Looking for attack bonus

[Dhavaer]

My BBUG (Big Bad Unaligned Girl) has misplaced her artifact sword, and so has had to make do with lesser materials. As a result her attack bonus has dropped from a very reasonable +34 to a rather skimpy +27. This simply won't do.

She is a Shadowcaster 20//Swordsage 20, has a little less than 60,000gp to spend and an empty feat slot. She has already increased her Dexterity as high as it will go (Base 16, +4 inherent, +6 enhancement. More would be appreciated, if there's a way.), and cannot further enhance her weapon. Reducing an opponent's AC is almost as good as a bonus, but she can already negate Dex bonuses quite well (Hide in Plain Sight, +43 Hide and the Darkstalker feat). Any help would be appreciated.

Also, if anyone should happen to find a -10 thinaun bastard sword, be a dear and fail the Will save. She'd like it back soon.

[Overlard]

Also, if anyone should happen to find a -10 thinaun bastard sword, be a dear and fail the Will save. She'd like it back soon.

-10? And you want it back?

[meet shield]

In effect...
what's a tihnau sword?

[Ikkitosen]

Thinaun is just a material that captures the soul of the last thing you kill with it.

Was -10 a typo? Or is it some powerful cursed blade?

[Dhavaer]

It works as a -10 sword until someone fails the Will save. Then it's a +10 sword with a bunch of abilities, but it dominates you to make you bring it back.

[SCPRedMage]

Well, as far as the Dex goes, you COULD use Wish to get another +1, but it wouldn't do you much good. However, I should remind you that EPIC gear can get you a +12 enhancement; but with only 60,000gp you'll NEVER afford one of those. In fact, the best that can really get you is a +5 weapon.

If you have it, the Emerald Razor maneuver would do you a lot of good, since it let's you resolve a melee attack as a touch attack; combined with catching them flat-footed, it'd reduce their AC to nearly nothing. Problem is, it's a strike, so you couldn't combine it with another manuever. That, and if you don't already have it, it'd be pretty much impossible to learn without leveling... Unless, of course, GM Cheese is an option...

[Dhavaer]

She does have Emerald Razor (now), but she only has so many readied maneuvers, and I can't think what to replace with it. She currently has readied:

Five-Shadow Creeping Ice Enervation Strike
Mountain Tombstone Strike
Time Stands Still
Shadow Blink
Diamond Nightmare Blade
Quicksilver Motion
Greater Insightful Strike
Stalker in the Night
Enervating Shadow Strike
Inferno Blade
Raging Mongoose
Shadow Noose

Looking at the list, I think Greater Insightful Strike is the best option for replacement; although 2d20+54 damage is tasty sounding, I think the 8d6+108 from Diamond Nightmare Blade edge it out in terms of usefulness.

[SCPRedMage]

I'd be leaning towards Shadow Noose instead of Greater Insightful Strike; 8d6 and stunning for one round always seemed underwhelming to me.

Of course, it occurs to me that you COULD have a magic item made for you that gets you a constant True Strike effect. Since it's a first level spell, the DMG sets the price at 8,000gp, but an article on the Wizards site suggested 400,000gp as an appropriate price for such an item.

[Dhavaer]

Shadow Noose is nice because it has range, although the 'must be flatfooted' thing is kind of annoying.

Continuous true strike runs into the same problem as continuous mage armour. It would be priced a granting a bonus, not as a spell.

[SCPRedMage]

Continuous true strike runs into the same problem as continuous mage armour. It would be priced a granting a bonus, not as a spell.

Hence the 400,000gp suggestion. An alternative would be making it command word; then you have the option to make it either as a straight 1st level spell, or have it prepared as a 5th level Quickened spell. Granted, most DMs would balk at the idea if you didn't included a per day restriction, but you could have it made at 5/day, despite the fact that that wouldn't adjust the price at ALL...

[Tengu]

By the way, what's the role of this character in your campaign? Is that an adversary to your PCs, an ally? In the first case - gosh, they are a pretty optimised bunch, aren't they?

[Dhavaer]

Ally or rival, depending on how things go. If the latter, it will basically be a race to the BBEG. If the former, they'll be working in parallel so she can't overshadow the PCs while still being obviously useful as an ally. Hopefully they shouldn't be fighting her. If they do... well, there's always someone more powerful, and that's a lesson that can never be learned too many times.

[Tengu]

So she's a DMNPC? *ducks for cover*

Anyway, does this NPC have ranks in use magic device? You might consider scrolls of Divine Power.

[Dhavaer]

Not really. A DMPC would help the PCs by fighting alongside them. She helps them by taking the right path when they go left, and killing the bearded devils in room G7 before they ambush the PCs in corridor J4. She's still helpful, but there's no real chance of her showing them up.

No, no UMD. She can't use divine power anyway; she doesn't have a soul, which prevents the use of divine magic in this setting.

[Person_Man]

Invest in Use Magic Device and buy a Wand of Flame Blade. Now you have touch attacks on every attack.