Disguise Skill maxing

[macdaddy]

What ways are their to pump up a disguise skill check?

1. Skill Ranks
2. Skill synergy with bluff for +2
3. Disguise kit for +2
4. Disguise Self spell or alter self spell for +10
5. Charisma stat boost

Are there any other ways to boost this skill? Magic items, etc?

[hymer]

A level of Marshal (Miniatures Handbook) and the Motivate Charisma Minor Aura will double your charisma effect.
Mask of Lies (Magic Items Compendium) gives you Change Self three times per day if you don't want to be a spellcaster. The bonus to Bluff can't hurt.
Skill Shard for Disguise (MIC).
And that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Why do you want to be really good at disguise?

Edit: And Skill Focus: Disguise, of course, and Deceptive.

[Mystify]

Exemplar can give a +4 competence boost to any skill, disguise included. It will also let you take 10.

Mounteback gives int to bluff checks. There is a skill trick to make a bluff check to recover a failed disguise(Second impression). They also get to create alternate personas.

The Assume quirk skill trick can remove the bonuses somebody familiar to your disguised target gets on their spot check for an hour. That can be quite significant.

Spymaster can create cover identities, and get a +4 competence bonus on disguise checks and a +2 on bluff and gather infomration for those identies. They also get to put on disguises in 1/10 the normal time, and other abilities that, while not directly boosting to disguise, help you with disgusies. For instance, their capstone makes divinations read your cover identity instead of you.

[Zaq]

Circumstance bonuses from different sources stack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/theBasics.htm#circumstanceModifier), so a changeling's Minor Shapechange ability should stack with Disguise Self. Don't ask me why. (I know that Minor Shapechange is explicitly based on Disguise Self, but they're two separate abilities with different names, so . . .)

[Randomguy]

I think they're untyped bonuses, actually; so you can shapechange into a human, then polymorph into the same human, then alter self into the same human, then disguise self into that human, so you get a total of + 40 to your disguise check.

Sadly, you don't get a bonus to AC against having books thrown at you.

[ericgrau]

@ ^ Bonuses from the same source don't stack even if they would based on type (or from being untyped). "Same source" isn't clarified in the rules, but a good RAMS interpretation here is that all of those +10s are for the same reason. Or flying books work too.

Dust of illusion as one of the rare ways to give the magical +10 to disguise to others, and within 6 seconds rather than 10-30 minutes. It's expensive at low levels but for high level play 3 bags + hat of disguise are the party infiltration tool for this segment of the adventure/dungeon. Alternatively be a high level arcane trickster with veil if you want to do it more than once or twice and the money saved is worth the dual classing.

[Ryulin18]

I think they're untyped bonuses, actually; so you can shapechange into a human, then polymorph into the same human, then alter self into the same human, then disguise self into that human, so you get a total of + 40 to your disguise check.

We need to go deeper.

Also, a funny story about what you can do with hgh disguise and bluff. (http://www.funnydndstories.com/apps/blog/show/5750289)

[prufock]

There's always the broken Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm).

[Mystify]

There's always the broken Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm).
I've heard about item familiars, but never actually looked at them before. That is indeed quite broken...

[macdaddy]

We need to go deeper.

Also, a funny story about what you can do with hgh disguise and bluff. (http://www.funnydndstories.com/apps/blog/show/5750289)

That is kind of what I am going for with my character :) I am playing a Beguiler/wizard/ultimate magus. Since we already have a rogue trap springer, I thought I would focus on disguise/bluff/diplomacy and be a face man, since we don't have anyone to fill that role.

Getting diplomacy up at low levels to something usable is pretty easy (lvl 2: 5 ranks, +6 synergy, + 2 stat == + 13), and given the influence table, it can be pretty effective.

Disguise also is pretty easy at low levels (lvl2: 5 ranks, +2 synergy, +2 stat, +2 disguise kit, +10 Disguise Self spell == +21). Throw in the skill trick that removes someones spot bonus for familiarity, and its guaranteed to work against almost anyone/thing you are likely to encounter until 8-12th level. However, because it is an opposed roll, and other people can get magic items that boost spot, it becomes progressively harder to get past anyone that has a class skill of spot (Druid, Monk, Ranger, Rogue, many monsters), and I was looking for something to help to continue to boost it, so it would stay effective.

The item familiar idea is one I had not thought of, but after reading it, I know my DM will ban that feat. It's just too powerful over time. It adds a nice weakness to the character, but if you choose something like a ring, its not easy to exploit.


I want to do several things with the skill:
1. Create persona's and use them to build up cred/reputations in different areas. That way if things go south on something illegitimate, its that identity that is burned, not me.
2. Capture a minion, question him (maybe with help of charm person + diplomacy+bluff), then impersonate him to enter the lair and acquire intel
3. Impersonate the BBEG, screwing up his plans by giving the minions conflicting orders.
4. screwing with people that have "crossed" the character

It would be truly fun to impersonate someone, get caught because the person walks in or is there, and using the bluff skill trick to convince everyone that I am real and HE is the imposter. :) Or go, aw crap, and teleport out.