Magic Item Advice for Charger?

[NeNeko]

Question: What are some nice magic items for a 'Charger Build'?

...so, we finally made it to Magepoint and our meeting with Tensor.
Long story short: he is offering us powerful magic items in exchange for a fragment of the 'Rod of Law'. Our party has accepted and the DM has instructed that I ask for whatever I want(within reason) from Tensor. Some suggestions were [+1 Mithril Fullplate of Speed] or [Freedom of Movement Ring] or [+6 Belt of Giant Strength] etc... Any one of these items sound wonderful, but I would like to hear more suggestions.

I have already ruled out the [+1 MFPoS]. Haste doesn't do much to improve a charger and its typically caste, in mass, at the beginning of big fights anyways. Plus, my +3 Mithril Breastplate +Dex gives almost the same AC.

Reiteration: What should I ask for from Tensor to assist with charging?

ニャー

[*.*.*.*]

Question: What are some nice magic items for a 'Charger Build'?

...so, we finally made it to Magepoint and our meeting with Tensor.
Long story short: he is offering us powerful magic items in exchange for a fragment of the 'Rod of Law'. Our party has accepted and the DM has instructed that I ask for whatever I want(within reason) from Tensor. Some suggestions were [+1 Mithril Fullplate of Speed] or [Freedom of Movement Ring] or [+6 Belt of Giant Strength] etc... Any one of these items sound wonderful, but I would like to hear more suggestions.

I have already ruled out the [+1 MFPoS]. Haste doesn't do much to improve a charger and its typically caste, in mass, at the beginning of big fights anyways. Plus, my +3 Mithril Breastplate +Dex gives almost the same AC.

Reiteration: What should I ask for from Tensor to assist with charging?

ニャー

+5 Valorous (insert other stuff) Lance?

[Gabe the Bard]

Is there a gold limit to what he can offer you?
I can't think of many items that will help with charging specifically, but you could always get something good for melee in general, like a +5 Manual of Gainful Exercise.

[veovius]

If you're a charger, something that ups your will save ;)

[NeNeko]

+5 Valorous (insert other stuff) Lance?
I do have a Valorous Lance, though its not +5. (^-^;)7


Is there a gold limit to what he can offer you?
I can't think of many items that will help with charging specifically, but you could always get something good for melee in general, like a +5 Manual of Gainful Exercise. The most expensive item the DM suggested was 40 000 gold. I imagine we are looking for something in that price range so 'Manual of Gainful Exercise +2' might even be pushing it. It certainly doesn't hurt to ask. Thankfully I get to ask the DM directly and not have my character embarrass herself in front of Tensor (>_<).

Thank your for the suggestions. I would like to hear a few more.

[Endarire]

Check items for a Hood (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19872838/Little_Red_Raiding_Hood_A_Tale_of_38_Guide_to_the_ 35_Dragoon).

[NeNeko]

If you're a charger, something that ups your will save ;)Like what? I'm not THAT familiar with the intricacies of 3.5 and D&D in general. Another Manual/Tomb?

[Runestar]

Like what? I'm not THAT familiar with the intricacies of 3.5 and D&D in general. Another Manual/Tomb?

Try magic item compendium, it should have quite a few interesting items for charging.

For will saves, there is one such item in MIC. 10000gp, +4 insight bonus on will saves.

[Coidzor]

Well, if you don't have spirited charge's feat-tree yet, you can get items that provide the benefits of the entire feat tree, and I believe they're all from the Magic Item Compendium, or at least 2/3 of them are. Alternatively if you do have the feats, the item that grants the spirited charge feat will instead increase the value by which spirited charge increases the charge multiplier, IIRC.

I can't recall which item provides which feats' benefits in particular, but the battle bridle and riding boots are two of the items' names that I recall, and they do have benefits that aren't solely the feat benefit they grant.

Collision (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/weapons.htm)+ Valorous is X*5 damage on a charge, where X is your charge modifier, but that's a +4 equivalent weapon [+1, Valorous(+1), collision(+2)]. Unlike more damaging enhancements like Holy, though, it does get multiplied by the charge multiplier, making it potentially worthwhile.

[teslas]

Well, if you don't have spirited charge's feat-tree yet, you can get items that provide the benefits of the entire feat tree, and I believe they're all from the Magic Item Compendium, or at least 2/3 of them are. Alternatively if you do have the feats, the item that grants the spirited charge feat will instead increase the value by which spirited charge increases the charge multiplier, IIRC.

Riding Boots. MiC p.121 12,000gp
They only up the damage multiplier on critical hits. (From x3 to x4) It's still amazing for the one time it works. They also grant a +5 bonus to your ride checks in combat (pretty much any time it matters). And sadly, they grant Ride by Attack, not Spirited Charge.

You should feel cheesy when using a valorous lance. Charge builds are already capable of immense damage without it. Guess your DM is friendlier than I am. Enjoy it~

My favorite charging weapon I don't feel guilty using is a good ol' Lance +5. If you have Riding Boots, throw Keen on there for "shiggles." A 10% chance to do much more damage than necessary is more fun than a 5% chance. I tend to shy away from Wraithstrike or Find the Gap builds. If I didn't, there would be much better options for sure.

Keep in mind, if you really want to start getting really stupid damage, lances can be used in one hand when mounted. This, literally, is all the rules you have to go by. Usually it is inferred that this means you can use a shield. As RAW, you could use your other hand for anything... including another lance... keep on going with that train of thought.


Back to your post:

You could ask for some things that improve your general survivability. If you have trouble dealing damage with a charge build, you're probably doin' it wrong. The standard anti-death equipment works. +CON, an item that grants a feat, manuals of what-not.

Or maybe ask for a magic item that combines magical effects as per the magic item compendium rules. Get a pair of boots with +stat, boots of the battle charger (also MiC), and riding boots enchantment all on them. These would be very, very costly normally.


edit-

Oh crap, I totally forgot. I re-read your post and saw the 40,000gp limit and it clicked. Try one of these things out:

Standard of Heroism. Complete Warrior. 40,000gp

It attaches to a two-handed hafted weapon (your lance!) and grants some pretty insane bonuses for what is basically a free additional equipment slot. You and any allies within 30' gain gain a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls and saves and something else I forget. If you don't have anyone else that easily provides morale bonuses, this is pretty damn cool.

You can also fluff it up with whatever emblem and what not you desire.


Sorry about the wordiness. I didn't have time to write a shorter post.

[NeNeko]

For will saves, there is one such item in MIC. 10000gp, +4 insight bonus on will saves.Right, no will = no charge (>_<)


Riding Boots:They only up the damage multiplier on critical hits... They also grant a +5 bonus to your ride checks in combat (pretty much any time it matters). And sadly, they grant Ride by Attack, not Spirited Charge.Oops, forgot to mention that I play a Monsterous Humanoid, Tauric Half-Elf/Deer (Deertaur) Paladin. I am my own mount and Spirited Charge was cheap.


You should feel cheesy when using a valorous lance. Charge builds are already capable of immense damage without it. Guess your DM is friendlier than I am. Enjoy it~ First: The lance was a suggestion from my DM. It was my birthday(IRL) and it was in a shop. Second: I am being out performed by the Barbarian and her easy Criticals. I am probably "Doing-it-wrong!" (^-^)v


My favorite charging weapon I don't feel guilty using is a good ol' Lance +5. If you have Riding Boots, throw Keen on there for "shiggles." A 10% chance to do much more damage than necessary is more fun than a 5% chance.

Keep in mind, if you really want to start getting really stupid damage, lances can be used in one hand when mounted. This, literally, is all the rules you have to go by. Usually it is inferred that this means you can use a shield. As RAW, you could use your other hand for anything... including another lance... keep on going with that train of thought. Mine is a +1 Valorous Hideaway Lance. I would rather not play 'stupid', haha. I enjoy the novelty of my character and would not like to ruin the image I have in my mind. Two weapon lance fighting would be like trying to shoot two rifles at once. However, I am starting to like the idea of an 'Animated Shield' so I can wield the lance two handed. That has an other worldly fay quality to it that I can see doing sometime in the future when the monsters get meaner.


Oh crap, I totally forgot. I re-read your post and saw the 40,000gp limit and it clicked. Try one of these things out:
Standard of Heroism. Complete Warrior. 40,000gp

It attaches to a two-handed hafted weapon (your lance!) and grants some pretty insane bonuses for what is basically a free additional equipment slot. You and any allies within 30' gain gain a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls and saves and something else I forget. If you don't have anyone else that easily provides morale bonuses, this is pretty damn cool.

You can also fluff it up with whatever emblem and what not you desire.Our wizard just started casting Greater Heroism. Awesome idea though. Makes me wonder, 'what else I could put there...' I have alot of open slots though.


Everybody, thank you very much for all of your suggestions. I now have a want list that should last longer than the campaign. I am much closer now to being able to ask in confidence.

[Person_Man]

Oops, forgot to mention that I play a Monsterous Humanoid, Tauric Half-Elf/Deer (Deertaur) Paladin. I am my own mount and Spirited Charge was cheap.

Note that by RAW the Spirited Charge feat only works "when mounted." Thus is has no effect on a Centaur or similar creature, unless you're mounted on another creature.

You might also want to look at the equipment section of the Knight Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109429), as many Knights end up as mounted builds due to the natural synergy with Test of Mettle and the class' limited limited bonus feats.

Specific suggestions:

Retributive Amulet: Probably one of the most powerful defensive items out there. Every time you take melee damage, that damage is split between you and the attacker. Book of Exalted Deeds pg 116.

Starmantle Cloak: THE most powerful defensive item in the game. Grants immunity to non-magical weapons, and DC 15 Reflex Save to take half damage from magic weapons. With Evasion, you are basically immune to all weapon damage (buy a Ring). Book of Exalted Deeds pg 116.

Iyaringu of the Earth Dragon: Negates difficult terrain. Dragon Magic pg 102.

[Keld Denar]

Don't work for Tenser! He's a douche! There's a reason Rary killed his ass! Rary's not evil, he's just so smart that even other hyperintelligent wizards have troubles following his plans. All hail Rary the Patriot! Hail the Lord of the Bright Desert! Hail!


Note that by RAW the Spirited Charge feat only works "when mounted." Thus is has no effect on a Centaur or similar creature, unless you're mounted on another creature.

Isn't there an Inevitable that is basically a centaur construct that allows it to treat itself as both rider and mount WRT mounted combat? I don't remember.

[Coidzor]

Oops, forgot to mention that I play a Monsterous Humanoid, Tauric Half-Elf/Deer (Deertaur) Paladin. I am my own mount and Spirited Charge was cheap.

Horseshoes are something to look into. And getting the enchantments put onto magical horseshoes via MIC and body slot equivalencies.

Also, these babies. From the mount handbook. (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7414)
Horseshoes of Flame [SS]: Good Boccob these are ridiculous. 90ft fly speed (good), +1d4 fire damage to hoof attacks, +2 Dex, +10 Int, +6 Cha. For 30,240gp. According to the rules they work only for "an ordinary horse", though this is ill-defined. Does a warhorse count as an ordinary horse? What about a legendary horse? If your mount has ranks in Use Magic Device they can use them regardless. Heck, with UMD his rider can use them - no-one will care how silly he looks if he's a wizard running around with a +10 bonus to Int.

But since that's probably not gonna fly, horseshoes of the zephyr and horseshoes of speed are relatively cheap magical items that can stack and allow you to be faster(as if you needed it) and ignore some level of difficult terrain and having to make balance checks for grease.

[Person_Man]

Don't work for Tenser! He's a douche! There's a reason Rary killed his ass! Rary's not evil, he's just so smart that even other hyperintelligent wizards have troubles following his plans. All hail Rary the Patriot! Hail the Lord of the Bright Desert! Hail!

You hate Gary Gygax son? Or did you have a bad experience playing/reading through one of the old Circle of Eight modules or books?

[Keld Denar]

Living Greyhawk. There was a story arc where you could side with Rary. Rary is badass. Tenser is Mordenkanen's chump. Rary is his own man! :smallcool:

[Person_Man]

Living Greyhawk. There was a story arc where you could side with Rary. Rary is badass. Tenser is Mordenkanen's chump. Rary is his own man! :smallcool:

Mordenkanen was played by Gary Gygax himself. I never read the story arc in question - I wonder if it was a take that (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TakeThat) to Gary after he was forced out of TSR and lost creative control of the characters.

[teslas]

However, I am starting to like the idea of an 'Animated Shield' so I can wield the lance two handed. That has an other worldly fay quality to it that I can see doing sometime in the future when the monsters get meaner.

Animated Shield is a dark and dismal road of cheese I will not follow you down. You're better than that.

Your being your own mount house-rullery aside... I wanted to be sure of one thing that you said. "...so I can wield the lance two handed."

It's not a short train of logic, but there is no benefit to using a lace two-handed if you don't have to while mounted. It already is a two-handed weapon that always gains 1.5 STR bonus to your damage. Two-handed weapons always gain this bonus. The lance is a super-odd exception in that it's okay to use one handed while mounted.

One-handed weapons can deal 1x or 1.5x STR damage based on how you hold them (or .5 in off-hand). Two-handed weapons simply always deal 1.5x STR damage, and a Lance is always a two-handed weapon. It's very clear in RAW, and I'd also argue RAI. So I hope you're not thinking you lose some damage by using it one-handed while mounted.

If you took the feat to allow you to attack with both weapons at the end of a charge, I'd see nothing wrong with that. Hell, go into the Cavalier prestige class and be done with it if you're your own mount.

Edit-
I forgot one point. You being your own mount brings up some downsides you may not have considered.

1: You can't drop to cover for additional defenses.
2: You aren't able to take a lot of the actions a rider can take as their mount moves. These include readying or unreadying a shield, drinking potions, and the like. You can't cast spells at any point in your movement, either.
3: You aren't able to make a Ride check to negate damage done to your mount once a round.

I guess the plus side is that your mount cannot easily die, and is always with you. When building a charger, I usually play paladin for the fluff so this isn't as large of a concern for me. Celestial x's with extra HD and feats I can select myself are usually pretty hardy.

If you ever make a charging character again, you may want to keep this stuff in mind. It sounds like your DM, however, isn't a huge rule-monger or anal about attempted gameplay balance so this stuff may not be as important.

[Coidzor]

If he does think that, which seems indicated by the desire to switch to two-handing the weapon, this means that he does think that he loses damage because he hasn't been calculating it as such. And if that's the case, he'd have to have it out with the DM to get the change OK'd since they'd already been doing it the one way.


IRN: I keep seeing people state that centaurs/bariuars(?) count as mounted due to their physiology and in a manner not related to house-rules.

All I see in the SRD is that when they wield a lance they get the mounted combat multiplier. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/centaur.htm)

...I can definitely see it as a fair house rule, especially extrapolating from that, considering all tauric creatures are saddled with Racial Hit Dice anyway... Is it a variant rule somewhere that I've been missing?

[Runestar]

IRN: I keep seeing people state that centaurs/bariuars(?) count as mounted due to their physiology and in a manner not related to house-rules.

It is mentioned in races of faerun, centaurs are explicitly allowed to take spirited charge without needing to meet the prereqs and apply the feat to their attacks.

On a side note, they also qualify for the arcane archer prc. :smallbiggrin:

Being your own mount means you can combine leap attack with spirited charge. :smallamused:

[teslas]

It is mentioned in races of faerun

That's where I was lost, then. I never play with eberron/forgotten realms material.

[herrhauptmann]

That's where I was lost, then. I never play with eberron/forgotten realms material.

One of the inevitables (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/inevitable.htm#zelekhut) in the SRD also has that option. So just from that, you can infer that it would work with anything with that bodyshape.
I usually suggest the MotP Bariaur because it only has 1 HD and I think a +1 or +2 LA. The other versions of the race all have 3 or 4 HD in addition to their LA.
I also tend to avoid suggesting the tauric template, because most of the standard quadrupeds have more LA than I'd like, which tends to really hurt in non-gestalt games.

To the OP:
I'd suggest getting 'smoking' put on your weapon. The most important part of it, is that your weapon now grants you a 20% miss chance. This is less effective if you are Large or bigger, because it only affects 1 square.
Just how big is your deertaur? And how much LA/HD does it have?

edit: Also since you're not using a mount (which is a separate being), you are maxing out jump in order to use leap attack, right?

[Cieyrin]

Note that by RAW the Spirited Charge feat only works "when mounted." Thus is has no effect on a Centaur or similar creature, unless you're mounted on another creature.

If you look in Races of Faerun, the Centaur and Wemic have specific call-outs in their racial description letting them pick up mounted feats. It's precedent, as opposed to hard fast rules, given it's a custom tauric creature, but it's something to say "hey, it does work this way."

[Keld Denar]

Races of Faerun is also a 3.0 book. Some things have changed enough between editions that you simply can't carry them over. Bardic Music, for example. There are 2 PrCs in that book that give access to the Bardic Music class feature, which in 3.0 was all one ability. You unlocked the different abilities based on your skill ranks in Perform. Now, BM is broken down into lots of different abilities. You need actual levels in Bard AND the Perform requirements.

The two are incompatable, due to the changes, and the classes that grant them were never updated. This requires some heavy houseruling to splice together, or simply disregarding the whole shabang.

Not saying everything is that way, especially with the presence of that one Inevitable that has identical wording, but just saying, you can't take everything in Races of Faerun as law because it IS a 3.0 book. Some rules were changed or eliminated between the two editions.

[Cieyrin]

Races of Faerun is also a 3.0 book. Some things have changed enough between editions that you simply can't carry them over. Bardic Music, for example. There are 2 PrCs in that book that give access to the Bardic Music class feature, which in 3.0 was all one ability. You unlocked the different abilities based on your skill ranks in Perform. Now, BM is broken down into lots of different abilities. You need actual levels in Bard AND the Perform requirements.

The two are incompatable, due to the changes, and the classes that grant them were never updated. This requires some heavy houseruling to splice together, or simply disregarding the whole shabang.

Not saying everything is that way, especially with the presence of that one Inevitable that has identical wording, but just saying, you can't take everything in Races of Faerun as law because it IS a 3.0 book. Some rules were changed or eliminated between the two editions.

Not saying you do, especially cross-setting. On the other hand, most 3.0 stuff that isn't explicitly updated got grandfathered in. Iaijutsu Focus, for example. And anyways, as I said, it was precedent for such, not a hard and fast rule, as the centaurs in Races of the Wild made no mention of such a ruling, so you could go either way.

[NeNeko]

Note that by RAW the Spirited Charge feat only works "when mounted." Thus is has no effect on a Centaur or similar creature, unless you're mounted on another creature.
My DM applies this~
Page 132 of Races of Faerun:
Racial Feats: None, but centaurs can acquire the Spirited Charge and Trample feats (ignoring the prerequisites) and apply the benefits to their own melee attacks.
~to tauric creatures. He also goes by the rule of, "If it makes sense, do it. If it doesn't, then don't."


You might also want to look at the equipment section of the Knight Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109429), as many Knights end up as mounted builds due to the natural synergy with Test of Mettle and the class' limited limited bonus feats.

Specific suggestions:
...
Iyaringu of the Earth Dragon: Negates difficult terrain. Dragon Magic pg 102.Nice handbook and wonderful suggestions. This is exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for. Especially the "Earring of the Earth Dragon". Is there an Ear slot for magic items? I don't have a Dragon Magazine subscription. Do you know where I can find more details, cost, etc online?
The other stuff maybe a bit overpowered.

Thanks

[NeNeko]

Animated Shield is a dark and dismal road of cheese I will not follow you down. You're better than that.Actually, after thinking about it a while I decided that the +2 enchantment that it costs would be better used in raising the AC rating of the shield. Especially since the damage I do is (not great) good enough.


Your being your own mount house-rullery aside... I wanted to be sure of one thing that you said. "...so I can wield the lance two handed."

It's not a short train of logic, but there is no benefit to using a lace two-handed if you don't have to while mounted. It already is a two-handed weapon that always gains 1.5 STR bonus to your damage. Two-handed weapons always gain this bonus. The lance is a super-odd exception in that it's okay to use one handed while mounted.
One-handed weapons can deal 1x or 1.5x STR damage based on how you hold them (or .5 in off-hand). Two-handed weapons simply always deal 1.5x STR damage, and a Lance is always a two-handed weapon. It's very clear in RAW, and I'd also argue RAI. So I hope you're not thinking you lose some damage by using it one-handed while mounted.Oh, I have spent hours reading this argument on various different forums and I see good arguments from both sides. I am not big headed enough to have my own opinion on the issue. My DM and the other players have decided to go with the NERF interpretation of the rule here.

[Coidzor]

Dragon Magic (http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Dungeons-Dragons-Fantasy-Roleplaying/dp/0786939362)is actually a supplemental book rather than part of Dragon Magazine.

[teslas]

Oh, I have spent hours reading this argument on various different forums and I see good arguments from both sides. I am not big headed enough to have my own opinion on the issue. My DM and the other players have decided to go with the NERF interpretation of the rule here.

The only problem I'd have as a player in that environment is that it's not even THAT big of a nerf. It seems more of a pointless glossing of the rules than a logical interpretation or RAW, meant to try and steal back some of the damage possibilities that are actually granted by core with a lance.

Then, in the same game, your DM gives you a valorous lance. So long as you're having fun, I suppose.

[NeNeko]

One of the inevitables (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/inevitable.htm#zelekhut)I'd suggest getting 'smoking' put on your weapon. The most important part of it, is that your weapon now grants you a 20% miss chance. This is less effective if you are Large or bigger, because it only affects 1 square.
Just how big is your deertaur? And how much LA/HD does it have?

edit: Also since you're not using a mount (which is a separate being), you are maxing out jump in order to use leap attack, right?This is my Half-Elf Tauric Black-tail DeerHalf-Elf Tauric Black-tail Deer
- Medium Monstrous Humanoid (Elf)
- Hit Dice 3d8: BAB +3; BSB Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +0; (2+ Int modifier) x6 skill points in Hide, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot; 2 feats (favors Run)
- Speed 60 ft. (12 squares)
- +2 Natural Armour
- 2 Hooves (1d2) – secondary natural weapons
- Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent, immunity to sleep spells and similar magical effects, elven blood, +2 racial bonus on savings throws against enchantment spells or effects
- Abilities: Dex +4, Con -2
- Skills: +1 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks, +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks, +2 racial bonus on Hide, +2 Jump
- Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Any.
- Favored Class: Any
I know its not the most effective or min-maxed race out there and perhaps I would have done better with another but I saw some art (http://picasaweb.google.com/fun.fukuoka/Deertaur#5477969461183828482) and I was inspired. I wont go into character details here, those are just the mechanics.

'Smoking' sounds kinda cool. Would the effect stack with a Minor Cloak of Displacement? or are those both 'concealment' bonuses?

[herrhauptmann]

This is my Half-Elf Tauric Black-tail DeerHalf-Elf Tauric Black-tail Deer
- Medium Monstrous Humanoid (Elf)
- Hit Dice 3d8: BAB +3; BSB Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +0; (2+ Int modifier) x6 skill points in Hide, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot; 2 feats (favors Run)
- Speed 60 ft. (12 squares)
- +2 Natural Armour
- 2 Hooves (1d2) – secondary natural weapons
- Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent, immunity to sleep spells and similar magical effects, elven blood, +2 racial bonus on savings throws against enchantment spells or effects
- Abilities: Dex +4, Con -2
- Skills: +1 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks, +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks, +2 racial bonus on Hide, +2 Jump
- Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Any.
- Favored Class: Any
I know its not the most effective or min-maxed race out there and perhaps I would have done better with another but I saw some art (http://picasaweb.google.com/fun.fukuoka/Deertaur#5477969461183828482) and I was inspired. I wont go into character details here, those are just the mechanics.

'Smoking' sounds kinda cool. Would the effect stack with a Minor Cloak of Displacement? or are those both 'concealment' bonuses?
Cool idea, just be careful that Kevin Sorbo (http://sharetv.org/shows/hercules_the_legendary_journeys/episodes/238736) doesn't come after you.

Smoking is in Lords of Darkness, page 180. It's really a stinking cloud effect localized to one square, with a minuscule fort save.

The usual rule is that stacking effects from the same source doesn't work. And a whole lot of arguments of which miss chances should stack, and which should be applied separately.
For instance:
mirror image:there's different copies of you in different squares, the miss chance is in trying to attack the right one
Blink: Half the time you're on a different plane.
And displacement: like your cloak
I'd say you should apply the mirror image to determine if attacking the right square, then blink to see if you're on the right plane, and then displacement. But that's my opinion, which might not be supported by the rules.
Personman's probably got a list of which stack, and which can be applied separately. He's got a list for almost everything...


edit:
Before I forget, there's some other advice I always give out for equipment.
Durable (Dungeonscape or cityscape) or Blueshine (mic)armor. Immune to acid/rust.
Everbright (MiC) weapon. Weapon is now immune to acid/rust. All 3 are a flat cost.
In either case, losing your most vital equipment because the DM threw a rust monster or some ooze trap at you sucks.
A custom item with the psi power synesthete (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/synesthete.htm) can be vital as well. Ignore blindness or deafness. If you're neither, you can get a +4 to spot/search or listen. Should only be a few thousand gold via DMG item rules.

[PlzBreakMyCmpAn]

Animated Shield is a dark and dismal road of cheese I will not follow you down. You're better than that.
...
1: You can't drop to cover for additional defenses.
2: You aren't able to take a lot of the actions a rider can take as their mount moves. These include readying or unreadying a shield, drinking potions, and the like. You can't cast spells at any point in your movement, either.
3: You aren't able to make a Ride check to negate damage done to your mount once a round.Person_Man already busted out the starmantle cloak, not cheap like the animated shield enhancement (though balanced by allowing shield boni to stack, as they should logically), its broken. Many don't have a consistent interpretation on being your own mount until they find RoF & the Zelekhut - which is atleast word of god for centuars, if not all other quadrapeds.

Good job on the intricacies of the ride skill, though.