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This person is a first time GM. I agree that it's best to tell people in advance what is restricted, but in this instance he just didn't know to do this upfront. I would allow the character to rebuild if desired, but at level 3 I doubt there is much to change around. It's not as though HellCat Stealth takes much investment, and he's a rogue so the stealth still isn't a waste.I do agree that the DM is in there right to restrict what ever they want. Though those restrictions should always be stated before actual character creation. I have restricted some books in my games simply because i do not agree with a lot of the things that are in there, ultimate combat being the primary example, but those restrictions are announced to all the players before the game even started to those in a whole. If you impose a "x" thing is not allowed and it is on there list of stuff they wanted to do then you should allow them a redo of there character since they did not get the full info of rules for the game. Some things being disallowed, especially in the middle of game, can make an entire character concept null in void.As a GM you're perfectly within your right to ban Hellcat Stealth, I would and did from my games but I did so by banning things not from the the main Pathfinder rulebooks and Hellcat Stealth is from The Pathfinder Companion: Cheliax, Empire of Devils.
Outside of that there is nothing to worry about here.
Agreed but he might be the type, like my self, that plans character feat for feat until endgame and when to pick it up. Most builds of mine, dont know about the player in question, are dependent on x feat at x level. An intimidation build for example of mine relies heavily on the feat that allows you to add str on top of cha for intimidation check. If i lost that feat id have to seriously re think the character and re vise my stats to compensate.
Also, as a method to counter sniping tactics a wizard with a fog cloud spell, or wands would eliminate his tactic. You can't hit what you can't see.
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Why ultimate combat?I do agree that the DM is in there right to restrict what ever they want. Though those restrictions should always be stated before actual character creation. I have restricted some books in my games simply because i do not agree with a lot of the things that are in there, ultimate combat being the primary example, but those restrictions are announced to all the players before the game even started to those in a whole. If you impose a "x" thing is not allowed and it is on there list of stuff they wanted to do then you should allow them a redo of there character since they did not get the full info of rules for the game. Some things being disallowed, especially in the middle of game, can make an entire character concept null in void.As a GM you're perfectly within your right to ban Hellcat Stealth, I would and did from my games but I did so by banning things not from the the main Pathfinder rulebooks and Hellcat Stealth is from The Pathfinder Companion: Cheliax, Empire of Devils.
Outside of that there is nothing to worry about here.
There is quite a bit of feats in the book that dont seem play tested or at least needed to be play tested more. A feat that comes to mind off the top of my head is Two-Weapon Feint and its improved version. That feat alone makes Improved/Greater Feint pretty much worthless for those that would normally feint in combat. Now if they imposed a feat tax of needing Improved Feint to qualify then i would have no qualms with it.
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Just out of curiosity, how does he handle the "no darkvision/no low-light vision" problem? It's really hard to stealth when you need a light source and the bad guys don't.
Just out of curiosity, how does he handle the "no darkvision/no low-light vision" problem? It's really hard to stealth when you need a light source and the bad guys don't.
I was just going to include this in my list of things to consider:
- Make Perception rolls for each individual ennemies and if one spots him (numbers will help) he yells it out to everybody: "speaking is a free action that you can perform even when it isn't your turn".o now everyone know in what square he is.
- Concealment can be used by the enemies (no sneak).
- Don't forget his move is 20' so being taken in melee by medium humanoid delaying should'nt be impossible...
- Combat maneuvers used in delay (before he shoots), since he has a bow (?) he won't get an AoO against a Grapple, Trip, Disarm or (ouch!) Sunder. Halfling rogues usualy don't get such a good CMD.
- COUNT HIS AMMO! It may seem ridiculous but at lower levels it makes big differences.
- Don't forget to apply the -4att. if the target is in melee with an ally AND the possible cover (another -4att.) the ally gives the shooter.
-If he isn't seen at all by the ennemies then have them focus there attacks on the seemingly weaker members of the party and use them as cover from him. It's not super-tactic, it's just defensive
it happens to be a defensive self preservation tactic of a rather selfish nature.
to guarantee your own survival. you lessen that of your allies.
your allies will complain when the rogue is playing coward, mostly because more enemies are focusing on the casters.
because the casters have less overall protection, the increased focus on the casters, is enough to make the party upset about the selfish halfling.
the halfling's selfish survival tactic will be known by the party quite well, and who really wants to adventure with a coward who won't take an arrow for a comerade?
As a GM you're perfectly within your right to ban Hellcat Stealth, I would and did from my games but I did so by banning things not from the the main Pathfinder rulebooks and Hellcat Stealth is from The Pathfinder Companion: Cheliax, Empire of Devils.
Outside of that there is nothing to worry about here.
Edit:
As a general suggestion for you as a new GM tell you players they may only use the following books:
Core Rulebook
Advanced Players Guide
Advanced Race Guide – without Race Builder
Ultimate Magic
Ultimate Combat
Ultimate EquipmentDon't allow stuff outside of that, there's a lot of stuff available that can be combined in "overpowered" ways. Also, a GM needs to be familiar with any sources his/her players will being using, and you can't be expected to know every source. If you are familiar with the above you're good.
Well, I'd limit it to:
Core RulebookAdvanced Players Guide
to start. Then add more.
(...)
Well, I'd limit it to:
Core Rulebook
Advanced Players Guide
to start. Then add more.
For a new DM I'd recommand that to.
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Really though, for all he has invested he's getting what 10 or 15 dpr? Let him be. It's a limiting enough tactic as it is.
I call that a cool character concept, not abuse. He wants to be the shadowy guy no one can see. What's wrong with that? There are such characters in fantasy.
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Now if things stay as they are, your halfling has to beat about 17 perception checks per round just to maintain the status quo, and he won't be able to do this for long because each hobgoblin has a 5% flat chance to spot him on a natural 20
Incorrect.
Skills do not autosucced on a nat 20. This is why you can take 10 or take 20 with skills. Otherwise on a 5% chance, I can see into the enemy's lair and count how many goblins there is.
From the Stealth Check description: "If people are observing you using any of their senses (but typically sight), you can't use Stealth." and "you can attempt a Stealth check if you can get to an unobserved place of some kind."
So if 34 hobgoblin ears are straining to hear movement and 34 eyes are watching all possible hiding places, the player cannot use stealth! What he can do is sit there quietly and maintain his concealment. If he pops out from concealment to make another attack while being observed, it doesn't matter what he rolls, the hobgoblins will see him.
If you wanted to get this rules lawery on this..
The player is observing himself. Therefor the player cannot hide. Ever.
Insects are observing the player. The player cannot hide.
Micro-organisms are observing the player. The player cannot hide.
But that only serves to make the player really fricken hate you, and absolutely positively makes sure they pick up HIPS.
Insufferable Smartypants is basically 100% wrong on all counts. Just ignore his post.
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As a person who has actually played a similar character (I played a Ninja instead of a Rogue) let me preface this by saying:
Yes. This type of build is extremely potent at low levels. However, after level 6 it starts to plateau. At that point, from level 7 onward, creatures start having decent natural armor, they have spell-like and supernatural abilities that can make stealthing extremely difficult (though extremely rare) slowly start to become common.
Stick this out, it won't be terrible forever. And while he might be seen as something of invulnerable, well...its not hard to beat stealth. Most monsters have full ranks (and a good number have Skill Focus: Perception as well).
Unless other players are being overshadowed by this halfling, then let him have his fun. It could be worse...he could be have gone the two-weapon fighting route.
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Let me start off by saying I am in agreement with most of the others here stating that The character who is no doubt well built, is not overpowered. Currently at level 3 a stealth of 20+ is amazing. Something the best peasant thieves could probably never hope to achieve. And he seems to be using it to great effect, which is awesome. But as others have said, this type of character will eventually plateau in power, and nickel/dimming will become a non-issue.
Currently the character is doing 1d4+2d6+1+str (Assuming within 30 feet AND composite STR Shortbow for Small Character). Average of 11.5 DPR with +1 STR Bonus, which is nothing to sneeze at at that level. But a 2hd fighter or barbarian would be doing more than that. A barbarian while raging would do 2d6+12 or 19 DPR with a great-sword and probably has a better chance to hit as well. So damage wise, the rogue is not obsurd... He is just accomplished.
Stealth wise, I am assuming 20 Dex:
3 (points) + 3 (Class Skill) + 5 (DEX) + 3(skill focus) + 1 (Size) + 5(cloak) = 20
Not sure what his feats are. But he only has 2 at that level, so it would have to be Skill focus + Point Blank Shot? Does he have Precise Shot? If not, he takes a -4 for firing into melee. Later on he could take Stealthy for another +2.
So we see that he is optimized as much as a rogue can be, but he is still not the pinnacle of either damage or stealth. So he is not overpowered in either regards.
Lets turn to your tactics:
Are you giving him sneak attack damage beyond 30 feet? Dem not be the rules
Are you throwing creatures immune to sneak attack at him? Elementals are a great choice at that level. A band of 4 small earth elementals or 2 medium earth elementals. Try finding creatures with DR/not what the rogue is using. If you can negate the damage from the initial attack, you negate the sneak and the rogue is forced to attack a different target.
Are you using spells which provide cover? Fog cloud, and the like are great obstacles against archers.
Are you building NPCs with a high perception? Lets say a Half-Elf Druid 2/Monk 1 with 20 WIS, 3 (class) + 3 (points) + 5(WIS) + 3 (skill focus) + 2(alertness) +2(Keen Senses) + 5 (Eyes of the Eagle) = 23 Perception. Take Deflect Missiles as your Bonus feat for Monk. Summoning Spells and an animal companion. This guy would be a challenge.
Are you using creatures that have uncanny dodge? Maybe they find a band of lvl2 barbarians (party size +1d4 for a challenge), that would be a fun encounter...
TLDR;
The character is not overpowered, just optimized for one tactic. Archery is one of the easiest tactics to fully negate. Sneak attack is another easily negated tactic. My advice would be to let him have his fun because later on when he fights creatures with true sight, a 40 stealth will put him on the same level as their perception checks.
Plus no BBEG should just stand there and take the hits, especially not on his own turf. If the Evil Necromancer at the end of the Adventure Tunnel killed the rest of the party and just stood there against the sniping rogue... That would just be silly.
A few points:
1st, you said you're playing Kingmaker. A lot of animal opponents in Kingmaker. Many animals have the Scent ability. Not only does Scent add +8 to many Perception checks within 30', it autodetects presence (not location) for free, no action required. Then if the creature takes a move action, it automatically determines direction, no roll required. So the wolf or whatever KNOWS that there is a halfling somewhere between 10' and 30' in that direction (within 5', Scent autolocates for free with no check or action required). This takes some of the advantage of high Stealth away.
2nd, some creatures just can't be sneak attacked in most situations: elementals, things with tremorsense (I remember at least a couple nastybads with tremorsense in that AP.
3rd, when you're on the plains, unless the grass is pretty high, there's nowhere to hide.
4th, what's he going to do at night? He can't sneak attack farther than 30', but creatures with darkvision are not so limited. Even worse, he cannot sneak attack creatures that have ANY level of concealment, such as from poor lighting, which means unless he is attacking something within a light source, no sneak attack for him.
5th, even if none of the above were true, he's just not that scary. A fighter or ranger or barbarian will easily out-damage him. And this guy isn't providing flanking bonuses and won't get attacks of opportunity. He's a one-trick pony whose trick is kinda cute for him, but weakens the defense of the group as a whole unless there are no squishy wizards or sorcerers to divert enemy attacks from.
- Don't forget to apply the -4att. if the target is in melee with an ally AND the possible cover (another -4att.) the ally gives the shooter.
^ That.
Archery is a pain to pull off without investing in it. It kinda sounds like this PC put most of his feats into being better at stealthing. That will probably cripple him very shortly, if you're ruling ranged combat correctly. Being great at hiding won't help him hit. -8 to hit really sucks and all it takes is a tree or ally in the way to ruin this sniper's day.
I'm not sure about the whole losing DEX to AC each round for the SA either. I've always been under the assumption stealth is useless after the first full combat. I could be wrong, but after NPCs act they aren't flatfooted, I don't know if SA can be used there because I don't think stealth itself bestowes flatfooted. Again, I could be wrong.
Action: Usually none. Normally, you make a Stealth check as part of movement, so it doesn't take a separate action. However, using Stealth immediately after a ranged attack (see Sniping, above) is a move action.
I'd also keep an eye on this. I could be wrong, but I don't think he can pull off all that full attack awesomeness archers aim for. Compared to other archers, I don't think this one is that OP.
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I apologize if you felt like my combat suggestions were designed to specifically counter the player while not being able to challenge the rest of the group. I would also like to apologize if you felt like the suggested encounters seemed out of place in the wilderness. I felt they would provide a challenge for the whole group even if they couldn't spot the player. If he is up in a tree, fire elementals could burn down the forest with ease. You are the GM, not the kingmaker AP; design your encounters so they are a challenge for all your players if that is your major concern.
If you feel like the player needs to feel close to death, do it with things that ignore stealth until the monsters perception starts to catch up. Traps are great, assuming he is the lead scout. Spell effects cast on an area which don't target Reflex (permanent color spray cast in a doorway to a hidden tomb or something), no hiding from those. But these are just more suggestions to counter the guys stealth.
If you want to blindly follow the AP encounters, which are aimed at a non-optimized 15 point-buy party of 4, he will continue to be "unchallenged". But as others and I have said, he is not Overpowered. In combat he is little more than a nuisance in comparison to other well-built characters. If you feel otherwise, wait 3 more levels.
This is precisely why he spends so much time in trees. If that wolf/grizzly/whatever can't reach you, he can't attack you, right?A few points:
1st, you said you're playing Kingmaker. A lot of animal opponents in Kingmaker.
He probably is not in those trees during the day. Unless he somehow has the brachiation ability, he couldn't keep up with the party going from treebranch to treebranch, especially with his slow movement speed. Climbing is slow, so he won't be doing it in battle. And if there are lots of trees around, it's not hard for creatures who know he's there (because they're intelligent and arrows are raining down from above or because they detected him via Scent and he attacks them from that direction) to put a tree trunk in between, granting them partial or total cover. If he's in a tree when the party is resting at night, fine. That'll work great some of the time, and sometimes will make him utterly useless, unless everyone else in the party is deliberately sleeping in a clump immediately underneath him AND their opponents close to melee range.
Incidentally, bears do climb trees. They're famous for it. Now, they probably won't while engaged with the rest of the party. However, if they are within 30' (thus allowing him to sneak attack), then as long as the wind is not blowing in the wrong direction he probably won't get more than one good sneak attack in on them. They'd know he was there, they'd know roughly in what direction he was (up and to the left), and that's really all you need to get a Dex bonus against a ranged attack. Versus a melee attack you have to be able to dodge the individual attacks of your opponents, but you don't dodge arrows--you just try to make yourself harder to hit by the guys shooting them in your direction from the directions you know about. People in a pitched battle aren't deprived of Dex from every archer they cannot see "over thataway", even though they might well be deprived of Dex from an archer who has managed to put himself in an unexpected position behind them. By the way, firing a bow from a tree is going to require an Acrobatics check each and every time (Balance) because your hands and arms are occupied while firing. Has he put ranks into that?
True, there are some creatures like that, but there's even more NPCs which *would* be scary if only they could spot him... Too bad they can't.
2nd, some creatures just can't be sneak attacked: elementals, things with tremorsense (I remember at least a couple nastybads with tremorsense in that AP.
Yes. He has built a character completely around an often excellent defense. This makes him good at defense. But if he's not contributing that much to offense, well...
I guess it's a good thing he's a Halfling, then... they can hide in knee-high grass no problem! And of course, that's why he wants Hellcat Stealth and such.
3rd, when you're on the plains, unless the grass is pretty high, there's nowhere to hide.
Sometimes the grass will be knee high and sometimes it won't. That's up to you. The AP does take place throughout the year. At certain times of year, there won't be that much grass. Also, don't forget that herd animals graze.
He's gonna be making alchemical items to mitigate some of those problems, and he also has a Rogue talent that lets him ignore regular concealment for the purpose of sneak attacking (Sniper's Eye).
4th, what's he going to do at night? He can't sneak attack farther than 30', but creatures with darkvision are not so limited. Even worse, he cannot sneak attack creatures that have ANY level of concealment, such as from poor lighting, which means unless he is attacking something within a light source, no sneak attack for him.
I feel almost bad for this guy now. He's truly gimping himself. By attempting to maximize this one trick, he's taking away from the power of an already not overwhelming class.
But it's not really about absolute damage, even though a lot of people here get hung up on it ("A well specced out Fighter deals way more damage" etc.). It's about challenge, on a personal level. Right now he's comfortable knowing that no matter what happens, the rest of the group will probably snuff it long before anyone manages to find him, so he can afford to be arrogant and unreasonably confident. I don't like it when my players feel that comfortable just because they've minmaxed their character with metagaming knowledge of the Bestiary books in mind and the knowledge that I probably won't resort to similarly "cheap" tactics to deal with them. We have an unspoken agreement in place - you don't screw with me and my game, and I won't screw with you and your characters. But he's getting perilously close to breaking that agreement, if you ask me....
5th, even if none of the above were true, he's just not that scary. A fighter or ranger or barbarian will easily out-damage him. And this guy isn't providing flanking bonuses and won't get attacks of opportunity. He's a one-trick pony whose trick is kinda cute for him, but weakens the defense of the group as a whole unless there are no squishy wizards or sorcerers to divert enemy attacks from.
Well, I guess. I just see a guy who has chosen to play a character whose main contribution will be relatively underwhelming damage in some, but not all combats. His speed means he won't be scouting ahead, unless everyone else is willing to move really, really slowly, and that is normally one of the big draws of high Stealth. It's not an urban campaign, which is where rogues really can shine with their trapfinding and social skills, and he hasn't built a melee rogue, which is what the party could probably use if he's playing a rogue at all. You may feel that he won't be challenged enough, but what is really wrong with this character is that he won't be adding enough to the rest of the party. When they hit 7th level, any one of the others could theoretically take Leadership and get a 5th level cohort who would be more useful for most purposes. He may not realize this now, but he's building himself into a trap here. This trick of his won't stay new and fresh and satisying forever, even if it works every time. And as stated up above, it won't.
In fact, I have his planned-out selection of feats right here... He might change them later, but here they are regardless:
Dodge, Disorienting Maneuver, Deadly Aim, Extra Rogue Talent, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Precise Shot, Improved Precise Shot, Blind-Fight, Improved Blind-Fight, Greater Blind-Fight and Weapon Focus
Now, I'm sure he won't be able to take ALL of those feats, but that's what he indicated on his sheet as likely choices.
But he's already level 3 and has delayed getting those important starting archery feats. That puts him behind the 8 ball compared to optimize archers.
He also seems to intend to craft smoke sticks, smoke pellets and such. I suspect he intends to use these to provide concealment to himself in the open while using the Blind Fight feats to Sneak Attack enemies.
I'm not sure about the ability to use SA like that. Is there a source that states firing from concealment removes the target's DEX bonus? I'm looking for one and I'm not finding it.
I had an Inquisitor with a high dex and good stealth at 3rd level I had an 18 stealth with minor shadow armor and skill focus. The Character concept was focused around shadows and darkness. I had the night domain. Later picked up the Umbral Sorcerer using Eldrich Heritage and improved Eldrich Heritage for Darkvision. I took 4 levels of shadow dancer because it fit the story and it boosted my stealth but weakened my Inquisitor powers by more than what I gained.
It made an interesting character but nothing over powered. Just an expert in the shadows.
Don't forget classes/monsters with Uncanny Dodge and damage reduction -- feel free to rebuild opponents. If the AP gives you 4 level 3 fighters, replace them with 4 level 3 barbarians and they'll all have uncanny dodge and his sniping will be much less effective, but the overall power level of the encounter won't be changed too much.
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OP, first, let me say I understand this is your first time behind the DM seat. Let's school you up on a few things you need to know:
This situation is not munchkin. It is optimization, it is powergaming, etc...the difference? Munchkins do it at others' expense. So far, you've included nothing about him impacting the fun of other players, only your own frustration in not wanting to alter the content to cater to him.
There is nothing "WIN" about Super Stealth. There's two pages of suggestions here as to how to combat his one-trick pony. I won't repeat their advice, but I will recommend that you heed it.
Secondly, I respect that you want to stick to the printed Adventure Path (in your case, Kingmaker). However, a good DM tweaks everything to his players. If he's using a strategy that makes it harder for the monsters, it's your job to increase the CR to compensate. Give the monsters more hp, let the "lieutenants and above" see invis, give them deeper darkvision, etc...
Don't just stick to the printed Adventure Path and complain about optimized players being too OP for it. Part of what you owe to your players is to make everything "risky". Otherwise it's just not fun. Even for Super Stealth Halfling Boy. If there's no risk of death, there's no satisfaction of winning a scenario.
I am glad you've discussed progression with him, and his designs to take Hellcat Stealth and other stealth-centric stuff. Make sure he knows your concerns and limitations, and don't worry about him being a rules-lawyer.
The easiest way to combat rules lawyer players is to remind them of Rule 0 and Rule 1. Rule 0 is that all rules are optional if you say so. Rule 1 is that you, and only you, are the final rulebook interpretation authority for your campaign.
I'm not sure about the ability to use SA like that. Is there a source that states firing from concealment removes the target's DEX bonus? I'm looking for one and I'm not finding it.I'm not sure about this myself, but the rules allow one to use concealment to enter Stealth, and he argues that as long as enemies don't know where he is and he's within 30 ft, he should get his Sneak Attack because enemies are denied their DEX bonus. If that's not how it works then his whole strategy is suspect because in that case he shouldn't be able to Sneak Attack at all except during the surprise round or something.
However, few people have called this into question here, so I assume that his interpretation of the rules is indeed correct. Zog argues that as long as enemies know ROUGHLY where you are (perhaps because they smell you, or perhaps because they have one of your arrows sticking out of their ass and pointing in your general direction), they shouldn't be denied DEX bonus against your attacks and therefore you can't Sneak Attack them anymore. I'm really not sure if that's how it's supposed to work, it does make sense... but Sneak Attack itself is such an abstract mechanic that it's hard to determine when it does or does not apply, common sense doesn't necessarily cut it.
What your player appears to be arguing is that a successful Stealth roll automatically grants the Invisibility condition. If it does, then yes, the PC would not only gain a +2 bonus to hit but his opponents would lose their Dexterity bonuses, each and every time. However, except for a boss a character of mine encountered in Kingmaker in
I'm not sure about this myself, but the rules allow one to use concealment to enter Stealth, and he argues that as long as enemies don't know where he is and he's within 30 ft, he should get his Sneak Attack because enemies are denied their DEX bonus.
He's the Sniper Rouge, right? He'd get SA within 40ft at 3rd level.
Still, I don't think he gets to deny them the DEX just by having concealment. He is harder to hit, can't be attacked with total concealment, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't also make everyone else easier to hit.
Concealment
To determine whether your target has concealment from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target's square passes through a square or border that provides concealment, the target has concealment.
When making a melee attack against an adjacent target, your target has concealment if his space is entirely within an effect that grants concealment. When making a melee attack against a target that isn't adjacent to you, use the rules for determining concealment from ranged attacks.
In addition, some magical effects provide concealment against all attacks, regardless of whether any intervening concealment exists.
Concealment Miss Chance: Concealment gives the subject of a successful attack a 20% chance that the attacker missed because of the concealment. Make the attack normally—if the attacker hits, the defender must make a miss chance d% roll to avoid being struck. Multiple concealment conditions do not stack.
Concealment and Stealth Checks: You can use concealment to make a Stealth check. Without concealment, you usually need cover to make a Stealth check.
Total Concealment: If you have line of effect to a target but not line of sight, he is considered to have total concealment from you. You can't attack an opponent that has total concealment, though you can attack into a square that you think he occupies. A successful attack into a square occupied by an enemy with total concealment has a 50% miss chance (instead of the normal 20% miss chance for an opponent with concealment).
You can't execute an attack of opportunity against an opponent with total concealment, even if you know what square or squares the opponent occupies.
Ignoring Concealment: Concealment isn't always effective. An area of dim lighting or darkness doesn't provide any concealment against an opponent with darkvision. Characters with low-light vision can see clearly for a greater distance than other characters with the same light source. Although invisibility provides total concealment, sighted opponents may still make Perception checks to notice the location of an invisible character. An invisible character gains a +20 bonus on Stealth checks if moving, or a +40 bonus on Stealth checks when not moving (even though opponents can't see you, they might be able to figure out where you are from other visual or auditory clues).
Varying Degrees of Concealment: Certain situations may provide more or less than typical concealment, and modify the miss chance accordingly.
If that's not how it works then his whole strategy is suspect because in that case he shouldn't be able to Sneak Attack at all except during the surprise round or something.
That's what I'm thinking. I haven't played this myself, but I've heard people often complain about that limitation when playing Sniper Rouges.
However, few people have called this into question here, so I assume that his interpretation of the rules is indeed correct. Zog argues that as long as enemies know ROUGHLY where you are (perhaps because they smell you, or perhaps because they have one of your arrows sticking out of their ass and pointing in your general direction), they shouldn't be denied DEX bonus against your attacks and therefore you can't Sneak Attack them anymore. I'm really not sure if that's how it's supposed to work, it does make sense... but Sneak Attack itself is such an abstract mechanic that it's hard to determine when it does or does not apply, common sense doesn't necessarily cut it.
Yeah, I've been looking at other threads on the topic. I linked that one. I think there was some talk way back that the developers were going to allow it to work the way your player is using it, but I think they chose not to. The main arguement for it working like how your player is using it is from just this one line in the glossary under AC:
"If you can't react to a blow, you can't use your Dexterity bonus to AC."
The assumption is that if you can't see where the attack came from that you can't react to it, but that's not actually written anywhere.
Flatfooted is explicit though and so are the other means of denying DEX bonus, like feint. Invisible creatures get to deny DEX, but they are invisible, not concealed. I don't know, but I'd probably lean towards concealment doesn't remove DEX from AC, just because it takes a few different places to justify that ruling. If concealment were intended to work that way I'd imagine it'd read that way under concealment in the core.
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Don't be discouraged against tweaking your encounters to give the rogue a harder time, especially if he really is causing issues for the campaign. This doesn't mean making an encounter harder for everyone.
The problem here seems to be that the rogue doesn't seem to change his tactics at all -- he seems to *always* find cover and pick targets off slowly. In such a case, there's really no thinking for him beyond what target to shoot at.
Present his character with creatures within an encounter that would force him to think on his feet or change his tactics. Creatures of the ooze type, incorporeal subtype, and swarm subtype can more or less be considered the bane of an assassin that specializes in sneak attacking. All have immunity to crits and sneak attacks, swarms can be immune to non-aoe attacks entirely,and a number of them have lifesense and blindsight.
If you're just trying to add some variety to his decision-making, give him opportunities in combat to do something far more valuable than just putting an arrow into an enemy's noggin. Of course, don't just feed those opportunities to him, but allow him to see that those possibilities could be exploited under the right circumstances.
A rogue is supposed to be able to take various actions. The fact that your rogue player only chooses to do one thing seems a sad story.
I do agree with you that there has to be an element of risk and the threat of failure, and death should never be that far away - there's no reward without risk, after all... but I'm not going to be punishing my other players just to keep up with this one optimized Halfling Rogue.
So what constitutes failure, or the threat there of? Does he often go off alone, and thus the rest of his party is not getting beat on while he does his stealth shoot once, stealth trick? I would think given you say they arent optimized, the lack of the rogue being a target as well as the relatively low damage he's capable of with one shot per round would mean the party would take a real licking in difficult encounters. Do you not consider party members going down to be an adequate chance of failure? Does it have to be a threat personal to the rogue?
Also, have you tried talking to the player? Like as a person, explaining that his optimization of stealth while not 'broken' is disruptive and making things difficult for you? Explain that because of the extremes his stealth has reached, you would be forced to either deliberately counter it with encounters or simply ignore his character entirely and attack the other party members, then have monsters leave when the rest of the party was dead or incapacitated. A stealthing halfing isnt going to keep up with the walking pace of most other creatures. In fact a simple tactic you could employ consistently, is when enemies cant find him, they withdraw from the battle to a new location, having been frightened by the attacks from unseen enemies.