Optimizing Iaijutsu

[Renen]

Anyone know of a thread that discusses optimizing the check? I can find a toll of them talking about flat footedness, but not pushing the check up.

[Gildedragon]

Because since the skill doesn't really have synergies it is very much a flat
cha+skill ranks check
it can be pushed up via Karmic Twin (+2) and Nymph's Kiss (+2) and skill focus (+3)
Exemplar means one gets to take 10 on the check...

the trick is mostly getting to do the damage consistently (thus the flatfootedness obsession)

[Irk]

Do you have a specific level in mind, or just in general?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Optimizing skill checks:
Take Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm) and invest all your skill ranks for the greatest return.
You can upgrade that yourself, so add a Competence bonus to the skill at (bonus squared) x 100 gp, it can be up to +30 pre-epic (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/magicItems/basics.htm).

Tricks specific to Iaijutsu Focus:
Use a Gnome Quickrazor from RoS, it requires EWP or a racial weapon familiarity with at least one Gnome weapon (I can't remember where it said you can swap which weapons those were for). You draw the weapon every time you attack with it, so you can use IF on every attack against a flat-footed opponent.

Balancing opponents are flat-footed (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/balance.htm) unless they have at least five ranks in the Balance skill. Casting Grease or Ice Slick (FB) under them (verified by the FAQ) or dropping marbles in their square (A&EG) causes them to be balancing. You can put a handful of marbles in a folded square of cloth and ready it on your belt as a weaponlike object, then quick-draw one as a free action and drop it in an adjacent square as a free action, and be able to full attack in the same round.

The feat Flick of the Wrist (CW, RotW) allows you to automatically catch an opponent flat-footed once per round but it only works once on each opponent in a given encounter. The Hidden Blade skill trick in CS is similar, but you have to use a move action to draw a concealed weapon first and a given skill trick can only be used once per encounter.

Note that Uncanny Dodge does not prevent an opponent from being flat-footed, they just don't lose their Dex bonus to AC, so Sneak Attack and similar won't work against opponents with Uncanny Dodge but IF still does.

[Lonely Tylenol]

Since the skill hard-caps at +10d6, if I recall, and getting the skill that high is not terribly problematic on its own, the trick is more or less getting as much damage on it as possible. If I recall, Iaijutsu Master's CHA bonus to each dice of damage you deal. This is huge; so much so, in fact, that it may easily dwarf the damage dice itself as far as damage goes. It is also the only source of damage, I believe, that is unique to Iaijutsu Focus. If playing a CHA-heavy Iaijutsu warrior, consider picking this one up.

[Gildedragon]

9d6 at a check of 50
There is a feat in a dragon mag; i feel silly for not writing it down that lets you treat your opponent as flatfooted if you draw a hidden weapon.
Whitish text on blackish...
Yeah not very helpful but if anyone comes across it

[Azoth]

Marshal 1 for motivate charisma aura to get double charisma to the check.

Circlet of Persuasion for a cheap +3 since it is a cha skill.

Magic blooded and Unseelie fey are both +0LA templates with a Charisma boost.

[Oddman80]

Quick draw plus mercurial strike, allows you to threaten AoO's while unarmed. You get to draw and strike to resolve the AoO and the enemy is flat footed. So Iaijutsu Focus extra damage. For each attack of opportunity.
Then get a returning enhancement on the weapon, and have the point of return be your sheath. So you drop the weapon after each attack, and it magically resheaths itself.

[Vaz]

18 base, +2 racial, +5 leveling, +6item, +5 tome = 36 cha, modifier +13.

Skill ranks +23

Marshal for double cha mod = +26

26+23 =49. On a 1, you hit the skill cap for 9 dice.

Iaijutsu Master 5 = cha mod to each IF dice (9*13)