Hello all and thanks in advance for your expertise on this upcoming rules question. I am a frequent reader of this forum but an infrequent poster and not the most savy on Pathfinder rules.
Character is a Rogue/Fighter/Shadowdancer who is attempting to always be able to make sneak attacks while remaining ranged.
On to the question. I am attempting to circumnavigate the -20 stealth check when you attempt to stealth after making a ranged attack.
Wind stance says it gives you 20% concealment when you make a move of at least 5 feet.
So can I win initiative, fire my first shot and apply sneak damage, take my 5 ft step and hide without the -20 because I have concealment due to the feat?
Sorry for the long winded question.
Hello Amric!
The best thing is to check with your GM/DM but I would say no. It doesn't give you 20% concealment, you only gain 20% concealment against ranged attacks.
But the Advanced Rogue Talent 'Stealthy Sniper' from the APG is really good.
Stealthy Sniper(Ex): When a rogue with this talent uses
the Stealth skill to snipe, she only suffers a –10 penalty on
the Stealth check, instead of –20.
Wow. Okay. Couple of things.
1) Stealth requires cover or concealment to use.
2) Wind stance gives you 20% concealment to ranged attacks for moving MORE than 5 feet, 5 foot step doesn't cut it.
3) Sniping from stealth is a move action, and the attack itself was a standard, this leaves you with only a 5 foot step available.
Assuming you can move more than 5 feet, you can then make your stealth check at -20 for sniping, if you have cover/concealment (wind stance is not real concealment).
If you did not have cover/concealment, you could not make the check. Having cover/concealment does not negate the penalty, it allows for the check in the first place.
Benefit: If you move more than 5 feet this turn, you gain 20% concealment for 1 round against ranged attacks.
Sadly, no, since it only applies against ranged attacks, and not vision.
Why not just shoot, then move behind total cover/concealment... like behind a wall or thick smoke?
Once you have total cover/concealment, you're not being observed and can again stealth into a firing position.
Wind Stance will not grant the concealment you need to re-Stealth and continue sniping. However, the whole point of sniping as a Shadowdancer is that Hide in Plain Sight lets you re-Stealth with 10 feet of dim light even while being observed. Although it doesn't explicitly say so, I have always assumed (and house ruled) that the ability allows you to re-Stealth while sniping without the usual -20 to your Stealth check.
Also, bear in mind that you can use Stealth as part of a move action, so as long as you end up in a space within 10 feet of dim light, a Shadowdancer can in a single round:
1. take a single attack from Stealth
2. move up to half his/her speed
3. re-Stealth
Rinse, repeat.
Again, I believe the spirit of Hide in Plain Sight (whether from Shadowdancer, Ranger, etc.) is meant to let you "disappear" through (mostly) non-magical means. So in my games, it lets you snipe without the -20 to your Stealth check.