Deadly Aim (Combat)
You can make exceptionally deadly ranged attacks by pinpointing a foe's weak spot, at the expense of making the attack less likely to succeed.Prerequisites: Dex 13, base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: You can choose to take a –1 penalty on all ranged attack rolls to gain a +2 bonus on all ranged damage rolls. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and every +4 thereafter, the penalty increases by –1 and the bonus to damage increases by +2. You must choose to use this feat before making an attack roll and its effects last until your next turn. The bonus damage does not apply to touch attacks or effects that do not deal hit point damage.
Bolding mine, to give you a rules reference for deadly aim.
That being said, as long as you meet the conditions for sneak attack, then yes, you can use sneak attack with a ranged touch attack like a spell.
Touch attacks can sneak attack; however splash weapons cannot, and deadly aim does not apply to touch attacks (because both these things are specifically excepted in their rules).
Anyone can use sneak attacks with spells that require an attack roll.
Deadly Aim: No, Weables already referenced it
Touch Attacks: Yes, if they require an attack roll and all conditions for sneak attack apply (denied dex, within 30ft, no concealment and so on).
A method I've seen used well combining ranged touch with sneak attack is the rogue minor magic trick. Take a cantrip like acid splash or disrupt undead and snaek attack heavily armored foes.
Touch attacks can sneak attack; however splash weapons cannot.
You mean of course the splash damage, but not, for example, the primary target of an alchemists fire, right?
A method I've seen used well combining ranged touch with sneak attack is the rogue minor magic trick. Take a cantrip like acid splash or disrupt undead and snaek attack heavily armored foes.
You do not need anything special other than what you need to make it sneak attack in the first place. It was describe as sugested combo or trick in the first Dragon Magazine of the 3.0 era. It just works allways has always will.
Even the primary target won't take sneak attack.
Well thats surprising because JB used an alchemist fire to sneak attack a character of mine in Savage Tide. This was at the very end of 3.5 though.
Well thats surprising because JB used an alchemist fire to sneak attack a character of mine in Savage Tide. This was at the very end of 3.5 though.
Even the primary target won't take sneak attack.
As I recall, splash weapons not being usable for sneak attack was a change from 3.5 to Pathfinder.
As I recall, splash weapons not being usable for sneak attack was a change from 3.5 to Pathfinder.
Well, that makes sense then. You'd have to know which rules were abusable to know which ones to change. ;) Even though I see that I'm in the Advice forum right now, here's a rules quote anyway, to settle the issue.
Splash weapons cannot deal precision-based damage (such as the damage from the rogue's sneak attack class feature).
The problem being that splash weapons are imprecise by nature, so they just can't be used that way. Not even against the target.