What are your favourite vision enhancers?

[Firechanter]

Inspired by the Dwarf thread (value of Darkvision).

What vision/detection enhancing items or spells do you prefer for your characters?

(In case of none-core, non-SC, non-MIC entries, please name source)

[Amnestic]

Not a spell/item/feat, but the Unseelie Fey template (Dragon Compendium) has to be one of my most favourite ones. You get the choice/D% roll of:

a) Low-Light vision
b) Standard vision, as per normal.
c) Darkvision 60ft
d) No eyes at all, but tremorsense 30ft
e) No eyes at all, but blindsight 30ft.

Trading your vision for tremorsense/blindsight just seems fun to me. I've yet to play a character as such however.

[Zaq]

Essence of the Raptor is a very fun Druid spell that can be found in the Spell Compendium. It sets your base land speed to at least 60', gives a +8 untyped bonus on a pack of skills (including Spot and Listen), and gives you Scent. It lasts 10 minutes per level, so with an Extend or two, it can be nearly an all-day affair at mid-high levels.

Linked Perception, another Druid spell (this one from PHB2), is also amazing. It's only 1 minute per level, but it gives the entire party a big typeless bonus to Spot and Listen. How big? +2 for every ally in the radius other than yourself (4 people in the bubble, including you, gives everyone a +6). Even without cheesing it out by getting as many things to count as "allies" as possible (and I summon 1d4 + 1 allies, and my animal companion counts, and his familiar counts, and I use Wild Empathy to get this bird friendly to me so it counts, and I get a hireling to just follow me around so he counts, and . . ."), that's an easy bonus in the +6 to +10 range for the average party. The beauty of it is that it gives everyone a chance to succeed . . . sure, he might have to roll a 15, but with a +10, even Mr. Magoo the BSF has a chance of noticing the ambush, whereas before he might not even bother to roll.

I never got to use them, but there are these things called Crystalline Eyes on p. 264 of Eberron Campaign Setting. They're implanted Quori shards that basically count as extra eyes, and you can do weird things if you get enough of them. With just one, you can use it to peek around corners without exposing more than just your hand, which is fun. With a lot of them, you get all-around vision and a nice bonus to Search and Spot. They're implanted Quori shards, though, which means that you either have to be a kalashtar or have a high enough UMD/UPD check to pretend to be one. (You also have to have a manifester level, but UPD can fake that as well, by my reading.)

There's always the good old-fashioned Glaring Eye graft from Races of the Dragon. Blindsense for 10k? I'll take that.

Everyone, of course, will mention Mindsight, Touchsight, and Lifesight, and I can't really disagree.

[sreservoir]

Not a spell/item/feat, but the Unseelie Fey template (Dragon Compendium) has to be one of my most favourite ones. You get the choice/D% roll of:

a) Low-Light vision
b) Standard vision, as per normal.
c) Darkvision 60ft
d) No eyes at all, but tremorsense 30ft
e) No eyes at all, but blindsight 30ft.

Trading your vision for tremorsense/blindsight just seems fun to me. I've yet to play a character as such however.

note, it you also get the fey type so you get low-light vision either way, unless I misread something.

[ffone]

Blindfold of True Darkness, if DM says you can slip it over/off eyes as a move action.

If you have more money, and a weapon you always hold, Blndsighted ability on it.

Permanencies of see invis, arcane sight, darkvision. Ask DM about using Use Magic Device and scrolls with high CL. Protect investment with a ring of counterspells with (Gr.) Dispel.

See Invis is great as an always-on ability b/c the nature of it is, you might not know you need it when you do. Ditto Arcane Sight.

[Firechanter]

That reminds me. Does Arcane Sight (lv 3 spell) automatically duplicate See Invisibility (lv 2 spell), if the invisibility is created by a magical effect?

[yugi24862]

Yes It does. but I would rule you still get a miss chance. It also sees through al illusions, but make your eyes glow all the time.

[Firechanter]

Ah right, the giveaway. Okay, thanks. I guess it makes sense to perm Arcane Sight, and when you notice something invisible that way, you can still cast See Invis, Glitterdust or whatever else helps you there.

edit:
If you aren't a Wizard (or Bard), it's not that easy to get long-lasting See Invis. I'm a bit torn what to think of the spell being Personal -- on the one hand, it does add to the Wizard's power, on the other hand, if it were Touch it would be just a standard buff and invisibility itself would be meaningless.

If you have access to UMD, that Permanency-from-Scrolls trick should work.

Otherwise, you need to rake some cash together and have a custom magic item made for you -- let's call them "Goggles of Revelation". Price tag for continuous use 18.000GP, and you get the full spell benefit, not some "2/day 3 minutes 30'" nonsense.

For your amusement, a little anecdote what invisibility can do to an unprepared party:

Once when I was DMing, the party (~level 12ish) had to capture a tiefling sorcerer, and they eventually found him in Sigil. They crashed into his kip in the Hive, but he managed to turn invisible before they could spot him.
However, turns out he was a bachelor, so first they had to fight their way past a Trash Elemental (or Rubbish Golem, I forget) in the living-room. Meanwhile, the sorc tried to escape but didn't manage to get out, so he had to fight. He frustrated the party casting spells under Greater Invisibility, which the PCs had no means of penetrating (no Wizard in the party).
He managed to frustrate them quite a while that way but still couldn't get out. At some point one player (I think the Rogue) had an idea and fetched some flour out of the kitchen. The fight was over pretty quickly after that.
The sorcerer surrendered (and they had to bring him back alive anyway), but the Samurai was so pissed that he chopped off his arms (also so he couldn't cast anymore).