Swordsage Character Concept

[Turion]

Hello,
I'm looking for a bit of advice on a build I've been working on.



Swordsage 5/Bloodclaw Master 4
Race: Tibbit from Dragon Compendium
Abilities: Using a 32-point-buy
16, 12, 12, 10, 14, 8
Put both enhancement bonuses in Dex. Adding this, and the racial bonuses and penalties, results in:
14, 16, 12, 10, 14, 8
Discipline Focus: Tiger Claw
Weapon Focus: Tiger Claw
Insightful Strike: Tiger Claw
Feats: (1st) Multiattack, (3rd) Weapon Finesse, (6th) Adaptive Style, (9th) Shadow Blade
Skills:
Hide 10 points
Move Silently 10 points
Max the following:
Jump
Bluff (cc)
Diplomacy (cc)
Gear: Belt of Giant Strength +4, Gloves of Dexterity +2, Boots of Striding and Springing, 2 Masterwork Daggers, Cloak of Charisma +2, Hat of Disguise (for fluff), rapier (for fluff), Mithral Shirt. (total cost 33'006 GP)
Optional/fluff Gear: Tigerskin Armor, Cat Rod


Maneuvers and Stances:

---------- 1st level manuevers ----------

Sudden Leap (TC)
Wolf Fang Strike (TC)
Shadow Blade Technique (SH)
Distracting Ember (BW)
Counter Charge (SS)

---------- 2st level manuevers ----------

Claw at the Moon (TC)
Rabid Wolf Strike (TC)
Shadow Jaunt (SH)

---------- 3st level manuevers ----------

Soaring Raptor Strike (TC)
Flesh Ripper (TC)

---------- 4st level manuevers ----------

Death from Above (TC)
Fountain of Blood (TC)
Obscuring Shadow Veil (SH)



---------- 1st level stances ----------

Blood in the Water (TC)
Stonefoot Stance (SM)

---------- 3rd level stances ----------
Assassin's Stance (SH)

When in cat form, the character has a -8 penalty to STR and a +4 bonus to DEX. He also gains 2 1d2 claw attacks and a 1d3 bite attack. If I'm interpreting things correctly, when using the Bloodclaw Master's shifting ability, his claw attack increases to 1d4 as per text, and he gains a +2 bonus to STR, reducing the overall penalty to -6. Plus, the character is tiny when in cat form, giving a +2 bonus on attack and AC. He gains a +10' bonus to speed, so he takes no penalty on jumps (and gains a total +9 bonus with the boots), and has a racial +2 bonus to jump. He also gains a +8 hide bonus. Magical Items (such as gloves, rings, boots, etc...) change to match his size, but armor, robes, and shields don't.

As near as I can figure, in cat form, while shifting, I'll have the following:
Ability scores of 14, 20, 12, 10, 14, 10
AC 18 (Touch 18, Flat-footed 12), unarmored
BAB +6
Full attack: +14/+14 bite 1d4+2, +11 bite 1d3+1 (plus Wis bonus if I use a Tiger Claw strike)
Speed: 40'
Skills:
Bluff +6, Diplomacy +8, Hide +23,Jump +27, Move Silently +15, Spot +4

The boots of Striding and Springing are sized so that they would almost fit a medium-sized creature. The Hat of Disguise takes the form of an enormous floppy blue hat with a large white feather. He carries a rapier for show, but fights either with his claws or with a pair of daggers. If he's fighting in humanoid form, he is in Assassin's Stance.


Ladies and Gentlemen of the Playground, meet Puss in Boots.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kw_6C3Wxzik/S9Ush7jTaeI/AAAAAAAAAAc/aeifBQzYakg/s1600/Puss+in+Boots+Movie.jpg

Note that if some choices don't make sense mechanically, they may be in there for fluff. If you see something like that, and can think of a better alternative, please let me know.

Possible Dips:
Ranger 2 (TWF, Favored Enemy (Giants))
Druid 1 (Animal Companion, Spells)
Fighter 1 (Bonus Feat, Hit Points)

Questions:


Based on their intelligence scores, none of the medium-sized cats in the Monster Manual can actually speak feline, so I can't talk them into letting me ride them. Is there any way I could gain such a creature (or something else thematically appropriate) as a mount?

Based on the discription of Superior TWF in the Bloodclaw blade text, I'm assuming that he does not need TWF to dual-weild the daggers. Is this correct?

So far, he would be able to gain DEX bonus to damage when in a Shadow Hand Stance and using daggers, and WIS bonus to damage when using Tiger Claw strikes. Is this enough to do passable damage? (Our DM is fond of chucking fairly high-CR monsters at us.)

Alternatively, should I drop Shadow Blade altogether and try for a TWF crit-fisher build (with dual kukris)?

Are there any other dips I should consider? (nothing *too* outlandish...)

Is there any other piece of gear that I should be aware of, either for mechanical or character concept? (I.e. something cat-themed?)

Have I missed or miscalculated anything, or misinterpreted any rules?

what do you think of the concept overall?

[Greenish]

Boots of Agile Leaping might be a better option. Or you could just add them to those boots, they're cheap.

Wild cohort can get you a big cat as a mount, one that scales with your level. Otherwise, handle animal or ride with a bought warbeast feline.

[danzibr]

Ahh I love the flavor. Aside from that, I don't know enough about the matters involved to give advice. Sorry :P

[gallagher]

no to kukris, you have to stick with rapiers for puss in boots.

and you should probably stick with crit fishing. dip shadow dancer or something for HiPS and be in the stance that gives you a 20% miss chance when you move, allowing you to hide from concealment