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Honor and glory to your ancestors, fellow Pathfinders! I have decided to craft a new character for PFS and this time, I have set my sights on the class not terribly far from my current one: The Ninja. As always, I seek your wisdom and advice, but I would also like some discussions, so feel free to chat away over anything concerning the class or build or abilities. Anything except the following: "Ninja/Rogues suck! Play a (Insert class archetype here)!" I am a firm believer that the 'Thief' characters are useful in their own right, which is why I enjoy playing them. And while the Pathfinders at my FLGS may be a bunch of crazed murderhobos, they generally approve of having me around playing as one.
tl:dr version
* Kusarigama? Hella bad or maybe, kind of, sort of interesting/good?
* Overall suggestions
So, onto the character! Concept is Ninja who goes into Shadow Dancer. Not too terribly far outside of the box, since 1) Shadow Dancer was made for 'thief' classes and 2) Some of the Ninja's abilities are almost like "lesser" versions of the Shadow Dancer's abilities.
I debate how far into the classes to go. The main ability that I desire is the Shadow Companion. A decently strong ally that can be used to almost always guarantee flanking sneak attacks, which I consider to be more useful than the minimum 1d6 Sneak attack damage I would sacrifice to gain access to it (Meaning in the end, I would be a Ninja 9/Shadow Dancer 3). I wonder if going a level further to gain the Shadow Jump ability is worth it, since I would sacrifice another level of SA to get it.
Weapon wise, I have been thinking and I think a lot of people have possibly been playing this wrong for a while now. A lot of guides will suggest weapons such as the Wakizashi (or rapiers for Rogues), 1) because you can take Weapon Finesse for them and use your dex instead of strength and 2) because they have expanded crit ranges. While the Weapon Finesse argument is valid, I'm not 100% on the Crit range one. Generally, most guides will say in the same breath that your chosen weapon won't matter because your damage comes from sneak attack and then talk about how awesome these increased crit range weapons are. But sneak attack damage can not crit and for the most part, a lot of these builds have little to no bonuses that get added in to the Crit damage. Also Crit. Feats are not an option for us. I understand, getting a crit can be exciting and I see players thank God/Buddha/The Emperor whenever they roll 20s on anything that even rolls a 20 (even when it can't crit, like a skill check), but I'm wondering if it is worth it.
So, here is my crazy (and yes, I said crazy because I think a few people who have made it this far into my rantings will actually stop reading after this) idea is to actually use a weapon I have seen no one suggest. The Kusarigama.
Wait, come back! The Kusarigama is totally cool... and a bit confusing, but I think it might be a diamond in the rough. (And for all I know, it totally might be used by every ninja in the world. I just don't see anyone recommending it) So first off, the Kusarigama is a double weapon, in case you want to dual wield it (I don't think I will, due to the three feat requirement to get into Shadow Dancer), but optional. It has reach, meaning it is safer to sneak attack. It can more safely trip, since (assuming I don't totally screw up the rules), I am tripping from a distance, non-large/non-reach enemies won't get an attack of opportunity against me and if I muck it up, I can drop the weapon and not be tripped in return. And when I do get a crit, I get a free grapple check against the enemy, which means I can actually do something useful on a crit besides a couple extra points of damage.
Of course, neither of these actually grants me sneak attack damage, BUT they would be things I could safely do to help my fellow party members. Also, once I get my Shadow Companion, its ability to drain strength will only make it easier to actually do this.
I guess last but not least, any overall suggestions on things to shoot for?
I know a lot of people will throw out the suggestion of the sap mastery feats, which adds a whole bunch o' damage. Maybe it has just been my experience, but it feels like there is at least 1 fairly strong creature that is immune to non-lethal damage in every encounter and a whole bunch of my PFS games have been almost entirely undead. And swarms. Oh god the swarms...
There are some feats I would love to take, but certain things, such as TWF may not be possible if I want to meet the requirements of Shadow Dancer as soon as possible. I know TWF can be taken by itself, but I would probably also want to invest into weapon finesse if I did so. And that would mean I have to go Dodge (3), Combat Reflexes (5) and then Mobility (7), meaning no Shadow Dancer til level 8. If I take Combat Reflexes and Dodge at level 1 (if Human) or one of them at level 1 and the other at level 3 (if not human or investing human feat somewhere else), then I can enter at 6. I guess no a huge deal, but that is 2 more levels of using a Shadow as a flanking buddy.
I thought about even investing into the trip and grapple feats if I went Kusarigama... but that is probably a huge can of worms I shouldn't even touch... maybe...
So anyways, what kind of thoughts and suggestions do you have. And thanks for reading my crazy thoughts on being the worst class in the game.
I'm not sure that taking Shadowdancer levels will give you as much of a boost as you think, staying pure Ninja may be better. There's a fair amount of redundancy between the two classes - overlapping abilities that don't synergise.
By taking Shadowdancer levels you also delay getting Master Ninja Tricks which are pretty great. If you reach level 10 you can guarantee sneak attacks with Invisible Blade and/or the Hunter's Surprise Rogue Advanced Talent.
The feat tax for going Shadowdancer will also reduce your initial combat effectiveness, as you say. Combat reflexes and Mobility are not feats I'd normally take on a Rogue or Ninja, and taking these feats early may gimp you for a number of levels. Playing a straight-up TWF/finesse ninja up to level 10 will give you a more consistent character who still gets always-on sneak attacks.
If you're determined to get a flanking buddy then alternatives are taking Nature Soul -> Animal Ally -> Boon Companion and obtaining a fully levelled animal companion.
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My first attempts at creating the Kusarigama master is finding mixed results. Because the weapon is a Two Handed Double Weapon (and therefore can not be Finessed or Agile Maneuvered), the Ninja would need a higher than normal (for a thief class) Strength. It makes the Ninja a bit more MAD than needed. Having tossed around a few numbers, I was having trouble finding a way to get the Ninja a Str. high enough to be good at trips and grapples with a Dex. high for... well, just about everything a Ninja should do on a regular basis and a high enough Cha. for my Ninja abilities without bombing my other attributes. I know a lot of people would suggest dropping Int and/or Wis down really to 7 get the stats I need, but I hate the penalties in doing so and don't think the negatives outweigh the benefits. (On a side note, that goes for all characters)
Basically, I figured that at level 1, a Trip Fighter would have at least a +6 to trip rolls (Str 16 + 1 BAB + Improved Trip) and heavy armor to offset a lower dex. My Ninja would have a +3 (Str 16 + 0 BAB) because my feats are going to Dodge and possibly either of the Shadow Dancer's feat requirements. At level 12 (not including bonuses from magic or items), the same fighter would probably reach +20 (Str 18 + 12 BAB + 2 Improved Trip + 2 Greater Trip) and mine would be a +17(Str 18 + 9 BAB + 2 Improved Trip + 2 Greater Trip), assuming I did not take anything else and focused all of my feats on tripping. The Fighter could also start grabbing feats to up his grapple rolls too (for the times he crits), which the ninja would have to make basic rolls on.
After posting this, I decided to flip through the Monster Manual and take a look at some of the CMDs for 12th level creatures. I have heard people speak about the crazy CMDs before, but some monsters around that level were in the 40s. Meaning, I doubt a 'trip ninja' would ever be viable beyond a few early levels.
I am uncertain if you need to take two weapon fighting for the Kusarigama. A double weapon says that you can use it like two weapons and incur the TWF penalties. I am fairly certain you do not have to either and could use one end of the weapon at a time, even in a full attack. But the Kusarigama isn't exactly specific on what parts of the weapon are used for what. The description says the scythe is use for trips and attacks while chain is spun around. So does that mean only the scythe part gains the trip bonus? And does the chain part have reach but the scythe does not? Or is that just fluff and each side has all of the abilities? (another side note, Kusarigama users in movies/games/anime/whatever spin the scythe around just as much as the weighted chain. I guess that is probably less realistic?)
A lot of people will probably agree that it is simpler (and much more optimal) just to pick up a Wakizashi or similar light weapon and Weapon Finesse, then start swinging away. I guess if anyone has a cool suggestion or something I might be missing, let me know. Or if it is just the worst idea in the whole world and gods, why Koujow why? ...let me know that too. lol
I have a Dex Ninja, and thought about Shadowdancer. I don't see it anymore as all that great.
If you go Str Ninja, with a one-handed weapon that can be used two handed, that opens up Power Attack and THF for your main attack. If you use a buckler, you can THF on your round, and Sword & Board for AoO on other's turns, since placing your second hand on/off the weapon is a free action.
If you have a reach weapon and a spiked gauntlet, you can use the weapon from a distance while still having the gauntlet for AoO up close.
Biggest problem I have seen is getting full attacks. With rocket tag making you move every round to get into position, that limits you to standard action attacks. TWF won't help here.
Have you looked at the guides? [4 Rogue, 1 Ninja.] There are some gems in there.
/cevah
I'm actually playing a shadowdancer in Way of the Wicked right now.... I went Lore Warden for 2 levels, Rogue for 3 levels, Shadowdancer for 3 levels, and I went back to Rogue at level 9 for an additional rogue talent. Lore Warden was nice because it gave Combat Expertise as an extra bonus feat, which opens up things like Butterfly Sting, Improved Trip, Improved Disarm and Improved Feint. That character uses a keen scimitar and took Weapon Finesse and Dervish Dance to add Dex instead of Str to attack & damage rolls with scimitars. My main character concept was to be a stealth monster.... he doesn't do a ton of damage, but he's nigh impossible to find in dim light and has alot of neat tricks at level 9 (like giving the party fighter auto-crits at least once per encounter). I also "wasted" a feat at level 7 with Leadership for roleplaying reasons, so in a different campaign that would be an open feat slot to work with.
Lore Warden (Ftr) 1 - Dodge, Weapon Finesse, Step Up
Lore Warden (Ftr) 2 - Combat Expertise, Dervish Dance
Rogue 1 - Mobility
Rogue 2 - rog talent: trap spotter
Rogue 3 - Combat Reflexes
Shadowdancer 1
Shadowdancer 2 - leadership
Shadowdancer 3 - rog talent: ninja trick: pressure points
Rogue 4 - Butterfly's Sting, rog talent: fast stealth
Sounds like you've got some solid ideas already, hope this gave you one or two more to work with and good luck with your build!