swasbuckler with hide in plain sight

[666bender]

a weird concept, but ... i kind of like the idea.

whirling-dervish archtype.
at level 7 you get afull attack vs all creatures you can get to with reach .
add hide in plain sight - in between moves - and you got a weird blinker.
you fade out , attack, move and fade out, attack again.
the attack is doing ok medium damage, and adding some effects like 1 swift action fear check (that with thug-rogue dip or skill unlock can cause fear and not shaken), free sneak attacks (skulking slayer 1 level dip).

one need to assist the low fort and will saves (1/2 orc add +2 here, take also the 2 related feats and you are ok).
if i wait to level 11, one can get the Hips with eldritch and not shadow dancer.
seem like a cool tactic of fighting, for a shady swashbuckler.

worth it?

[666bender]

so, here are some Q's :

1. should i dip out of the swashbuckler class? (every dip lower damage and BAB is important for parry etc).
2. i never dip more than 2-3, ever. what combo class will add the most ?

Rogue (1) : skulking slayer + thug
PRO : 1d6 damage, every sneak = dirty trick , many skills. every intimidate = foe runs away.
CON: lower BAB -1 , poor saves .

fighter (1) : unarmed fighter
PRO : 1 level add imp unarmed strike + crane style (-2\+4).
add FORT saves. full BAB.
CON: poor will.

MONK 1 : master of many styles or maneuver master if not using any armor.
PRO: 2 to all saves, 3 feats, skills.
master of styles allow 2 style combo (crane + pummeling\snake etc).
maneuver master, must not wear armor, but free maneuver every round is nice indeed.
CON: -1 BAB. alignment problems.

magus 2: spire defender:
PRO: 2 feats (dodge + expertise) , free attack that work well with dervish dance feat (spell combat 0 level spell for a free attack. )
fort & will saves (very needed!). able to read scrolls.
CON: need 2 levels, -1 BAB, need INT (which isnt that bad, 12 will do).

[Bob Bob Bob]

At level 7 you get to move and make a number of attacks up to your full attack as a full round action. It's not a full attack, it's not against every creature (you make at most one attack per creature, with the total capped at the number of attacks you'd get on a full attack), and it doesn't interact well with HiPS. "It's impossible to use Stealth while attacking, running, or charging." Since it's one action in which you are both moving and attacking, presumably you can't use Stealth.

You already point out that your damage is middling and your saves suck. Rogue does not help that at all (1d6 sneak attack ain't much). Fighter could add better damage, but for some reason you're giving up all your feats for less attack and more AC? Monk only covers the saves, but so would any multiclassing (and Paladin is always better if that's what you need and you have Cha). Maneuver Master doesn't work with the level 7 ability. Magus is a decent choice, but the benefit of Magus is spells. If you don't have specific ones you're planning on using, then it's probably not going to help you. In addition, the main ability of the Magus (TWF with a spell) doesn't work with the 7th level ability either.

Right now I'd say the biggest weakness is that you've made a minion killer... and that's it. The 7th level ability is better than a full attack if you're attacking more than one target. That should only be happening if you've killed your first target. None of your suggested multiclasses address that, and most seem to pigeonhole you farther into the "only good at fighting minions" territory. Single targets tend to have big beefy CMD (and HD for intimidate). Partial investment isn't going to help you beat those numbers, you'd need to commit much harder (in which case, you shouldn't be asking us which to go for).

[CBDunkerson]

Note that Whirling Dervish usually needs to do non-lethal damage to regain panache. Thus, I'd suggest combining this with Sarenrae's fighting style from Divine Anthology (all scimitar damage, including sneak attack and other effects, is non-lethal at no penalty) or Merciful weapons.

The Accomplished Sneak Attacker feat can get you another d6 for sneak attack... though that is only useful if your GM allows HiPS to work as you suggest rather than as Bob^3 would have it.

Another route would be to drop HiPS and instead take something like Ascetic Style and Panther Claw with the intention of drawing AoOs so that you could then make additional retaliatory attacks.

For boss fights there is nothing preventing you from doing a normal full attack. Also note that if you use a finessable weapon OTHER than a scimitar (e.g. wakizashi) then you can get TWF with Dex for attack and damage... though you'd lose the benefit of the Precise Strike deed.