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1581.  Make sure someone in the party can deal with flying foes.
Don't look at the Fighter or Avenger for this one!  Rangers and Wizards should be good at it; Warlocks and Bards can make do in a pinch.  Psions ought to be able to do this with style.  Bring a reach weapon, even if you don't normally use it.  (Greatspear =?= sharpened 10-ft pole)  There's doubtless more that I can't think of off the top of my head.

oohh!
1583
dont know what versions have Rod of ropes besides 3.5 but that has gotten be out of many bad situations.
 

1587) Create the All Purpose Alchemists Cannon (APAC) as soon as possible. These rules are set for 3.5, but could possibly be made in other rule sets. All up, with all the awesome features, it costs around 30,000-50,000gp, so is a major setback. however, you can use this as a utility gun for the entire party, and you can add so many possible ideas or items to make it better. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE OK WITH YOUR DM. if you invest time and effort getting the parts, they ought to be lenient and allow it

base model is about 20,000gp.
It consists of a large ring with Gust of Wind enchanted with a Permenancy spell, placed in a steel tube. Get a crossbow stock (or custom stock) for the tubing, and have a small knob to turn the Gust of Wind ring. At the back of the tube, have a small bag of holding, or other extradimensional storage unit. you need an aperture, or at least a cap for the end. An aperture is just a hole that can be opened or closed gradually. When the ring is facing foreward, the Gust of Wind shoots out of the tube, essentially creating a small wind cannon. Focusing the aperture can decrease the radius of effect, but increase the range.

Some of the special additions can include: (names may vary)
Endless bottle of water
Bottle of endless mud/sand
Assassin's bag of caltrops
Bag of Holding, filled with Alchemists fire, Acid, Bullets, Arrows etc
Ring with Permanent Cold fire spell cast (for the end of the tube, to freeze your projectiles)
Ring with Permanent Fire spell cast (for the end of the tube, to heat your projectiles)
Spool of Endless rope (with grappling hook)

Attach the bottles to the tube with twist-open apertures, so you can seal off the containers. When you want to open one of the containers, you turn it, and the gust of wind then sucks some of the contents out and through the aperture. All of a sudden you have a gust of wind propelling an acid spray, or a spray of mud. then you activate the permenant flame ring, and that mud sets on contact, like cement. Or, Have the endless bottle of water open, activate the permenant cold fire ring and the water shoots out as shards of ice, propelled by wind. Or use water and the Fire ring, and you have an obscuring mist generator. Keep your spool of endless rope tied at the end in the vaccuum bag, and fire it out as a grappling gun, then reverse the airflow and pull yourself up. Spray caltrops and arrows, or alchemists fire or bullets or javelins. whatever you can think of. this gun is made of imagination. Get your DM to set limits, like needing a strength check to aim it properly (it IS shooting stuff out with massive gusts of air) keep in mind any material projectiles will need to be replaced, but can be done so via the vaccuum function.

1593) Make your Explosive Runes easily decypherable. Stick with something which could be argued to easily transcend language barriers (The runes detonate when read...). Perhaps something like a large X or a Ø, which are fairly universal for "NO" or "Bad!". Doing so will nearly guarantee a delicious explosion with no save @ ground zero.

1594) Remember, Amanuensis is your best friend when coupled with Explosive Runes and Mage hand (for delivering your trapped writings). It has a range of Close, a duration of 10 MINUTES per level and is a cantrip. (If the target contains normal and magical writing (such as a letter with explosive runes), only the normal text is copied... The spell triggers (but does not copy) writing-based magic traps in the material being copied.) Deliver a trapped paper or two a'la Mage hand (or by paper airplane, whatever floats your boat), thus keeping you well out of harm's way, and let loose with your Amanuensis. Repeat as desired.

1595)  Generate Explosive Runes prolifically. It is rarely a bad idea to have a few extra copies on hand. Their uses are many, though not greatly varied. Door swollen shut? Explosive Runes! Timmy stuck in the well? Explosive Runes! Need to send a 'proposal of treaty' or 'articles of surrender'? Explosive Runes! 

1596)  Keep your party's Rogue on their toes. Be sure to let him/her know that not everyone has the 'safety words' for all your copies of Explosive Runes, just in case they ever decide it may be in their best interest to go poking their nose into your possessions.

1597) Store your copies of Explosive Runes  in a safe place. No need to get yourself blown up by forgetting to deny your adversaries Line of Effect. Keep them in a sealed and bagged scroll case, folded inside your bedroll within your backpack, inside a non- (or extra-) dimensional space, anywhere out of sight! If they do not have Line of Sight, they do not have Line of Effect. Suffice it to say, you'll be having a very bad day when your opponent(s) get off that lucky dispel and you turn into pink mist amidst a thunderclap of detonating Explosive Runes.