Cheap stealth items

[Acrinos]

I am joining a lv.3 campaign. 3000 gp, little more than DMG says but I'm not complaining. I am willing to spend every coin on items to improve stealth in any way. I know i could just get some +X items to hide and move silently. if you have anything more versatile I would like to hear about it.

[VGLordR2]

You could always pick up a Collar of Perpetual Attendance (2000 GP). It gives Unseen Servant at will. The servant itself is invisible and silent. It can perform any task that an unskilled commoner can perform. IIRC, this also includes aid another checks on your Hide skill.

[hisnamehere]

Firstly: If only a lvl 4 campaign, you could go Svirfneblin gnome.

Secondly: The secret to maxing anything is various sources (i.e. enhancement, morale, luck, circumstance, etc). There are others that are better schooled in the exacting ways to accomplish this.
Actually, search for "Optimized Basketweaving" to find out cheezy ways to optimize any skill.

Thirdly: The basics are high Dex, Skill Focus, and any feat that adds +2 to a "stealthy" skill (ideally, to 2 "stealthy" skills). Then look at any and all synergy bonuses.

Helps?

[Acrinos]

Actually, search for "Optimized Basketweaving" to find out cheezy ways to optimize any skill.

I am searching everywhere and I cannot find this page. Other than that, helpful.

[VGLordR2]

I am searching everywhere and I cannot find this page. Other than that, helpful.

Here you go. (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19870302/The_Basket_Weavers_Handbook)

[Curmudgeon]

Well, you'll want to start with a race that has some stealth advantages. A Whisper Gnome (Races of Stone, pages 94-96) has +4 racial bonuses to Hide and Move Silently.

If you're playing in Forgotten Realms go for the Faerûn-only Dark Creature template in Cormyr: The Tearing Of The Weave on page 152. For a +1 level adjustment it grants a Supernatural version of Hide in Plain Sight. That's basically a limited (by light condition) version of what Shadowdancers get. Unlike the standard Extraordinary Dark Creature version in Tome of Magic, this one also removes the need for cover/concealment to be able to Hide. The template also grants a +8 racial bonus on Hide checks and a +6 racial bonus on Move Silently checks.

You'll start one level behind your group, and when you get to class level 3 you can buy off the +1 LA for 3,000 XP. After that you'll start to catch up.

These racial bonuses are much higher than boosts you can get with feats or items at a low level. I would recommend you buy masterwork tools for Hide and Move Silently (only 50 gp each) and save your gp for Gloves of Dexterity when you can afford the 4,000 gp price, or +1 armor with the shadow enhancement.

[Darrin]

From Shax's Indispensable Haversack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148101):

Camouflage Paint
Price: 1500 GP
Weight: 0.5#
(Magic Item Compendium p. 153)
+5 circumstance bonus to Hide checks, stacks with Blend Cream (+1 alchemical, Complete Adventurer) and Camouflage Kit (+2 circumstance, Complete Adventurer). Lasts for five applications.

Blend Cream
Price: 50 GP
Weight: 1#
(Complete Adventurer p. 118)
+1 alchemical bonus on Hide checks, stacks with Camouflage Kit and Camouflage Paint.
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 20

Camouflage Kit
Price: 40 GP
Weight: 5#
(Complete Adventurer p. 122)
+2 circumstance bonus on Hide checks, stacks with Blend Cream and Camouflage Paint.

Darkweave Silk Pantaloons
Price: 108 GP
Weight: --
(Eberron Campaign Setting p. 122)
+1 circumstance bonus to Hide checks under shadowy or dark conditions. Note: it doesn't have to be silk pantaloons, but there is no "legs" or "pants" item slot, so anything you wear on your legs shouldn't interfere with your existing armor or magic items.

Kammarth
Price: 80 GP
(Lords of Darkness p. 183)
Initial: same effect as expeditious retreat for 1d4+1 minutes
Secondary: +2 alchemical bonus to Dex for duration of drug's effect
Side: none (fluff)
Overdose: 2 doses within 8 hours, 1d4 damage and paralyzed for 2d4 minutes. 3+ doses within 24 hours, 4d4 damage and paralyzed for 2d4 hours.
Comments: Magical effect. No real downside here, other than addiction or overdose. The speed increase is an enhancement bonus, however, so it won't stack with other enhancement bonuses.
Addiction: Medium

Optimizing Hide checks:

Start with Chameleon Leather (+2 circumstance bonus on Hide checks, Serpent Kingdoms p. 148) or Shadowsilk leather/hide armor (+2 untyped bonus on Hide checks, Tome of Magic p. 155). Adding a Camouflage pattern (+300 GP, FR Underdark p. 66) can add a +2 circumstance bonus in a particular terrain (underground is probably the best choice).

If Symbionts are available (Eberron), get your hands on a Shadow Sibling (8000 GP, Magic of Eberron p. 156): +4 circumstance bonus on Hide checks, and grants a 50% miss chance on one attack as an immediate action, usuable #/day = Con bonus.

Optimizing Move Silently checks:

Shadowsilk leather/hide armor (Tome of Magic p. 155) provides a +2 untyped bonus to Move Silently checks. Add Muffling (+300 GP, FR Underdark p. 66) for a +2 circumstance bonus on Move Silently checks.

Softfoot (50 GP, Complete Adventurer p. 119). +1 alchemical bonus on Move Silently checks for 1 hour.

(There's not so much love for Move Silently.)

If you're looking to combine the boots/cloak of elvenkind into the same item (+5 competence bonus on both Hide and Move Silently), then the MIC has two options, both costing 8000 GP: Cloak of Stone, which adds a meld into stone 1/day, and Mantle of the Predator, which adds +1d6 sneak attack/precision damage.

[Caesar]

If you are reasonable and your DM is mildly lenient, you can ask for custom masterwork tools not on the official list.

So some masterwork boots for +2 circumstance bonus to move silent, and a masterwork cloak for +2 to hide, for example.

The price is very affordable at your level, tho if you try to stack that onto an actual magic item that gives some other benefit, your DM might be inclined to jack up the cost similar to the typical exponential pricing system.

Limiting the items somehow can help to persuade the DM as well. So the cloak might be camoflauge and work great in outdoor settings, but not so much in the hustle bustle of Calimport's market district. They aren't magic, after all.