Winning initiative and pouncing works best. Improved Invisibility is good in the window between when it shows up and when True Seeing shows up. Flanking buddies like other martial characters and animal companions are good too. Use whatever it takes and whatever works.
In general sneak attack is hit or miss.
Being able to use it consistently is difficult and typically requires high level builds with several feats to be able to pull it off consistently (or very helpful team mates). The one notable exception is the ninja which can pickup Invisible Blade (Greater Invisibility). But he has to wait until level 10, which by then many enemies will have extraordinary senses that will still detect you. If they detect you then you will not get sneak attack, and they will likely rip you to shreds.
The benefit of natural attacks for sneak attack is that you get a bunch of attacks all at full to hit that can each theoretically apply Sneak Attack, which is great because Rogues can't hit for shit. What it doesn't do is solve the issue of Sneak Attack being too situational.
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There are two big ways to sneak attack relatively consistently: 1) A rogue with the Scout archetype gains automatic sneak attack damage at 4th level on a charge, and automatic sneak attack damage at 8th level whenever he moves at least 10'. This increases the number of situations in which sneak attack can be applied, which is awesome, and it means that feats like Furious Focus and Power Attack mean you can actually do pretty solid 1-hit damage, and 2) An alchemist with the Beastmorph and Vivisectionist archetypes eventually gives the alchemist the Pounce ability, and alchemists already get a large number of natural attacks if built for it. Vivisectionist gives them sneak attack damage instead of bombs, and of course, the two stack.
Depends.
Are you talking Rogue, or some other class?
You can always go the Shatter Defenses route. Pretty feat intensive, but you force your opponent to be flat-footed as long as you can intimidate them.
You need:
Weapon Focus
> Dazzling Display
>> Shatter Defenses
Power Attack
> Cornugan Smash
for this trick. And it doesn't allow you to dump STR.
I'm not aware of any natural attack specific tricks for SA.
Putting some ranks into Bluff would make you for a good attempt at Feint, which would deny the enemy Dexterity to your next attack.
Putting some ranks into Bluff would make you for a good attempt at Feint, which would deny the enemy Dexterity to your next attack.
The main issue there being the need for Combat Expertise and Improved Feint, which would bump feinting down from a standard action to a move action... which would still mean you can't benefit from having multiple attacks.
Putting some ranks into Bluff would make you for a good attempt at Feint, which would deny the enemy Dexterity to your next attack.
To make that method still requires feats, specifically two-weapon feint. Otherwise it's a move action to bluff, which will always preclude you from getting more than one attack.
Edit: And you need Improved Feint to make it a move action instead of a standard. It's a bad deal all around.
If you want to be a Rogue, a Scout with all the Tiger Style feats should have an easier time of it. It won't come online until 13th level, but you can do worse than an unarmed striking scout with javelins in the meantime. If you pick up Multiattack you can combine an Unarmed Strike routine with your natural attack routine -2.
Putting some ranks into Bluff would make you for a good attempt at Feint, which would deny the enemy Dexterity to your next attack.To make that method still requires feats, specifically two-weapon feint. Otherwise it's a move action to bluff, which will always preclude you from getting more than one attack.
Edit: And you need Improved Feint to make it a move action instead of a standard. It's a bad deal all around.
The Two-Weapon Feint tree requires you to take a full attack action, and it requires Combat Expertise and Two Weapon Fighting (not Improved Feint).
Two Weapon Feint lets you forgo your first attack to feint to get the target flat-footed against your next attack.
Improved Two-Weapon Feint lets you forgo your first attack to feint to get the target flat-footed until the end of your turn.
FWIW, I had a two-weapon fighter/rogue with Two-Weapon Feint, and I retrained it into Gang Up ("You are considered to be flanking an opponent if at least two of your allies are threatening that opponent, regardless of your actual positioning"). This made flanking buddies the most reliable method of getting sneak attack.
The Two-Weapon Feint tree requires you to take a full attack action, and it requires Combat Expertise and Two Weapon Fighting (not Improved Feint).
Two Weapon Feint lets you forgo your first attack to feint to get the target flat-footed against your next attack.
Improved Two-Weapon Feint lets you forgo your first attack to feint to get the target flat-footed until the end of your turn.
FWIW, I had a two-weapon fighter/rogue with Two-Weapon Feint, and I retrained it into Gang Up ("You are considered to be flanking an opponent if at least two of your allies are threatening that opponent, regardless of your actual positioning"). This made flanking buddies the most reliable method of getting sneak attack.
I realize now my post was very unclear. I was just trying to say that to make using bluff/feint worth it you need to go into the two-weapon feint tree. Otherwise you can only feint as a move action with improved feint, which means only one attack. Which sucks.
With improved two-weapon feint you can at the loss of one attack make a full attack and get sneak attack if you successfully feint.
If you are trying to kill someone solo with sneak attack, you can use hit-and-run tactics. Combat stops being a race if you are the only one you have to look out for, and you can disengage better than they can pursue you (or you can set up traps in case they do).
Swordmaster + Scout + Tengu Claws and Beak = Profit(With an unfortunate waste of a first turn)
It is hit or miss. I played a rogue recently with a str dumped. SA was really the only damage I could do and it was difficult to contribute to enemy wacking. (Traps and utility I exceled at). I currently play a visectionist alchemist with the Master chymist archtype. He uses natural attacks and has an amulet of mighty fists for the agile weapon bonus (add dex to damage). Combined with magic fang, he does decent damage with normal full rounds and 100+ with sneak attack. The second SA-ish build is more fun being more vercitile for me. As for getting SA, the alchemist uses improved invisibility potions in a sipping jacket. (imp. invis from summoner spell list). gl hf.
An alchemist with the Beastmorph and Vivisectionist archetypes eventually gives the alchemist the Pounce ability, and alchemists already get a large number of natural attacks if built for it. Vivisectionist gives them sneak attack damage instead of bombs, and of course, the two stack.
I second this. I'm building a character such as this for a future game. even at low levels, 3 natural attacks at full bonus + sneak attack seems like a great deal.
Bah, put 1 level into Maneuver Master monk and take Dirty Tricks as your bonus feat. Then do a Flurry of Maneuvers with Dirty Trick to blind followed by the rest of your attacks.
If you have two other melee fighters in your party, take Gang Up. Your allies don't actually have to attack the same guy you are: they just have to threaten him in order for you to be considered flanking and thus get your sneak attack.
It's even better if one or more of the melee fighters has a reach weapon or uses Enlarge Person or Lunge.