Items that will increase Use Magic Device score

[Atalius]

Could someone suggest an item or other method to increase my UMD as a Tetori? My dump stats are CHA and INT.

[Rub-Eta]

Circlet of Persuasion grants +3 to all Cha based checks (which includes all Cha skills).

[avr]

A wand key ring gives you a +10 insight bonus to activate a scroll, wand or even a staff of a particular spell. 3000 gp and don't think of it as a normal key ring - it weighs a full 8 pounds.

[Matthew Downie]

Skill Focus feat?

Do you have a specific spell / item you want to use, or do you want to be able to do everything?

[Mysterious Stranger]

Considering UMD is not a class skill and your stats give you a penalty on the roll means this is going to be an uphill struggle. Also consider that an INT of 7 means you only have 2 skill point per level. It seems to me that using half your skill points and having a low roll is a waste of time. To make this even semi feasible you are going to have to blow all your resources on this. If all you want is a couple of low level spells potions may be a better solution.

I am assuming you have the trait dangerously curios to at least make a class skill and give it a +1 trait bonus. Add in skill focus like Matthew Downie suggests and add magical aptitude and you could get a +8 bonus at first level assuming you are going human for the extra feat. But that is going to take all your feats and half your skill points and traits.

[Atalius]

Matthew Downie wrote:

Skill Focus feat?

Do you have a specific spell / item you want to use, or do you want to be able to do everything?

Couple diff spells, Shield, Barkskin and maybe one other

[Atalius]

9 INT and 7 CHA, 4 total skills per level. Hoping to be able to use UMD by lvl 8

[Gray Warden]

The simplest solution would be to use potions of mage armor, barkskin and similar spells.

But if you really want to use UMD, then wands are recommended, as their DC is fixed to 20. At level 8, with full ranks, the +1/class trait and a Circlet of Persuasion, you should have a static +13 bonus to the check, which means 70% chance of success. With Skill Focus, the bonus rises to +16, with 85% chance of success. In two levels, activating wands will be an auto-pass, and you can stop putting ranks in it.

[Atalius]

Ya maybe I'll just wand keyring Shield like Avr suggested

[Matthew Downie]

Cloak of the Hedge Magician can give you access to Shield.

[Mr. Bonkers]

It sounds strange, but hear me out. Make UMD a class skill with Clever Wordplay, an Intelligence based skill with Dangerously Curios, take Fey Obedience and worship Magdh. This obedience gives a +4 Insight bonus on all Intelligence-based skill checks. You can get a Competence bonus from a Cracked Magenta Prism Ioun Stone for a extra +2.

So at lvl 8 with an Int of 9: -1 (Modifier) +8 (ranks) +3 (class) +4 (Insight) +2 (Competence) +1 (Trait) = UMD of +17

You could also take Skill Focus, but a +17 is already pretty stellar on a negative modifier. And you get a +4 Insight bonus on all your other Intelligence skill checks.

[Mark Hoover 330]

1. take a level dip or 2 feats to get a Familiar
2. swap the familiar's starting feat with Extra Traits; use one of those traits for Dangerously Curious - +1 on UMD and it is a Class Skill for the familiar
3. take the feat Evolved Familiar and the 1 pt Evolution: Skilled - this grants +8 Racial bonus to Use Magic Device
4. have someone cast the following spells on familiar
- Guidance: +1 Competence bonus on a Skill Check
- Visualization of the Mind (Charisma): +5 Untyped bonus on checks related to Charisma
- Eagle's Splendor: +4 to the familiar's Charisma

The best animal familiar starting Cha scores are I think a 9, which is a -1 penalty. Every level, you take a rank in UMD even if you don't get it as a class skill. The familiar will use your ranks and it's own gifts/feats to employ the skill checks.

With the above 4 things your familiar with 1 rank in UMD has:

- 1 Rank
- 1 Cha (13 Cha)
- 8 Racial
- 3 Class Skill
- 1 Competence
- 5 Untyped
- 1 Trait

That puts your familiar at +20 to any Use Magic Device roll with only one rank in the skill. With no auto-failure for skills that means your familiar automatically succeeds at UMD for wands or scrolls of level 0 to level 1 spells.

Now the spells I mention above are a level 0 divination for Cleric/Druid/Inquisitor/Oracle/Summoner/Witch but can also be taken by a Void Elemental specialist wizard, and 2 level 2 Sorcerer/Wizard transmutations. If you took 3 levels of Wizard (Void Element specialist) you would receive your familiar and all applicable spells.

Actually, now that I think about it - take 3 levels of Void wizard. In those three levels take 3 ranks in UMD. Now give yourself a Raven familiar with the Valet archetype. It can speak and slowly manipulate 1 lb of material on its own, plus it's talons can hold/grasp a wand (debatable; not PFS legal - you are forewarned).

So long as all of the above is ok'd by your GM you now have a bird on your shoulder that can receive a level 2 scroll from you, cast it with a +21 UMD (starting Cha is 7, not 9) so that on a 1 or higher it succeeds, and then you and your familiar are launching 2 2nd level spells/round.

Wow.

[Ascalaphus]

The rude answer would be, "don't dump stuff and expect not to feel the sting".

You've made it fairly hard for yourself to get UMD. But there are other ways to get self-spells. You could have a wizard friend charge your ioun stone with shield spells for you. And ask the druid to cast Barkskin on you, or become a Qinggong monk. The advantage of those is that the spell will scale with level, granting higher bonuses.

[Ferious Thune]

If you can still tack Qinggong on to the build, swap Wholeness of Body at 7th for Barkskin. That’s the first opportunity Tetori has to use any Qinggong abilities.

I got by with no UMD on a CHA 9 Monk (Nagaji, so dumped to 7, race boosted to 9). Potions of Nage Armor make up for when someone can’t use the wand on you. Otherwise, Hand the wand off to someone to use when you’re expecting trouble. I had Batkskin through Qinggong (later Unchained when I rebuilt). As someone suggested, I use a Cloak of the Hedge Wizard Abjuration to cast shield, and eventually picked up the cracked vibrant purple prism Ioun stone for a second casting.

Even with a -2 to start, you can get to a decent roll. Either the Circlet of Persuasion as someone mentioned or an Ioun stone can get you a competence bonus. The wand key as was suggested can help with one wand. Those on top of just maxing ranks will get you to a decent point. You may not auto-succeed, but you can get to better than 50/50 pretty quickly.