Item that grants Hide in Plain Sight?

[Vegan Zombie]

Hey playgrounders, one of the players in my group is playing a Ranger archer, with heavy emphasis on scouting and stealth. He wants to get HiPS without taking 17 levels of Ranger or the dark template, is this possible? All d20 books allowed (except realm specific books).

Should also note we are playing 3.5

Thanks guys!

[Aegis013]

Continual Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis, 22,000gp, gives you the Dark template as a throat slot item. It's in Tome of Magic. Enjoy.

[gallagher]

Continual Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis, 22,000gp, gives you the Dark template as a throat slot item. It's in Tome of Magic. Enjoy.

while continual is nice, it can be more cost effective if you get the 10 minutes per day one. its 10k ish and all it takes is a little tactical planning to use it properly. use the extra money to augment the item with cheap effects that will also take up the throat slot

[Answerer]

Note that strictly speaking, the Dark template's version of Hide in Plain Sight eliminates the requirement on the Hide skill that you not be observed. It does nothing about Hide's requirement that you have Concealment. This is like the Ranger class feature (which doesn't care about Concealment because a Ranger already has Camouflage by the time he gets Hide in Plain Sight), but unlike some other versions of Hide in Plain Sight (Shadowdancer, for one), which eliminates both requirements.

So, by strict RAW, a Dark creature either needs Concealment, or else needs Camouflage or similar to obviate the need for Concealment.

Few DMs are aware of this, and most I know who are ignore it because the idea of having seventeen thousand different versions of Hide in Plain Sight is annoying (seriously, every time they printed that ability they gave it slightly different rules), but it's something to be aware of.

[Vegan Zombie]

Thanks for all the quick answers guys!

[Tyger]

Also worth noting that the Dark Template was last printed in the Forgotten Realms adventure "Cormyr, The Tearing of the Weave", which made it a Su ability and also removed the need for cover or concealment.

Up to your DM which one to use, but the last printed version is the better one.