Advice for a ranged Rogue / Sniper?(Relatively new to D&D and Pathfinder)

[shardbearer]

Sorry for a somewhat lengthy post, the most relevant stuff is in the first paragraph.

I would like to play a rogue, due to being able to sneak attack with ranged weapons. Is it possible to do this with a musket? Can a gunslinger do sneak attacks? I read briefly in another thread, that without an alchemist a gunslinger is pretty weak. I really want a simple damage dealer that isn't melee. I also have no idea how all the pathfinder stats contribute to the character as a whole. Advice? Our group is apparently starting at level 6. Something about melee characters not doing much until that point.

I already rolled my stats, and got a 12,11,14,13,14,14.

I am playing this with some friends and not my normal DM.
My regular DM has run a tweaked warhammer fantasy campaign with us, and is currently doing a tweaked deadlands campaign in space. I have little to no experience with a d20 system as he doesn't like them.

My other campaign uses the following stats:
strength(melee), deftness(guns), nimbleness(movement based stuff), cognition(observation/search stuff), charm(bargain persuasion stuff), smarts(hacking bluff gamble intuition), knowledge(lore, first aid, demolition, navigation), vigor(resilience) & spirit(faith, discipline)

We gain X amount of experience per session, and leveling an ability such as first aid to level 1 costs 1 xp, to level 2 costs 2. At level 6 and above it costs 12 xp for each raise.

You add the level of the skill and then you roll your stat. So if I have a 3d10 in first knowledge it would be 3d10 + 6 if I have first aid 6.

You raise a 2d10 stat to a 3d10 by paying 6xp. and you raise a 2d10 to a 2d12 by paying 12xp. After d12, you get a flat plus one to a roll for every 12xp.

Special abilities cost 3xp and can be enhanced in certain aspects for 3xp.

We average about 3xp for a 4-6 hour session weekly.

When we roll our dice, we mark one as a chaos dice, and if we roll a one bad things happen. They can explode and roll multiple times. We only take the highest on hit, and all on damage.

How far away from pathfinder is this system?

[Atarlost]

It is, for all practical purposes, not possible to sneak attack with ranged weapons. Sorry. Not more than once per combat and that only if you're lucky.

[Lord Pendragon]

The problem with a ranged rogue is that they would only get to sneak attack in the first round, and only if they go before their foes (so that their foes are flat-footed.) Otherwise, you have to be flanking.

This problem can be solved with the spell Improved Invisibility, which would let you sneak attack constantly so long as your foes can't see through invisibility.

That's going to require either a friendly mid-level caster, or a somewhat expensive magic item.

As a side note, the system you described seems far, far away from Pathfinder. >.>

[shardbearer]

Atarlost wrote:

It is, for all practical purposes, not possible to sneak attack with ranged weapons. Sorry. Not more than once per combat and that only if you're lucky.

Well, even without that, I would still prefer to try my hand at a ranged class. Do you have any tips? I assume I should mainly be putting putting points into dexterity. I see that it says I gain skill points based of 8 + int modifier. Does this mean I need to put a lot of points into intelligence as well?

[Rynjin]

Well, look at it this way Shard, Rogues get 8 + Int mod skill points. Meaning a 10 Int and no other bonuses you get 8 skill points per level.

By comparison, the next step down is 4 + Int mod, meaning their character needs an 18 Int to get the same amount of skill points you get.

So, in short, no you really don't need a high Int.

I think Rogue may be your worst choice for a ranged combatant though, they lose most of their good stuff at range (Sneak Attack and such). If you want to go ranged I suggest a Ranger with the Archery Combat Style, a Zen Archer Monk, a Bard if you still wanna be a skill monkey as well since they get 8 + Int skill points too (they require a grand total of 0 Feats for anything else really, might as well pump them into Archery Feats), or a Gunslinger if your GM allows guns.

Also your system sounds absolutely nothing like Pathfinder whatsoever at all.

[Bearded Ben]

Rynjin wrote:

Well, look at it this way Shard, Rogues get 8 + Int mod skill points. Meaning a 10 Int and no other bonuses you get 8 skill points per level.

By comparison, the next step down is 4 + Int mod, meaning their character needs an 18 Int to get the same amount of skill points you get.

So, in short, no you really don't need a high Int.

... a Bard if you still wanna be a skill monkey as well since they get 8 + Int skill points too ...

I'm going to be nitpicky here: Bards get 6 + Int mod skill points, but they also get stuff that makes those ranks act as though they had more.

[magnuskn]

There are sniping rules, but it's pretty difficult and your fellow players will hate you for wasting time with long discussions if a particular enemy really had line of sight on you when you were hiding behind that crate.

[shardbearer]

Rynjin wrote:

Well, look at it this way Shard, Rogues get 8 + Int mod skill points. Meaning a 10 Int and no other bonuses you get 8 skill points per level.

By comparison, the next step down is 4 + Int mod, meaning their character needs an 18 Int to get the same amount of skill points you get.

So, in short, no you really don't need a high Int.

I think Rogue may be your worst choice for a ranged combatant though, they lose most of their good stuff at range (Sneak Attack and such). If you want to go ranged I suggest a Ranger with the Archery Combat Style, a Zen Archer Monk, a Bard if you still wanna be a skill monkey as well since they get 8 + Int skill points too (they require a grand total of 0 Feats for anything else really, might as well pump them into Archery Feats), or a Gunslinger if your GM allows guns.

Also your system sounds absolutely nothing like Pathfinder whatsoever at all.

We are allowed single shot guns. I would be more interested in a longer range gun than say a pistol. The Zen Archer Monk looks interesting though. The ranger also appears interesting.

Is there anything you would recommend I read for building my first pathfinder character?

[Merck]

Forget rogue, make a ninja and never look back. Vanishing trick ftw. Ask your DM to just roleplay him like a regular rogue. He is THAT much better than the original. Do u want firearms? Dip one level in the mysterious stranger gunslinger archetype.