They are better off than a wizard who spent his spell he needs, and he gets his points back every encounter.

Even then he has wands, scrolls, skills and a medium BaB with some nice int synergy.

Mixes well with a 3 level dip in swashbuckler for int to damage and a two level dip in swordsage for wis to AC, a shadow hand stace (concelement on movement or flank from any angle) and two feats for dex to damage with shadowhand weapons.

Your attack becomes int and dex based, and your defence becomes dex and wis based. Not bad for standard attacks.