And using UMD to "set the caster level" for a staff gets into other, odd, issues. Can a lower level PC emulate being 20th level, if their UMD check is high enough?You're emulating having a caster level. That's a class feature. You can use a staff with a CL of 1, but you can do better with a better role. I fail to understand the confusion based on the above information.
Yes you can emulate a 20th caster level with a UMD check (DC 40 to be exact). However you have to have some device to emulate it with. A staff would be the only item I can think of that a variable caster level would be a factor, other than the base line to use a scroll for example.
You can also pretend to be 20 level with a good bluff check if that's your game.
But you don't NEED a caster level to use a staff. If your caster level is lower (and that includes CL0), then you use the staff's caster level.
Emulate class feature is not emulating a caster level, caster level is not a class feature, a class feature is soemthing like Channel Energy, and is not needed for using a staff, and not supported, as far as I can see, by RAW.
My bard is 7th level, there are a lot of cool scrolls/wands out there to be used, I just wanted to be able to get to auto success as soon as possible without wasting a feat because I knew there was a useful investment cap and that feat would eventually be wasted.
I had the chance last session to pull off being enlarged with a shield spell going and it was just awesome.